Season 10, Episode 26: The Master's Last Stand

"The Master's Last Stand"
Episode 26
Air Date: August 19th, 2002

You know, I may have complained a lot about Wild Force so far: the poor acting overall, the weak character development of our heroes, the way things always seem easy for the team, Princess Shayla's uselessness, etc.  But honestly, there are some things this season is getting oh so right and one of them is definitely has to be Master Org!  The foreshadowing and build-up to the eventual reveal of who he truly is has actually been well handled and quite breathtaking at times.  In a sense, Master Org is an even more shocking and scarier parallel with Merrick.  A human who chose to be an Org but instead of Merrick doing it to save the day by sacrificing his humanity, Master Org aka Dr. Viktor Adler as we learn in this episode, chose to be an Org out of rage and jealousy.  Honestly, Master Org's backstory is one of the most frightening depictions of losing your humanity and choosing evil simply because of feeling one has lost everything that makes them human.  Compassion, self-worth and of course, love!  That's all that Dr. Alder wanted from Cole's mother but because of her choosing to be with Cole's father, we get a man on the brink of insanity and finally being pushed to complete madness due to Dr. Evans getting all the fame and credit for the three's research on the Animaria.  Seriously, this origin is freakin' creepy, disturbing and ultimately tragic as we learn Alder did kill Coles parents in the end. Wow! :(

Honestly, I have never felt more terrible for a ranger in my life.  Sure we've seen rangers lose family members/loved ones before like Leo when Mike died at the beginning of Lost Galaxy or recently Jen when she thought Alex died at the hands of Ransik during Time Force.  But at least they came back! O_o So in a surprising twist of dark storytelling for this season, Cole's parents are just...gone...almost making his quest from the jungle to the outside world ultimately worthless and disappointing because the reunion between him and his long lost parents will never. come! :(  I honestly commend the writers for taking this route with the storyline as they could have had Cole's parents return in some magical Power Rangers resolution or something but they chose a more realistic route which is uncharacteristic for this show but definitely worth watching despite how depressing it is.  Not to mention, the set up for this episode is simply remarkable as Master Org has nothing left, no generals, no duke Orgs, no one to work for him....so why not finally go after the rangers themselves???  Also Dr. Alder's revival and him tricking the rangers into a trap had this very eerie and terrifying horror movie feel to it as when Cole confronts Alder and he attacks them with his vines...but not before consoling Cole in such horrifying fashion.

The fight itself between Master Org and Cole is long overdue as both their personal arc collide as both men face their past.  The fight sequence is epic and so spectacular (despite Ricard Medina Jr.'s usual overacting! Jesus! O_o)  Cole really gets tossed around but once morphed gives Master Org one hell of a fight that ultimately leads to Master Org...losing his powers and abilities as an Org....for the moment.  After Merrick tracks down the team and Cole defeats Master Org, we get a powerful moment of Cole articulating why he will never be Master Org and choose the path of revenge.  It speaks volumes of Cole's character as while as innocent and child-like he can be, Cole is a man who has morals and sense of what's right.  Nothing Alder seemed to have even before he became Master Org and that is such an awesome parallel once again.  So while Cole comes to grips with losing his parents and having to say goodbye is a heartfelt scene, Jindrax and Toxica have been searching the desert for more Orgs as a specific tomb lies there.  Once they find it and Toxica leads them to the entombed Org, Toxica frees him, unleashing Mandilok, a General Org who they use to confront Dr. Alder and kill him.  But before the episode ends, a presumably dead Master Org grows an actual Org horn and awakes in a startling conclusion to the episode.  Overall, this is one of the finest episodes of the show based on the writers' own merits for once.  Because of the subtle yet superb build up throughout the season toward Master Org's true machinations and Cole's personal arc with finding his parents, we get an episode that's full of heart, dread and suspense for what's to come! Brilliant! :)

Final Morph: A+