Season 24, Episode 12: Family Fusion

"Family Fusion"

Episode 12

Air Date: September 2nd, 2017

Dammit, dammit, dammmit, DAMMIT!!! Where did all this Hallmark channel emotional resonance come from!!??? :_(  And I mean that in the best possible way actually! LOL  Where was this so far this season!???  Actually where was this when Tyler and his dad reunited last season!???? -_- I never thought the Neo Saban era would generate an episode of PR that made me this emotional again but man, that ending was....perfection and worth all the build up to it from the opening scene to the last shot of all the rangers, Mick and Redbot enjoying each other's company during a camp fire; making smores. :_( Once again, the twist with Aidan being a planet from within works but it sucks that it already comes to an end by the episode's wrap up.  The actor in the role did well enough even tho he doesn't exactly know how to pull off the line between campy and serious.  His first scene with Ripcon could have been more menacing but he comes off like he's trying to get when to be over the top and more subdued.  Tho I have to say, Aidan or rather the cyborg turns out to be one ruthless and efficient villain which sucks since it would have been nice to stick around to at least be apart of the main villain team.  Once again Odius is the most charismatic and effective villain this season as even tho her plan with her robot plant failed in the end, she still got rid of Ripcon thanks to all her double crossing and backhand plotting.

Yes, this is the last episode for Ripcon......and sadly, who cares really???  He was as generic as generals come and I never really bought on the kind of rivalry they tried to have between him and Brody.  If anything it was a huge missed opportunity that should have been more explored instead of recent random one on one fights with Ripcon with Brody constantly fearing how powerful he is in battle. How bout the 10 years he spent on Galvanax's ship and the rivalry that built up there from how Ripcon bullied Brody; forcing him to serve on the ship and so unable to fight him because of how young as well as small he was as a kid. I'm just saying if you're gonna build a rivalry between two characters who have known each other for years and it comes off more casual than deeply personal than that means it's not being written well at all. -_-  Jesus, Fury and Tyler's rivalry had way more depth to it but not this!  Anyway, the action was also well edited and done this episode and assuming it's because of the new power up the rangers get in the form of the Ninja Fusion star which can give the each ranger the power of all six when one of them uses it.  It also can be used in megazord form as Brody uses it to combine Ninja Steel Megazord and Bull Rider Megazord to make the Ninja Fusion Megazord which is fine as they use it to finally destroy Ripcon as well as two Skullgators.

Back to robot Aidan, I love how he was discovered by Levi after neutralizing Mic and Redbot.  Like I said, so relentless and almost killing Levi with his blaster shots.  Also, the reveal of him being a machine was kind of menacing; especially with the big ole hole on his chest showing all the circuits and wiring.  Wow I felt so bad for Brody when the other rangers arrived but I'm glad that he didn't take it too hard and simply wondered how the robot knew so much about his past as the real Aidan would.  Well it turns out in a shocking turn of effects that I honestly didn't see coming was Levi actually turning out to be the real Aidan.  His memories were apparently stolen from him by Odius when she captured him and put new memories in while transferring his to the Aidan robot! But honestly, the way the revel is done is so well done, it's almost too well done! When Brody is performing at the Talent Show sans his brother, looking honestly so disappointed and defeated, Levi coming in to help him finish the song as Brody realizes he's his brother.....uhhhh....I need more tissues.....  The acting from the cast was top notch; making the moment feel so genuine and heartfelt.  WOW! In the end, the REAL Aidan finally explains the truth about what happened to him and now it makes more sense than fake Aidan's story!  But honestly, I really can't get over that scene and the build up to it.  It's probably one of, if not best piece of writing and acting from the Neo Saban era yet.  Also, very little Victor and Monty helped A LOT here as the focus needed to be on the story and it truly pays off! The best episode so far this season, bar none. 

Final Morph: A+