Recap: Power Rangers Megaforce, Episode 17 – Staying on Track
Tensou scurries around the cave asking why it’s so quiet. Gosei says he gave the Rangers a day off since they’re not machines, after all, and they need rest.
Tensou assumes they’re home in bed, but the Rangers are having fun at the beach and at the park. Robo Knight watches the others while he and Noah play chess. He asks Noah what the meaning of “fun” is as Jake does Don-san slapstick.
Down in the underwater lab, Vrak and Metal Alice agree to use humans’ own technology against them. Metal Alice decides to disrupt trains service to help create mass chaos since humans are mindless ants who fall into chaos with one small disruption.
People are waiting at a downtown train station, including a father and son waiting for mother who is on a train. They can’t wait to see each other again. But Metal Alice has other ideas. She attacks the control center of the train system causing all trains to stop.
Metal Alice watches and is eager to see humans’ flawed nature take over with frustration turning into disorder and chaos and eventually people killing each other.
Rangers get the call from Tensou, morph from their beach clothes to their regular clothes and into their suits before meeting Metal Alice at a train substation. She explains her plan to them while tossing them around.
Metal Alice again asks Robo Knight why he continues to side with the humans and he says they possess compassion, something she never will. She calls him a disgrace to all machines and she disappears.
The Rangers split up. Trains can start moving again, but the son is getting pissed about the train being late. He goes to get a drink and sees Robo Knight. He asks if he’s a police man and Robo Knight replies that he is a “protector.” The boy tells him about waiting for his mom and wanting to give her a hug because he misses her.
What is “miss,” Robo Knight asks and the kid explains.
Troy finds Metal Alice who has planted a bomb under the train overpass. She summons Loogies before leaving and Troy calls the others.
Metal Alice wants to talk to Robo Knight about his human friends. Remember, you are just a machine, she says. When machines break, humans toss them aside. They only care about what you can do for them. There’s still time to join their side.
Why do you hate the humans so much? Robo Knight asks. Metal Alice says to look at how inferior they are! These useless creatures must be eliminated. This planet is not big enough for robots and humans and anyway, humans will not be missed.
Robo Knight disagrees, even if only one human is lost, there will be someone that misses them.
The Rangers protect Robo Knight and Metal Alice asks why. They protect everyone on this planet… except machines of course. Dirty, disgusting machines and aliens. To hell with ’em.
Humanity makes no sense, Metal Alice quips. But Robo Knight says they must respect the complex feelings human have for each other, not some stupid thoughts of non-humans.
Metal Alice decides to activate bomb and it explodes, destroying the bridge.
The Rangers need to save the train. They can’t give up, for people on that train and for people of the Earth!
Gosei decides to give them a new power. They use their new Gosei Wonder Cards to save the train.
Metal Alice calls on the Zombatsbolts to embiggen herself while the Rangers form the Wonder Gosei Great… Gosei Jet Megazord.
“You have nothing to protect, so you have nothing to live for.”
The Rangers and Robo Knight think they’ve killed Metal Alice, but she’s back in the underwater lab. Vrak says he has bigger and better plans for her.
Robo Knight watches the family reuniting at the train station. Did everyone see that? Robo Knight might be a little human.
Robo Knight says he has many questions and Jake says to go ahead and shoot. Robo Knight takes his gun out and points it at Jake, but they just laugh it off as a joke.
Episode Thoughts
I don’t even know why I let this show frustrate me so.
The premise of this episode was fine, but as always, the execution was lousy. Then you throw in more of the racist, condescending humanity and environment talk and it’s just an annoying and frustrating day in Rangerland. Another bad acting Kiwi kid trying to hide an accent just topped it off.
Things are starting to feel so forced and less believable, if that’s even possible with this season. It’s a problem when I’m rooting for the villains rather than the supposed heroes. But it’s not hard when the “heroes” are these five.
How different is Megaforce from Goseiger?
Corresponding Goseiger Episode: Epic 48 – Alice vs. Gosei Knight
So this may be the best episode to compare to its Goseiger counterpart and use to show how Megaforce has quickly become more of a mess.
The original Goseiger episode (which Megaforce pretty much translated) carried a much deeper (and relevant to the story) episode involving Nozumu (as the kid) excited about meeting his mother at the train station.
Maybe one of the biggest reasons Megaforce seems to fall flat with its attempts at emotional connection is because they’re lifting Goseiger stories that are directly affected and many times because of the Goseigers and Gosei Knight’s relationship with Nozumu as well as the Goseigers being angels who are learning more about humanity the longer they stay on Earth.
No such stuff with the Megaforce Rangers of course. But when they are translating lines about why humanity needs protecting and deserves it, it’s coming from five angels and a robot who are only just learning what humans and the Earth truly have to offer. It makes sense and gives a completely different meaning to the lines and situations than they are being used for in Megaforce. Which is what makes some of the lines and scenes feel so condescending and irritating.
Robo Knight and the Rangers talking about humans missing one another? Absolutely laughable. Gosei Knight and Nozumu’s connection and relationship was built over 20+ episodes before this one and contributed to the overall arc of Gosei Knight learning about humanity.
After being reasonably original in the first few episodes, Megaforce has now gone to directly translating these last couple of toy introduction episodes.
One good thing Megaforce has done though, it has made Goseiger look so much better than its reputation has made it seem.
Just three more episodes. Let’s just get through three more episodes before we have to bitch about next year’s clusterfrack.
Celebrate Power Rangers‘ 20th Anniversary on DVD!
The first 18 seasons, from Mighty Morphin to RPM on four complete DVD sets!
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I didn’t think it was possible. Like people say about President Obama to past Presidents. Goseiger is one of the lamest Sentai seasons ever, but when crap like this make Goseiger looks better in comparison, you know you are in trouble!
Haha. I know. While I enjoyed Goseiger, Megaforce makes it look like some Oscar winning national treasure. lol