Season 1, Episode 49: Return of An Old Friend, Part 1

"Return of An Old Friend, Part 1"
Episode 49
Air Date: February 28, 1994

Finally we have some plot movement again!!! It seems with this first season as well as the next, we get a long run of filler episodes, then like 1-2 plot driven episodes, then another long run of filler, etc. It makes you wonder what takes Rita so long to come up with these good plans; probably cause the writers were really dragging out the first season as much as possible do to the incredible success of the show. But anyway, it's Parents Day at Angel Grove High, which is being held at the Youth Center. Gotta love that the rangers'parents dress up in the same color coordination as their kids. I mean, of all the parents, it's Bulk's parents that seem the most normal....the f%^&??? O_o Anyway when Kimberly's mom and her new boyfriend/fiancee/husband arrive, she asks where Kimberly is to Trini and some random girl says she saw her outside. To which Trini says she will get here.

Meanwhile, Rita gets the idea to hold the rangers' parents ransom in exchange for their Power Coins and once again I say, why did you do this before lady??!!! O_o  It's a good idea and obviously we know what choice the rangers are going to make. Back outside the Youth Center, we gt some quick insight on what's going on with Kimberly and her parents' divorce when Trini tells her both her parents are inside (failed to mention her dad showed up after her mom). So they both decide to head in when Putties attack them. During the attack, Zordon orders, Alpha to contact the other rangers as Zack and Jason head outside to help them. Meanwhile, Rita's latest monster, Dramole, borrows underneath the Youth Center as the building shakes. All the parents are scared and alarmed; or in the case of Jason's dad, bad acting! lol Everyone then vanishes. Billy soon arrives and Rita gets the idea to use the monster's hypnotic gas to put him under a spell. Now under Rita's spell, she orders him to steal the Dragon dagger. He then teleports away as the rangers enter the Youth Center wondering what happened after their fight with the Putties.

At the Command Center, Zordon realizes what's going on with Billy and tries to stop him. He turns off Alpha and summons the dagger to him, teleporting away....but not before calling Zordon names! lol So as the rangers try to find out what happened with their parents, they contact Zordon and he tells them to teleport to the Command Center where he debriefs the rangers on what just happened. Luckily, Trini is able to turn Alpha back on and the rangers morph quickly to stop Billy from giving the dagger to Goldar. How is it that the rangers can just teleport to the other dimension??? Anyway, the 4 rangers arrive and Goldar summons some Putties to stop them. We get our first American in-suit fight scene against the Putties and Goldar....which actually isn't bad and actually improves the quality of the episode for that reason. But it's too late as Goldar grabs the dagger and tells the rangers they have until the sand runs out to give him their Power Coins or their parents are toast! After Goldar leaves, the rangers are hesitant about recruiting Billy but Kimberly reassures them they need him and Billy morphs to join the others in the city as Gildar summons the Dragonzord. I wonder why the rangers haven't used the Dragonzord in a while as well as the Green Ranger powers for a while??? Anyway, as the Dragonzord rises and causes destruction, the rangers call on their zords. I like how we see the zords forming into the megazord in a different perspective this episode. It's a refreshingly cool sequence. So after the rangers get their asses handed to them by the Dragonzord, they jump out the megazord and arrive to find they are out of time.

Contacting Zordon, the rangers realize they are ultimately on their own to make a painful decision: give up their power coins and save their parents or keep their powers and their powers are destroyed. They ultimately decide to give up their power coins one by one and  of course, it was all a lie by Goldar as Rita now has their Power Coins and their parents. Back at the Command Center, Zordon tell Alpha to teleport the rangers there and the teens are discouraged over their choice. But Zordon tells them he is proud of them and that they made the right choice. As the rangers come to realization that all their power coins are gone...Jason reveals he still has the Green Power Coin. Soon we see a mysterious figure arrive at the Youth Center. Turns out it's...TOMMY!!! I still remember this cliffhanger ALL these years later and how awesome it was to see him again. But where the hell has he been all this time!!? We'll find out in Part 2!! ;) Overall, this was a superb start to this two parter and I can't wait to see how it ends!

Final Morph: A-