Well I will say that “When Logic Fails” is not the best episode to make a triumphant return, I still really enjoyed the fun in this episode! While this episode can be considered a filler we did get a lot of plot developing details. Riley shined for the first time, in what seemed like a long while, a New Zord was revealed and we are a step closer to the Gold Ranger! Fury’s story is a little more detailed and now we know that the energy inside of him can charge up a Dino Charger AND the Rangers proved their friendship, though short-lived, is very very strong. Dino Charge is back and I could not be happier! Let’s get back into the review swing and discuss “When Logic Fails”
Fury, Poisandra & Sledge: The trio dynamic between Poisandra, Sledge and Fury continues to breathe heavy during this episode. Strangely, Fury is desperate to please Sledge with recharging the Ptera Charger, even if it means disobeying Sledge’s orders. Poisandra and Fury’s jealousy over each other continues to bring light to these villains, and I absolutely love this dynamic we are getting with these three! Towards the end of the episode, it seems as if Fury is now on Sledge’s good side but Poisandra is not happy about that! This rivalry is no where near over!
Riley’s Logic: Riley proved himself a powerfully logical Ranger during this episode. Suddenly, we are shown that Riley can deduce math and geometry equations in his head, shown with green graphs and lines. It was a little strange in the beginning with the marble demonstration, foreshadow for the final arc of the episode, he used to show the Rangers the paths the villains are taking. Each path leads to the same end. Taking Keeper’s ideas, eh?
Koda’s Hunger: During the entire episode Koda is starvin! These moments could not be more adorable and totally welcome to the feel of this season and Dino Charge as a whole! First, Koda is foiled when the Pizza is suddenly destroyed by Puzzler and then he struggles, through the cold, to get his cookie! At this point, how can you not love Koda? Yoshi Sudarso has pegged down the adorable and confused faces that make Koda who he is and with each episode I cannot love Koda more!
Puzzler: I really rather enjoyed this monster of the day! For one the voice work was perfect for this type of trickster monster but Puzzler was pretty goofily cocky. After trapping the Rangers in the abandoned lab he retreats to the roof where he sips Pina Coladas and dons sunglasses! I found Puzzler pretty hilarious especially the scenes where he talked to himself, annoyed at the kids who made stupid chess moves! The one-liners, while exhausting with other monsters, was rather refreshing with Puzzler! I giggled a lot when this monster was on the screen and now I want his figure even more!
Fury’s Recharge Machine: This was a rather interesting addition to the story! Fury orders Wrench to use a strange machine connected to him to release the strange golden energy within to charge up the Ptera Charger. Without the Gold Energem this seems to be the only way AND it worked. Did anyone else have flashbacks to MMPR during these scenes? Not because the story is similar, but look at those wonky x-mas lights as the machine! While some may call that lazy, I found it was very “Power Rangers” for the machine to be this simple!
On Location: The new location in this episode was perfect for the story being told. The Rangers were able to run around endlessly, in the abandoned lab which did look like an asylum for some reason. The direction style here was rather awesome as well. The camera angles really helped the illusion that the hallways and doors were being manipulated. Shelby’s running up and down the stairs reminded me of a lot of horror movies I’ve seen with the same illusion and that only made me happy for the creative team on Dino Charge!
The Freezing Effect: I am loving the effects being used in Dino Charge. The freeze effects were rather believable and as the Rangers themselves became colder it rather drove the point home when the camera filter slowly turned to an icy blue. I am just in love with the art direction of this episode!
Riley’s Marbles: Riley uses his keen mind to calculate a plan while distracting Puzzler with a game of chess. Using those random but effective green graphs he was able to calculate the trajectory of marbles through the ventilation shafts. With his plan, the marbles bounced off the walls of the tunnels and landed right in front of each Ranger. As the Rangers caught on they were able to climb into the shafts and rejoin Riley for the final show down! I loved this idea, it both showed Riley’s final logical plan and shows that this show can have good writing and ideas that make sense! The Rangers did not simply find Riley, a plan was formulated and with critical thinking, Riley was able to save the day!
Koda’s Finisher: I don’t tend to have issues with Dino Charge, and this isn’t even an issue, I just thought I’d mention the only real flaw in this episode. The Sentai footage. The entire episode is focused on Riley and his logical mind and yet Koda gets the finisher at the end. Now, I AM REALLY NITPICKING, but I had to mention it. Obviously there was a reason in Kyoryuger why KyoryuBlue got the finisher, but it just didn’t make sense here even though it was still cool!
The Evil Ptera Zord: The Ptera Zord made its debut this episode, exploding from a volcano and arriving to Fury’s will. I have to say I am a fan of Evil Zords and the times Rangers have had to overpower or convince the powerful Zord to join the team. In this episode we see the Ptera Zord in the Pterodactyl form with its badass sunglasses! (or visor) Simply going off this episode I cannot wait to see what Fury will be able to do with the Ptera Charger and then a new form coming next episode 😉
Friendship & Teamwork: While we are only 9 episodes in at this point I will note that the bond and friendship between Rangers is already strong and believable. One thing I love about this cast and the 5 together is that I actually believe they are friends. It doesn’t seem like a fake tacked on friendship we saw in Samurai or Megaforce, no! This feels real to me, that Riley made the tough decision and focused on saving his friends with his plan instead of fighting the monster alone. THIS, is by definition the point of Power Rangers. Friendship and Teamwork. Something that, again, was lost during Samurai and Megaforce.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve said throughout this article. While it seems like a filler episode, I was rather entertained the entire time. Whether it was from Koda’s hunger, Riley’s logical steps to defeat the monster, Puzzler’s comedy or watching the Rangers almost freeze to death going in a circle; I just really enjoyed the episode! Not only for those reasons, but for the aforementioned reasons of Friendship and Teamwork. That is what this show is about, especially Teamwork. The team is not just about the Red Ranger or any other one color. While Riley worked out his plans, his Friends were always on his mind when calculating his plans. Riley’s plans to throw his marbles into the shafts to give his friends a tiny clue on how to escape was not only brilliant for his character but showed brilliant writing as well. Kudos Mr. Lynn!
Story: 8.5/10
Action: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
All Together: 8.8/10