As someone who hasn’t seen any of the rips from other countries, I must say it felt like a long wait for the Graphite Ranger to arrive. While “Rise of a Ranger” was not a gigantic amazing intro to the Graphite Ranger, it was a rather heartfelt episode for both Chase and Phillip. With some awesome original footage sprinkled in for good measure! Let’s take a look back at some of the moments that struck out to me!
The Graphite Energem: I did find it rather interesting that Prince Phillip and the Kingdom of Zandar were so easily able to find an Energem while Fury had been searching for Millions of years. However, it was still rather an interesting way to be discovered and true to the Phillip character. Plus, how funny was that scene when Phillip attempted to morph with just the Energem!
Poisandra’s Attack: This part was rather interesting to me! I loved how Poisandra got a little bit of her own medicine after teasing Fury. This tentacle living in Solitary Confinement could be a rather interesting development in future episodes. I also enjoyed how Fury was able to use this attack to gain Sledge’s favor once more! Very smart! But, I still love Poisandra. I just do.
The Dance: Watching Chase watch his sister dance was very gratifying. You could see the love and pride in his face. I also rather enjoyed the dance that the visitors performed for the museum as well!
Chase’s Sister, Chloe: I will say they picked a rather adorable actress to play Chase’s sister and the two actors seemed to mesh well together. She is definitely an improvement over past Kiwi actors cast as children. First, the issue with most of the others was that their accents were so deep it was hard to believe, (Young Antonio anyone?) obviously it doesn’t matter here because Chase is already a Kiwi and therefore his sister is too.
But, seeing these two play off each other really had me believing they were siblings and the heartache on Chase’s face every time he had to leave her was deep!
Gold Vs Fury: An old rivalry reemerges and this fight scene between Fury and Ivan was fantastic!
Prince Phillip Tries To Help: It was pretty random when Phillips robot friend just showed up and started screwing up the fight. I love how cute it is that Phillip wants to help but you could see the Rangers get annoyed as it did more damage than help. Still hilarious to watch though!
Phillip & Koda: Another duo I’ve grown to love in Dino Charge is when Phillip and Koda interact. It’s always an interesting scene IMO even when they are sitting, eating and talking about random things. Also, how hilarious was it when Phillips fan asked for his autograph and then was shuffled away! 😛
Phillip’s Deeds: Phillip so desperately wanted to unlock the power of his Energem! The good deeds montage was actually pretty good and I was happy to see the events unfold and all his fan mail, even though you gotta admit doing the charity was more for his own gain. However, I never really saw an issue with that. His heart was in the right place.
Chloe In Danger: Another pretty good performance from the actress playing Chloe, Mila Simons. She did a really good job, along with Chase’s brotherly concern and the heroic scene of rescue by Phillip; it was entertaining and believable.
Bonding With The Energem: Phillip looked like he had a bit of a seizure when bonded with the Energem but subsequent scenes prove more epic as the gem began to glow in his hands! Sparkles! The happiness on his face now that it had finally bonded with him was true magic!
Graphite Morph: I was a little miffed that, while still awesome that 7 Rangers morph together, I kinda wanted a solo morph for the Graphite Ranger. However, like I said it was still amazing to see 7 Rangers morph at the same time so I am willing to overlook that and hope for a solo morph in the future at some point!
Pachy Zord: After last week’s random intro to the Pachy Zord it was great to see it in full glory and all alone attacking the Vivizords! The zord is actually pretty cool with it’s hard tail and little construction hat. I mean, how can you not love that?
Original Fight Scene: I am just loving how much original footage we are getting! While many complained about the miscolor of the Graphite Rangers’ sleeves, I found the change rather welcoming. Of course there is a clear difference between Sentai footage but it honestly looks pretty great regardless. Plus the fight scene with Phillip and the robot was fantastic!
Setting Up New Zealand: Could it be a set up for future episodes? I think it may 😉
Final Thoughts
Not much to nitpick here. It was a good episode with a solid story and great action! The perfect formula! We saw some interesting developments for Phillip and I hope we see a lot more from him in the coming episodes. We also got to see a softer side to Chase, which may have been missing from the last few episodes. He gets to be a softie with his sister and these scenes were more than welcome!
Story: 9/10
Action: 9/10
Writing: 8.5/10
All Together: 9/10