Season 9, Episode 3: Something To Fight For

"Something To Fight For"
Episode 3
Air Date: February 17th, 2001

What I LOVE about this season already is that there is this natural sense of characterization and character development already.  You can already see the personal arcs for Jen and especially Wes being laid out.  But before we get to that, at the Cryo-Prison, Nadria and Frax are very alarmed from the cries of agony and pain they hear from Ransik in another room as he quickly drink a small vile of something as his body begins to mutate.  Ewwwww, looks painful and excruciating too!!! O_o Anyway, after that, we see our Time Force Rangers picking up pieces of the Time Ship wreckage like it's nothing....it's pretty much Katie as she makes Trip look even more pathetic as she picks a LARGE piece of the ship and reveals the case he was looking for.  We don't know what it is yet but more on that later.  The rangers suddenly get a message from Captain Logan from the future.  Turns out with the Time Ship destroyed they can't send anymore reinforcements from the future (Ha! Foreshadowing! :) but can send them weapons and other equipment to help them in their fight aginst Ransik.  Jesus, then why the hell are they called "Time Force" if they only have one vessel for time travel??? Hmmmmm.... Anyway, let me quickly talk about the Time Force theme song....ummmm....it's cool I guess, it's just compared to the last 3 seasons' theme songs, it's not as memorable or catchy.

Anyway, Wes is busy getting dressed for another meeting hosted by his father while his butler is driving him there when he suddenly tells him to stop.  He notices Nadria and some Cyclobots at it again and tells his bultler to go off without him.  Gotta feel bad for Philips, dealing with this sh!t all the time from Wes.  You just know it happens A LOT!!! Lol Anyway, when Nadria and the Cyclobots notice Wes, he's all cocky about beating them again before Gluto comes with more Cyclobots behind him.  Jesus, Wes, you're giving Leo a run for his money in the overconfident Red Ranger persona! lol  Wes, of course, puts up a good fight but is outnumbered and gets beaten down.  Before Nadria can finish him off, Jen comes out of no where with the rest of the rangers to stop her and lead Wes to safety.  As Nadria gives Gluto a hard time about her broken nail, Jen does the same with Wes for getting in their way.  Wes, of course, believes they still need him but Lucas and especially Jen remind Wes how serious the situation is.  Once again, I LOVE the dynamic here between Wes and Jen.  Her speech to Wes really gets to him to the point it leads him to begin his remarkable character development this season.

Anyway, as Nadria and Gluto return to the Cryo-Prison, Ransik does his creepy father routine until he reveals to Nadria they have a whole prison filled with captured mutants and will use them to battle the rangers.  The first mutant he uses is Jetara and I gotta say, I LOVE his design.  Meanwhile, Wes is being introduced to some of his father's colleagues before he heads out to be alone and remembers Jen's harsh words about himself.  Suddenly, Trip calls down for him and he jumps over the railing to talk to him.  Jesus, he could have broken his legs but I guess in the PR universe where people can breath in space, jumping a few feet to the ground is nothing! Anyway, Trip tells Wes why Jen is being so hard on him as he reveals to Wes the backstory of her and Alex.  As Wes' father calls out to him, he hides and Trip disappears from sight as well.  Back at the beach, Wes confronts Jen and tells her what he knows about her past.  He expresses his sympathies to her about Alex and wants to truly help them for both their futures.  Once again great dialogue and character development here.  As Jetara begins attacking police officers, Circuit tells the rangers about the attack.  Before the rangers leave, Jen decides to give Wes a second chance as all 5 Time Force Rangers morph.  Trip soon reveals the Time Jet in the case, which can get the rangers where they need to be much quicker.  As they head to the docks, they encounter Jetara.  After Jen declares they are about to arrest him, he fires at the rangers as a fight ensues.  Wes manages to beat him up pretty well...until he accidentally reveals his mutant DNA which...makes the monsters grow this season! Power Rangers logic! O_o  Anyway, as the rangers wonder what to do now, Circuit immediately calls Captain Logan for help as he orders the Time Force Megazord to be sent to them.

The Time Force Megazord is alright I guess.  Each individual zord is kind of boring design wise, being futuristic jets but the megazord itself, especially Mode Red is beautiful.  Mode Blue is basic though and that sequence of that Matrix rip off once again just makes me rolls my eyes.  What was up with the obsession to recreate the Matrix when it came to shows and movies back then!? -_-  Anyway, with Mode Red, the rangers use the Time Force Megazord Saber to defeat Jetara and it's an awesome sequence.  I like how time literally stops as the Saber counts down to 12 before he explodes! "Your Time is Up!" :)  Anyway, after the Time Flyers head back to the future, Jen captures a miniaturized Jetara and even lets Wes stay as the Red Ranger.  Overall, this was a superb follow-up to the already wonderful premiere. :)

Final Morph: A-