Command Center Commentaries: Power Rangers Zeo Part 5

With only 10 episodes left, this is that last chance for Power Rangers Zeo to drive the season home. Could it do it? Well, with 3-part episode that has Tommy turn evil again, a 2-parter that saw the Zeo Rangers team up with the Alien Rangers, an episode that deals with time travel, an episode set at a murder mystery party, an episode with a Hawaiian theme, a musical episode, and the big season finale. That's a pretty stacked list of episodes and marks the first time this season where I have gone through an entire disc and haven't labelled an episode as skippable filler. So let's sit back, relax, and ride out the quality that is episodes 41-50 of the season.


Episode 41- Where in the World is Zeo Ranger 5?: This episode leads into the upcoming 2-parter, so it holds a little more significance than your average filler episode. To summarize, Tommy is kidnapped by the Machine Empire and the gang is having trouble finding him. This was interesting for the team dynamic because it allowed Jason to step into that leader role again. It was like riding a bicycle for him, but there's no time to enjoy it because Tommy is still missing by the end of the episode. We end the episode with Tommy, morphed and strapped to a chair, with a device on his head as he writhes in pain. Wow, what a visual. It's haunting and captivating all at once. Talk about a supreme cliffhanger that made you tune in for the next episode.

Episode 42- King for a Day Part 1: After a trippy nightmare scene, we see that Tommy has been brainwashed into believing that he is the leader of the Machine Empire and the Power Rangers are evil. So when Jason is transported to where Tommy is, he's convinced the Gold Ranger must be destroyed to save the world. So, technically, Tommy is evil again and Jason is in a bit of a spot, as he's in a gladiator-like arena fighting a monster powered by Tommy's powers.

Episode 43- King for a Day Part 2: Obviously, the Rangers teleport to save the day, but it's the way they save Tommy that is memorable. They power down, in hopes that their faces will trigger Tommy's memories and it works. There's also a fascinating subplot with Bulk and Skull who have also been transported to where the Rangers are, and they help an alien warrior plan his escape. It's just humorous to see them in this situation, where they accidentally end up saving the Rangers. No one on Earth will believe them, except for the Rangers, and when they say they believe Bulk and Skull, it's Bulk and Skull that don't believe them. That made me a little cross-eyed, but it's hilarious to watch all the same.

Episode 44- A Brief Mystery of Time: Admittedly, episodes 44-46 are pure filler, but I think they are some of the most compelling filler episodes from the season thanks to the episodes' themes. Like in this episode, Tommy is caught in a time hole, so he's reliving the same day over and over again. They attribute this to his brainwashing and it's all solved by the end of the episode. I'm a sucker for time travel, so this left me happy.

Episode 45- Mystery to Me: Another enjoyable filler, this episode had the theme of being set at a murder mystery party. While not overly important, it does give some signs at how Bulk and Skull are becoming more competent as detectives, plus it's fun to see the characters dressed up like rejects from the game Clue.

Episode 46- Another Song and Dance: Nothing that happens in this episode is worth anything to the actual story arc of the season. But it's one of the most memorable episodes of the season. Why? Because Tommy and Tanya are put under a spell where they can't stop singing. It's absolutely hilarious. Tanya is able to hold her notes, but it's Tommy's awkward delivery that makes this all worth it. If you aren't too concerned about story for this episode, you'll have an amazing time watching it.

Episode 47- Rangers of Two Worlds Part 1: The Rangers head to the Power Chamber to see an old man there that is revealed to be BILLY! Science mumbo jumbo...Billy is aging rapidly and needs a cure. A distress call is sent to Aquitar and the two Ranger teams spend time looking for a cure. At the same time, both the Machine Empire, as well as Rita and Zedd are creating monsters to fight the Rangers. The smart thing for the two forces would be to team up for a common purpose, which they do. Is there any way the Zeo Rangers can fight off two groups of villains?

Episode 48- Rangers of Two Worlds Part 2: With the forces of Rita, Zedd, and the Machine Empire teaming up, it'll take something we've never seen before to stop them: 2 Ranger teams fighting side by side. Although nearly completely nothing but Sentai footage, we get the Zeo Rangers and the Alien Rangers fighting together. It's brief, but it's fun to see and paved the way for the traditional season teamup episodes that we've all come to know and love. The episode ends with Billy going off to Aquitar to find a cure, while also hinting at a romance with an alien named Cestria. And thus, we say goodbye to Billy, the last of the original 5 Rangers to depart from the series.

Episode 49- Hawaii Zeo: Not much here outside of a Hawaiian atmosphere. I guess if there was something else worth noting, Tommy is shy to ask Kat out on a date. Odd, I just assumed they were already dating. But I guess this episode was the one to make it official. Well it's good to see that he's finally over that stupid letter from Kimberly that I really hate talking about.

Episode 50- Good as Gold: Jason's powers are malfunctioning. Odd, never addressed that as a major issue until just now. Anyways, they need to get the powers transferred back to Trey of Triforia. They succeed and grow super tall to defeat King Mondo. Zedd and Rita then give the Machine Empire a present that explodes. Driving away from the blown up Empire, Zedd declares "We're Back!" Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull quit their job with Stone in favor of an international espionage job. With Jason's powers gone, Tommy assures him that things will be ok and the two bros walk off into the distance with their respective girlfriends, ending the season. With so many cliffhangers like that, you can't help but build anticipation for the next season. Well, nothing concerning this status quo is retained by the next season, so this finale feels like a bit of a time waster. I'm not sure if this was filmed at a time where they were debating whether Zeo will get a second season or not, but since we obviously know now that the decision was made to do a new series after this episode, you can't help but wonder why they didn't do some fine tuning with the storytelling so the transition is smoother.

Season Spotlight: Villains

We were given a fresh new group of villains this season, sporting a very different aesthetic than Rita and Zedd. Essentially the same type of characters, the Machine Empire added a level of technology, while Rita and Zedd favored the mystical and magical side of things. Some of the standouts included whiny Prince Sprocket (which is more memorable for how annoying he was for anything else), Clank (the Finster of this season with a wonderful Scottish accent), and Prince Gasket (who surprisingly accomplished quite a bit in his short tenure on the show). Not as good as Rita and Zedd, but still left enough of an impression to be one of the most iconic villain groups to come out of Power Rangers.

Season Spotlight: Final Thoughts

The word "change" is a good way to describe Power Rangers Zeo. It retained enough things that were familiar about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and added enough aesthetics to make it feel like its own entity. It continued the story by addressing things we had seen before and introducing us to new things. The highlights definitely included Tanya's development, Billy's transition to being the team's tech master, the saga with the Gold Ranger's identity, and Tommy's connection with his Native American roots. It was the natural progression, an evolution of the show and characters we've grown up with. Not necessarily as good as Mighty Morphin in hindsight, but it was certainly captivating enough to keep enough of the original fans satisfied. Those fans weren't sent packing until next season, which was proceeded by another movie that actually was in canon with the show. That movie should've been an indicator of the crap we were in store for next season, but that's a story for another time.


Power Rangers Zeo and images are copyrighted by Saban Entertainment