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So we start off with the group playing basketball, with all the obligatory flips and slow-mo dunks to make it look cool for the kids. Because that hasn't been played out or anything. Zack sneaks up on Kimberly while wearing a white gorilla suit, which he wore for his cousin's birthday party. What kid would want a freakin' gorilla at their party?! Especially an albino one? Anyway, remember the suit, it's important later. Zordon contacts the group and they teleport to the Command Center. Well, that was quick.
Once there, Zordon explains that due to the alignment of the planets or something that he'll lose his powers temporarily. He warns the group to be on guard for Zedd's next attack. Well, damn. This sounds like it could be an intense episode. The Rangers fighting a still-new threat without their mentor to help? Sounds entertaining to me.
On the moon (and by the way, I love the camera angle when we first see Zedd. It zooms in slowly at an angle through a dark hallway past some Z-Putties, before Zedd's throne turns around and we zoom in on Zedd. Very creepy), Zedd, being the evil genius that he is, takes this as the opportunity to defeat the Rangers, mentioning the Primator and "making the Rangers destroy each other". This is the game plan Zedd would be known for. Rather than directly attack the Rangers, a number of his plots focused on causing conflict within the group, making it easier for him to defeat them. It perfectly paints him as the devilishly brilliant counterpart to Rita's petty self. He zaps Zack's discarded monkey suit and it becomes the Primator, essentially a white baboon monster.
At the Command Center, Alpha scans around Angel Grove, looking for any threats. He sees a lost boy looking for his mother, and decides to go help him himself rather than call the Rangers. After he teleports away, we see Bulk and Skull with some weird equipment, listening for any sounds similar to the Rangers' teleportation sounds. OK, pretty good idea. After all, how often do you see or hear people teleporting anywhere? Alpha lands right in front of them, they freak out and run off, leaving Alpha confused. He meets up with the boy (named Dylan, by the way) who is excited to meet Alpha. Well, of course. What kid wouldn't be excited to meet a freaking robot? Alpha decides to stay with the kid until his mother arrives, and the two play soccer while waiting.
The Primator appears in the bushes, however, and reveals that he can transform into other people. He displays this by turning into Billy, who just looks silly beating his chest like an ape. He walks up to the duo, which leads to this:
Fake Billy: You're a naughty, naughty boy, Alpha.
STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!
Primator/Billy berates Alpha for leaving the Command Center unprotected, and tries to get him to take him there. Somehow, Alpha discovers that this Billy is a fake, so Primator changes back to normal and Dylan escapes. Primator tries to get Alpha to take him to the Command Center, but Alpha activates his self-destruct! HOLY SHIT! Alpha's gonna go kaboom! Well, no, actually he just short-circuits a bit and falls down. So, what was the point of that? Did he wipe his memory banks? Did he just shut down? Why call it a self-destruct if he didn't blow up?
Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!
Anyway, Zedd tells him to leave him and Primator teleports away, arriving in front of the Juice Bar and disguising himself as Zack. Fake Zack walks in and tells Kimberly and Trini that Tommy's in trouble, surrounded by Z-Putties and losing his powers. He offers to get the others while they run off. I don't know why, but I really like the moment immediately after they leave. Primator/Zack just sits down, sips Trini's drink and says "Mmm, banana shake" with an evil smile. Maybe it's the monkey reference, maybe because Walter Jones is just being delightfully evil, maybe it's both.
The two arrive at the park to see nothing wrong, which leads to some confusion. The feeling increases when Trini tries to contact Jason, but due to him, Billy, and the real Zack working in Billy's lab with headphones on, he doesn't hear it. Zedd then chooses this time to send Z-Putties down to attack Kim and Trini. Again, smart thinking on Zedd's part here, dividing the Rangers up and picking them apart rather than attacking them in a group. It would probably work too...if not for the Z-Putties' huge glaring weakness. But I digress. Kim and Trini take care of the Z-Putties and head back to the Juice Bar.
They meet up with the others and are relieved to see that Tommy's OK, and want to know why Zack sent them out to the park. Once they learn that Zack was with Jason and Billy in Billy's lab for most of the day, they start to realize that something's wrong. They get even more concerned when they try to contact Alpha, but get no answer. They leave for the Command Center to get some answers. Meanwhile, Dylan stays with Alpha, who will self-destruct in 10 minutes. Oh, OK, so he'll still go kaboom.
...wait, WHY IS DYLAN STILL THERE?! I know that he isn't very old, but I'm sure Alpha must've told him that he's going to explode! Run, kid! Run for it!
The Rangers arrive at the Command Center to find Zordon back at full power, who fills them in on both Alpha and the Primator. Since the Primator's attack is more immediate, they morph and go after him. Once they arrive, they suddenly find that they have one Yellow Ranger too many. To determine which is which, Jason offers to fight the both of them, since he's familiar with Trini's fighting style and would know which is the fake. One of them is reluctant to fight, but the other isn't and lunges at Jason. The others blast the now-obviously fake Trini, causing Primator to revert to its true self. Incidentally, I really hate to point this out...but the American voicing dubbed over the Japanese suit actors' overly-dramatic movements is particularly annoying here. By that, I mean listening to Zack and Tommy's somewhat subdued questioning of the real Trini while watching their Japanese equivalents' suit actors wide shrugging and thumbs-up just really sticks out. Most times I can forgive it, but for some reason I can't get over it here.
So the Primator fights the group for a bit before pairing off with Zack, the two of them rolling out of sight. A Black Ranger wanders back out and the group checks on him. Of course, it's actually Primator, who attacks the group before the real Zack comes to the rescue. Primator cycles through some Ranger colours before landing on Red, leading to Jason to take him on himself. They fight for a bit and a Red gets knocked back towards the group. The other Red says that that's Primator. Which is a lie, as Primator zaps the group with eye lazers from the small holes on his helmet. Hey! Why can't the real Ranger helmets do that? Sure, it'd probably never get used, but it'd still be a cool effect. The Rangers retreat to the Command Center to regroup.
At the Command Center, Zordon reveals something I probably should've mentioned earlier, but didn't because I didn't think it would come into play. While disguised as Billy, he saw his reflection on Alpha's head, which is what caused him to revert to his true form. So, if he sees his reflection, he has to turn back to normal. Uh, sure, whatever. Of course, Kimberly has a mirror ready, so the group teleports back to the battle. They somehow get split up, with Billy, Jason, and Trini coming across a Green Ranger. They learn it's Primator and attack him, eventually showing him reflection. This actually causes the Green Ranger helmet to develop red markings and a tail to grow. Interesting look. The Rangers start to beat him down, but Zedd makes him grow. So the Rangers summon the ThunderZords and form the Thunder MegaZord while Tommy summons the DragonZord. Wait, what happened to him not being able to properly control a Zord due to his low power?
Anyway, I don't think I'll be commenting on the first few MegaZord fights since they're all choppy and cropped together. I doubt you're surprised by the Thunder MegaZord finishing off Primator with his Thunder Sword. Back with Alpha...DYLAN IS STILL THERE?! Did Alpha not tell him that "self-destruct" meant "run kid, I'm gonna EXPLODE!"?! The Rangers arrive and Billy manages to prevent the Earth-shattering kaboom. Of course, NOW Dylan's mom shows up as the Rangers and Alpha teleport away. At the Command Center, Zordon advises that Alpha alert the Rangers the next time he leaves the Command Center. Group laughs, episode ends.
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This was a fun, fun episode. Sure, it has its faults. Bulk and Skull barely get a cameo, and Zedd doesn't do much besides create the monster and make it grow. Still, the concept alone shows that Saban seems to actually be putting thought into their monster plots now, instead of just "make monster, fight Rangers" every week. Also, if you want to see a couple of the actors try to be evil, then this is the episode for it. Maybe it's just nostalgia talking, since this is one of the episodes I remember most from the second season, but I say this one is worth watching.
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How can you not like Primator? He's a shapeshifting mutant baboon, for God's sake!
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