Recap / Power Rangers Dino Thunder S1E31 Thunder Storm Part 1

The Dino Thunder meet their match with the Wind Rangers when Lothor returns.

---

Tropes

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Albeit cousins. Marah and Kapri now have this dynamic with Cam, following him around and pestering him about what he's up to.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Kira is rather surprised at the presence of the evil Wind Rangers, asking how evil Power Rangers are even possible, despite the fact that she has two former evil Power Rangers on her team, one of them being the original evil Power Ranger?
• Batman Gambit: After escaping the Abyss of Evil, Lothor immediately subdues and impersonates Sensei. He then summons Shane, Tori, and Dustin for a meeting, claiming that Cam prepared new replacement powers in the event of of Lothor's return. The second the three try to activate these replacement powers, they become Brainwashed and Crazy.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Lothor somehow has the means to do this to the Wind Rangers after he escapes from the Abyss.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Kapri exploits this by convincing Lothor that she and Marah are now trained ninjas. As he's working towards rebuilding his forces, Lothor admits she might have a point.
• Chekhov's Gunman: The Ninja Storm Rangers as a whole and Lothor are this. First mentioned briefly in Dr. Oliver's diary in Episode 4, they soon become relevant when Lothor escapes the Abyss of Evil, brainwashes the Wind Rangers, and turns them into his personal minions.
• Crazy-Prepared: Cam and Hunter feared that Lothor might escape the Abyss of Evil, so they set up emergency communicators for instant contact. Blake is also shown to have one.
• Delayed "Oh, Crap!": While looking for his father, Cam stumbles upon the phony message that Lothor left for Shane, Tori, and Dustin. He spots some purple slime and recognizes it as the same kind that was at the Abyss of Evil. After a moment, he realizes what it all means and races back to the school.
• Designated Girl Fight: Yellow Dino Ranger Kira fights the brainwashed Blue Ninja Ranger Tori, with Ethan (Dino Blue) and Dustin (Ninja Yellow) facing off against each other.
• Evasive Fight-Thread Episode: The first time the Dino team fights the brainwashed Wind Rangers, it's an aversion — the Dinos lose badly.
• Have We Met?: Kira asks Blake this, as she finds him familiar but can't place it. They actually have never met, but Blake's face was seen briefly during Tommy's video diary. However Blake thinks she finds him familiar because of his motocross career.
• Hope Spot: The arrival of Shane, Tori, and Dustin during Lothor's attack is this for the students. However, they weren't to aid them, but Lothor.
• Irony: Mesogog thinks this about the evil Ninja Rangers attacking Reefside.
  Mesogog: Evil Power Rangers, what an irony, too good to be true!
• Lampshade Hanging: Getting an alert, Blake tells Kira and the others that he's gonna have to head out all of a sudden. Being on the other side of such an occurrence is acknowledged as unusual by the three Rangers.
• Late to the Tragedy: By the time Cam gets back to the academy, all of the students have been captured and the villains have left.
• Never Say "Die": As is custom for this franchise.
  'Marah: I thought you were—
  Lothor: Gone?! Destroyed?! History?!
  Marah: Well, yeah.
• Not a Date: When Kira meets Blake in person, he invites her to see his next motocross race, and she asks him if he's asking her out (which Trent doesn't seem too happy about), to which Blake clarifies it's not a date, but to inspire people to know about motocross.
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot:
  • Upon arriving at the academy, Lothor says He's Back! and in one foul mood.
    Kapri: Yeah, like that would've changed.
    Lothor: Never could keep your mouth shut, could ya?!
  • Marah has her own example after the attack, as Kapri tries to get in good with Lothor by saying they now have the skills to help him.
    Lothor: Like you did last time?
    Marah: [thoughtlessly] Yeah!
    Kapri: No!
• A Rare Sentence: After Shane, Tori, and Dustin fall under his control.
  Lothor: I never thought I'd say this, but it's a pleasure to see y'all.
• Sealed Good in a Can: Lothor again does this to the ninja students, this time with a jar.
• Simple Solution Won't Work: Conner states that they could simply call in the Dino Zords to easily defeat the Brainwashed and Crazy Wind Ninja Rangers in a Curb-Stomp Battle. Tommy, however, states that that's not an ideal thing to do, given that the Wind Rangers clearly aren't acting of their own accord, and are good people.