Season 6, Episode 43: Countdown to Destruction, Part 2

"Countdown to Destruction, Part 2"
Episode 43
Air Date: November 21st, 1998

Well, there you have it!!! 6 years of an ongoing storyline with new powers, villains, zords, weapons, etc. all coming down to this gripping and overwhelmingly bittersweet half hour of kid's television.  "Countdown to Destruction" always brings a tear to my eye because of so many moments I don't even know where to begin.  The episode begins with Astronema and Ecliptor arriving on Earth as she demands the citizens of Angel Grove to give her the rangers by next morning or she'll destroy the whole planet!  The rangers are of course watching as that night they begin to wonder what to do next. Meanwhile, as the citizens of Angel Grove begin to give up hope of the rangers coming to their rescue, we get one of the first genuinely heartwarming moments of the episode as Bulk comes to the defense of the rangers; believing they would be there to save them in the end. WONDERFUL!!! Meanwhile, the rangers try to come up with a plan to defend the Earth as Zhane rejoins them.  The Mega Winger has been destroyed and the rebels have apparently surrendered to the Machine Empire; leaving the rangers are the universe' final defense against Astronema.

Carlos mentions getting the civilians involved to form a resistance against her but T.J. throws that idea out the door as they would be putting innocent lives at risk.  I really adore this scene; especially when Andros mentions going to the Dark Fortess to try to convince Astronema to stop all of this.  Of course, the rest of the rangers are adamant that Karone is gone and it's pointless for him to do so.  As the rangers gain some motivation and begin to plan their next attack, Andros sneaks off to go to the Dark Fortress...but not before having moment with Ashley. Man, these two have come a long way in their relationship over the season and I'm glad to see their romance brought full circle in the finale.  Too bad we don't get a KISS!!! -_- Anyway, Andros uses his battlizer to morph into his battlizer form and heads off to the Dark Fortress.

Next morning, Astronema and Ecliptor arrive as Astronema gives the civilians of Earth once last chance to give up the rangers.  As the rangers prepare to reveal themselves....we possibly the most talked about and inspired moment of Bulk and Skull's run on this show. After claiming to be rangers themselves, soon Professor Phenomeous, Adele and more civilians join in to claim they are rangers.  It's a brilliant if not a complete rip-off of Spartacus but it does really highlight hot far Bulk and Skull especially have come to risk their own lives to protect the identities of the Power Rangers.  So inspiring and awesome!!! Soon Astronema loses her patience and orders all the civilians to be destroyed...until the rangers finally reveal themselves and morph; to Bulk and Skull's shock! As enormous crowd cheers them on, the rangers kick some ass...but it doesn't stop there as Bulk and Skull lead the rest of the civilians in an all out battle alongside the rangers.  WOW....JUST WOW!!! :)

Meanwhile, after Astronema and Ecliptor have retreated back to the Dark Fortress, Andros makes his way to the bridge of it and causes a distraction to keep Ecliptor and the Quantrons' busy.  Sooooooo Andros is looking for Astronema when he runs int Zordon. Sigh....this is just heartbreaking!!! But their joyful reunion is brief as Zordon tells Andros to shatter his energy tube as the good energy from it will destroy all the forces of evil.  Of course this means Zordon will be gone forever but his spirit will live on throughout all that is good. As Andros summons his Spiral Saber, he just can't bring himself to kill Zordon...until Astronema reveals herself to him.  What follows is depressing and brutal battle between the two as Andros tries to convince her to stop all this but she just beats the crap out of him; trying to stab him repeatedly and throwing him to a wall. Jesus!!! This takes sibling rivalry to whole new level!!! O_o As Astronema prepares to destroy Andros for good, he uses his weapon to bounce the blast from her staff right back at her...seemingly killing her!!! Jesus, this sh!t is DARK!!! o_o As Ecliptor makes his way back to the bridge, he sees Andros grieving over his sister's lifeless body and is pissed.  I love Ecliptor's last moments here; showing once again his love and genuine affection for Astronema as a father. Ehhhh, watching him and Andros fight is just hard to watch but Zordon of course reminds Andros of what to do.  As Andros beats Ecliptor in battle, he finally finds the courage to shatter the tube with Zordon's final words being so breathtaking paramount.

The sequence of fan proclaimed "Z wave" either destroying or curing all the villains of their evil is one of the most genuinely epic moments from the franchise.  Rita and Zedd apparently were human once before as well s Divatox, who looks like a certain second rate mentor who had a long lost sister...hmmmmmm!!! The Machine Empire, Ecliptor and Elgar (FINALLY!) don't make it as they are all reduced to dust as well as all the foot soldiers all over the universe.  I love how the rangers demorph because of Zordon's death. Of course, this doesn't mean they can't morph anymore but at the moment, there's is no need for it which is nice.  As the entire city celebrates with the rangers, the Dark Fortress arrives on Earth. As the rangers believe Astronema won, the ship's door opens as Andros leaves with his dead sister in his arms.  As Andros continues to grieve, he cries on his sister...which some how brings her back to normal and revives.  I'm sure it was the Z Wave that brought her back to normal but apparently, KO-35 people have healing tears all we'll come to find out next season. YAAAAYYY Karone is back!

As the KO-35 rebels return to their planet, they help all the rangers except Andros and Zhane get the Megaship ready to fly back to Earth.  Andros, Zhane and Karone will stay home with the rest of the rebels.  But as the rangers begin to take off, Andros, Zhane and Karone decide to come back to Earth with them as the Megaship blasts off into space until it arrives on Earth's orbit concluding this stunning wrap-up of 6 seasons worth of storytelling. What an awesome ride!!! Especially this season as a whole!!! Can't wait to give all my thoughts in my overview!!! :)

Final Morph: A+