Recap: Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Episode 31 – “I thought computers were supposed to be smarter than humans.”

Recap: Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Episode 31 – Nothing to Lose

Moltor recognizes that with the Fearcats, Miratrix and Kamdor out of the way, his brother Flurious is the only one that stands his way. He feels confident that having the Corona in his possession and one more secret weapon will ensure his victory.

Flurious laughs as he causes Moltor’s lair to grow increasingly unstable. He tells Norg to pick lint out of his bellybutton.

Meanwhile, the Rangers head to Japan to find the Tri-Dragon Key they need to open the sarcophagus in Egypt. They arrive at the shrine, but before they can search for the Key, Moltor arrives with Magmador.

The Rangers morph and they battle. Magmador is able to replicate the Rangers’ weapons. And Moltor engages Tyzonn in a fierce faceoff. Magmador seems to be losing energy so he retreats. But Moltor is able to gain the upper hand on Tyzonn and proceeds to search for the Tri-Dragon Key.

Moltor is intent on showing up his brother and the rest of the world. But when he reaches for the Key, it pops out and drills into the ground, not allowing him to grab hold of it.

Moltor scolds Magmador for retreating. But Magmador makes up for it by using his tentacles to search for the Key in the ground. The Rangers are using their scanners to search for the Key as well.

Both sides end up by the same waterfalls and they battle once more. Mack wants to take on Magmador himself, but Will says they are in this together. Mack says it won’t matter if he gets hurt anyway.

Moltor takes Mack on and Will engages Magmador after it blasts the others. Moltor helps out by blasting them some more.

Even with a Defender Vest, Will can’t hold off Magmador’s attack. Mack jumps in. Magmador replicates Mack’s sword and uses it against him. Will summons the Hovertek Cycle and destroys Magmador.

Will tells Mack he needs to stop putting himself out there or he’ll get hurt.

Magmador embiggens. He shoots at Mack and Will, but Mack shields Will and absorbs most of the attack. Will shakes his head at Mack’s continued recklessness.

Sentinel Knight arrives and Tyzonn hops in his Megazord to help take on Magmador.

The other Rangers continue battling Moltor. But the Tri-Dragon Key comes flying out of the waterfall. Moltor thinks the Key is his, but Will swoops in to grab it.

Moltor demands Will hand over the Key. But Mack delivers an attack at Moltor that forces him to run.

Back home, the Rangers pack for their return to Egypt. Rose says even if they can retrieve the jewel from the sarcophagus, they will need to take the Corona back from Moltor. Dax says they should just go there and take it. The others agree. But Spencer tries to knock some sense into them.

“If volcanoes were inhabitable, someone would’ve turned one into a condo before now. None of you are going to the volcano! Is that understood?”

Mack, listening from around the corner, runs out of the mansion. He heads to Moltor’s lair by himself just as Moltor assembles an army of Lava Lizards.

Back at the command center, the others wonder where Mack is. Spencer locates Mack and they are shocked to learn he is in Moltor’s lair. The volcano continues to grow unstable.

“You were human once. But you lost that because you were obsessed with power. How could you give up the most precious gift there is?! The gift of humanity!”

Moltor says being human means nothing to him. Mack morphs and fends off Lava Lizards before facing off against Moltor for the crown.

The other Rangers arrive and drag Mack out of the volcano.

Moltor makes his way to see his brother, bringing the Corona Aurora… and Vella! Moltor says he just needs to regain his strength and asks they work together. The crown and his hostage should be signs that he is sincere.

Flurious says sure. He takes the crown from Moltor and tells Norg to grab Vella.

Flurious tells Moltor to sit on his throne and rest.

“You’re kind.”
“Yes, but not kind enough.”

Flurious turns and zaps Moltor, freezing him. He then proceeds to smash the ice, including Moltor inside.

Flurious says now only the Power Rangers stand in his way from total domination.

Flurious holds the Blue Sapphire with the Corona and it turns into a jewel able to fit on the crown. He asks the crown to show him the location of the other jewels and it shows the mansion.

Meanwhile, Norg visits Vella who thanks him for the delicious fish he offered her. She says she feels Norg is not like the others. Telling him about being a rescuer with Tyzonn, Norg says he also knows a rescuer named Tyzonn who helped him.

They realize they are talking about the same Tyzonn.

At the mansion, Hartford scolds Mack for going into the volcano by himself and putting the team in danger.

Spencer comes in and reports that he has tracked the Corona to Flurious’ lair. But Hartford says their immediate priority is the last jewel. The Rangers hurry out, but Hartford tells Mack they are not done speaking yet.

Hartford says maybe he should take Mack’s tracker from him. Mack reasons that he went into the volcano because he is the most expendable. If something happens to him, Hartford can just build another one.

“I’m not human and I never will be.”

Mack joins the others and they head to Egypt. They open the sarcophagus, but it is empty except for a medallion. They head back to the mansion and thanks to Rose’s vast knowledge, they are able to figure the true location of the final jewel.

Knowing that the Egyptians would bury the treasures in simple tombs to fool grave robbers. A couple of years ago, a foreign government gifted Hartford with a mummy of a tomb guardian.

Hartford says he has always noticed an indentation on the side of the sarcophagus in the living room. But now he knows what it is for. He places the medallion in the slot.

Rose takes the two jewels they have and approaches the mummy. Suddenly, a huge surge of energy throws everyone back. The mummy suddenly begins to move and walks out of the sarcophagus.

Episode Thoughts

This was a pretty full, action-packed penultimate episode. It might not be the traditional two-part finale. But there was definitely a lot going on here.

First of all, what better last international destination for the Rangers to visit than Japan! It’s a nice touch and that first battle with Moltor and Magmador was great. I assume there was a mix of Japan and NZ footage there. But whatever it was, it was exciting, adrenaline-fueled and action-packed.

But the main plot of the episode was so interesting. Mack basically going on a suicide mission knowing he is not human. We’ve seen this basic theme be touched upon since the big iMack reveal. But this was the first time that it was dealt with in a pretty serious and consequential way. Mack was ready to sacrifice himself to complete the mission. Obviously the others, especially his father, would not let him do that.

I especially enjoyed the scenes with Mack and Will with Will shaking his head at a stubborn Mack.

It speaks to Mack being sort of lost a bit since finding out he’s just an android. We got a bit of discussion about humanity and what it means to be human. Both as it relates to Mack as an android and Moltor essentially embracing his non-human form. Thus, solidifying his evil intentions and corrupted mind.

They didn’t necessarily go into the deepest discussion however. But it’s still such a striking idea to present on Power Rangers. And I know they’ll bring it all to a climactic moment in the finale.

Anyway, this was a very fast-paced episode. The big reveal that Moltor had Vella all along and then Flurious brutally killing his own brother like that. That was all crazy exciting and very much fitting for a penultimate episode. That bit of detail with the history lesson at the end of the episode was done very well too.

Overall, this episode really helps to set-up the finale very well. And perhaps it would be better to watch them back to back. But in OO fashion, that cliffhanger gets us eager to watch the next episode, no matter how long the wait may be.