"Repeating the same process with the same ingredients over and over is not going to get you a different result. Mix things up. Trust your kiwi ingenuity, okay?"
—Food critic Katherine Allister to Chase
Following on from the events of the previous episode, Keeper tells the rangers the tale of the Energem's formation: Pure, Good energy was condensed into 10 powerful crystals, however the drawback of the process was that the negative energy from this process pooled into a singular source, a powerful gem later known as the Dark Energem. This navy-colored gem was hidden away shortly after its creation due to its immense power, and the ability to corrupt and taint any living thing it comes in contact with. Keeper tells the rangers that the planet it was hidden on, Sentai 6, was invaded and destroyed by a mysterious entity who wanted the Dark Energem's powers. He tells them that they must see to it that it is destroyed, which is why Kendall agreed to send the Silver Ranger the info on the Megazords. With Silver being unreachable in space, this is all the rangers can do for him at this point.
The next few weeks pass without incident, and the Dino Cafe sees Katherine Allister, a highly popular food critic stop by. Not wanting to let her down, the team pulls out all the stops to ensure her visit is as perfect as can be, with Chase even preparing a traditional New Zealand-style pavlova for dessert. However, he keeps making a mistake in the recipe and it explodes horribly, and he has no idea why. On the third attempt, everything looks great, until the cake rumbles... Riley tries to pass it off as being so delicious it is making his stomach rumble, before the cake explodes again, going everywhere. Angrily, the critic leaves, vowing to leave a very poor review of the cafe. Chase, investigating just what he did wrong with the recipe realizes his Energem is missing, and it dawns on him that the energy from the gem was seeping into the cake and causing it to explode. He dashes off to retrieve his Energem.
Meanwhile, a new spacepod has landed on Earth, containing a returning Singe, plus two other aliens - Doomwing, and their leader Lord Arcanon. Arcanon and his lieutenants face off against Heckyl and the bounty hunters. Wrench informs him that Arcanon is the one who hired Sledge to build him an army of convicts and outlaws, and he has arrived on Earth to pay the bounties and retrieve his army, Heckyl included. Heckyl is furious at Arcanon, blasting him with lightning, which Arcanon effortlessly counters, before blasting him aside. This in turn provokes Snide, who summons his secret weapon - Fortress, a monster capable of being controlled just like a Megazord, and has information on all of the Zords moves and forms downloaded into his memory. Arcanon in turn reveals he has Dino Chargers of his own, calling on the Plesio-Pachy-Rex Megazord to battle Snide.
As the monsters tussle, it soon becomes clear that there is something very wrong going on, as only the rangers should be able to summon a zord. As they head out to stop Arcanon and retrieve their zords, Snide wails on the Megazord, countering and brutally assaulting it with nary a scratch. The ejected Arcanon is unfazed however, and summons the Dino Charge and Ptera Charge Megazords, taking Snide on two to one. Snide, however is confident, as Fortress is capable of blocking all of their attacks and sending them right back. As the rangers arrive on the scene, they attempt to reconnect with their zords, but since the chargers are already in use, it doesn't respond. Arcanon and co are ejected for a second time, and Doomwing suggests using the Titano Zord, but Arcanon refuses, citing the fact Snide has defeated eight zords already as proof the monster is too strong for them to deal with. Having said that, he does believe the rangers will find a way, as that is what they do after all. The three retreat, leaving the discarded Titano Charger behind.
Chase reaches the critic, and after asking for permission to look for the Energem within her handbag is imparted with some words of wisdom from the old cynic: If you do the same recipe over and over again, with the same ingredients, you won't get a different result. Change things up to look for new solutions. She runs to safety while Chase runs to regroup with the team. Now that Arcanon and co are gone, they have their zords back. Snide says that it won't matter who is controlling the zords, he will still destroy them. He effortlessly walks through the Megazords, frustrating the rangers. Chase remembers what the critic says, and tells the others that they need a configuration they have never used or even seen before to combat Snide. Kendall begins working on it while the rangers stall with the Titano Megazord. Snide easily defends against the Titan Axe, and is able to blast the rangers over and over, before Kendall arrives with the big news - the Ultrazord is ready.
The rangers combine the Titano Zord with the core five zords to form the Dino Charge Ultrazord, armed with enough firepower to defeat the Fortress once and for all. Heckyl takes over, saying that in times like these, they need to adapt, and takes the fight to the rangers. However the rangers new Ultrazord is far too powerful, and they knock Fortress back before finally destroying it with a Final Plasma Blast. Heckyl is ejected onto a nearby rooftop, where he is abducted by Arcanon. Meanwhile, the rangers discuss how Arcanon was able to create perfect replicas of the chargers. They recall that Fury controlled the Ptera Zord using the real charger, but fake chargers? The only one who knew about the technology outside of them was the Silver Ranger! Knowing he could never have turned evil, they assume he has instead been captured by one of Arcanon's agents. They opt to start a rescue mission for him.
Later, the critic returns to the Cafe, to give Chase a second chance. Learning from his mistakes, he opts for a more family focused version of his pavlova, which goes down brilliantly with her. As for Heckyl, he is thrown back into his cell, and Singe declares Arcanon in charge of the ship. Singe suggests destroying Heckyl there and then, but Arcanon disagrees...
- Arcanon: "He'll behave; as long as I have this..."
Tropes:
- Curbstomp Battle: Fortress, who just like Greenzilla before him is capable of defeating anything the rangers threw at them. The difference is that while Greenzilla used brute strength, Fortress was designed to counter the rangers moves, since it memorised their attacks. Both are also defeated in the same manner; Greenzilla was beaten by the largest Megazord at the time, Plesio-Pachy-Rex, who Fortress effortlessly beats. Fortress instead is defeated by the Ultrazord, a Megazord formation thought up on the fly by Chase and Kendall.
- Mythology Gag: The planet the Dark Energem was hidden on, Sentai 6, is a nod to not only Super Sentai, but also Dai Sentai Goggle V, the sixth Sentai series that happened to have their powers be powered by gemstones.
- The Unreveal: The object Arcanon has in his possession is apparently enough to keep Heckyl at bay, but we don't get to see what it is.
- Wham Episode: A new evil force arrives on earth: Lord Archanon. Not only is he the Greater-Scope Villain of the series, but after the monster attack, he takes over as new leader of the evil forces, imprisoning Heckyl.
