Episode 71- The Song of Guitardo

I admit, I remembered absolutely nothing about this episode except for the title. For some reason, that stuck with me over 15 or so years, but the details of the plot just floated away. And part of me is very glad to have discovered this episode, and very mad at the same time. How an episode can be both rage inducing AND sickly sweet I don't know, but this one is. My poor brain, it's so befuddled.

Anyway, we start the show with Kim playing guitar in the Youth Center. Aw, a Kim episode! Zack is with her and compliments her music. She is writing a song, apparently, and in the best friendship acting of this show, she asks him for help with the lyrics. People, it is ADORABLE.

Zedd is spying, as he always does, and decides the guitar is the perfect thing to make a monster. Except, well, as Exposition Monkey Goldar points out in the only thing he says or does in the entire episode, Zedd can only make monsters out of living things. And guitars are made of wood which is no longer living. Zedd waves him off saying where there is wood, there are insects and he can make a monster out of those. Mind, guitars don't generally have insects in them, so where he came up with that, I don't know, but okay then. He somehow determines a cicada would be likely to be in a guitar (nod and smile, people, it makes this show SO much easier) and devises a spell to make Guitardo, the cicada monster.

In the park the following day, the rangers are having a picnic. Initially Intended Jason Replacement Ritchie, dressed ALL IN RED as usual (I don't think we've ever seen him NOT in red... real subtle there show), rides by on his bike. Trini invites him to join, but he has to unpack from moving. Sad.

Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull are just around the corner attempting to draw the attention of the power rangers. Bulk is dressed like a dragon/monster thing and Skull looks absolutely ravishing in a pink princess dress. He does the most amazing voice, too! Anyway, they run around screaming, attract the unmorphed rangers, get a lesson on crying wolf, and then blow them off and continue to run around screaming. It's amazing.

Just in time for the fakest insect ever to land on first Skull and then Bulk, Zedd's spell is ready! So he mumbles a bit and turns the insect into a monster, which lands right on Bulk's shoulder. Poor guys, the monsters always seem to materialize right on them.

In an unprecedented fit of actually paying attention, Zordon notices the monster IMMEDIATELY and calls the rangers! It's unheard of, this actual "looking out" business! So apparently they've analyzed the monster and are going to tell them all about it, but first Tommy has to step off to the side with Alpha to be evaluated for power levels. What, they wait until a crisis to worry about this? So much for planning. Way to ruin your moment of Win, Zordon. So apparently this monster can control minds. And has turned Kim's guitar into his weapon of mind control, as he uses music to do his evil thing. Tommy's powers aren't up to a fight, so he gets left behind so he doesn't endanger the other rangers.

So the others morph and go confront Guitardo. They try to concentrate on their own thoughts and block out his mind control powers, but they fail. Zack goes first, followed quickly by Billy, Jason, and Trini. They end up floating in the air for some reason. Because apparently this isn't really mind control and is just... um... levitation? I don't even know. My best theory is they're standing on large invisible piles of fish.

Anyway, Kim is left on her own to fight this monster. This really oughtn't be a problem seeing as she's fought solo and taken down monsters singlehandedly before. But no, instead she freaks out, Tommy morphs, and comes to her rescue. He pulls her out of the way just in time. Out of the way of what, I'm not sure, since mind control isn't really directionally based like that? But okay.

We wonder why Tommy then leaves Kim alone to go fight Guitardo on his own, because Tommy is THE MOST PRONE to mind control. He's PROVEN he's susceptible in the past. And Kim is too awesome to stand around and twiddle her thumbs! She can solo a monster and Tommy is weak and losing his powers! What the hell, show? We capslocked this for a few minutes in chat because, really? Continuity!Fail like woah. So Tommy goes to some fair thing to fight the monster, only he kind of gets taken over pretty quickly. But wait! He uses his dragon dagger and figures out music breaks the spell, so he'll fight music with music!

The mind control affects him anyway and this somehow makes him fall into an ever deepening hole in the ground. Um... mind control? How is it making a hole in the ground? Cement is not sentient. It's not even alive. It doesn't have a mind to control, so how is the hole being created? We decide it's a bunch of fish drilling into it and move on. Kim finally runs up and uses her bow as a harp to stop the monster from further sinking Tommy. She tells Tommy music will defeat Guitardo and we have to wonder how she knows this. Was she standing around watching? We like to think she was as that would hint to her being in on Zordon's plan to sabotage Tommy. We like this theory.

So Kim beats the monster by using Tommy's tiny little dagger as an arrow in her bow. I... don't even want to know how that works? Because physics? Really doesn't work like that. Like, at all. But the dagger destroys the monster and all is well, and we didn't even have a zord fight, so I'm okay with it!

Back at the Youth Center, the rangers are completing their picnic. It's apparently pouring down rain now and Ernie just let them into his food service establishment with their own food and drink, and invited them to spread out and enjoy themselves... without purchasing a thing from him. That's not the way to make money and keep your business open, Ernie. But way to be nice. Bulk and Skull come in and Bulk has his helmet stuck to his head. Billy offers to help remove it if they promise not to pretend to be in danger anymore. They promise (with fingers crossed) and Billy genuinely and nicely helps them. They barely have time to walk away before Tommy starts talking about losing his powers. Loudly. In the middle of the crowded Youth Center. Secret identities. I thought they had them?

Anyway, he fails at being Emo Ranger, and then Kim pulls out her guitar and cheers him up by singing a song she and Zack wrote for him. Aw! It's about the sweetest thing EVER, especially when Zack JOINS IN THE CHORUS! OMGSOADORABLE! I melted. The only thing that could have made me go "DAWWWW" any harder is if they'd somehow had a bunch of kittens frolicking about.

So it was both rage inducing and adorable at the same time and my head is going to explode from the contradiction.

Lists!
3 fish. Much less fishy than yesterday, though some big continuity fails there.

Billy speak: none really, though he does mention focusing on your own thoughts to block out Guitardo's mind control.

Covered in food: Nobody, but Bulk does get a monster materializing on his shoulder