Episode 217 - Alarmed and Dangerous

Everything about this episode is bad and wrong. BAD AND WRONG!

So it starts out with Kat, apparently student teaching (NOT POSSIBLE), handing out a test to Justin and a bunch of kids who are definitely NOT freshmen in high school. TSB feels this is summer school.

Two big guys try to get Justin to show them his test. He won't cheat. They get very loud and blatant about the desire to cheat and Ms. Applebee boots them AND Justin out of the classroom. Oh Ms. Applebee, we love you, but do not punish the kid for saying "No". They must wait in the hallway until the test is over. Bully-With-Bad-Hair gets fresh and uses Justin's shirt to slide him up the wall. Bully-With-Great-Teeth mocks.

And then there is a fire alarm! Clearly pulled by the bullies. The firemen give the "False alarms keep us from real fires!" lesson and this is really not the episode for that, show. This is supposed to be the bully episode. Do not confuse your Very Special Episode messages, mkay?

At the Youth Center, Adam and Tanya are training. Tommy is beating the shit out of a punching bag. TANYA ACTUALLY PAYS FOR SOMETHING! That's two episodes in a row! The fire alarm goes off and Lt. Stone lets everybody stay where they are so he can go check it out. Then another alarm goes off at the school. Ms. Applebee sends everybody home until they can figure out what's going on with the alarm. Meanwhile, the bullies muss Justin's hair a bit.

Fire alarms are going off around town. The rangers chase them down. Justin tries to talk to Kat about the bullies and says he might fight them. She says that's a bad idea. Then they discover it's Piranhatrons setting off the alarms and they rush to the Power Chamber to tell the others. Nobody knows what is going on until Demetria points out how confused they are which is exactly how Divatox wants them to feel. YOU THINK?

So they split up to find the detonator. Justin gets caught in the park by the bullies. Bully-With-Bad-Hair pushes him around and actually kind of hits him a little, and then Justin throws him against a table and climbs over him with his fist up. But he doesn't hit him. Instead he just says he doesn't want to fight and runs off. They chase! Bully-With-Great-Teeth points out that he's fast and they've lost him. Bully-With-Bad-Hair suggests they split up. Justin has climbed a tree and as soon as he's noticed by Bully-With-Bad-Hair, he slips and starts to fall. He teleports out and the branches fall, which the bullies poke up, but don't seem to care that THE KID JUST VANISHED IN FRONT OF THEM.

At the Power Chamber, Kat lectures Justin about using his powers for personal gain. Frankly, I think not killing himself falling out of a tree justifies the use of the powers. He mentions the bullies and instead of being HELPFUL, Kat tells him he's smart enough to figure it out on his own. THIS IS NOT HOW BULLIES WORK. ANYWAY.

They find the detonator on a fire truck. Instead of making things go explode-y, it turns the truck into a monster. Which the rangers ride downtown and let it destroy a couple buildings. Then they blow it up and the firemen are safe. I... don't get this part. Whatever.

HERE IS WHERE IT GETS REALLY REALLY BAD AND HORRIBLY HORRIBLY WRONG.
Justin comes across Bully-With-Bad-Hair in the hallway of the school. BWBH taunts him about running home to Mommy and Daddy, to which Justin replies that he doesn't live with his parents right now. Bully-With-Bad-Hair hasn't seen his father in 2 years. He's a bully because he doesn't have a dad? Really show, you went there? Not having a dad (or mom) does not a bully make. *grrr* (and let's not even get into how Bully-With-Great-Teeth just vanished from existence in this show... what's his story?)

AND THEN! And then they sit down all melancholy and Justin offers to tutor Bully-With-Bad-Hair so he doesn't have to cheat any longer. BWBH says he basically forgives Justin for narking on him, since Justin can't lie and apparently the bully wouldn't either. BWBH is amazed Justin would tutor him, and Justin says "what are friends for?" AND REALLY SHOW?!?!??! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE BESTEST FRIENDS FOREVER WITH THE GUY WHO JUST TRIED TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU SORT OF KIND OF HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON. THIS IS NOT RIGHT, SHOW. NOT RIGHT AT ALL.

Here's the thing... I was bullied as a kid. Bad. Really bad. Like, permanent damage kind of bad. So I really feel for Justin this episode. But it was written HORRIBLY. It does not have the best moral ending. It does not actually DEAL with the bullying and instead merely brushes the LET ME KICK THE SHIT OUT OF YOU BECAUSE I'M BIGGER HAR HAR HAR aside. I do not like this, not one tiny little bit.

5 fish. It just... made no sense. AND IS ALL THE BAD AND WRONG.