Power Rangers Zeo: Episode 12: Instrument of Destruction

Previously in Power Rangers Zeo, the teens went up against a pair of plant monsters. Rocky had grown a plant from unknown seeds in the science lab and The Machine Empire used the plant to attack Angel Grove. There was also a moment where the teens almost lost Rocky to becoming a plant. It was a hectic episode that didn’t make the most sense, but it was fun.

Now we’re onto another episode of Power Rangers Zeo. This one will have more action and comedy in store. It might even have something to do with music. Based on the name of the episode, that seems like a good guess. Or it could be some sort of doomsday device. I’ve been wrong before. The only way to check if I’m write or wrong is to watch…

Episode 12: Instrument of Destruction

While at school after hours, Adam saw Cogs walking around outside. They were going from room to room, peeking in the windows. Adam followed them from room to room trying to find out what they were looking for. He heard some piano music coming from the music room and investigated. The Cogs were trying to steal the Phantom of the Opera-like musician, but Adam started fending them off while the mystery musician ran away.

This was all part of a plan cooked up by King Mondo. He wanted to get a great musician to surprise Queen Machina for her birthday. When Adam thwarted his plan, not once but twice, King Mondo decided to distract the Zeo Rangers by turning the school’s piano into the newest monster.

There was one more trick up the Zeo Rangers’ sleeves, however. Adam was approached by one of his teachers. He was taking the same creative writing class for the third time and was told to take something else to broaden his education. He was plunked down in the music class that Skull had been forced into for the same broadening reason. Being in the music class would get him closer to the mystery musician. Surprise, surprise! It was Skull, who was afraid to share his talent, lest Bulk make fun of him. Adam convinced Skull to perform in the school’s talent show, Bulk saw, and Bulk loved his friend’s talent.

As for the Piano monster, the Zeo Rangers took it down pretty easily. They got their Zords out, shot it with enough ammo to destroy a city, let alone a monster, then got the Megazord up and running for a sabre slash that finished it. Even more exciting were the hand-to-hand fights. One of the fights was set to piano music being played by Skull. It was a different style of music than normal, which made it a little different than other fights. There was a moment in the fight where one of the Cogs slipped on some mop water. Adam surfed on it to go attack other Cogs and chase after the musician. They slammed into the stairs and the Cog started to fall apart. Fun stuff, that fight.

After a few episodes that were light fun, Power Rangers Zeo got back into a character episode with Instrument of Destruction. The most interesting part was that the character the episode focused on was Skull. It didn’t seem that way at first. Everything was lining up to be an Adam episode as Adam unraveled the mystery of the secret musician. But when the musician was revealed as Skull, everything turned into a character study of Eugene Skullovich. It was a nice bait-and-switch that ended with Skull giving a performance that made everyone proud.

Something that the Power Rangers series did well since about halfway through the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was to make Bulk and Skull friends of the main characters, even if they were antagonistic in their daily lives. They were typically buffoons that tried to pick on Tommy and the gang. Yet, there was some camaraderie that went along with it. They could spend their time annoying the main gang, but they would also have a decent conversation with them. It came more from Skull than Bulk. That didn’t mean Bulk didn’t have his moments, either. This episode’s final couple minutes, as Skull performed while Bulk sat next to Adam and watched, highlighted all of that. First, Bulk was sitting next to Adam. That wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t somewhat friends. Second, Adam encouraged Skull to perform and said that Bulk would understand and, hopefully, support him. And third, Bulk went up on stage and embraced his friend after the performance. Bulk and Skull might fight with everyone else sometimes, but they were all friends in the end.

Aside from the Bulk and Skull emotional core, the thing that most stood out about Instrument of Destruction was the use of location. Power Rangers Zeo changed the school setting in a big way. It wasn’t that the action moved out of Angel Grove High School. It was that the primary location was now a library set. Instrument of Destruction brought back the hallway intersection set with the stairs and lockers. It also utilized a real school for the chase scene sort of thing that kicked off the episode. Adam ran through real hallways as he followed the Cogs. He ran from hallway to hallway and classroom to classroom while looking for the source of the music. Adam ran through a real school and not just sets created for the show. It made everything feel a little more real, even in an outlandish Power Rangers Zeo episode with a piano monster.

Power Rangers Zeo did something special with Instrument of Destruction. It snuck in a character episode for a supporting character who was around from the beginning of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It incorporated music in an interesting way through that character work. It was a delightful half hour. Hopefully, the show could keep that sort of quality up with the next episode. I’ll be back soon with a post about Mean Screen. I’ll see you then.