Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 2, Episode 46: The Return of the Green Ranger, Part III

In the first two parts of The Return of the Green Ranger, the Power Rangers were transported back in time to colonial Angel Grove where they had to avoid the redcoats who thought they were witches, and the rats that The Wizard of Deception had sent to attack them.  Tommy was the only Power Ranger not sent back in time.  He stayed in the present, where he fought an evil clone that had the Green Ranger powers.  Everything has been set up to provide a solid finale to an interesting Mighty Morphin Power Rangers story.

How will everything wrap up?  There will definitely be a battle between the Dragonzord and the White Tigerzord in an attempt to keep Angel Grove safe.  The Power Rangers in the past will have to find a way back to the present, though how they do that is up in the air.  We’re going to find out soon though.  The only way to know is by watching…

Season 2, Episode 46: The Return of the Green Ranger, Part III

Everybody in colonial Angel Grove was running away from the giant rats that The Wizard of Deception had sent to the past.  This included past Bulk, past Skull, and the Power Rangers themselves.  They still didn’t have their powers and couldn’t fight off the rats.  They needed help from Tommy, Zordon, or Alpha.

Tommy’s powers were weakened because of his clone.  The only way to regain his senses was to morph into the White Ranger, but the power surge would only be temporary.  He used his powers to call upon the White Tigerzord and fought the Dragonzord.  He was defeated in the Zord battle and retreated to the ground.  Using his smarts, he tricked his clone into revealing when his friends had been transported to.  The only way for him to save them was to steal the magic wand from The Wizard of Deception.

After being saved from the past, the Power Rangers got their Zords together and took on the Dragonzord.  Tommy didn’t join them because he was busy fighting his clone and The Wizard of Deception.  He used the wand against The Wizard, which freed Tom from his evil spell.  This helped the Power Rangers to defeat the Dragonzord without having to destroy it.

With both Tommy and Tom on the side of good, one last thing needed to happen.  Tommy made a promise to the people of colonial Angel Grove that he would return and defeat the rats.  He took Tom to the past.  Together, the Green Ranger and the White Ranger got rid of the rat problem.  Tom decided he would stay in the past, which would allow Tommy to have his full powers in the present.  There were no longer two versions of Tommy in one time, so the powers did not need to be shared any longer.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers brought an interesting take on having to deal with your bad side through The Return of the Green Ranger.  Tommy had to defeat his evil clone to save the Angel Groves of the past and the present.  It was Tommy living the Green with Evil trouble, except he was filling the Jason role and he was alone.  It was a challenge of his leadership.  The writing of the show has improved throughout the second season.  Even if this hasn’t been the strongest multiple-episode arc that has been made, it has still been a part of the overall raised quality of the show.  The stuff that happened had meaning.  It will leave an impact of some sort.

The impact may have come in the fighting near the end of the story.  When the two Tommys went back in time to colonial Angel Grove, the way they fought the rats was a little different than the way that the Power Rangers have fought other enemies.  There have been slow motion shots in the past, and some wirework has been used.  But this time around, there were effects added to make the moves seem more powerful.  When Tom did a flying kick to hit one of the rats, there was more than just wirework to keep him suspended in the air longer.  There was a blur effect put onto him to make it look like he was moving faster and had more power to his kick.  It was the power behind the Power Ranger name.  Instead of simply being good at martial arts, they now seem to hold power behind their attacks.  This is a major step in the action.

The Return of the Green Ranger was a solid story about Tommy Oliver dealing with the evil that created his powers.  He had to fight himself to show that good would triumph.  He had to save his friends from the past, and had to save the past.  It was a three episode story that proved why Tommy was a good leader for the team and why he was the right person to bring the team together and take down the moon base baddies.  The next story will be contained to one episode.  That doesn’t mean it won’t have repercussions on the show.  Come back next time and together we’ll see what the episode will be.