Season 2, Episode 14: Missing Green

"Missing Green"
Episode 14
Air Date: October 3rd, 1994

WOW, this episode.....it's just awesome!!! :) And will always be!! I remember originally watching this episode on Netflix back in 2014 while I was getting back into Power Rangers and was really impressed by the writing of the episode! Yes, an episode of Power Rangers can have good writing which shouldn't be a surprise. What makes "Missing Green" so special, is that it deals with not only the aftermath of Tommy losing his powers but of "the Green Candle, Part 1 and 2" when Jason was unable to stop the candle from burning out. Here, Jason is feeling extremely guilty about the loss of Tommy's powers, thinking it was his fault that he isn't a ranger anymore. It's something that's clouding his mind so much that he can't even concentrate on the big martial arts tournament coming up with Zack having to remind Jason that Jason had no choice but to save Tommy's life instead. Very mature writing from sibling duo, Ellen Levy-Sarnoff and Daniel J. Sarnoff, who use the established continuity of the series so far to propel the plot forward nicely.

Lord Zedd comes up with his best plan yet by rehashing Rita's green candle scheme by using 4 new candles to take away the other 4 rangers' powers while Jason has no choice but to watch and suffer. How cruel and ingenious...at least for Power Rangers at least!! So the teens are talking about going up to the lake to find Tommy when Bulk and Skull over hear Kimberly mentioning something about Tommy being a ranger. The idiots are so slow that they don't put two and two together that Tommy was a Power Ranger and that they might be do but at least they have the common sense to follow them. As the teens drive up to the lake, Bulk and Skull drive far from behind until the teens stop to look at directions. Bulk and Skull get out of the taxi and try to position themselves to see the rangers will appear. Meanwhile, Goldar is sent by Lord Zedd to trap them in his dimension prison where they will drained of their powers like Tommy. As the teens look at their map, Goldar appears and they morph immediately. How Bulk and Skull ONLY see Goldar and not the teens morphing or the rangers right in from of him......HUH!?! Anyway, Goldar traps the 4 rangers in the other dimension as their powers begin to be drained by him lighting the new candles with the old green one that burnt out. Nice! I'm guessing this is how Lord Zedd is able to drain their powers as it was established in "Green Candle, Part 1" that the only reason why Tommy's powers were effected was because he touched the Green Candle when he was under Rita's spell.

So now with the rangers' slowly losing their powers, Lord Zedd notices the Golden Pipe trophy that Jason wants to win and turns it into his latest monster...Pipebrain, whom he will use to lure Jason out and destroy him. At the Command Center, Jason, Alpha and Zordon are figuring out where the other rangers are. When the alarms alert that Pipebrain is out terrorizing the city, Zordon tells him Jason must go out alone to stop it but he can't do it without his friends. Wow, MAJOR character development from Jason!!! Wonderful!! :) Alpha finds where the other rangers are and as they watch in the viewing globe, Zordon tells them what is happening to them which begins to make Jason very upset. What happens next is one of the finest moments of the series with Zordon giving Jason an inspiring speech about his leadership; added by Alpha telling him that he made the right decision to save Tommy's life inside of stopping the candle from burning. With this empowering moment from his mentor and sidekick, Jason morphs into action to defeat the Pipebrain, which will allow him to save his friends after. Jason takes on a squad of Putties and Pipebrain.

After defeating the Putties, Lord Zedd makes Pipebrain grow and Jason summons the Red Dragon Thunderzord to fight the monster. This marks the first full length Dairanger (The Sentai this season is adapting) zord fight we've gotten this season. No quick cuts and editing between two different Sentai, just straight full on zord vs monster fight with them both hitting each other...finally!! :) After Red Dragon zord finishes off the monster, Jason teleports into the dimension prison and fights Goldar to save his friends. When Jason knocks over the candles and creates a fire, Goldar retreats as he gets the keys to unlock the gate and take each of the rangers power coins to return the candles back to normal; thus returning all of their powers. As they head out with Jason giving them their coins back, Goldar grabs Jason but he just kicks him away. Soooo, all the rangers make it back to the Command Center and congratulate Jason for saving the day. Alpha says he has found Tommy and they watch him through the viewing globe as Tommy writes a letter about how Jason shouldn't feel guilty and how he's ok. During the marital arts tournament, Jason is finally able to concentrate and win the trophy by dedicating his win to Tommy..."where ever he is??" O_o He's at the lake you idiot!!! -_-

Anyway despite plot holes (the 4 new candles draining the 4 rangers' powers) and annoyances (Bulk and Skull), not to mention forced ADR for Jason in-suit, "Missing Green" is easily one of the best episodes of the season and shows some strong writing for Jason's character; showing his resilience and strength as a leader of the Power Rangers derives from his friends as well as Alpha and Zordon. Still one of my favorites from the season as well as the franchise!! :)

Final Morph: A