Power Rangers Dino Super Charge: Riches and Rags Review

This Power Rangers Dino Super Charge Review contains spoilers.

Power Rangers Dino Super Charge Episode 8

Ivan is one of the greatest Rangers of all time. By the end of Dino Super Charge he will join the greats of this franchise, including TJ and RJ. He’s such a delight to watch. Who cares if this was a run of the mill “under a spell” episode? Ivan is so great he takes what could be just silly and goofy scenes and makes them comedic masterpieces.

I’ve spoken before about Davi Santos is one of the few actors on this show who is completely aware he’s in Power Rangers and plays it up accordingly. He’s having so much fun with the role you can see it even when he’s just standing in the background of the scene. It helps he’s given such a fun part that took take center stage this week. He plays Ivan with such gusto and pride, not caring at all that he’s hundreds of years out of time and simply expects things to be how they’ve always been.

It’s why I so badly want the show to focus on the Ivan/Koda pair. Not in a romantic way, but in a buddy cop way. These two guys are out of time and seeing them react to modern day life would not only be hilarious, but great social commentary. Make Shelby their reluctant boss and you’ve got a recipe for greatness.

I only talk about all these out of the box ideas for Dino Super Charge because, once again this week, it’s run of the mill. Nothing extraordinary. If this weren’t an Ivan centric episode it’d be bland. Not bad, just bland.  Thankfully it is an Ivan focus, so he gets a ton of wacky moments.

The bank scene alone is one of the funniest this show has ever done. Ivan being completely unaware about taking a weapon out at a bank had me straight up laughing at my TV. That never happens when I’m alone. The look on his face. Priceless. When he has to deal with the guy trying to buy the museum and his assistant? Oh my god. Please, Hollywood. Give Davi Santos every role you can. He is a treasure. This guy should have his own sitcom. Hmm… A Davi Santos lead sitcom. Now there’s a show that needs six seasons and a movie.

Oh, I guess I can’t talk about Ivan the whole time, can I? Well, Kendall got another moment of being over the top when she discovered what was going on with the coins. I’d call it out of character, but it was still hilarious. Tyler once again provides some low-key humor while he’s desperately trying to keep his gold hidden. Also, what the hell was up with the team suddenly treating Rexy like a little pet? I mean don’t get me wrong, it was super adorable. Just wondering why it came so far out of left field.

Oh yeah, the villains. I’m glad Heckyl got out of the ship and appealing to humanitys greed, that was nice, but again it just falls so flat compared to his plans at the start of the season. The hint that Singe is working for someone bigger than Heckyl is great, but I fear it won’t come to much in the future. I hope I’m proven wrong.

The episode wasn’t all fun and games, with Ivan getting a tense moment with Fury, calling back to their long history together. It’s moments like these that remind us how much Ivan has under the surface. Sure, he’s all jokes these days but he did lose all that time to Fury. It’s an emotional point I wish they touched on more often, but I’m glad it at least got a reference here.

The episode ends with Prince Philip coming out of nowhere to bail Ivan out of his jam. It works because again, Ivan can make anything watchable, but it was a really quick way to end the episode. I wish we had seen Ivan struggling to raise the money with something akin to his mini quest in Knights of Amber Beach. Having Tyler and Chase run around wanting all that money was cute, but the time could have been better spent with more Ivan. 

As we head into the hiatus, we’re left with these eight episodes to look at, and what does it say about Dino Super Charge so far? That it’s uneven. Look, we’re long past Samurai and Megaforce at this point. Dino Super Charge can stand on its own. Is it bad? No. It’s a fun watch. It’s just not trying to be anything big or special. Even this episode, while a fun Ivan focus, doesn’t really tell us all that much about him. We aren’t getting a lot of character development. As much as it kind of pains me to say, Riley’s focus last week told us more about him. Here, we just get Ivan pulling some wacky faces. Which is awesome and fun, but I would like more.

That’s my summation of Dino Super Charge as a whole. I would like more. It’s pulling solid enough episodes for the most part, save the two episodes with Tyler and his Dad, but it needs to step up its game. We need something on par with Nightmare on Amber Beach, the standout best episode of the season.

That can only mean one thing. We need more James Gaylyn.

Stray Thoughts 

– “It may be older than me but nowhere near as well built.” These Ivan zingers are life.

– “SIX BUCKS FOR A BURGER??” Hey, that’s four dollars profit! If only Shelby’s dad was here.

 – “I’ve never let you down my lady… Well, maybe once.” I LOVE YOU, IVAN.

 – Seeing Riley and Shelby run off together in the fight was a nice acknowledgement of their growing friendship.

– “You call your grandmother sir?” “Uh, sometimes.” More dialogue like this for the villains, please.

Shamus Kelley is not kidding about that Davi Santos sitcom. Make it happen! Follow him on Twitter!