Last time, Goldar got his own Zord, everyone except the Rangers were sent to a pocket dimension, Rita came to Earth, Lokar returned, and Titanus was sealed underground. So yeah, a lot happened. The stakes are raised for the climatic showdown, so let's get to it!
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We start off where we left off, with the Rangers in the Command Center, Zordon going over how dire the situation is. Jason wants to get the Zords going, but Billy says they took too large a beating (which is true), and have to recharge some more, with Alpha adding that it'll take another 12 hours. Obviously, they can't wait that long, so Jason proposes they fight at half power. Billy looks at Jason like he's out of his damn mind, explaining that they could seriously damage the Zords, Zordon agreeing with him. The others insist though, wanting to save the people trapped and the city. Zordon mentions that if they fail, the Zords could be destroyed and the Morphing Grid could disappear forever, rendering them helpless, but the Rangers decide to go anyway. I have to admit, earlier I was skeptical of how important this was, but this put it over for me.
After we get some gloating from Rita, the Rangers morph and head back to the battlefield and immediately bring out the MegaZord. Lokar shows how great he is by blowing on the Rangers (ugh), and Cyclopsis brings out two wrist blades (seriously, how many weapons/powers is that now?). The Rangers retaliate with...the cannons on the MegaZord's back? That's...unusual. I thought they were just there for decoration, but apparently they're weapons. I can see how they'd be difficult to use in battle, though. Of course, that doesn't do much and Cyclopsis CHOPS OFF THE MEGAZORD'S ARM HOLY FUCK! Right at the shoulder, no less! Just when it looks like they're done, the MegaZord...uses its eye lazers? Is everyone pulling weapons out of their collective asses today?
Of course, the MegaZord can't do much with one arm, so Jason summons the DragonZord for help. The DragonZord tries to fight Cyclopsis but GETS ITS TAIL CHOPPED OFF! Well, not the whole thing, but the important drill end is gone! Jesus, the Rangers are in it now! Oh, and Lokar uses some hair electricity, but who gives a shit? Rita then uses her magic to make both the MegaZord and the DragonZord disappear bit by bit, but the Rangers escape before they go too. The Rangers arrive back in the park, demorphed. They try to contact Zordon, but no luck. Billy explains that Rita's probably jamming the signal. He also explains that Rita didn't destroy the Zords, but their new security system caused them to disassemble and return to their hiding places. Of course, that doesn't explain how the DragonZord disassembled and how they're going to fix them, but it's something. Billy then says he may be able to change the communications signal at his garage, so they head there to do so. I actually like how the Rangers aren't calling it quits here, like in the Green Ranger saga, and are trying to find solutions to their problems. Granted, the MegaZord was supposedly destroyed then and we know this time it isn't, but it's still a sign of character development and I like it.
The Ranger arrive at Billy's garage as Zordon and Alpha try to establish contact with them. Billy fiddles with some electronic stuff as Jason hopes that Zordon has a plan, otherwise, this is the end for the Rangers. Things get worse and brick-shitting as Goldar arrives with some Putties at Billy's garage. Talk about your ballsy moves. He doesn't do much of anything, and before long, the Rangers are able to teleport to the Command Center. Anti-climax. Right before this happens, though, we learn that, because Rita is now on Earth, Alpha was able to get into her database of spells and magic, meaning they can now find out a way to stop Rita once and for all. I'll ignore the oddity of a witch having a "database" of magic simply because of how big this is.
After the Rangers arrive, Zordon reveals Cyclopsis's weakness. It can adjust its fighting style to answer its opponent, so if the Rangers keep changing Zord forms, it'll take time to adjust, leaving it open to attack. Solid strategy, I have to say. Oh, by the way, Titanus is OK. Told you. The Rangers morph and head out to battle. They summon their DinoZords and fight Cyclopsis separately for a short bit. Then, they form the MegaZord, summon the Power Sword, and fight some more. Then, as quickly as they formed, they summon the DragonZord and fight a bit more, actually breaking Cyclopsis's wrist blades. And by the way, no I don't know how the MegaZord got an arm back and DragonZord its tail, but let's just assume they were repaired while the Rangers were away. Then they form the DragonZord Battle Mode and fight some more, but Lokar quickly becomes an annoyance and that fails. Finally, they summon Titanus and form the UltraZord. What, no MegaDragonZord? Anyway, all the changes are too much for Cyclopsis and Goldar abandons ship before it's destroyed. We can assume Lokar is destroyed too, since we never see him after this. Rita and crew head back to the moon on Goldar's insistence, leading to this:
Rita: Goldar?
Goldar: Yes, my empress?
Rita: DON'T EVER TELL ME WHAT TO DO AGAIN!
Just great.
Back at the park, everyone arrives safe and sound, exactly as they left. Bulk and Skull arrive back on the podium, just in time for someone, who I assume is the mayor, to shove them off for the Rangers' arrival. The Rangers do appear, and they start to head to the podium. The same annoying kids start to argue over who the best Ranger is, but Tommy finally arrives and settles the argument by saying they're all awesome. The Rangers get on stage and the mayor gives a speech about how awesome they are. The Rangers are allowed to bask in the glory before jumping in the air and freeze-framing.
And that WOULD be the end of the episode, except we travel back to the Command Center. Zordon congratulates them on their huge victory, and gives them a choice. Even though Rita is still around, she's been dealt a serious blow, and if the Rangers so choose, they can walk away from their lives as Power Rangers and return to being everyday citizens. But of course, none of the Rangers step down, and they all choose to stay as Rangers and continue fighting Rita. Zordon is overjoyed to hear this, although the moment is ruined by a bad "computer virus" joke from Alpha. One more jump and freeze-frame later, and the episode ends.
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And that's the first season of Power Rangers.
Well, it was supposed to be, anyway.
Yes, this two-parter was supposed to mark the end of Power Rangers, although whether for only a season or for good is debatable. The Rangers were originally going to capture Rita and her goons and trap her back in the space dumpster, sending her careening through space again. However, Saban realized that Power Rangers was WAY too popular to end this soon, so the story was changed a bit, Rita escaped, and the fight continues. Although the scene with Zordon offering the Rangers the chance to walk away was apparently in the original script.
However, we have a new problem. The original Sentai footage was all used up, so how could new episodes be made? Well, Saban actually contacted Toei, the producers of Super Sentai, and asked them to make more footage for more episodes of Power Rangers. This was unprecedented, and I definitely couldn't see it happening today, let alone back in the early 90s. That was a testament to Power Rangers' popularity, or status as a cash cow depending on who you ask, but the point being is that Power Rangers was here to stay, whether you liked it or not.
As far as finales go, Doomsday was pretty good. The first episode was underwhelming, but as a set-up to this one, it was pretty well done. The situation was treated as deadly serious, the battles were given the time they needed, and it all came to a satisfying conclusion. But, I still feel as though they treated this as a much more serious crisis than it was. I never doubted for a moment that the Rangers would find a way out of this and defeat Rita. That's not because I knew the good guys would always win in the end or anything like that. During the Green Ranger saga, when the Rangers threw their hands in the air and called it quits, I actually wondered how they were going to win. That may be why the Rangers not doing the same here could be considered a downside to some, but I chalk that up to character development. Still, the battles were worth watching, if more for their significance than the actual fighting. I still consider the Zords actually losing body parts to be pretty shocking stuff. All in all, a decent two-parter.
But, as you can tell, we're not done with this yet. We still have 20 more episodes to go, so I'll be seeing you all soon.
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