Episode 282 - Carlos on Call

Psycho Rangers! Epic storyline is epic, yes?

So, previously: Astronema is HBIC with the best plans ever, the Psycho Rangers are terrifying and awesome and kicked the Rangers' butts, and palm pilots are the height of technology or something.

We start off at the Surf Spot, where Carlos and his very nice arms are playing video games. A tiny child watches him. Her mom says hi to Carlos, and apparently she was one of Carlos's teacher. Carlos hangs out with the tiny child while the mom goes to get soda, and she (Silvy) totally creams him in videogames.

Carlos's communicator goes off, and he can't find a place to answer it, so for SOME INSANE REASON he goes into a photobooth and morphs THERE and even though there was NO MONEY IN THE BOOTH, it takes a picture anyway.

SO MANY POINTS for a Ranger finally having a hard time finding a place to morph. SO MANY POINTS.

So apparently the camera went off EXACTLY while Carlos was morphing, and Silvy takes the photos. DUN DUN DUN.

The Rangers battle some monster, and then Andros shoots it and it runs away. Astronema of Borg watches the battle and it turns out that the monster was busy just scanning the Rangers for weaknesses. Astronema lectures the Psychos for underestimating the Rangers strength, but Psycho Yellow is all "nope, you underestimate us."

Carlos gets email from someone saying they know he's the Black Ranger. He assumes its from the Psycho, which is a pretty good guess. Silvy shows up there and is all adorably "What's up? You're slow. I totally know who you are." Then she shows him the picture and Carlos is all FML.

She makes him buy her a ton of shit, and I want her to grow up to be a Power Ranger SO BADLY. She also makes him play a ton of stuff with her. Then she hands him a pager and is all "You'll do what I tell you" and threatens to tell everyone in the park.

Up on the Megaship, everyone is all "you need to put your foot down" but... she has blackmail material. So he goes with her to the carnival. It's a good thing Carlos is honorable and doesn't just STEAL THE PHOTOS BACK. If this took place a few years later, nobody would ever believe her due to photoshop.

She tells him she wants a moon rock, which SHOULDN'T BE THAT HARD FOR YOU, CARLOS, but instead he throws a complete hissy fit. I'm definitely not saying blackmail is right, but this is within your power and it would make her stop and she's 10.

Ashley tells Carlos that there's something he should know, and takes him to see some doctor, who tells them all about Silvy's family, where apparently she had an older brother who DIED, and they ACTUALLY SAY DIED ON POWER RANGERS. WHAT. A CHILD. TWELVE YEARS OLD. THEY SAY A CHILD DIED. Apparently Silvy and her brother wanted to be astronauts, and they were going to get a moon rock. Carlos flips out and immediately goes to get a moon rock, and Silvy pages them because a monster has shown up.

YOU GUYS, THIS SHOW USED DIED. I DON'T EVEN KNOW. POWER RANGERS, FOR REAL. Also, Silvy is the smartest, and I still want her to be a Power Ranger.

The Rangers all show up and fight the monster and it grows so they shoot it some more. That's pretty great. Then they get the other Zords to come fight and blow up the monster.

Astronema is annoyed because the Psychos are going after the Rangers, and she doesn't want them to destroy the Rangers until SHE wants them to. But Psycho Red grabs Silvy and there's a pretty great fight scene of Rangers vs Psycho Red. (Silvy watches from behind the tree, and is pretty great). Psycho Red is about to kill Andros, but Psycho Black shows up to attack Psycho Red because he wants to be the leader. Good thing too.

Astronema is pissed at the Psychos for letting their dick swinging contest get in the way of her plan. Her new plan is to have them attack one Ranger at a time, with pink going first.

Carlos walks Silvy home, and she gives him the photos back. She apologies, and is a very smart child. They agree to be friends (and one day she asks him for advice when she's the black ranger) and he gives her a moon rock. THEN he gives her a ride in space. CUTEST EVER.

HOW DOES SHE BREATHE IN SPACE, WHAT.

Silvy says she doesn't want to be an astronaut anymore, she wants to be a Power Ranger. I APPROVE, TINY CHILD.

Fish: 3. So seriously, how does she breathe in space? And why did the photobooth go off with no money in it?

Fic we want: can we get an entire episode of Carlos just holding babies and hugging tiny children or something?

Episode 275 - Always A Chance

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, IT IS TIME TO RECAP MY FAVORITE EPISODE!!!!!!

No, seriously. This is my favorite episode. Out of what, 720+ episodes? Yeah, this is my absolute favorite. The one that I have seen more times than any other episode. The one that cemented every single bit of fanon I have about Adam (and you were spared my thoughts when we did Mirror of Regret, although I did go into it a little when we did It Came From Angel Grove

So, I have a lot of fanon about Adam. I know not everyone agrees with my fanon about him, and I've written about some of my thoughts on Adam and power addiction before but hey, any excuse to talk about it again. There will probably be a lot of meta and theories in this, and since this is me discussing this episode, it's going to touch on depression and suicide. So, consider yourself warned.

Anyway, are you excited? Because I'm excited. (No, seriously, I emailed QR this morning in all caps about happy Always a Chance Day. I am possibly a little bit ridiculous.)

So, episode.

We open in some sort of warehouse/science lab thing, where a really ugly monster is sucking the life or something out of scientists and computers. Or stealing their knowledge with his tongue. The Rangers look in the windows and then go in and yell at him. They discover that he can switch places by licking. Um. Ew?

Cue theme song. And what's this AFTER the themesong? OH YES, THAT IS JOHNNY YONG BOSCH'S NAME. I remember waaaaay back when I first saw this episode, I literally fell off the couch when that happened. I mean, yeah, this was 98 so I had internet, but I wasn't in fandom or anything, and I had NO IDEA that JYB was returning. So yeah, there is something to be said about surprises, especially when it gets the actually fell off a couch reaction.

Anyway, Cassie tries to shoot the monster but he tongues her. Carlos tries to help her by attacking, but the monster switches places and thanks Carlos for his help. Cassie apparently has injured her shoulder. Carlos, meanwhile, has the saddest sad in all the land, and that's something, for a season that contains Andros.

Back on the megaship, Cassie is playing checkers with Alpha, and Carlos comes in to apologize to her again, and she's like "look, this sort of thing happens. We're Rangers," and Carlos is having none of it, because he's busy blaming himself for everything. It is possible that I overidentify with Carlos a lot.

They do a really good job with Carlos' guilt here - the Rangers have a lot riding on them, and the pressure not to screw up has to be incredible, especially as everything they're doing is really a matter of life or death. Sometimes we forget that at this point, they are still teenagers. I couldn't handle that amount of stress. But they fight monster after monster without breaking. No wonder they have so many fits of emo.

Some other stuff happens with Astronema and sending a monster down and blah blah. Ugly monster goes after Bulk, Skull and the Professor. Carlos is standing on a bridge posing dramatically and having flashbacks of how he hurt Cassie, when he sees Bulk and the others get attacked. He has a quick freakout, which you can tell by his shaking hand, but he yells at himself to get it together. Also, Carlos is super hot in this episode. He morphs, and tries to beat up the monster, who mocks him again. Carlos is losing pretty badly, and he's going down into a spiral of second guessing everything he does, and then someone flips in and saves the day.

AND LOOK WHO IT IS WHY YES I THINK THAT IS JOHNNY YONG BOSCH. FAVORITE.

EXCEPT ADAM YOUR HAIR WHAT IS THAT I CAN'T EVEN.

So Adam fights the thing UNMORPHED, because he is freaking BADASS LIKE THAT and meanwhile Carlos is being emo but whatever, the monster runs away from Adam. The monster mocks Carlos again about not having friends, and Carlos is just like "YAY MY BOYFRIEND IS BACK."

Carlos explains to Adam that he's been needing a lot of help lately, which um, is not what happened earlier in the episode, but whatever, because EPISODE. Carlos asks Adam for help and how he's second guessing himself, and Adam gives him a lot of good advice about taking chances and believing in yourself, and then explains that he had the same doubts, and then he offers to train him.

The fact that Adam is the one who comes back is super powerful, actually. Of the four Rangers who left in Passing the Torch, he's the only one who really didn't have something major waiting for him. Kat had dance school, Tommy had racing, Tanya has had a recording contract offer since mid-Zeo, and Adam... was working at a stunt show. He was the one who didn't seem as ready to leave, which of course also has to do with JYB and his not being ready to leave. Plus, Adam is the one with the canonical self-esteem issues (thanks, Mirror of Regret, and reasons why I overidentify with Adam for one million.)

Adam still isn't quite ready to give everything up - I mean, why is he in Angel Grove anyway? Why is he hanging out in the abandoned warehouse district where monsters are known to attack?

Anyway, training montage.

Have I mentioned how much I love training montages? And this is an unpopular opinion, but I think Adam is super hot when his hair is pulled back. SUPER HOT. THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR MY LIFE.

Adam and Carlos are sparring while Carlos is blindfolded and hi, Carlos's arms. Those are pretty nice, you should show them off more often. Carlos is having a lot of trouble with thie, but he's blindfolded and fighting Adam, so you know, to be expected.

Unfortunately, it looks like Adam hurt more than he helped, because Carlos gives up completely, says that he's no Power Ranger, and runs off. Adam says Carlos can make his own decisions, but he's clearly going "this is who I gave my powers to?"

Then he asks Alpha if his old morpher still works, because sometimes he wishes he was still a Power Ranger, and Alpha freaks out and is all "Morphing could DESTROY YOU" and Adam laughs nervously, but he rubs the morpher possessively a few times and looks sad.

So. Why does Adam have the morpher? It's been nearly a year since he gave up the powers in show time, and he's still carrying it around? Why would he even think about using something that could kill him.

I have a few theories on that (I am sure you're shocked). First, Adam just wasn't mentally prepared to stop being a Ranger. Holding onto the broken morpher was a way of still being a Ranger, even after he knew he couldn't. And training Carlos just sent the nostalgia and the desire to belong to a team and the desire to feel like he's doing something with his life overboard.

And then there's the other theory, which... is my favorite, personally, but I like angst. I really like the idea of power addiction and power withdrawal, and some sort of depression that hits after you give up the power. The longer you hold the power, the harder it is to give up (see Billy, Kim, and Tommy for other examples).

With Adam, and the ramped up version of what I mentioned earlier about his identity being tied to the power, this was a way to still be a hero, and to go out like one. Not knowing what to do with his life, Adam was ready to die in battle, die a Power Ranger. Whether or not he was fully conscious of it, the way I tend to write him at least was that he was in a serious depressive fit, and then there was the chance to make a difference again. Why would he pass it up? Which was more important, his life, or feeling alive?

I did warn I was going to be ridiculously meta, right?

Back on the megaship, Carlos has quit, because he's afraid of hurting someone again. Oh, honey. Self doubt is a really powerful thing, and Carlos is not doing well at all. In the park, Carlos tells Adam that he quit, and he rubs his wrist where the communicator should be. Nice powerful gesture there.

Adam is like "shit, what did I do?" when they get attacked by the LizWizard. More unmorphed fighting on Adam's part, because he is GREAT. Still, they're a little overwhelmed and Adam does the only thing he thinks he can do.

He grabs his broken morpher, ignores Alpha and Carlos when they're yelling at him not to, and he morphs.

Seriously, that's my favorite moment in Power Rangers.

Carlos warns him again that he'll be destroyed, and Adam is like "get out of here" because protecting the civilians is what they do, and that's what Carlos is now. Luckily, that is when Carlos changes his mind and stops.

Look, there's really only one interpretation for someone clutching their arm like that, and that's heart attack. Even if you don't buy the suicide attempt theory (which not everyone does), there is definitely some sort of lasting effect from him using the morpher. Which means... all the post-episode hurt/comfort fic in the world!

Adam is clutching his arm and looking in pain as his morph starts to fade in and out, and he's clearly having a lot of trouble since broken morpher that is DESTROYED and all, but Carlos finally decides to start acting like a Ranger. Of course, at that exact moment the other Rangers show up, and Cassie throws Carlos his morpher, and he morphs.

Adam fights the monster, and Carlos jumps at them. The monster tries to do the same thing with Adam as had happened with Cassie. Except this time Carlos manages to actually hit the monster.

This is the real passing the torch moment. This is when Carlos is basically acknowledged as being Adam's successor, and where Adam is ready to pass the power on. Not that episode in Turbo. This.

Then the monster grows, etc, fight. Back in the park, everyone comes to check on Adam, who still seems to be in pain and clutching his arm, but he tells them that he's fine, so instead it's all group hugs for Carlos time!

Fish: 1.5 BEST EPISODE EVER

Fic we want: EVERYONE YELLS AT ADAM AND THEN THERE ARE HUGS.

Important questions I did not get to address: So um. Zeo morphers? WHERE ARE THEY? (Okay, yes, so color issues, and it wouldn't have been as dramatic if he used the green, or do the Zeo ones not work any more? Was the crystal destroyed with the destruction of the Power Chamber? Is it somehow related to his psyche? YOU TELL US. Or write me fic.)

Episode 264- The Barillian Sting

Today on Power Rangers- Carlos is hot. And there's a bug. But mostly, Carlos is hot.

So we start out in a forest that TJ calls "weird". It looks like any other forest they use for Angel Grove, so I don't see what's so weird about it. They're apparently looking for Zordon. Unfortunately, Ecliptor has laid a false distress signal. They're chasing ghosts. Also unfortunately, Ecliptor is interrupted by Darkonda. He wants to get involved in everything. Ecliptor doesn't like that plan. These two really don't like each other.

TJ finally figures out it's a trap. There is a fight with quantrons. At least it's unmorphed? Darkonda releases a bug that looks like a large bit of plastic dancing about on a string. It stings Carlos. TJ and Cassie take him back to the ship. Good thinking, because that was a freaking HUGE bug.

Carlos is then shirtless! MmmmmshirtlessCarlos. Unfortunately, he now has weird patterns running up his arm and across his chest, which are supposed to be his veins showing, but mostly they look like marker. I really don't care about that because he's shirtless. And have I mentioned that Carlos is freaking HAWT???

On Astronema's ship, there is infighting between Darkonda and Ecliptor. Astronema isn't quite sure what to think of this new guy. She is pleased, however, that Darkonda took out Carlos by using a Barillian bug. She is the smartest!

TJ and Andros run around the planet looking for the bug and they run into Darkonda instead. He likes to taunt them. I can't help but like this guy! They chase him on their galaxy gliders through the forest, and he releases the bug on them. Somehow this bug is insanely fast because the GALAXY GLIDERS, y'know, THOSE THINGS THAT TRAVEL LIGHTS YEARS IN MINUTES, can't outrun it. I really don't care about this bit, as I just want more shirtless Carlos.

Andros finally catches it and confirms that the bug is a Barillion bug and Carlos is turning into one. They have to go get an antidote. OH NOES! I'm guessing this is how they procreate? I dunno. Makes no sense. We DO end up with more shirtless Carlos, but unfortunately it's Carlos in bug form. Not nearly as pretty as Human Shirtless Carlos. He escapes. The others stalk the ship trying to find him. Lucky for them, he leaves a slime trail. I do wonder, who's going to clean up all that slime?

They find him and he stings Cassie, leaving what looks like a nipple on her neck. Good job, show! They restrain her with something that clips together with car seatbelt latches. Really? THAT is going to hold her? Uh... okay then. TJ and Andros chute down to the planet to get the antidote. Darkonda confronts them and Andros sends TJ back with the antidote while he fights Darkonda alone. I... still don't really care about this at all. I still want more shirtless Carlos.

Cassie transforms as well and both she and Carlos go after Ashley. They're about to attack when TJ shoots them with the antidote. Good job, TJ! You have impeccable timing. They turn back into themselves and alas, Carlos is now fully clothed and no longer shirtless. I have a sad of Andros proportions.

There is a big morphed fight on the planet. I still don't care. Darkonda makes a big bug and he grows giant and they call out all the toys. They totally win. Duh. Then Andros is broody on the roof of the hospital, remembering his sister in those awful flashbacks with the poor bad-hair-styled children. I'm glad we aren't subjected to too much of that.

3 fish. It was a mediocre episode. And there wasn't nearly enough shirtless Carlos.

Episode 245 - Carlos and the Count

Still not watching on netflix. Still SUPER PISSED OFF about that.

However, in this episode we have VAMPIRES.

Seriously, I love vampires. Except of the sparklepire variety. And seriously, this is a MUCH better vampires in high school story than that is.

So Bulk and Skull have a scary movie festival. There are going to be a lot of vampire movies. This is one of Bulk and Skull's better jobs, actually! And super fun!.

Elgar actually has a fairly good suggestion, when Divatox is complaining about how much she hates Vampires. Instead, he suggests Lunar Bats, because apparently there are bats in space? Sure, why not. So Divatox sticks out her tongue and snares one, which she turns into Count Nocturne.

Seriously, Carlos and Justin are the best of friends, they are super adorable. I am in favor of Carlos being the best big brother ever, because it doesn't take over the season. As Carlos is walking home, he hears something and assumes it is Justin pranking him. SO CUTE. Except instead it's Pirahnatrons, and we get a NIGHTTIME UNMORPHED FIGHT. This is like the greatest thing ever. The screen is super dark, so it's actually hard to see what's going on. Then he's attacked by the monster and bitten, with Bulk and Skull as witnesses. They decide that they have no choice but to become vampire hunters. HOOK UP WITH BUFFY, YOU GUYS.

So vampire!Carlos is SUPER HOT. SUPER HOT. Ashley approves of his new look, because he's SUPER HOT. And then she invites him to the blood drive. He is obviously super excited about this.

Bulk and Skull come tracking Carlos, and they're trying to protect Justin, when Principal Caplan sees them, and is all "I thought you graduated. DETENTION." And they go.

Justin starts to get suspicious of Carlos when he notices the sunglasses and how badly Carlos reacted to the garlic that Skull had given him, and he begins to go research vampires. TJ and Cassie ask him why he's researching vampires, and he's all "I just am."

Ashley asks Carlos if he's ready to grab a bite, and CLEARLY HE WANTS TO BITE HER.

Cassie and TJ are all "Justin, you know there's no such thing as vampires" and of course that's when the monster shows up to attack them. Cassie's melodramatic "Vaaaaaaampires" is pretty amazing and I love it.

There's an unmorphed fight scene, which is also great, and Justin explains to TJ and Cassie that he thinks Carlos is a vampire, and they have to go protect Ashley. TJ and Cassie are SO CONFUSED.

Ashley invites Carlos to grab a bite again, because CLEARLY she wants him to bite her. And just as he's about to, Justin and the others show up and interrupt. Justin uses his knowledge of vampires to prove that Carlos is one, since he has no reflection, and Ashley is SO UPSET. She loves him. Anyway, they try to convince Carlos to go to the Power Chamber, but instead he turns into a rubber bat and flies away. BEST WORST SPECIAL EFFECTS EVER.

They figure out that Carlos is going to the blood drive, and Bulk and Skull try and fail to explain that something is going on. Ashley and TJ manage to catch Carlos and teleport him to the Power Chamber, where Alpha drugs him with a temporary antidote. He's still under the spell.

It's amazing, they remember they have a mentor. Not that I'm complaining about the lack of Dimitria, because seriously, DIMITRIA. UGH.

The Rangers all morph and go fight, and the monster tries to put Carlos back under his spell, but Carlos defies him. It's like everything I love.

Anyway, the monster grows, and they have to use all the toys for some reason, and Carlos briefly struggles with how it wants to put him back under the spell, and then they blow it up. They make a big deal about combining the two Megazords, but whatever, it was still a fairly dull fight. And it went on FOREVER.

Elgar gets thrown into space, and somehow he survives. That is not fair.

The Rangers are all excited for the monster movies, and Bulk and Skull have switched to werewolf movies. They are traumatized when they think the delivery guy is a werewolf. They are the CUTEST.

Fish: 2. THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME.

Fic we want: VAMPIRE!CARLOS. Bulk and Skull: VAMPIRE HUNTERS.

Episode 242- The Accident

Today on Power Rangers, Carlos has angst! ANGST!!! And I totally got to enjoy his ANGST with the excellent graphics of the episode on Netflix! Because nothing is better than Carlos ANGST coming through in beautiful clarity via streaming video and not an old VCR recorded tv version. ANGST!!!

Carlos' couch is late, as usual. He has a meeting with Carlos and some other kid. They are now going to be competing for the title of team captain. Other Kid apparently needs to learn sportsmanship. Just like all the rivals do. Are we surprised? Not really.

So during practice, Carlos accidentally hurts Other Kid (whose name is apparently Owen). Somehow Carlos broke Other Kid's leg. Except Carlos didn't even touch him. But now Carlos has ANGST. He has the best sadface EVER.

The team is totes divided and a little mini-war breaks out with hallway battles! Half the team thinks Carlos intentionally sprained Owen's ankle. The other half thinks Carlos didn't touch him. Owen Supporters quit out of protest. We get to see Carlos' sadface again. I highly approve of this.

Bulk and Skull are now water boys. They fail. Skull has a new haircut. He looks super hot at least! Carlos, meanwhile, isn't having much luck at being the captain. He's sure he hurt Owen and he feels really bad about it, even reflecting on it in the middle of the practice while wondering if it was really an accident or somehow intentional. Carlos and Adam really need to hang out more often. WAY more often. They have ALL the things in common.

Divatox is going to use this distraction to her benefit by playing MIND GAMES. Because she is a great villain. She makes some piranhatrons look like Owen and his cronies. Carlos is conflicted because they make him feel horrible! Poor Carlos. Luckily the rangers show up and show him the truth. Carlos fights unmorphed while the rest are morphed. It is AWESOME.

At school, Carlos apologizes to Owen for hurting him. Except Carlos is not totally sure he tripped Owen at all, but Owen is all "I am grievously injured so obviously you did it, yo" and gives Carlos and even bigger sad. Carlos goes to brood when he is confronted with the Blue Senturian, who wants to make him feel better, though he's not sure it's a legal matter he can assist in. I hate him.

Elgar comes crashing to Earth in the zord he was test driving for Divatox. BS tries to arrest him. It's very boring and doesn't pertain to the episode AT ALL. There is a big zord battle between BS and Elgar's zord. Carlos and the others go to help. I liked this episode much more before there was all the zord fighting.

The only good thing is Elgar manages to trick the Rangers into attacking BS and Carlos is all "OH NOES! I hurt another friend!" But then it gets boring again because Elgar is missing a crucial piece to his zord and it just kind of... falls apart. I'd really like to go back to Carlos and his angst now.

And we do! Carlos has quit as team captain and Owen wants to know why. He's all confused. Carlos isn't quite sure he wants to explain. Owen finally admits that Carlos didn't even touch him, he just tripped over his own two feet and sprained his ankle that way. It was a really jerky thing to do and Carlos just forgives him for turning half the team against him just like that.

2 fish! Surprisingly low for Turbo.

Episode 219 - A Drive to Win

YOU GUYS, IT'S CARLOS AND ASHLEY!!!!!!

I um, possibly ship them. JUST A LITTLE. Or a LOT

So, Adam is apparently coaching a soccer team. One that happens to have Carlos as the star player. Aww. However, Carlos hasn't even become a Ranger yet, and he still needs to learn the lesson about teamwork. He seems to be forgetting that soccer is a team sport, so he doesn't really pass to anyone. Winning is the most important thing, so when Adam gives him the speech about making sure everyone gets a chance to play and teamwork he seriously looks at Adam like he's from another planet. It's great.

Meanwhile, Ashley is off being a cheerleader. The cheers are horrible and one of the girls on the squad is complaining about how if she had known it would be this much work, she'd have joined the army instead. Cheerleading is hard work.

Back at the Juice Bar, Kat and Tanya are practicing with Tommy, which in this case means that they're mostly practicing judo and throwing him to the ground. I approve so hard. They also seem to be getting revenge for him spending so much time at the racetrack - Kat in particular is not impressed.

Divatox has a plan - she sends down some Pirahnatrons to annoy everyone at the soccer field, and we get an unmorphed fight. Except not just Adam - Carlos and Ashley fight as well! In fact, for some reason it seems as if Divatox is concentrating on them. Hmmm. Afterwords, Carlos offers to walk Ashley home, and she accepts, although she tells him that she doesn't need his protection. He agrees, but says he needed an excuse to talk to her. SHIP THEM SO MUCH.

Also, I maintain that the reason that Angel Grove's economy runs on martial arts is that 90% of the people take some sort of self defense class. I mean, if you lived in Angel Grove, that's probably a good idea.

Divatox plants a detonator at the soccer field, and it will activate when Angel Grove's team scores 4 goals against Stone Canyon - something Divatox is counting on Carlos to do. The bad guys cheering for Angel Grove is hilarious and awesome - they should do it more often. Carlos continues to play a very self-centered form of soccer, and when he tries to brag to Ashley, she tells him off, and he feels bad.

Of course, midway through the game (tied at 3-3) communicators go off, and Adam has to be the worst coach ever and leave in the middle of a game. There's some sort of ridiculous fight that makes no sense at all that involves the monster and Elgar on motorcycles that are shooting electricity or something? Then there are Zords, and wow, do I not care. MORE CARLOS AND ASHLEY.

Back at the soccer game, apparently nobody has scored at all while the Rangers were gone. Either there was halftime, or Stone Canyon seriously stepped up their game. Meanwhile, Justin has detected the Turbo Navigator, because he is SMART and carries his around with him. Which frankly, all the Rangers should be doing. He gets it from behind the scoreboard and deactivates it, just as Carlos remembers that teamwork exists and passes the ball to the teammate he'd been previously mocking. The teammate scores the 4th goal, and Angel Grove wins.

Ashley invites Carlos to walk her home, Divatox is sad, and Bulk and Skull are cheerleader!monkeys. Oh, and Divatox pretty much explicitly says that she was after Carlos and Ashley because of the Millenium Message. :D

I love this episode.

Fish: 2.5. How did Adam not get fired for LEAVING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME???