Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 35
Original Airdate: 10-19-2002
Last Time: All of the past Red Rangers returned! I was happy to see....most of them.
Mandilok is upset the Rangers getting their zords back and fires Toxica and Jindrax for their incompetence. Fortunately, he finds a replacement in Onikage, some sort of Ninja Org. By the way, I hope you guys like implausible ninjas, because we're only a few episodes away from being inundated with them.
Outside the lair, Toxica and Jindrax are bummed about getting fired by Mandilok...again. Onikage offers the two a chance to redeem themselves, by capturing Shayla. Jindrax, being slightly more sensible, realizes that going to the place where the zords live can't be good for your long-term health. Onikage claims to have a way to sneak in undetected, and that's good enough for Jindrax. Toxica reluctantly agrees.
That night on the Animarium, the flaws in the plan become even more clear as the Rangers all sleep within fifty yards of Shayla. The plan fails almost immediately as Toxica touches the magic pool and gets badly hurt as a result. Onikage shows up to make fun of the Rangers' pajamas and Jindrax helps out by mocking Danny's teddy bear. The villains are all wearing ninja outfits, which Onikage claims allows them to sneak anywhere undetected. I guess I'll have to take his word for it. The villains then leave.
Mandilok is unpleased by Toxica's failure and double-fires her. Onikage realizes that Toxica could still be useful as some sort of Trojan Horse. Elsewhere, Jindrax is trying to comfort Toxica, who is afraid that Mandilok will never trust her again. In fairness, he probably should have stopped trusting her several episodes ago. Onikage shows up to offer Toxica another last chance to redeem herself.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are concerned about Animarium security, but have their discussion interrupted by a whole passel of dead Orgs that have come back to life. They turn out to be phantoms, though, and the Rangers aren't quite clever enough to figure out that this is all a diversion.
Anyway, back on the Animarium, Shayla is hiding in the pool until Merrick shows up to protect her....and then she immediately sends him to go help the other Rangers. Merrick immediately finds Onikage and blasts him, making the phantom monsters going away. Shayla cheers him on and then notices that Merrick, or rather a Merrick, is still on the Animarium. It takes Shayla entirely too long to comprehend that the Merrick standing right next to her is fake, and she gets captured.
Down at the fight, Onikage claims that this was all part of his master plan. Shayla calls them to inform them that she's being captured and needs help. The fake Merrick is actually Toxica, which is particularly threatening. Even more so when Shayla starts kicking her ass. The Rangers try to make their way back to the Animarium, but are forced to fight Jindrax and some Putrids first. Onikage looks on from a distance and his pleased with the progress of his plan.
Shayla and Toxica tussle some more, and Toxica claims that Shayla is just like her. Not quite sure where that came out of. Toxica reveals that she actually doesn't know why exactly Mandilok wants to capture Shayla. For whatever reason, this inspires Shayla to taunt Toxica for her lack of moral agency. They grapple for a bit more, and Shayla ends up dunking Toxica in the magic pool, which once again appears to hurt her badly, until she reveals that her horn is fake.
You see, Onikage had told Toxica that if she cut off her horn, she would be able to withstand the waters of the magic pool. Toxica was concerned, but Onikage explained that Duke Orgs like Toxica can grow their horns back, which Toxica didn't know. Shayla tries to explain that Toxica is blindly following the orders of others to her detriment, but that doesn't stop Toxica from finally capturing her.
Back at the Putrid battle, Onikage starts firing indiscrimately into the melee with some sort of ninja bazooka. Jindrax almost gets blown up and decides to stop fighting and retreat in disgust. Cole tries to kill him, but it turns out to be a decoy.
Elsewhere, Toxica shows up with Shayla and presents her to Mandilok and Jindrax. Toxica seems rather hurt, and Jindrax notices that she lost her horn. Toxica explains that it will grow back, and Jindrax doesn't believe it and asks Mandilok for confirmation. Turns out Onikage was lying, and Toxica is going to die as a result of cutting off her horn. Shayla decides to scold Mandilok. who doesn't really care. Jindrax starts freaking out that his bosses have probably killed his best friend and would probably kill him too, given the chance.
The Rangers show up and set up the Jungle Blaster to kill Mandilok, who is smart enough to use Toxica as a Org shield. This causes Toxica to slowly vaporize and both the Jindrax and the Rangers are rather surprised at the turn of events. Mandilok orders Jindrax to take Shayla back to the Org base, and Jindrax agrees, what with Mandilok proving that he's definitely willing to get rid of Orgs who displease him.
Onikage then grows, because, well, it's time for the megazord fight, even if this particular episode hasn't actually portrayed the story beats that typically proceed such a battle. The Rangers call on the Isis Megazord, and the fight starts up.
Meanwhile, Merrick has decided to hunt down an Org and pretty much defeats Onikage by accident. Back at the Animarium, the Rangers are depressed about losing Shayla because....well, I guess they're just kind of obligated to feel bad about their mentor being captured, even if she didn't serve much of a purpose or provide helpful guidance. To Be Continued!
Next Time: Another new megazord, because it's never too late in the season to sell new toys!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Forever Red
Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 34
Original Airdate: 10-5-2002
Last Time: Animus took away all of the zords....then changed his mind ten minutes later and pretended that it was all a test.
Okay, guys, this one is going to be a doozy, if only because trying to work in ten Red Rangers in twenty-two minutes, while also setting up why they and only they can stop a new threat is basically impossible. If there ever were a Power Rangers story that needed two parts, it's this one. Then again, the primary purpose of Power Rangers is to sell toys, and those toys get cycled out of the toy stores in a matter of months, so I can understand, from a purely economical standpoint, why they'd want to limit this to one part. Think about it this way, there are an infinite number of alternate realities, and that means that there are countless universes where this was a two-parter. Hell, there are countless universes where it's a three-parter. Actually, come to think of it, since there are an innumerable number of universes where any event has happened, that means that there are billions of universes were Forever Red was the only television program ever made. Wait, where was I going with this?
On the Moon, some Beetleborg rejects are ordering some Cogs (the mooks from Zeo) to excavate something that Lord Zedd left behind when he fled the Solar System. A guy in a cloak who happens to be Andros, watches and realizes that this might be a problem. Andros tries to run but get spotted by two of the villains, who choose to chase him....on horseback....on the moon....On the plus side, having lunar-based robots utilize light calvalry is something that's never been done before. Andros calls for his Galaxy Glider and gets out of there.
Somewhere on Earth, Bulk and Skull have returned! They're now working as bartenders at some sort of resort. Wait a minute, for the entire Lost Galaxy season, it was pounded into the audience's head that no one could get back to Earth from Terra Venture, and Bulk was on Terra Venture the whole time. It was stupid at the time, but the writers held fast to it. Now I'm not a continuity nerd or anything, but this episode is basically continuity masturbation, so you'd think you wouldn't want to fuck something like that up.
Anyway, the phone rings, and Bulk accidentally knocks Skull into a nearby swimming pool. Ah, those were the days. But, the episode then elects to depress me in a profound way, as it turns out that Bulk and Skull now work for Tommy at his resort. That's.....kind of soul-crushing, I mean, they deserve better than to work for someone like Tommy. Also, wasn't Tommy a race car driver last time we saw him?
Carter then shows up in Turtle Cove to retrieve Cole for a secret mission. Carter takes Cole to a secret NASADA base, where the space agency has only now recovered from losing all of those shuttles in the In Space season. Cole meets up with Eric and Wes, and Carter introduces them to....I'm not exactly sure who, as it's clear that Cole knows them, and Carter knows them, and Eric and Wes probably don't need to be told who they are. It's some rather poorly written exposition, although I understand why they did it. Then again, maybe Carter accurately pegged Cole as someone who needed extra assistance in keeping up with all of the Red Rangers. He also introduces T.J.....oh, fuck, everyone's going to die. Andros also shows up and explains that the leader of the Rangers for this mission will be....Tommy. Bummer. Couldn't have been Jason, eh?
Tommy explains that the remnants of the Machine Empire have come together on the Moon in order to invade Earth. Andros then shows off a new Astro Megaship to take them to the Moon. It's a volunteer mission, but, well, the other Rangers are just happy to be there. Andros asks where the hell Jason is, and a motorcycle pulls up in the distance. It's Jason, and he gives the team a look-over. The assembled Red Rangers move off to...wait, aren't we one short? Where's Leo, my second-least favorite Red Ranger? (Note: Apparently the guy who played Leo was still pissed about the....pacing issues in the teamup episide with Lost Galaxy and only showed up for a few reshoots. Not the world's biggest loss.)
On the moon, the head Machine guy shows off his new superweapon and vows revenge. On Mirinoi, Leo decides he probably should head out. On the Megaship, Tommy finally tells the team exactly what they'll be doing once they reach the moon with the help of some version of Alpha. Tommy explains that he and the other Zeo Rangers, who couldn't be here today, but send their regards, destroyed most of the Machine Empire, but that turned out to not quite be enough, as they've regrouped under General Venjix and are excavating Serpenterra. What's Serpenterra, you ask? Well, it was Lord Zedd's awesome gigantic zord that dwarfed any megazord ever built. Oh, it always ran out of power before it could do anything, but presumably this time will be different. Cole immediately leaps to the bold conclusion that the assembled strike force of Rangers should stop the evil robots from destroying the Earth. You know, watching Cole's actor going up against all of the other Red Rangers, who weren't exactly played by legends of the screen, makes me realize just how shitty the acting this season has been. On the plus side, the guy playing T.J. seems a lot better than the last time I saw him.
Anyway, the evil Beetleborgs are about to turn on Serpenterra when the Rangers manage to sneak up right behind him undetected. That's some piss-poor security, there, Venjix. It's time for the unmorphed melee. T.J. is still forgettable! Tommy still has his trademark battlecry! Jason is getting too old for this shit! Eric is still competent! Andros is still playing by a guy who doesn't do his own stunts! Carter still just shoots people in lieu of punching them! Eric should stop wearing that red beret! No one watched this episode to see Cole fight!
The generals decide to just go ahead and board Serpenterra while the Rangers are fighting the Cogs, and Cole tries to stop them. He fails, of course, but gets saved by Leo and Aurico (the Red Aquitar Ranger from the end of season 3, when they ran out of Sentai footage with the original suits but still had about ten episodes to go until Zeo). The Rangers reassemble and Leo unmorphs....and Aurico doesn't because they couldn't get the original actor.
The general pursue the Rangers and realize that they've inadvertently stumbled into the Red Ranger reunion. "It's Morphin' Time!" "It's Morphin' Time!" "Shift Into Turbo" "Let's Rocket" "Go Galactic" "Lightspeed Rescue" "Time For Time Force" "Quantum Power" "Wild Access" And Aurico is already morphed and Rocky....wasn't invited.
The Rangers work in pairs to defeat the Robot Generals, who have got to be gobsmacked by all of the Red Rangers in history showing up. Cole and Jason team up and Cole tries to be endearing by saying "Morphonomenal" his attempt fails. Wes and Tommy fight against the green robot, which ends when Tommy kicks the robot in the chest so hard that it explodes.
Meanwhile, Aurico and Eric team up in the "Do whatever the hell you have to, but we must have ten Red Rangers" fight. Leo and T.J. fight another general in a fight I will know as "the fight of the damned." Finally, that leaves Andros and Carter to eschew close combat altogether and just shoot their enemy until it dies.
Everyone's dead except for the guy Cole and Jason were fighting because Cole's final attack just wasn't good enough. Serpenterra takes off and Carter announces that there's no time to chase it in the Astro Megaship. Time for an epic megazord battle? Yeah, you wish. No, instead Cole calls on the new motorcycle that was awkwardly introduced at the end of last week's episode. He then starts driving it in space, which appears to have the same properties as an asphalt road in terms of manuevering the motorcycle, and then blows up the mightiest zord of them all by flying right into its mouth and firing some lasers. Man, you could not have scripted a more disappointing ending if you tried.
The Rangers then shoot the breeze about there old adventures and whose the best Ranger. Eric declares that the Q-Rex can kick the Dragonzord's ass. Wes claims that he changed the course of history...although it was never made clear that it was for the better. Andros claims to have saved two worlds. And T.J., in his very last T.J. moment, remembers the time he got his team cooked into a pizza. I will miss him most of all. Show Over!
Next Time: Hey, remember how when Master Org was killed, he didn't really die? Well, he's decided that to finally get back in the game by use of a ridiculously circuitous plot to defeat the Rangers.
Original Airdate: 10-5-2002
Last Time: Animus took away all of the zords....then changed his mind ten minutes later and pretended that it was all a test.
Okay, guys, this one is going to be a doozy, if only because trying to work in ten Red Rangers in twenty-two minutes, while also setting up why they and only they can stop a new threat is basically impossible. If there ever were a Power Rangers story that needed two parts, it's this one. Then again, the primary purpose of Power Rangers is to sell toys, and those toys get cycled out of the toy stores in a matter of months, so I can understand, from a purely economical standpoint, why they'd want to limit this to one part. Think about it this way, there are an infinite number of alternate realities, and that means that there are countless universes where this was a two-parter. Hell, there are countless universes where it's a three-parter. Actually, come to think of it, since there are an innumerable number of universes where any event has happened, that means that there are billions of universes were Forever Red was the only television program ever made. Wait, where was I going with this?
On the Moon, some Beetleborg rejects are ordering some Cogs (the mooks from Zeo) to excavate something that Lord Zedd left behind when he fled the Solar System. A guy in a cloak who happens to be Andros, watches and realizes that this might be a problem. Andros tries to run but get spotted by two of the villains, who choose to chase him....on horseback....on the moon....On the plus side, having lunar-based robots utilize light calvalry is something that's never been done before. Andros calls for his Galaxy Glider and gets out of there.
Somewhere on Earth, Bulk and Skull have returned! They're now working as bartenders at some sort of resort. Wait a minute, for the entire Lost Galaxy season, it was pounded into the audience's head that no one could get back to Earth from Terra Venture, and Bulk was on Terra Venture the whole time. It was stupid at the time, but the writers held fast to it. Now I'm not a continuity nerd or anything, but this episode is basically continuity masturbation, so you'd think you wouldn't want to fuck something like that up.
Anyway, the phone rings, and Bulk accidentally knocks Skull into a nearby swimming pool. Ah, those were the days. But, the episode then elects to depress me in a profound way, as it turns out that Bulk and Skull now work for Tommy at his resort. That's.....kind of soul-crushing, I mean, they deserve better than to work for someone like Tommy. Also, wasn't Tommy a race car driver last time we saw him?
Carter then shows up in Turtle Cove to retrieve Cole for a secret mission. Carter takes Cole to a secret NASADA base, where the space agency has only now recovered from losing all of those shuttles in the In Space season. Cole meets up with Eric and Wes, and Carter introduces them to....I'm not exactly sure who, as it's clear that Cole knows them, and Carter knows them, and Eric and Wes probably don't need to be told who they are. It's some rather poorly written exposition, although I understand why they did it. Then again, maybe Carter accurately pegged Cole as someone who needed extra assistance in keeping up with all of the Red Rangers. He also introduces T.J.....oh, fuck, everyone's going to die. Andros also shows up and explains that the leader of the Rangers for this mission will be....Tommy. Bummer. Couldn't have been Jason, eh?
Tommy explains that the remnants of the Machine Empire have come together on the Moon in order to invade Earth. Andros then shows off a new Astro Megaship to take them to the Moon. It's a volunteer mission, but, well, the other Rangers are just happy to be there. Andros asks where the hell Jason is, and a motorcycle pulls up in the distance. It's Jason, and he gives the team a look-over. The assembled Red Rangers move off to...wait, aren't we one short? Where's Leo, my second-least favorite Red Ranger? (Note: Apparently the guy who played Leo was still pissed about the....pacing issues in the teamup episide with Lost Galaxy and only showed up for a few reshoots. Not the world's biggest loss.)
On the moon, the head Machine guy shows off his new superweapon and vows revenge. On Mirinoi, Leo decides he probably should head out. On the Megaship, Tommy finally tells the team exactly what they'll be doing once they reach the moon with the help of some version of Alpha. Tommy explains that he and the other Zeo Rangers, who couldn't be here today, but send their regards, destroyed most of the Machine Empire, but that turned out to not quite be enough, as they've regrouped under General Venjix and are excavating Serpenterra. What's Serpenterra, you ask? Well, it was Lord Zedd's awesome gigantic zord that dwarfed any megazord ever built. Oh, it always ran out of power before it could do anything, but presumably this time will be different. Cole immediately leaps to the bold conclusion that the assembled strike force of Rangers should stop the evil robots from destroying the Earth. You know, watching Cole's actor going up against all of the other Red Rangers, who weren't exactly played by legends of the screen, makes me realize just how shitty the acting this season has been. On the plus side, the guy playing T.J. seems a lot better than the last time I saw him.
Anyway, the evil Beetleborgs are about to turn on Serpenterra when the Rangers manage to sneak up right behind him undetected. That's some piss-poor security, there, Venjix. It's time for the unmorphed melee. T.J. is still forgettable! Tommy still has his trademark battlecry! Jason is getting too old for this shit! Eric is still competent! Andros is still playing by a guy who doesn't do his own stunts! Carter still just shoots people in lieu of punching them! Eric should stop wearing that red beret! No one watched this episode to see Cole fight!
The generals decide to just go ahead and board Serpenterra while the Rangers are fighting the Cogs, and Cole tries to stop them. He fails, of course, but gets saved by Leo and Aurico (the Red Aquitar Ranger from the end of season 3, when they ran out of Sentai footage with the original suits but still had about ten episodes to go until Zeo). The Rangers reassemble and Leo unmorphs....and Aurico doesn't because they couldn't get the original actor.
The general pursue the Rangers and realize that they've inadvertently stumbled into the Red Ranger reunion. "It's Morphin' Time!" "It's Morphin' Time!" "Shift Into Turbo" "Let's Rocket" "Go Galactic" "Lightspeed Rescue" "Time For Time Force" "Quantum Power" "Wild Access" And Aurico is already morphed and Rocky....wasn't invited.
The Rangers work in pairs to defeat the Robot Generals, who have got to be gobsmacked by all of the Red Rangers in history showing up. Cole and Jason team up and Cole tries to be endearing by saying "Morphonomenal" his attempt fails. Wes and Tommy fight against the green robot, which ends when Tommy kicks the robot in the chest so hard that it explodes.
Meanwhile, Aurico and Eric team up in the "Do whatever the hell you have to, but we must have ten Red Rangers" fight. Leo and T.J. fight another general in a fight I will know as "the fight of the damned." Finally, that leaves Andros and Carter to eschew close combat altogether and just shoot their enemy until it dies.
Everyone's dead except for the guy Cole and Jason were fighting because Cole's final attack just wasn't good enough. Serpenterra takes off and Carter announces that there's no time to chase it in the Astro Megaship. Time for an epic megazord battle? Yeah, you wish. No, instead Cole calls on the new motorcycle that was awkwardly introduced at the end of last week's episode. He then starts driving it in space, which appears to have the same properties as an asphalt road in terms of manuevering the motorcycle, and then blows up the mightiest zord of them all by flying right into its mouth and firing some lasers. Man, you could not have scripted a more disappointing ending if you tried.
The Rangers then shoot the breeze about there old adventures and whose the best Ranger. Eric declares that the Q-Rex can kick the Dragonzord's ass. Wes claims that he changed the course of history...although it was never made clear that it was for the better. Andros claims to have saved two worlds. And T.J., in his very last T.J. moment, remembers the time he got his team cooked into a pizza. I will miss him most of all. Show Over!
Next Time: Hey, remember how when Master Org was killed, he didn't really die? Well, he's decided that to finally get back in the game by use of a ridiculously circuitous plot to defeat the Rangers.
The Soul of Humanity
Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 33
Original Airdate: 10-5-2002
Last Time: Kite turned out to be Animus, who took away the Wild Zords because he disapproved of humanity. This essentially ceded victory to the Orgs, who happened to be the ones responsible for killing Animus 3000 years ago. I guess Animus is very forgiving.
Cole goes looking for the Lion Zord, but it's very, very gone. He then finds Shayla, and she's very, very comatose. Not really much of a loss compared to the Wild Zords, but I guess it's still a bummer. The Rangers reassemble on the Animarium and feel depressed that Animus thinks they suck.
Down at the Roadhouse, Merrick is too sad even to play Willie in pool. I like how his reaction to Shayla being in a coma is mild depression.
In the evil lair of evil, Jindrax and Toxica celebrate their imminent victory. Mandilok joins in and everyone has a good laugh.
Back on the Animarium, Alyssa tries talking to the comatose Shayla and thanks Shayla for all she's done for the Rangers. What would those contribution be again? All those times she answered the Rangers question with "I don't know." The other Rangers also walk around dejectedly, because they know the next Org is probably going to kill them.
Cole catches up with Merrick and tells him that Shayla is back in a coma. This proves rather disconcerting to Merrick, who remembers last time that happened. The new Org also shows up, Robot Org. It pledges to "destroy all humans." That's a bold goal. The Rangers don't really want to fight it, because they know that the second Toxica makes it grow they're boned, but Alyssa talks them into it.
The Robot Org attacks a construction site where a little girl had unwisely chosen to walk her dog. The Rangers show up, and well, they can handle this phase of the fight with no problem.
Meanwhile, Merrick has gone to visit the memorial to the dead proto-Rangers. He's unsure of what to do, and Animus shows up to explain that Merrick doesn't belong on Earth anymore, and offers to take him to Animus' dimension in the sky. Merrick mulls Animus' offer, as the Rangers struggle to defeat Robot Org, which ends up collapsing the building that the Rangers were fighting in. Mandilok taunts the Rangers about how the humans ran away from the imploding building, and then some rescue workers show up to demonstrate the human spirit. They even save the little girl's dog. Merrick has been listening to this on his morpher, and Animus tells him it's time to go. Cole continues his speech as the Robot Org attacks again. Merrick explains that he really would prefer not let all of humanity die out of spite, and decides to help the other Rangers.
Animus, taking this into consideration, wakes Shayla from her coma. The fight against Robot Org keeps going. Merrick shows up and his crystals still work, and he uses them to kill Robot Org. But, then again, that really wasn't the problem. The megazord battle was where it got a bit problematic. Of course, Merrick still has the Predazord because, I don't know, he doesn't suck quite as hard as the other Rangers. It's not enough, so Shayla runs in and explains that the Rangers' zords are connected to their hearts, which allows them to channel their zords' power into the Predazord. Animus shows up because he always wanted to fight alongside Merrick and they didn't get a chance 3000 years ago. Together, they kill the Robot Org.
Later, Animus, perhaps realizing how ineffective his zord embargo is....seeing as he himself broke it, declares that this was all a test, and the Rangers passed, giving the Rangers their zords back. He then gives Cole a new motorcycle for.....a rather nebulous reason, albeit it's going to be used next episode, and they really, really, really don't have time to introduce it then. Animus decides to leave Earth forever....or for a few episodes, as it will turn out.
Next Time: Crisis on Infinite Rangers! Or "Hey guys, let's have an episode that will only really be appreciated by diehard fans and then introduce a few continuity errors that will be sure to rile them up!"
Original Airdate: 10-5-2002
Last Time: Kite turned out to be Animus, who took away the Wild Zords because he disapproved of humanity. This essentially ceded victory to the Orgs, who happened to be the ones responsible for killing Animus 3000 years ago. I guess Animus is very forgiving.
Cole goes looking for the Lion Zord, but it's very, very gone. He then finds Shayla, and she's very, very comatose. Not really much of a loss compared to the Wild Zords, but I guess it's still a bummer. The Rangers reassemble on the Animarium and feel depressed that Animus thinks they suck.
Down at the Roadhouse, Merrick is too sad even to play Willie in pool. I like how his reaction to Shayla being in a coma is mild depression.
In the evil lair of evil, Jindrax and Toxica celebrate their imminent victory. Mandilok joins in and everyone has a good laugh.
Back on the Animarium, Alyssa tries talking to the comatose Shayla and thanks Shayla for all she's done for the Rangers. What would those contribution be again? All those times she answered the Rangers question with "I don't know." The other Rangers also walk around dejectedly, because they know the next Org is probably going to kill them.
Cole catches up with Merrick and tells him that Shayla is back in a coma. This proves rather disconcerting to Merrick, who remembers last time that happened. The new Org also shows up, Robot Org. It pledges to "destroy all humans." That's a bold goal. The Rangers don't really want to fight it, because they know that the second Toxica makes it grow they're boned, but Alyssa talks them into it.
The Robot Org attacks a construction site where a little girl had unwisely chosen to walk her dog. The Rangers show up, and well, they can handle this phase of the fight with no problem.
Meanwhile, Merrick has gone to visit the memorial to the dead proto-Rangers. He's unsure of what to do, and Animus shows up to explain that Merrick doesn't belong on Earth anymore, and offers to take him to Animus' dimension in the sky. Merrick mulls Animus' offer, as the Rangers struggle to defeat Robot Org, which ends up collapsing the building that the Rangers were fighting in. Mandilok taunts the Rangers about how the humans ran away from the imploding building, and then some rescue workers show up to demonstrate the human spirit. They even save the little girl's dog. Merrick has been listening to this on his morpher, and Animus tells him it's time to go. Cole continues his speech as the Robot Org attacks again. Merrick explains that he really would prefer not let all of humanity die out of spite, and decides to help the other Rangers.
Animus, taking this into consideration, wakes Shayla from her coma. The fight against Robot Org keeps going. Merrick shows up and his crystals still work, and he uses them to kill Robot Org. But, then again, that really wasn't the problem. The megazord battle was where it got a bit problematic. Of course, Merrick still has the Predazord because, I don't know, he doesn't suck quite as hard as the other Rangers. It's not enough, so Shayla runs in and explains that the Rangers' zords are connected to their hearts, which allows them to channel their zords' power into the Predazord. Animus shows up because he always wanted to fight alongside Merrick and they didn't get a chance 3000 years ago. Together, they kill the Robot Org.
Later, Animus, perhaps realizing how ineffective his zord embargo is....seeing as he himself broke it, declares that this was all a test, and the Rangers passed, giving the Rangers their zords back. He then gives Cole a new motorcycle for.....a rather nebulous reason, albeit it's going to be used next episode, and they really, really, really don't have time to introduce it then. Animus decides to leave Earth forever....or for a few episodes, as it will turn out.
Next Time: Crisis on Infinite Rangers! Or "Hey guys, let's have an episode that will only really be appreciated by diehard fans and then introduce a few continuity errors that will be sure to rile them up!"
Monitoring Earth
Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 32
Original Airdate: 9-28-2002
Last Time: The Rangers summoned every single zord at their disposal for what's in all likelihood the longest megazord battle in the show's history.
In the evil base o' Orgs, Mandilok realizes that something's up with Kite, and decides to convince him to be on the Org's side.
Back on the Animarium, Kite has woken up early and is watching TV. Unfortunately, the TV appears to be tuned to the 24-hours Environmental Disaster Network. This makes Kite angry, and the Rangers explain that destroying the environment is the price of progress. Kite wants the Rangers to take a more militant stand in regards to protecting the environment, and Taylor takes umbrage at the budding eco-terrorist's rant. Kite runs off. The Rangers except for Taylor go after him, while Taylor really can't be bothered. The Rangers have no luck, and Taylor is reasonably sure that Kite will be back.
Down at the nearest Superfund site, Kite laments how much man has destroyed his own planet. Mandilok and his two goons show up to make a pitch to Kite about killing all the humans.
At Willie's Roadhouse, Merrick is playing some pool while Cole complains about not finding Cole. I'm kind of surprised that Merrick didn't beat Cole with a pool cue the minute he stepped foot in Merrick's homebase. Merrick explains that Kite is no ordinary boy, and that he's definitely someone from Merrick's past.
Meanwile, Mandilok has taken Kite to some sort of hellish trashyard, and convinces Kite that the humans totally deserve to be killed by the Orgs. We see the birth of the Television Org, which comes complete with Goldar's voice. The TV Org starts its assault by sucking people into television screens or monitors or really anything of the sort. This includes an unrealistically large crowd that appears to have come to see a youth soccer game.
The Rangers move in to deal with the new monster at the soccer stadium. They see the people trapped in the Jumbotron. Mandilok shows up to announce the defection of Kite to the Orgs. Apparently he's so upset with the Rangers for not stopping the humans from polluting that he's decided to throw in with the group who want to kill everyone and everything on the planet. We'll learn later that this is even dumber than it appears. The Rangers make an abortive attempt to rescue Kite, which becomes quite unnecessary when Kite stops an SUV coming at him with his mind...and then drops it on the Rangers. Merrick and Cole manage to recover enough to kill the TV Org dead, though.
This frees the people trapped in the monitors, but that doesn't mean that the Rangers can skip the megazord leg of the fight. The Rangers call out the Wild Force Megazord ominously early. Mandilok convinces Kite that the Wild Zords are being used as weapons by the evil, evil humans. Merrick, who's fighting Toxica and Jindrax, tells him not to listen to Mandilok, who could not look and sound more obviously villainous if he tried.
The TV Org makes a bunch of copies of itself...which proves a useful tactic for roughly five seconds before the Rangers kill them all. A bug lands on the Wild Force Megazord and the villains take control of it for the second episode in a row. Kite decides to reveal his true form....Animus. No, I don't believe it! The Rangers realize that this might be a problem.
Animus declares that he's taking his Wild Zords and going home, leaving the Rangers and Orgs to kill each other without their support. Mandilok decides to use the Wild Force Megazord to kill Animus before things get out of hand, but Animus defuses the bug in about five seconds. The villains flee in a panic.
The Rangers, meanwhile, try to reason with Animus, but he's decided to take away the Wild Zords from the Rangers. Taylor points out that that leaves the Rangers at a rather crippling strategic disadvantage, but Animus doesn't really care. The Wild Zords all vanish, and Shayla collapses. The narrator comes back to inform us that the writers ran out of running time to explain what her deal is, but that she's in a coma until the Wild Zords return. Thanks, Mr. Narrator! To Be Continued!
Next Time: The Rangers teach Animus a lesson about the human spirit...or something!
Original Airdate: 9-28-2002
Last Time: The Rangers summoned every single zord at their disposal for what's in all likelihood the longest megazord battle in the show's history.
In the evil base o' Orgs, Mandilok realizes that something's up with Kite, and decides to convince him to be on the Org's side.
Back on the Animarium, Kite has woken up early and is watching TV. Unfortunately, the TV appears to be tuned to the 24-hours Environmental Disaster Network. This makes Kite angry, and the Rangers explain that destroying the environment is the price of progress. Kite wants the Rangers to take a more militant stand in regards to protecting the environment, and Taylor takes umbrage at the budding eco-terrorist's rant. Kite runs off. The Rangers except for Taylor go after him, while Taylor really can't be bothered. The Rangers have no luck, and Taylor is reasonably sure that Kite will be back.
Down at the nearest Superfund site, Kite laments how much man has destroyed his own planet. Mandilok and his two goons show up to make a pitch to Kite about killing all the humans.
At Willie's Roadhouse, Merrick is playing some pool while Cole complains about not finding Cole. I'm kind of surprised that Merrick didn't beat Cole with a pool cue the minute he stepped foot in Merrick's homebase. Merrick explains that Kite is no ordinary boy, and that he's definitely someone from Merrick's past.
Meanwile, Mandilok has taken Kite to some sort of hellish trashyard, and convinces Kite that the humans totally deserve to be killed by the Orgs. We see the birth of the Television Org, which comes complete with Goldar's voice. The TV Org starts its assault by sucking people into television screens or monitors or really anything of the sort. This includes an unrealistically large crowd that appears to have come to see a youth soccer game.
The Rangers move in to deal with the new monster at the soccer stadium. They see the people trapped in the Jumbotron. Mandilok shows up to announce the defection of Kite to the Orgs. Apparently he's so upset with the Rangers for not stopping the humans from polluting that he's decided to throw in with the group who want to kill everyone and everything on the planet. We'll learn later that this is even dumber than it appears. The Rangers make an abortive attempt to rescue Kite, which becomes quite unnecessary when Kite stops an SUV coming at him with his mind...and then drops it on the Rangers. Merrick and Cole manage to recover enough to kill the TV Org dead, though.
This frees the people trapped in the monitors, but that doesn't mean that the Rangers can skip the megazord leg of the fight. The Rangers call out the Wild Force Megazord ominously early. Mandilok convinces Kite that the Wild Zords are being used as weapons by the evil, evil humans. Merrick, who's fighting Toxica and Jindrax, tells him not to listen to Mandilok, who could not look and sound more obviously villainous if he tried.
The TV Org makes a bunch of copies of itself...which proves a useful tactic for roughly five seconds before the Rangers kill them all. A bug lands on the Wild Force Megazord and the villains take control of it for the second episode in a row. Kite decides to reveal his true form....Animus. No, I don't believe it! The Rangers realize that this might be a problem.
Animus declares that he's taking his Wild Zords and going home, leaving the Rangers and Orgs to kill each other without their support. Mandilok decides to use the Wild Force Megazord to kill Animus before things get out of hand, but Animus defuses the bug in about five seconds. The villains flee in a panic.
The Rangers, meanwhile, try to reason with Animus, but he's decided to take away the Wild Zords from the Rangers. Taylor points out that that leaves the Rangers at a rather crippling strategic disadvantage, but Animus doesn't really care. The Wild Zords all vanish, and Shayla collapses. The narrator comes back to inform us that the writers ran out of running time to explain what her deal is, but that she's in a coma until the Wild Zords return. Thanks, Mr. Narrator! To Be Continued!
Next Time: The Rangers teach Animus a lesson about the human spirit...or something!
Taming of the Zords
Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 31
Original Airdate: 9-28-2002
Last Time: The Rangers went to the carnival....of death! Okay, technically the only person that died was Jindrax's brother, but still....
The episode begins with yet another rendition of Shayla's song about how much she looooooves nature. Kite, who apparently is just living on the Animarium, watches through the magic pool. Max happens by and asks if Kite remembers his past yet, as we flashback to last episode when Kite remembered being friends with Merrick.
Time for the Org of the week! This week, it's the Lion Tamer Org. Er....I thought the Orgs were possessing man's technology as some sort of consequence for man polluting the world. Jindrax is as skeptical as I am, as he's reasonably sure that the Lion Tamer Org isn't quite up to the task of avenging Jindrax's dead brother. Lion Tamer fails to tame a stray cat....and, yeah, that seems like a problem. But, hell, he's the best monster available so Toxica and Jindrax send him to fight the Ranges.
Back at the Animarium, the Rangers are edgy because they keep getting woken up early every morning by Shayla's song. Shayla shows up and demands that the Rangers appreciate the song, as the Wild Zords do. This mention of the Wild Zords further stirs Kite's memory. The monster attacks and the Rangers move out.
Lion Tamer Org shows his chops by making Alyssa jump through a flaming hoop by mind control. He then forces the Rangers to sit. Lion Tamer Org asks to join Team Carnival. Er...I thought Jindrax disbanded the team after the unfortunate business last episode.Anyway, Jindrax and Toxica decide to move the plot forward by just making the Lion Tamer Org giant-sized now, as opposed to waiting for the Rangers to kill him at normal size first. Seems reasonable enough to me. Toxica then prompts the Rangers to call their zords, which the Rangers find suspicious....but not suspicious enough to not do it. They're kind of dumb that way.
Anyway, it turns out that the Lion Tamer Org is able to tame the Lion Zord. God, I'd hope so...I mean, that's the monster's only schtick. He then forces the zords to form the Wild Force Megazord, which he then sets loose on the Rangers.
Back in the Animarium, Kite asks why this is happening. Shayla explains that it's because the Lion Tamer put then under mind control of some sort. Merrick shows up in the Predazord to fight the megazord, and wins. Lion Tamer Org tries to take control of the Predazord, and Merrick responds by punching him in the gut. The Wild Force Megazord gets back up, and Shayla recommends using the Kongazord. You know, bringing as many zords as possible into a battler with a monster that can control zords may not be the wisest course of action. Toxica and Jindrax perform some ringside commentary which ends with the Gorilla Zord throwing a giant banana at them.
The fight continues rather inconclusively and Lion Tamer Org gets the Lion to call in the Elephant and Giraffe Zords. That proves too much for the Kongazord, and Shayla recommends calling in the Deer Zord...since they've called in everything else, anyway. Kite disappears mysteriously for reasons that will become obvious shortly. Eventually, the Rangers run out of megazords and things look grim as Lion Tamer Org takes control of the Kongazord. The evil megazords then eject Merrick from the Predazord as well. Meanwhile, Jindrax and Toxica have been commentating this entire time, which got less and less funny as it went on, and it wasn't that amusing to begin with.
Kite finally makes it to the battle and demands that the zords stop fighting each other and summons a magical wind. Merrick finally realizes what's going on as the zords are returned to the Rangers control. Kite then collapses from the strain. The megazords then kill Lion Tamer Org dead. Cole realizes that he hasn't summoned the Falcon Zord yet, so remedies that by summoning the Isis Megazord.
The Rangers find Merrick still holding an unconscious Kite, and Merrick explains that he felt Kite's wind before, 3000 years ago. That should probably clue the Rangers in as to what's happening....but well, it won't.
Next Time: The Rangers finally, finally, finally, discover Kite's true identity.
Original Airdate: 9-28-2002
Last Time: The Rangers went to the carnival....of death! Okay, technically the only person that died was Jindrax's brother, but still....
The episode begins with yet another rendition of Shayla's song about how much she looooooves nature. Kite, who apparently is just living on the Animarium, watches through the magic pool. Max happens by and asks if Kite remembers his past yet, as we flashback to last episode when Kite remembered being friends with Merrick.
Time for the Org of the week! This week, it's the Lion Tamer Org. Er....I thought the Orgs were possessing man's technology as some sort of consequence for man polluting the world. Jindrax is as skeptical as I am, as he's reasonably sure that the Lion Tamer Org isn't quite up to the task of avenging Jindrax's dead brother. Lion Tamer fails to tame a stray cat....and, yeah, that seems like a problem. But, hell, he's the best monster available so Toxica and Jindrax send him to fight the Ranges.
Back at the Animarium, the Rangers are edgy because they keep getting woken up early every morning by Shayla's song. Shayla shows up and demands that the Rangers appreciate the song, as the Wild Zords do. This mention of the Wild Zords further stirs Kite's memory. The monster attacks and the Rangers move out.
Lion Tamer Org shows his chops by making Alyssa jump through a flaming hoop by mind control. He then forces the Rangers to sit. Lion Tamer Org asks to join Team Carnival. Er...I thought Jindrax disbanded the team after the unfortunate business last episode.Anyway, Jindrax and Toxica decide to move the plot forward by just making the Lion Tamer Org giant-sized now, as opposed to waiting for the Rangers to kill him at normal size first. Seems reasonable enough to me. Toxica then prompts the Rangers to call their zords, which the Rangers find suspicious....but not suspicious enough to not do it. They're kind of dumb that way.
Anyway, it turns out that the Lion Tamer Org is able to tame the Lion Zord. God, I'd hope so...I mean, that's the monster's only schtick. He then forces the zords to form the Wild Force Megazord, which he then sets loose on the Rangers.
Back in the Animarium, Kite asks why this is happening. Shayla explains that it's because the Lion Tamer put then under mind control of some sort. Merrick shows up in the Predazord to fight the megazord, and wins. Lion Tamer Org tries to take control of the Predazord, and Merrick responds by punching him in the gut. The Wild Force Megazord gets back up, and Shayla recommends using the Kongazord. You know, bringing as many zords as possible into a battler with a monster that can control zords may not be the wisest course of action. Toxica and Jindrax perform some ringside commentary which ends with the Gorilla Zord throwing a giant banana at them.
The fight continues rather inconclusively and Lion Tamer Org gets the Lion to call in the Elephant and Giraffe Zords. That proves too much for the Kongazord, and Shayla recommends calling in the Deer Zord...since they've called in everything else, anyway. Kite disappears mysteriously for reasons that will become obvious shortly. Eventually, the Rangers run out of megazords and things look grim as Lion Tamer Org takes control of the Kongazord. The evil megazords then eject Merrick from the Predazord as well. Meanwhile, Jindrax and Toxica have been commentating this entire time, which got less and less funny as it went on, and it wasn't that amusing to begin with.
Kite finally makes it to the battle and demands that the zords stop fighting each other and summons a magical wind. Merrick finally realizes what's going on as the zords are returned to the Rangers control. Kite then collapses from the strain. The megazords then kill Lion Tamer Org dead. Cole realizes that he hasn't summoned the Falcon Zord yet, so remedies that by summoning the Isis Megazord.
The Rangers find Merrick still holding an unconscious Kite, and Merrick explains that he felt Kite's wind before, 3000 years ago. That should probably clue the Rangers in as to what's happening....but well, it won't.
Next Time: The Rangers finally, finally, finally, discover Kite's true identity.
Team Carnival
Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 30
Original Airdate: 9-21-2002
Last Time: The music.....the horrible, horrible music....
Max, being a typical urban youth, is dribbling a basketball through the local farmer's market. He happens upon Kite stealing some food....wait, didn't I have to do this episode during Lightspeed Rescue? Is this going to end up with the Rangers wearing ridiculous disguises as the local boardwalk? Max is displeased with the young godling.
Back at the evil lair of unspectacular nicknames, Toxica is wearing an apron and has made some more food for Mandilok out of machinery. Jindrax tries to serve a rusty muffler, but is rebuffed. Jindrax feels depressed at his basic uselessness....until he decides to find his brother and form a new team...a better team....a carnival team.
On the Animarium, the Rangers are wondering how the hell Animus came back to life. Shayla claims to have seen Animus get destroyed, despite the fact that I'll relatively sure that the flashback that was shown was originally from Merrick's point of view. The Rangers wonder where Animus is and Max and Kite wander in to answer that question.
Down at the local carnival, Jindrax meets his brother Juggalo to re-form Team Carnival.
Meanwhile, Taylor is barely able to conceal her hatred for Kite, and is the only one concerned about having a random boy be privy to all of the Rangers' secrets. Cole decides that it's time to find Kite's parents, because that process worked out so well for Cole. This somehow leads to Taylor being forced to babysit Max and Kite as they look for Kite's parents. Of course, Max and Kite basically being completely immature, this leads to the three of them going to the carnival....as do Jindrax and Juggalo, who suggests that they put on some disguises....despite being at the only place that the two of them actually don't need to put on a disguise to blend in.
Anyway, Taylor gets forced onto a roller coaster, and we all learn that Taylor is afraid of those rides....despite having been an Air Force fighter pilot. Seems like being afraid of heights and high G-factors would negatively impact your flying career. Jindrax and Juggalo have dressed up as mascots, and Jindrax is ready to throw a knife directly in Taylor's back....as usual, he fucks it up.
Kite and Max ask Taylor how she can be afraid of roller coasters but not jets, and it turns out that it's the loss of control that upsets Taylor. Yeah, that sounds about right. Jindrax's hunt of Taylor continues, but he manages to repeatedly miss her with his knives, and Jindrax decides to give up and just kill Max and Kite instead.
This plan works a bit better, as Jindrax traps Kite on the roller coaster with some Putrids as Jindrax and Juggalo introduce themselves and the concept of Team Carnival. The clowns then manage to actually hurt Taylor and Max with their juggling of knives. Their success is short-lived as Taylor and Max turn the tables on them by switching weapons...which somehow makes the Rangers more effective.
Jindrax then reveals that he's already captured Kite, and the Rangers immediately surrender. Juggalo then messes them up for a bit. The other Rangers show up and Jindrax releases some Putrids in a last-ditch effort to prevent his imminent defeat. Taylor and Max free Kite and the end draws near as the Rangers hand out some new power weapons based on their auxillary zords. The new weapons join together to form the Turbo Blaster, which kills Juggalo in a single blast. Jindrax is forced to make Juggalo grow in order to give him a bit more life. The Rangers respond with the Wild Force Megazord Classic. It quickly becomes clear that Juggalo is about to get killed again, and Toxica shows up to get her staff back, as Jindrax had apparently stolen it earlier.
Jindrax, preferring not to see his brother murdered, has stolen some of the growing seeds and intends to use them in order to help his brother, or at least die trying. Toxica tells him that if he dies when he's giant, then he's permanently dead. Team Carnival briefly outnumbers the megazord, but then Merrick shows up with his megazord and kills Juggalo. So...die trying it is. Jindrax shrinks back to normal size inadvertently, and thus gets to live. Apparently the magic seeds aren't very good...or the writers didn't want to kill one of the more likeable characters this season.
Later, Jindrax is depressed because his brother was just murdered in front of him. Toxica shows up to cheer him up....which works surprisingly well seeing as his only family is irrevocably dead.
The Rangers celebrate and Kite is there too. The boy sees Merrick and realizes that he met the Wolf Ranger a long time ago. Merrick furrows his brow as someone finally starts to figure out who the hell Kite really is.....but such revelations are for next time. Show Over!
Next Time: Such revelations!
Original Airdate: 9-21-2002
Last Time: The music.....the horrible, horrible music....
Max, being a typical urban youth, is dribbling a basketball through the local farmer's market. He happens upon Kite stealing some food....wait, didn't I have to do this episode during Lightspeed Rescue? Is this going to end up with the Rangers wearing ridiculous disguises as the local boardwalk? Max is displeased with the young godling.
Back at the evil lair of unspectacular nicknames, Toxica is wearing an apron and has made some more food for Mandilok out of machinery. Jindrax tries to serve a rusty muffler, but is rebuffed. Jindrax feels depressed at his basic uselessness....until he decides to find his brother and form a new team...a better team....a carnival team.
On the Animarium, the Rangers are wondering how the hell Animus came back to life. Shayla claims to have seen Animus get destroyed, despite the fact that I'll relatively sure that the flashback that was shown was originally from Merrick's point of view. The Rangers wonder where Animus is and Max and Kite wander in to answer that question.
Down at the local carnival, Jindrax meets his brother Juggalo to re-form Team Carnival.
Meanwhile, Taylor is barely able to conceal her hatred for Kite, and is the only one concerned about having a random boy be privy to all of the Rangers' secrets. Cole decides that it's time to find Kite's parents, because that process worked out so well for Cole. This somehow leads to Taylor being forced to babysit Max and Kite as they look for Kite's parents. Of course, Max and Kite basically being completely immature, this leads to the three of them going to the carnival....as do Jindrax and Juggalo, who suggests that they put on some disguises....despite being at the only place that the two of them actually don't need to put on a disguise to blend in.
Anyway, Taylor gets forced onto a roller coaster, and we all learn that Taylor is afraid of those rides....despite having been an Air Force fighter pilot. Seems like being afraid of heights and high G-factors would negatively impact your flying career. Jindrax and Juggalo have dressed up as mascots, and Jindrax is ready to throw a knife directly in Taylor's back....as usual, he fucks it up.
Kite and Max ask Taylor how she can be afraid of roller coasters but not jets, and it turns out that it's the loss of control that upsets Taylor. Yeah, that sounds about right. Jindrax's hunt of Taylor continues, but he manages to repeatedly miss her with his knives, and Jindrax decides to give up and just kill Max and Kite instead.
This plan works a bit better, as Jindrax traps Kite on the roller coaster with some Putrids as Jindrax and Juggalo introduce themselves and the concept of Team Carnival. The clowns then manage to actually hurt Taylor and Max with their juggling of knives. Their success is short-lived as Taylor and Max turn the tables on them by switching weapons...which somehow makes the Rangers more effective.
Jindrax then reveals that he's already captured Kite, and the Rangers immediately surrender. Juggalo then messes them up for a bit. The other Rangers show up and Jindrax releases some Putrids in a last-ditch effort to prevent his imminent defeat. Taylor and Max free Kite and the end draws near as the Rangers hand out some new power weapons based on their auxillary zords. The new weapons join together to form the Turbo Blaster, which kills Juggalo in a single blast. Jindrax is forced to make Juggalo grow in order to give him a bit more life. The Rangers respond with the Wild Force Megazord Classic. It quickly becomes clear that Juggalo is about to get killed again, and Toxica shows up to get her staff back, as Jindrax had apparently stolen it earlier.
Jindrax, preferring not to see his brother murdered, has stolen some of the growing seeds and intends to use them in order to help his brother, or at least die trying. Toxica tells him that if he dies when he's giant, then he's permanently dead. Team Carnival briefly outnumbers the megazord, but then Merrick shows up with his megazord and kills Juggalo. So...die trying it is. Jindrax shrinks back to normal size inadvertently, and thus gets to live. Apparently the magic seeds aren't very good...or the writers didn't want to kill one of the more likeable characters this season.
Later, Jindrax is depressed because his brother was just murdered in front of him. Toxica shows up to cheer him up....which works surprisingly well seeing as his only family is irrevocably dead.
The Rangers celebrate and Kite is there too. The boy sees Merrick and realizes that he met the Wolf Ranger a long time ago. Merrick furrows his brow as someone finally starts to figure out who the hell Kite really is.....but such revelations are for next time. Show Over!
Next Time: Such revelations!
The Flute
Power Rangers: Wild Force, Episode 29
Original Airdate: 9-21-2002
Last Time: A stupid kid named Kite was more than he appeared to be....but not a lot more.
Cole is walking down the street and decides to talk to some pigeons about where to find Kite. Apparently they haven't seen the boy for a week....or maybe Cole has just lost his fucking mind.
Elsewhere, Jindrax and Toxica have dressed up as chefs and prepared Mandilok a breakfast of assorted mechanical parts. Shayla's nightmarish folk song once more begins playing, and that pisses Mandilok off. Toxica and Jindrax explain that Shayla and Merrick play that song every morning, and rightly call it horrible.
At the scene of the morning concert, we get another painful reprise of that damned song. Kite also hears the song, and wonders why the song brings tears to his eyes. Well, because it's so awful that your body is trying to do whatever it can to protect itself. But the new Org of the episode, the Flute Org, shows up and starts playing a counter-tune. This interrupts Merrick's flute playing and Shayla starts laying into him. Merrick points out that it wasn't him making that sound, and Shayla accuses him of not wanting to spend time with her. She insults him a bit and storms off. The Deer Zord runs off in protest.
Anyway, Mandilok hears the Flute Org's music and orders Jindrax and Toxica to send the new Org to kill the Rangers.
Back on the Animarium, Shayla is still upset over Merrick....even though Merrick didn't actually do anything. She accuses Merrick of being selfish and immature and promises to never sing with him again. That's.....some pretty great news! The flute music of evil starts flooding the city and forcing the people to do some tai chi by the looks of it. The Rangers show up to fight the monster, and Merrick recognizes it as the music from that morning. The Org proves to be even more inept than usual, and so Toxica and Jindrax escort him from the battlefield.
In the evil lair of blandness, the Flute Org explains that if he gets more power, he can totally use his music to control the Rangers. Mandilok, apparently not remembering that his predecessor's tenure as chief villain ended due to mutiny, decides to sap some of Jindrax and Toxica's power to boost the Flute Org.
Later, Kite finds Cole and recognizes him as the Red Ranger. Because Cole is almost as stupid as Shayla, this does not set off any alarm bells in his brain. Back on the Animarium, Danny claims that he'll be sorry not to hear Shayla sing anymore and Max looks at him like he's fucking insane. You know, I like Max about ten times as much just for that reaction. Shayla shows up and explains that the monster was making some terrible flute music. This causes Shayla to slowly understand that she pissed off Merrick for nothing. But, that will be for later, it's time for a monster attack!
....Actually, first Kite and Cole are going to have a brief conversation about being orphans. Great. Okay, now it's time for the Rangers to fight the Flute Org again. Once again, the monster is forcing people to dance. The Rangers show up, and, much like that one dream sequence on The Simpsons, forces them to dance with his powers. Shayla is confused by this, as she is by all things. Merrick arrives on the Animarium to apologize for....er....he didn't actually do anything wrong, but, you know, Merrick is nothing if not slightly beaten down by life. Anyway, he explains that he doesn't like visiting the Animarium because it happens to be the place where all of his friends died and he got imprisoned for 3000 years. That's....a rather good point. Shayla, in somewhat of a corner due to her being so clearly in the wrong, admits that Merrick "isn't a terrible musician." Then she finally remembers that the Rangers are still trying to fight that Flute Org and decides to take Merrick and help out. You know, maybe it's a good thing that whatever kingdom was around 3000 years ago fell, I'd hate to see a country run by Shayla.
Back in the town, the Rangers are still dancing, only to be freed by Shayla and Merrick's song. The Flute Org recoils in horror at the melody, and I can't blame him. Kite also hears the music and runs off. Mandilok has had enough and shoots Merrick and Shayla to stop them from playing anymore. Unfortunately, the Deer Zord shows up and breaks Flute Org's instrument. Shayla and Merrick banter, which ends when Shayla accidentally pushes Merrick off of a building. He barely survives by morphing mid-fall. Wow, Shayla, every time I think, "Well, she can't get any dumber," she proves me wrong.
The fight against the Flute Org finally begins in earnest, and it's rather one of the mill. Kite shows up and draws the attention of Mandilok and Toxica. Not that it does the Flute Org much good, as he gets killed again. The Flute Org gets grown and somehow prevents the Rangers from summoning their zords. Some zords, not the Rangers, show up it turns out that they're the component pieces of Animus, who is, in reality, a megazord. Animus then proceeds to destroy the Flute Org's flute, and that gives the Rangers a chance to call on the Isis Megazord. Sic Transit Flute Org.
Later, the Rangers celebrate the return of Animus, except for Merrick, who's reasonably certain that he saw Animus get killed 3000 years ago. Animus declines to take questions and disappears. Merrick is rather puzzled by this, and Shayla ropes him into to singing to the Deer Zord again. Cole tries to look for Kite, but the kid has mysteriously vanished. And by "mysteriously" I mean, he's obviously fucking Animus....I mean he is Animus, I'm not saying that he's having sex with the megazord-God....that would be weird....and anatomically difficult. Show Over!
Next Time: Jindrax re-forms Team Carnival, the circusiest villains in town!
Original Airdate: 9-21-2002
Last Time: A stupid kid named Kite was more than he appeared to be....but not a lot more.
Cole is walking down the street and decides to talk to some pigeons about where to find Kite. Apparently they haven't seen the boy for a week....or maybe Cole has just lost his fucking mind.
Elsewhere, Jindrax and Toxica have dressed up as chefs and prepared Mandilok a breakfast of assorted mechanical parts. Shayla's nightmarish folk song once more begins playing, and that pisses Mandilok off. Toxica and Jindrax explain that Shayla and Merrick play that song every morning, and rightly call it horrible.
At the scene of the morning concert, we get another painful reprise of that damned song. Kite also hears the song, and wonders why the song brings tears to his eyes. Well, because it's so awful that your body is trying to do whatever it can to protect itself. But the new Org of the episode, the Flute Org, shows up and starts playing a counter-tune. This interrupts Merrick's flute playing and Shayla starts laying into him. Merrick points out that it wasn't him making that sound, and Shayla accuses him of not wanting to spend time with her. She insults him a bit and storms off. The Deer Zord runs off in protest.
Anyway, Mandilok hears the Flute Org's music and orders Jindrax and Toxica to send the new Org to kill the Rangers.
Back on the Animarium, Shayla is still upset over Merrick....even though Merrick didn't actually do anything. She accuses Merrick of being selfish and immature and promises to never sing with him again. That's.....some pretty great news! The flute music of evil starts flooding the city and forcing the people to do some tai chi by the looks of it. The Rangers show up to fight the monster, and Merrick recognizes it as the music from that morning. The Org proves to be even more inept than usual, and so Toxica and Jindrax escort him from the battlefield.
In the evil lair of blandness, the Flute Org explains that if he gets more power, he can totally use his music to control the Rangers. Mandilok, apparently not remembering that his predecessor's tenure as chief villain ended due to mutiny, decides to sap some of Jindrax and Toxica's power to boost the Flute Org.
Later, Kite finds Cole and recognizes him as the Red Ranger. Because Cole is almost as stupid as Shayla, this does not set off any alarm bells in his brain. Back on the Animarium, Danny claims that he'll be sorry not to hear Shayla sing anymore and Max looks at him like he's fucking insane. You know, I like Max about ten times as much just for that reaction. Shayla shows up and explains that the monster was making some terrible flute music. This causes Shayla to slowly understand that she pissed off Merrick for nothing. But, that will be for later, it's time for a monster attack!
....Actually, first Kite and Cole are going to have a brief conversation about being orphans. Great. Okay, now it's time for the Rangers to fight the Flute Org again. Once again, the monster is forcing people to dance. The Rangers show up, and, much like that one dream sequence on The Simpsons, forces them to dance with his powers. Shayla is confused by this, as she is by all things. Merrick arrives on the Animarium to apologize for....er....he didn't actually do anything wrong, but, you know, Merrick is nothing if not slightly beaten down by life. Anyway, he explains that he doesn't like visiting the Animarium because it happens to be the place where all of his friends died and he got imprisoned for 3000 years. That's....a rather good point. Shayla, in somewhat of a corner due to her being so clearly in the wrong, admits that Merrick "isn't a terrible musician." Then she finally remembers that the Rangers are still trying to fight that Flute Org and decides to take Merrick and help out. You know, maybe it's a good thing that whatever kingdom was around 3000 years ago fell, I'd hate to see a country run by Shayla.
Back in the town, the Rangers are still dancing, only to be freed by Shayla and Merrick's song. The Flute Org recoils in horror at the melody, and I can't blame him. Kite also hears the music and runs off. Mandilok has had enough and shoots Merrick and Shayla to stop them from playing anymore. Unfortunately, the Deer Zord shows up and breaks Flute Org's instrument. Shayla and Merrick banter, which ends when Shayla accidentally pushes Merrick off of a building. He barely survives by morphing mid-fall. Wow, Shayla, every time I think, "Well, she can't get any dumber," she proves me wrong.
The fight against the Flute Org finally begins in earnest, and it's rather one of the mill. Kite shows up and draws the attention of Mandilok and Toxica. Not that it does the Flute Org much good, as he gets killed again. The Flute Org gets grown and somehow prevents the Rangers from summoning their zords. Some zords, not the Rangers, show up it turns out that they're the component pieces of Animus, who is, in reality, a megazord. Animus then proceeds to destroy the Flute Org's flute, and that gives the Rangers a chance to call on the Isis Megazord. Sic Transit Flute Org.
Later, the Rangers celebrate the return of Animus, except for Merrick, who's reasonably certain that he saw Animus get killed 3000 years ago. Animus declines to take questions and disappears. Merrick is rather puzzled by this, and Shayla ropes him into to singing to the Deer Zord again. Cole tries to look for Kite, but the kid has mysteriously vanished. And by "mysteriously" I mean, he's obviously fucking Animus....I mean he is Animus, I'm not saying that he's having sex with the megazord-God....that would be weird....and anatomically difficult. Show Over!
Next Time: Jindrax re-forms Team Carnival, the circusiest villains in town!
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