Could there be any more teeth puns?! Filler episodes in any Power Ranger season can be a toss up between a crap fest or an enjoyable fun romp with our normally serious Rangers. In this episode we not only got our silly filler episode but we continued to add character developing moments; in this case between Riley and Chase. Both Riley and Chase earn their own redemption moments but also gain moments which create a small dislike for them, which makes them more real! Riley is a hot head who must learn to deal with the conflicting ideals that Chase possesses. While Chase is a hotshot, he must also learn the discipline. Together the two eventually work through their issue and save the day!
Riley: We got to see a great welcome change in Riley in this episode. He finally got a voice amongst the Rangers which was something he was seriously lacking in previous episodes. While we did get a good idea of what kind of person he is in several episodes prior to this one, we never really get to know what makes him tick. In this instance, we see that Riley is disciplined and hard-working and is easily annoyed by those around him to do not demonstrate these same attributes. It was a growing experience for his character to have a conflict with Chase.
But, Riley, who the hell wears a cardigan to practice swordsmanship!
The Gold Energem: Although, I must commend the writers for putting in a throw away line about the Gold Energem, it was rather strange the way the scene completely randomly changed and then Tyler mentions it in passing. Again, I like that we got a small intro to a new storyline and a mention that the Energem was entrusted to a Pterodactyl, but I wish that it had been handled with more scenes perhaps including Kendall informing the Rangers of this new realization.
Riley & Chase’s Conflict: The scenes where Chase and Riley clash flow very nicely and the interactions between the two actually shows real conflict between friends. I will critque this however, that James Davies’ flow was much better in this scene than Michael Taber. Taber seemed to loose his steam when doing the ADR for many of the suited scenes which caused the quality of those scenes to drop slightly.
In the entirety of this episode the Chase and Riley scenes are above the best!
The Wedding Cake: I love love love any scene that involves Poisandra but when we get a scene with her and Cavity I couldn’t be happier! Poisandra is using Sledge’s bounties to perform tasks for her wedding and forces Cavity to bake a wicked wedding cake for her upcoming nuptials! What I loved the most about these scenes w as that Poisandra can be both sweet and evil. She demands a gorgeous cake but one that will make her guests remember their blissful day! I couldn’t get enough of Curio yearning for cake!
Another added bonus to this episode it was the first time that I could hear different music for Poisandra!
Cavity: I actually rather enjoyed the episode of the Sentai where this monster was unleashed. It, like the Power Rangers version, was a fun filler. However, I will say that I enjoyed this version of the monster much more. Mostly because this monster had a lot of dealings with Poisandra when it came to her wedding and this was never in the source material.
I do love that Cavity has two forms and that both were kept in this episode. I still really enjoy what this monster does because I do not believe any other monster has cast a curse like this, I mean giving people Cavities? Now that is random!
Poisandra and Fury: Another fabulous villain scene created more drama between Poisandra and Fury. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite running gags in this series so far! I love to hear Fury call Poisandra another funny pink themed name AND who doesn’t love the constant shade that Poisandra is constantly throwing at Fury! She let him eat the cursed cake!
Useless Experiment: Ok, I hope I am not the only one who did a face-palm during this scene. This was honestly the first time Dino Charge made me face-palm. I understand that Riley and Kendall are super logical, Spock-like even, and want to get the mystery solved thoroughly but Come On! Analyzing each and every piece of cake eaten, how it was eaten and whether it was the frosting or the cake seems like A HUGE WASTE OF TIME. I’m sorry, but I gotta go with Chase on this one: ya’ll are crazy.
Tooth Effect: Like last week when I mentioned the effect used for the evil Ranger’s eyes I have to mention the kick ass tooth decay effect used. The teeth appear to be a translucent purple color that glows during it’s painful moments. I gotta tell you this effect is so much better than the Kyoryuger version!
Keeper and Riley: This was another moment where Keeper totally outshines Gosei. Riley is extremely frustrated during this scene and it is clear that his anger is dulling not only his senses but his skills as well. Keeper not only gives Riley advice about his current situation but offers scenarios in which Riley can figure it out on his own! Wow. Can there ever be another mentor like Keeper?
(Cue everyone commenting ZORDON!)
Chase through the Pain: Some of my favorite moments in this episodes were almost direct translations from the Sentai but the Power Rangers actors made it work perfectly for them. Again, James Davies really capture the tooth pain not only in his on screen scenes but in his ADR as well. I loved that they kept this hilarious aspect from the Sentai but made it their own thing!
Black and Green: During this episode the Black and Green Rangers exchanged their Para and Raptor Chargers and created a new combo attack! Again, the Sentai footage is beautiful here! There’s not much that can be said here because the praise is mostly for the Sentai footage, but I loved this scene in Power Rangers!
Dino Blaze Charger: This was the first time we got to see a Dino Charger being used in the cockpit. In this case it was the Dino Blaze Charger which caused a large flame thrower out of Rexy to knock back Cavity. This enabled the 5 Rangers to be in the cockpit at once.
Full Cockpit: This too was a first for Dino Charge. This is the first time we’ve seen all 5 Rangers in the Dino Charge Megazord. Although the Sentai didn’t do a much better job, there was no real reason why they were suddenly able to join the cockpit. I suppose if you look at it there was no real restriction set forward limiting which Rangers could be inside the cockpit either. However, It was still beautiful to see this original cockpit with all 5 Rangers!
Ending Scene: The ending scene is arguably the best scene in this episode character wise. Riley and Chase actually sit down and discuss their problems and successfully resolve them as friends!
But, I have to say what I love the most is that Riley actually really opened up to Chase and revealed that he too had been judged for being different. But, I will admit it was rather funny when Chase didn’t hear a word he said!
Also, gotta love that Top Gun style ending scene!
Final Thoughts
As I said in the introduction this episode is one of Dino Charge’s first real filler episodes but the writers were able to save and/or justify this with adding in small moments that push their characters forward while respecting the Sentai footage provided.
The villains and the Rangers, character & story wise were on point in this episode and it was an all around good fun time to watch. It is rare when true filler episodes are actually interesting and continue to push the story-line forward. While “The Tooth Hurts” had it’s random issues the better parts were enough to overshadow the small things that I just nitpicked. Again, this is extraordinary to me that even a filler episode can be this entertaining!
Story: 8.5/10
Action: 9/10
Writing: 8.5/10
All Together: 8.7/10