So, Power Rangers Beast Morphers is officially over. While there have been international airings in the past few months (notably the Pop TV airings in the UK and the Disney Channel airings in Russia), the official end of the show's run was on December 12, 2020. Honestly, I never felt so invested in a season of Power Rangers since Jungle Fury. I say that because RPM, despite being good, suffered from issues like the limited showings on ABC Kids; the Neo-Saban era, on the other hand, had the same rinse and repeat issues I had with my interest where I'd watch either the first half of the season or only watch the first season and rarely give attention to the Super Season. I only gave Super Samurai attention for the debut of Lauren and Dino Supercharge to see what new Rangers would team up; both Super Megaforce and Super Ninja Steel were given attention because of the anniversary shit. With Beast Morphers, I felt interested from start to finish; admittedly, I did feel some episodes were a little sluggish, but it was great to see what would pop up, whether it's world-building related or part of the show proper. But let's go through the aspects of Beast Morphers one by one, shall we?
The Story
Beast Morphers is a pretty interesting set up for a PR season that would honestly fit well for an anniversary of the franchise without really being the anniversary season itself. The story is set in the near future, with scientists tapping into the Morphin Grid and harnessing its energy source to create Morph-X; this allowed them to make renewable energy for Coral Harbor and the rest of the world, and it led to the creation of Grid Battleforce, which will protect the Morph-X towers from any threat. Blaze, Ravi, and Roxy are set to defend the world as the next team of Power Rangers right when Mayor Daniels mentions his concerns after witnessing monster attacks on the Earth. As soon as the new towers are activated, a computer virus taking the form of a cobra corrupts the morphing station and creates an avatar out of Blaze, giving it a dark Ranger suit in the process. After that, Roxy becomes the next victim as an avatar in her likeness becomes the next evil Ranger (even without the same design aesthetics Blaze has). Mayor Daniels' son, Devon, and Zoey step in and stop the two villains while also rescuing Ravi. The three are also joined with Nate, who turns the three heroes into the Beast Morphers Rangers. They succeed in using the transporters against the villains and taking them to the Cyber Dimension.
The avatars meet not just Scrozzle but also the Evox virus, with the former initially claiming to be their leader until the latter shows up and swipes them aside. As the series went along, the villains brought in challenges like Gigadrones for the Zords to take down, Ravi's devotion to saving Roxy, and even the Rangers seemingly being at odds with each other (which the second episode depicts Ravi and Zoey's beef with each other as well as the trio's weaknesses). Thankfully, the Rangers win along the way, and we even get a build-up to the Megazord without everything happening too soon. But the villains were not done just yet; they were devoted to giving Evox a new form that would surely give the Rangers a new issue to solve, especially when Nate, who was at one point seen with tech of his own and even scanning mantis DNA, was kidnapped by Blaze and Roxy...
...but not until Nate took advantage of their plan and not only made himself into a Power Ranger but also used the robot body he made into a Ranger, too! The villains realize what challenges lie ahead, and even when the show returns, they still want to use the robot now named Steel. They kidnap bumbling allies Ben and Betty and force the Rangers to trade Steel for their lives, which may be a bad idea but is actually nothing to worry about thanks to Steel being half-human. And once that is taken care of, we get not just new Zords and powers but also plots like the data chips being used to copy the trio's powers, the team having some beef thanks to a Robotron mimicking the Rangers and making them argue with each other, and even an instrument-based Robotron not only going against a kid who plays the tuba but even a Ranger power-set made for Devon! Oh, and there was a Halloween episode involving Scrozzle.
The villains, however, are planning to go even further as they take the transporters and use them to take one of the Morph-X towers away; on top of that, Mayor Daniels decides to help upon seeing his son de-morphed by Blaze and taken to the Cyber Dimension. Everyone does what they can to save the day, and no matter how many Gigadrones are thrown or how strong Evox's humanoid form is, the team continues to save the day. And now we've gotten to the conclusion of Season 1. While a little reminiscent of the Neo-Saban days of the show's quality, it at least strives to be a little more special while it continues on than just getting the show quality goes down after the pilot episode. I'll delve more into my thoughts of Season 1's individual aspects, but now let's go to Season 2. Oh, and at the end of the season, before the selfie, Mayor Daniels turns out to have a glowing hand after he and Devon just escaped from the portal.
As the villains have turned out to survive (or at least a half of them), meaning the team is now ready to go up against anything that would stand in their way once more. At first, it was mainly consisting of the Rangers being aware of just their return, but behind the scenes is a revelation that consists of Evox possessing Mayor Daniels, which was given a storyline where a human form would weaken the villain even further. Additionally, evil Blaze and Roxy return as robots, while new monsters and normal tasks get in the way, meaning the team has to balance everything to the best of their abilities.
Now we have to talk about what's coming up next. First up, we've got a solution to saving Mayor Daniels. Devon contacts Dr. K about what to do, and she suggests using the separators from Dino Charge in the Ranger Vault, and with a bit of Morph-X, the mayor and Evox are separated from one another. While it'd make more sense to have Trent's dad be the guy Devon talks with, it's possible that Dr. K was used because she was already planned to have a bit of a bigger role in the show.
And if that wasn't enough, let's talk about the second Metal Hero to cameo in Power Rangers. His name is Chaku, and while his name isn't quite as cool as Sheriff Skyfire, his design doesn't contrast his personality as much as SS did. Plus, there was no typical Neo-Saban moral of the day that we got with Super Ninja Steel. Chaku's involvement with Ryjack worked well for PR given how it proved the expansive world of the franchise we don't get with Sentai and Rider, but while he may not return as a cyborg/terminator lovechild, he's still a neat character I'd like to see if we have SPD return or if Kyuranger gets adapted.
And finally, we have a three-part team up with Dino Charge that not only brings in Mighty Morphin and Dino Thunder, but it also involves the villains replacing one of the holiday specials with a villain special! First, we got Dino Charge's Rangers meeting up with the Beast Morphers team as they try to rescue Keeper as well as take on the revived Dino Charge villains. Then the villains look through archive footage of past seasons and debate if either Lord Zedd, Astronema, Psycho Red, or Korragg would be resurrected (obviously Goldar won). After that, when the DC/BM Rangers lose thanks to Devon staying behind on the main world, Jason is called upon thanks to a meteorite that struck Devon revealing the Power Coin. Now Jason and the Dino Charge Rangers are joined with the rest of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (sans Tommy) as well as the Dino Thunder trio (which means Trent's not in it). With a battle on the ground and the Megazord fight, the Rangers win and Jason proudly mentions that there will always be Rangers like them who stand up for what is right.
After all the crazy stuff, we tap into the smaller bits of Season 2, which include Nate's dilemma with either staying with the team or going with his family, Ravi overheating with the issues he has with both Roxies, the Silva brothers switching bodies (but this time being one of the moments I don't mind it so much), Zoey looking for a fossil for her brother, and Blaze telling Devon to be a bit tough for a commander (which turns out to be Robo-Blaze being the jerk and getting Cruise in trouble). While it did suck that it was a bit of a cop-out with the Blaze being the faker instead of the real guy without a clever method of making the Rangers debate over the legitimacy if something happened to the real Blaze, it was cool to see Devon be a little tighter of a Ranger in terms of his rank.
But here's where the crazy stuff happens...Evox is in the middle of getting the death penalty, but then he hacks into the computers after manifesting himself into data and then goes to the Ranger Vault, stealing a Cell Shift Morpher and revealing he was Venjix the whole time now that he's complete. He proves to be a challenge thanks to the Grid Battleforce being ineffective against him, and even if Blaze was taken down in the meantime while the Rangers used Legendary Ranger weapons against Venjix, he still stood on his ground, bitch-slapping an antivirus arrow and even killing Steel at one point! It all felt like there was no hope, with the Rangers now missing a member and the city evacuating from the rise of a virus's conquest. However, Grid Battleforce won't back down, meaning the team will make sure nothing gets in the way and getting the Rangers into their Ultrazord. It wasn't easy, but with a stab at Venjix's final form and a bit of human DNA, our new team of Rangers prevented the main universe from falling at the hands of what once was RPM's threat.
And with everything taken care of, we have quite a satisfying conclusion for our heroes. Steel is back and is now a human, Devon is now the commander of Grid Battleforce, Ravi can spend time with not just Shaw but also Roxy, Zoey and Nate are leading a new replacement for Morph-X in the form of green energy, and Scrozzle is captured with the help of Ben, Betty, and Colonel Truman! Oh, and Steel's now a movie star with Blaze being his stunt double. With it also being his 1st birthday, he and the team celebrate Operation 365. It was honestly the best modern finale since Super Samurai's if you ask me, but the story, while not perfect when broken down, did show some improvements from the Neo-Saban stuff and even felt bolder with the references mattering more than ever.
The Characters
Since Beast Morphers is structured differently in terms of setting (the last time we had a base similar to Grid Battleforce being S.P.D), it felt refreshing to see how the main cast and side characters would be portrayed in a show after nearly a decade of Ranger teams that felt a little more secretive in terms of them being Rangers to anyone they know. I should mention that I will only cover the characters that debuted in Beast Morphers and not anyone who appeared in prior seasons (Jason, Dr. K, the Dino Charge team, etc), though Venjix gets a pass because he was Evox in this season and hid his secret from everyone. That being said, let's see what each character has to offer:
Devon Daniels: The Red Ranger of the team, he's initially seen as a bit of a slacker and a gamer that still wants to impress his father. He starts to delve away from those tendencies now that he's got the responsibility (aside from that one moment in Grid Connection), and he's grown into a much more capable individual as the leader of the team. He sadly has a weakness in freezing whenever he sees a dog given his Cheetah DNA, which sucks because dogs are great and also weird because cheetahs won't be as afraid of a small puppy. Either way, he's not just a Red Ranger that shows pure devotion to the mission, but he's also a guy that feels more organic than Jayden, Troy, and Brody.
Ravi Shaw: While he may be the more experienced member of the Ranger trio, Ravi's role as the Blue Ranger doesn't quite put him and Devon in a spot Sky and Jack had back in SPD. That being said, I enjoyed his character for a few reasons; firstly, I relate to him with his struggles in loosening things up a bit when the mission gets too heated and it results in him either heating up from anger or hiding stuff that you normally wouldn't be proud to mention. I also like his devotion to destroying the fake Roxies, especially when he took on the avatar version of her and not only crushed her Morpher but shot her repeatedly. A simp he ain't, though, because Roxy appreciates him and doesn't use him! Even with his mother around, he still shows her that he'll always leave the base and return to stop any Robotron.
Zoey Reeves: Once a laundry girl and now a Yellow Ranger, Zoey has some big challenges to face. She loves to solve big problems and has even done so when she's not a ranger. Admittedly, she has a tendency to cause problems herself, but she is more than happy to make amendments and keep things back to normal if it involves her like in some episodes. She and Nate have a bond that grows over the series, which they get to continue doing so after Commander Shaw dissolved the Rangers Can't Date rule. She, too, has a parent like everyone else does, but she also has a brother who's likely in a similar mindset of solving problems like she does.
Nate Silva: A prodigy that tapped into the Morphing Grid and made Morph-X out of it with Grid Battleforce, Nate is a boy genius that would probably give Jimmy Neutron a run for his money. Seriously, though, the dude's capable of showing that even if he's a nerd, he can still be as worthy of being a Ranger now that he's made Steel and created Ranger powers of his own. Admittedly, he was responsible for bringing Venjix back indirectly as well as having a few emotional tendencies, but he more than makes up for it by not just sticking with his new family of sorts at Grid Battleforce but also being less of an introvert as the series goes along.
Steel: A Beast Bot with human DNA, Steel's our robot ranger and is a Ranger who's quite proud of himself while still helping his allies. He has the spotlight you'd expect from a unique character in the team, especially when we get to see him in moments where he sacrifices himself, was unaffected by the brainwashing device, and have desires to be human. He has shown himself to be a little too have his head in the clouds with his ego, which does put even Nate at odds with him. Either way, he's more than a human-sized toy, as his involvement in the show adds quite a lot to the series overall. And while some people may find him turning into a human as a bit too fairy-tale-ish, he's earned it IMO.
Cruise/Smash/Jax: I'm putting the three Beast Bots in the same spot because as unique as they look in terms of visuals, they're more or less the same in terms of character roles. They're all partners to a Ranger, they're not usually shown in combat, they're all used for the Beast-X Mode, and they are all control panels of the Rangers' Zords. At least they do have some stand out moments in the series, with Cruise being the more prominent of them all. He's forgetful from time to time yet has shown competence with his ability to transform into a motorcycle (any Transformer would consider him a Minicon!), and he has also been more involved with episodes where he was either captured by a villain and led to the creation of the Beast-X Mode keys or was a victim of Devon being a little tougher on his team thanks to Blaze. Smash has been involved with Ravi whenever he overheats or tried to hide the secret of his painting interest. Jax hates being made fun of for his size, sounds sort of like a Danny Devito Meowth, and was mostly known for being in an episode where they thought the team didn't like them much. At least the three of them got to use the Zords on their own at least once (twice if you count the season 1 finale)
Commander Shaw: A fairly strict leader among Grid Battleforce, she starts to soften up with the other characters involved in the show (a notable aspect with her son, Ravi). She's not usually involved in the series outside of the base yet does display great moments of not just being the mentor but also understanding why characters like Ravi love art or why Zoey and Nate love each other (which applies to Roxy now that she's no longer a Ranger). At the end of the series, she no longer is the commander and is now retired with Devon taking over her role.
Ben & Betty: Two clumsy siblings of different sizes, they're willing to help the Rangers out despite their tendencies to be goofballs. While they're still in the same sort of Bulk & Skull formula that was brought back since Samurai and used again for Ninja Steel, they are less about being antagonistic and more about being allies. Betty's more interested in taking on trouble than Ben is, but they're both decent characters and still a little hard to like at the same time. I'll get to that in a bit.
Mayor Daniels: The father of Devon Daniels, Mayor Daniels is similar in portrayal to Commander Shaw: both are commanding individuals with children involved in the Ranger business, but whereas Shaw grew to understand Ravi's love for art and Nate/Zoey's relationship, Daniels grew to respect Devon now that he knows he is a Ranger and is tackling big things. He was also a victim of being possessed by Evox, which led to some not just concerns regarding why the mayor's more recently involved with the villains but also the villains trying not to blow his cover. Some say he copied the Dino Thunder Anton/Mesogog dynamic as well as parts of Colonel Truman's character, but it's homages like those blended into a new character that I like more than just a straight copy-paste of MMPR crap.
Evox/Venjix: The main antagonist of Power Rangers RPM is now the main antagonist of Beast Morphers; Venjix was reduced to a small virus left in Scott's Cell Shift Morpher and was later brought into the Grid Battleforce computers when Nate used Snake DNA on the Morpher. He was then made into a virtual cobra waiting to get a physical body and take over the Morphing Grid. Eventually, he received a physical form and would later deal with having a human body to possess. He's now weak when human DNA is involved, as seen with his failure in possessing Steel and his struggles to maintain Mayor Daniels. He had plenty of other plans like the Chimera Zord and even being full Venjix again, but he is now defeated once and for all. Wherever the RPM Rangers are at, I'm sure they're proud of a team from another universe.
Scrozzle: An American-original villain, Scrozzle is a Doofenshmirtz-esque character in terms of voice and even mannerisms IMO. He's involved with creating the Robotron keys and Gigadrones, using the Morph-X against the Rangers, and also assisting the other generals of Evox's team. He's not a fighter, but he does have some significance for using hypnosis on the Rangers in thinking they are the same people based on their Halloween costumes as well as going up against them on Christmas. He was last seen getting under arrest by Ben, Betty, and Colonel Truman in the finale.
Blaze: I'll cover the Avatar and Robo versions of him and the same will apply for Roxy; Blaze is an evil Ranger that takes delight in fighting against the Power Rangers and anyone else around him. He is the embodiment of the initial beef the real Blaze had against Devon but amplified with the influence of Evox (much like how the Venom symbiote being rejected by Peter and the hatred Eddie Brock has towards him resulted in the character of Venom). His initial form is that of a twisted Red Ranger suit before his Robo counterpart is more of a cyber knight.
Roxy: Her Ranger forms may not be close to the norm and stand out for her design, but she's honestly more interesting than Blaze is. Roxy's a bad girl that has even more delight in being evil than Blaze is. She's even manipulative towards Ravi while the real Roxy was initially in a coma, as she told the Blue Ranger to get some devices that would make her good again with the plan to actually make him into an Avatar. I even enjoyed her battle against Ravi before she was destroyed. She was initially an Escape recolored in yellow highlights but is now in the same purple as her Go-Busters counterpart, which separates her even further from her original intent as the Yellow Ranger.
Vargoyle: He may have not appeared much and had a disappointing return when he was repainted gold, but I still enjoyed him while he was around. He was the evil equivalent to Steel, in that he was also a robot created by a genius yet he turned against his master and found appreciation towards Evox for his desires to win. He was able to use the powers of the Rangers against them while also having a bit of beef against Steel. He's reminiscent of Deathstroke from DC Comics, and while he may have died before the Season 1 finale, he at least got to mock Devon with the news of Steel's initial death as he tried to destroy the brainwashing device. His gold self wasn't as cool as his original self.
In terms of the minor characters, we've got General Bruke; father of Ben and Betty, he's a big guy who isn't as clumsy as his children and is capable of showing a theme of Beast Morphers beyond the aesthetics: family. Muriel Reeves and Mike Reeves are relatives of Zoey, with the former being a news reporter and the latter being a college student. The Silvas are Nate's parents that initially wanted him to be with them but they understand his devotion to the team. Megan initially wanted to go against Nate and Zoey for their relationship but was fired and later brought back in for her contributions to the Beast-X King Zord (which was a bit odd regarding her shift in personality). Captain Chaku is a space hero that comes from another world as he hunts down Ryjack. He's a silver metal hero from the past in the context of Sentai but is a new guy that's reminiscent of the VR Troopers if you're more into the US Tokusatsu.
The Aesthetics
A Power Rangers season can't say no to having slick aesthetics for their season, and Beast Morphers is no exception. Admittedly, this was all from Go-Busters so I'm sure people would be mad that I'm not giving the Sentai credit, but let's focus on PR for now (what, you want me to laugh at how Red Buster's afraid of KFC?). Anyways, love the suit designs! They're unique compared to the norm of spandex suits from the past, as they have slick leather suits that as well as helmets that blend the machine/animal aesthetics nicely on top of having gorgeous visors that match their colors. Their weapons are both tech-based and animal-based in terms of stuff like the Beast-X Sabers and Blasters turning into binoculars and cameras while stuff like the Cheetah Beast Blaster and Beast-X King Sword are more animal-based.
As for the Zords, they're basically inspired by Transformers. Let's get it out there. The Racer, Wrecker, and King Zords are triple changers as they each have a vehicle mode, an animal mode, and a robot mode while the Wheeler, Chopper, and Jet Zords each have a vehicle mode as well as an animal mode. The first two dual changers can go with either the Racer or King Zords and combine into the Beast-X (King) Megazord, while the Wrecker and Jet Zords can either make their ow Striker Megazorrd or contribute as part of being an Ultrazord. Aside from how funny it is that we have a season that involves Hasbro with Transformers-esque Zords, I love how they work and I even enjoy the toys of them (still wish we got a Beast-X King Zord, Hasbro). Oh, and I love how the cockpits are recreated to be as seamless when put next to the Japanese footage as possible.
While we didn't go crazy with cockpit modes, I'm happy that we got at least an original Battlizer in the form of the Red Fury Mode. It's honestly a little cooler than the Beast-X modes, what with the design of the armor and the new boots. The cheetah claws are also done up nicely and fit with his design. I even like having the suit be used for a story arc where its fury cells corrupt it and had to be abandoned or else Devon would get evil. The Beast-X Mode is neat, but nowhere near as distinct overall as the Red Fury mode IMO. On a side note, I dig the inclusions of the keys, as it makes Beast Morphers more than happy to differentiate itself further from the Sentai it's adapted from.
To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate
Beast Morphers is certainly filled with deep cuts from Power Ranger history, and it's neat that it's at least invested in stepping away from the been-there-done-that aspect of trying to be like Mighty Morphin as seen from the Neo-Saban era. I'd even say that it's the most influential with paying tribute to the lore than any anniversary-season; even (Super) Megaforce with all its Ranger modes can't beat Beast Morphers' acknowledgment of the past.
First of all, the story involves the Morphing Grid and a villain (who later turns out to be from another season) that wants to take over its power. While the Morphing Grid has been brought up from time to time, it wasn't used as the main part of the story until now, which is especially used as a renewable energy source made for humanity. Some might find it odd or as part of weird green energy propaganda (as one guy once said), but let's be real, the public's view on Power Rangers has changed over the years; we've gone from simple TV guest appearances in-universe to them being either protectors that pop up out of nowhere like Ninja Storm or Dino Thunder or are part of a bigger organization like Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, and SPD.
Beast Morphers was also proud of being a sequel to RPM, and while it may be similar to the shift in tone that Star Wars fans noticed when going from The Clone Wars to Rebels, it at least kept them as surprises that would probably be even more surprising if you ignored any casting news. We don't get any of the Rangers from that season, but Dr. K shows up twice to assist the Rangers of this new season, Evox turned out to be Venjix, and you can even say Go-Busters, the moment it was revealed, would be a sequel to RPM because of how similar it was. Yeah, I know Beast Morphers is softer than RPM, but I like that it was a sequel of RPM, with the Rangers now learning from another team's mentor on how they can take on a villain they didn't know was from a different universe until the end! Even if you wished we got more Rangers, at least Dimensions in Danger gave us Gemma, who was kept in the same writing style as she did in RPM unlike her fellow Ranger, Scott, who suffered from being watered down in Samurai's Clash of the Red Rangers.
One of its big events was also the triple-dino team up, featuring Dino Charge, Dino Thunder, and Mighty Morphin. I'll be honest and say that I didn't end up liking it as much as I did the RPM stuff. Like the fact that the RPM stuff was added in Beast Morphers after all these fan theories was a surprise, but the dino team up, regardless of the execution, was undoubtedly going to be in it because Hasbro wanted to not just bring back a popular Neo-Saban season, but also add MMPR and even Dino Thunder in the mix. I liked the first episode, Finders Keepers, fine enough while Making Bad, despite the audio oddities, was the best clip show in modern PR; Grid Connection, however, was a mixed bag since Devon was a bit out of character at the beginning, Jason's Power Coin being in an asteroid was an oddity (maybe he and Keeper planned to test his devotion to the mission when things go wrong), the fight using just Sentai footage with very small bits of American footage was a bit disappointing (at least there are no inconsistencies like with the Legendary Battle), and NO DINO THUNDER ACTORS?!?!?!
Before I get upset again over Not-Connor's voice sounding nothing like James Napier, let's continue. It's even amusing how Go-Busters also had references to Power Rangers, with the wrist changer naming itself as the Morphin Brace, the phrase "It's Morphin' Time" being used, every changer having shades reminiscent of Jungle Fury's morphers, Messiah being reminiscent of Zordon and Venjix, Ranger powers reminiscent of the Disney Era, Buddy Roids being reminiscent of Alpha, and the giant monsters referred to as MegaZords. It all goes down to full circle when we have this season be adapted as Beast Morphers.
What Worked With Beast Morphers?
Right off the bat, I have to say that Beast Morphers was at least invested in stepping out from the norm of the Neo-Saban formula and actually giving us a season that plays with a little more energy than before, especially after garbage like Ninja Steel. There were plenty of improvements to the show that are a sign that Hasbro wants to do what Saban didn't do with the show, even if he was initially involved. Let's go over bits of the show that I liked:
1. Serialized Storytelling
Every PR season since Samurai has been fairly light on keeping stuff serialized. I guess it's alright if you wanted to make the show easy for someone new to step in and be hooked, but continuing certain story arcs or having plans in the background develop overtime is a great way to keep the show interesting beyond "Rangers fight bad guy every day with a new toy every once in a while". Whether it's the villains building up to Vargoyle's new powers or the debut of Steel, or whether it's an ongoing appearance of Chaku or the Dino Team-Up lasting for more than one episode, Beast Morphers felt a little more interested in slowing down on stuff without making things feel as rushed as the past. Admittedly, we've gotten the Megazord build-up in Dino Charge and Ninja Steel, but Beast Morphers' Zords were more than enough to do things on their own that the build-up to it was not just exciting when you wonder how they'd work for the first time, but it also gave the Rangers ideas on how to expand their already existing arsenal.
2. Character Consistency
While there was at least one slip up with each character, the consistency between characters felt a little tighter than the Neo-Saban era, though it was mainly Ninja Steel that was the worst when it comes to character consistency. Sure, Devon weirdly wanted to play video games rather than focus on the mission in Grid Connection and Zoey does make mistakes on her own while she's someone that wants to solve big problems, I can happily say that the change in character for the characters isn't as jarring as I expected. Some may find that Blaze being a nice guy is odd, but I feel it's him having a bigger appreciation for Devon after saving him and proving himself as a Red Ranger (could be a little less watered-down, though). And honestly, even if the Rangers would usually win with no problem, rooting for them felt more common than with past seasons since 2011 (only Samurai and Dino Charge had more of these moments near the end of each season).
3. Made great deviations from its Sentai counterpart
Power Rangers is supposed to feel like a show of its own, not just an English dub of Sentai; while some will say that Forces Time and Wild were to close to Rangers Time and Gao, the quality of each show was at least higher than the last 10 years of PR that it didn't really matter (whereas Samurai's mix of English Dub Shinkenger and MMPR influences made it awkward). Beast Morphers turned Enertron into a more recognizable power source in the form of the Morphing Grid, we made a lot more use out of the Messiah humanoid form as well as Dark Buster suit, we added plenty of weapons, altered the storyline seamlessly, and gave us the most amount of original footage ever; if Hasbro continued this sort of mindset, I'd happily like to see them make a brand new show with no traces of Sentai footage in the future.
4. Bigger respect to the Power Rangers Universe
While the post-Zordon Eras and Disney Eras hadn't worry about paying respect to the Power Rangers legacy since they didn't reach as many milestones, stuff like Lost Galaxy, Forever Red, Dino Thunder, SPD, and Once a Ranger felt like they respected the franchise a lot better than the Neo-Saban, which initially tried to appeal to the 90s kids with making Samurai be the next MMPR while failing at it, then making Megaforce be another diet MMPR, and having Ninja Steel be sort of kind of be another MMPR wannabe in the 25th anniversary. The tribute other seasons not named MMPR feel more like Saban was thinking "okay let's put it out there and hope people care", something even Super Megaforce did. At least Super Ninja Steel's Dimensions in Danger and I guess the other episodes leading up to it paid respect to non-MMPR seasons; all this and it felt a little too late (even if I liked DID).
I say all this because I want other seasons of PR to be given attention as proof that it's more than just Mighty Morphin. Sure, Bandai wanted to do that when we got to the anniversary stuff like the Action Heroes and Legacy Collection, but it also felt too-little-too-late. Hasbro and Beast Morphers were more than happy to delve into the legacy of PR past Mighty Morphin. Sure, the theme song is still Go Go Power Rangers and Ben & Betty are Bulk & Skull clones, but I can at least be glad that we had some uncommon lore references as well as have Dr. K, the Dino team up, and the Ranger vault being important and each sticking around for more than one episode. Less "yeah let's hope everyone knows what those are" and more "say, here is this weapon from this season" or "here's a bit of backstory on a villain that was from a prior season".
5. Strived to have an identity of its own.
I know that some wish it didn't have Go Go Power Rangers or that it didn't repeat some of the MMPR bits, but I have to give Beast Morphers credit for wanting to stand out from the Neo-Saban era, whether it's having a little more energy in the show, actually making GGPR sound cooler with the different instrumentals and tempo, using an actual organization tied to the Power Rangers, and balancing both tech and animals after years of mostly animals. Even if it had some MMPR influences to it, at least some of them felt better handled than Samurai or Megaforce (I mean we have the theme song remix in Samurai as well as Bulk but Megaforce had the closer inspiration and a Zordon successor, what gives?)
What Didn't Work With Beast Morphers?
I have to admit that I was perhaps a little too excited for Beast Morphers that I didn't think it'd have some of the same aspects that plagued the Neo-Saban era. Granted, it's nowhere near as bad as what we went through, but it does make me remember that Haim Saban was initially involved with Beast Morphers' production. I'm sure some fans may be kept their praise a little too high and others too low, but I want to be a little more honest with my thoughts because as much as I enjoyed Beast Morphers as a whole there were things I didn't really like. Let's go over them, shall we?
1. Ben & Betty continued the Bulk & Skull type humor
Sometimes, Ben and Betty turned out to be decent characters. Sometimes they turned out to be annoying and take away from the show. Their humor is not as bad as Victor and Monty, but that's only because they have no toilet humor; they did not remove any of the cliche pie-in-the-face gags. Them helping the Rangers while being clumsy wasn't bad. Them being the comedic characters isn't bad. What is bad is the kind of humor we got. Can we stray away from Bulk & Skull type of humor that was from Season 1 PLEASE??? Or at least have the characters grow a little more competent over time like B&S did. On the bright side, they didn't ruin any moments for the final scene at Steel's birthday; they behaved like good little Burkes and danced along with everyone else.
2. Season 2 somewhat lacking without the fanservice
The fanservice in Season 2 was quite the amount compared to Season 1; so much so that it makes me think of Rogue One since without the fanservice, the rest of the product ends up feeling a little shallow. With Rogue One, everyone was like Red Letter Media when they yelled "I CLAPPED WHEN I SAW DARTH VAAAAAAAADEEEEEERRRRRR" while not caring about any of the new moments and memorable characters. Beast Morphers Season 2 wasn't as bad as that, since we at least had stuff like the King Zord debut, Chaku's involvement, Roxy's upgrades, and the villains trying to hide Evox possessing Mayor Daniels were fairly new ideas. That being said, I wish we got more new ideas to keep them balanced out more so as not to be drowned out by the Ranger Vault, the Dino Team-Up, and the RPM connections (which I should mention were all better integrated than Rogue One's obsession with keeping everything so close to A New Hope)
3. Writing still talks down on kids
Looking back at when the Orange Ranger did videos critiquing Super Ninja Steel (which made up for my inability to see the show), seeing him say Moral of the Day with a big sign and echos made me cringe, but I can't blame him because SNS went overboard with that stuff. The morals here weren't too bad, but I still wish the writing would be a little more organic. Make it feel less like it's a copy and paste of the writing style of the stock Neo-Saban script. I wish the characters would feel more human than they are, which isn't too bad yet not as human as the youngsters from Dino Thunder. Less stock character traits, more fleshed out individuals moving forward, please. Still, at least this team and other characters were baby steps in the right direction.
4. Wasted potential with human Blaze & Roxy
Season 1 doesn't suffer from this issue because the real Blaze and Roxy had to be rescued by killing the Avatars. Season 2 sort of felt incomplete if you ask me in terms of their roles. We didn't have much to work with the real Blaze and Roxy because they don't appear as much as the Robo versions. Couldn't there be more episodes involving the fakes trying to get the real ones killed so the Rangers would have a reason to protect their friends and take down the frauds once again? Or how about the real ones be Rangers for once by either tag-teaming Devon and Roxy and taking turns morphing into the Red and Yellow Rangers? And hell, it'd be cool if we got American-exclusive power-ups devoted to the King Zord and possibly make more use out of the Frog more often; that'd be an easy homage to Jungle Fury's Jarrod and Camille! Also, Robo Blaze and Roxy having duplications replace broken ones is cheap as hell. Nowhere near as cool as having just the one for each.
5. Beast Bots not as focused as often
Speaking of not being present much, the Beast Bots minus Steel are not given much attention unless it relates to specific plots. Sure, they appeared a good amount for the older episodes, but they don't pop up as much unless the team has to come up with a way to tackle a big problem, or if Smash suddenly becomes a painter, or if Cruise gets kidnapped and needs to be rescued by Devon. Like, it sucks how they're better characters than Redbot (on top of looking and acting less like Alpha 5/C-3PO wannabes) yet they don't appear as much. Sure, they're used for the Megazord control panels and the Beast-X Modes, but it'd be cool to see them show up when they're not being unappreciated.
What Do I Hope to See in Dino Fury?
I know there are still people that are upset that Ryusoulger is getting adapted and that neither Sentai season A or B are being adapted, but let's be real here. Would any of those fans still be 100% positive if the show has the same level of writing that Beast Morphers would have if Kyuranger or ToQger were adapted, or would they still continue bitching about anything Hasbro wants for the clout? I'll keep my thoughts brief here since I went over A LOT on Beast Morphers, to begin with.
1. Even better writing
As much as I enjoyed Beast Morphers, I want the writing to be even better; I want the humor to be better, for stuff to not feel watered down, and for the characters to be a little more organic and not as basic as the Neo-Saban era.
2. To not talk down on kids
Stop with the watered-down morals, please. Give kids lessons that don't treat their intelligence like they're stupid
4. Hasbro to tell Nick to better market the show
Instead of being content with the ratings, Hasbro should tell Nickelodeon to stop fucking with the ratings by making the show have better promotions and making it better promoted, too; also, don't just rely on the internet as the only way to promote a show if it was meant to be on television, to begin with.
5. Take Power Rangers to the next level.
Understandably, Hasbro wants to focus on a bigger series for Power Rangers related to a shared TV-Film universe, but can Dino Fury take us from the baby steps of Beast Morphers to the big leaps they hope to make but with Dino Fury?
That is everything I have in mind for what I want Power Rangers Dino Fury to do. Only time will tell if we'd get more improvements or not. Keep in mind that the only issue I have is the mention of the Morphing Grid makes me worry it'd copy Beast Morphers like Ninja Steel copied Dino Thunder. Ultimately, it all comes down to what the writing is like, not so much about the aesthetics. No one thought Go-Onger would work with PR because of the aesthetics, yet it worked because of its writing and the context behind the aesthetics. Enter an opposite situation, with Gokaiger aesthetics looking awesome yet Super Megaforce, despite having those aesthetics, is a bad season thanks to its writing. Real talk, I still feel the Toku fanbase likes to flip flop on what they want from PR. DosmRider's* at least consistent with what he wants and I don't mind him calling out the flip-flopping. Still, I can't say much about what Dino Fury's overall product will be because it's yet to come out (though it is fine if people aren't too interested in the season and want to wait for what Hasbro has next).
Final Verdict
So there was quite a bit to talk about with Power Rangers Beast Morphers. I've got to say that as far as modern PR goes, this is the highest I've been happy with in terms of the show's quality. While we're not quite there at the same level of effort that the post-Zordon and Disney Era seasons had, Hasbro is at least proof that they want to make Power Rangers feel a little more important for the boys market and for the older fans that were unhappy with the prior quality of the Neo-Saban era. While we're not quite there yet, we can only hope that Dino Fury can at least maintain the same quality writing or even excel past Beast Morphers. While it's too early to tell how fulfilling Dino Fury-onwards will be, it's also too early to have a meltdown on social media over what Hasbro does (looking at a few users, I'm sure they know who they are). So overall, Power Rangers Beast Morphers is not the next In Space or Lost Galaxy or Time Force or Dino Thunder or SPD or RPM, but it has baby steps in the right direction for the future of Power Rangers.
Overall grade: B-
*Mark my words, DosmRider. I will play "It's Great To Be Human" on the day we meet and the only way you can avoid such a pitfall will be by giving me a copy of the Thundersaurus Megazord!
