Power Rangers Beast Morphers: Goin' Ape Review

PRBM "Goin' Ape"

The plot of "Goin' Ape" largely falls into that category of Power Rangers plot that has to contort itself into a certain shape to facilitate an arc - people inexplicably not just being upfront and telling the truth, other people getting mad about it, and then eventually the misunderstanding is cleared up. I guess the intention is to illustrate a moral. That aspect of the episode is frustrating (though far from the worst of that type), but what saves "Goin' Ape" is the consistently excellent action.

Finally regular human Roxy comes back to the show, in time for her anniversary with Ravi. A misunderstanding involving Ravi's present for her devolves into a bitter argument, which contributes to a Beast-X-related problem for Ravi: his super strength "overheats" his temper and runs roughshod over everyone, villain and ally alike. It's a bit of an Incredible Hulk type of story for Ravi.

The problem flares up during a one-on-one fight with the upgraded Robot Roxy, during which Ravi gets a rare full solo morphing sequence. The fight (which takes place on a beach, in a perversion of the ecology that human Roxy is passionate about) is particularly well-done, brutal and creative. It easily tops Ravi's fight with the Roxy avatar from the end of Season 1, benefitting from dynamic filming as well.

Later, Robot Blaze gets involved, fighting Devon. There's a pretty weird moment when Devon moves to upgrade to Beast-X mode and Blaze just sighs in resignation, apparently unwilling or narratively unable to attack Devon mid-power-up. It's that old chestnut: why don't the villains attack the Rangers when they're morphing or posing?

I'll keep sounding like a broken record: human Roxy and Blaze are the biggest missed opportunity of this season. While I miss them having an active role in the show, at least we get what little Roxy this episode affords. And while the emotional story is flawed, the action in the episode is so good I have to give it credit. There's even a moment when Ravi uses his Beast-X Saber like Mjolnir, spinning it in order to approximate flying. 7/10.