After coming back in August, this has really become an up and down season. I enjoyed "ROCKING AND ROLLING" better than Levi's intro in the previous episode. The concert was better than Antonio's and when Megaforce used it. And though they could've just destroyed Stonedozer sooner, I thought he was one of better MOTDs with the damage he caused. 4/5
We then got one worst episodes of the year in "THE RANGER RIBBON." It
felt like they were trying too hard to make Preston's Dad overly mean
and there was just no emotional weight. He should've found out Preston
was a Ranger (For a moment there I thought he might), which would've
further helped the bond between them. Also, having Trapsaw be Ripperat's twin brother was fine but why did they have to make
him kind of inept? The traps failing was ridiculous and then the
cheering for him to be Gigantified made zero sense. 2/5
I enjoyed the Cyborg Aiden episodes and thought "FAMILY FUSION" will probably end up being the best episode of first-half Ninja Steel. Mick doing some real mentoring, being suspicious of Aiden from the start was cool. Though it was pretty
obvious it wasn't the real one, it was great having this
sort of plotline in the Neo-Saban era. I couldn't wait for him to find the
base, since it is kind of silly where it is in the first place. Also, the chocolate sculpturing was one my favorite school B plots and it'll be hard to top Victor the Chocolate Statue about to be
eaten alive by a bunch of kids.
The big reveal
is one of the few things Ninja Steel has gotten right - I just wish we
could've had one more episode with Cyborg Aiden. But for the most part I
liked how they wrapped it up with him getting caught and the Rangers
quickly ending him. They could've done without forcing a Ripcon/Brody "rivary" otherwise,
this was a good sendoff for him. I love how Madam Odius can tell
Galvanax anything and he buys it. Plus I liked how the Fusion Star was something Mick had been working on
off-screen and wasn't created during the episode. The way Levi got his
memories back felt very PR-ish and I liked how they used the talent show
as an excuse to use the song. But man, Shewfelt sucks at delivering lines and Brody's on his way to joining the likes of Troy and Nick.
When he says how glad Dad would be that they found eachother, I
actually thought it was ADR'd and had to double check if his lips were
moving. Having essentially a bad Red Ranger is nothing new so I won't fault the episodes for it. 4/5 and 5/5
Speaking of bad, it was back downhill again with "ACE AND THE RACE." Mistaking the Victor Trophy for a ball and then
waiting until the very end to change him back (because comedy!)
was horrendous. I'm sure Nico's a great guy but Calvin seems like he
belongs on Samurai. And that was the best they could come up with to
keep him busy? On a positive note, I liked that Shoespike had a human form, and Robo
Red Zord teaming up Robo Rider is awesome. 2/5
Princess Viera's episodes were alright. As much as I like Sarah and didn't mind the cookie machine or the bulky armor, the pacing in "THE ROYAL RIVAL" wasn't good. It felt like
we really needed more time for Viera to get a change of heart instead of
rushing through it. Sarah giving away the machine so easily just to have a lesson in the episode was ridiculous and whats with Ninja Fusion Zord not being called a Megazord? I did like how Viera and Drillion were
recruited by Galvanax to fight the Rangers and using the cow as a witness was just... only on Power Rangers. 3/5 and 4/5
Lastly, I liked that we got the Halloween special after a week off, before the final stretch of the year. One of the best episodes of the season, helped by no Victor & Monty, and mostly being a teamwork episode, instead of focusing on one Ranger. Burning a bunch of Ninninger footage of monsters they already fought with some original parts was a great idea and I liked how involved Cosmo was. 4/5
