Season Two: The Mutiny, pt. 2

 

                      The Mutiny, part two.

                                                           Goodbye, Dinozords. 

Sentai Notes: 

• The "Zyu 2" footage of the episode reveals why it's called "The Mutiny." The apparent idea is Pirantishead is some kind of Pied Piper who manages to bring the Guardian Beasts to Tokyo and make them attack the city, like when Dragon Caesar went stomping around for Dora Talos. When the Zyurangers come, getting into their suits, they are immediately rejected. So, in Part One, when the Power Rangers are racing in, they are really looking at their Zords, which is why they don't see the monster behind them on a building. The reveal was meant to be later. When the Red Ranger can't get to his Guardian Beast, Green Ranger comes to summon Dragon Caesar, who winds up facing the other Guardian Beasts, in addition to Tyrannosaurus. It's then Dora Piranha, or Dora Piper, learns the notes to the flute and begins playing them, causing Dragon Caesar to join in. The Guardian Beasts then leave the Zyurangers. Largely due to time, part one added a cliffhanger with four of the five Dinozords frozen by the monster, so part two can have him take control of Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzords. The thing with him firing beams was something added by editors.   

Strategy Notes: 

• So, when the Power Rangers summoned their Zords in part one, that turned out a big mistake. Lord Zedd and Pirantishead quickly take out the weapons the Rangers relied on quickly by the time we're in part two. First, the monster freezes four of the Zords, leaving the Power Rangers with Tyrannosaurus. Then they put a spell on the latter so it turns on the Power Rangers. Tommy, as the Green Ranger, comes in and summons Dragonzord to hold off the Tyrannosaurus Zord and allow the Power Rangers some leverage, but then the monster puts a spell on the Dragonzord. At least, the Rangers were smart enough to not summon Titanus. 
• Zordon reveals to us the need to have an ace up one's sleeve. Not known to the Power Rangers until now, Zordon had new Zords in the event Lord Zedd arrived. They are called the Thunderzords as they are charged with thunder. There is now only the need to recover the old Zords before the new ones come online. 

Biblical and Mythological Homage:

• The new Thunderzords are mythical creatures. While lions are real, the design is more legendary to the shi, the Chinese lion who decorates in buildings. The firebird is obviously similar to Phoenix of Greek Mythology, but is based on the Chinese Fenghuang (incidentally, Fenghuang is considered feminine, while the dragon is considered masculine, hence why the Pink Ranger in this show, and in Dairanger, get it). While Billy is given the unicorn, it's really a modified version of Pegasus. Griffins are universal in myths, though what Trini is given is based on the Qilin, a mythological creature of China more akin to the Greek Chimera. Last of all, the red dragon, the most popular creature seen in Chinese myths, to the point China is represented by a dragon. 

Bulk and Skull's Latest Scheme: 

• None, considering how the middle chapter of this trilogy is meant to be heavy-handed compared to part one, so the comedy of them finding the identity of the Power Rangers is put on the backburner. However, them getting lost and encountering Pirantishead is good for a laugh.

Quote(s) of the Week: 

     "Fish face froze my Zord and turned Tyrannosaurus against us!" - Zack. 

     "Hey you two, it's not nice to fight each other!" - Pirantishead, before getting the Dragonzord.

     "I can't believe this is how it ends." - Trini. 

     "Power of Thunder?" - Billy. 

     "Give it up, Zordon! Nothing you can do can defeat me!" - Lord Zedd. 

     "I wish Rita could see this. She would turn purple with envy, -- er, green!" - Bamboo. 

Misc. Notes: 

• Footage from "Green With Evil Part Five" was used when the Power Rangers attempt to take control of the Dragonzord. Look carefully and you'll see Green Ranger already on its head. Once again, Dragonzord is seen munching a candy striped smoke stack. 
• The fanfare of music Green Ranger plays sounds forth when the Dragonzord comes under Pirantishead's spell, a clever way of showing it (if all that bluring weren't enough).  
• Zordon says he can't risk giving Tommy much more powers, a reference to "Return of an Old Friend, Part 2" where his restoration of the Green Ranger powers caused him to lose contact.
• As the "Zyu 2" footage showed, the Tyrannosaurus Zord blows steam at the Power Rangers, likely what was used in the past against monsters, yet they somehow aren't blow away. Instead they go through it intact, with the sparks on their chests happening a second later. Likely their suits have more durability than monsters do, but why it took so long for the last part I have no clue.
• Bulk and Skull have an argument and part, very similar to when Threepio and Artoo quarrel and part in Star Wars: A New Hope. What they say seems just like what the droids were saying, if Artoo spoke like a person. Of course, they way they reunite is different. 
• Pirantishead is in American footage in this episode. His piping of his spell isn't as impressive as the "Zyu 2" footage presents. 
• Green Ranger defeats his first Zedd Puttie here. 
• Last time we have the credits to feature the Dinozords. Last time the Season One opening titles are used, also.
• First time Rita Repulsa does not appear in any point of an episode, as she has been removed from power. Her only speaking scene is in the opening credits, which is fair enough. But outside that she is not appearing in this episode. 

Thoughts: 

    As a kid, I found the multipart episodes boring largely because, well, I was a kid. When you're a kid, you want instant gratification, and you get it when watching an episode that is one part. The multipart episodes were a bore because right when things get interesting, you see "to be continued." Then, you have to wait a while before you found out what happened to your favorite heroes. With Power Rangers, it was waiting through the evening, with supper, homework, and possibly anything you wanted to do in your room (while the parents still had cable on the living room TV, and I would get the chance to have it installed on mine around fifth grade), before taking a bath, going to bed, waking up the next day to go to school, and go through school day that seems to go on. At least, Power Rangers had it that way, as did some shows. Many others I have seen over the years would have had me wait an entire week. 

    On a side note, it's good thing Power Rangers tried it this way with Season One, because, with sixty episodes, it would take sixty weeks to go through the whole thing. That's fourteen months in length. Meaning if you tried watching season one today with one episode per week, you wouldn't see an end to the weekly viewing for a long time: it'd be November of next year before you finally came to the last episode. So that's why they aired the episodes twice, thrice, and sometimes four times a week, with periods of time of up to two weeks, in between just to make sure the season lasted long enough, lest the whole thing be done in two months. 

    As a grownup, I now appreciate multipart episodes, especially for something like this. At some point, we need a break while binging and we could use something to shake things up. So, when you have a three parter and the first one really shook things up by replacing the head villain with another, you got a tough act to follow, like with "Green With Evil, part one". Yet, "The Mutiny, part two" manages to pull it off. 

   Part Two follows in the footsteps of The Empire Strikes Back by having the Zord battle happen in the early part of the episode instead of near the end, as per plot formula, thus allowing for the stakes to be higher. How so? In Part One, four of the five core Zords were frozen by Pirantishead. We see Sabretooth Tiger try to duck in style of becoming the boot, Triceratops dodges to the right, and Pterodactyl fly around to be a harder target, yet all get hit. Mastodon is from the frozen lands and would seem impervious, yet it too gets frozen. Yet, Tyrannosaurus remains on the loose in Part Two, which upon rewatching can be spotted by even a first time viewer at the end of Part One. 

    But Lord Zedd and his monster aren't finished. Instead of freezing Tyrannosaurus, they turn it on the Power Rangers. When Tommy joins as the Green Ranger, he summons Dragonzord to help, only for the bad guys to once more be one step ahead and take control of it too. So now the Power Rangers no longer have Zords, something that will be common in later seasons to show the side affects of relying on Sentai footage (and allow for the introduction of something new in the next). 

   Fortunately, Zordon has the ace up his sleeve in form of the Thunderzords, which are from Dairanger's mecha, just as the original Zords come from Zyuranger. The change shows what Saban was doing for the show, to having new Zords involved and use footage of another Sentai show, in order to keep things going, in addition to a new villain. So, they have it set, but there's one problem: Gosei Sentai Dairanger starts out with five rangers, like with Zyuranger and Power Rangers, therefore there are only five Zords, yet here we have six Rangers. This was solved, however, with the affects of the Green Candle, with Green Ranger powers not strong enough to support a new Zord. The irony is Dairanger had a Green Ranger in place of a Black, but this explains how Zack gets the Lion Thunderzord and Tommy doesn't. I have to mention how it's Kimberly who notices this and shows concern for Tommy, who opts to not make an issue of it. 

    So, do the Rangers get the new Zords? Unfortunately, we are told they need the old ones brought back in order to activate the new ones. Talk about adding some more stakes. Billy and Trini work some device to break the spell, but the others rush to save Bulk and Skull again, leading to another fight with Pirantishead, and their Zords.

     In all, "The Mutiny, Part Two" has aged like wine in my eye. It's a good enough sequel to Part One, and when "To Be Continued" comes up again, it's hard to wait to watch Part Three.