Power Rangers Super Samurai Overview

Power Rangers Super Samurai: Season 19

Episode Count: 20 + 2 specials and 1 TV Movie

Air Date: February 18th, 2012-December 15th, 2012

Sorry for the long wait but I have been dreading writing this overview and honestly don't have much of anything to say....it nice....or at all!!! -_- Super Samurai, the first of several lackluster super seasons required by Nickelodeon during this era of the show, is a basic, empty and insulting as the first season.  There's no real plot movement with the characters outside very few minor moments and the story doesn't really change or adapt to a new status quo besides the addition of special "Super Samurai Mode" that they can now unlock with the new black box they got during the end of last season.  Funny enough, during my first watch of both seasons, I actually thought Super Samurai was MUCH better than Samurai...clearly I was in a very bad place in my life and out of my mind because there is literally nothing to really make this season superior in anyway to the first one.  Super Samurai, the premiere, doesn't distinguish itself at all from what has come before besides the damn upgrade and there's nothing really knew to anticipate.  Dayu is off on her own.....just around! Dekker pops up out of nowhere and.....is just back to being Jayden's rival....because! Sure the season tries to give the rangers their individual episodes to "develop" them but there is still no progression in their supposed arcs as by the end of the season nothing has changed in terms of their personalities or their relationships to each other. Jayden is still the stoic, mystery who is practically worshiped by the team and carrying some secret that apparently is so bad, twisted and warped as Dekker said last season that it needs to be dragged out from the beginning of last season to almost the end of this one.

Jayden isn't a character. He's a caricature! Nothing about his past is brought up again this season outside of what we already know! No insight on you know, his father and his relationship with him.  It's just more training and being all anxious about the rest of the team finding out the truth.  The only thing to Jayden's character this season is his secret being revealed.....which NEVER had to be a secret at all from the rangers! Seriously, Lauren being the true Red Ranger wasn't something that was so dire that the other rangers didn't have to know and in fact, them NOT knowing, then finding out causing Jayden to suddenly just leave and have Lauren take her rightful place as leader aka the REAL symbol sealer.  Suddenly, by Jayden making such a dramatic....or more an overdramatic, abrupt exit, now all the rangers do is dismiss Lauren, their mission and want Jayden back; talking about him all the time like he just died.  This isn't anything new, last season, Jayden did the same thing when the others got hurt and he wanted to excuse himself from the situation so they wouldn't get hurt anymore! Like what is up with him just constantly abandoning his team when things like this happen....not to mention, the Shiba House is his home! Where is he suppose to stay??? You're telling Ji just let Jayden leave and become homeless just because of Lauren's importance??? Dear God, what an awful mentor??? Even Zordon made sure the rangers had lives outside of being rangers and live with families....but Ji....if Jayden wants to go, I can't stop....it's his home! What would his father think of you letting his child go homeless over this??? Is this Samurai code??? Never mentioned if it is! -_-

Kevin is the same old strict and disciplined trainer with a voice that is so soft and forced.  The only real episode to truly delve into his character is "Kevin's Choice".  Suddenly, Kevin realizes he abandoned his team for his calling as a ranger when he never even expressed even a little bit of regret last season outside a blink and you'll miss it moment in the second half of the premiere.  One wonders why Kevin's father, who we say tell him he has to join up with the other rangers in the premiere didn't just TELL his team some lie about Kevin having to do something more important in his life that was drastic but family related??? Would have made sense instead of Kevin looking like some jerk who left his team when they really needed him...but whatever! He has a nice episode with Mike where they are literally stuck together in "A Sticky Situation" because it finally showed two characters with the most clashing personalities (or rather generic character traits) trying despite to work together, failing then realizing they can because of how much they admire the differences between them.  Of course, his "Not a true Samurai" attitude is annoying but at least we got the amazing moment of him finishing off Dekker that was far too good than it should have been for this show. So by the end of his character's arc, he decides to go back to his swimming career and try to get enough practice in to make it too the Olympics.....yeah....that's about it.  Mike, like Kevin, never really changes between seasons and during this one, but at least his typical fun loving, immature black/green ranger stereotype brought some genuine life to the show sometimes....tho I'm still dumbfounded by the whole Mike and Emily romance.  So by the end, he just decides to go home with her...for what??? Maybe actually getting to know each other and building on your friendship to become a couple because....HUH!??? Nothing present...NOT one scene out of the finale showed them interested in each other or even going on a date! -_-

And NO, Clash of the Red Rangers doesn't count! If no one saw that movie and just watched the rest of the series, this would be sooo completely laughable and dumb....and it is STILL that laughable and dumb! :P  Like I said, the episode with him and Kevin stuck together was fun, entertaining and built on their understanding of each other but.....yeah...nothing more to say. Mia.....is STILL a terrible cook! It's funny because she can't cook.....she can't cook guys....how hilarious is that! Then she wants to actually go to culinary school because she NEVER showed signs of her realizing how much she sucked at cooking or showed that cooking was her passion.  Maybe actually make the running gag a personal arc for her, realizing she's not good at it; maybe wanting to actually get better at it before deciding to make such a life changing decision.  Then there's "He Ain't Heavy Metal, He's My Brother" where she's so hard on her brother for spending time dedicated to his music instead of helping others in the hospital.  It reveals she use to sing with her brother and wanted to be a singer but it doesn't build on anything besides now we know that was a thing in her childhood and she realizes her brother is doing the music thing for charity! Problem solved! No consequences! That's nice....riveting!!! *Head to anything SOLID*  Emily is also the same outside of "The Strange Case of the Munchies" when suddenly she isn't tough enough compared to the other rangers....yet last season, "Sticks & Stones" showed she was immune to the monster's harmful insults (literally at might add!) because her sister taught herself they are just words!!! So huh??? Seems like just an excuse to finally have Bulk and Spike interact with the rangers....or just Emily rather so she can go all "The Officer and Gentleman" on them because of how FUNNY it is! hahahaha....HOLY CRAP! -_-  But at least she has Mike, her new boyfriend coming with her to take care of her sister....can't wait until she explains how they fell in love or ......I just....this show! lol

Lastly, Antonio is just as irritating and head hurting with his catchphrases straight out of Dora the Explorer!!! The only really significant things that happen to him this season is him getting that phobia of fish after switching bodies with one the episode prior and having to face it to help the other rangers when they need him.  Love how they solve it with Ji just shocking sushi in his mouth and telling him to get over it! So you want to dumb down the show for kids but teach them to key to facing their fear is shoving the thing that's causing them serious trauma and psychological stress in their mouth???!!! -_-....... Then there's Stroke of Fate, where he is faced with the chance to finish off Dekker but decides not too and proceeds to give himself a hard time about it.  Could he have just captured him then??? O_o It's basically an episode of the rangers encouraging Antonio to embrace his ability to not take a life since it isn't the Samurai way.....I mean I get it and nice that the rangers have gone from seeing Antonio as a non-Samurai to one in spirit, but Dekker is still a threat despite being half human.  Unless you have a cure for his Nighlok half then what exactly is the problem??? O_o  Harsh but there are just no other options discussed outside killing and not killing Dekker. MEH!!! Oh and he ends the show by going on a HUGE fishing to catch the world's largest fish.....FANTASTICO! MUY CLIENTA! GOLDEN! *Insanity begins*  Mentor Ji.......he was there! He gave the rangers things to do as well as explained things to them.  You just know you have a really horrible mentor character when Lauren comes in, who isn't even the mentor character, yet connects and handles the team better than Ji has in two seasons.  Even when the rangers are dismissive of her because of Jayden, she's still so calm, curious and understanding of the team like when she tells Kevin to go find Jayden with the others or wanting to know more about her brother from Antonio.  In the end, she  gets hurt and almost dies making two discs for the team to help them in their finale battle against Xandred....yet no love or appreciation from ANY of them before she leaves.  WOW! I know she decides to leave quietly but given how they are around her and how they can't stop comparing her to Jayden.....BYE B!TCHES!!!

As for the villains, again, Xandred is a waste, sitting on his a$$ all the time and drinking medicine! O_O  Even tho he's so powerful, he dries up so fast in "The Master Returns" and is out of commission for several episodes because of that.  In the end he needed Dayu's sacrifice to even withstand the sealing symbol so...not much of a threat, especially when the rangers just keep fighting him relentlessly until they end of finally destroying him in the finale.  Xandred was ALWAYS a generic main baddie; his minions doing most if not all the work while he just complains about his headaches and failing.  Powerful? Yes?  Memorable? No! I guess Dayu's end was tragic, but only because after losing Dekker, it's just tragic she gave up the rest of her humanity to Xandred and tricked Mia into unleash hell of Earth pretty much with that dark cloud. But there's nothing else to her character besides Dekker and her harmonium....which didn't matter to her in the end anyways.  The writers could have given the story even more depth given the backstory being a very tragic deal with the devil type consequence but it never made sense why she could just TELL Dekker the truth and just stayed around him hoping he'd remember her!!! -_- Serrator was a nice addition, having the commanding presence and power to really give the rangers a challenge.  In the end, he does do the most damage with his ultimate plan in "A Crack In The World" and "Stroke of Fate", but I still feel like so much more could have been done with his character in terms of manipulation and in-fighting, that's all.  Dekker is....Dekker but just gets defeated by Kevin ironically which makes for a hilarious twist and not just a badass one.  All the obsession with fighting Jayden and he's defeated by just another ranger!? HA!!!  The thing is I never felt bad for Dekker and then suddenly he returns as well as makes Jayden feel like he lost his edge.  Literally more than one episode of Dekker getting into Jayden's head about this crap when it's Jayden who defeated you the first time! -_- You can't have a villain be considered threatening or intimidating when he's a loser and returns to make the red ranger feel like one...not how that works! O_o

Once again, wasted opportunity and terrible writing when they could have made Dekker more interesting, maybe have him start to remember his past and just when he realizes the truth, Kevin killed him as Dayu watches, giving her more motivation to see the world suffer like she has??? Ewwww! Octoroo, the only surviving villain is reduced to a one dimensional idiot who now goes "Oooo Ah Oooo" before he talks because instead of him being so clever and funny last season, he's reduce to juvenile comedic relief. O_O As for the zords, they get more clunky! The Bullzord is nice as well as it's megazord form, I just wish the titular episode wasn't so bad. I think I'm done here. Lol I just....I'm done......*Exits stage left*

Pros:

• Kimberly Crossman as Lauren and her acting being far too good for this ridiculous filth that surrounds her.
• Dekker's unforeseen demise at the hands of Kevin!
• ......ummmm.....The Shogun modes look amazing!!!
• The Strange Case of the Munchies

Cons:

• A second season without any real differentiation between it and the first besides the added Super Samurai mode. 
• Serrator ending up to be a disappointing character overall despite his awesome initial appearance.
• The revelation of Jayden's pathetic secret and how completely nonsensical it is handled.
• Too much Jayden worship and not enough actually character development.
• Ji continues to be the most pointless, worthless mentor yet with no real lesson to teach the rangers or even a backstory on how he became the official mentor of Jayden and the Samurai Rangers.
• More idiotic and dumb downed writing that insults the intelligence of the viewers, even if it's geared toward children.
• Mike and Emily are apparently a thing......because there were no signs or foreshadowing of it unless a blink and you'll miss it scene from the Clash crossover movie! 
• Making Octoroo more incompetent and giving him that catch phrase this season! -_-

Best Episodes:

1. Evil Reborn-An episode saved by Lauren's presence aka Kimberly Crossman's excellent performance as well as the unforeseen baddassry of Kevin finishing off Dekker. :)
2. Fight Fire With Fire-Lauren honestly saved the rest of the season for me and got me to keep watching.  It's a great twist with having an official female Red Ranger... if only the consequences of her arrival weren't so DUMB! -_-
3. A Sticky Situation-I just really admired the building on the comradery that was finally built between Mike and Kevin; it was entertaining as it was heartwarming and engaging.
4. Trading Places-I guess the sheer absurdity and insanity of this episode made it so entertaining for me.  Especially Antonio as the fish! YIKES! O_O
5. The Strange Case of the Munchies-The closest Power Rangers will ever get to being a stoner episode! Ha!

Worst Episodes:

1. Trickster Treat-A bunch of random unused Sentai footage tied together for a plot that doesn't know what it wants to be!!!! Then there that random concert with the rangers dancing for Mia when she's not even there...or at least her actress clearly! -_-
2. He Ain't Heavy Metal, He's My Brother-A character focused episode that has no strong development and seems like an excuse just to get Mia to sing with her brother and Antonio who's into music too.  Huh???
3. Runaway Spike-A whole episode dedicated to Spike......great!!! -_-
4. Kevin's Choice-So much potential just lost by how the writers poorily handle Kevin and his swimming career dilemma when his former swim team is in town.
5. The Bullzord-Some annoying kid gets focus and unleashes a renegade zord on a rampage!!! Wonderful.....*VOMIT*

"Picking up from where the 1st season left off, "Super Samurai" the aforementioned sequel season is absolutely no different from the previous.  The characters are still nobodies with random traits about them, the writing is insipid and the villains continue to suck on a level that is almost unwatchable.  Even Serrator, a very presentable and awesome addition in his introduction episode turned out to not be much of a defining, exciting new threat for the team. Outside of Kimberly Crossman's tremendously misplaced performance in a series that is not even good enough to have its name attached to hers and very few episodes that legit entertain, Haim Saban's supposed triumphant return to his phenomenon of a franchise is an embarrassing disappointment with Tzachor's returning as head showrunner is the worst beginning of a new era aka the Neo-Saban Era, thus far."

Season Verdict: D-