Season 9, Episode 21: Lovestruck Rangers

"Lovestruck Rangers"
Episode 21
Air Date: June 21st, 2001

You know....a part of me was afraid I was going to outright HATE this episode considering the plot of it.  Usually episodes centered around the whole "ranger(s) under a spell" can be a VERY mixed bag!!!  Either we get episodes like MMPR's "Best Man For The Job"which are plain hilarious and unforgettable....or they just outright suck and are annoying exaggerations of the characters.  But here, we get a relatively light episode with a splash of decent comedy.  Honestly, Frax's plan makes no sense (why would he use a mutant to put the guys under a love spell?O_o) but it works as weLucas, Wes and Trip one by one fall for a beautiful girl named Angelic who is really Contemptra in disguise.  It's just funny seeing her use each ranger's specific interest to lure them into her spell like Lucas' love for cars and Trip's love for technology.  But what's more interesting is finding out Wes is interested in another as Angelic makes her move.  Who is this mysterious girl Wes is into???  Well isn't it obvious!? lol

What I also love about this episode is how the writers begin to explore Wes and Jen's attraction to each other like when Jen finds out Wes is going out with Angelic and is clearly jealous.  I really like not only seeing both their individual development but their growing romance. It was during "Trust and Triumph" that we began to see Wes starting to see Jen in a new light and Jen beginning to let her guard down with Wes.  So here, when the episode cleverly ends with them almost kissing was so cute and such great foreshadowing of how far they have already come in their friendship and where their romance will be headed.  Another great aspect of the episode was with Frax detracting the guys, Katie and Jen are left to fend off Ransik and his forces when he attacks the city.  It was so great to see Ransik in action again, especially considering he can take on more than one ranger at a time with no problem.  Unfortunately, when he's about to finish off the two, he cries out in pain from his mutation.  I'm glad Katie and Jen were smart enough to fire at his serum; destroying it and forcing him to retreat.

Also, the episode is just full of humorous gags like Trip throwing Wes after Contemptra ups her spell on the guys. Jesus, don't mess with a love sick Trip!!! O_o After Jen realizes what's going on, she and Katie break the spell and the 5 rangers reunite for a standard fight; ending with them defeating Contemptra with the Shadow Force Megazord Mode Red.  Though I must admit, even though I prefer Mode Red SOOOOO much more than Mode Blue, the Mode Blue of the Shadow Force Megazord is much more impressive and awesome looking than the Mode Red version....weird! O_o  Overall, "Lovestruck Rangers" is cute episode that has some decent comedic bits as well as moves Wes and Jen's love story along nicely! :)

Final Morph: C+