Season 22, Episode 4: Return of the Caveman

"Return of the Caveman"

Episode 4

Air Date: February 28th, 2015

WOW! A round of applause for Judd "Chipp" Lynn seamlessly returning to the series with such focus and fantastic sense of story as well as character arcs for the series that hadn't been seen in over 5 years at that point in the show.  In terms of character centered episodes, this is probably his best since RPM's "Heroes Among Us" as he makes Koda, an already interesting and new type of character for the show even more fascinating as we get to know more about the 100,000 year old caveman who must adjust to modern day life while living with the pain of leaving his prehistoric world behind.  Not only does Chip's script explore all the nuances and hilarious possibilities of Koda's fish out of water arc with some of the funniest moments of the show but Yoshi Sudarso gives such a strong, heartwarming performance that really makes Koda feel so real despite having to portray such an outlandish character with limited speech.  I really loved his scenes with Chase especially, establishing their odd friendship while also showing more of Chase's vapid personality.  In terms of the plot with Sledge, it once again is more than just a villain capturing the rangers for his own agenda as Slammer (Clever name actually! :) traps both Chase and Koda in a cave thanks to his magical cage powers; forcing Koda to have to save the life of a young boy caught in the crossfire and having to lead them out of the massive cave to get help for him as well as Chase.

The young boy they chose was actually really solid as an actor and his chemistry with Koda was so genuine.  I really loved how they used this short bond between them to get out of cave to highlight Koda's memory of his brother, Tiku.  The opening teaser where Koda finds his energem while his brother is being attacked by a sabertooth tiger was very intense as well as the moment Koda rushes to save his brother before falling hundreds of feet as his energem activates; trapping him in ice for hundreds of thousands of years.  Despite the very dodgy CGI of the sabertooth tiger, the acting once again was great, especially emotionally heartbreaking! WOW! O_O  Made me feel bad for even Tiku as he watches Koda fall; losing the brother who just saved him.  Again.....WOW! :_(  Meanwhile, the rest of the team go searching for Koda and Chase as we are introduced to the new Dino Cycles.  Typical for this show and nice to see them in action but nothing too special.  

The episode also sees the introduction of a new megazord formation aka the Dino Charge Megazord Stego-Raptor Formation as Riley calls on his Raptor zord for the first time to help out in the fight while Shelby's Tricera zord saves Chase.  While an awesome debut and fight, the real heart of the episode is Koda and his growing attachment to the world he now lives in now.  I love the ending between him and Peter, especially when Koda remembers Tiku and sees Peter as his new little brother. Awwww! This is what the show has been desperately missing! Us actually caring about these characters because their depth and the relationships they build through strong storytelling.  This episode just ran soooo smoothly with the perfect mix of action, backstory and humor.  Seriously, Koda smashing Shelby's cellphone and him running into that glass door is the type of humor I've desperately missed from this show.  So natural and well executed by the actors! Oh Dino Charge, thank you! :_)  One of the finest episodes in a long while at that point! :)

Final Morph: A+