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So we start off at the Juice Bar, but at night. We see some sort of machine called a "Cake-O-Matic" (the originality is mind-blowing) which is apparently having some problems as Ernie is seen toying with it. Billy is dancing with headphones on while Trini and Kimberly are busy decorating. Ernie's problems with the Cake-O-Matic culminate in blue foam pumping out of it, and it's not until he's completely covered in it that Billy learns of what's happening and shuts the machine off. I never really got this part of the episode, as it just seemed silly and unrealistic. Does the machine ice the cake after it's made? And why so much? Seriously, Ernie is literally COVERED in the stuff while lying on the floor, slipping and sliding. It just seems like another excuse to explain that Billy should be making millions of dollars due to his inventions, but is instead busy saving the world.
We cut to the moon where Rita is spying on the Rangers, and goes into her usual plan: make a monster to beat them. This worries me that the script-writers weren't really trying for this episode. I guess we'll soon find out.
We go back to the Juice Bar where we learn that all the decorating and such is for Zack's birthday party. Of course, if you couldn't figure this out on your own just from reading the title of the episode, I feel sorry for you. Jason comes in and thanks Ernie for keeping the Bar open late so they could decorate. Ernie responds by saying that he's apparently heard some news about the Power Rangers. They try to pretend that they've never heard of them while Ernie compares them to Batman. I'm really surprised no lawsuits were involved with that namedrop. Ernie proclaims that the Rangers are just ordinary humans in disguise. Jason responds by claiming that the Rangers are aliens. Give it a couple of seasons. Jason says they should keep things quiet so as not to panic anybody, and Ernie, being a lovable, gullible fool, falls for it. Bulk and Skull walk in, mess up some of the decorations, but fall into crap. Not literally, of course. Really, it's not one of their funnier moments, and goes back to the more "nasty bully" version of them instead of the "goofy comic relief".
We cut back to the moon where Rita starts flipping through her monster book, trying to decide which monster to use against the Rangers. Finster says that he's already working on one, the Knasty Knight. We see Sentai footage that won't be used this episode of said Knight in action. Oddly enough, the footage is of the Knight fighting the Sentai equivalent of the Black Ranger. If you've seen this episode, you're probably wondering why he looks like that. I'd explain, but then I'd have to get into the plot of Zyuranger as a whole, and I'm not about to do that, especially since I barely understand it myself. More importantly, though, is the Knasty Knight himself. He looks AWESOME. Seriously, when we get to the pictures at the end, you'll see why they tried to build him as a bad mofo.
We go back to the Bar as the Rangers are done decorating, and now have to make sure that Zack doesn't find out ahead of time so as to spoil the surprise. Almost as soon as Billy makes this statement, Ernie comes rushing in, saying that Zack is heading towards the Bar. We get a fast-forwarded version of the Rangers taking down the decorations they JUST put up and going into hiding. Zack arrives at the bar to find Ernie alone, eating popcorn. Zack asks why he's there late, and Ernie says he's just catching up on paperwork, while trying a little too hard to get the fact across that he's there alone. Zack tells him that Trini's mom directed him to the Bar, but Ernie says that he hasn't seen the group. Zack eventually leaves, and the Rangers come out of hiding. I'll get into my feelings towards the plot of this episode in a little bit.
We cut to a field at night, where the villains are forging a sword for the Knasty Knight. This is an indication that this won't be any ordinary monster from the bad guys this time around, and the fact that Rita has to say this incantation adds to that:
"Moon of ivory, stars of old,
Candlelight spun of gold,
Sky of fire, wind of fright,
Bring to me a Knasty Knight!"
I like this moment as it helps Rita establish her evil sorceress persona. The sword-shaped hunk of metal is turned into an actual sword, a tree splits in half, and the Knight appears and claims the sword. THAT is how you make an entrance. This whole segment helps build up the Knasty Knight as a monster that'll be much harder to contend with than the monsters we've seen so far.
We head to the school the next day, where Zack runs into Kimberly and tries to hint about the day being his birthday. Kimberly responds by "remembering" that it was her dog's birthday. Zack, of course, is depressed and leaves. The other Rangers arrive and Kimberly expresses her doubts about the party. The others assure her that Zack will be feeling better when he arrives at the party.
This is my problem with the plot of this episode: It's the same with the body-switch episode, done to death. In every kid's show, there's usually one episode where one of the characters has a birthday, and everyone they know, in some cases their own parents, conveniently "forgets" that the birthday is that day. The character does something stupid to create a conflict, sees that they didn't forget and they have a party set up, everyone laughs and problems are solved. I have multiple problems with this concept. First off, if the character wants people to know that it's their birthday, they would stop HINTING at it and just flat out say it. At the very least, most people would. Second, if the character is close enough with the friends/family, they should be able to tell when they're lying about forgetting something that's so important to them. Third, the fact that they even know about the character's birthday in the first place is probably because the character told them at some point, so if it's anyone's fault for them forgetting, it's the character's for not reminding them! They can't expect everyone to be psychic, for crying out loud!
So, now that I've got that out of the way, let's continue. We see Zack wandering around what looks like a desert, moping about because everyone forgot his birthday. One line he has here bothers me a lot:
Zack: "Guess they were too busy thinking about their own lives. That's messed up."
You're right, Zack. They should've been spending all their time thinking about you and your wants, even though they not only have to contend with the usual troubles of being a teenager and high school, but also being superheroes and saving the world from a sorceress who usually sic monsters on them at random, and while keeping their identities a secret!
This episode is really making me like Zack less and less.
Rita shows up and brings down the Knasty Knight. Zack quickly morphs and starts fighting. Zack just gets demolished here, not even scoring one hit on the Knight. And just as he starts to come back from his beatdown, Goldar jumps in and scores a hit on him too. Rita leaves the villains to finish off Zack, confident in her victory. Typical villain mistake there.
Zordon sees what's going on and alerts the other Rangers. They morph and join in on the fight. They all get thrashed by the Knight, who, again, doesn't take a hit. To make things worse, his sword winds up rusting the Rangers' trademark weapons, making them useless. They try that weird Blade Blaster combo that I mentioned a couple of episodes back. It manages to push the Knight back, but he eventually just deflects it back at them. Welcome to Screwedville, population: The Power Rangers. Rita returns and decides to seal the deal by making Knasty Knight grow.
The Rangers summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord. The Knight starts kicking ass as before, so the Rangers summon the now-renamed Power Sword. The two swordfight for a bit before the Knight rusts the Power Sword like he did with the Rangers' weapons. This of course leaves them open for the Knight to knock them down. Just as the Knight's about to finish them off, Zack realizes that the Knight is causing their weapons to rust due to him reflecting their energy. So they draw on the power of Deus Ex Machina to do the same to the Knight, restore their own sword to normal, break the Knight's sword, and finish him off in one blow. Because they're the Power Rangers, that's why! Rita retreats and is, of course, pissed off at everyone.
We cut back to the Bar at night, and as the Rangers walk in, the lights come on and they surprise Zack, as expected. The Cake-O-Matic starts going crazy again (this time spitting out pink foam), and Ernie and Billy are distracted with trying to fix it. We get a dance scene as the party goes on, and the episode ends.
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Oddly enough, this is one of the episodes I remember the most from when I watched it as a kid. I didn't know why at first, but now I just attribute it to the Knasty Knight. He is my favourite monster-of-the-week so far, and helps elevate this episode from being terrible. The plot was bad and overdone, and the villain's reason for attacking now was never explained. As for character development, if it was to make me hate Zack, then it worked. If not, then it was a dismal failure. He just came off as a selfish whiny brat here who was upset that he didn't have psychic friends who would bend to his every whim. All in all, I'd say watch this one, but skip to the fight scene.
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Look at this Knasty Knight. Is it any wonder why he was the coolest monster ever?
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