"A LION'S ALLIANCE"
More beautiful shots on the SkyShip. The team just looks so much better without Troy. Awesome hearing James Gaylyn return as the monster. It made sense the Rangers
would favor the Wild Force suits, and Red Lion would shove off imposters
of his friends. I just wish they had put in enough care to not have the
random TurboPink appear after a team that didn't even have a Pink
Ranger. Plus the change in pronouncing "Animaria" was weird but then we all know no ones really bothering to watch the old episodes anyway.
This was also one of the most decent earning of a zord we'll have and felt like more of a real tribute than future episode probably will. The Rangers using Wild Force fit well and helped make for a solid 4/5.
"SAMURAI SURPRISE" was just full of surprises. The use of YellowMask and PinkFlash didn't totally ruin the episode for
me as it did for others - I was just in disbelief when Gia's part of the
fight started and at first I heard "Legendary Blip" which I thought was a
cheap way to cover YellowMask. I had more of a problem with the amount
of Megaforce/SMM switching in this and morph sequence padding. I don't
mind when they get powered-down to Megaforce (since SMM is supposed to
be over the suits anyway), but morphing from civilian to Megaforce to
begin with is just too much.
Was a staff notice put out not to give any "names" to anything not seen
in PR? Otherwise, come on, Jason Smith. I did like Troy saying "It's Morphin' Time" over DaiRed. And the rest of the episode pretty
good. I loved Vekar's introduction and the Rangers being cocky about it
for the little whiner he is. It was rough seeing the first use of
Mighty Morphin be this, but we all know Saban doesn't care when
it's sentai footage. Mentor was a surprise (Great scene in the
beginning) and I liked the scenes with him and Jayden - Just wish the
girls could've met him. The end with the Rangers in the cockpit was one
of the better uses of morphed footage. Plus I liked the in-fight roll
call get used.
Even with the can of worms this opened, having cameos to help
unofficially tribute Samurai (though not as much as Wild Force) helped
keep it at a 4/5.
