Hey Hero Club, I am back with a new Millennium’s Mind! Normally I do not do single episode discussions, but THIS TIME I decided to break that rule. The reason for this is because I do not know what it is about this episode that has pissed everyone off enough to drop Ninja Steel. The past few episodes have been good. I will admit there are some issues with the series, but several others unlike myself seem to have more issues as to why dislike the show. A lot of these complaints tend to be from production choices. Yet, some of these “choices” really look nitpicky! Now, what I want to dissect this episode to find out what pissed off the fandom, and explain how it was not that bad.
The episode starts with everyone learning that Calvin cannot drive or ride a motorcycle, especially the one he just rebuilt. This is all due to an immense fear of driving that he obtained from a bike accident as child. Fans on social media quickly responded with quote like, “If Calvin is afraid of driving, then how is able to drive a Zord?” The only counterargument I have for this is that the Rangers’ method of piloting these Zords is not natural. The Rangers just insert their swords into them and move it around like a crane game. They do not even have a cockpit, until the Megazord is combined. With that ideology that the Zords move like a video game and do not have a cab/ cockpit, so the actual fear of driving might not set in for Calvin.
The Rangers then decide to help Calvin overcome this fear, and have him try practicing with a moped. The sequence is quite comical, but personally I enjoy what follows. Haley consoles a discouraged Calvin, and it is a great feel good moment. I personally thought the moment should have included a kiss though. In the meantime, Ripcon has sent the monster, TangleWeb down to steal the Power Stars. TangleWeb’s plan to defeat the Rangers is an interesting one, as he plans to suck them into his personal vortex. The plan is put into motion, and TangleWeb nearly succeeds as he gets all but Calvin. Calvin retreats, where he and Mick plan to rescue the Rangers. The Ninja Nexus Prism activates too, sending Calvin a vision of the motorcycle he fixed up earlier. The bike is going to be the team’s method of escape, as it was also sucked into Tangleweb’s vortex.
Now, what I believe is that the Nexus Prism has a purpose as like a conjoined mentor-ship with Mick, aside from being a McGuffin. The Nexus Prism shows the Rangers a vision, and somehow Mick manages to interpret the visions for them. Some would say it is plot convenience, but it is a GOOD plot convenience this time. Calvin throws a star into the Nexus Prism which creates an U.S. Exclusive Power Star. Calvin then rushes to find TangleWeb to get ingested by him. At this point I began to also question why TangleWeb’s webbing endurance ranged from good and bad between scenes. It was just weird however, once inside with the other Calvin places the Power Star onto the motorcycle. The Power Star transforms the motorcycle into a badass Power Vehicle, that assists them in escaping. The cool thing specifically about the bike is that it is also an exclusive item to Power Rangers.
Once breaking out the Rangers defeat the monster, but the Warrior-Dome makes TangleWeb grow so the team calls for their Zords. TangleWeb constricts the Zords in its webs, and the Nexus Prism acts up again showing a vision of elephants. Mick throws another star into the Prism, creating a new Power Star for the team to summon the Elephant Zord. This then bothered several fans, while I was not as much for two specific reasons. First off, the series must comply to the Ninninger footage. The second reason I am not annoyed is that the Nexus Prism seems self-aware, and will attempt to protect itself as well as the Rangers since they are connected to it.
Sadly, I will admit they should have made new footage for Calvin piloting the Elephant-Zord because it is his focus episode, but I’m guessing they could not edit the footage. Aside from that the Megazord battle is good and features another alternative cockpit. Following the battle, time passes by and Calvin surprises everyone with his newly acquired driver’s license. The Rangers also discovered Mick has duplicated the Power Star, Calvin made and dubbed it the Mega Morph Cycle for the team to use.
Now, some have probably noticed that I have not mentioned Victor and Monty in this recap, at least until this moment. That is because their subplot in this episode is TRULY GOD AWFUL! At the beginning of the episode, Victor asks Monty why he is eating a bunch of beans. Monty says that if he eats a bunch, the fumes from the farts will be bad enough that the teacher will think it is a chemical leak and will dismiss the class early… Excuse me for a moment, BUT THAT PLAN IS COMPLETELY FREAKING STUPID!!! First off, one would need to eat an OBSCENE number of beans to cause that kind of a reaction, and one might soil his or her pants if the farts do not come out. Then when TangleWeb invades the school and encounters the duo, they try fighting him off. TangleWeb is just like me, ashamed at their attempt but webs them up and leaves. Monty then starts farting and the webbing starts to expand into a balloon, that causes them to fly away. By the end of the episode the two manage to get caught on the school flagpole!
I seriously need to quote Linkara, “POWER RANGERS TAKES SCIENCE AND BEATS THE CRAP OUT OF IT WITH AN ALUMINUM BAT!” because the webbing should not be able to hold air like that. Also, the gas from farts IS NOT HELIUM, so it should NOT be able to fly away like it does in the episode. If one takes Victor and Monty out of this episode, the episode GREATLY improves with them GONE. Yes, there are some things one will call into question like Calvin’s fear of driving, or the strength of the webbing being inconsistent, but that differs between fans. Overall I naturally loved this episode! I just do not want Victor and Monty subplot to be as BAD as this one was ever again.
I give Power Rangers Ninja Steel Episode 5 “Drive to Survive” at least a B-. It is a good episode people should see, just they should skip over Victor’s and Monty’s scenes. Skipping them will not affect the episode, as they barely interact with the Rangers in the episode. THANK GOD FOR THAT! Finally, this concludes this edition of Millennium’s Mind, readers can leave their thoughts on Ninja Steel in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter directly. I doubt I will be back at time soon, but guarantee I will be back for the Power Rangers Movie!
