Season 15, Episode 20: Once A Ranger, Part 1

"Once A Ranger, Part 1"
Episode 20
Air Date: July 17th, 2007 (Jetix)/July 23rd, 2007 (TV)

Ohhhhhh, we're here already!!? O_O  Sigh....ohhh "Once A Ranger"....let's just dive right in this because let's all be real.....WTH was THIS!!?? -_- O_O  So, after one of Kamdor and Miratrix's monsters fails to get an actual jewel of the crown, all 6 rangers arrive to fight and manage them to force them into a retreat while also returning the stolen jewel to the museum as a crowd of people cheer them on.  But don't worry various factions of villains, each of you will be getting an extremely cryptic message from a new main villain who will teleport you through his devices to a badly lit room with a green tint and a rock table.  So with all 4 villain factions assembled, we are finally introduced to the one who summoned all of them in the form of....Thrax.....excuse me.....AHAHAHAHA!!! So this terribly designed creature is suppose to be but in actuality is the son of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, yes....they had a kid! I guess that explains why they were so absent all of sudden during Turbo when they promised to be back??? I'm guessing he was protected by Z wave like the remnants of the Machine Empire and what not but whatever, off topic much! lol So Thrax has assembled them to get rid of the rangers so they can finally find all the jewels of the crown and claim the power for themselves.  We see Thrax doesn't waste anytime by sending a message to the rangers and having them meet him up for a grand royale of a massive battle where Thrax leads all 4 factions into a brutal fight where the rangers are outmatched and outclassed by their combined forces.  Even their CGI arsenal like Transtek Cycle and Hovercraft Cycle can't handle the overwhelming numbers and teamwork by all of them.  Defeated by all the villains, Thrax puts the last part of his plan in motion as he and all the main villains combine their powers to sever the rangers' tie to the morphin grid; rendering them powerless.

But before they can finish them off, Sentinel Deus Ex Machina arrives to teleport the rangers away.  Oh and apparently, Thrax and Sentinel Knight have history as he's the one who trapped Thrax in a very embarrassing reference to his mother's arrival.  But ummmm...how tho?? Didn't Sentinel Knight not just reappear when the crown was discovered by Hartford??? Was he fighting Thrax this whole time??? I don't think this was all recent! Plot hole much??? O_o  Anyway, with the rangers powerless and the villains searching the globe as one massive force of evil for the rest of the jewels, Hartford suggests the rangers use their civilian powers to continue the fight.  Well, look what came in handy! :)  At Stonehenge, Kamdor and a Fear Cat are intercepted by the rangers but even their civilian powers aren't strong enough to handle these two.  Jesus, how could a wide arrange of superpowers be so useless??? The f%^&! Anyway, before the two can finish off the 6 powerless rangers, the Fear Cat is suddenly trapped in vines as we see Plan Xander himself return as the Green Mystic Force Ranger.  Then Bridge attacks from nowhere as he is now the S.P.D. Red Ranger.  Then Kira attacks; back as the Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger while Tori does her thing as the Blue Wind Power Ranger.  But who cares, freakin' Adam in back again as....Mighty Morphin' Black Ranger!!? O_o Ok....more on that soon! But the 5 veteran rangers force them into a retreat while introducing themselves to the 6 former rangers.  Back at the mansion, Sentinel Knightmare has apparently restored the powers of these veteran rangers and assembled them to replace the Overdrive Rangers.  Ok....wow...1) What a d!ck move!!! O_O  At least have the 6 come in for back up and help expand the search with their civilian powers, not to mention excavation skills they've gained by looking for the jewels so far. 2) So Sentinel Plot Device can summon a freakin' ranger from the future and restore the ranger powers of 3, maybe 4 rangers but couldn't bring Tyzonn back to his human form or even you know, bring back the current team of rangers' powers from the morphin' grid!!!? -_-  Why use the last of your powers for something that draining instead of just reversing what the villains did!!!?? -_-

Now the Overdrive rangers are just pouting and mopping about trying to get back to their normal lives while the veteran team get all the screen time now and interact.  I'm sorry but as much as I'm glad to see even Bridge and Xander back as well as Adam, an MMPR ranger, they aren't needed if you really think about why they were brought back and how this could have been avoided. -_-  Jesus, even when Kira and Adam catch up about Tommy, my fan heart is tainted by the ultimate trash of this concept for the 15th anniversary of the show.  Meanwhile, Mr. Hartford and Adam are working on getting the Overdrive team's ranger powers back....OMG!!! Then why replace them??? Then why not bring the veteran rangers back to help the current team get their powers back while teaming them their own lessons and experiences as past rangers!?? O_O  Of course, the Overdrive team decides to just quit!! At this point, their civilian powers should be giving up, quitting, resigning, leave of absence, dropping out and leaving the world in the hands of other people who care enough to continue the fight! I just...I just....this season man!!! Even Mack is so gung ho about quitting when he was fighting for his father's approval soooo damn hard at the beginning of the season to be a ranger!!! You guys STILL HAVE your civilian powers!!! Make new powers for them Hartford??? My gawd, basic writing skills aren't even present anymore on this show. Crap, this is crap, this is crap!!! Part 2....yay!!!! *snaps* :):):)

Final Morph: D-