#prp 08

[kimberlyannharts]

Not related to my Valentina rants or even the point of this panel but the dinner plate-sized coins are absolutely ridiculous but at the same time the most charming part of the Prime Rangers to me. Like this is the most classic Power Rangers-esque part of their whole deal; that they have to carry around these metal Frisbees everywhere

[kimberlyannharts]

Speaking of Valentina thoughts, the fact of the matter with her character is that of all the characters she goes through the most dramatic change yet she barely got the screentime to show how this development happened. The book seems to think going "She's really nice deep down! She's just scared! She wanted to organize protests in the past!" is enough to justify why she goes from this

to this

in an issue and a half with nothing happening in-between except her, Jun, and Ryan agreeing to set up the trade of Mark for Lauren (technically three issues but one was Mark's focus issue interlude)

It's why I wish they had just dropped this whole "oh but she's afraid for her privileged life!" in favor of just making her an outspoken activist from the jump, because it's not really telling the story of a privileged girl dealing with the fact that her life is built on the backs of the oppressed and reevaluating her place in it, it's just....she always wanted to help the oppressed, but her being ~afraid~ will be a good way to delay the actual point she joins for a few issues so we can get a cool end-of-volume cliffhanger.

It also doesn't help that the book seems to want to get across her character as someone who wants to help but is unwilling to risk her privileged life in the process, but it really comes off less like selfishness and more like paranoia instilled in her by her mayor father and cop boyfriend emotionally beating her into submission whenever she steps a toe out of line.

Which makes me feel less "Finally Valentina will reject her privilege in favor of doing good!" and more "Finally Valentina can break free of her emotionally manipulative father and boyfriend," which makes her more of a victim than I'm pretty sure was intended by the book. It could be, but I kind of doubt it since again, Ryan isn't villainized enough by the narrative for me to think so, with their breakup being portrayed as more tragic than cathartic. (And her father doesn't show up again after this scene.)

Finally there's the whole mess with her mother possibly being killed by the Eltarians never being used as a point of motivation for her, being only relevant through Jun's perspective.....but I am being nice for just a little longer and choosing to believe they'll address that in this final arc. Still kind of annoying to have to wait for that after Lauren, Jun, and Mark can talk about their family drama every other issue.

[kimberlyannharts]

LAST TIME ON POWER RANGERS PRIME:

Mark has been kidnapped by the VR Troopers! (Yes the VR Troopers because I cannot get away from the goddamn VR Troopers even for a SECOND) Valentina and Jun are struggling with their loyalties! Lauren, Orion, and Rita adopted a little robot T-Rex! and are hanging out with a sexy mutant dino man in an underground city! So I guess I know which table I'd rather be sitting at.

It's Power Rangers Prime #8!

= So I've already complained about that panel where Valentina makes a passing comment about wanting to head a protest for refugee rights, making us think we're going to explore her character just for us to keep focus on goddamn Ryan but I don't care, I'm going to do it again!!!!!

= Valentina's character in this arc is. odd. Like I think I understand what they're TRYING to establish - she is a genuinely good person who wants to help the oppressed, but is held back by fear stoked in her by, frankly, the men surrounding her all having high positions of power in Eltarian society: her dad being the mayor and her boyfriend being the leader of the VR Troopers, who both give her this "Eltarians are BAD NEWS and if we cross them we'll be DONE" spiel. (There's probably also her comfort in her high-society life influencing her actions too; they just hammer in her being "afraid" in these couple issues in particular. Also I guess there was that early conversation about Valentina wanting "power" which hasn't ever been relevant.)

Like there's clearly an attempt at nuance going on here. But the problem is that we just don't get enough of Valentina to really flesh this nuance out - and frankly we've seen far more of her being antagonistic towards the group over her being sympathetic towards the lesser privileged, which is probably why I keep seeing comments calling her unlikeable and how in general she's definitely the least popular of the Prime Rangers. Yes, she helped Mark and Orion when they were being harassed that one time but that's not enough for me to believe she would also be the type of activist to protest for refugee rights after reading issues of her acting the most resistant to helping Lauren and the others this whole time. (I think I probably would have gotten more of a sense of "she was more of an activist in the past, but the mindset was drilled out of her as she got older" if these flashback pages were set further in the past than a month.)

(Also idk something about Valentina being the only brown main member of the cast and getting this treatment isn't. great.)

And all this isn't even getting into how mad I am about what happened to her mother lol

= Note that "lifting the chin" move Rita does to Lauren in that second panel. I feel like I see that a lot in this series

= Lauren and Orion deciding they're fed up with Rita's nonsense and leaving her really feels like it should be a bigger plot point than it really is, especially considering they just end up right back together by next issue anyway. I guess it was just done to give Rita her cool ~Green Ranger entrance~ which. she doesn't really deserve lol

= god it really is like night and day between the VR Troopers series and this because while Ryan is boring in the VRT series he's a complete fucking asshole in this one. I'll be totally honest I don't understand people saying the VR Troopers are the best part of this series

= Valentina your arc really has had no cohesion but i love you anyway. Dump that emotionally manipulative fascist cop ass <3 also where do the Prime Rangers keep those giant fucking coins

= anyway the Rangers are going to fight the VR Troopers but as a proper team this time so maybe they'll actually w

= oh nah never mind

= She wanted Olivia's Green Ranger Entrance nachos so badly but YOU WILL NEVER BE HER!!!!!!

[kimberlyannharts]

Can't believe how I was literally like "maybe one of Prime's main cast should have been an activist so we could better establish Eltarian oppression and how the Rangers want to help civilians" and they drop this on us out of nowhere goddammit. Just for the scene to move on with Ryan and repeating that he lost his dad. DAMMIT!!!!

[kimberlyannharts]

soooo it looks like digital versions might be back! time to play catch up, finally. First notes on Power Rangers Prime #8 -

= Since it was the only real noteworthy thing that happened in this issue (at the very least, the only thing that's happened that I know sticks) I'm just gonna start out by saying for all the focus Green Ranger Rita has gotten in covers and stuff, that reveal was....super underwhelming. Like idk, maybe it's unfair to say so considering she's been Green for a few issues already and it was kind of obvious it would happen in the first place, but....as I've said before, it really does feel like an item on a checklist being crossed off rather than something that feels built up or earned. It's really not tied to anything except Rita going "welp, I could have done this the whole time and now I guess I'll do it"

= I think that ties into how Lauren and Orion wanting to break off from her would have been an interesting turn for the plot but as we know, they'll just go right back with her after this, so.

= Mark still looks way too good after being tortured

= I liked the little bit of expansion on Valentina's character with her wanting to start a protest for refugee's rights in the past (as I literally said I wanted a character that was more of an activist lol) but I feel she's once again been shoved aside in favor of other characters (a majority of them WHITE) going "hmm....maybe fascism....is BAD?" - I think I understand what they want to do with Valentina, but she simply doesn't get enough focus compared to other characters to get the fleshing out her character deserves, so we suddenly have her reaffirming how she's a Power Ranger after a big deal was made about her not wanting it before with little to connect it (and this will tie into Prime 10, which literally implied VALENTINA'S MOTHER was KILLED/IMPRISONED BY ELTARIANS BUT THE CONVERSATION IS ALL ABOUT JUN)

= In general yeah I think that was my least favorite issue of the series. Definitely the issue I would point to when agreeing with people criticizing the slow pacing and repetitive story

= What happened to the sexy dinosaur mutant man. I don't care about Bulk.