Episode 326 - Facing the Past

Have I mentioned recently how much I love continuity? And angst? And figuring out your identity and your place in the universe? All thinngs I love, a lot! On the other hand, I also have opinions about the red ranger being the most special and getting all the toys. So I am a little conflicted about this.

Trakeena has a new monster, who she is training against some mooks. It's... a fight. And then somehow the monster turns them into REALLY UGLY BUGS AND JUST EWWW.

Back on Terra Venture, Karone is playing with a bunch of tiny children, including an adorable little redheaded girl, when Leo shows up, and he gets tackled by the tiny children. TINY CHILDREN HUGGING LEO. I think I wrote this in my sleep or something. (How did nobody even notice that Kendrix is gone and that Karone has joined? I mean, shouldn't people on the ship have noticed?)

Leo calls Karone a big kid, when she grabs for the ball the kids were playing with, and we get the FLASHBACK OF DOOM from PRiS when Karone was kidnapped by Darkonda. She tells Leo her history, and she has the saddest sad. I love her sad so much more then I love Andros's. Karone is sad about how she didn't have a childhood, so she's making up for it now, and I have all the feels. Then the touching moment gets interrupted by a monster attack, because occasionally I forget that we're obligated to have one or two of those an episode.

Leo morphs and gets his powers drained and he falls back, looking very pained, and his morpher is all broken. The other Rangers come to the rescue, but he's unable to morph at all. Karone calls for a retreat while Damon covers them, and the monster is very annoyed that they're all gone.

We get BEAUTIFUL shirtless Leo, while everyone is angsting about the lost powers and how nobody knows how to get the ranger energies back. Of course, Karone knows all the things, and we get a flashback to Astronema fighting some warrior, who she then turned into stone. Apparently if the warrior combines the two keys, you get a power up. Shirtless Leo is all "I will do ANYTHING." Karone and Shirtless Leo go off after the key things while the other Rangers fight the monster. Maya and Kai also lose their powers, leaving only Damon and Mike. (And look, considering what movie is out this weekend, all the shirtlessness and magic and characters named Mike is taking me to a very different place. Just saying.)

For some reason Leo has put his shirt back on, and Karone guides Leo into the cave, but a skeleton is all "ASTRONEMA, YOU WILL FACE YOUR PAST" and HOLY SHIT ASTRONEMA SHOWS UP.

The skeleton is all "if you're truly good, you will prevail" but Astronema is all "once evil, always evil" and Karone and Astronema fight and it is UNMORPHED AND THIS IS AMAZING. Karone gets the staff away from Astronema, and Astronema then threatens to kill Leo. Karone tosses aside the staff, and tells Astronema she would sacrifice herself for Leo, which proves that she's worthy to enter the cave. That was... predictable. But still awesome!

Oh, and the other Rangers are running and the monster manages to drain Mike and Damon's powers as well. Damon is awesome, and he tackles the monster unmorphed so that the others can escape, because Damon is the BEST. Seriously, he is the greatest. Maya runs back and gets him, but I remember the first time I was watching this, and it was like 2 episodes after we lose Kendrix, and for a minute I actually thought that we would lose Damon there as well.

Back to the interesting part, they find the statue, but the keys aren't there. Karone apologizes to Leo, and Leo is all defeated, and "well, we should go." Instead, Karone turns back to the statue, and she apologizes to him for all the horrible things that she did. She gives a fabulous apology, and offers to take his place, and we get some magic healing tears, and the warrior lives again. He forgives Karone, and gives the keys to LEO. Which is um, bullshit, because I'm pretty sure that KARONE JUST EARNED THE KEYS. Stupid red power ups, KARONE DID ALL THE WORK.

Stupid reds getting all the toys. BAH HUMBUG.

On Terra Venture, Karone shows up and rams the monster, while Leo shows up all morphed, and then he gets the fugly battlizer that he did not earn at ALL and seriously, I can't even get over how ridiculous this battlizer looks. So Leo shoots him and the monster blows up and everyone gets their powers restored because the red ranger is always the most special and wonderful and bullshit, etc.

Later, Karone tells Maya that she feels like her past is behind her. Meanwhile, Maya is spying on Damon's really nice arms. I don't blame her. Then the girls conspire to soak the boys, because pretty dripping wet boys. A+++++++ plan, Maya!

Fish: 3. All of the Karone stuff is awesome, the Leo getting the battlizer is BULLSHIT.

Fic we want: Karone has angst! Leo is shirtless! Maya wants Damon to be soaking wet! All the strippers!