Season 2, Episode 18: White Light, Part 2

"White Light, Part 2"
Episode 18
Air Date: October 18th, 1994

Omg!!! The white ranger....is.....ok first of all, was this even a surprise for anyone?? O_o I'm sure for kids back then and myself it was, but how could it not haven been Tommy!!! :) I mean come on, what was Zordon gonna do...chose some random kid to become a Power Rangers......-_-....Anyway, I actually really liked this two parter, while I said Part 1 was a bit anti-climatic, it was all just a set up for probably one of the most memorable moments from the show. While the mystery of who the White Ranger was wasn't much of a mystery looking back, the presentation and introduction of this new rangers was pretty epic. I love the direction and stunning blinding light as Zordon introduces the White Rangers to the original 5. It has such a majestic feel to it of importance and resonance....yes, I'm talking about Power Rangers, leave my geek boner alone!!! :( I love also the brief, intense conversation that brings to the main 5....who is this new ranger? Why not chose Tommy? Why Zordon and Alpha do this? It's a nice bit of character interaction and I absolutely love Kimberly's impatience with Billy when he starts telling them what he found at the Command Center.

Like I said, the reveal of who the White Ranger was is no mystery looking back but the way it's handled it really nice, even a bit mature for the show. Though, Kimberly's over dramatic fainting isn't warranted. -_- But it does lead to a sweet moment where Kimberly wakes up to see the man of her dreams as the new ranger, in fact, everyone's reaction is heartwarming from Trini's kissing Tommy on the cheek to the guys all hugging and shaking his hand. Also I love Zordon's speech before and after Tommy's reveal, to the reason why this new ranger was made to how Tommy's new powers were made and work. Tommy's powers also come with a new sword called Saba, who will help Tommy fight and control his new zord, the White Tiger Zord. But first the rangers must split up since the zords were damaged, Bulk and Skull continuing to open Rita's urn and Nimrod still on the loose.

Meanwhile, as Bulk and Skull continue to force the urn open, Skull gets an idea (no kidding!!! O_O) and they both go to Ernie's as Rita's urn begins to open as she screams to get out of there. Meanwhile, Zordon orders Trini and Billy to fix the damaged zords with Alpha's help while Jason, Zack and Kimberly stop Bulk and Skull...but have to fight off some Putties looking for Rita's urn as well. Great! Tommy's first mission as the new White Ranger is to combat Nimrod with his new zord. I LOVE the White Tiger Zord!!! :) It's so different from the Dragonzord but still so unique and cool in it's own right. The sequence of Tommy using it for the first time is full of both silliness and goofiness but hey, it's Power Rangers. The zord's warrior mode is also cool and a nice design, able to fight with it's own sword and follow Tommy's moves in battle. After Nimrod summons it's two monsters to help, White Tigerzord is taken down and Tommy falls out of his zord; calling for Jason's help. After Alpha and Zordon see Tommy needs help, Jason arrives to summon his Red Dragon Thunderzord as we get a cool sequence of it riding the Tigerzord and teaming up to knock the the monsters down. During all of this, Zordon tells the other rangers to rejoin Tommy to form the Mega Tigerzord. The White Tgierzord does so by forming with the other 4 Thunderzords and the final formation is awesome!!! It can walk through Nimrod and his 2 monsters attacks as well as knock them down simultaneously. The Mega Tigerzord then does it's finisher by launching the Firebird Thunderzord at the monsters; destroying all 3 instantly.

Just as Rita makes her way out of her dumpster (yeah, I've been calling it an urn but it's really a miniature version of her dumpster), Bulk and Skull faint from seeing her. But luckily, all 6 rangers make it there in time to put her back in the urn, dumpster, whatever and send her off packing back into the far reaches of space....let's hope for good this ti....naw she'll be back, trust me!!! ;) I won't get into the epilogue of the episode because it's predictable Bulk and Skull non-sense but overall, this was a great episode and one of the franchise's best. Not only does it move the story forward but it's great having an old ally become a new ranger with new powers, weapons and zord. Though I'm sure Tommy randomly becoming the new leader of the team and Jason's casual reaction was a behind the scenes reason since we only have a few more episodes with the original cast. I mean it's not that Tommy hasn't earned it, it's just unexpected and kind of messed up when it's comes to Jason's history as leader. Oh well, it's still a strong second outing in this pair of episode as it starts a new era of the show within the MMPR era with the White Ranger. :) Superb!!!

Final Morph: A-