Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 3, Episode 18: A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is in a transitional period.  The previous episode saw the introduction of Kat.  She will eventually become the Pink Ranger as Kimberly is written out of the show.  For now, she’s a villain.  She was found as a cat and turned human to trap Tommy in an alternate dimension.  This threw the Power Rangers team into disarray as they tried to figure out what happened.

The next episode should wrap things up and kick Kimberly’s exit into high gear.  There are still a few episodes until she will hand over her powers and head off to the Pan Global Games, but the writing for her exit is already underway.  Knowing the series, Kat will also likely turn to the side of good this episode.  There could be a twist, though, knowing the name of the next multi-part story, which happens right after this one.  We need to finish up this one, though, with…

Season 3, Episode 18: A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II

The gang convened in the Command Centre to figure out what should be done to save Tommy.  They had tried to locate the dimension he was in, but the Command Centre technology was no match for whatever was going on.  Billy and Adam would have to go to Billy’s lab to cook up some new tech that would let them free Tommy.  But first, they went and defeated Rito using the Zords.

Meanwhile, Tommy woke up to find that Kat was gone.  Goldar was there, though, taunting Tommy.  They would argue and fight while the rest of the Power Rangers worked to free him.  Rito Revolto would show up, too.  He needed to make things worse.

On their way to Billy’s lab, Billy and Adam were ambushed by Katastrophe, a monsterized version of Kat the cat.  They called on the three other Power Rangers who weren’t trapped in an alternate dimension and they fought off Katastrophe.  She fled, only to come back in a large form once Tommy was freed.

Once Katastrophe was defeated, the gang met up with Kat.  She told them that she was new to town and was going to be starting school in the fall.  She also told them that she was thankful they had gotten her away from Rita and Zedd’s evil powers.  Then she went to go unpack the rest of her things at home.  Only she didn’t.  The gang found Park Cat a few moments later and the episode ended.

There were a bunch of fights, which is why the story was a little sparse.  It’s why Bulk and Skull only showed up in a deleted scene during the final credits, where they ran into Katastrophe, then fainted.  It started with a fight where Rito Revolto went up against the Zords.  They attacked him separately, then came together for a one-two punch defeat.  The Katastrophe fight without Tommy was short and sweet.  There was a wide shot on a cul-de-sac as each Ranger attacked her, then close ups as they kicked her to scare her off.  The highlight of the episode was Tommy’s fight against Goldar and Rito.  It was a swordfight, which is extremely rare outside of the Megazord fights.  There was even a “weapon is just out of reach” moment as Goldar knocked Saba from Tommy’s hand.  Then there was a “use the force” moment as he willed Saba back to him.  It was one of the most entertaining fights of the season.  Finally, there was the Megazord fight against Katastrophe, which Ninjor joined in for.  It was the basic hack and slash, punch-off of a Megazord fight, interspersed with Ninjor saying things.  It was over pretty quickly, since it was an action-packed episode.

Kimberly’s exit from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was one of the biggest that any iteration of Power Rangers faced.  She was a character from the beginning of the show who was being written out in a big way during the third season.  Unlike when Jason, Trini, and Zack left the show, Kimberly would be around while her replacement was introduced.  Kat was an antagonist for a while before becoming one of the good guys and helping the Power Rangers in their fight against the evil beings on the Moon.  The two-part A Ranger Catastrophe began that transition.

That’s not to say that Kimberly’s exit hadn’t already been considered.  A few episodes before, she was dancing with Skull at the Junior Police Patrol Ball in order to close out the story thread of Skull having a crush on her.  There have also been mentions of the Pan Global Games, which she would leave to participate in.  A Ranger Catastrophe was the final piece falling into place.

The second part was an action-packed episode that had a few strange moments within all the fighting.  One that I want to mention is the part where Adam and Billy walked to Billy’s lab.  Throughout all three seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the teens were able to teleport from the Command Centre to any location they needed to, unless something had happened to disrupt the morphing grid.  There was no reason for Billy and Adam to be walking because as soon as they finished the tech in the lab, they teleported to the Command Centre.  It was a plot device to have them be ambushed but could have easily been avoided.

The other strange thing was the appearance of Ninjor.  The Power Rangers never called upon him or asked for his help.  They were going up against Katastrophe with their Zords and all of a sudden he was just there.  Katastrophe said “Who’s that” and then Ninjor flew in on his cloud while singing his name.  When the fight was done, he didn’t shrink down with them.  He just disappeared into thin air.  Ninjor came and went for a fight without the Power Rangers even acknowledging that he was there.  It was really weird.

It should also be noted that A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II didn’t end with everything happy and neatly tied up.  Kat was still a cat, and she was still working with Rita and Zedd.  Regardless of what she told the Power Rangers when they defeated Katastrophe, she still had the evil in her.  The final shot of the episode was Park Cat looking at the camera with glowing green eyes.  There are still bad things to come before she joins the Power Rangers.

That does it for A Ranger Catastrophe, Part II.  As it comes to an end, another multi-episode story is on the horizon.  This one looks to bring some big changes while continuing the Kat storyline.  Powers will shift.  Zords will change.  The team will transition into their next stage.  And that will begin with Changing of the Zords, Part I.  I’ll see you soon with the post.