So with the Power Rangers at six, how in the world does Rita Repulsa begin to present herself as a threat to our heroes still?
Well, it's simple, find a way to take back what belonged to her.
Though the Rangers were challenged with the two-part episode, "Island of Illusion", that was nothing compared to what Rita was planning to do to her one-time protégé Tommy, and so she reveals a Candle made of a special wax that contains Tommy's power signature, and once the candle completely burns out the Green Ranger powers will transfer back to her.
Meanwhile, Tommy is looking to ask Kim out and needs Zack's advice, but with mixed results. But before he can try to ask Kim anything he is kidnapped and taken to Rita's Dark Dimension, with Goldar telling Tommy that unless he sides with Rita his powers will be given back to the sorceress, with the candle making sure of that.
To distract the Rangers from trying to help Tommy Rita has Finster create a monster called the Cyclops which can mimic any one it wants. Eventually Tommy is able to break free of Rita's dimension and help his friends. And Zordon reveals that Rita can indeed steal Tommy's powers with a magical wax that she formed into a candle. And since it has Tommy's Ranger signature, she can use it to siphon Tommy's abilities back to her.
With getting the candle being the top priority Jason volunteers to go, with Billy coming up with an idea to get into Rita's dimension. Unfortunately things don't go as planned and while Jason and the others are trying to get the candle, Rita sends the Cyclops monster to attack the city to distract the Rangers. Faced with a tough choice Tommy opts to go into battle to buy his friends more time, but the battle gets more intense, and with the Green Candle burning more and more the Dragonzord isn't able to hold its own as it normally would. Meanwhile Jason finds himself fighting Goldar to get the Candle but with no success. Ultimately Zack gets to Jason and implores him that they have to help Tommy now or he will lose his life fighting the Cyclops, which is worse than the former losing his Ranger powers.
Reluctantly agreeing Jason heads back and while they're able to stop the Cyclops, the candle burns out, but Zordon points out that if Tommy was to give his coin to another Ranger that can stop Rita from getting the Green Ranger powers. As much as it was bittersweet for Tommy to give them up he knew it would be in good hands with Jason. Shortly after that Kimberly visits Tommy as the latter is training and finally asks her out, and while she left him hanging for a second or two, Kimberly's answer was a resounding yes.
While most of us thought that was it and Tommy would walk off into the sunset, that would not be the case at all. Though Jason and the other Rangers soldiered on with the latter using the Dragon Shield and Dagger - and the Dragonzord by enxtension - many of us felt that there was something missing. And the team may have started as five, Tommy revealed a void that many audiences didn't realize was there in the team - it needed to be six. And in the two-part series "Return of An Old Friend", fans got their wish.
Though the Green Ranger powers were restored, they were not permanent. And here is where the dynamic between Tommy and the others began to shift to a more cohesive team, whereas before the other Rangers would call him for backup but Tommy was the most part on his own. Now with his powers being temporary he had to rely on his teammates more than before, which allowed for the friendships to develop more. And it come in handy for the rest of the season, especially with the last episode being where Tommy helps Zack with finally winning Angela's heart.
After that I thought that was it for Power Rangers, but little did I know that it was only just beginning.
How so? Well, tune in next time for my thoughts on Season 2!
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