Season Two: The Mutiny, pt 1.

 

                         The Mutiny, part one. 

                                                               Enter Lord Zedd.

Sentai Notes:

• Lord Zedd has no Sentai counterpart. He is an original, all American villain, created out of necessity. Saban and Levy didn't seem to know if they could have Goldar take charge once all the Rita footage was exhausted or not, so they created a new villain. 
• Rita Repulsa winding up in the Dumpster again is the same as her Sentai counterpart at the end of Zyuranger. Bandora was also put back into the Dumpster and sent off into space. Unlike Rita, she had her minions come with her.

Strategy Notes: 

• Lord Zedd sends down his Putties, who prove to be tougher than Rita's. What he apparently failed to realize was how fast the Power Rangers would find their weakness. Searching for a weakness is often used in fighting, largely when facing an opposition that is strong.  

Biblical & Mythological Homage: 

• There's Biblical references in Lord Zedd's first scene in flesh. When he appears, he's holding a snake which turns into a staff. This echoes Moses' staff turning into a snake when cast before Pharaoh (to whom Lord Zedd would resemble instead of Moses). The key difference is Moses is ambiguous in good and evil, depending on how you read Exodus to Deuteronomy (but he is good enough in God's eye to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, which is good enough for me), while Lord Zedd is all evil. Moses also had Aaron cast the staff down to show God's power. Lord Zedd does this himself to show off his own power. From a Christian perspective, it feels like Lord Zedd is silently saying to Christian viewers, "Look here, I can do what your God can." If he is willing to say something like that, that tells you how evil he is. 
• Another refence comes when he restores Goldar's wings, echoing Revelations where the Dragon heals a head of the Beast of the Sea, then gives him authority to rule over for the Earth while people stood at awe of the Dragon. Lord Zedd not only restores Goldar's wings, but makes him his right hand man (err, demon) for the rest of the series, just as he was with Rita. Seeing Squat and Bamboo at awe of Lord Zedd during this brings this refence into completion (not to mention the massive fan base around Lord Zedd that has come up over the years, rivaling that of Rita's, which is very scary to think on). 
• Lord Zedd brings new Putties who each have the letter Z on their breast plates. This should remind us of the Mark of the Beast. 
• Seeing the once terrifying Rita Repulsa reduced to kneeling and begging and pleading to Lord Zedd does act as a sinister take on "Every knee shall bend." 
• Lord Zedd accuses Rita of squandering her powers when he strips her of them, similar to in the Parable of the Talents, where the Lord declares the third servant lazy and wicked, takes back his talent, and has him sent out in darkness. Here, Lord Zedd takes Rita's Wand, which was used nearly three score times, and sends her into the darkness of space in her Dumpster. 
• Like with dark lords in fantasy works, Lord Zedd has "lord" in his name as a title. So one could see him standing Lord Sauron, Lord Voldemort, and Lord Vader within the realm of imagination.
• Outside the Bible, Lord Zedd gives plenty of Devil vibes in other forms. His body is mostly resembling exposed muscle with iron braces and a speedo for clothing, plus a chrome and mask over his face (with a permanent grin) from which a distorted voice is heard. It makes one think of the Devil in Dante's Inferno and Lucifer in Paradise Lost. Zordon says Lord Zedd has been ruling over darker places in another galaxy, which echoes the latter, where the Devil is heard saying, "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." 
• Lord Zedd has an ability to spy on the Power Rangers through his mask using a red beam that directs his vision, like how a beam of light comes forth from a lighthouse or one's flashlight. This makes it seem he has the all-seeing eye, or remind one how various myths of the sun god who sees everything. The irony is Lord Zedd, like Rita, is stationed on the Moon. 
• The weakness of the Zedd's Putties is basically like Achilles' heel, which was the one part of his body not submerged in the Styx, therefore making it the most vulnerable part. Other than that, he was formidable in battle until Paris, by luck, got him in the heel. 

Latest Bulk and Skull Scheme:

• This is something new for the second season because Bulk and Skull begin from this episode to try to find the identity of the Power Rangers, as opposed to all the things done in the past season. There'll be more in later episodes.

Quote(s) of the Week: 

     "This can only mean one thing! Lord Zedd, the True Emperor, has returned!" - Goldar. 

       "I am Lord Zedd, Emperor of that I see!" - Lord Zedd, in his first scene. 

      "You were defeated by mere infants! You call yourself an Empress of Evil? You're not even fit to destroy a cockroach!" - Lord Zedd to Rita Repulsa.

       "You mean, there's someone worse than Rita?" - Kimberly, on learning of Lord Zedd. 

       "I'm shrinking! I'm shrinking! What a planet!" - Rita Repulsa while being shrunk by Lord Zedd. 

       "You haven't seen the last of Rita Repulsa!" - Rita Repulsa, after being sent away.

       "Aim for the Zs." - Jason, upon discovering the Zedd Putties' weakness. 

      "Watch this, Power Rangers!" Pirantishead, before firing beams at some buildings, causing debris to fall on them. 

      "Aw, man! He [Pirantishead] froze the Zords! We're history!" - Jason. 

Misc. Notes: 

• Lord Zedd's name is a play on words in one sense. The British pronounce the letter Z as "zedd", instead of "zee" like with Americans. That does explain Z staff, but we also saw Zs on the Dragonzord, making one wonder if that was connected to its design to obey whoever has the Dragon dagger? 
• There's a fan in Lord Zedd's chamber that spins slowly, though likely the place must be hotter than summers in Alabama regardless. Watching it, the blades are curved and resemble the swastika, a symbol most Westerners associate with the Nazis. Rather or not it's intentional, I have no clue, but it clues most viewers. However, in Eastern cultures the swastika has a better reputation. It was originally a Hindu symbol for good fortune and it represented the sun. The last part is ironic since Lord Zedd's palace is on the Moon and his arrival means bad fortune. 
• Squat and Bamboo are reduced to the Greek Chorus from here on out, and they comment on how Lord Zedd's Chamber of Command changes colors with Lord Zedd. Apparently, because Saban was too cheap for it, that idea was scrapped and only red remained to show Lord Zedd's anger. 
• Lord Zedd is voiced by Robert Axelrod, who also voiced Finster and Lokar (Zedd's voice is closer to the latter). So, this season gave him a promotion, going from Barbara Goodson's minion to superior. 
• This is the first time Carla Perez acted as Rita Repulsa, though she spends her time with her back to the camera to hide this fact. It won't be until "The Wedding, part 1" before her face is shown. This to match with Machiko Soga's Bandora footage, used for close ups.
• Scorpina disappears after one scene. She is never seen, heard, or mention again, until "Goldar's Vice-Versa." 
• When Lord Zedd shrinks Rita, she cries out, "I'm shrinking! I'm shrinking! What a planet!" It's an echo of the Wicked Witch of the West's last words as she melts in The Wizard of Oz.
• First time we see Zedd's Putties. 
• Zack mentions Pudgy Pig, from "Food Fight" and "A Pig Surprise." 
• When all six Power Rangers line up before charging, it's interesting to note the nearest are the ones going to leave before the season is over while the farther away ones will be around longer (one of them will change colors).
• Somehow Bulk and Skull don't hear Tommy being called by name. Or they are too dumb to notice. Likely stress from the situation as they are being attacked by Putties, and not the usual ones. However way it's described, it still sets them on the story path where they try to find their identities.
• First time we see the affects of the Green Candle happen in a fight. 
• First time we see the Power Rangers with their helmets off in the Command Center, lending credible evidence the actual actors weren't in the suits originally. Now they are. 
• First time we hear someone say, "Back to action!"
• While there are piranhas in North America, there are none in California.
• Change in credits. We just now see footage of the Dinozords. 

Thoughts:  

     Welcome back. Like some of y'all, I have many distractions, but I am going to get this done. So, to begin Season Two, we start with the trilogy that introduced the most popular Power Rangers antagonist, Lord Zedd. 

     First a short story: I actually had the pleasure of meeting Robert Axelrod, at the Kami-Con that was held at the University of Alabama. He didn't do much of quotes in the meeting event, but he gave us a free impression and answered some questions, plus tell how he got cast. He also got us to try out reading scripts to the mike to get a feel of voice acting. I was the last to go, but time ran out. I did get to speak with him in person and he shook my hand. I'll say that the real guy stood shorter than me and he was a little lurched forward in the neck, as though a hump was forming. I had no idea at the time something was wrong with his spine, which required surgery in the 2010s. Sadly, he died from complications of that surgery. One funny moment came from one of the readings where one of the guests was holding the mike, and Axelrod gave some advice that ended with the suggestion the producers would say, "Let go of the f---ing mike!" I chuckled to myself and came out thinking, "Lord Zedd said the f-word." If Power Rangers was aimed for adults, I'm sure Lord Zedd would said that many times, and worse. 

     "The Mutiny, part one," is a game changer. For the past sixty episodes we have been led to see Rita Repulsa as the Empress of Evil. She has a mixture of comical moments and dark moments (she is a witch, after all, and her Sentai counterpart even summoned Satan, for crying out loud). She nearly beat the Power Rangers on a few occasions: when she created an evil Green Ranger, when she summoned Lokar and sent them to the Island of Illusions, when she used the Green Candle, when she sent down Goldar in Cyclopsis, and when she trapped their parents and forced them to hand over their coins. 

     Then we get this episode and are introduced to a character so evil that even Rita Repulsa fears him. It's surreal to new-comers to see the Empress of Evil reduced to begging, pleading, and kissing his foot before him. Lord Zedd shows no mercy. He strips her of her command and her powers, then banishes her, while taking over the show.

    From what I have seen, people who write fiction are always coming up with someone who could compete with the Devil who is the epitome of evil. Pop culture has many examples of some who have become such icons of evil that they do make the Devil look like an angel by comparison. Most popular include Darth Vader from Star Wars, Lord Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter (and all three of them also have "Lord" for a title, since they are dark lords). We can say that Lord Zedd is certainly a dark lord, also, even if he is not in kin to all three. Still, through him, Power Rangers have created an icon of evil. You can see how it is in the looks, with that diadem that conceals an exposed brain, a mask that looks like a grin while hiding his face, that growly voice of his, and his body looks as though he had been through the fires of Hell and survived, but is now on some kind of life support of darkness, while a metal speedo acts for modesty. There's a tube running through his body, pumping fluids, going to his silver chest plate, which looks like a breast bone. Apparently, he has something in place of a heart under there, or his heart is very much corrupt, but regardless we don't see anything else because it might be too gruesome. Apparently, also, the fires are in him too as he turns red when he gets angry.

     With his personality and his delight in wickedness, it's no wonder so many parents in 1994 claimed him too evil for the show. No doubt kids found him real frightening, too. He's not someone you'd want showing up in your house in the middle of the night, or encounter in a dark alley (especially not the latter because he has powers that could over ride any of your defenses). So, an outcry was made, which is why Saban gradually softened him in later episodes. I will add I first saw Lord Zedd in the later episodes first, by which point some of that softening up process had been done. So (spoiler alert) it was strange to see Lord Zedd talk down to Rita Repulsa in this episode after seeing them get married. 

     A small taste of what is to come is in his Putties, which are modified versions of the original ones. The new Putties are tough, requiring the Rangers to morph on their first encounter. Of course, it turns out their weakness was found and exploited, resulting in future battles being done unmorphed. In the past, it took a couple of punches to knock out a Puttie. Here, all one has to do is "aim for the Z" and the Puttie explodes. One could say it's a thing to keep them from being invincible. 

     One thing I always liked in the scene when the Power Rangers first meet the Zedd Putties, upon defeating them, the first thing the Red Ranger does before he and the others leave is check on Bulk and Skull, asking them if they are okay. Considering how Jason was not really friends with them, he puts that aside as leader of the Power Rangers to see that everyone threatened is safe and sound. Plus, he doesn't call them by name, as if to keep them from wondering how the Power Rangers knew them (though the two still decide to make it their mission to learn their identities). It's one of the good things of Jason in his time as the Red Ranger. 

   Still, it's a sign things are going to be on the Power Rangers because they are facing a tougher opponent. Worst of all, one of them is already weakened and bound to lose his powers before the battle is over. As such, "The Mutiny, part one" is a much better season opener than "Day of the Dumpster." It even comes with a cliff hanger, since...well, it turns out the monster doesn't have to be big to take out the Zords.