Episode 356 - A Face From the Past

Previously. Ryan is no longer shirtless every episode. Woe.

Kelsey is rollerblading through the Aquabase, because she is a) apparently not very good at it, and b) a failbot. I mean, I like her. But that is super irresponsible.

Captain Awesome then tells them that he has an important assignment - they need a day off! Which, hey! Is good. Because all work and no play makes them a very dull team. Or something.

Everyone decides to go to the beach, and Joel is busy being an asshat in a wifebeater, Chad and Kelsey go surfing, and Dana decides to bury her brother. Dana, unbury him so we can ogle. Carter, on the other hand, is going to go train. Captain Awesome is all "I told you to take a day off" but Carter is all "from training? Never." So Captain Awesome offers to be his sparring partner.

Captain Awesome is all "don't go easy on me just because I'm an old man" and he ends up flipping Carter. Then they go jogging. Carter offers to slow down for him, but Captain Awesome is all "you're too slow."

The villains then decide to knock out the power to Mariner Bay, which should also shut down the Aquabase. Because they don't have backup generators or something.

Captain Mitchell is all "when I was your age" to Carter, and he tries to convince Carter to take a day off. SERIOUSLY BEST DADDY, EVEN TO KIDS WHO AREN'T HIS.

Carter tells Captain Awesome about the fireman who saved his life as a kid. Carter wants to be as good as him, even though he doesn't know who the mysterious firefighter is. He has such issues. But it is an adorable bonding moment that is sadly interrupted by monsters.

Carter and Captain Awesome show up at the burning power plant, (which was being visited by a field trip of tiny children) and Carter morphs, and Captain Awesome dons firefighter gear and they both go in to help. Because apparently there are just spare uniforms lying around. and the firefighters aren't going to notice or care.

Captain Awesome and Carter make a good team. The rest of the Rangers all show up to help, and Ms. Fairweather calls in to say another power plant is under attack. Captain awesome sends all the Rangers to help that one, saying that he'll handle things here. The tiny children just huddle in the burning building, when Captain Awesome, who is apparently the only firefighter, shows up. Unfortunately, one of the tiny children forgot her bear, so she goes back for the bear.

Meanwhile, the Rangers fight the monster and beat it. (Seriously, super dull.) Then they go back to the fire, and discover Captain Awesome has gone back for the girl and her bear. Carter runs in after them, and Carter realizes that Captain Awesome is the one who saved him years ago. And as he has his realization he just STANDS THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRE, before Captain Awesome yells at him to run, and Carter gets the girl out.

A fireball comes out of the building, and Dana flips out, assuming her dad is dead, but he has managed to escape unharmed. Then there are hugs. Unfortunately we have to cut away from the heartwarming moment because zords and monsters growing. Luckily, the fight is over quickly, and the villains go talk more about the planets aligning or whatever. Vypra's acting is pretty bad, as usual.

Back on the Aquabase, Carter walks in on Ms. Fairweather patching up Captain Mitchell, and he sees a burn pattern on the Captain's back. The Captain confirms that he was the one who saved Carter all those years ago. And then he's been stalking him ever since. It's both creepy and sweet.

Carter is all "I'm going to train even harder to make you proud!" The Captain again tells him to go take a day off.

And now I ship them. I AM GOING TO HELL.

Anyway, back at the beach, Carter shows up with his shirt unbuttoned. Everyone is like "Carter can have fun? What?" So he decides to spray them with a super soaker while Captain Awesome looks on approvingly.

Fish: 3. It was super cliche, but in a good way.

Episode 351 - Ryan's Destiny

Today on Power Rangers, more Ryan angst! I wholeheartedly approve.

So there is an intruder on the base and there are alarms and flashy lights and loud voices screaming out INTRUDER ALERT. But it's just Ryan. Being all emo. Looking very sad and distraught. The worst security ever takes forever to get there, but it's okay, because it's just Ryan and he just wants to see his dad.

He came to say goodbye, apparently, because he is now in the middle of an existential crisis. Oh Ryan. Don't ever smile or look happy. I love you when you're all tortured.

Captain Awesome Mitchell tries to convince him to stay, tries to convince him that he's a good person (with an OCEAN OF GOODNESS, oh god writers, please). Ryan won't stay, so Captain Mitchell gives him a shiny little box instead and basically tells him to open it when he stops being Tortured Soul Emo. I really kind of hope that never happens.

Bad Guys are having a rough time because they can't beat the Power Rangers. The baby is next in line to get the job done and it's actually used as a threat. That's right, they're going to have THE BABY beat the rangers. Well, not really, but it's a serious threat that they take seriously and seriously consider other alternatives. Seriously. It's kind of ridiculous. I... admit to forgetting pretty much everything about these bad guys as soon as they are off my screen. They are boring and it's so hard to remember when there is Ryan Angst all over the place.

Speaking of, Tortured Soul Emo Ryan finds a feather (a feather bomb, actually, because it's from the Bad Guys and not an actual bird) and watches small people and actually smiles. Stop smiling, Ryan. He gets a ball for a little boy and convinces him his kid sister really isn't all that bad and they have to stick together. He gives them the feather he found and the little girl is happy and the little boy is happy and Ryan is happy and I don't think that's going to end well.

He gets good advice from a random lady at the bus stop, who tells him to follow his heart, and then winks at him. It's weird. But at least he's polite enough to let others go ahead of him when he's indecisive. Meanwhile the rangers are fighting the Bad Guy Threesome which sounds way more awesome than it actually is.

The Rangers realize the feathers are bombs and smartly get it out to the news, which Ryan overhears at the bus stop. He remembers giving the feather to the boy to give to his sister. The bus driver is waiting, but Ryan runs away. He has to get that feather back. Ryan finally catches up to the family, drops all his stuff, and manages to snatch the feather just as the sun is setting. He grabs the feather, flings it over the bridge, and shields the family as it explodes. Ryan the Tortured Soul Emo HERO!

He realizes he really is a good guy and opens the shiny box. Inside is the Titanium Morpher. Yay we get more Titanium Ass! He rushes to the main fight where his sister and friends are trying (and failing) to beat the Bad Guy Threesome. He morphs - TITANIUM AAAASSSSSSSSSSSSS - and it is super great. He totally wins at everything.

Captain Awesome is super proud. You just know he had a really hard time explaining why he handed over the morpher to an ex-baddie, which would be the Best Fic Ever, but he did it anyway. Because he knew it's what Ryan needed. And he is the best dad this show has ever had.  Dana is super happy to see her brother and hugs him and cries and it's great. They even give him a jacket when they get back to base. Because he is part of the team now. Even though he is still Tortured Soul Emo Titanium Ass and has nightmares. Lots and lots of nightmares. Nightmares where he is stripped shirtless (yes, please), thrown against a pillar (yes, please, again), and branded with a cobra tattoo, which will squeeze him until he dies. That's right, UNTIL HE DIES. Every time he morphs, he'll get closer and closer to death.

He wakes up to realize it wasn't a nightmare. He has a cobra on his back.


2 fish. It was a little boring, but all the Tortured Soul Emo Titanium Ass makes up for just about anything.

Fic we want: Captain Mitchell explaining to the Lightspeed Board why he gave Ryan, his ex-and-maybe-still-a-little-bit evil son, the Titanium Morpher. That isn't really working well on humans in the first place and is super powerful and strong enough to take down their only line of defense.

Episode 343 - A Matter of Trust

You know what sucks? The flu. You know what sucks even more? PNEUMONIA. I have been sick for the ENTIRE MONTH. It has sucked, and left me too exhausted to do ANYTHING, but now I've (basically recovered.)

Anyway, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all of you who are reading this blog! And I am thankful for my wonderful coblogger, , and I am thankful for Power Rangers. ♥

So. Lightspeed Resscue. Lets do this. I have no Dana icon, and no Captain Awesome icon, so Carter's face will have to do.

We open in a briefing where Captain Awesome is telling the team about a super powerful fuel cell that is extremely powerful and also sensitive. The team (except for Dana) is going to go to the airport and pick up the doctor and escort the doctor and the fuel cell to the base for safety.

Meanwhile, Dana is told that she's going to be escorting her father's old friend around. She suggests that he just call him a taxi because she needs to be with the other rangers. He tells her that she has her assignment, and she's understandably furious. She says he claims he trusts her to be the Pink Ranger, but instead, all he sees her as is his little girl.

Which, yeah. That is how parents are! And this is super realistic and great, because she's an adult now and wants to be seen as one, and also being given that assignment with no explanation has to be grating (even though it's totally obvious that she's guarding the real fuel cell from the beginning, and MAYBE her father could have just told her that) but having the conflict between the newly grown daughter and the father is a wonderful character touch and I love it.

The demons are all "so we'll steal the fuel cell" and then the baby monster creates a monster. Is he related to Finster? Is there an AU where Finster was one of these demons?

The four Rangers get the guy off the helicopter, and start escorting him to safety. Meanwhile, Dana gets to take the condescending old guy who hugs her without permission fishing, and because she's "Such a good girl" she can drive the truck. Stop being a condescending asshole, guy. That's really not charming at all.

Of course, there's no way that the four Rangers will make it to safety WITHOUT being attacked, so they're now trying to fight the monster and the ridiculous adorable bat things without jostling the super powerful thing.

Carter calls for Dana to help, and Dana says she's on her way, but the Captain counteracts the order and demands that she return to the base immediately. The monster grabs the box away from the others and opens it, and it turns out that the fuel cell isn't in there! The monster, being the smartest, realizes that as there are only four Rangers there, the Pink Ranger must be guarding the real box.

Since the Rangers won't tell the monster where the real fuel cell is (and why do monsters want a fuel cell, anyway?) the monster uses the power of the sun to BURN THE CITY. That is pretty traumatic. I hope that Mariner Bay has really good insurance. Does this count as an act of god? Do you need separate monster insurance?

Anyway, Dana and her dad's friend get hit, and the box starts to spill and some ice comes out. He runs to fill up the box with more ice, and Dana realizes that her dad actually DID trust her and believe in her, and then of course they get attacked by Vypra.

Dana leads the guy and the fuel cell away while  the other Rangers fight the monster and Batlings on a roof. Dana uses her medical skills to fix the guy's arm, and he tells her that she looks just like her mother, and that her mother would be very proud of her. I love ridiculously touching moments, but maybe wait until after Vypra isn't attacking you?

Too bad they don't have teleporters. Of course, if they did, this whole episode would be pointless. (Unless the fuel cell can't be teleported?)

Dana manages to get away from Vypra and escort the fuel cell to safety. (I'm not sure how? Did they swim? Was there a submarine waiting for them? Did the fish carry them?) She then immediately asks permission to go help the other Rangers, who are getting their butts kicked. Of course, Dana is super awesome and shows up to help.

There's a fight scene and then they blow up the monster, which of course manages to grow. Dana summons the zords, which then blows up the monster without any real problems.

Back on the base, Dana goes to see her dad so she can apologize to him for what she said. She's still not sure that her father doesn't see her as a child. Her dad tells her that he's been training her for years, and she so deserves to be a Ranger, but he'll always see her as his little girl. She tells him that she's proud to be a Ranger, but she also loves being his little girl.

I LOVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH. That is a SUPER realistic father&daughter relationship, and I adore EVERYTHING about it.

Fish: 2. Only because we still have no idea how they got from the pier to the base.

Episode 341 - Trial By Fire

Today on Power Rangers, we get our Red Learns to be a Leader episode. We start out with Kelsey taking everybody rock climbing. They mock each other and tell funny stories about stupid things they did when they were kids. Fireman Sam Carter says he didn't always want to be a firefighter and then starts to tell a story. It's apparently sad, because he stops before he really gets anywhere. They get called to the training field and have to be all military and saluting and stuff. So much for rock climbing, I guess. There is a big training montage that I just can't hate, even though it makes no sense for what these people were like as civilians. Like, seriously, vaulting so artfully over that wall? Not gonna happen. I do love that they really have to train hard though. Right down to rescuing civilians and medical care on babies. CPR is important to know, even for a Power Ranger! And their weapons training involves lots of paintball, which is always great. Carter apparently was the fastest but got the lowest score because he didn't use his brain, he just shot at the targets. I like this! He has to be able to see the safest way out of any situation and just shooting all the bad guys isn't always it. I can see the argument that Captain Mitchell should have told him why he basically failed. But honestly, given the fact that Carter is basically an adult, and not a cocky badass, frankly I think that wouldn't be giving him enough credit. Nor would it have been a lesson that would have really stuck with him. He needs to find the answer himself, with minimal guidance. He has to work through the steps on his own before he can figure out what he did wrong and what he'll need to do better next time. On the Bad Guy ship, baby creature is upset by... something the monsters are talking about? I don't get it. They decide to destroy things from the ground up and cause what appears to be an earthquake, except of course Lightspeed Rescue knows better. They confront Vypra who has her goons hammering... things?... into the ground in a warehouse. I do not see the point. Anyway, Vypra can't act to save her life so this scene just hurts. Like, wow. She's not just bland, she's BAD. Carter has to jump in to save the people shopping nearby from the bad acting. He puts himself between them and her, but doesn't take into consideration that this warehouse is full of explosive chemicals. Vypra does, and manages to set everything on fire. Carter is ordered to put the fire out first, but he wants to rescue the people from the collapsing ceiling. He does as he's told and saves things from exploding, but does not manage to save a Tiny Child from the falling concrete. Joel rushes in to take the kid to a hospital. Which was actually a bad idea. He should have immobilized the boy's spine and waited for the ambulance. You don't move people with head injuries. Carter rushes back to base and yells at the Captain. He insists he was wrong to listen and should have rescued them. It takes everything Captain Mitchell has to not point out all the explosive chemicals that would have killed everybody instead of just causing one little boy to get hurt. Carter will have to learn this for himself. He goes to visit the little boy in the hospital and apologizes. He tells him the story he started to tell before. He was trapped in a fire (school? apartment? I can't tell). The fireman comes in to rescue him, tries to get him out, and then stops a beam from falling on them. The fireman insists Carter runs away, out of the fire, and into the arms of another fireman. He knows he'll never be that good, but he wants to. He wants to be that strong. It's only then he goes back to the training room where he shot all the paintballs. It's only then he sees the explosive containers and realizes he shot one. It's only then he runs back to the warehouse and sees the containers of gasoline. Then he realizes what he could have done. Captain Mitchell gives a poor inspirational speech about being a leader. This guys is AMAZING. He knows how to teach the important lessons. Carter wouldn't have really learned it if he hadn't been able to puzzle it out for himself. He has to be able to apply that to every situation, not just the obvious one. I am seriously impressed. There is another fight, Carter questions his use as a leader, but leads anyway. It's kind of boring. Carter apparently really likes to shoot stuff. This seems to be his solution to everything. This is probably why it was so important he learn that shooting things is not always the best solution. They win. Duh. Carter goes back to visit the little boy. He's not in his bed and Carter is all sad thinking something really bad happened. But the little boy was just up and about having a walk and he stops Carter. Says thank you and tells him he's okay because of Carter. Then he says he wants to grow up to be just like Carter. My little heart melts. And apparently so does Carter's. 2 fish. Really not bad. I also approve of Captain Mitchell's teaching methods.

Episode 245 - Carlos and the Count

Still not watching on netflix. Still SUPER PISSED OFF about that.

However, in this episode we have VAMPIRES.

Seriously, I love vampires. Except of the sparklepire variety. And seriously, this is a MUCH better vampires in high school story than that is.

So Bulk and Skull have a scary movie festival. There are going to be a lot of vampire movies. This is one of Bulk and Skull's better jobs, actually! And super fun!.

Elgar actually has a fairly good suggestion, when Divatox is complaining about how much she hates Vampires. Instead, he suggests Lunar Bats, because apparently there are bats in space? Sure, why not. So Divatox sticks out her tongue and snares one, which she turns into Count Nocturne.

Seriously, Carlos and Justin are the best of friends, they are super adorable. I am in favor of Carlos being the best big brother ever, because it doesn't take over the season. As Carlos is walking home, he hears something and assumes it is Justin pranking him. SO CUTE. Except instead it's Pirahnatrons, and we get a NIGHTTIME UNMORPHED FIGHT. This is like the greatest thing ever. The screen is super dark, so it's actually hard to see what's going on. Then he's attacked by the monster and bitten, with Bulk and Skull as witnesses. They decide that they have no choice but to become vampire hunters. HOOK UP WITH BUFFY, YOU GUYS.

So vampire!Carlos is SUPER HOT. SUPER HOT. Ashley approves of his new look, because he's SUPER HOT. And then she invites him to the blood drive. He is obviously super excited about this.

Bulk and Skull come tracking Carlos, and they're trying to protect Justin, when Principal Caplan sees them, and is all "I thought you graduated. DETENTION." And they go.

Justin starts to get suspicious of Carlos when he notices the sunglasses and how badly Carlos reacted to the garlic that Skull had given him, and he begins to go research vampires. TJ and Cassie ask him why he's researching vampires, and he's all "I just am."

Ashley asks Carlos if he's ready to grab a bite, and CLEARLY HE WANTS TO BITE HER.

Cassie and TJ are all "Justin, you know there's no such thing as vampires" and of course that's when the monster shows up to attack them. Cassie's melodramatic "Vaaaaaaampires" is pretty amazing and I love it.

There's an unmorphed fight scene, which is also great, and Justin explains to TJ and Cassie that he thinks Carlos is a vampire, and they have to go protect Ashley. TJ and Cassie are SO CONFUSED.

Ashley invites Carlos to grab a bite again, because CLEARLY she wants him to bite her. And just as he's about to, Justin and the others show up and interrupt. Justin uses his knowledge of vampires to prove that Carlos is one, since he has no reflection, and Ashley is SO UPSET. She loves him. Anyway, they try to convince Carlos to go to the Power Chamber, but instead he turns into a rubber bat and flies away. BEST WORST SPECIAL EFFECTS EVER.

They figure out that Carlos is going to the blood drive, and Bulk and Skull try and fail to explain that something is going on. Ashley and TJ manage to catch Carlos and teleport him to the Power Chamber, where Alpha drugs him with a temporary antidote. He's still under the spell.

It's amazing, they remember they have a mentor. Not that I'm complaining about the lack of Dimitria, because seriously, DIMITRIA. UGH.

The Rangers all morph and go fight, and the monster tries to put Carlos back under his spell, but Carlos defies him. It's like everything I love.

Anyway, the monster grows, and they have to use all the toys for some reason, and Carlos briefly struggles with how it wants to put him back under the spell, and then they blow it up. They make a big deal about combining the two Megazords, but whatever, it was still a fairly dull fight. And it went on FOREVER.

Elgar gets thrown into space, and somehow he survives. That is not fair.

The Rangers are all excited for the monster movies, and Bulk and Skull have switched to werewolf movies. They are traumatized when they think the delivery guy is a werewolf. They are the CUTEST.

Fish: 2. THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME.

Fic we want: VAMPIRE!CARLOS. Bulk and Skull: VAMPIRE HUNTERS.