Power Rangers Beast Morphers Episode 16 Review: Seeing Red

With confused motivations for Devon's struggle with the Fury Cell, Beast Morphers squanders what could have been an amazing episode.

This Power Rangers Beast Morphers review contains spoilers.

Power Rangers Beast Morphers Episode 16

How much was Devon responsible for his own actions while under the influence of the Fury Cell? The effectiveness of this Power Rangers Beast Morphers episode hinges on the answer and it’s hard to tell. At first it seems like Devon is just in over his head but slowly it appears he’s becoming addicted to the power. At first this was incredibly intriguing to me. 

The idea of a Ranger power-up being addictive is one that’s filled with potential but just as this concept is introduced it’s seemingly undercut by the revelation that the Cells, “will turn a noble warrior evil.” This takes away some of the dramatic tension of the story. If Devon isn’t responsible for his addiction to the cells then it makes the climatic fight with Ravi less effective. The whole episode hinges on this and without it being Devon’s fault it robs the story of conflict. It’s not Devon realizing his mistake, it’s just Devon’s mind being cleared after the Fury Cell is depleted.

It felt like the episode was struggling against itself. It plays many of the scenes with Devon as if, under no influence, he simply wants to keep the power and will use any means to justify it. However when the episode ends he faces no consequences for his actions and it’s written off as just another evil plot of the day. It’s a huge shame the episode couldn’t quite decide how to handle this. If it had fully committed to Devon being addicted, this could have been a stand out episode for the season. It would have strengthened his character and led to some engaging long running plotlines. 

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read more: Power Rangers: A Guide To The Multiverse

However, even if the episode couldn’t quite figure that plot out some of the scenes are still reasonably effective. Devon fighting Ravi is a rare instance of a Ranger fighting another Ranger and it’s a well-done battle.  If the conflict of the episode was supposed to be Devon breaking free of the evil influence of the Cell, seeing it happen when Ravi demorphed was well executed.

The most fascinating moment of the story however is when Devon is stopped by the police offer. The notion that Rangers shouldn’t deal with petty criminals is one the franchise has rarely tackled. Law enforcement is fine with the Rangers battling monsters, they’re the only ones who can. However, a morphed Ranger capturing a bank robber? That’s seen as outside of their jurisdiction.

Are the police worried Rangers will attempt to dispense justice outside of the law? Are there even laws for what happens if a Ranger captures a criminal?  I know this isn’t what the episode was about but now I want a whole outing devoted to these questions! Okay, it’ll never happen on Power Rangers but at least the topic has been raised. Get on this, Boom Comics!

‘Seeing Red’ was a decent episode that had a lot of potential but unfortunately fell victim to a confused plot. It also reduced Ben and Betty to more food humor, which never bodes well for an episodes final score.

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Shamus Kelley is a pop culture/television writer and official Power Rangers expert. Follow him on Twitter! Read more articles by him here!

Rating:

2.5 out of 5