Season 15, Episode 8: Both Sides Now

"Both Sides Now"
Episode 8
Air Date: April 9th, 2007

I don't know why this episode doesn't work...but it absolutely doesn't!!!! And I hate to say it but the main problem is these rangers are extremely unlikable for the most part....Will being the most unnervingly harsh character in personality that his overall altruistic double cross of Miratrix and the rangers doesn't feel it couldn't be plausible at all.  The guy comes off like an overly cocky and disinterested cliche and my goodness, that condescending smile he constantly wears on his face is getting so mind numbing! -_-  All I'm saying is the black guy being the black ranger is the least offensive thing here this time as Will is trash! A smug, self centered opportunist so his sudden conversion to the villain side is complete believable.  Also one wonders why Hartford would go with Will's undercover plan without informing the other rangers??? O_o  As soon they find out Will has betrayed them, they are certainly not pulling their punches and could have seriously injured him or worse...  Hey as much I don't like the guy, I don't want the rangers to defeat or destroy one of their own when's all a ruse.  O_O While I enjoyed the fact that they came up with an elaborate plan to outsmart their enemies....that fact it was all for nothing at the end makes it seem completely pointless doesn't it.  Sure, Miratrix doesn't get the jewel, but now she has a scroll with an encryption that has brought her very close to finding it!

On the villain side of things, while Will is helping Miratrix, by stealing a machine that will free that warrior guy in her amulet (So they didn't think about how freeing that guy would make things worse??? I'm all for a convincing performance but making their job harder as rangers shouldn't have been the consequence of this little act), we are finally introduced to hims officially and I got to say, Kamdor aesthetically looks pretty awesome. I really like his design and of course, when it comes to the rangers he can easily walk through all of them in a fight. -_- Also we get some backstory on Miratrix and Kamdor finally as apparently she was about to be destroy on a distant planet but Kamdor saved her in time.  But for doing so, he was banished into an amulet for all eternity until she could find a machine/power source strong enough to release him.  Ok....that's noce but how does your need for the Corona (sorry! O_O) Aurora fit into this??? Sure, Moltor and Flurious want it but they are originally from Earth and are just out to finally finish their man objective.  Why do they need it??? To conquer Earth??? Why would they want to when they're not from there??? Are trying to conquer it or another planet or it it simply a power source they desperately need?? Would have made more sense if Miratrix needed the crown to have enough power to free Kamdor or some other motivation that would make more sense but whatever, I'll take rather than leave it from what we do know about them now.

Of course, once Will's ruse is revealed, he manages to destroy Kamdor in battle, and especially after a badass morph sequence when he slides his tracker off his weapon!!! WOW!!! O_O Kudos on the production team for that! :)  Brilliant moment!  But unfortunately, he revives himself (DAMN!!! Did he learn that from Koragg last season??? O_o) and helps Miratrix summon a monster for the rangers to fight while she follows the Hou-ou bird to the jewel.  It leads to a zord battle of course as now the rangers can combine the Drill Driver and their new Crane Driver (new zord every episode again??? Ehhhh! -_-) with the DriveMax to.....lift the monster with a crane and drill it til it explodes....Power Rangers never fails to make you WOOOOOW!!! O_O  But overall, the episode left a bad taste in my mouth as it didn't develop Will at all or make him look heroic.  Sure his fight with Kamdor was pretty good, but there was no apology at the end from Will for deceiving them or anything.  The episode just ends so abruptly on a cliffhanger that felt more like the scene was cut short all of a sudden. O_o While I liked seeing the rangers in what really looked like Isanbul, the globe trotting stuff is being cut too short so far and "The Other Side" would have been a MUCH better title than "Both Sides Now" which makes no sense. O_O

Final Morph: D-