“All Hail Prince Vekar” was a pretty fantastic episode given that it was the destruction of my Favorite Villain this year. Like the previous episode there were lots of events going on in this episode including a Villain obtaining a Megazord, a battle between Noah and Argus and the Final Megazord Combination!
As usual with Super Megaforce we are given awesome Sentai footage, actual Fantastic Original Footage but are left in the cold when it comes to story and actual accountable writing. Something we should be used to by now, right?
The “Day Off” is another trope in Power Rangers that I can never understand. Sure, I get that the Rangers need a good day off after all their hard work, but is it possible for Power Rangers to take a day off? As soon as something goes wrong in the city the Rangers have to respond, regardless. Therefore, it makes no sense. Downtime makes a little more sense considering it is when no Monsters are attacking but the Rangers must still be vigilant. This makes more sense than arbitrarily giving them a Day Off.
I will say that it was adorable when Jake begged to take the Skyship out for a spin!
Aboard the Skyship: I was actually proud of the production for using scenes like this where the Rangers are aboard the Skyship. Sadly we never really get to see inside the ship, save for the Megazord innards from “United As One” but these scenes were really welcome. I love seeing the Rangers in the crows nest and interacting in the sky! Those scenes should’ve been more abundant in this season. We would’ve gotten to know the Rangers a lot more during these last two years than we have before.
The Armada Megazord: I have always been a fan of Evil Zords or Villain run Mecha. It was especially interesting in SPD where a good portion of the monsters all had their own Mecha to contend with. In this episode Prince Vekar is given a Megazord by his Father the Emperor after proving him right on his thoughts about him. Obviously Prince Vekar would pilot the new Megazord! Plus, his beautiful face adorned the chest of the Mighty Megazord.
The Sentai footage from Gokaiger where the Megazord’s reflection on the building was an amazing shot I want to see more of! I was in awe of the Megazord’s bow and arrow, the crazy vortex blast and it’s amazing speed! This Megazord was able to knock the Rangers out of their Zords, something that has happened before, but I love those types of scenes. It displays that the Villains are a threat but that only seems to be shown here with main Villains. Earlier it was with Malkor and Bigs but later it will be with Vekar and later, Vrak!
The Flashback: When villains are given a backstory I absolutely love it! Although, we didn’t get any interaction with Vekar and Vrak we at least got some sort of backstory as to why the brothers may be rivals. Apparently, Vrak is the favorite and Vekar is a bumbling oaf who needs to be looked after.
The Emperor put Damaras in charge of Vekar’s safety, a job that he will take issue with in future episodes.
The Red Guards: I was waiting for these two to be used because they were so menacing in Gokaiger. I was not disappointed in these Villains as they proved to be just what I wanted them to be; They are epic because they are the main guards of the Emperor and they have a massively powerful attack with their twin staffs. They sure gave the Rangers a run for their money and the Sentai footage looked beautiful!
Red Wolf Warrior Morph: It was a little strange to see this key used considering “Extra Hero” keys have not even been established yet. As well, Orion mentioned that he was using Legendary 6th Ranger Mode, BUT Wolf Warrior is not a 6th Ranger. That designation goes to Solaris Knight (as he is pictured on Orion’s Gold Armor). As many of you know Gokaiger gave us a guideline for how to consider this. Wolf Warrior is classified as a “Extra Hero” along the lines of Sentinel Knight, Kat Ranger or the Blue Senturian.
Not only that but this will be the first and only key used for Extra Heroes when so many more awesome Keys could’ve been used throughout this season. It was again sad that this scene was so edited since there was a full-team “Extra-Hero” change in the Sentai. Another loss of potential.
Noah VS Argus: These scenes made me feel two different things in this episode. While I feel that these scenes were so fantastic to view, it made no sense in the grand scheme of the story. Argus and Noah have interacted one other time during Super Megaforce and it was never established that they had a rivalry going on. During the dialogue in this scene you can tell that the two characters have dealt with each other before and have some underlying vendetta against each other. A simple few scenes between the lines or in previous episodes with Argus taunting Noah would’ve established this connection. Sadly we didn’t get it.
However, I will say that the Original footage used for this fight scene was amazing and totally captured the moment we were there to see. Noah’s suit melting away as he fights off Argus’ attack was a moment that Super Megaforce will go down in the books for! Fabulous effect and an awesome performance from John Mark Loudermilk.
Ultimate Legendary Megazord: It’s the combination we’ve all been waiting for! The last and the best! There is not much Megazord footage that can top the fight between the Armada Megazord and the Ultimate Legendary Megazord! How can you not love this Megazord combo!? A giant flair in the chest, twin swords in the helmet AND bullet fingertips that somehow remind me of the Dragonzord! Love!
Prince Vekar’s Body: Some of us were very shocked to see that this scene was used from Gokaiger. Damaras holding the lifeless body of Prince Vekar made it into the US Adaptation, a thought no one figured would happen. I for one applaud this use because these sort of scenes make me love Sentai Villains and Power Ranger Villains! It is small gems like this that make me love Power Rangers more because it doesn’t have to be about the kids all the time!
Final Thought
This episode was full of great footage with the Battle Scenes, Megazord Battles & Plot changing developments. However, that is again overshadowed by plot holes and unexplained events that sour the epic-ness of what is happening at the precipice of this season. If we are talking about the show being pretty and having amazing footage most of that is owed to the Sentai. I can say that in this episode the original footage shined from the picnic atop the Skyship to Noah’s suit melting away.
I wish there had not been so many plot holes and unexplained throw-backs because it would have made this episode a little more enjoyable. However, I am giving it one of the highest scores for a Super Megaforce episode because it was the Grand Sendoff of Prince Vekar.
“Now, we avenge him!”
Scores:
Story: 9/10
Action: 10/10
Monsters: 10/10
All Together: 9.6/10
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