Command Center Commentaries: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2- Part 6

By the time we've arrived at the end of Season 2, it's easy to see what kind of tone Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was going for. It was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meets Beverly Hills 90210. These Rangers were role models for a younger generation, and you had to deal with monsters of the day and the troubles of high school. On the plus side, the Power Rangers were so popular during this time, that the end of the season meant they were inching closer and closer to their debut on the big screen. So with 8 episodes left (45-52), let's see how the show caps off its second season, starting with the fight we've all been waiting for: the White Ranger vs. the Green Ranger.


Episode 45- The Return of the Green Ranger Part 2: The fight between the White Ranger and the Green Ranger is fantastic for anyone waiting to see this fight. Having said that, way too much time is spent with the other Rangers in their time traveling side story. I just wish they would've been kidnapped by Goldar or something while the Green Ranger and White Ranger go at it. At least the last moments of the episode promised a fun battle to be had, as the Green Ranger summons the Dragonzord.

Episode 46- The Return of the Green Ranger Part 3: With the Dragonzord resurrected, we should really get a huge showdown. But, limited to the Sentai footage, so it's a tiny disappointment. The resolution is a little on the underwhelming side, but I think anything not ending with "the White Ranger destroys the Green Ranger" would've been the wrong way to go. Plus, this ending probably adds a big time paradox, but time travel accuracy is something that we will discover is always fluctuating in Power Rangers.

Episode 47- Best Man for the Job: I actually really liked this standalone episode. It's just a lot of fun to see how childish and catty Tommy and Kimberly get. The scene where they'd rather argue with each other than fight Goldar and the Putties is absolutely hilarious because of how annoyed the villains get. Plus, the episode involves American footage of the Zords fighting each other, something we'd never really seen before on this show. You can definitely see in moments like this how popular the show was to the point where their budget was increasing during the season.

Episode 48- Storybook Rangers Part 1: This episode is so annoying to sit through. I'll give the show enough credit for incorporating live action and animation for the storybook scenes, but this really needed to be one episode, particularly one that you would most likely skip. Grumble the Magic Elf is just such a grating character on the ears, and I really don't care about what's happening with the Rangers in this episode. Is there anything redeeming in the episode?

Episode 49- Storybook Rangers Part 2: Naturally, it would be Bulk and Skull that steal the show in this episode. They find a monster making book and try to make a monster the Power Rangers will stop, but Skull confuses the instructions with a recipe from a cook book he got for his mom. The result is they make a Thanksgiving turkey monster who thinks Bulk and Skull are its parents. How can someone not love these guys? That is pure entertainment.

Episode 50- Wild West Rangers Part 1: We get a fun time travel episode where Kimberly is sent back to the Ol' West. It's cute and all, with the actors playing their ancestors, but anyone who knows the slightest bit of history would notice a couple of issues. First and foremost, Kimberly's attire would definitely have people accusing her of being a prostitute. Secondly, I doubt that Ernest's Juice Saloon would be serving fruit juice. It would be whisky 24/7 there. Thirdly, would all their ancestors really all be in the same place 4 or 5 generations ago? Aside from that, the environment is fun and the stakes are raised once Goldar and the Putties show up.

Episode 51- Wild West Rangers Part 2: Kimberly goes to the Command Center to get 4 Power Coins and gives them to her new friends: Rocko, William, Abraham, and Miss Alicia. At least they explain why the White Stranger didn't get one. And of course, no need for an additional Pink Ranger on the team because Zordon says too much pink energy is dangerous. Well said Zordon. The costumes are fun, playing to the Wild West theme, but it doesn't make logical sense to choose those 4 just because they LOOK like her friends. Are they brave, competent fighters? NO! They're just nice people who look like her friends. Anyways, the day is saved and they get Kimberly back to the future. It's not an important episode for story, but it is a fun and refreshing premise that expands the possibilities of journeys our heroes could go on.

Episode 52- Blue Ranger Gone Bad: And with the finale of the season, we have another episode that I owned on VHS. But, like Season 1, this feels like a strange filler episode to end the season with. At least the Season 1 finale had some resolution with a season long storyline like Zack's pursuit of Angela, but this season ends with pure filler. Billy has an evil clone walking around, taking the Rangers' morphers and communicators. There's no major storyline resolution at the end, heck even Bulk and Skull seem severely downplayed in this episode. I think "Wild West Rangers" would have been a much stronger, if not silly way to end the season. I mean, for crying out loud, they were heading into a major motion picture later that year, give us a finale that has a little bit of gravitas.

Character Spotlight: Adam Park, played by Johnny Yong Bosch

Look at that smolder! While he is nowadays considered one of the top Power Rangers legends, he has had better contributions in other seasons in terms of having character. Adam is a very good fighter, one of the best on the team at this point, but doesn't really have much else going for him other than being the sensitive one on the team. He's got those puppy dog eyes, intelligence, patience, fighting skills. Essentially, he's a male version of Trini, and is definitely the new member of the team that fit in the most comfortably. I like Adam as a Power Ranger a lot, but I know he has a way to go as the seasons progress to help build his personality.

Season Spotlight: Final Thoughts

The theme of Season 2 is definitely change. We started the season with Lord Zedd as the main bad guy, and ended with him and Rita married. We started with with Tommy as the Green Ranger, and ended with him as the White Ranger. We started with Jason, Zack, and Trini, and ended with Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. Heck, when Bulk and Skull started their quest to find out the Rangers' identities, they were treated as a joke. But their ideas continued to improve and they really displayed a sense of resourcefulness in their ideas. This is the season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that is my favorite purely based on childhood nostalgia. There's a stronger ratio for multi-parters and filler episodes, but the multi-parters aren't always the strongest of ideas. But by this time, the show had their audience hooked. This was the biggest show for kids at the time and they could go on to bigger things, including a movie and a third season that could primarily deal with multi-part episodes and season long story arcs.


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment