Season 15, Episode 9: Follow The Ranger

"Follow The Ranger"
Episode 9
Air Episode: April 30th, 2007

Ok, this episode was.....meh! I don't want to sound like every episode I'm complaining and not giving this season enough credit, but I'm seriously finding it hard to find the enjoyment here besides bits of decency here and there but few and so far between! -_-  I guess this was a Mack focused episode and I did enjoy it a lot more than "Weather Or Not" but I was pretty much bored through most of it.  I guess the one thing in the good I can say is Flurious and Moltor finally made a victory on the rangers by teaming up again and using two giant robots (one called a Dragonizer, uhh huh......) to overwhelm the rangers and forcing them to leave their megazord during battle but unfortunately Mack doesn't make it out and is captured as well.  I mean that's pretty much the plot of the episode and it's overall average, tho I don't understand why Moltor and Flurious would have Norg watch over Mack while they keep him locked up! -_-  Near let the comic relief character watch over the ranger because Mack just easily outsmarts him into telling him more about the two villain brothers so he can turn them against each other and escape.  Also, Moltor and Flurious.....meh!  Once again, we have comedic relief villains, not just side characters and once again, it just doesn't work.  How are we suppose to find these two threatening or even something to worry about when they keep fighting over the childish things like a freaking sled that Flurious destroyed which belonged to Moltor??? I mean I know they're brothers but making their rivalry comedic like this just takes away from their threat as villains.  Not impressed by them so far when Lothor could fit right in with them as a third brother! Ewwwww!

I guess I'll give the rangers some credit as they didn't just wait for Mack to save himself or something and actively fixed the damage auxiliary zords until they found his signal and managed to come join him just in time to add him in stopping both giant robot and Dragonizer as they combine the main megazord with the 4 extra zords to form the Super DriveMax Megazord,,,which actually looks a lot better than the first megazord.  I'm actually surprised I like the look of it so much as it's a bunch of construction zords sounds so stupid and have looked stupider as a megazord, but here, not so bad. WOW! Also the episode does do a fine job at subtly hinting at a BIG twist to come and I like how its used here to give Mack some doubt about his father not believing in him as the red ranger again.  Of course, after a wonderful moment between Mack and Spencer (I really love his words of wisdom each episode to the rangers individually! :) where Spencer tells him his father is just worried about him as his son, Mack and his father bond over how far he has come as a ranger and how proud he is of him.  Nice! Really touching final scene there and I realize the father/son dynamic between Mack and Mr. Hartford is one of the well written bits of the season so far, so there's another compliment??? :)

"Follow The Ranger" is pretty meh worthy tho.  While it doesn't really move the plot along but it's an average character focused episode at best despite by issue with the main villains and Norg being used as some kind of guard for Mack who easily outsmarts him of course.  It could be worse and once again the moral dilemma of the day is handled subtly instead of being jammed into our brains as to insult the children's intelligence. lol :P

Final Morph: C-