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Preface
So, Sage has ‘failed’ her exam.
And, what do we do whenever we fail an exam?
We panic!
The Cover
On top, we got Sage seemingly running away from Tula as she morphs while at the bottom she’s hanging out casually with the librarian. The top half is the one that’s going to draw everyone in.
The Story
Upon coming back from her first failed trial, Sage immediately runs off crying to the underground caves. The librarian, Nika, comes down to comfort her, reflecting on his time as a student at the academy. Nika tells her that although he passed his trial, he ultimately chose not to be a Ranger and that Sage always has a choice to be what she wants to be, even if she doesn’t see how special she really is.
Sage soon spends time with all of her classmates, spending quality time with them, before silently dreading her situation and wondering what she did wrong to get the green coin. In a special remedial class for people who failed the first trail, Sage ends up accidentally contacting her father briefly, trying to contact a previous Ranger. Although nothing of value is said, it still leaves Sage frazzled by the experience as she realized that her father wasn’t at their home.
In the dining hall the next day, Tula picks up that something is wrong with her and invites her to the Battle Matrix, a massive fight simulator where she shows off her Ranger suit and her skills by fighting a holographic Goldar.
Sage tries to jump in, thinking that Tula was in real danger. Tula immediately changes the simulation to something a lot calmer for Sage to calm down. The older cadet tells Sage that she needs to learn to trust herself so that she can trust the people around her. But, the conversation takes an odd turn when Tula begins to ask questions about Tula’s father and why he hates the Ranger Academy so much.
Soon, Sage learns that Parent Weekend is coming up at the Ranger Academy. It creates a stir with the rest of her classmates, talking about whether their parents will show up or not. Sage doesn’t believe that her dad will come due to obvious reasons.
Later that week, Sage overhears a heated argument between Mathis and Tula with Mathis saying “she doesn’t deserve this.” Sage tries to confront Tula about this, but Tula throws it back at her, demanding to know what happened at the First Trial. Sage finally breaks down, not wanting to lie or feel scared anymore, showing off her green coin.
Ending Thoughts
With Darkest Hour going all out, I must say I do appreciate this series for what this series is doing.
This series isn’t about action and if it ever gets there, it will takes its sweet time getting there. Instead, it focuses on probably its strongest asset: its characters. Even from what I’ve said before, how the characters feel generic at times and some of them start to blend together, ultimately, they do feel like real teenagers. Real kids that want to be enthusiastic about joining this spectacular and adventurous world of fantasy, but have doubts and fears that they’re not good enough. They’re anxious and fear asking for help to avoid getting into trouble.
It’s especially clear in Sage’s personality and story here. Since there are no Green Rangers on campus, she thinks she’s done something wrong, that whatever happens with it will make her stand out and draw the attention necessary to kick her out of school. She tries to keep it a secret, but it’s clear to everyone around her that she’s not coping with it well. It’s that pressure that causes her to confide in Tula the secret of her powers. Whether or not that is a good idea is something that remains to be seen…
Ranger Academy #5 is the calm before the storm, letting Sage wonder if she’s green with evil before Parents Weekend.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Ok, we get reference to an Alpha 67. The most advanced Alpha we’ve gotten before was the Alpha 55, the one created for the Hyperforce Rangers in 3015. So, yep, we’re really far into the future. Gotta wonder if Alpha 67 is the last one of the whole universe in that case.
- About Tula’s morph. First off, the transformation itself. Not that majestic. I hope when Sage does it for real, it’s presented so much better. Secondly, this wasn’t conveyed before, but the mouth on her helmet actually moves with her. It’s a choice that hasn’t been done before for… well, any Ranger or Toku character really. It’s something that can be done in this format and can justify showing that becoming a Ranger is an extension of yourself, but at the same time, I’d have to see it to get used to it. It’s kind of Batman Beyond having a mouth in costume if you can make sense of that.
- Teacher: “For next class, sketch out a formation suited for avoiding long range fireball attacks.” Ok, here’s a picture of me running away like a coward.
- There was a quick hint that we might see more Rangers at this Parents Weekend. While I do believe the overuse of cameos is hurting the overall mystery of the story, I am curious as to whether or not these will be cameos of actual Rangers we know from the show. Because if they are the parents, you can make up a bunch of secret love children for any Ranger couple from the franchise…
