Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 2, Episode 43: The Wedding, Part III

The first two parts of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers storyline The Wedding left the Power Rangers in a theater where they had no powers and monsters were attacking them.  They fought their way out of it the first time, only to be sent back by an evil Alpha 5.  While that was happening, Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa were falling in love.  Rita was using the love to take back her place as leader of the moon base.  Bulk and Skull were lost in The Australian Outback.

All of these things will get some sort of resolution in the third, and final, part of the story arc.  The Power Rangers will find a way out of the theater so that they can fight another day.  Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa will either be married or not (spoiler, they get married).  Bulk and Skull will do some goofy stuff.  And Alpha 5 will be saved.  We’ll see how in…

Season 2, Episode 43: The Wedding, Part III

The Power Rangers once again started an episode by fighting monsters in the theater.  This time, there were only two monsters.  The rest had been replaced by putties, as the monsters were going to the moon to celebrate the marriage of Rita Repulsa to Lord Zedd.  The Power Rangers defeated the putties and tricked the monsters into a net trap before escaping.  They fled on foot to the Command Centre.  Billy removed the corrupt disk from Alpha 5, turning him back into a good guy.

While this was going on, Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa celebrated their nuptials.  The marriage happened quickly, with Goldar trying to stop it but being told to shut up.  The moon base was then turned into a party for the wedding reception.  An extended scene of Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, the monsters, and some putties dancing filled a lot of time.  Zedd and Rita then set off on their honeymoon in Serpentera.  They didn’t attack with the giant robot.  They watched one of the strongest Zord fights in a long time.

Speaking of the Zord fight, it was one of two fight sequences in the episode.  The first fight involved the Power Rangers fighting putties in the theater.  It was an okay fight, though there were some weird moments, one of which will come up later.  The Zord fight was much better.  When the Power Rangers got into their Zords, they had to fight off a bunch of monsters that they had fought earlier in the series.  The Thunder Megazord kicked butt, punching and sword slashing through every giant monster it met.  The warrior mode for the White Tigerzord punched and power blasted monsters alongside the Thunder Megazord.  The way that the focus shifted through each of the seven monsters kept things from getting tired, even without the Zords ever being in the same shot as the monsters.  It was great editing work to make the battle feel believable and kinetic.

As for Bulk and Skull, they got up to their usual wacky hijinks, trying to find a way out of The Outback (not the steakhouse).  They attempted to walk like the koalas they encountered.  When Alpha turned good again, he teleported them back to their tour, and the two buffoons denied that anything had happened.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ended the storyline of The Wedding with some of the strongest work that has been seen in many episodes.  The buildup of the first two episodes in the arc paid off with that final battle between the Zords and many monsters.  The story brought Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd together as an evil team.  That would last through the remainder of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers era.  It also showcased how strong the villains were getting with their attacks, which may help push into the new powers that the Power Rangers will need to seek out in the early third season.

I mentioned that although the fighting was good, there was a moment during the putty fight in the theater that seemed a little strange.  The whole concept of the theater was that it removed the Power Rangers’ connections to their powers.  They couldn’t summon their weapons and they couldn’t use special moves.  That wasn’t completely true.  While fighting the putties, Rocky managed to use an attack that had some extra power to it.  He punched the ground and had lightning surrounding his arm, giving him more strength in his attack.  That went against everything that had been set up with that location.  Though the episode was solid, and had some of the best fights of the second season, the writers overlooked this one moment that threatened to tear down the whole concept.  There needed to be a little more care put into what was happening, even if the show took a back seat while the movie was being produced.

Now that Rita Repulsa is back and there are two threats against Earth, the Power Rangers are going to have to work harder to save the world.  Their next obstacle will be a blast from the past, much like Rita.  The Green Ranger will be making a return as we’re thrust into another multi-episode story with the three part The Return of the Green Ranger.  It’ll be a big episode for everyone, but especially Tommy.  We’ll see how he deals with it.  I hope you’ll come back and join me for these episodes that are sure to be fun.