Keep it simple stupid, that’s what I always say and this is no better exemplified than with the third episode of Dino Super Charge. While the first two episodes were sub par at best I believe that we finally got back to the Dino Charge I fell in love with during “Nightmare in Amber Beach”
Actually funny comedy and plot sense returned during this episode and it was a most welcome shift in tone as well. Strangely, this episode seemed tonally different than the previous two and I could not be happier!
Nightmare: I wanted to talk about this monster because honestly when Kyoryuger first aired I was pretty damn sure that this monster would not be used because of it’s extremely goofy looking appearance. Funnily enough, it was used anyways with a hilarious dream themed episode.
What made this monster even more funny was it’s sheepish nature complete with a laugh that sounded eerily like Spongebob!
Mr. Watkins: I have to say that as soon as James Gaylyn walked into the scene this episode was redeemed! Every scene this man was in he stole the show away from the Rangers. I was very much hoping for a character that would be different than his previous roles in RPM, SPD and Ninja Storm and luckily that’s exactly what we got!
I was hoping his new character would be full of pep and light up the screen! The dynamic between Shelby and her father was very stressed and you could see that in their scenes together, Shelby has issues with her Dad. It is clear that this is an undertone to her character which thankfully was already presented to us in previous episodes.
This just proves that James Gaylyn could appear in any Power Rangers series and win!
Serving A New Master: In the previous two episodes it was never really touched on that the villains have reservations when serving a new master. It was barely touched on in the first episode, but I would love for them to revisit apprehension when serving Heckyl. When Fury calls him “Master Heckyl” you can almost tell that he definitely does not have his full loyalty. I would love to see an episode where the villains end up turning on Heckyl!
“No Sleep” Montage: Montages are always funny and when they do them in Power Rangers it’s even more hilarious! This montage may go down as one of my favorites as the Rangers attempt to stay awake! Chase and Koda attempt to stay awake playing video games and Ivan and Riley practice their sword work!
Heckyl Gets Caught: Have you ever had a moment where you watch TV and just keep screaming at the idiots? Well the first two episodes of Dino Super Charge were like that to me. That’s why I was so happy that Heckyl was finally found out and held at blaster point! It was even hilariously adorable to watch him squirm and try to find a way out of Shelby’s revelation. I kept looking at Kendall during this time of revelation looking for some sort of “Oh you got me! How did I fall for that?!” sort of face! It was kinda there, but not really. I really wanted Kendall to kick herself for not seeing it sooner!
I know Kendall is smarter than this and I really feel that these last 3 episodes have denigrated my opinion of her.
Riley On The Side: Riley, as I said in a previous review, has issues holding onto plot. I noticed that when his plot is saddled to another Ranger it’s much better served. Riley got a tiny bit of the attention in this episode in both the Sentai footage and the original footage. Hypnotized Riley was pretty kick ass to look at and he even got a small epic moment towards the end of the realizations!
Shelby’s Lead: As always it’s such a pleasure to see Female Rangers take the lead in these episodes and Shelby has once again taken center stage in not only an unmorphed fight but in the newer original morphed footage in the cockpit. Pink Ranger is the second focus to use the Dino Super Drive Charger!
Final Thoughts
After the previous two episodes I was still apprehensive about going into this episode, especially with the random suited crazy monster. But, I was pleasantly surprised that the Dino Charge I knew and loved was under there all along! The comedic timing of not only the characters center stage, but of the actors in the background were on par. Any scene with James Gaylyn and Camille Hyde stole the show and really made this episode shine not only above the first two but in Dino Charge as a whole.
Filler, but with a purpose; Character Development! That’s why I love this series and knew we’d be back on top after a few tries 😀
Story: 9/10
Action: 10/10
Writing: 8.5/10
All Together: 9.1/10