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So we start off at the school where the group, minus Zack, are reading a newspaper declaring that today is "Power Ranger Day". That is the most awesome holiday ever and I don't care who says otherwise. Zack arrives and they continue, explaining that there will be a celebration dedicated to the Rangers at Angel Grove Park, and the mayor hopes the Rangers themselves will make an appearance. Naturally, the group implies that they will show up. After they leave, Bulk and Skull enter the frame, and Bulk explains a little plan of this. They're going to arrive at the party before the Rangers and "show that they're not the only superheroes in town". I have no idea what to think of this.
We cut to the moon where Rita is forming yet another plan to take down the Rangers. This isn't any other plan, however. No, this time she's using all of her magic to power up Goldar's Zord, Cyclopsis.
Yes, you read that right. Goldar has a Zord, and he's going to bring it out. Holy shitballs.
We cut to the park where a huge crowd is gathered for the Power Rangers' party. Zack is amazed by the turnout, and takes this opportunity to ask out Angela again. Angela tells him that if he was a Power Ranger, she'd go out with him. Of course, Zack si tempted to morph right then and there, but Jason reels him in. Billy, Kim, and Trini wander through the crowd, running into the various notable characters. One they don't see, however, is Tommy.
Come to think of it, where has he been? It's only been a few episodes since Green Candle, but you'd think he'd have at least made a cameo appearance. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Saban was originally going to kill him off, like his Sentai counterpart, but decided against it and now don't know what to do with him. Did I mention that already?
We move to the moon briefly for the villains to explain another part of the plan: transport all the non-Ranger spectators to another dimension so it'll be easier to hunt them down. I don't see the point to this, since they've known who the Rangers were from day one, but I guess it'll make sense later.
Back on Earth, Bulk and Skull arrive and we see their plan: they're going to become superheroes and show up the Power Rangers. I'm not kidding. We then see them, in costume, as The Bulkster and Super-Skull. OK, I know these guys aren't supposed to be that bright, but you'd think they would know that being superheroes entails, you know, fighting monsters? Although, they've seen a total of two monsters that weren't giant, and they didn't back down from them right away, so I guess there's potential.
The Dynamic Comedy Duo (tm) head up to the podium and introduce themselves to the crowd. A couple of obnoxious kids ask to see their superpowers, so Bulk and Skull do a bunch of faux kung-fu moves, complete with goofy poses, and the crowd, Rangers included, laugh, as expected. The order to kidnap the crowd is given, however, and within a few moments, everyone, except for the Rangers, is gone. Jason contacts Zordon and he explains what's happened, saying that not only the people in the park have been kidnapped, but every citizen of Angel Grove. Or that every citizen of Angel Grove was at the party, but the other explanation seems more likely.
That's not all, though. In order to ensure that Rita has enough magical power to keep Cyclopsis going, she needs to move her moon palace to Earth. Sure enough, the tower that is Rita's home arrives on planet Earth. Now you KNOW this is getting serious. We're talking full-out invasion serious. To seal the deal, Rita summons Cyclopsis to ground-level Earth, and holy shit, is it awesome. Yeah, it looks a bit like a Gundam, but who cares?
It is officially ON as the Rangers morph and immediately summon the DinoZords and form the MegaZord. I'm sure it's a translation mishap from the Sentai, but I actually like how the MegaZord itself looks scared, considering it appears to be backing away from Cyclopsis. The fight begins and naturally, Cyclopsis has the early advantage. Although I don't like how they reuse one clip of Cyclopsis punching the MegaZord. It's made worse when you consider the fact that it's done immediately after the initial playing of said clip. Cyclopsis then blasts the MegaZord with its chest rocket launchers, giving Jason the needed incentive to summon the DragonZord.
The DragonZord arrives and it fights alongside the MegaZord. It doesn't do that much damage, though, and Cyclopsis reveals that it apparently has psychic powers, as it lifts up the MegaZord and tosses it away. The group then forms the DragonZord Battle Mode, but that doesn't really work. After psychically tossing the T-Rex Zord, Cyclopsis then sends DragonZord Battle Mode's head-boomerang thing back at it. After another chest-rocket-launcher blast, it starts stomping a mudhole in the DragonZord Battle Mode. Then, just when it seems like the heroes will make a comeback, Cyclopsis reveals that it has detachable hands that can electrocute the Zords. Geez, how many weapons does this guy have?
Titanus spontaneously appears, though, and the group forms the UltraZord. They fire everything they have and destroy Cyclopsis, just as Goldar escapes. Rita, however, isn't taking this one lying down. She uses her magic to create a sinkhole underneath Titanus. The MegaDragonZord tries to get it free, but no go. And no, I don't know how the MegaDragonZord got off of Titanus before they all sank. Titanus falls underground and is presumed destroyed, but don't panic or anything, I'm sure it's fine. Rita then goes the extra mile, appearing before the Rangers and invokes the power of some really creeping looking tower to bring back Lokar.
Wait, Lokar? The floating head thing from the Island of Illusion episodes? Oh, wow, I am so freaking terrified right now. Although the fact that Rita uses his power to repair Cyclopsis is a little concerning. We're suddenly back in the Command Center as the group apparently has to let their Zords recharge before they can fight Cyclopsis again. This doesn't seem like such a big deal, until Zordon reveals that if they don't defeat Rita this time, the people she kidnapped will be trapped in her pocket dimension forever. The episode ends as the group mulls over this turn of events.
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I have to admit, for an opening to a huge, ultimate battle, I'm feeling pretty underwhelmed by this episode. Sure, we got to see Goldar pilot his own Zord, which is awesome, and Rita coming down to Earth and taking out Titanus is pretty impressive, but it seems like they're making this a bigger deal than it actually is. Still, this is only the first part, so maybe the next episode will make up for this. Not bad, but not as great as it's trying to be. Though I may change my tune soon enough.
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Before we continue, here's Cyclopsis. Not a Gundam. Really.
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