Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 1, Episode 50: Return of an Old Friend Part II

I always appreciate when Mighty Morphin Power Rangers takes some time to change up what the series is a little bit.  I’ve said that over and over, again and again.  It wouldn’t be right for me to write a post without saying it.  Everything would feel wrong with the world.  But my sentiments are true.  I feel like the show is of better quality when it is about to change.  The writing seems stronger.  The stakes are higher, the characters have more emotion and grow, and it strays from the standard formula that the show has.  It is more entertaining too.

This multi-episode story Return of an Old Friend is no different.  It brings Tommy back into the fold, though with a twist that I will get to later.  It puts the lives of the Power Rangers’ parents in danger.  The powers of the Power Rangers were taken away, leaving only the coin of the Green Ranger as a chance of safety.  It’s the direst situation that there has been on the show up to this point and an exciting change of pace for a show that seemed to be running low on ideas.  (I know that might have to do with the Zyu2 footage.  Doesn’t make it any less apparent.)  Tommy is the most important element, though, as he is an intriguing character that actually brings a lot to the show.  Having him back can only improve things.

With all of that said, it’s going to be tough to write about this episode without giving the summary of the episode.  I should get on that.

Season 1, Episode 50: Return of an Old Friend Part II

The episode starts with a sort of recap of where the Power Rangers are at in terms of danger.  The first scene is them in the Command Center showing Zordon the one Power Coin that remains.  They mention that Tommy might have the coin but he doesn’t have his powers.  Then we see their parents trapped in the alternate dimension.  This is a dangerous predicament.

Zordon tells Alpha to bring Tommy to the Command Center immediately.  When Tommy gets there, Zordon uses some of his energy to give Tommy enough power to go out and fight Goldar and some putties.  During this fight, Tommy gets his Dragon Dagger back.  He uses it to summon the Dragonzord which then fights with a giant Goldar and a giant Scorpina.

Near the end of the fight, Goldar mentions that the Power Coins were left unguarded.  Tommy goes to them and electrocutes himself while getting them back.  When he has them in his grasp, he gets brought back to the Command Center unconscious.  The rest of the Power Rangers take their Power Coins and give Zordon his energy back.  Then they go into battle.

During their battle with the monster, it takes control of the minds of Jason, Zack, Billy, and Trini.  The four of them team up and attack Kimberly.  This only works until the electrical energy of the Power Coin protection gives Tommy back his powers.  Tommy joins the battle and frees them of their mind control.  Together, the six Power Rangers team up, Zord up, bring in Ultrazord, and kill the monster.

After the battle, Zordon tells Tommy that his regained powers are only temporary, and asks if Tommy wants to stay with the Power Rangers.  Of course Tommy does.  These are his friends.  He will do his best to stick around with them, and help them protect the world.  He loves them.  Especially Kimberly, though he at no point says it in this episode.  It’s just clear from all the time he’s been in the show.

The gang goes back to the Angel Grove Youth Center where their parents have been returned with no recollection of what happened to them.  They all tell their families how much they love them.  Kimberly introduces her parents to Tommy.  Remember, the two of them were sort of a thing back when Tommy was a Power Ranger before.  This romance was instantly rekindled when he returned.  Oh, and then a food fight starts, while the gang runs into the locker room and laughs about it.  The end.

So Tommy is once again a part of the Power Rangers team.  He has been re-introduced in a rather successful way, with the stakes being the highest they’ve been since… Well, since his powers were taken away, I’d say.  Sure, Doomsday had the entire town being taken away.  But the Green Candle saga had a Power Ranger lose their powers, and the Return of an Old Friend saga had a combination of the two as the parents were taken away and the Power Rangers lost their Power Coins.  It was the toughest situation that they have ever been in, which made it more entertaining.

This was also the first time that you hear the Go Green Ranger Go song.  I’m not in love with the song.  That doesn’t mean it’s not great for Tommy to have a theme song when he’s fighting.  I just prefer Fight or the Power Rangers theme song to this new one.  Still, I enjoy the fact that the show has branched out into featuring more music during fight scenes.  It breaks from the similarity that some of them have, and it usually backs the scenes pretty well.

Now that Tommy has returned, things should pick up a little bit.  And with the conclusion of the first season being only ten episodes away, I would hope that the show kicks into a higher gear to have a great finale.  And looking at the episode titles, some seem like they’ll be a lot of dumb fun.  The Halloween rapper monster is coming up soon.  I’m looking forward to that one.  But I’m most looking forward to Tommy being back.  He brings a lot to the show even if I can’t articulate it well.  I’ll see you next time when I watch the first episode after Tommy’s return.