Oh, and also, this is the last episode of Season 1! FINALLY!
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So we start off at the Juice Bar with Zack spotting Tommy on the weights. We get a gag with Bulk and Skull practicing for a band audition later on. I have to admit, Bulk does have the voice for it. Kim walks over to Zack and Tommy and Zack reveals that he wants to do something big for Angela's birthday. OK, so they are continuing this. Zack decides he wants to get her a pair of pearl earrings. Damn, Zack! Why not just spring for the diamond ring? Kim suggests sending her a singing telegram, which Zack agrees to. He does, of course, add onto that by saying that he should give her the earrings at the restaurant they go to, and he asks Tommy and Kim to come along to make it a double date. They agree, while I continue to try to get over the fact that Zack wants to give Angela PEARL EARRINGS. It's starting to get just a wee bit creepy...
On the moon, Rita of course uses this as inspiration for her latest monster. Goldar suggests using the Eco...Ekosy....Ecosite...you know what, let's just call it the MacGuffin Pearl. Anyway, use the Oysterizer monster to pollute the water, blah blah blah, moving on. Back at the school, Zack asks Angela out on the date and, after some coaxing, she accepts. Now Zack just needs to get the earrings. Uh, that might've been a good idea before asking her out, idiot. Back to Rita, the Oysterizer mentions something about the Pearls of Stillness, whatever those are. Also, the Oysterizer just looks...weird.
Back on Earth, Zack walks out of a jewelry store, obviously disappointed with how the pearls were out of his price range. He wanders around to the park and runs into a hobo, who offers to sell him a pair of pearl earrings. Zack, like a dumbass, agrees and buys the earrings, running off to tell the others. Of course, the hobo was a Putty in disguise, so I'm guessing those were the Pearls of Stillness, or something. We then move to the double date, with all four arriving at the French restaurant. Zack, again, like a dumbass, offers to order for everyone since he apparently knows French. Who sees the escargot joke coming?
Back at the park, the other Rangers run into some Putties and they start the expected fight. Zordon and Alpha learn about the Oysterizer as well as the Pearls of Stillness, which can turn people into statues. Ooh? He contacts the other Rangers after their fight and warn them about the Pearls, so they teleport away. Back at the restaurant (OK, it was a frog legs joke), the waiter arrives with the singing telegram, which happens to be sung by Bulk and Skull. Of course. Zack just gives Angela the pearls, which she of course LOOOOOOOOOVES. Just when they're about to kiss, Bulk and Skull knock a cake over, and cause their usual bit of ruckus and mayhem. Zack and Tommy walk off to wash up while Angela tries the earrings on. The other Rangers arrive just in time for everyone, including them, to turn to stone. Zack and Tommy come back and see what's happened, so they teleport to the Command Center.
Once there, Zordon fills them in and explains that to break the spell, they need to lure the Oysterizer out of the water and destroy its pearl. They mention the possibility of fighting with the MegaZord underwater, as well as Tommy's limited power as always. The two morph and go to fight the Oysterizer. Tommy wanders off to another part of the beach just before the Oysterizer attacks Zack. He sprays some weird pink goop on him, which is apparently acidic. Tommy reappears and saves Zack (of course) and actually gives him the Dragon Shield to heal his injuries. That's actually a cool visual. Of course, Oysterizer sprays Tommy with the goop too, so Zack fights him off and he escapes into the water. Apparently he destroyed the pearl during the fight, because the spell is now broken.
Back at the restaurant, Angela's earrings disintegrate, which she blames on Zack for some dumbass reason. Zack arrives and Angela gives him the brush off. He informs the others of the situation, namely them having to fight the Oysterizer underwater. The group runs off (but not before Zack pays the bill), and they morph and jump into the MegaZord and head underwater.
Once in the deep, they find the MacGuffin Pearl and destroy it with the MegaZord's head lazer. Oysterizer shows up and starts beating on the MegaZord, which the others attribute to the MegaZord not being able to fight underwater. The DragonZord supposedly is, however, so they contact Tommy and he summons the DragonZord to the fight. The DragonZord smacks the Oysterizer out of the water and starts fighting it on land. Oysterizer uses a ball and chain to tie up the DragonZord, leaving it open for more pink goop to be sprayed. The MegaZord returns, however, Power Sword in hand and saves the DragonZord. It then uses the power of Deus Ex Machina to heal the DragonZord. Because they're the Power Rangers! The DragonZord blasts Oysterizer with his finger missiles, leaving him open for the MegaZord to finish him off with the Power Sword.
Back at the Juice Bar, the Rangers celebrate their victory, while Zack arrives with flowers and spouts this episode's message about not buying love with money, etc etc. It was cooler when the Beatles said it, guys. Bulk and Skull arrive, having to wash dishes at the restaurant after all the chaos they caused, and are apparently there to help Zack patch things up with Angela. They provide the background music while Zack sings and...he's actually pretty good. Until Skull ruins the mood, of course. Zack and Angela patch things up, they kiss, Bulk and Skull kill the mood some more, group laughs, episode ends.
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For the final episode of a season, that was actually just another filler episode, this one...well, it could've been worse. The whole bit with Zack wanting to buy his potential girlfriend pearls is a bit much, and Angela's reaction is also a bit off, but it was a good message that was delivered and it wasn't crammed down our throats or anything. The monster battles were odd, but overall just more of the same. In the end, it was just filler. Watch it if you feel you absolutely need to.
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I think the Oysterizer wins the award for the strangest looking monster of Rita's crew.
And for the sake of completion, here's Zack with the Dragon Shield.
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And now, my thoughts on Season 1 as a whole.
Well...it was a start.
That's really Season 1 in a nutshell. A start to a franchise. I don't think anyone at the time expected Power Rangers to take off like it did. And why would it? Wooden acting, hammy plots, and Japanese TV show footage pasted in? How could that possibly be a good show? Well, it somehow caught on. For one thing, no kids show had this level of fighting before, which the kiddies just ate up. Second, it was giant robots fighting monsters. Try and tell me a kid wouldn't want to see that.
The characters did evolve beyond their stereotypes, though not by much. Jason is still a jock with a heart of gold, but he's also proven to be a capable leader in a short amount of time. Trini is still the spiritual girl who got the least amount of development in my opinion, but she is the unofficial Team Mom who gives the moral of the episode, so she does have a purpose. Zack is still the cool guy, but he's proven to not be perfect through his fears and his issues with Angela. Kimberly is still the valley girl, but she's also the heart of the team (no pun intended), often being the shoulder to cry on when something goes wrong. Billy is still the nerd, but has gained a level of confidence as the series has moved on. Tommy, once he joined, was pretty much a loner, but grew to be a key member of the group and also had his own insecurities to deal with. Those of you expecting a Breakfast Club reference here will probably be disappointed.
Speaking of Tommy, the five-part Green Ranger Saga is still the highlight of the series. It's the perfect example of what Power Rangers is like when it's good. It's exciting, it's interesting, the stakes are high, and fans can be worried about the outcome. On the other hand, the last chunk of filler episodes can be examples of what the show is like when it's bad. The plots are forced, the messages shoehorned in, and the battles, the reason the kids watch the show, are afterthoughts. This series is by no means perfect, nor is it the best season of them all. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn't know what they're talking about, or is afflicted with nostalgia. It is not the worst season either, however. Like I said, it's a start to a franchise, and should be recognized as such.
OK, now that I'm done, we can move on to Season 2, where things do start to pick up, in my opinion. I'll see you next time for...
A THREE-PARTER?!
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