7 Thoughts About Kyuuranger: "Stinger, a Challenge to the Brother!"

Stinger finally comes face to face with his brother in this week's Kyuuranger!

1.) I'd talk about how horrible this must be for humanity, but...honestly it just looks and sounds like the United States Congress does already. The people in charge basically telling us they don't plan on helping us fix our problems (that they mostly caused) while the voters beg for some kind of improvement on their situation.  Yup.  Looks like Jark Matter has kept things mostly intact.

2.) This week we learn about Scorpio's fearsome ability to infect people with a poison that basically turns them into mindless zombies, right down to the created "zombies" being capable of affecting new people.  It's scary, but they didn't really go all the way with it since Stinger had the antidote inside him and was able to fix everyone instantly the whole time.  It's too bad they aren't willing to do anything more risque--I don't wanna see people trying to eat brains, but if the Senshi had been on the run for the majority of the episode until Stinger came with a cure at the last second that would have been pretty dope.

3.)  As far as we can tell, Scorpio is actually evil.  We see him here offering his undying devotion to Jark Matter and being granted even greater power than what he already possessed, explaining his vastly different form from Stinger's memories.

4.) With Scorpio here, we finally learn the truth behind who killed Champ's creator.  Of course it was Scorpio, though we have no idea why still and I'm betting hoping in the future that plays into a greater plot point.   We also get to learn exactly why Stinger has never just corrected Champ: he blames himself for being unable to stop Scorpio, and shoulders the blame for all of the pain that his brother has inflicted on everyone thus far.   This actually explains why an edgelord like him would join the Kyuuranger in the first place--he cares so much he was literally risking his life fighting Jark Matter with no powers until Xiao came along and gave him his changer.  In that way, Xiao basically saved Stinger's life, earning his respect as leader of the Kyuuranger.

5.) This week the team's really on it as far as being heroes.  It's a small thing, but including some scenes showing them not only cure the infected humans but actually evacuate them from the area so they can fight without endangering anyone goes that extra mile towards making the team really feel professional.

6.)  We're certainly told Scorpio is evil, but I can't help noticing we've only really seen him annoy the Kyuuranger and cause more chaos for Jark Matter than anything else.  He infected one of their lieutenants and turned him into a mindless zombie, actually making him weaker since he wasn't in his right mind....then proceeded to kill one of the leftover zombies who could have caused the team even more trouble.

On that note, probably the most annoying thing about this episode is that Scorpio didn't really do anything this episode aside from play around in the sidelines, but he kind of made up for it with that dope Rider Kick imitation that literally liquefied some poor grunt.  

7.)  Next Week: If you were looking for Scorpio to make a bigger splash next episode, well...it's probably not happening.  After several weeks in a row of serious episodes that moved the plot forward, it looks as if we're gearing down next week for a bit as we get a filler episode focused on Garu, Balance and Naga in an an annual cosplay ep.   Probably for the best, as after this episode the team is down a fourth of its fighting force as Stinger, Champ, and Kotaro all exit the stage for various reasons.  If a serious opponent showed up now they'd probably be in trouble!  (*cough cough*)

It's also going to feature MagiYellow's actor starring as the King of Space Pop!  So, y'know...if that's a thing that you feel like you need (like me) then make sure you tune in!