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So we pick up where we left off with Zack fading away due to his lack of confidence. Rita crows over her oncoming victory and Goldar leaves to activate the next phase of the plan. Back on the island, Quagmire appears for a second to mention that he knows of Rita's plan before disappearing again. Also, this segment? All within the first few seconds of the episode. Yeah, we're not taking it slow at all.
Tommy gets the idea of asking Quagmire for help, since he JUST MENTIONED that he knows Rita's plan. Trini calls out his name, which is apparently what's needed to summon him, and Kimberly fills him in. In the biggest "duh" moment of the two-parter so far (and there have been a few), Quagmire instantly realizes that they aren't working with Rita and agrees to help them. He tells Zack that, since he's disappearing due to lack of confidence, he needs to think positive thoughts. OK, NOW we have the biggest "duh" moment of the two-parter. Zack flashbacks on the Knasty Knight episode, which is enough to return him to normal. I could comment on the fact that the Knight kicked all the Rangers' asses until a Deus Ex Machina saved the day, but really, what's the point, they just don't seem to care.
Rita comments on how the other Rangers are going to have to deal with the Island now, pretty much eliminating Zack's big part in this episode. At least for the time being. Meanwhile, Zordon and Alpha keep trying to contact the Rangers while spouting off technobabble. Also, the computer keeps zapping Alpha in the ass. Think what you will of that.
Back on the island, the group asks Quagmire for help finding their Power Coins. Quagmire says they need to find them on their own and disappears. Wow, big help he is. Apparently it's now Kimberly's turn as she sees her illusion: Bulk and Skull as angels.
.....this is it? This is the illusion that's supposed to destroy Kimberly's self-confidence and cause her to disappear? Bulk and Skull being nice? Is that really so hard to believe? No wonder Kimberly left the show when she did, the later seasons would've blown her mind to smithereens. Honestly, the only reason this moment works is because it lets Bulk and Skull flex their acting muscles a bit, which makes the moment watchable.
But yeah, apparently Rita making Bulk and Skull nice means she can do anything, which causes her to doubt and start to disappear. They call Quagmire for help, EVEN THOUGH THEY ALREADY KNOW WHAT TO DO, and he spouts off a rhyme and disappears. Kimberly flashbacks to the Terror Toad episode, which is enough to bring her back to normal.
OK, first of all, the concept of Bulk and Skull being nice means that Rita's too powerful for them? Are you kidding me? Not only is that ridiculous, but it's the exact opposite of what a villain would do! If anything, she'd make them MORE evil! If you really wanted Kimberly to doubt herself, go with this conclusion:
Kim: Hey, Bulk and Skull might actually be nice guys underneath their gruff and felony-inducing exterior. Maybe I'M the real bully for treating them like crap all the time!
It's a stretch, but it's SOMETHING!
Also, for the flashback that brings confidence, how about the one where KIMBERLY LANDS A PLANE?! You know, just a thought!
Apparently, it's now Tommy's turn to see an illusion, as he sees the others as Putties. Instead of something like, oh I don't know, something that references him being evil! Seriously, this is really pissing me off, but more so because I KNEW they would screw this up somehow! You have the one member of the group who used to do something questionable, and you don't reference it at all! This is weaksauce writing at its finest.
After an interlude with Alpha trying and failing to contact the Rangers, and Rita commenting on Tommy's loss of confidence. How is quickly explained by the fact that Tommy sees "too many" Putties and starts to fade away. They call Quagmire AGAIN, who does his usual spout-a-rhyme-and-disappear bit. Tommy flashbacks to the other times he's fought a swarm of Putties solo and won and this brings him back. Again, HUGE potential story lost here.
After a bit with Rita chanting randomly, it's now Trini's turn to start fading. This is the only one that makes any sense so far, as it shows Trini flashbacking to the second episode, and referencing her fear of heights. Sure, she was supposed to have overcome that fear, but it makes sense that it would resurface. Quagmire appears...screw it, you know what he does. Trini finishes her flashback where she overcomes her fear and saves Billy, and she's back to normal.
Now we get the shortest sequence yet where Billy suddenly starts fading, apparently bummed because all his sciency-knowledge stuff doesn't amount for anything here. No illusion to help him along this time. Quagmire moment, and Billy flashbacks to his fight with Madame Woe, which brings him back. They weren't trying with this episode. They just weren't.
That just leaves Jason, and this sequence isn't that bad. Since he's the leader, it makes sense that he would lose some confidence, since he was supposed to lead the others to safety and hasn't done so yet. To make matters worse, his illusion shows the others falling to Rita's spell and disappearing. Quagmire helps twice, for some reason, and Jason flashbacks to his fight with King Sphinx, which is enough to bring him back.
Oh, by the way, this was enough to bring back their communicators and Power Morphers. And I totally don't care anymore. I really don't. With the rushed writing this episode has had so far, it's the only thing that makes sense. Rita suddenly turns into a giant and starts shaking the island. The Rangers morph and teleport away just as Rita destroys the island.
They teleport into their Zords, which were lying there the whole time (which raises a ton of questions about how long they were gone that won't get answered), and they resume the fight with Mutitus. They do so by combining the DragonZord and MegaZord to form the MegaDragonZord. It's not as impressive as it sounds, the DragonZord just splits in half and sits on top of the MegaZord. The MegaDragonZord and Mutitus have a giant lazer battle, which ends with the MegaDragonZord firing a huge orb with a Z in it to fry him. They then decide to take on Lokar, summoning Titanus for help. They instantly outdo their new transformation by jumping into Titanus' back and forming the UltraZord. They fire everything at Lokar which causes both him and Rita to run off. But it's not like we'll see him again, right?
So I guess the producers remembered that there was a subplot concerning the dance competition, which shockingly takes place at the Juice Bar. Bulk and Skull naturally fail, but Zack of course wins, and we find out that Quagmire apparently doubles as a DJ. Yes, I'm dead serious. Zack dances off into the night and the episode mercifully ends.
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This two-parter was AWFUL. The conflict was rushed as fast as it could be, the fights were painfully short, and the acting was somehow worse than usual, save for Bulk and Skull. Plus, the Island of Illusion thing had the most potential out of all of the Rangers' threats so far, and it fell painfully short, only succeeding with Trini and Jason, and that was because it built on previously established issues. Seriously, Bulk and Skull being nice was a problem for Kimberly, but they couldn't mention Tommy being evil?! Also, Quagmire was useless, and can't rhyme for shit. But you know what's the worst part of all? The second part pretty much just de-evolved into a fucking CLIP SHOW! Why did they even bother?! Oh, wait, I know why, because they introduced a new MegaZord combination at the end, and then immediately surpassed it with another one! They might as well have popped on at the end saying "hey kids, we just showed you some new toys you can buy! GO BUY THEM NOW!". The only other noticeable part of this episode was Lokar, and we won't see him again for a long time. In short, this was extremely rushed and really should've just been left on the cutting room floor.
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The MegaDragonZord, in addition to being a real pain to type out, just looks ridiculous, and as such, won't get used much. Not that it matters, since it would be quickly overshadowed...
...by the UltraZord. This looks a little bit better, mainly because of all the guns sticking out of every possible area.
No transformation videos, because they really aren't worth the effort. Just use your imagination, you'll probably be spot on.
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