Season One: Episodes Forty-One, Forty-Four, Forty-Five

 

                       Rita's Seed of Evil.

                                                         Flower Power, again!

Sentai Notes:

• Contrary to popular belief, the immediate episodes after "Doomsday" weren't Zyu 2 based. They were in fact additional footage from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. The footage here comes from the episode "Geki, Slash Your Tears" which took place after the Zyurangers first met Dai Satan and used King Brachion to form what became known as the Ultrazord. 
• The premise of the episode is about Geki coming to grips about the fact his brother, Burai, is on limited time and the story is him learning to accept that he can't prevent it, but he can do good in stopping Dora Narcissus. At one point, Bandora offers Dora Narcissus' power as a way to preserve Burai's life, almost tempting him to stray. Since the episode was made after Tommy's departure, this concept was obviously of no use. Instead, we get another episode that dealt with the environment. 

Strategy Notes:

• Goldar and Scorpina are sent down not so much as to defeat the Power Rangers but to buy time for Octoplant to grow and bloom. It's a tactic known as delaying action, where a military force will fight the opponent to slow down the advances or prevent an easy victory. Plenty of examples could be listed on it in history, none of which have anything to do with plants. Most recent was near Kyiv, where Ukrainian troops fought delaying actions against the Russians to bar their way into the city. By the time the Russians finally entered Kyiv, they found not a defenseless city but a hornet's nest of defenders. In a few weeks, the Russian Army was retreating away from Kyiv. Goldar and Scorpina succeed in preventing the Power Rangers from preventing Octoplant from blooming, thus giving them a tougher opponent. Unlike in that example, the Power Rangers win because...
• We come to what Sun Tzu calls "Attack Weakness, Avoid Strengths" (basically), which is what lands on the laps of the Power Rangers. Unable to defeat Octoplant conventionally, luck comes their way when the monster spots his own reflection on a building and spends precious battle minutes tending to his looks. This reveals the weakness in that he's vain and will stop fighting to check himself out, allowing the Megazord a chance to retrieve the Power Sword and come up from behind. 
• Octoplant also makes a Trojan Horse move by coming as seeds to be planted. Infiltration tactics are of note and coming off as something harmless has been done before. Thus, Squat planting the seeds allows the monster to be created as he grows on soil and came bloom like a flower, allowing him to escape detection. 

Biblical and Mythological Homage:

• Sentai monster is called Dora Narcissus. Before the flower got its name, Narcissus was a legend in Greek Mythology connected with Echo. The story has it she was in love with Narcissus and sought to be his wife. Due to an unrelated event (a previous fling with Zeus), Hera cursed her into only repeating what someone just said (hence how the word echo came into being), and Narcissus, while attractive enough to make both men and women fall in love with him, he spurned others (including Echo) and fell in love with his own reflection in a pool one night. When he said, "I love you" to his reflection, his words were repeated by Echo, who otherwise couldn't tell him her feelings, but had to watch as he obsessed over his reflection, resulting in both their deaths. Narcissus' story has led to the term narcissism, as well as a warning about self-love and self-centeredness, since he dies of starvation due to his obsession with himself. Echo's plot is a good enough warning to girls (or anyone) of dating narcissists as the latter are too into themselves to take notice of others. A clue to this homage seeps into Power Rangers as Octoplant is distracted by her own reflection, leading to her defeat (Saban must have liked the idea because it gets repeated by Octophantom in "The Power Stealer" in Season Two). 
• Squat planting the seeds for Octoplant is an echo of the Parable of the Sower mixed with the Parable of the Tares. The first illustrates how the Word of God is illustrated with seeds, the Sower being Christ. Jesus told His listeners some seeds fell by the wayside and were devoured by birds, some fell in shallow soil and produced weak fruit that died quickly, some fell among weeds and were choked out, and others fell in good earth and produced good fruit. This meant many hear the Word, but some won't understand it (either taking personal offense to it, finding it too jarring, or that it conflicts their beliefs) and become lost as the Devil comes in. Some will accept it willingly only to become closeted followers when times get rough, or even lose faith all together at the first crisis, possibly bullied out of their faith altogether. Some start out as followers and then leave Christ as their desires for possessions, earthly honors, and extra money get in the way. The rest are those who understand God's word and keep faithful to the Gospel while spreading it among others. With the Tares, we hear some weeds were planted by an enemy of the farmer, yet the said farmer choses to let them grow with his wheat. When harvest comes, he and the servants gather them all, then separate the wheat from the weeds, the latter are sent to be burned. In Power Rangers, we see the seed being Rita's (it's in the title, obviously) and it produces no fruit but a monster. Any theologian out there might see this leaning more toward the Parable of the Tares than the of the Sower. That makes the Power Rangers the servants of the farmer who go out to remove the weeds, though the twist comes with Zordon in favor of the weed removal.
• A blink and you'll miss shot where the Power Sword hits some rocks, after cutting the vines around the Megazord free. Briefly, the Power Sword becomes Excalibur from the King Arthur legends. It's also a subversion as the Megazord is already using this sword. 

Misc. Notes:

• First episode to air in 1994. 
• First episode to feature songs, composed and performed by Shuki Levy, Ron Wasserman, Kenneth Burgomeister, and Saban himself. 
• The episode contains a garden full of errors and you find them on the RangerWiki article.
• Speaking of which, the episode synopsis of the episode has the phrase "Scare the crap out of [Bulk and Skull]." Best not read that to children. 
• Jason has a solo morph.
• When the other Rangers morph, the rollcall is out of order.
• Last appearance of the Super Putties.
• Somehow the pieces of Octoplant weren't used as fertilizer on plants. Then again, it might corrupt the soil. 

Thoughts.

    We're back to finish off Season One. What better way to start than with this. "Rita's Seed of Evil" has a good premise, being that there is a monster that is not out from the start. Instead, it's one that is hidden and grows like a plant and comes out near the end. The problem with this premise is there is little screen time for Octoplant before it is destroyed. And the weakness of its vanity seems like a cop out for a creature that is set up to be tough. 

   Additional flaws come with the usual formula for a plot and the lack of the Dragonzord. You'd think they'd feature it in the credits and actually show it in battle. But the episode has some pluses. I like the good message it conveys on the environment by encouraging people to plant trees to reduce the deforestation results, as opposed to being preachy about the matter. At the same time, alerting children to how difficult it is to plant trees with people seeing it as a reason to put in weeds. After all, Octoplant is indeed a walking weed. 

   Will add I remember this episode for one thing, Bulk and Skull winding up in the porta john. I am also certain prolonged exposure to the septic set up of a porta john could lead to health problems on Bulk and Skull. After all, many have wastes of many people by the end of the day, hence the bad smell, and they are breeding zones of pathogens and bacterium, some of which have made people sick, if not kill them. In addition, the thing was picked up by a truck and Bulk and Skull got covered in the contents of the toilet (about as much as daytime TV is allowed to show). Why didn't they take a shower before showing up at school? 

   

                      Lions & Blizzards.

                                                  No tigers and bears this time. 

Sentai Notes:

• In the Sentai show, Goatan is called Dora Chimera (see Biblical and Mythological Homage section).
• Also, Dora Chimera (or Dora Chimaera, according to the wiki) doesn't come from a statue, but rather from Bandora who has it go in to take away several people and then disguise itself as a person. In the process, it takes over the body of a woman named Sayaka, herself a swordswoman who gets a kind of Batman / Catwoman relationship with Goushi. Unlike in the latter, random acts of kindness and empathy over Goushi's injuries break the hold over Sayaka and she returns her love to Goushi. Then he goes to help the others fight the monster while Sayaka becomes a wet rag at his departure, like in that Geico commercial of Jessie the Loner and Daisy. To quote Taylor Swift, she is left "crying on the stairwell, begging [Goushi] 'please don't go!'" 

Strategy Notes:

• The entire issue with the Goatan being from a trophy acts as a kind of distraction. It's disappearance will confuse everyone and have them look around, not knowing the monster has arrived. Divide and conquer is used as it leads to the Rangers suspecting Bulk and Skull. 

Biblical and Mythological Homage:

• Chimera in Greek Mythology is a creature with the head of a lion and of a goat, plus a snake's head for a tail. Unlike in either Super Sentai or in Power Rangers, the Chimera doesn't have the ability to change the weather. However, it does breathe fire like a dragon. In Greek Mythology, the Chimera was an offspring of Echnida, while Homer's Illiad had the monster fought and slain by Bellerophon, on orders of the King of Lycia.

Misc. Notes:

• The last Power Rangers episode to be based off any episode of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, if not the last to use it as a primary source. 
• First instance that the wrist communicators can be put on silent, apparently. Makes one wonder what the Power Rangers do if they were in a place that needed silence, like a church, a library, or a movie theater. 
• First time we see Angela ask Zack out on a date, implying reciprocation. Unfortunately, it ends on a low note. 
• Alpha correctly calls the monster a chimera, yet mispronounces the word. He pronounces it as "she-mare-uh," instead of "Kai-mere-uh" (MistareFusion did it worse by pronouncing it "Key-mai-ruh"). The Greek language spells it as Χιμαιρα, with the X pronounced like the English K (like in those Greek organizations with chi in the name), because it doesn't have the letter C and therefore can't have CH. The modern spelling makes it look like a Spanish word, which must be the reason for the confusion, same with the Marvel character Electra Natchios (people calling her "Naht-Chee-ohs" instead of Naht-Kee-ohs"). 
• Ernie comes in the Juice Bar to announce all Angel Grove is under a tornado watch and call everyone into the basement, which is obviously a California thing. Anyone in Tornado Alley or in another part of the country most frequently hit by tornadoes knows a tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes (they typically are issued three to four (sometimes five) hours before the storms end where I'm from), whereas a tornado warning is issued when a tornado has been sighted or detected on radar. Typically, that's when tornado sirens begin to blare and that's when Ernie would be coming in to bring everyone to the basement in real life. Five years after this episode aired, the Moore Tornado of 1999 introduced Tornado Emergency, where a confirmed tornado is sighted on the ground and near a populated area (meaning, condition RED!!!!!). 
• The Black Ranger summons the Zords, marking a first for anyone other than Jason doing so. 
• Goatan's destruction doesn't restore the trophy, marking another first.
• Bulk and Skull are brought in by a police officer in this episode. This is almost one and a half season before Bulk and Skull decided to join the Junior Police Patrol. 
• Speaking of that, there's a continuity error: they are washed clean by the lake of the mud, yet turn out muddy when brought to the Youth Center. 
• Jason calls them "Swamp Creatures of the Black Lagoon" in honor of the movie. Bulk also finds a frog in his clothes, a reference to a similar moment in The Sound of Music where Maria gets one placed in her dress ("You're very lucky. With Fraulein Helga, it was a snake." - Frau Schmidt). 
• Look carefully and you'll see the Lamp from "Power Ranger Punks" in the background of one shot in the Command Center. Reused footage exists in this episode. 
• What sort of movie Zack and Angela are watching is not told. From the dialogue it's some kind of old Anthony Powell movie, or some spoof of one, if not some romantic comedy mixed in with a murder mystery. 

Thoughts: 

    I always considered this episode one of the lesser Power Rangers episodes. After learning of its Sentai counterpart (thanks MistareFusion), I understand why. The monster hardly looks menacing, anymore than the Cowardly Lion, if he crossed with a she-goat. I suppose the monsters in the show are hardly menacing, being that they are indeed men in rubber suits. Goatan also spends most of the episode off screen, only playing with the weather, which would make for a good disaster episode. Of course, they don't go in too deep on the implications of what his tampering with the weather could do, anymore than X-Men does with Storm. Instead, we get a vague mention of it causing chaos to the world. 

    The Angela / Zack subplot is also weak. After many episodes, it does seem refreshing to finally see Zack get a date. However, the way the episode carries it out is enough to cringe, especially when it turns out Angela still doesn't see Zack as boyfriend material, and reveals to have played with his heart the whole time. Most typical guys would have abandoned Angela long ago, even telling her they won't be dating when she comes around. Indeed, I consider the Zack / Angela shipping to be one of the weaker elements of season one and somewhat glad now we don't get many more episodes with it, even if the later episodes show her to have come around since her introduction. The thing in this episode is her continued meanness that rivals the snarky side of Lisa Turtle from Saved By the Bell. 

     If this section seems weak, it's because I can't find anything praiseworthy in the episode, even after so many years. 

     

                    Crystal of Nightmares.

                                                Don't gaze into this magic crystal. 

Sentai Notes:

• This episode recycles footage from previous episodes when the Rangers morph, while not being based on any episode of Zyuranger. It also doesn't use any footage of Zyu 2. 

Strategy Notes:

• Considering how easy it is to simply grab the crystal and break it, Goldar first zapped them of their confidence with the nightmares first. Then he provides obstacles for the Power Rangers to face in form of Putties and himself. Of course, teamwork goes in with Jason volunteering to break the crystal himself while the others form a perimeter. This works well since Jason has actually fought Goldar both morphed and unmorphed before, and it seems a little score to settle since his dream featured him doing the latter many weeks prior. 

Biblical and Mythological Homage:

• None, it seems. From a Christian theological perspective, Goldar standing over the Crystal and taking delight as the nightmares take hold does illustrate how the Devil likes to play with people's minds. Whispering in one's ears they are never going to make it, or they are beyond God's help, and therefore will fail, or tell them they don't need God at all. Both cases destroy anyone's confidence. Of course, Christians are taught to place their faith in God instead of putting emphasis on self-confidence. Another way to put it here would be that self-confidence used as a symbol of faith (which might not be entirely agreed upon), and Jason's going in to destroy the Crystal is learning to have the faith to move mountains. 
• Then again, Goldar behaves here like the Divs of Iranian mythology, who are said to be sorcerers who give people nightmares. German and Slavic folklore, dating back to pre-Christian days, also have nightmares being the name of demons who take forms of horses and ride on people's chests as they sleep, giving them bad dreams. This likely was appropriated in the Middle Ages with the idea nightmares were caused by demon and evil spirits allowed into one's home. Today, it's now believed nightmares are really caused due to trauma, as well as fear and sadness, likely resulting from bad experiences. Considering the latter and considering how much the Power Rangers have gone through, it's a miracle they didn't have more nightmares. 

Misc. Notes:

• The premise of Power Rangers as a kids' show is shown in this episode due to the fact we have five teenagers going up to the cabin in the woods to study. Usually not the case, but parents often find that as an excuse for partying, with recreational drugs and sex involved. Especially so with it being coed. In shows dealing with teens, group study sessions usually wind up breaking down with the teens distracted by TV, games, pizza, and some drama involving two of them being in love. Case in point, Dawson's Creek, where the kids can't focus on their mid-terms because these self-aware teens with high IQs and sharp wits are also normal human beings with sexual urges, and limited attention spans, and therefore are not going to focus on schoolwork, but will break out the purity test and go into half the episode of teen angst and drama. 
• When Bulk and Skull are shown their mid-term grades, the music almost sounds like Chopin's "Funeral March." You can hear it as they say, "Ouch." It tells you before Kaplan speaks that Bulk and Skull are not doing so hot academically. 
• No school in the USA puts kids in detention for getting a D in mid-terms. The worst Bulk and Skull would get is basically a lecture by their parents, who in turn would show up at Angel Grove High demanding their teachers be fired. 
• Bulk decides they will follow the Power Rangers to cheat. Yet neither he nor Skull think of asking for help to pull up their grades. 
• Zack suggests they eat liver. 🤢🤢🤢
• "Flight of the Bumblebee" quoted when Skull does a quick dusting of the wall. And we're now just six episodes from when the Power Rangers meet Grumble Bee.
• We find out Bulk is allergic to dust. While sneezing is a sign of allergies, it doesn't always happen. Sometimes, one will wind up with a stuffy nose, headaches, itchy eyes, and dry nostrils, all worse than a simple sneeze that could give one away. 
• In a subversion of gender stereotypes, the boys conduct a pillow fight that makes a big mess while the girls don't. Of course, from the reaction of the housekeeper, we can infer if the girls had a pillow fight they'd clean up afterward, whereas boys are predispositioned to leave messes behind.
• Not possible to keep a sneeze from happening. Nor hold a finger to one's nose for a long time. 
• The nightmares the Rangers have are based from previous experiences: Billy being swallowed by Terror Toad, Zack facing Knasty Knight, Jason trapped by Goldar, Kimberly being put into Samurai Fan Man's jar, and Trini caught in Spidertron's web (somehow, Kimberly and Jason don't have dreams of failing Tommy, considering their connection as established in "The Green Candle"). Yet, Bulk and Skull have one of becoming superheroes similar to the Power Rangers and finding out it's not as easy as they thought it'd be. The big kicker is five of the dreamers have one where they hear Zordon decide they are not worthy of being Power Rangers anymore. 
• Jason does some fanservice by sleeping shirtless. Yet, it's implied to be cold enough in the area for them to wear coats and sweaters earlier. That's some heater the cabins have. 
• Same cave from "Life is a Masquerade" is used here. 
• Legally, Kaplan can't keep Bulk and Skull in detention forever. Not literally, at least. Even the kids watching the show would know F stands for failure. Basically, Bulk and Skull flunked. The worst they'd get from this is having to repeat the class next year, or next semester. If this is in the spring, like the time the episode aired, they'd have to go to summer school. 

Thoughts:

    Compared to the previous two episodes, I consider "The Crystal of Nightmares" to be a thrilling kind of episode. Here, we get the typical teenage plot of an all night study session moved into the series. Instead of being distracted by teen angst and drama, the teens are distracted only when Goldar's crystal comes in and gives them nightmares. This becomes something real life teens face where after a bad dream they wonder if they could actually pass their exams. 

    I also liked how the episode broke the formula with Rita constantly coming up with plans and  instead have Goldar be the main antagonist of the week. He really is mean in this episode, most noteworthy when he takes delight at the way the nightmares take hold. He perfectly embodies the Devil in this fashion, who also likes to cast seeds of doubt to people and turn them against God. The last one where the Power Rangers hear Zordon tell them they can't be Power Rangers anymore is most heart breaking, most scary. It adds to one we all face of being told we can't get into Heaven. Hearing the dreaded "I do not know you" is worse than anything Goldar can come up with. 

     Then to break the formula the Power Rangers go and face their fears, doing so unmorphed to add higher tension. Thus we are glad to see Jason win out and break the crystal, thus breaking their self-doubt and fears, and making their morphing sequence much more exciting. 

    I have noted to absence of Tommy in the dreams, but I like to think if he were in the episode (especially once he got his Green Ranger powers back) the Crystal would give him the nightmare of losing them again. That inclusion would have made a nice foreshadowing in the second season. 

    I saw this episode as a kid once and two things stuck with me. The sight of a weeping Rita surrounded by her arguing minions, while moaning, "I got such a headache." It's better than of the usual utterances of the line as it portrays that of a tired mother whose children continue to argue after a hard day at work. The other thing is Bulk and Skull, who get Ds and are told they'll be in detention if they don't shape up. Of course, they attempt to cheat, only to wind up sleeping through most of the conflict (a good move in my opinion), and despite being unaffected by their bad dream of being superheroes they wind up failing. Principal Kaplan sees how they reacted to the Fs they got and had to spell it out for them: "Detention Forever." While most kids know that isn't what that means, I admit I actually thought it real and kids wind up detention for failing grades. Good thing that's not real, because that sounds harsh, if not abusive, to put students in detention for not making the marks alongside those who are out of line. 

     With that, we conclude all the Power Rangers episodes with Sentai footage (until we are in Season Two), and we will be exploring the rest of the season with Zyu 2 footage.