Another fabulous entry in the Dino Charge library! “Break Out” continues the tradition of successfully intermingling both action and story-line into one epic episode! We not only find out Fury’s secret but a new Ranger is revealed! Plus we get our first glimpse of Prince Phillip, slated to be the Graphite Ranger in upcoming episodes! I was not only impressed with the Sentai footage during this episode but I was also impressed with the unmorphed fights, original footage, the scenes from the past and the brilliant acting of Brennan Mejia and Davi Santos throughout the entire episode! Let’s go over the hot points!
Sir Ivan of Zandar: In the beginning of the episode we get a small story flashback, as told by Kendall, telling of Ivan’s heroic efforts to protect Prince Colin. Eventually he finds an Energem and is attacked by a cloaked Fury. As the battle continues Kendall tells the story that Ivan and the cloaked figure were never heard of again and Prince Colin found the Energem naming it “The Stone of Zandar” hence its current placement in the royal treasures. I absolutely loved this back story and it was a perfect addition to what we already knew from the previous episode. The direction of these scenes, along with the excellently timed explosions, really made an interesting start.
Prince Phillip’s Entrance: I loved Prince Phillip from the moment he sashayed his crew up into the museum to reclaim his family’s treasures. Jarred Blakiston played a perfect snotty Prince with a fabulous regal sounding accent and a flair for style! My favorite moment has to be his first interaction with Koda where he slyly insults the caveman calling him filthy and shoe-less.
Koda & Prince Phillip: As I said above, not only was it my favorite moment then, simply any moments between the Prince and Koda were incredibly memorable. Whether it was from Koda’s adorable innocent faces or the fact that he gave his character incredible redemption. Koda took a lot of guff from Prince Phillip in the beginning and yet Koda completely ignores that and continues to protect him furiously anyways! If that does not cement Koda as one of your favorites this season than I don’t know what will! The scenes with the two of them in the forest was simply…dare I say, Golden?
Unmorphed Fights: Many of the fight scenes in this episode are fantastic, but besides the scene above, they were Sentai Footage. Which makes this scene stand out all the more. The Rangers, and Koda amazingly, take on the Vivix unmorphed in a beautiful fight sequence. Now that’s how we do Power Rangers!
Poisandra & Curio in Battle: It was for mere moments but finally Poisandra took out her epic heart ax and took on the Rangers! The scenes where she and Curio take on Riley was so awesome and I hope to see more of these! Not to mention that brilliant moment when Shelby didn’t need a weapon to take on the seaweed heads!
Dino Blaze Charger & Dino Stretch Charger: It was great to see the Dino Chargers in action once again, first with the Dino Blaze Charger. Second, Tyler used the Dino Stretch Charger on Rexy to cause his neck to stretch so far that the Ptera Charge Zord could not escape. Goofy but still awesome to watch!
Ivan’s Reveal: It was fantastic to get this reveal after what felt like a really super mega long wait! Of course this has to be one of the coolest reveals so far, and this early, in Dino Charge! It was rather dramatic to see Ivan flourish from Fury’s body and finally be released and revealed to the rest of the team! Epic footage added with a story original to Power Rangers at least.
When it comes to Ivan, I love the way the character is being played so far. He is giving us Knight-realness and staying true to how the footage of KyoryuGold can go from here. Finally, tis my turn to morph! Cheesey but wonderful, just like this series!
Gold Ranger Debut: The original footage here mixed with the Sentai footage was rather beautiful including all the Zandar Thunder effects. The only thing missing would’ve been hearing “Go Gold Ranger” from the Zeo days like we saw in Nick’s promo vid. It was pointed out by a few as well that in the new footage the Gold Ranger looks a little washed out and not metallic like in the Sentai, while I agree that this is true I don’t think it takes away from at all from the new footage. It was just too great to watch!
Tyler’s Reaction: I loved Brennan Mejia in this episode, he really showed a lot of emotion in his face during the reveal. You could actually hear the heartbreak in his voice when he realizes that the figure is not his Dad. Kudos to Brennan for bringing more life to Tyler. I predict more heartache as the search for his father continues.
Ptera Charge Gone Good: Again, you can’t critique Sentai footage too much but the change-over from Evil to Good was fantastic to see and I am not disappointed in these cockpits at all! I will miss that cape though.
Ivan & Phillip: Ivan immediately pledges his allegiance the Zandar Royal family and actually bows to Prince Phillip upon meeting him. I feel a lot of these scenes are upcoming and I can’t wait to see how these two characters play out as the episodes roll out!
Final Thoughts
As I said in the opening, Dino Charge continues to not only keep my attention but keep me entertained as well! I am very happy with the way the two new introductions were handled and I can’t wait to see Phillip morph in future episodes! It is becoming rather hard to find critiques in this series so far that really bother me. I can’t find a whole lot and this is coming from someone who has harshly criticized Samurai and Megaforce. But, I honestly think that nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking gets me no where and in a sense is a bore to read. It is awesome to finally have a series where I don’t need or even want to find these problems, because I don’t see them anyways! Enjoy this series, who knows how long it’ll last!
Story: 10/10
Action: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
All Together: 10/10