Summary: Another high-stakes installment masks any inconsistencies with lots of tension, coolness, and fun civilian form fights.
If you have not seen this episode yet and don’t wish to be spoiled, don’t continue reading. It’s not like we’re MEGAFORCEing you to, or anything.
Recap
While the Rangers think the war against the Armada is dying down, Vrak and Vekar’s father, Emperor Mavro, arrives with plans to punish Damaras for allowing Vekar to die. He imprisons Damaras and plots to destroy the Power Rangers; however, Damaras unleashes his full power and escapes, plotting to take down the Rangers himself and get back in the good graces of Mavro. He’s a formidable force, injuring all the Rangers but Jake and taking Troy captive. After announcing to the world that the Red Ranger has been captured, Jake goes in solo to take out Damaras while Tensou rescues Troy. The other Rangers recover and arrive, and together they defeat Damaras with the Ultimate Legendary Megazord. In the end, the Rangers go to a Rebel Rockers concert, featuring lead singers Antonio and Mia from Power Rangers Samurai.
Review
The “Vrak is Back” two-parter upped the ante for Super Megaforce, and while its follow-up, “Emperor Mavro,” doesn’t totally live up to the greatness of those episodes, it’s continues the show’s newfound willingness to craft palpable stakes.
“Emperor Mavro” works because it’s not afraid to mess with the show’s typical dynamics to make this happen. Other seasons have allowed the Rangers to think they’ve beaten the Big Bads only to have a rude awakening just before the finale, but this season instead explored how that would work in the long term. The “calm before the storm” trope was used rather poorly in “All Hail Prince Vekar,” but here, it’s an easy way to contrast the lack of drama in the season overall with the impending stakes of this final arc. The beginning of the episode features the Armada–or as we now know, this little division of it–on its last legs, aimless and only throwing out mooks as mostly cannon fodder.
That prompts some rather creative use of the source footage, explaining the antics of the Green Ranger in the Sentai footage (whose whole shtick is his ridiculous fighting) by equating it to Jake’s cockiness. This season has actually done a surprisingly decent job at making sense of Jake’s counterpart’s fighting style in the context of this show; the excuses maybe be trite, but they often play into a character moment for Jake. The cockiness makes a lot of sense in this case, as the last three episodes have featured their most triumphant victories. Even with the loss of Robo Knight, that the Rangers managed to defeat Vrak at a lower power level speaks to their own abilities. So here we have them back with their full powers wailing on the lowest-leveled of bad guys–why not mess around a bit? As Jake says, it’s totally obvious that they’re winning…at least at that point in time. The battle is mostly won, and it’s interesting to see the effects of a battle that’s winding down rather than winding up.
Well, of course, until it does wind right back up. Despite the title, Emperor Mavro the villain doesn’t really do anything, but his arrival is the catalyst for some intense stuff. This episode lays out a nice domino effect that starts back to the Rangers’ first major victory: defeating Vrak led to Vekar’s arrival, which led to Vekar’s defeat, which led to Vrak’s return and defeat, which led to Mavro’s arrival, whose arrest of Damaras led to Damaras unleashing all his rage and power. Damaras was totally restrained, even in the wake of Vekar’s death, and it’s only because of Mavro’s arrival and abandonment that he becomes a viable enemy. That only happens because The Rangers themselves have won the other battles. Rangers of past seasons have worked their way up the chain of command sometimes, but this one posits that things only get worse with every victory. It puts a more cynical (but also more interesting) filter on a two-season run of way too much victory, perhaps suggesting that had the Rangers been more proactive in their war rather than taking each bad guy as they come, they might have prevented a lot of damage. It’s still Power Rangers sticking to a formula, of course, but it suggests that even this far in, these Rangers haven’t come come close to facing the greatest challenge, which is an important lead-in to the final two episodes.
But that’s only what happens at the beginning. The rest of the episode, much like “Vrak is Back,” is a well-paced, well-plotted wild ride, and does a slight bit of characterwork to boot. I say “slight” because no one really changes at all, but we still get to see them in different situations. The three of note this week are Troy, Jake, and Orion, who either contribute to the plot directly or just provide some fun tidbits. Orion doesn’t do much in the main battles, for example, but everything he does is a clear reason why Cameron Jebo deserved more screentime. We get legitimately funny lines about Orion not understanding a rock concert (“I worked in a rock quarry”) and an understandable level of fear when he recognizes Damaras. It’s not much, but it’s little pieces like these that really shine anytime the show recognizes that these characters are supposed to be actual characters.
Troy also doesn’t actively do much, but it’s another brutal week for him. He’s beaten to a pulp yet again, then chained up and blindfolded, used as a trophy for Damaras to flaunt to Earth. These aren’t stakes as high as last week’s, but shots of citizens reacting terrified to the sight of their beloved hero amps up the drama in the same way their reactions to Vrak’s drill did. Too often does Power Rangers forget that these are supposed to be superheroes saving people, rather than a team just fighting monsters one by one, so it’s good when we get that glimpse. It finally gives Ernie something to do, too, even if it’s just one line.
This is ultimately another Jake episode, oddly enough. It’s frustrating that neither of the women this season have gotten much of anything to do–Emma’s gotten a couple of “dreams and happiness!” stories and Gia has gotten absolutely nothing–while Noah and Jake have gotten episode after episode of spotlights. It’s even worse that Jake’s role of avenging hero could have been anyone, so it’s not like it really hinged on any character development for him, outside of the source footage. But in any case, the upside to such a lack of character-centric stuff in this season is that we’re trained to not expect it, so a high-stakes plot still feels like a step above. Much like “Power of Six,” Jake has to deal with being a survivor and stepping up, but without the guilt of that episode. Instead, this is all about showing the Rangers that the battle is not won–and giving them opportunities to fight in civilian mode, just because.
That’s the other major plus to the episode–there is lots and lots for the actors to do. This cast has performed some really great stunts at times, but there have been so few of them that it’s hard to appreciate just how good they are. Azim Rizk kicks a whole slew of butt before he ever morphs when he goes on his roaring rampage to save Troy, and it’s so satisfying to see. This episode is also weirdly heavy on the Rangers pulling out their blasters instead of morphing, and as random as it is, it’s just fun to see them out of costume at this point.
And then there’s the ending, which features the Rangers earning their fun getaway, and an appearance–well, “appearance”–from two veteran Rangers. Here’s the thing: Yes, Antonio and Mia’s appearance is recycled from the Super Samurai episode “He Ain’t Heavy Metal, He’s My Brother.” No, Steven Skyler and Erika Fong did not return to set (and pretty much definitely didn’t get paid for this.) But the thing is, these are still the kinds of things that have worked wonders in the few instances they’ve been used this anniversary season. Stock footage or not, there was clearly a thought that viewers would appreciate the throwback–and hey, many of the shots were unused angles from the original Super Samurai episode, too, so it’s sort of new footage! In any case, this is in line with what the review of “In the Driver’s Seat” mentioned–if the budget and schedule didn’t allow for many returns scattered throughout, then little references go a long way. A subtle reference in the Rangers going to a Rebel Rockers concert would be nice enough, but integrating those Rangers into the show is an extra step that’s miles above the laziness of this season from before.
Much of “Emperor Mavro” is proof that we can overlook some of the weirdness when there’s enough cool stuff going on around it. Super Megaforce has been chock full of odd decisions, and the weirdness honestly hasn’t lessened all that much in these episodes. Did Damaras force Troy to morph into his Megaforce outfit (he knocked away his Super Mega Morpher but not his Gosei Morpher), or did he just dress him in a Megaforce lookalike outfit to prevent him from gaining any power back? Also, when did Tensou get lasers? Why did the other Legendary Zords cheer at the end when they weren’t part of that Megazord? Why does Emperor Mavro say, “They destroyed my sons, now I’ll destroy them!” even though only an image of Vekar is unfurled, who we’ve established is the son he didn’t like? How did the Rangers as civilians survive a blast from Damaras that sliced a building in two?!
None of it really matters, because the episode grabs our attention from the start, makes things progressively worse and more dramatic for the Rangers, and allows their triumph to mean something. It shows how much this season could have at least improved on a base level with a few tweaks, even with the minimal characterwork. In any case, these consecutively strong episodes are at least bringing the season to a dramatic and highly entertaining close.
Odds & Ends
- I like the idea that Damaras and Leviras have been hanging out aimlessly for the past few weeks, and occasionally thinking, “Uh, I guess we can throw out some X-Borgs?”
- It’s cute that Troy pretends he doesn’t want to hop on top of Orion, as if that’s not something every single one of us would be totally okay with doing.
- Gia earnestly yells at Jake that she doesn’t want him getting hurt. Another kind of muted hint (a la “The Grass is Always Greener…Or Bluer”) that she’s warmed up to him?
- Emperor Mavro’s design is quite intimidating, and I’m a little bit in love with his voice (Mike Drew.)
- For a show with such a supposedly shoestring budget, there are lots and lots of on-location shots. Not that it’s a complaint at all–the city skyline this week is absolutely beautiful. Obviously the cost of locations is why the show moved to New Zealand years ago, but it wasn’t until the move to HD that the gorgeous outdoor scenes have stuck out so well.
- Joking and horrific death count implications aside, the effects of the building being sliced in the background from Damaras’s blast are friggin’ awesome.
- The injured Rangers play a big part in showing us the stakes. But, while I get that we can’t see gushing blood or anything…what’s wrong with them? They’re lying down writhing in pain on cots, and all they’re being treated with is a wet towel. On their foreheads. Like…they don’t even have an ice pack or blankets. If their first aid kit in the Command Center is that scarce, maybe it’d be a good idea to get them to a hospital?
- Didn’t fit into the main text of the review, but it’s worth noting that Tensou actually plays an integral, non-comedic role in the plot. Like, that’s kind of a big deal.
- More cool instamorphs from Jake! He’s really good at them.
- Jake says, “We’re gonna find him, right Gosei?” The response to which is utter silence. Gosei is kind of a dick.
- Helmetless fighting Troy, much like all the civilian fights, is another cool tidbit this episode throws out. It’s just fun to see different stuff.
- The rapid fire of Jake’s blasters while he’s on the ground is really cool.
- Jake’s epic words in his triumphant, heroic entrance to rescue Troy: “I gotcha covered, bro!”
- The Ultimate Legendary Megazord is so BIG!
