Season 3, Episode 8: A Brush With Destiny

"A Brush With Destiny"
Episode 8
Air Date: September 18, 1995

You know I wasn't expecting to love this episode as much as I did but I'm glad the writers are already showing the fine character work they would do with Kimberly this season. During the Junior Police Patrol Art Gallery, Tommy and Aisha discover Kim's fears about moving away with her mom and mom's fiance to Paris as it would take her away from her ranger duties. That night when Aisha tries to alleviate some of her fears, Kimberly has a nightmare about moving to Paris where her mom's fiance turns into a monster called Artistmole as she's afraid of losing her powers as the Pink Ranger.

Meanwhile, back at the Moon Palace, Finster shows Lord Zedd and Rita a new device he made that can monitor the dreams of humans. He pin points it to Kimberly's dreams and after discovering the monster, Lord Zedd orders him to make that monster real. The next day, after Finster modifies the device so he can make dreams reality, Lord Zedd orders him to take a squad of Tengas to capture Kimberly and so he can use the device to make the Artistmole real. That day in the park, Kimberly meets up with her friends at the park, telling them she had no sleep last night. She wants to tell her mom about her fears of moving but she's afraid of bringing her down when she's currently so happy. I love how selfless Kimberly has become over the years, this isn't the same girl from the pilot! :)

Suddenly the Tengas appear and the rangers, for the first time, do the new ninja morph into their ninja forms. As the rangers fight the Tengas, Kimberly's lack of sleep causes her to feel weak and drowsy to the point that the Tengas grab her and put her against a tree. Rito and Finster corner her, as she accidentally loses her communicator, and use the device to capture the monster inside of it. After that Finster, Rito and the Tengas disappear. Meanwhile, back at the Art Gallery, Bulk and Skull realize one of the paintings with the mole is gone and figure out they have to find or else they'll be in trouble with Lt. Stone. As the two look for the culprit at Angel Grove High, Adam and Billy hear that the mole painting is missing as they meet up with the other and are contacted by Zordon. The 5 teens teleport to the Command Center, Kimberly is wondering where the others are and realizes she lost her communicator. She begins to retrace her steps as the other teens are briefed on Artistmole. Believe that it must be creature made from the stolen mole painting, they morph and head out to fight him.

Unfortunately, the rangers aren't able to hurt the monster and literally go right through him. They call Ninjor for help and he gleefully appears ready to aid them. But unfortunately, his attacks don't work as well. When Artistmole uses his brush to drain the color and power from all 6 of them, it's up to Kimberly to save them. As Kimberly finds her communicator in the park, Alpha amplifies the signal on her communicator. She teleports to the Command Center and is told only she can effect the monster since it's from her subconscious. But first Kimberly has to come to terms with her fears of moving as Zordon tells her that her mother has her best interest at heart. It's a very strong moment of character growth for Kim as well as a tender moment between her and Zordon. With new confidence, Kimberly morphs and after struggling to take Artistmole down, she finallly finds the strength to destroy him/ But Zedd and Rita make him grow, forcing the rangers to call on their zords. They form the Ninja Megazord and Ninjor joins them; turning into his Battle Mode immediately. Ninjor sends his finisher at Artistmole while the rangers form the Ninja Mega Falconzord to destroy him once and for all.

The next day after Bulk and Skull realize they made a mistake with the painting, Kimberly finally confronts he mom about her fears and makes her realize she had nothing to be afraid of as they will figure something out. Luckily, Aisha and her parents decided to take Kimberly in so she can finish off school for the rest of the semester; than move to Paris with them. It's another touching end and the episode overall was great. The show is sooo much better when it doesn't force messages like this down the kids' throats and is more natural about it. It develops Kimberly immensely and this isn't even where her impressive Season 3 arc starts. :)

Final Morph: A-