After a few days of feeling under the weather I finally got the chance to sit down and write down my thoughts for “The Ranger Ribbon”. I have to say that after watching it a few times and taking the story in I rather enjoyed this episode compared to the others before it. In this episode we had a pretty funny monster of the day, an intriguing father-son dynamic focus story on Preston and Victor & Monty finally took a backseat. I was happy that this was a Preston focus episode and his story did not disappoint me and neither did Peter Sudarso who continues to be a star in Ninja Steel. Let’s take a look back at some of my more favorite moments in this episode!
The Ribbon Tree: I was very interested in the idea of the Ribbon Tree from the moment we got descriptions of the episodes. The idea of it is rather whimsical and I love what it stands for, not only for friendship but as we come to see in the episode it also has a strong meaning for Preston and his family as well.
I also loved that all of the Rangers, including a large group of protesters from Summer Cove, were very passionate to keep the tree from being cut down and the story-line here was very “Mighty Morphin-esque” without being to cliché. In my opinion anyways.
It was also cute to see Zoe Robins and Nico Greetham in the tree together, so adorable!
Preston and his Father: While I was not a very big fan of the actor who played Mr. Tien, I was very happy with the dynamic between him and Preston. From the very beginning you could tell that Preston had a slight fear of his Father; or a deep disconnection that must have happened when his mother died. Again, the dynamic between the characters and even the two actors was there and it was very believable to me.
You can see the pain, sadness, disappointment, anger and many more feelings in Preston’s face as he takes on his Father during the debate for the tree (and in the SUV) and I give Peter Sudarso credit for achieving this. Seriously, watch his face this episode, the emotions are all there. It’s almost as if Mr. Tien was out to emasculate Preston at times.
Mr. Tien was also very passionate in his anger, passion and greed (like, when he takes the chainsaw). However, the actor who played him did not make it believable and in fact almost made the character comedic instead of a foreboding father figure like say, Mr. Collins from Time Force. In this case, the actor failed to make his part of the scenes work. Luckily for us Peter Sudarso was able to hold the scenes together and make them work tremendously. I especially loved the Koda pose that Preston made to protect his father (BTW, I am loving these Yoshi/Peter connections they are making)
My favorite part was when the blue ribbon fluttered down and revealed that Mr. and Mrs. Tien had placed a ribbon on Preston’s birthday; and on that day his heart grew 3 sizes! I was also happy that in the end Mr. Tien turned the Tree’s area into a park for everyone to enjoy. A happy ending for both him and his son! I especially loved the Koda pose that Preston made to protect his father (BTW, I am loving these Yoshi/Peter connections they are making).
Trapsaw: It was kinda lame for there to be repeating monsters already, even if it was “Ripperat’s Brother” but we all know this is because of Sentai footage. However, this monster of the day still made me laugh with his idiocy. Each time the traps didn’t work it actually made me laugh, which surprised me. So, even though it was a Ninninger monster suit reused I have to say at least Trapsaw made me laugh which is more than I can say for Ripperat.
Brody Vs Ripcon, Again: Here we are back with Brody and Ripcon’s rivalry and at this point we can see that Brody’s lust to destroy Ripcon is growing stronger; and so is he. Sadly for little rat bait, he’s not strong enough just yet to beat him. While he’s bested him before, cutting off one of his horns, he wasn’t strong enough to beat him this time. The Sentai footage here is still beautiful, but it does seem that Ripcon’s rivalry with Brody is coming to an end very soon.
Aiden Returns: Two scenes with a mysterious new visitor happened towards the episode. After the Rangers destroyed Trapsaw they flipped from the Megazord and as they de-morphed a figure in the shadows watched as they did. Later, after leaving the park naming they run into this man who introduces himself to Brody as Aiden! The two quickly embrace in a beautiful brotherly reunion! The look on Brody’s face was precious, it was almost heartbreaking!
Or is it a little fishy….hmmm…why was he hiding in the shadows watching them?
Victor & Monty: What made this episode so balanced to me was that Victor and Monty had two moments of funny the entire episode but they were quick, clean and didn’t overshadow the rest of the episode. This is how they should be handled throughout the series. I was able to enjoy the episode without rolling my eyes waiting for them to go away and get back to the story, this episode I was able to get back to laughing at them too. This was much better, we got to see Preston use his magic on a hose and blast them with it and then an abandoned trap of Trapsaw’s went wrong on them as well in moments probably less than a minute. Much better!
I would say that “The Ranger Ribbon” is a pretty decent example of what Ninja Steel has to offer so far. It has a good balance of emotional story, focus on 1 Ranger, Ranger VS Villain Action, a good balance of Victor and Monty and a good cliffhanger at the end to keep you waiting for the next episode!
I can’t wait to see what happens with Brody and Aiden!