Oh man...I can't believe I neglected this for so long. o.o Now I have 5 episodes to review. ^^;; So sorry about that... Anyway here I go... This is gonna be one long post. ^^; I haven't rewatched some of these episodes since their premiere, so this'll all be mostly from memory. I will post up 3 reviews for now. I'll post more later (if I remember).
As usual, spoiler warning. Don't continue reading if you don't want to be spoiled.
WARNING! SPOILERS!
Episode 2: Growth Potential review:
A definite improvement over the first episode, in my opinion. There's some more character development. And it seemed much better organized. It didn't feel "rushed" like episode 1. This episode focuses on Roger, so he shows more character development than the others. We also get a little insight of what the other characters are like. Buzz, Caruso, and Fiona are shown to be reliant on Roger to fix their stuff, reliant to the point where they seem to expect him to make perfectly working equipment, or fix their stuff, and don't even say thank you. And if something doesn't work right, despite Roger's hard work, they are quick to blame Roger. Roger on the other hand feels like he's being used. He appears to be the kind of character who appreciates a thank you for all his hard work. Then again who wouldn't? ^^;
Victor has more character development here. He is not just like other villains I have seen. He appears to be calm and collected, and rarely gets really angry. He also shows attention to detail when he tries to change the environment, knowing that his precious dinosaurs will have a better chance at survival. And when he ends up loosing the battle, he does not snap, or shout, or anything. Instead he just calmly walks away, saying that he should introduce herbivores before releasing the aggressive strain of plants.
Ms. Moynihan, so far, seems to be just a character there for moral support. She is more understanding than Caruso, Buzz, and Fiona about Roger's work and disappearance. She also cares deeply for the environment, as revealed in this episode when she does not allow Roger to use pesticide to combat the vines, and helps him find a safer alternative: ice. Max is also understandable, and when Roger leaves the lighthouse, he is the one who gives support to Roger. Max comes off as a sympathetic character, one you could rely on if you're feeling down.
Rump seems to be just a nuisance character put there for comic relief. He seems to have control over his transformations, but only does so to create mischief. Rump's action of transforming to try to eat a laser Roger was working on, it also shows how uncaring Buzz, Caruso, and Fiona could be. Despite Roger's cries for help, they simply stared and laughed as if it was a joke. The trio probably are the type of people who think Roger can fix anything and doesn't need any help.
Despite having a short chat with Moynihan, Buzz still felt bitter towards Roger for not fixing their guns, and when Roger said he needed to get to the lab when vines were engulfing the city, remarked "More toys that don't work", to which he recieved a nasty glare from Roger. This seems to show that Buzz is the character most likely to hold a grudge, even for silly things. But despite Caruso's, Fiona's, and Buzz's shortcomings early in this episode, they do have a change of heart in the end, so they aren't all bad.
It's revealed that the kids are not allowed to transform in public where everyone can see them. However they have no choice, so they transform anyway. It's a wonder no one saw them transform. It's also revealed that Max may not be the brightest character in the group. He saves a couple from the vines as a T-Rex, and stands really close to them, staring at them, and they run off screaming, to which he said, "I'm the bad guy?" It's also revealed that they can talk in dinosaur form, telepathically that is. And they have deeper voices as dinosaurs.
What I liked about this episode is that we do get to see more of the kids' personalities, as well as some more of Victor's personality. The epsiode felt more complete, not so rushed. And mutant mammals was a surprise. I wasn't expecting that..then again, look at Rump. ^^; However as with anything, there are a few things about it I did not like. The episode seemed to "skip" sometime after episode 1. It's probably been a few weeks, even a few months, since episode 1, so we don't really see how they developed their skills over time. My other complaint is that they overuse the transformation scenes a lot in this episode, mostly with Roger. He's transformed and detransformed so many times you just get sick of it quickly.
But the episode still impressed me with its improvement over episode 1. And it is a shock when Moynihan's eyes transformed at the end of the episode. I wonder what this means... Anyway, that ends my review for this episode.
Episode 3: Tangled Web review:
I really liked this episode, and again due to more character development, and improvement over the last 2 episodes. As the last episode focused on Roger, this one focuses on Caruso, and reveals more of his personality. And again more character development for the other characters. That's good. Caruso is turning out to be a character you could probably hate for his deceptive and selfish ways. He puts himself before the team when he lies to his friends many times in this episode. He lies to Roger about what he was doing on his computer. He lies to Fiona when she asks him if he checked a tunnel in the sewer when they were hunting mutants. He lies to all of them when he stands in line for a TV show. He deliberately abandons a mission without thoroughly checking out the sewer and ends up missing one mutant. And all this just so he can become famous. That seems to be all he cares about.
Caruso's thirst for fame is so strong that he is willing to transform into his dinosaur self, a stegosaurus. He is the most bold of the characters, and the least afraid to transform in front of someone. He was going to transform in the audition so he could get his own TV show. But Caruso does have qualities that are likeable. He is willing to admit when he's wrong, and is willing to turn down fame for the better cause. After he is lectured by Max on his lying, he has a change of heart in the audition and steps down, a move that showed Caruso had a sense of maturity.
Victor is able to detect anomalies on his computer, which means no mutation can hide from him..except his perfect dinosaurs. This is the first time Victor has seen his perfect dinosaurs, at least on screen, but what he wants to do with them remains unclear. He is unaware that these dinosaurs are really teenagers, and whether or not he'll find out later remains to be seen. He is shown to be a great actor as he lies to some people to keep them from learning the truth about mutations and such. He seems to really have great control over his emotions, which is what I like in a villain. He, so far, has not exhibited hostile behavior typical of other villains I've seen.
In this episode we see giant cockroaches and giant spiders, and find out that Buzz has a love for them, and even attempts to keep them as pets. We also learn that Fiona hates spiders and cockroaches, and refuses to let Buzz take them home. This seems to be a typical girl thing, as I usually see female characters have a hatred of insects, while male characters love them.
Ms. Moynihan appears to be a disciplinary character as well, as she punishes Caruso by giving him singing lessons and not allowing him to stop until she says so. Caruso's singing alone is almost like a punishment for the rest of the Dino Squad, as even poor Rump can't handle it, and again he transforms but just so he can cover his ears.
If memory serves right, in this episode, or in the last episode, it is hinted that Moynihan doesn't transform into a raptor because of her old age. Whether or not this is because she finds it harder to change or because her old age leaves her weak and less able to fight is unknown so far. But as hinted at the end of episode 2, we may see Moynihan transform one day.
There isn't many negative things I can say about this episode. They cut down on the transformations, so it's no longer an eye-sore. The story was good, and really portrayed the characters well, in my opinion. If there's anything I can say about this episode that could be improved, it's this: The kids seem to spend a lot of time with Moynihan with no explaination. I forgot to mention this in the review of episode 2. It feels like the kids just moved in with Moynihan, and I almost believed that until the end of ep 2 had them going home. There does not seem to be any explaination for this, however it is probably so they can watch out for danger. But it does feel weird that they are almost always seen in Moynihan's lighthouse, hanging out, lounging around as if they owned the place.
Seeing this episode made me even more interested in the show, and is the episode that got me hooked on the series. A worthwhile watch, in my opinion. And that ends my review for this episode.
Episode 4: T-Rex Formation review:
Really interesting episode, with a twist I was not expecting from this show. Once again the focus is on Caruso. And once again, Caruso is attempted to do something simply for fame. but this time, he has another motivation: his parents. This is the first time we see any of the kids' parents on screen. Caruso's personality is developed a bit more, and he's shown to be willing to please his parents. His thirst for fame and his eagerness to please his parents leads Caruso to cheating, using his Dino Powers to win the competition. I'm amazed at how oblivious people are to this, because at one time, Caruso transforms his arm into a Stegosaurus leg and a team mate saw it, but no one else did, and it was out in the open, too.
And on cheating, Caruso is the type of person who will cheat to succeed. In the beginning of the episode, he uses his Stegosaurus tail to grab a piece of paper to get answers from, but is caught later on when Moynihan notices the similarities. Whether or not he's punished remains uknown. Caruso seems to care mostly for himself because he quits the Dino Squad simply because they did not approve of him using his powers to join the football team. He acts as if he's the victim.
Another side of Moynihan is seen in this episode. In the past couple episodes she's shown to be a well-reserved character who hasn't raised her voice for any reason, even when she was mad. But in this episode, she lets loose and cheers Caruso on during the try-outs, and I think she overdoes it and has a couple people, I think Caruso's parents, staring at her in shock. This took me by surprise because Ms. Moynihan does not seem to be the type of person who would do that.
This episode reveals just how dangerous it is to "Go Dino" even if it's just a small amount. Even the minimul transformation Caruso does during the tryouts is picked up by Victor's machines, alerting him to what's going on. Now this is where Victor shows how oblivious he can be. For some reason, the signature appearing on a football field with football players did not make him realize his dinosaurs were human. Instead he simply remains confused. So much for being an intelligent villain. ^^; Later on in the episode, he transforms a couple humans, students to be precise, into mutant Raptors, marking the first time teenagers other than the Dino Squad transform. However they are at the mercy of the dinosaur mind and are completely taken over, and their DNA is easily removed, unlike members of the Dino Squad.
Victor almost discovering the truth was really interesting. This is the first time he sees the van the teens drive around with while on missiosn. It's revealed that his own vehicle is capable of stealth mode, and goes completely invisible. If Caruso hadn't seen it, there would be no way the Dino Squad would have known they were leading Veloci straight to their hideout, the lighthouse. Victor also nearly succeeds in capturing Caruso and taken back to his lab. He is, fortunately, rescued by his teammates.
Caruso does go after Veloci to stop him while he was still in stealth mode, which shows that Caruso, despite his arrogant ego, still cares about his team mates. Probably the most shocking thing happens in the end, when he reveals his secret to his parents and confessed the truth about him cheating. Now this is the twist I mentioned earlier. I do know that in some series of secret identities, someone finds out. However it's usually much later in the series. For someone to find out a secret identity, let alone parents, so quickly in a show just wasn't something I expected to happen. And his parents were accepting of this as well, and did not try to stop Caruso from rejoining the Dino Squad.
This is the first time we see Victor fully transform into a Velociraptor, although we see no transformation sequence. Victor is becoming more determined to find his perfect dinosaurs. Probably the most uneasy thing I've seen is Victor change back into human in front of the lighthouse and looks at it, and does nothing. He could very well know something is going on there, but this remains to be seen.
Overall it's a great episode. Victor nearly finding out about the Dino Squad, and nearly capturing one of the team members was shocking, especially for being so early in the show. And a nice twist with the parents finding out so early as well.
And that concludes my reviewing for now.
