I don’t have a whole lot to say about “Rocking and Rolling” besides that it was an episode that happened. Most of Ninja Steel’s episodes so far does leave you satisfied that the monster was destroyed, there was beautiful Sentai footage and you end up liking another Ranger just a little more. This was the case with this episode as well with Levi Weston. I felt a little bothered the last episode when Levi was just given everything, but I felt just a little closer to his character this time around. However, the vastly constant annoying “in your face” schtick of Victor and Monty this episode tarnished so much it was hard to enjoy. While certain aspects of episodes are very enjoyable, you may have noticed that in my reviews there are certain bad aspects that I cannot ignore any longer. Let’s take a look back about what was great and what was certainly not.
Say Cheeseburger!: Since the beginning, many fans have wanted the Burger Morpher to be used somehow and I personally am very happy with the way they used it. First, in Episode 8 they established that Levi loves cheeseburgers and even had a scene where he and Brody attempted to share Chili Burgers. Later in this episode when he reunites with his number one fan, Mary, he takes a selfie with her with that very same Burger Morpher with the phrase “Cheeseburger!”
As if that couldn’t be any more adorably awesome, Levi even used the “camera” once more as he defeated the smaller form of Stonedozer and took a selfie with him as he exploded. That was one of my favorite parts of his Sentai counterpart, even though I personally didn’t enjoy Ninninger. It was probably my favorite part of this entire episode.
So, I am very happy with how they handled that part of the Sentai and Levi’s character.
Levi was by far the best part of the episode as the episode attempted to focus more on him than the action or Sentai footage. I was enamored with his affection and heroism when it came to Mary. This was one of the things we were missing so far in Ninja Steel, the Rangers being heroes to children and it just felt right between Mary and Levi in this episode.
Levi and his World Tour: I’m always happy when the show allows the actors to use their other talents in the show. We’ve already seen Nico Greetham and Chrysti Ane use their dancing skills and in this episode, we got to hear Jordi Webber sing. I have to tell you that I would love to buy the song he sings as a single! It would be a waste if Saban/Power Rangers didn’t take advantage of that like they did in Samurai with “Everyday Fun”
Getting back to his world tour, it was rather predictable that the story was going this way. His fame and world tour were clearly coming to an end at some point during the series, no way he was going to be able to do both. However, it would have been interesting to see him do both. A lot of interesting story-lines seem to be dropped before they have fruition in Ninja Steel.
Before I get into the next section below, I wanted to point out that for me Victor and Monty completely ruined Levi’s performance scene for me. That scene was nearly perfect as it was. Levi was singing perfectly to a sold out crowd, Mary was loving it and everyone was happy. Then those two dolts come out and completely ruin it for annoying “comedic” effect. This scene would’ve been incredibly better had the earthquakes begun without their interference.
Victor and Monty: These two are really a hit or miss with me in several episodes. It’s only been 9 episodes so far and well they’ve been ok and as you’ve read in several of my reviews I have grown a little annoyed with them several times. However, this episode was severely grueling for me to get through simply because of these two. I understand they are the “Bulk and Skull” of this season, but good lord must they steal the spotlight at every turn? Can we have a break for a couple of episodes where their annoying escapades don’t take us away from the story? There’s just no break from them; so when I see them now all I can do is roll my eyes and wait for it to be over. First, they ruined Levi’s concert after sneaking in through dumpsters (by the way they were recycling bins that had trash thrown into them…) and then they had a scene at the end where Victor had to take the spotlight from Levi’s conference and claim he had rescued people from the earthquake in order to get his 50th trophy.
I just want to experience the Rangers, for the love of god! It’s bad enough that Brody takes attention from the others (which he tried to do with Levi; luckily it didn’t take…) but now we have even more hogs taking away attention from the other 5 Rangers….
I think it’s time we put these two characters aside for a bit and let the actual Rangers be on Power Rangers! They are wearing incredibly thin.
Stonedozer: Stonedozer was actually a pretty formidable monster as most of the “monsters of the day” have been so far this season. His earthquakes actually caused quite a stir not only among the Rangers’ newest member but it also destroyed the stadium we’ve all known for years. (haha, I’m sure it’ll be rebuilt in a few days).
In this episode, we also got our first look at the upgraded “Basherbots” which are just Kudabots without their hats, which apparently makes them stronger….
Levi’s Fight Scenes: Levi was given more chances to shine towards the end of Stonedozer’s attack on the city! We got a glance into the deeper power of the Rockstorm Guitar and his new powerful Storm Star in both Lightning and Tornado Mode! The fight scenes and Sentai footage in these scenes were just beautiful and again I was glad they kept in the Burger Morpher selfie at Stonedozer’s end! I was also happy to see Levi and Brody using the Ninja Clone Star together instead of Brody using it alone. One head is better than one!
Levi’s New Zords: I’m still not feeling the way that Levi’s Zords were unlocked. This was the perfect way to unlock them, he had just saved Mary and destroyed Stonedozer. I mean, how easy would it have been to make his Zord Stars glow and say “Hey, look what you’ve unlocked!” instead of just handing him Zord Stars in the previous episode as if he had done nothing? It just seems so lazy.
As most people would agree, the mecha in Ninninger is ridiculous looking. So, it’s hard to review these sections of the episodes because I have seen them before. The Robo Rider Zord is such a different Zord it’s kinda hard to like it in the rider form. I did prefer it in the Bull Rider Megazord form instead. Plus, all of the neon stars and guitar shapes in the background when they transform is beautiful, so watching that was the best part!
All together, Levi’s multiple Burger selfies and the fight/zord footage was the best part of this episode which I assume was what the show runners were going for. Sadly, Victor and Monty continue to slow the show and bog it down with their annoying slapstick. It was fun in the beginning but has continued to become a nuisance. They are pushing them on us too much; even Bulk and Skull who were there every day of the week (if you watched in the 90s) weren’t this annoying. I love the actors (Chris Reid & Caleb Bendit) and I want their characters to actually have purpose.
Ninja Steel’s return was not what was expected, which strangely was what was expected from the fanbase. Viewership is down and fans are slowly leaving the show and this makes me very sad. I want the quality of the show to succeed and for that to happen, we as fans must be vocal. Personally, I have never been a person to leave something they love because quality has declined, it can always get better. If I had quit after Overdrive, where would I be? I would never have seen my favorite Season; Jungle Fury. I recommend Staying the Path.
I love Power Rangers and I hope you do too!