SERIES: Power Rangers Dino Fury
TITLE: S28:E21 – “Void Trap”
STARRING: Russell Curry, Hunter Deno, Kai Moya, Tessa Rao, Chance Perez, Jordan Fite
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson
DIRECTOR: Michael Hurst
ORIGINAL U.S. AIR DATE: October 15, 2021 (Netflix)
SYNOPSIS: The Rangers use Ollie’s mother to set a trap for Void Knight.
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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder
Now seems like a good time to talk about Shavaughn Ruakere, who plays Dr. Akana. Like a lot of Power Rangers actors, she’s appeared on the New Zealand soap opera Shorthand Street. She also made it to the finals of New Zealand’s incarnation of Dancing with the Stars. She’s a fine addition to the cast, and takes center stage in this episode.
When the plan goes awry and Dr. Akana is lost in another dimension, Ollie almost immediately blames Zayto. I liked that. A very natural and human reaction. It seems extremely obvious (and it is), but that kind of thing might have been absent in past seasons. And it was Zayto’s idea, after all.
Actually, considering this is essentially the season finale (Does the Christmas episode count?), it’s interesting how Ollie-centric “Void Trap” is. Historically, finales are typically the Red Ranger’s time to shine. That’s a little shake up I’m glad to see.
Zayto destroys Reaghoul using the T-Rex Cosmic Megazord. I’d be down about that, if Reghoul’s whole thing wasn’t resurrecting the dead. Plus, this was an episode where Boomtower got yet another go-around. And this is the season that brought friggin’ Lord Zedd back. If they want to bring Reaghoul back, they can bring him back. Even if it’s down the road in another series.
After Void Knight’s machine is destroyed, the Rangers lose their connection to the Morphin Grid and demorph. Thus, Dr. Akana sees that Ollie is the Blue Ranger. I really wish she’d have said something like, “I knew it was you!” It’s not like there was a shortage of clues. There was no subtlety in Ollie’s Ranger game…
The fight that the unmorphed Rangers have with Void Knight and his forces is short but sweet. When they get the actors mixed in with the fantastical Sentai elements, it’s generally a plus. And doing much of their own choreography too.
Seeing Amelia briefly cross swords with Void Knight (shown below) was cool. She might be the best developed character on the show. So it’s nice to see her get a moment like that.
“Void Trap” goes to the trouble of severing the Rangers’ connection to the Morphin Grid, only to give it back to them moments later. Not to mention the dinosaur statues being magically rebuilt after Ollie destroyed them. That all feels a little clumsy. But it justified the unmorphed fight sequence. So I’ll give it to them.
The Green Morphin Master is the one who restores the Rangers’ powers. Again I must ask, why the green one, specifically?
One of our closing shots is of Santaura, Void Knight’s…wife? Girlfriend? It would have been really awesome if her eyes had popped open at the end there. Then again, that implies she’ll be the villain next season. I doubt that’s the case.
“Void Trap” is atypical as far as season finales, or perhaps mid-season finales go. That’s not a bad thing, however. The fight between our heroes and our villain is smaller in scale, yet more personal.
Still no sign of Lord Zedd. But there’s still plenty of time…
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