Power Rangers Wild Force Overview

Power Rangers Wild Force: Season 10
Episode Count: 40
Air Date: February, 9th, 2002-November 16th, 2002

Sometimes I wonder what was going in the writer's room during Wild Force as I can't imagine a more divisive and honestly mixed season than this one so far during my re-watch of the entire franchise!  And it's such a shame really as after such a series highlight with Time Force, the 10th and final season to take place in the California area before the production moved to New Zealand, where the show is still filmed to this day, felt so overall underwhelming as a whole. Even tho this season is technically a Disney season, in the fandom, it's considered a Saban Era season mostly because Haim did do preparation work for the season before handing it over to Disney during the end of Fox Kids and the transition mid-season to ABC Kids.  Also, it doesn't help that the season looks and feels like a Saban Era season despite after 4.5 previous seasons (the second half of Turbo-Time Force) of the show being ran under Judd Lynn, co-head writer, Jonathan Tzachor was made the soul head writer of Wild Force while Judd Lynn left the series.  Obviously these changes contributed to the overall quality of the season, but it wasn't a detriment on how good the show was.  No, the problem with Wild Force is the hackneyed writing that seemed to be more concerned with making the season a direct adaption of Gaoranger than actually moving it forward in their own direction.  Sure, Time Force was almost an exact copy of Timeranger's plot...but...Judd Lynn and his writers manage to infuse their own original elements like Ransik, his origins, Frax's backstory, the romance between Jen and Wes (I believe? Feel free to correct me! O_o), Alex, Eric and his personal motives for becoming a ranger, etc.  And while Wild Force did add some original elements like Master Org and his origins, it was still a generic copy and paste of  Gaoranger's story...and what was that story you ask???  Well, the overall theme of the show was "nature vs pollution"...yup!  That's it!  Oh I'm sorry and "Never Give Up!" -_-

And the funny thing about this forced plot between the war between humans and Orgs??? O_o  The season premiere, "Lionheart" suffers because...the writers just jump right in the middle of the story without giving us a proper introduction to the show's themes, characters, powers, etc.  It's not even until episode 3 that we get some sense of what is going on with these new rangers and their mission to stop the Orgs when we finally learn about the origins of the Animarium and the Orgs.  And even then, there are STILL so many unanswered questions???  Where did the Wild Force powers originated?  Yes, they are apparently from the Wild Zords, who created them? Animus???  How did he come to be and how is Princess Shayla connected to all of this??? Come to think about it, there is no backstory on Princess Shayla herself and how she is the default mentor of the new team when she needed to be protected by Merrick and the Wild Zords...sooo huh??? Don't get me wrong, "Lionheart" does have a few moments that stick out like Taylor being un-apologetically tough on Cole and even teaching him how to morph alongside these new rangers but the mission statement of the show isn't even made clear, once again, until episodes later.  So this very rushed and head scratching introduction to this season's status quo is seriously jarring.  I guess this is the part where I should start talking about our heroes I guess.  But for the first time, there really isn't much to talk about here, highlighting the one of many problems this season has.  The rangers as a individual characters and especially as a team, were very weak for me; probably the weakest team of rangers so far.  And I'm not talking about power levels, because this team was practically spoiled on how many new weapons and zords they go each episode (Sound familiar, Megaforce fans! :P) And it's funny how Jonathan Tzachor, the head runner of this season, would go on to be the head runner of that season as well.  Hmmmmm...but anyway, let's get into our heroes before I'm tempted to skip over them and get right to the villains.

I'll start with Cole, are fearless and charismatic red ranger, who starts the show off, in the jungle and being sent over to the outside world to find his parents.  Cole is seriously the only character this season with a personal arc in searching and finding his parents.  Sure, the whole "fish out of water" approach could have also been used to develop his character since...you know....grew up in a jungle all his life and only understands basic human society and all!  But this is what we got, Cole talking to animals and listening for the hearts of others to tell him what to do.  Sure, pretty counterproductive, since even the other rangers could understand the Wild Zords at times but whatever!  The thing is the build up and tension between Cole and Master Org as it finally was revealed in the phenomenal "The Master's Last Stand"; not to mention gave us yet another episode that made really feel sorry for Cole at the possiblity of his family truly being dead in "Secrets and Lies."  But after the arc with Cole is resolved, there's nothing else to really learn or improve on his character.  Cole was naturally easy going, optimistic and driven to do the right thing despite what the other rangers thought, almost like his obliviousness and naive behavior help in a sense to be a better ranger??? O_o  Honestly, I did like Cole overall, even if  the now infamous Richard Medina Jr. overacted WAAAYYY too much during some scenes, especially against Master Org in both "Soul Searching" and especially "The Master's Last Stand".  But I did love at the end, even after all Master Org had done to him, the Wild Zords and the world, he still found time to make peace with Dr. Adler aka Master Org, a man who chose evil to sacrifice his humanity.  More on that brilliant villain, later!  Next, I want to talk about Taylor....easily my favorite ranger of not only this season but in my top 10 rangers of the franchise! Yes, she is THAT good! And it's not only because out of this seemingly underdevelopment, underwritten and underwhelming team, it's because Taylor had dreams, motives and obstacles to over besides the other rangers crying constantly about their animal crystals being taken! -_- We learn in "The Bear Necessities", Taylor saw the Animarium as a child and has been fascinated by the story ever since.  It's what made her want to join the Air Force as a pilot and eventually joining the team as the first recruit when she happens to land on the Animarium again.

Also, it's Taylor who has the most trouble adjusting to Cole being the new leader of the team for the first 3 episodes because she had been the veteran leader of the team for so long.  So just because his Wild Zord is a Lion, King of Jingle, as Princess Shayla put it, not to mention him being a Red Ranger by default, suddenly she's demoted to second in command???  No wonder she was pissed at Cole for the whole rule book jab in "Click, Click, Zoom" because it was more about his comment but more about his position on the team that bothered her.  It what ultimately got her into trouble that episode and made invisible because she felt she had to prove herself to be the rightful leader again.  Luckily tho, by the end of the episode, Taylor finally apologizes to Cole and begins to accept his leadership and it continues to get stronger throughout the season.  In the surprisingly mature for this season, "Secrets and Lies", it's Taylor of all rangers who has to remind the team that Cole is their leader and they need him, memory or not, which speaks volumes of how far Taylor has come as far as not only trusting Cole as leader but as a person herself.  My only gripe is we didn't get more scenes of Taylor and Cole at odds by making it clear that being red doesn't automatically equal leader and Cole having to earn it like Jen last season being the official team leader but letting Wes take the lead because he earned the right.  But whatever, what we got from her was good and her brief but very well handled romance with Eric from Time Force during the two part crossover episodes only cemented how much Taylor not only grew to love her friends but embrace love despite being so tough and by the books on the outside.  That leaves us with other 3 of the core 5 and our 6th ranger, but I'll start with the worst because BOY...did I HATE Alyssa! -_-  You know, there was serious missed opportunity with Alyssa and I'm not just talking about the worst actor award going to Jessica Rey for playing her, I'm talking about Alyssa as a character.  She has to be the first ranger in history to be made out to be so flawless and perfect that it made her character even more infuriating to enjoy.  Jesus, even in the early days of Mighty Morphin, the original characters weren't even this perfect despite being so uncharacteristic charitable all the time.  Eventually we saw they had flaws, doubted themselves and yes, MADE MISTAKES!  But here??? O_o  Alyssa is virtually great at everything! Riding a bike, cooking, cleaning, being a ranger, going to school, working out, even being a discipline martial artist!!!  It's like the writers had no idea what to do with the character beyond creating a list of skills that she has perfected!  Not to mention, she does things with such a forced and saccharine mannerisms, always smiling and seemingly unbothered by how creepily good she is at everything! Just a good old Mary Sue I see.....yup...that's all to her character!! So all these attempts to make her character look bad or develop come off even more laughable because they don't prove anything.  In "Battle Of The Zords", she nearly gets killed because she stupidly goes after Zen-Aku to find her Elephant crystal but does she learn from this? Are there any consequences for her actions? Nope!  Then in her own, solo focused episode "A Father's Footsteps" which...sigh...which does absolutely NOTHING to develop or make her impossible characterization seem plausible.  Yes, her father disapproved of her choosing going to Turtle Cove University over her family's rigorous martial training being past down to her but he ultimately let Alyssa chose her own destiny.  Now I would understand if Alyssa didn't hear that private conversation between her parents, BUT she. DID! She knew heading to college that her father approved of her choice because he wanted her to be happy....so the moral of the plot of the episode is kind of resolved and pointless in the end.  Anyway, I'm just gonna go to Danny and Max because all I got from Alyssa was forced perfectionism, overt perkiness and becoming a teacher to overbearing preschoolers in the end. *Shrugs*

Danny and Max, on the other hand, worked more because of their....yes, bromance but individually, Danny was the gentle giant and Max was the younger jokster of the team.  I say they worked better together because those were their best moments of the season, despite the constant aggravating catchphrase  "Never Give Up!" being said in almost. every. episode!  Now I understand every season have their own mythos like Linkara once said in his reviews, but like I said, even in the MMPR days, "Morphinomenal" wasn't said even half as much in THREE seasons than "Never Give Up! has been used this season.  It's like, the writers wanted a cool slogan for the show for kid's to learn and use to make their enjoyment of the show greater, but the execution of said slogan is just overly repetitive and yes, forced!  I understand the established relationship of Danny and Max's strong bond as friends in the lackluster "Never Give Up!" episode itself, but the constant reminder of what they phrase means to them was just waaayy too heavy handed.  I just wish the writers gave their friendship a much more natural feel at times like when Danny accidentally chest bumps Max too hard in "Reinforcements for the Future, Part 1" because both actors are decent at their roles and can convey their relationship very genuinely when the writing is solid.  But like I said, their strengths were in their bond as friends, even best friends, as the series ends with them traveling the world together!  But on their own, Danny and Max were...meh....  Danny, like I said, was the gentle giant, which is kind of an ironic contrast to his tough, strong persona as the Iron Bison Black Ranger.  But the thing with Danny, in his own solo focused episode, "Three's A Crowd", all we get from him is his almost fixated love for Kendall.  The thing is... this plot is soooo over the top with its execution that some how Kendall coming to Danny on crutches from the hospital during a big fight between the rangers and Org to deliver some of the most laughable and jarring dialogue from even this show...doesn't develop his character.  It's play for slapstick and you just can't take it seriously!  Ultimately, it's Kendall who has to come to the conclusion that Danny's duties as ranger come first before her and that is just sad.  So besides, the joint focus episode of "Never Give Up!" and "Three's A Crowd", there's nothing more to Danny besides those basic attributes to his character, once again, that's sad and underwhelming.  Max on the other hand, is apparently the youngest of the team and is constantly trying to prove himself because they...well, mostly Taylor, keeps calling him a "kid".  Once again, doesn't make sense because Max looks closer in age to the other rangers than say Kite and NO I'm talking about him...at least not yet in this overview. -_- "The Tornado Spin" did give us a brief backstory on how he became a ranger and his personal skills when it comes to bowling but like with Danny, that's all we got from his character in terms of development. O_o Honestly, instead of forcing the whole "being a kid" angle with Max, they should have focused on how "immature" he acts and having to prove himself that way.  It would make more sense than constantly calling him a kid. Yeah, there was also "Wishes On the Water" was also a Max episode that explored that but it was just another zord hand out episode that didn't develop him or change how the other show him, so....  Yeah, that about sums up those two.  Meh characters, decent rangers, moving on.....

On to our 6th and last member of the team, Merrick was one of the original ancient warriors that fought during the war for Animaria 3,000 years ago.  He was Shayla's guardian, who apparently fell in love with her but had to not only sacrifice his love for her but his humanity as well just to put on the Wolf Mask to gain enough power to destroy Master Org for good.  But it cost him everything as he became Zen-Aku and having to be entombed for seemingly an eternity by his fellow warriors for it. I'm just gonna skim over the Zen-Aku arc until I talk about the villains this season as Merrick's arc after Zen-Aku's first defeat was very underwhelming.  It made sense that he would want to be a lone wolf after becoming a ranger and gaining back the animal crystals he stole from the rangers as Zen-Aku ("The Lone Wolf") but after the whole solo outlook he had was resolved in ("Power Play"), there wasn't really much to his character.  I like the bond he made with that bartender and finding a home at his bar but something that interesting is, once again, never explored any further.  He just ups and leaves at the end without even really developing and showing how close they got or what made him think Merrick was so special but whatever.  I'd say the highlight for Merrick this season was undoubtedly "Unfinished Business", where Zen-Aku shocking returns and Merrick must once again, mentally and now physically face the consequences of releasing Zen-Aku in the first place.  It's easily one of the best episodes of not only the season but the entire franchise because how convincing Merrick's struggle still is as he feels he must faced Zen-Aku alone to save his friends but the other rangers reminding him they are hear for Eric like the original ancient warriors.  But after that, Merrick is just an awesome 6th ranger as usual, doing badass things but as a character falls short.  Phillip Andrew inntial acting in his first few episodes was tragically cringe inducing but by "Unfinished Business" onward, he improved enough for I found him tolerable as least. Okay enough about our heroes and I just want to quickly talk about Princess Shayla...easily, the worst mentor of any season so far in my rewatch of the show.  The thing is Princess Shayla never really mentors...she just gets kidnapped, sings that astonishingly terrible song with Merrick and....yeah...that's about it.  The thng with Princess Shayla is we don't know much about, how she became the guardian of the Wild Zords and what power she truly possesses.  Apparently, she has magical powers to entomb Orgs like Taylor reveals in "Revenge of Zen-Aku", but we never see said magic outside her crying on the necklace that Merrick gave her and that show how creating a new Megazord for the rangers...we actually never see again after that one episode.  Clearly there's a connection between her and Animus since they are both not human but what the hell is see the princess of??? Animaria I'm assuming but it's not made clear why she has that position and why she needs to be protected if she has such powerful magic.  She's just the passive being who very occasionally tells the rangers something useful but for the most part, the team didn't really need her since it was the Wild Zords, especially the Red Lion doing most of the mentoring and gift giving. Oh and she can fight for one episode...BUT gets kidnapped anyway! WHAT!? O_O  Yeah...I don't get it either...just such wasted potential and how she acted so childish and selfish in "The Flute" didn't help matters. -_-

Finally, onto our motley crew of Org villains this season, starting with the master himself aka Master Org!  Such a truly dark and twisted character the writers set up with Dr. Viktor Alder and his motivations behind being as cruel and merciless as he was.  Honestly, everything worked with Master Org despite the unevenness and lukewarm feel of our heroes this season.  Unlike the majority of our rangers being weak in terms of narrative, Master Org as a villain and his story were always strong, resolute and multidimensional.  The dude as a human was clearly driven insane or was a plain psycho to begin with as his jealousy and envy over Cole's parents being together is what made him decide to ultimately chose evil.  Like I said, this is a first for villain, who isn't evil for the sake of being evil, some double crossing bounty hunter, a loyal general with standards, etc.  This was the first human villain who willing chose to something darker and menacing because of his lack of humanity to begin with.  "The Master's Last Stand" still stands as one of my favorite episodes of this season because the writers really went there and didn't sugarcoat how cruel Master Org was for killing innocent people out of selfishness and rage.  It's heartbreaking, tragic and speaks volumes of how far Master Org was willing to go down that path of darkness he didn't want to return from. By the time he returns in "Master's Herald, Part 2" completely an Org with a real horn, there was no turning back for him.  Even Princess Shayla's attempts at convincing him to stop was no use as the remnants of his humanity were so far gone that Master Org would rather take the world down with him than being good...WOW! O_O It's kind of an amazing contrast to Ransik actually, a ruler of mutants choosing to embrace humanity by the end of the season while we have a ruler of Orgs who started out as human but choosing to be an Org to create as much chaos and havoc because of his lack of humanity.  Well done! :) Also very multidimensional and beyond entertaining in many aspects, were Jindrax and Toxica, two Duke Orgs who clearly are more than match for the rangers but as individuals and especially friends...yes...friends, they are a solid pair of a villainous joy!  Toxica was clearly the brains of the two, figuring out something was up with Master Org and continuing to investigate her suspicions when she finds out his horn isn't real.  I just love how proactive they both were in doing things not just for Master Org but for themselves.  Even after they find out the truth about Master Org in "Secrets and Lies" and returning back to their normal selves by the end of "The Wings of Animaria", they are still plotting Master Org's demise because of his true origins and wanting to be respected. Not to mention, clearly this two have BIG hearts which is ironic since Orgs aren't suppose to have one. Even Cole senses they are the rangers the truth about teaming up to stop Master Org in "Sealing the Nexus" when, once again, Orgs aren't suppose to have hearts.  It's something that never explained but clearly there when Jindrax seeks out his brother in "Team Carnival" and showing how much they care bout one another.  Jindrax was clearly devastated by his brother's death at the hands of the rangers that he's willing to sacrifice himself to avenge his death by eating Toxica's beans/peanuts/whatever.  But after all that, Toxica is there to comfort him and vice versa when Mandlilok puts her down about being useless.  Jindrax even risks his own life again after Toxica is brutally destroyed to bring his best friend back.  These two were a marvel and added a nice layer of humanity to the villains that the others' lacked and sometimes their banter was genuinely hysterical. Next let's talk about how badass Zen-Aku and his arc was! :)  Sure it was mostly him just beating the crap out of the rangers for the most part during every confrontation but I enjoyed him owning them over...and over...and over....and over! :P  Zen-Aku, in Sentai design, is just stunning, in voice, he's very intimidating and in power levels, a true force to reckon with!  Sure it was just him stealing animal crystals but I liked how he used those zords eventually to battle the rangers (EPIC!) but the arc took it's time, unlike most of this season, to show signs of humanity underneath his brass exterior.  Whether it during his personal crusade to destroy the rangers or his shocking return in "Unfinished Business", Zen-Aku was just pure awesomeness personified and always carried himself with class and dignity despite the Orgs manipulating him and forcing him to work for them multiple times. Special shot out to Onikage as well as in only 2 episodes, matched Zen-Aku's charismatic and menacing appeal in his own way.  The only villain NOT to work this season was Mandilok, who had a promising introduction at the end of "The Master's Last Stand" but quickly becomes boring during the Kite/Animus arc because he just wants to eat everything in sight and not really do much of anything else.  The only amazing thing he did was show how ruthless he was when he used Toxica to take the entire impact of the rangers' blast.  It was genuinely shocking and came out of no where but one moment of greatness doesn't make up for multiple episodes of lameness.  Ok, I'm gonna wrap this overview up with talking about the two team-up episodes, the 10th anniversary special and the enormous zord arsenal this season but...sigh...let me get the elephant in this season and review out of the way first.

The Kite/Animus arc....easily the worst piece of writing trash I have ever witnessed this show produced.  Bad writing, bad, acting, nonsensical plot twist, poor build up, etc.  All building up to this kid, who are been terrible foreshadowed and horribly written to be the reincarnation of Animus, the ancestor of the Wild Zords.  Animus is cool...only in design, as a character and laughable ally to the rangers, he's gullible, easily manipulated, chooses to take the Wild Zords (except for Merrick's??? What?? You d!ck! -_-) and leaves the Earth defenseless...oh...just to test to see if the Wild Force Rangers are truly committed to their duties are protectors of the Earth.  So defeating Zen-Aku, Master Org, other Org Generals, helping the Time Force Rangers stop the Mut-Orgs, "earning" all those extra Wild Zords because they were individually chosen by them, etc....wasn't a clear enough indication that they were committed to being rangers.  They are risking their lives on a daily basis and that wasn't proof enough??!!! This arc was pure garbage and seemingly all for the rangers to be rewarded by giving them a new toy that used to quickly resolved the end of the 10th anniversary episode and Cole to fly around looking for Princess Shayla for like 5 seconds? -_-  Anyway, on the complete opposite side of quality, the two team-up episodes "Reinforcements for the Future" show how truly excellent Wild Force could have been as a whole if the writing was WAAAYYY more consistent and tightly written here.  I mean the plot, the villains, the characters etc. from both seasons just come alive in such a way it almost feels like a different show at times.  The Time Force rangers and Wild Force Rangers both come off as very efficient and determined heroes, we get a wonderful backstory on Ransik as they wrap up his redemption that started at the end of Time Force, develop a genuine romance between Taylor and Eric as well as continuing the romance between Jen and Wes.  All of this while giving us some of the most action packed and impressive fight sequences of the show! Damn near perfect!  The 10th anniversary special was not as good, but still a sensational tribute to the show's legacy and fans.  Seeing every from Jason to Tommy to Leo to Carter to TJ to Andros, etc. while making fight both unmorphed and morphed memorable is something fans will never forget.  It is the ultimate staple of anniversary episodes and has yet to be topped; last minute and pathetic Deus Ex Machina aside.  Lastly, I'm gonna talk about the zords/megazords this season as this was the first Sentai/Power Rangers season to often times utilize CGI to render the zords and megazords when they were in motion.  I remember at first not liking this aspect of the season but the CGI honestly isn't bad at all; even 17 years later! Wow!  Instead of the primary megazord, secondary megazord, etc. format, these rangers were given a multitude of animal zords that they could create not only new megazords with but new formations of the old megazords like Wild Force Megazord Double Knockle, Spear Mode, Sword and Shied Mode, so on and so forth.  It was a nice change; especially seeing the Predator Mode of the Wild Force Megazord. But the Conga Megazord and especially the Isis Megazord were just beauties and makes me wish I hadn't outgrown Power Rangers at the time show I could have owned the toys for the megazords. :P

So in concluding, Wild Force wasn't a straight up bad season after by 3rd run through of it but it's a frustratingly underwhelming one.  There are elements of it I absolutely LOVE (Master Org and his origins, Zen-Aku arc, Jindrax and Toxica, the various team-up episodes) but there are so many glaring flaws that are just too bad and annoying to ignore (A weak team of rangers overall, the Kite/Animus arc, some of the worst acting I've ever seen from the show which is saying much! Trust me)  But overall, I don't hate it, there are just parts of it I'd rather skip entirely (esepcially that Kite/Animus Arc) to get to the stuff I like, even love (team-up episodes) which yes, doesn't mean it's even a good season to sit through. But you are welcome to enjoy a season that is sometimes enjoyable, sometimes insufferable being an obviously HUGE step down from the peak of class, maturity and mindful storytelling of the previous handful of seasons ran by Juddy Lynn.  Luckily, the season ends off with a sometimes problematic, but mostly stellar two part finale that wraps up the story as best as it can despite the series almost getting cancelled again after Disney bought the rights to Power Rangers.  Technically, the first season  under Disney, Wild Force is still regarded to this day as still apart of the Saban Era in tone and location due to production taking the show over to New Zealand where the franchise indefinitely in visuals and tone. But more on that with Ninja Storm....until then...


Pros:

• A great run of some the darkest (Master Org, Zen-Aku) and most likable villains (Jindrax and Toxica) yet!
• An awesome ranger and character in Taylor who's arc was brief and something more WAAAYY more substantial than the other rangers.
• The Zen-Aku Arc
• ALL the team-up episodes ("Reinforcements from the Future" and "Forever Red")
• Some of the show's finest individual episodes in "The Master's Last Stand", "Unfinished Business", "Secrets and Lies" and the two parter "The Master's Herald".
• An overall strong conclusion to the series with "The End of the Power Rangers", Part 1 and 2

Cons:

• Weak character development of the rangers as a whole or individually, except Taylor!
• Princess Shayla's redundancy in getting kidnapped numerous times and just being a poor mentor.
• Mandilok.......Zzzzzzzzz....OOOOoooooo!!!
• Some truly awful acting from Alyssa, Merrick and Princess Shayla's actors.
• The constant handing of new zords to the rangers during the first 10 episodes or so.
• The Kite/Animus arc....nothing more needs to be said on that. -_-

Best Episodes:

1. "Reinforcements from the Future", Part 1 and 2-Amit Bahumik's personal tribute to the franchise with two superbly satisfactory and strong episodes that move the story of both this season and the last so effortlessly.

2. "The Master's Last Stand"-An almost horrific revelation episode as both Master Org and Cole's personal arc that collides in an explosive episode full of tragedy, despair and fearlessness as the match of the season takes place between both of them.  Not to be missed!"

3. "Unfinished Business"-I just loved seeing the return of Zen-Aku and Merrick's brief inner turmoil in having to deal with his past directly instead of indirectly during the Zen-Aku arc.  Some beautifully choreographed fight scenes as well. :)

4. "The Master's Herald", Part 1 and 2-Outside of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Shayla, this was another spot on and very well written two parter that introduces another standout villain (Onikage) and rightfully reestablishes Master Org as the main baddie this season with a bang! :)

5. "Secrets and Lies"-Probably the most mature episode of an often times more juvenile than usual season that sees Cole losing his memories but his team coming to his aid and reminding him of who he is as well as unveiling the possible loss of his family. :(

Honorable Mention: "Forever Red"

Worst Episodes:

1."Monitoring Earth"-The pinnacle of stupidity of the Kite/Animus arc as Mandilok manipulating so easy and the conclusion of the episode with Animus deciding to leave this team of rangers near complete defenselessness is one of the worst moments from this show. BAR NONE! -_-

2. "The Soul of Humanity"-The only good thing about this episode was that it was the end of the arc from hell.  Animus just continues to be an awful character throughout and the whole test revealed is forced and embarrassing considering how much the rangers have clearly proven themselves even before Animus showed up! -_-

3. "The Flute"-Just soooo many awful things about this episode from Shayla's stupid song, the embarrassing dancing rangers and people of Turtle Cove, Shayla's completely out of no where, immature behavior at the expense of the rangers' own well being, etc.  Just another standout on how bad this Animus arc was! -_-

4. "A Father's Footsteps"-Listen, I know there are people out there who probably LOVED this episode and how it explored Alyssa...but it doesn't really develop her character, the dilemma of meeting up with father has no weight or emotional resonance to it and my goodness, this is the very worst of Jessica Rey's acting on this show! Yikes! O_O

5. "Never Give Up!"-One of the earliest episodes that made me ironically want to give up on this show! Max and Danny's infamous catchphrase is the star of the show here and nothing else is worth mentioning sadly.  -_-

Honorably Mention(s): "Homecoming", "Sing Song"

"A major transition period for the franchise as Haim Saban handed over the rights to Disney behind the scenes, in front of the camera, "Power Rangers Wild Force", the 10th entry in the near decade long series at the time, is ultimately a mixed bag of awesome villainous storytelling, terrific team-ups and sometimes inspiring moments of heroism in the face of evil.  But the season's overall narrative is severely weakened by terribly inconsistent writing in character development for our heroes and the whole "nature vs pollution" theme is laughable as well as lost in unnecessary arcs like the Kite/Animus run of the season. Hardly one of the franchise's worst seasons, but seriously disappointing considering the untapped potential of certain story elements that are never given the depth they deserve."

Final Season Verdict: C-