So, Zedd has successfully drained Tommy's powers via a shellfish monster, and has also recruited some evil clones (not really) of the Rangers to become his Dark Rangers. This would sound fairly epic, except it comes off as underwhelming in execution. Still, there's another episode to make things up, so let's see how it goes.
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So we start where we left off, with Tommy on the run from Turban Shell. He tries to use the somewhat hilly terrain and Shell's very slow body to his advantage, but it doesn't last long, since without his powers, even this guy can cause some trouble for him. Meanwhile, at the Command Center, we find out there's a force field around it to prevent the Rangers from communicating with them, created from the Green Ranger energy. To make matters even worse, the force field is apparently compressing, meaning that within a certain amount of time, the Command Center will implode! Geez! This is how you raise the stakes, and now this two-parter is a bit better.
In the Otherworld, we learn that apparently, because of the force field around the Command Center, the Rangers don't have access to their powers. I think. Anyway, Goldar wants to finish them off, but Zedd has a much worse fate in store for them. He decides to send them back to Earth with their powers gone, so that they can watch Turban Shell destroy their city and not be able to do anything about it. Damn. That's some evil shit right there. Now you know why Zedd is awesome. He sends them back, and being the heroes they are, they instantly head for Billy's lab to find a way to break the force field around the Command Center.
Back with Tommy, right before Turban Shell is set to finish him off, Goldar appears to send Turban Shell to Angel Grove. Shell leaves, leaving Goldar to take care of Tommy. I like the bit of continuity here, as Goldar and Tommy have had a bit of a rivalry since Tommy's evil days. Goldar gloats about how Tommy is now powerless and adds to this by showing video from his now "glory days" of fighting with the Rangers. This is a nice way of rubbing in the fact that Tommy is now powerless and the villains have essentially won this round.
At Billy's lab, he, Zack, and Trini try to find a way to break through the force field around the Command Center, which mostly involves Billy typing randomly. A news report confirms that Turban Shell is attacking again, which does trouble the Rangers quite a bit. We then move to the moon where Zedd gloats about how much pain the Rangers must be in, before explaining the next phase of his plan: reprogram the ThunderZords and give them to the Dark Rangers. Nice.
After the others arrive and stew about the attack, we cut to Tommy and Goldar, Goldar about to send Tommy "spinning into space with this device". Or something like that. I should note here that Tommy's been beaten down both physically and emotionally here. He no longer has his powers, meaning he can't help his friends or be with them anymore, and Goldar rubbing this in his face made it worse. Or so he thinks, which is important here. Goldar orders Tommy to declare him his superior. For about a minute, Tommy looks like he's going to, but declares Goldar to be out of his mind, jump higher than any non-morphed human being should be able to jump, and starts fighting Goldar. This is the turning point for both of these characters. Tommy was already awesome before, but it's here he truly moves into "supremely ultimate awesome" territory. It's also where Goldar suffers a huge amount of Badass Decay, so much so that any of the Rangers can kick his ass unmorphed, whereas before, he could beat up all of them when they were morphed.
Anyway, they fight for a bit, eventually Tommy gets that device Goldar had and teleports him away. This also explains the message from the last part, as Tommy uses it to contact his past self. Or rather, he somehow contacts another version of him and gives him his communicator. I think. Time travel is confusing. Bottom line, Tommy gets his communicator so he can teleport out of there.
Back at Billy's lab, Billy manages to get through the force field just as Tommy arrives. Alpha manages to contact the group and Zordon explains that the only way to destroy the force field is to destroy the green crystal. Only a non-Ranger can get into the Otherworld undetected, meaning Tommy has to go back. He agrees and is teleported to Otherworld.
Once there, while Zedd is busy talking to the Dark Rangers, Tommy grabs the crystal and smashes it. This not only depowers the Dark Rangers and sends them back to Earth (wow, they were important, weren't they), but also gives Tommy the perfect opportunity to taunt Zedd before teleporting away. Zedd is enraged like never before. Back at Billy's lab, Tommy returns and everyone has their powers back. Tommy was able to regain the energy trapped in the crystal, meaning he can fight one more time. Everyone gets together and this time, the morphing sequence just feels more important, knowing it really is Tommy's last, but he's willing to go out on a triumphant note.
They arrive and immediately summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord. Another choppy fight later (including Turban Shell jumping up and doing...something that hurts the MegaZord) and the Rangers are knocked out of the MegaZord AGAIN. Seriously, is Turban Shell actually this strong? I might be able to take him seriously if he didn't look so ridiculous. Well, the Rangers minus Jason are knocked out of the MegaZord, actually, somehow separating the Zords and leaving Jason to fight Shell alone in the Red Dragon ThunderZord Warrior Mode. This doesn't last long either, leading to the Red Dragon Zord changing back to normal and flying away. Wait, what about Jason? Does he just stay in there?
Tommy starts to summon the DragonZord, but Zordon contacts him, revealing that Shell is weak to heat from within. So Tommy hides within a crate of fruit and is eaten by Shell. He then pulls out a frickin' lazer rifle and starts blasting! Where'd he get that?! Anyway, after more blasting, Zack gets the idea of spraying cold water on him from the outside, the sudden change in temperature making him brittle. Sure, I'll buy that. Tommy escapes and gives the lazer rifle back to Billy. Oh, yeah, duh. Obviously he got it from Billy. The ThunderZords come back online, so they reform the Thunder MegaZord and finish off Turban Shell.
We cut to the Juice Bar, where Trini explains that the Dark Rangers are back to normal with no memory of what happened. And surprise surprise, they walk in just then. The leader of the group orders some drinks from...RICHIE?! Oh hell, Ernie HAD to give him a job. Now he'll never go away! Kim gets the sudden idea that they just need friends to be good people, so Jason pays for their drinks and they start to get to know one another. Whoopdy-frickin-doo.
Back to the Command Center, the group celebrates their victory, and heap a lot of praise on Tommy for coming through and just generally being awesome. Tommy gives a bit of a speech on how the powers don't make the hero, etc etc, and Jason assures him that he'll always be part of the group. The group comes together for one last freeze-frame cheer as the episode comes to an end.
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This episode was MUCH better than the last one, mainly because Tommy losing his powers was given the importance it deserved. It was constantly hovering over Tommy's head, the fact that he couldn't help his friends no matter how badly he wanted to. In the end, though, he was able to make a comeback and save the day, partially without his powers at all, proving how badass he is and handing Zedd his biggest defeat yet. This episode isn't without its faults, however. The Dark Ranger subplot ultimately went nowhere, and Turban Shell, despite having a hand in Tommy's powers finally going, was just another monster for the most part. So, this two-parter isn't perfect, and could've been done much better, but for what we got, it wasn't bad. I recommend watching it if only for the sake of importance.
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