Season 6, Episode 16: Flashes of Darkonda

"Flashes of Darkonda"
Episode 16
Air Date: May 16th, 1998

Boy was this episode a ridiculously fun and intense ride from start to finish! With the other rangers off searching for Zordon, Andros is still haunted by nightmares of his sister's kidnapping, especially when he dreams of Darkonda.  Turns out, the rangers' newest enemy was in fact the creature that took his sister long ago.  WOW!!! I just love how pissed off Andros gets to the point he goes on a solo mission a dangerous planet called Onyx, which is in a restricted area of the universe.  Onyx....is freakin' awesome!!! A planet where villains can just come to chill, mess around and play is just cool.  Of course, Darkonda is there having fun but is also there to get a strength potion from some kind of alien dealer.  Ecliptor is also there; hiding in the shadows to tamper with the potion.  I love how Darkonda goes inside the room to inspect it after hearing voices.  He takes the potion.  Meanwhile, a card game is going on downstairs where Darkonda decides to join....as well as a mysterious but familiar figure in a cloak. Oh Andros, he's sooo cool. I especially love his inconspicuous voice. Very sexy! :P

Anyway, as the four play the card game, one of the players brings up a pair of cards that he apparently got during the battle on Eltar as they are Zordon's.  As he bets the game on them, everyone puts down their cards and just as Darkonda thinks he's going to win; the mysterious figure puts down the winning hand.  Of course, one of the players thinks he cheated but Andros teaches him a quick lesson when the player pulls a blaster on him.  Andros and Darkonda then talk; with Andros using the Key Cards to force information out of Darkonda.  Andros is just so awesome here, using his experience as a solo ranger to handle him in this situation; it's soooo well done.  Soon Darkonda starts spilling the beans when Andros mentions KO-35.  He mentions how he stole a little girl from there when she and her brother were playing; delighted by what he did and pissing off Andros in the process. Man this is SOOOO good!!! When Andros asks whatever happened to her, Darkonda notices Andros's morpher and immediately a fight breaks out between them.  Man, this fight is just badass; well choreographed with excellent direction from Jonathan Tzcahor. I especially love the Galaxy Glider chase that  take place outside with the Velocfighters and Andros cleverly causing them to run into each other.

As Andros returns to the Megaship, the other rangers wonder where he has been just as Darkonda sends a message; demanding he give back the key cards or he'll never learn what happened to his sister.  Andros and the rest of the rangers head down to Earth to face him but as soon as Darkonda takes the strength potion, it's an immediate beatdown of the rangers are he completely owns them with his new powers.  As he is about to finish them and take the Key Cards, he begins to cry out in pain and realizes some tampered with the potion.  He vanishes as the rangers wonder who could have done that to him.  It was Ecliptor of course as he reveals him to Darkonda in an alley and plans to watch him be destroyed.  Damn, the in-fighting with the villains is soooo superb and well done.  As the potion continues to harm Darkonda, he grows into a monstrous form and begins to attack the city.  The rangers call on the Astro Megazord and Delta Megazord to form the Astro Delta Megazord.  But the battle is intense and brutal with the megazord taking hit after hit until they decide to create an energy cyclone that will destroy him. They do so but he survives! Omg!!! I'm getting Godgoyle flashbacks!!! O_O Just retreat guys!!! A piece of him falls off; creating another monster as now the megazord has two of them to worry about.  As both Darkonda and the monster combine forces against the megazord we get an excellent Sentai footage sequence of the megzaord being tossed and sliding through the streets of Angel Grove as the episode concludes on a riveting cliffhanger!! My goodness!!! What an episode!!! Great story progression, awesome action from beginning to end, Andros showing how great he is on his own again for the majority of the episode with the rest of the team, etc.  And In Space's quality has yet to peak??? O_O AMAZING!!! :)

Final Morph: A+