Season 7, Episode 16: Destined For Greatness

"Destined For Greatness"
Episode 16
Air Date: September 25th, 1999

Change is heard, but realizing that one's destiny might be the one planned for them is another.  What's so wonderful about "Destined For Greatness" and will always be for me is that the writers never forgot that moment MIKE pulled the Quasar Saber from the stone, NOT Leo.  They use it as the perfect opportunity to give Leo some needed character development as well as giving Mike's return so sense of urgency for the show not seen since the premiere. Leo, of course, comes to the realization that Mike was meant to be the Red Ranger, something the writers foreshadowed and mentioned in "Rookie in Red" but finally address here.  I love Leo's inner conflict here, it's so well done and it makes me admire the character even more seeing that he has already grown a little bit since the beginning of the season.  Or maybe that's just another character trait of Leo's we've come to learn about: his ability to know when to step down in favor of someone else...or more importantly, handing someone back their destiny instead of taking all the glory.  You can tell this particular arc with Leo was well planned out with time and care.

Also, you can tell the writers had a lot in store for Mike when they brought him back officially to the show.  I like he's not just some bystander who watches his brother and friends save the day as rangers but actively jumps in to help the rangers in a fight.  That is something that could have easily happened with the writers reducing Mike to some minor background character we occasionally see from time to time or Leo checks on once and a while.  But no, the writers Mike into a rather exceptional character willing to put his life at risk for brother and especially the rangers as a team.  He shown to be very selfless but also very resourceful when he uses one of his dogtags to track a Sting Winger to the location of the captured rangers.  I really like how the writers used the opportunity to breath new life into the show by making Mike into everything Leo talked about him being and even more.  It's no wonder because of Mike's words of wisdom that Leo finally accepts HIS destiny as the Red Ranger.  I'm already loving the new dynamic of seeing the brothers interact on this show.  You can tell Mike is really proud of Leo and who he has become in his absence.  Really good writing! :)

In the story front of things, while Trakeena once again wants to go out and fight the rangers for her father, he'd rather not and sends down his latest monster, Skelekron to battle and capture the rangers.  I really like Skelekron and his creepy skeleton warriors that come to life after they drain the powers of their each individual ranger.  It leads to some very impressive unmorphed fighting for once as Mike and Leo continuously fight their way to their friends.  Ultimately, Leo and Mike are able to free them as the rangers regroup and morph.  Once again, I LOVE how Mike is by their side and just comes in to kick ass along side the team! AWESOME!!! After the rangers use the Lights of Orion to destroy him, he soon grows as the rangers call on the Galacatzords to help to form the Galaxy Megazord.  Buuuttttt during the fight, Skelekron traps them in a mirror and begins to shatter the glass.  As Mike squeezes one of his fists in anger, the Magna Defender's sword begins to glow in the guy's room.  Suddenly, the spirit of the Magna Defender and Zika confront Mike as Magna Defender tells him he will take his place.  As the sword teleports into Mike's hands, a morpher appears on both his wrists and the spirits disappear.  As the Torozord approaches, Mike throws the sword into the air and morphs into the Magna Defender! COOOOLLLL!!! :) He grows into the Mega Defender and forms with Torozord to create the Defender Torozord.  He finishes off Skelekron with the lightning spin as the megazord is freed and the rangers come to congratulate Mike as the new Magna Defender. As the episode ends with Mike's excitement of being brought back to work with the GSA by the Commander, I can't help but grin ear to ear.  What a fantastic episode with excellent moments of character growth and great action! I love the little moment of continuity too with the dog tags and the two Corbett brothers are just awesome here from the writers exploring their fears and doubts to defining their individual destinies so well. :)

Final Morph: A+