Power Rangers Dino Super Charge: Forged Under Fire Review

Dino Super Charge dips back into the VR Troopers well as Tyler’s Dad goes full deadbeat!

This Power Rangers Dino Super Charge Review contains spoilers.

Power Rangers Dino Super Charge Episode 6

Man, what is happening with Dino Super Charge? I had my complaints about Dino Charge to be sure, but it still mostly held together. It was a fun season that while it wasn’t really striving to be the best it still logically made sense. Dino Super Charge?

This week everything just sort of flew out on the window. All the buildup with Tyler’s dad is squandered and wasted on introducing a new formation. It’s a shame, because there could have been some real potential for a great story here.

Already from last week we had the idiotic reasoning for why James never contacted Tyler in the past ten years. This week they try to give it more of an explanation, saying that James feared Fury would go after his family, but I don’t buy it. Okay, so you have to stay away from them. But you can’t give them a call? No letter? Come on, dude. It’s weak. What about your buddy Rusty? You kept hanging out with him! Are you not worried about Fury killing your secret lover? 

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Tyler shouldn’t be so accepting of everything James says. I know Tyler tries to see the good in everything, but what a perfect time this would have been to see another side of his character. To see him actually get really mad. He’s been trying to find his Dad for ten years and THAT was the reason? Now James could come in and try and treat Tyler like that eight-year-old boy he remembers. It would send Tyler for a loop. Having that animosity would create the perfect reason for James to go get a pack of smok- I mean leave to search for the silver energem.

Tyler would refuse, for now, to forgive him and James would go off to give him space and also to reflect on what he’d done. This could have been a great story about James neglecting his responsibility and Tyler having to work through some real anger. Don’t tell me this is Power Rangers and they wouldn’t go that far. The same basic thing happened with Ryan and Captain Mitchell in Lightspeed Rescue and at least there Mitchell had a really good reason for not knowing Ryan was gone all those years. 

I mean, that would be an awesome lesson! James comes in with this big speech about “protecting Tyler” and Tyler wouldn’t have it. He’d throw it back in his face. James thought he was doing good but screwed up. Imagine a parent on a kids show like Power Rangers admitting they screwed up and begging for the KIDS forgiveness? Tyler could finally start working through the repressed anger he’s had. That’s the thing you realize over the past two episodes. Tyler is this happy go lucky person, but it almost comes off like a defense mechanism. He’s avoiding dealing with the real hurt of losing his dad.

But we don’t get any of that. What we get is another homage to VR Troopers with James leaving right after he just reconnected with this son again. Last week my whole joke was that the episode felt like a VR Troopers episode, but this one doubled down. The first time it was kind of funny. This week it exposes the failings of these two episodes. It abandons all logic and emotion in favor of “footage reasons”. 

For a show that’s so dedicated to using as much original footage as possible, having James simply leave because GEOLOGY is weak at best. In VR Troopers it was kinda dopey and ironically hilarious Ryan’s dad left after getting to be with his son again after so long. We joke about it, but it was a poor decision in that show and it’s a poor decision in Dino Super Charge. We’re robbed of any emotional honesty.

In place of that, we get fights! Lots of fights. The new formations for Tyler I get, even if they got repetitive. The opening fight with Fury seemed pointless. You could have just cut right to the Rangers going after Singe which would have allowed a few more minutes of time between James and Tyler.

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It was nice seeing Philip, James, and Kendall all team up, but it seemed rushed. I felt like I was watching an episode of Megeforce with all the pacing issues.

Oh yeah, Rexy is apparently able to clone himself. What?

The one bright spot of the episode was Heckyl at the end. After a few episodes of being in the background, he finally comes in with another plan. An oft used plan by the Rangers actually, working together. It’s rare for a villain to suggest this level of cooperation and I love it. Let’s see how it plays out in the weeks to come.

I hope this episode doesn’t signal a downward turn for Dino Super Charge. Dino Charge was supposed to be this amazing build up and so far? Dino Super Charge hasn’t been paying it off very well.

Stray Thoughts 

– Oh New Zealand. How will they give Power Rangers tax credits if Chase doesn’t constantly mention it?

– I can’t stop with thinking Riley is gay. Did you see him checking out Ivan after the opening theme?

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– Are you sure you’re the only one who’s used Dino Armor X? You sure? Cause uh, Chase totally did.

– RESIST AND YOU’LL CEAST TO EXIST. If you couldn’t tell, Ann Austen is back writing. THE PUNS WON’T DIE.

– Singe is feeling the BERN, eh?

– A selfie in a volcano. That’s… a very Tyler thing to do.

Shamus Kelley is waiting for the episode where Tyler sits in front of a temple thinking about his dad. Follow him on Twitter!

Rating:

1.5 out of 5