Power Rangers Beast Morphers: Secret Struggle Review

PRBM "Secret Struggle"

"Wait. You guys are a thing?!" - Devon Daniels, to Zoey Reeves and Nate Silva

"Secret Struggle" addresses two major overarching plot threads. It revives the Zoey/Nate attraction, with Steel playing matchmaker in his lovably oafish way. And the episode finally pulls the trigger on the Evox-disguised-as-Mayor-Daniels plot; the cat is out of the bag.

It is also an episode of outstanding action. Zoey has a marquee fight with the Roxy Robot Avatar, which proves to be the best one-on-one fight the show has produced in a while. Zoey transitions from unmorphed, to morphed, to Beast-X modes - if I'm not mistaken, when the episode gives us a full morphing sequence for just Zoey, that's the first time Beast Morphers has done a solo morphing sequence. (Or at least the first for someone other than Devon.) Enlivened by fun wirework, it's a dynamic fight.

And it proves to be a big episode for Zoey in general. Later, an unmorphed Zoey fights Blaze and Roxy single-handedly, and eventually takes them both down. But not without a little assist from Nate, who "takes a laser bullet" for Zoey, which ended up as a tactical advantage for Zoey. It's this act of self-sacrifice that convinces Commander Shaw to dispense with the "no fraternization" rule. And here's where the episode's issues come in. So Nate threw himself in the line of fire for Zoey, who he has feelings for. But that level of selflessness and teamwork should be expected from the WHOLE RANGER TEAM.

I'm not opposed to the idea of the rule change, but I am opposed to this episode changing it without once articulating the reasons why the rule exists in the first place and having a discussion.

Director Oliver Driver brings a little flair; there's an awesome shot with dynamic camera movement of Commander Shaw flanked by Steel and Ravi. And one more unusual development: the Gigadrone in this episode has drones of its own, which come in handy.

"Secret Struggle" benefits from solid action. The dramatic plot works, but it's kept from greatness by providing a one-sided perspective on the fraternization rule. 7/10.