Having watched both Wild Force and Time Force, I thought I would comment on the latter more because he raised a good point in the review for it.
Yes, Ransik has a sympathetic background and he was one of the few Ranger villains to have a sort of non-pure evil history that stood out against the seeming lack of depth to the villains before him. No, he was not a freedom fighter, but again, Ransik's entire character arc was essentially an Aesop about how just having an excuse to be a douchebag doesn't stop you from still being one. Regardless of the fact that they did nothing to show him as a sympathetic character, his character wasn't meant to be anything more than misguided but still wrong and evil. His being shunned by society was just an excuse and one he threw around. He used his mutation as a means to inspire other mutants to revolt, but how much of that was the human's fault and how much was it just because Ransik was a really good motivator when he wanted to be?
In contrast to Frax who was a tragic character instead of a sympathetic one. And no, they are not the same origin archetype, because you're supposed to be horrified and saddened by what happened to Dr. Fenricks who had only acted out of compassion and had it thrown back in his face. While yes, he is evil and all that good garbage, underneath all of the metal was a man wronged who lost his way to revenge. It's what makes his impassioned plea to Nadira so damn effective, because you know he's realized too late what his quest for vengeance has cost him.
While I'm at it, I will also say that I agree that Ransik and Nadira's quirky relationship is actually well done, both acted and written. She is the one thing that matters, even more than feeding his hatred for humanity. In fact, one could argue that the entire events leading up to the theft of the cryo prison was nothing more than Ransik indulging his daughter's desire to be a good little villainess. It was a really clever twist on the typical father daughter relationship that further showed how much she meant to him and how he'd throw every bit of his own wants and desires aside if it meant she was still there for him.
Sure, the ending seems abrupt in his sudden about face, but as he mentioned, there was supposed to be more, but SAG troubles caused a number of episodes to be dropped. As such, we might not have had time to expand on Ransik's background and if he is really a likable, sympathetic character, or if Lucas's actor could get emergency lessons to move past wood on his emotive settings. But that's neither here nor there.
Yes, Ransik has a sympathetic background and he was one of the few Ranger villains to have a sort of non-pure evil history that stood out against the seeming lack of depth to the villains before him. No, he was not a freedom fighter, but again, Ransik's entire character arc was essentially an Aesop about how just having an excuse to be a douchebag doesn't stop you from still being one. Regardless of the fact that they did nothing to show him as a sympathetic character, his character wasn't meant to be anything more than misguided but still wrong and evil. His being shunned by society was just an excuse and one he threw around. He used his mutation as a means to inspire other mutants to revolt, but how much of that was the human's fault and how much was it just because Ransik was a really good motivator when he wanted to be?
In contrast to Frax who was a tragic character instead of a sympathetic one. And no, they are not the same origin archetype, because you're supposed to be horrified and saddened by what happened to Dr. Fenricks who had only acted out of compassion and had it thrown back in his face. While yes, he is evil and all that good garbage, underneath all of the metal was a man wronged who lost his way to revenge. It's what makes his impassioned plea to Nadira so damn effective, because you know he's realized too late what his quest for vengeance has cost him.
While I'm at it, I will also say that I agree that Ransik and Nadira's quirky relationship is actually well done, both acted and written. She is the one thing that matters, even more than feeding his hatred for humanity. In fact, one could argue that the entire events leading up to the theft of the cryo prison was nothing more than Ransik indulging his daughter's desire to be a good little villainess. It was a really clever twist on the typical father daughter relationship that further showed how much she meant to him and how he'd throw every bit of his own wants and desires aside if it meant she was still there for him.
Sure, the ending seems abrupt in his sudden about face, but as he mentioned, there was supposed to be more, but SAG troubles caused a number of episodes to be dropped. As such, we might not have had time to expand on Ransik's background and if he is really a likable, sympathetic character, or if Lucas's actor could get emergency lessons to move past wood on his emotive settings. But that's neither here nor there.
