Season 20, Episode 16: Rico The Robot

"Rico the Robot"

Episode 16

Air Date: November 2nd, 2013

Eewwww! What is this I'm feeling?! Actual joy and emotion from an episode of Megaforce!??? O_O  Must be something in my drink??? Did I get enough sleep today??? No I feel refreshed!!!! Dammit! Ewwwwww...what do I do here??? lol Ok, Rico the Robot was actually a pretty strong episode of Power Rangers.  Yes, it's Megaforce so they hit you over the head with the moral of the story by episode's end but the journey to get there was actually surprising and kept me engaged.  The rangers actually act smart (Not that they haven't been dumb all season, just boring and forgettable! :P) when after a Metal Alice fight, she leaves a defective robot that was her latest creation to be destroyed and the rangers question if it's a trap or not.  Even after Emma suggests befriending the robot and teaching it to be good aka a friend to them, the rangers still question if this is all a trick, not to mention that this is a machine period.  Sure Robo Knight is a robot and good, but that's because he's been built and programmed to protect Earth, NOT to initially destroy.  Maybe they can't teach it how to be an ally to them??? These are very plausible questions and I love how the episode is not only focused on Rico but on Emma's POV on the situation.  It has been established she is the one in the group with the most heart (able to even wake nature up with her Disney Princess vocals! :P) so it makes sense she would be the one most driven to wanting to protect and believe in the robot's ability to be good.

I also enjoyed how all the rangers got close to Rico and showed building a quick genuine friendship with it before discovering that there's a sensor on his chest that Metal Alice left there, which means this still could be a trap.  I'm surprised.  The rangers never just stick too Rico being innocent and always bring up the very plausible idea that it can all just be a trap or the robot can go bad at any minute.  Of course when Rico goes off to protect his friends, Emma leads the charge in the search and when she finds him, continues to try to believe in him.  I like how the rangers even strategize on how to destroy the sensor to try a free Rico but they could destroy him the process or the sensor can react in any other dangerous way.  It's just handled very rationally and logically so I don't blame Emma for hesitating as she may lose a friend by trying to save him.  WOW! :)  Then Metal Alice returns and shows that it was all apart of her plan to use him to study human behavior aka friendship to win the rangers' trust so it would be harder for them to beat him.  It's a really good plan and makes sense from a robot's perspective that they uses human flaws as a way to defeat them since robots are far stronger.  Hell, Metal Alice is already a better villain than the Toxic mutants and Warstar insects!

Even the conclusion of the conflict is resolved well with the rangers once again forming a plan to destroy the answer and Emma quickly realizing it's the only way to stop him from Metal Alice's control.  It's plan that works and even after she forces him to grow, the rangers and Robot Knight are still willing to put their duties as rangers first before saving Rico.  Luckily, Rico begins fighting her control enough where Emma gets a pretty smart idea to use the Command Ship to fly Rico out of Metal Alice's rage so he can be free but having to leave the rangers permanently.  It's actually really solid emotional moment and I believed the friendship the rangers built with him, especially Emma.  Even the rangers are able to miss, even mourn him but remember that he's free and able to chose his own fate despite being a robot. WOW! I'm actually kind of floored! This is probably the best episode of the Neo Saban Era since There Go the Brides with a lot of heart and solid writing to it despite the sappiness of it at times. At least this was a smooth watch! :)

Final Morph: A-