Season 18, Episode 3: The Team Unites

 

"The Team Unites"

Episode 3

Air Date: February 3rd, 2011

Oh...so this is the episode where the Team....unites???!!! Yeah, thanks to some bizarre airing from Nickelodeon, this is the first episode of Samurai that aired....yet this wasn't written as some follow up opener in place of the proper two part premiere.  Instead it's some random Mike focused episode, about him having to learn more of the dedication and focus of the Samurai life in favor of the life he use to have.  Like I said, Hector David Jr. is the most enthusiastic actor in the cast as he is able to emote somewhat properly and actually convey the personality his character is suppose to have.  But I find it hard to by the lesson that Mike is suppose to learn here.  The episode starts where the rangers training with Mentor Ji overlooking them but Mike not getting the concept of using his Samurai instincts to feel what the next move the opponent is going to make before their strike.  It's also the same sequence where Jayden some how make Kevin's pants fall down with his wooden samurai training sword....so....hahaha??? O_O Back to Mike, he spends the most of the first half of the episode lamenting his previous life by hanging out with his two best buddies while also vaguely telling them about his newest commitment to his team.  Really guys, can't tell your bff is a Power Ranger??? Guess Mike's lucky that those two didn't see him morph in plane sight??? O_o Also, I noticed the rangers are morphing out in public instead of in some alleyway or other form of hiding spot.  Ummmm, if secret identities are thing this season than why morph  in from of people getting attacked.  I mean, this was only 10 years ago and suppose could have clearly taken a picture of the rangers in their civilian forms before hand so....huh??? O_o

Also, what's with the weird inclusion of Jayden's forced training in this episode when this is a Mike episode.  I mean are they trying to show the differences in the two with Jayden so dedicated to his Samurai calling while Mike is still training to be just as good as the others??? I just....Jayden's been a cardboard cutout of stoic leadership that I just find his scenes flat and falling in conveying any form of relevance to the narrative of the show, not just this episode so far. Besides, the lesson Mike has to learn this episode is a bit head scratching. After the monster of the week, Rofer (...ok!!! -_-) embarasses him and badly injures him, now all of a sudden he wants to take on the monster by himself and use what he learned from one night of training to defeat it??? Ummmm, then what is the whole team uniting aspect of the episode.  Even in the end, it just makes no sense.  Mike admits to needing Jayden's help to defeat the monster so....what exactly did Mike have to overcome in this episode???  Even the zord battle makes no sense and seems more incapable of handling it on his own; which leads to the Samurai Megazord being formed and the team needing to work together to destroy the monster for good.  Would have worked more to have Mike being overzealous, like say Shane was in "The "I" In Team" and have to realize that teamwork in essential in them as Rangers, not just doing things his own way as a Samurai????  Jesus, this is like kid's show 101 storytelling and they can't even give us that??? Oh boy!!! O_O What a season or two to go!!! -_-

Of course, we have Bulk and Spike starting to bond with Bulk training him to be a Samurai...but it's just an excuse to ram that annoying physical comedy at us that apparently we didn't get enough of during the original Saban Era. *Groan* Mind you, you can see where these mishaps are gonna go, so what's the point when they are so predictable??? Was this even funny to kids at the time??? Maybe???  Nothing much else to say here.  We a bit more character bits from Dayu despite just playing her guitar all day; clearly more menacing and dangerous than previous seen so far but that's it.  Yeah, soooooo moving on from "The Team Unites" where nothing really unites them because they're already united and some weak written story for Mike about self sacrificing and facing the obstacles of being a committed Samurai.  Yeah, shouldn't this go to Emily tho??? Isn't she not meant for this and needs to catch up??? I'm just saying after 17 seasons, we know how this show should work yet....this happened.  Next! O_0

Final Morph: D-