Season 25, Episode 17: Happy to Be Me

"Happy to Be Me"

Episode 17

Air Date: October 13th, 2018

Well, I definitely enjoyed this episode more than I have in a while! :)  Maybe cause the villains finally make a plan and it actually works; forcing the rangers to retreat and come up with their own plan of stopping them.  General Tynamon has been completely forgettable since coming back at the end of last episode to remind us, "Oh yeah! That guy!? O_o"  I don't know, the villains this season aren't making much of an impression on me. Sigh.....anyway, he does come up with a decent plan tho to use the fusion star the rangers lost last episode and combining it with Odius' hammer thing to fuse a couple of Skullgators together to create their most powerful monster yet.  Of Levi destroys the monster pretty easily later but then again he was using his new powered up mode with the Superstar Blade.  Shrug*  Anyway, we learn that power stars and ninja stars can only be activated by a rangers' voice (Ummmm....was that previously established??? O_o  I'm so confused! lol) Anyway, Tynamon switches voices with Levi and uses his voice to activate the star and put his plan in motion. He creates Megamauler, who has a pretty awesome design and a big ole rolling wheel he uses to barge through things.  He manages to disable the rangers' ultrazord; leaving them to retreat.  Meanwhile, Levi is walking around with Tynamon's voice and the visual of that sound coming out of his mouth is pure hilarity.  My goodness, I couldn't keep a straight face!

Unfortunately, Levi gets the idea for Preston to use his magic to reverse the spell; even if Preston is against it.  Looks like he really did learn from doing spells he doesn't know about and even Hayley mentions the time Preston turned her invisible.  I'm really enjoying the continuity from the last couple of episodes, definitely helps in terms of the story.  But when Preston finally gives in and tries to reverse the spell...her turns him back into little Aidan.  Ha! They even got the same actor who played him as a kid in the beginning of the show to play him again.  I know many would find the plot a bit too on the nose, but I liked the idea of one of Levi's younger fans inspiring him to embrace his dilemma at the moment with being a kid and the voice of frantic elf! Its a good message for the kids as Levi in kid mode meets a group of kids that change his perspective, especially Rosie. :)  In fact, the kid actors weren't bad at all this episode I noticed! O_O  Usually when Power Rangers does this, I seriously cringe but they were honestly believable and dare I say they didn't have a hint of a noticeable New Zealand accents! O_o WOW! :)

In ranger tradition, we get more introductions to new powerups and zord formations in this episode when Levi tries his Gold ninja star power up with Sarah's Superstar....which turns him into.......him wearing a long golden sash over him....which his suit is pretty much unchanged due to the transformation.  How the HELL is that epic Brody!??? Well, he's a supportive, loving brother so.......:P  As I said, Levi uses his new mode and the superstar blade to destroy Megamauler while the 6 rangers with Brody using the Lion Fire armor destroy General Tynamon.  Of course, Megamauler is GIGANTIFYED! and the rangers summon their Blaze Zords to form the Ninja Blaze Megazord. But with Mauler being so powerful, Brody gets the idea to make a new formation as they create the Ninja Blaze Ultrazord, which honestly is the best looking zord formation than the last ultrazord.  Despite being so clunky, it can move at fast speeds as they manage to destroy Megamauler for good this time.  All and All, "Happy to be Me" is a stronger episode than usual and has fun with some of its wacky ideas with some hilarious visuals and a lesson that feels simple but sweet in its delivery. 

Final Morph: A-