Season 26, Episode 5: Taking Care of Business

 

"Taking Care of Business"

Episode 5

Air Date: April 6th, 2019

Well, this episode is definitely more of a step in the right direction as now Devon gets put in a position where he must chose between his duties as a ranger and doing something that will make his father proud of him again.  You can certainly see that is the main drive behind Devon's character, to do the right thing but of course, with his father being so hard on him about straying away from responsibility in favor of activities he's more interested in.  I loved the scenes between Devon and his father, both actors have great chemistry together! :) Not to mention, Rorrie D. Travis is really hitting out of the park as Devon in general.  His performance here was really genuine and believable at times with wanting to make his father proud but needing to be with his fellow rangers to save the day.  But then you realize....why the hell doesn't Devon just tell his dad he's the Red Ranger?!?? O_o  Yes, it was established in the premiere that Grid Battleforce will keep the identity of the rangers a secret but how Devon doesn't even discuss this with Commander Shaw or even Ravi at least is beyond my understanding???! O_O  Why do the rangers' identity even need to be a secret when Grid Battleforce is clearly a government funded operation like Lightspeed Rescue was as Carter and the other rangers there were publicly known figures without secret identities because of it!? O_o

Now, I understand the traditional ideals of the secret identity which allows the hero to have a normal life outside of their duties; not to mention protecting the ones they love from their enemies but I feel (and it even shown! O_O) that Devon keeping his ranger identity from his father is only gonna cause issues for both of them, not to mention the team!  The point of the episode was clearly showing Devon can't balance making his father proud and being a ranger on the job because both will get jeopardized because of it....yet.....in the end, he just lets his father get made at him for quitting his job instead of just telling him instead of continuing to make himself look bad just for the greater good!  Yes, in the end, the Mayor is so proud of the rangers to the point he announces it on TV and Devon tells him he will tell him eventually one day....it just seems like they are dragging this out just for more conflict between Devon and his father, which will be even more frustrating to watch because he can just tell him! He's the Mayor of the freakin' city, I'm sure Grid Battleforce can make an exception. Are the rangers' parents REALLY not able to know their kids are rangers too??? Makes me wonder more about Blaze and Roxy's parents and if they even know about their children's current condition because of this!?? O_O

Anyway, outside of the father/son plot with Devon, we get some more expanding of Grid Battleforce by learning of a secret hanger sector of the organization, led by General Burke....who happens to be Ben and Betty's father....so THAT'S how they got their jobs there!?? O_o  General Burke seems a bit out there himself so I get the relation but how do these two keep looking so incompetent and still work there???  Jesus, the General must pretty important if his kids can just work there and constantly get away with this crap.  Commander Shaw doesn't even look amused anytime they're onscreen.  I feel her so much on that! :P  But I do like the sub-plot of taking parts of destroyed Gigadrones or monsters post-battle to see if Nate can use the technology to help advance their own.  It's a very smart idea and makes for some really great story elements down the road.  Even Devon manages to use his head and save the day as well as force a Gigadrone to malfunction so Grid Battleforce could obtain a robot still intact so Nate can finally examine one properly.  Neat! :)  Overall, Devon's dilemma has its moments for sure but it's too frustrating when it can be so easily solvable by just telling his father the truth.  Drama only works when certain circumstances are plausible not because the plot avoids a solution that could make some genuine progression for the characters. Good episode for the most part nonetheless.

Final Morph: B