The Fifth Crystal

Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue, Episode 21

Original Airdate: 9-17-2000

Last Time: The clumsily-named Omega Megazord was launched, as tradition does dictate a new zord for the holiday season.

Vypra sneaks into a laboratory, dressed like a ninja, and steals a crystal. That...was odd. Anyway, she hands it over to the monster of the week who explains that they're only one crystal away from finishing a death ray that will kill the Rangers. Oh, good, another death ray! Credits!

Down in the aquabase, Captain Mitchell slides the Rangers a newspaper about the rash of crystal thefts and explains that the crystals, if used together, will form a death ray. I'm glad everyone's on the same page here. He also introduces some special agent that has been spearheading the investigation. The special agent has decided to set a trap for Vypra and wants the Rangers' help. And, by supreme act of contrivance, Kelsey's estranged grandmother happens to own the last crystal.

She and Carter head on other to her grandmother's mansion and Kelsey's grandmother is revealed to be a ruthless capitalist, as proven by the fact that she immediately needs to go to the bank and complains about having to relinquish the super-expensive crystal. But, well, the plot must move on, and the Rangers get their MacGuffin.

The trap for Vypra involves putting the crystal in an armored transport and then driving it around, hoping that Vypra will decide to attack the crystal when it's surrounded by guards. And, of course, Vypra being Vypra, she falls right into the trap and even manages to work her ridiculous looking go-kart in the mix as well. They manage to fight her off and recover the other four crystal that Vypra had been stupid enough to bring to the attack as well. You know, most robbers don't bring their loot with them on robberies. Except then the Rangers manage to lose all of the crystals when Kelsey gives them back to the special agent who had been possessed by the monster during the fight. Easy come, easy go.

At the mansion of capitalism, Kelsey's grandmother lets Kelsey have it for a while and then forces her to leave. Carter tries to do some damage control by accusing Kelsey's grandmother of being heartless and then trying, and failing to comfort Kelsey, who literally runs off. Except I'm pretty sure that they drove to mansion so....

As she's walking away, Kelsey sees some Batlings driving an army vehicle. Kelsey decides to pursue them on rollerblades. Wait, that...I'm pretty sure that trucks are faster than rollerblades. Apparently I'm wrong as Kelsey manages to catch up to the truck and sneak aboard. She finds the base where the villains are assembling the death ray.

At the ziggurat o' nightmares, Bansheera reminds Loki and Olympius that they should stop the Rangers from interfering with the construction of the death ray, and make sure that the death ray kills the Rangers. I'm glad she's here to clear that up.

Back at the aquabase, Carter still hasn't found Kelsey, and a monster attack forces the other Rangers to head out before they can find her. Meanwhile, the death ray starts charging up. Kelsey gets caught and starts fighting the Batlings on rollerblades because she's not quite smart enough to realize that rollerblades are less than ideal for anything other than rollerblading, really, including sneaking into an enemy base and fighting. She eventually is captured.

Elsewhere, the other Rangers confront Loki and Olympius. And the death ray continues to charge. Suddenly, a forklift bursts into the warehouse where the death ray is preparing to fire, and driving it is...Kelsey's grandmother. The old woman mows down a bunch of Batlings and frees Kelsey. Wait, how did she find the warehouse anyway? Anyway, Kelsey's grandmother drives the forklift into the death ray and breaks it. Um...okay. The crystals also break to ensure that the death can never be reassembled. Also, Kelsey's grandmother has learned that her crystal is worth nothing in comparison to Kelsey, whose organs have a relatively high chance of being acceptable for donation.

Kelsey goes to help the other Rangers and the monster of the week also show up. They fight, which is notable for being one of those sequences where it's painfully obvious when they cut from Japanese to American footage, as the scenery goes from dense vegetation to scrublands about ten times in the sequence. The Rangers eventually kill the monster of the week and Loki and Olympius decide to quit the battlefield.

Later, Kelsey and her grandmother do some rollerbla-no, I refuse to type the scene out as a matter of principle. Show Over!

Next Time: More Old People!