Recap: Dogold has fully unleashed the powers of Pteragodon, and the Kyoryugers must face the mighty Voltasaur in battle. But Torin has some revelations to make about events of the past…

 Dragonzigg’s Thoughts: This episode feels like it should be a lot more impactful than it is. After all, there’s a bunch of huge revelations here – Pteragodon’s mecha mode, more of Torin’s backstory and of course the true nature of Dogold. Props to the show on that last one, it’s a pretty great twist, and while it has been done before, it’s been concealed well enough that having a major enemy general turn out to be one of the good guys is quite a surprsie.

Why then do I not feel super enthusiastic about it? I think it has a lot to do with the presentation here, which is workmanlike but uninspired. When you’ve got a single pivotal twist like this in a toku episode it’s generally best to get it all out at once, since big flashy reveals are ideal for the format. But instead this episode chooses to drip-feed the revelation until the end of the episode. That’s an admirable effort to create mystery and tension, but it doesn’t really work all that well because the moment we see a human face under that Dogold mask all bets are off and the conclusion is obvious, especially since Torin has been talking about Kyoryu Gold since the start of the episode. What would have worked better is if Torin’s guilt and the mysterious fate of Kyoryu Gold had received it’s own separate episode (which also would have helped develop Torin) and then the plot had been allowed to rest for a few episodes. Basically, I wanted more buildup but a more pointed resolution, if that makes sense.

If the story feels a little lacking though, it’s made up for by a healthy dollop of good action. It’s especially cool to see Torin get to charge in and kick ass along with everyone else, and his brief but fiery battle with Dogold is definitely a highlight of the episode (as well as a tremendous display of agility from two men wearing pretty damn bulky costumes). I’m not entirely clear why he stops short of slashing his head off – does he feel it’s actually Gold through the Force or something? – but the character has been so anonymous in the early run that it’s good to see him finally get some screentime. Daigo’s battle with Dogold at the end is also great, aided by some good shot choices. And Pteraidenoh is totally awesome – it looks amazing and its battle against Kyoryuzin is full of great moments.

Next week looks to be the debut of Kyoryu Gold proper and I’m not sure how to feel. My gut tells me it’s still too early for a Sixth Ranger given we haven’t really gotten to know our core team that well, given we spent two full episodes largely focussed on Ramirez. On the other hand, we’re not that far ahead of schedule (the Sixth Ranger normally shows arounf episode 15-16) and there’s certainly some interesting possibilities around integrating someone who’s been out of action for so long back into the fold. Let’s see if he clashes with our gang or compliments them.

Random Observations

• Another version of the ending theme? Guess you gotta shill that merchandise.
  
• Daigo’s handling of the whole hostage situation makes no sense. Mind you the bad guys are equally stupid when they don’t just immediately have Souji and Amy killed once Daigo shoots at them.
• Speaking of Souji and Amy, they really do get the short end of the straw here, as they’re basically kept offscreen for most of the good stuff.
• Daigo providing some fanservice right there.
• I’m glad they established Dogold is a separate being from Gold, as this gives him a chance to stick around afterwards.