Meet the new boss: "Three's A Crowd"
Aug. 8th, 2009 03:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameSo today was Judd Lynn's first day heading up RPM. And you can feel the difference. The opening credits omit Eddie Guzelian as executive producer, and we see a return to the recap "Previously on Power Rangers..." that really hasn't been seen in a while. So before the episode even begins, you know that it's different now.
At first, it starts out like a normal Guzelian episode. We've got Dillon brooding in his car because he discovered that his sister's key doesn't fit in his watch. This means that there's got to be some other artifact out there that it does fit, kind of like Cinderella's slipper meets Anastasia's music box. But as an interesting change, it's not Summer who comes to talk to him. It's Flynn, the poor guy who's honestly been overlooked quite alot throughout the season. He passes along advice from his Aunt Aggie that utterly fails to comfort Dillon before turning to Summer and reporting that yep, he's still angsting.
And then we get a subtle change that really gives a lot of insight into life in Corinth, along with some character building for Ziggy, Scott, Dr. K, and the Boom-Happy Twins. Ziggy and Scott are out grocery shopping for Dr. K. We've seen a park in Corinth, a racetrack, an orphanage, a mob hideout, and assorted governmental and industry buildings, but we've never seen a grocery store. And inside, it's bright and colorful, where colors even inside Corinth were fairly muted in the Guzelian episodes. Things were always brightest in the Garage instead, but this spreads that sense of life beyond the Rangers. Yes, it's the end of the world. But as long as you're inside Corinth, you're safe and living a normal life. Anyway, Scott tells Ziggy to stop buying so much candy, but Ziggy insists it was all on Dr. K's shopping list. And the next thing they know, the Yo-Yo Brothers (two of Ziggy's old mob acquaintances) attempt to rob the store. And Ziggy and Scott manage to kick their asses thoroughly. In a complete reversal from the episodes "Ranger Green" and "Ranger Red," Ziggy's doing much better fighting, succeeding at heroic one-liners, and Scott's following his lead (all the while looking badass, of course). Yes, Ziggy flubs it up at the end when he eats some expired whipped cream, but they've saved the day...
...And then Gem and Gemma kick down the door in full-morph, providing enough distraction for the thieves to run. Scott and Ziggy take chase, and as it turns out, Ziggy hasn't quite mastered teleportation, and he's hanging upside down while the unmorphed Scott takes the crooks down.
Gem and Gemma's interference in the arrest is the beginning of the main theme of their inability to work with the other Rangers. Scott proves to be the single most stressed-out leader of all the Power Rangers when he tries to talk to them about not running in without a plan or not following his lead in a dangerous Megazord configuration, and he fails to get through to them. Following this, the Rangers go to talk to Dr. K about Gem and Gemma, subtlely pointing out her favoritism toward them and then frightening her when she realizes that they've run off to blow up the electromagnetic interference outside the dome that she's still analyzing. It turns out that Tenaya 7 has put together a new weapon that may well destroy the Rangers, and while she's testing it, she's got an Attack Bot for them to fight. This time, it's up to the other five to save Gem and Gemma, and they manage to complete the new Megazord formation. Meanwhile, Venjix, pissed that Tenaya attacked without authorization fires on her and the Rangers, and completely screws up her plan. Her weapon, successful against Gem and Gemma's Zord, is destroyed. Not to mention that Venjix gets his ass kicked too, and he swears that his current body has failed him for the last time. The Rangers win, the Boom-Happy Twins learn their lesson, and Dr. K celebrates by eating the marshmallows she took from Ziggy.
The episode ends with Gem and Gemma trying to repair the door of the grocery store, and not being able to figure it out themselves. Flynn comes over with a power drill and fixes it for them, and the twins apologize to the other Rangers, who emphasize that they need to just work as a team. When Dr. K alerts them of a new attack, Gem and Gemma are about to run off when the Rangers call them back. The twins look a little embarrassed, but Summer just offers to let them drive together, and they all hop into Flynn's Hummer and Dillon's car and head off.
The keyword of this episode is "teamwork," signalling a major shift in focus of the series. Guzelian did an amazing job developing each of the characters as individuals, with separate motivations and histories. But with the exception of Dillon and Ziggy and Gem and Gemma, there really wasn't a cohesive unit. We got some great views of dual teams, like Scott/Ziggy, Scott/Dillon, Summer/Dillon, and finally Summer/Dillon/Ziggy, but that was as big as it really got. It was really only starting with "Brother's Keeper," with the Rangers all banding behind Dillon in defiance of Dr. K that you started to see them as a team. This episode, for all the focus on Gem and Gemma, brings in the team unity that the earlier episodes lacked. Every other Ranger team worked as a unit, but the RPM Rangers really gave the feeling that they were just a band of misfits Dr. K called together, and despite living and working together, they really weren't too cohesive. This episode brings in that cohesion and Scott's authority as team leader. This time, it's only Gem and Gemma defying orders, and Scott making jokes about Dillon being a little reckless himself. You get the feeling they've finally gotten their act together.
You also get to see the breakdown of Gem and Gemma's synchronization even more than in "In or Out." In "In or Out," you see Scott struggling to work with Gemma because she needs Gem to complete her fighting style. Gem manages to do all right, but the moment Gemma needs him, he heads over to her, like a magnet. This time, Tenaya's smart enough to keep them separated. Gem fails to fight off the Grinders without Gemma to complete his moves. Gemma can't fight off the Attack Bot because she doesn't have anyone to complement her. Watch them fight in this episode. They depend on each other so much that their attacks are only half-completed. You see a roundhouse kick and know the other twin is supposed to follow it up with another one. It's just like the Wonder Twins--keep them away from each other, and they're powerless. Or in this case, far less effective.
On the villains' side, Venjix is dealing with Tenaya's subversion of his authority even worse than Scott's dealing with Gem and Gemma's. Even though she's winning, he won't stand for disobedience. Shifter lives up to his name and immediately goes back to being on Venjix's side, laughing when Tenaya's weapon is destroyed. And let's just say Tenaya doesn't look happy. Between this and Venjix's remark that his body has failed him too often, I have a feeling that the Tenaya/Venjix conflict is about to get a whole lot messier soon.
At first, it starts out like a normal Guzelian episode. We've got Dillon brooding in his car because he discovered that his sister's key doesn't fit in his watch. This means that there's got to be some other artifact out there that it does fit, kind of like Cinderella's slipper meets Anastasia's music box. But as an interesting change, it's not Summer who comes to talk to him. It's Flynn, the poor guy who's honestly been overlooked quite alot throughout the season. He passes along advice from his Aunt Aggie that utterly fails to comfort Dillon before turning to Summer and reporting that yep, he's still angsting.
And then we get a subtle change that really gives a lot of insight into life in Corinth, along with some character building for Ziggy, Scott, Dr. K, and the Boom-Happy Twins. Ziggy and Scott are out grocery shopping for Dr. K. We've seen a park in Corinth, a racetrack, an orphanage, a mob hideout, and assorted governmental and industry buildings, but we've never seen a grocery store. And inside, it's bright and colorful, where colors even inside Corinth were fairly muted in the Guzelian episodes. Things were always brightest in the Garage instead, but this spreads that sense of life beyond the Rangers. Yes, it's the end of the world. But as long as you're inside Corinth, you're safe and living a normal life. Anyway, Scott tells Ziggy to stop buying so much candy, but Ziggy insists it was all on Dr. K's shopping list. And the next thing they know, the Yo-Yo Brothers (two of Ziggy's old mob acquaintances) attempt to rob the store. And Ziggy and Scott manage to kick their asses thoroughly. In a complete reversal from the episodes "Ranger Green" and "Ranger Red," Ziggy's doing much better fighting, succeeding at heroic one-liners, and Scott's following his lead (all the while looking badass, of course). Yes, Ziggy flubs it up at the end when he eats some expired whipped cream, but they've saved the day...
...And then Gem and Gemma kick down the door in full-morph, providing enough distraction for the thieves to run. Scott and Ziggy take chase, and as it turns out, Ziggy hasn't quite mastered teleportation, and he's hanging upside down while the unmorphed Scott takes the crooks down.
Gem and Gemma's interference in the arrest is the beginning of the main theme of their inability to work with the other Rangers. Scott proves to be the single most stressed-out leader of all the Power Rangers when he tries to talk to them about not running in without a plan or not following his lead in a dangerous Megazord configuration, and he fails to get through to them. Following this, the Rangers go to talk to Dr. K about Gem and Gemma, subtlely pointing out her favoritism toward them and then frightening her when she realizes that they've run off to blow up the electromagnetic interference outside the dome that she's still analyzing. It turns out that Tenaya 7 has put together a new weapon that may well destroy the Rangers, and while she's testing it, she's got an Attack Bot for them to fight. This time, it's up to the other five to save Gem and Gemma, and they manage to complete the new Megazord formation. Meanwhile, Venjix, pissed that Tenaya attacked without authorization fires on her and the Rangers, and completely screws up her plan. Her weapon, successful against Gem and Gemma's Zord, is destroyed. Not to mention that Venjix gets his ass kicked too, and he swears that his current body has failed him for the last time. The Rangers win, the Boom-Happy Twins learn their lesson, and Dr. K celebrates by eating the marshmallows she took from Ziggy.
The episode ends with Gem and Gemma trying to repair the door of the grocery store, and not being able to figure it out themselves. Flynn comes over with a power drill and fixes it for them, and the twins apologize to the other Rangers, who emphasize that they need to just work as a team. When Dr. K alerts them of a new attack, Gem and Gemma are about to run off when the Rangers call them back. The twins look a little embarrassed, but Summer just offers to let them drive together, and they all hop into Flynn's Hummer and Dillon's car and head off.
The keyword of this episode is "teamwork," signalling a major shift in focus of the series. Guzelian did an amazing job developing each of the characters as individuals, with separate motivations and histories. But with the exception of Dillon and Ziggy and Gem and Gemma, there really wasn't a cohesive unit. We got some great views of dual teams, like Scott/Ziggy, Scott/Dillon, Summer/Dillon, and finally Summer/Dillon/Ziggy, but that was as big as it really got. It was really only starting with "Brother's Keeper," with the Rangers all banding behind Dillon in defiance of Dr. K that you started to see them as a team. This episode, for all the focus on Gem and Gemma, brings in the team unity that the earlier episodes lacked. Every other Ranger team worked as a unit, but the RPM Rangers really gave the feeling that they were just a band of misfits Dr. K called together, and despite living and working together, they really weren't too cohesive. This episode brings in that cohesion and Scott's authority as team leader. This time, it's only Gem and Gemma defying orders, and Scott making jokes about Dillon being a little reckless himself. You get the feeling they've finally gotten their act together.
You also get to see the breakdown of Gem and Gemma's synchronization even more than in "In or Out." In "In or Out," you see Scott struggling to work with Gemma because she needs Gem to complete her fighting style. Gem manages to do all right, but the moment Gemma needs him, he heads over to her, like a magnet. This time, Tenaya's smart enough to keep them separated. Gem fails to fight off the Grinders without Gemma to complete his moves. Gemma can't fight off the Attack Bot because she doesn't have anyone to complement her. Watch them fight in this episode. They depend on each other so much that their attacks are only half-completed. You see a roundhouse kick and know the other twin is supposed to follow it up with another one. It's just like the Wonder Twins--keep them away from each other, and they're powerless. Or in this case, far less effective.
On the villains' side, Venjix is dealing with Tenaya's subversion of his authority even worse than Scott's dealing with Gem and Gemma's. Even though she's winning, he won't stand for disobedience. Shifter lives up to his name and immediately goes back to being on Venjix's side, laughing when Tenaya's weapon is destroyed. And let's just say Tenaya doesn't look happy. Between this and Venjix's remark that his body has failed him too often, I have a feeling that the Tenaya/Venjix conflict is about to get a whole lot messier soon.