Episode 47- Reign of the Jellyfish

This episode made no sense. And it's not because we watched it at 8:30am because I've been up for hours and already had my caffeine. The episode... just didn't make sense. This would have been a beer-worthy episode. Except it's 8:30 in the morning.


So we start the episode with Ms. Applebee standing by a giant clear plastic ball. It's apparently a time capsule they will be burying. She has asked everyone to bring something to put in the time capsule. I'm trying to remember they're in high school here, but I'm failing at that.

Jason puts in a trophy. He says something about it representing physical fitness or strength or whatever? But I totally miss it because I'm so distracted by his arms. His very pretty pretty arms. Kim puts in a pink shirt to represent individuality and fashion. Ms. Applebee puts in a picture of the Power Rangers. We don't know where this picture comes from, but apparently they just pose for cameras at random with the power weapons? It's special. Anyway, moving on, we find out Zack is putting in a cd of music, Billy is putting in a personal computer he designed with all the latest software (so they can see how advanced their technology was... but by the time they dig the capsule up, it will be horribly outdated), and Trini puts in the newspaper from the day. The newspaper is called the Angel Grove Clarion, just for future reference.

Then Bulk and Skull come in. They want to put a sandwich in the time capsule. Not just any sandwich, but a special sandwich they call the Bulkwich. Nobody points out that said sandwich would be rotted, disgusting, and contaminate everything else in the time capsule. Instead they just laugh when Skull squirts mayonnaise all over Bulk. Ugh.

Meanwhile, Rita, who stalks the rangers and knows everything, wants Squatt and Baboo to go down and steal the time capsule so they can put a picture of her in it. She wants to be immortalized too. She also commands Finster make her a monster and he decides the Jellyfish will be a good one for this occasion.

Back at the *ahem* high school, Billy informs the girls they have the highest grades in the class so the five of them get to bury the time capsule. Are we surprised? Not really. They go to the park and find the designated location for burial, made obvious by the large sign on a pole in the ground that says "Time Capsule Here" with an arrow pointing down. There are no reporters, no teachers, no adults present at all. Nobody is documenting this time capsule burial in any way, shape, or form. Which is very convenient since they then get attacked by putties. David Yost really shines in this fight and he does some awesome moves with a shovel in hand. He was almost enough to distract me from the glory that is Jason's arms. Almost.

Squatt and Baboo get the time capsule and take a look inside. Apparently the very preppy, very pink shirt Kim put in is considered "grunge". Um. No. I was grunge. That wasn't grunge. Moving on, they start to take the capsule away but get confronted by the rangers. They freak out, drop the time capsule, and teleport away

Rita has sent down the Jellyfish monster thing which does not even remotely resemble a jellyfish. Zordon finally notices something is amiss in Angel Grove and calls the rangers. Way to be late to the party, Zordon. Though the rangers just went back to burying the time capsule and didn't bother to contact Zordon themselves after being attacked by putties and Squatt and Baboo trying to steal the time capsule, so this is an all around everybody communication fail.

We recognize the voice of Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish and discover he's the same voice as the Cardiotron, Eye Guy, King Sphinx, as well as a bunch of others we haven't gotten to yet.

They go straight to the Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish and discover he can spit venom that goes straight through their suits. They go immediately to the Command Center but it's okay because Alpha, in the five nanoseconds between realizing he could penetrate the suits and the rangers showing up, has created a coating for the suits that will keep out the toxin. Well okay then! Perhaps he lives in his own little time warp. Or something.

They go BACK to the Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish and he now has a bunch of Super Putties helping him out. They do an alright job fighting, but Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish uses an umbrella (a pretty little pink one to boot) to deflect the weapons. Yes, an umbrella. To deflect weapons. But wait, dear readers, it gets BETTER!

Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish SPINS the umbrella and sends the rangers to an alternate dimension! That's right, he can somehow do that. Did I mention he can teleport around too? What can't this monster do? Except look like an actual jellyfish, of course.

So they're in this alternate dimension and they are confronted with a see-through non-corporeal version of Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish. He can hit them, though. Even though he's non-corporeal. Nod and smile, dear readers. We did. A lot. So Billy theorizes that Looks-Nothing-Like-a-Jellyfish is actually time fazed and tells Zack to hit him with his canon. We don't know why this is supposed to work, it just is. And so Zack does. By doing so, everybody is pulled out of the alternate dimension. Fishy fish looks-nothing-like-a-fish!

Rita makes him grow, they call the Zords, and they fight for a bit. Then they call the MegaZord. Then they fight for a bit. Then they win. Surprised? Yeah, neither are we.

Back at the Youth Center, Ernie rewards the rangers with five cold glasses of something to drink, on the house, because they worked hard to bury the time capsule. Bulk and Skull come running in with a very large sandwich, apparently the Bulkwich. They've finally finished making it, but Jason informs them the capsule has already been buried. Still nobody mentions rotted food. In disappointment, Bulk and Skull drop the sandwich on their heads and then get in a food fight. Everybody laughs.

The rangers hope for a future free of war, crime, prejudice, and a bunch of other stuff that is very noble, but not likely to happen... though I certainly wish I could live in the Star Trek Utopia. And that's the end of that.

List time!

4 fish, solid. It was just... it made no sense.

Because we are recapping during the day right now, Emo Kid is around and watching. This episode gets a special Emo Kid Rating of "fun".

No Billy speak really.

Covered in food: Bulk in mayonnaise and then Bulk and Skull in sandwich.

Fic we want to read: SPD traveling from New Tech City to Angel Grove (can't be that far away, they both suffer from geography making no sense) to dig up the time capsule. Hilarity should ensue.

Episode 30 - The Rockstar

Hey, there's no Tommy in this episode! Of course, there's also no Tommy in this episode with no explanation at all! They don't even bother to say Tommy is at a tournament" or "Tommy is visiting family" or "Tommy is at the salon getting his hair done." He just... doesn't exist for the purposes of this episode.

We open with a shot of the Radbug, which is always awesome. Apparently Zack, Kimberly, Billy and Trini are all going on some weekend getaway, and seriously, how OLD are they? I know conventional wisdom has them being 15 in this season since they don't graduate until after Zeo, but they're going away for the weekend and they can drive. Jason is apparently not going with them because his cousin Jeremy, who is not quite as dumb as Cousin Sylvia, but is still pretty ridiculous, is coming to visit.

Somehow the four Rangers manage to pack all of their luggage (Kimberly, I am impressed by how well you pack) and themselves into the Radbug, and Billy tells Jason there would still be room in the backseat, and QueenRiley and I both start giggling. We're both big fans of Mallrats, okay?

Trini is apparently taking a gourmet cooking class, and she brought them brownies for the trip. Since it's a French cooking class, you know exactly where this joke is leading up to. Yes, those are snail brownies. Eww.

Rita is very excited because the Rangers are all going out of town, so she can go look for the Mirror of Destruction, which can blow things up with the light reflected off of it! It can even destroy super putties.

Meanwhile, at the Park, Bulk is eating a sloppy joe pizza, and watching him eat it is gross. Show, please stop with the fatphobia. For real. At least we're halfway through the Bulk and Skull as crazy bullies season (and we are halfway through the first season as of this recap! It only took us nearly six months!) and then Bulk and Skull can start having character development. *sigh*

Jason and his annoying cousin show up, and words are exchanged, and Jeremy asks if these are the famous bullies that Jason told him about. The way it is said makes me believe that Jason was making fun of them to his younger cousin, so this episode totally gets a The Rangers Are Bullies tag. Bulk tries to provoke a physical fight (he's getting better, but he should really know better, since you know Jason is the winner of every tournament in Angel Grove before Tommy showed up) and Jason tricks him into falling on his face.

Leaving Bulk and Skull (also covered in pizza) to themselves, Jason goes to teach cousin Jeremy martial arts on the beach. Cousin Jeremy unfortunately has Jason's fashion sense. Jason tries to teach some more advanced moves to the cousin, and the cousin fails, and Jason tells him he was once insecure, but martial arts helped him get better. Aww, Jason and Adam have so much in common! Jason repeats the "brains over brawn" motto that is the theme of this episode.

Jason and Jeremy get attacked by Super Putties, and the two of them hold their own. Let me repeat that. The things that beat up Four morphed Rangers are now defeated by a twelve-year-old. Talk about Badass Decay.

Jeremy tells Jason he's so excited that this is happening, and both of us start rolling our eyes. Jeremy is all excited about things related to Power Rangers, but he doesn't even question being attacked by putties. I guess that is just the reputation Angel Grove has, although have we ever seen Putties attack Non Rangers at this point? I can't think of anyone.

Miraculously, cousin Jeremy finds a message in a bottle, and they open it. Crazy yellow sparks start shooting out of the bottle, and an Earthquake begins. Jason tells Jeremy to stay there (on top of a cliff, WTF) and jumps down to call Zordon. He gets points for calling Zordon, at least. He knows what his communicator is there for. We get a glimpse of the Radbug driving and hear them go "Earthquake!" and they keep going. I guess someone must have reminded Kimberly that Not All Earthquakes are Rita Related. Although in this case, that isn't true.

Jason and Jeremy look at what was in the bottle, and it's a map that is clearly no place in California. I am telling you, Angel Grove is it's own country, that is the only thing that makes sense. A monster shows up, and Jason tells the kid to run. Instead of morphing, Jason just gets hit by some rocks and is knocked over so he can't move, and Zordon miraculously was paying attention and calls the other Rangers over to help, by telling them to teleport to the beach. I guess the Country of Angel Grove only has one of those.

The Rangers all go off to look for Jeremy in the woods next to the beach, and they are the worst searches ever. Before they get very far, Zordon lets them know that Scorpina and the Rockstar (the monster that shoots rocks at people) are attacking. Billy volunteers to keep looking for Jeremy, and we have some questions. Does Jeremy know Billy? Why isn't Jason doing this, when his cousin is his responsibility? And doesn't Zordon's viewing globe locate people?

All five of them morph (and why Billy morphs we have no idea) and they find Scorpina next to a swimming pool/stadium thing by the beach. Trini and Zack get hit with giant rocks and knocked into the pool, and how they still manage to float considering they have giant rocks attached to them is beyond me.

Jeremy uses the map and finds a rock. He picks up the rock, and under it is a mirror. Worst buried treasure ever. A solitary putty is stalking him, and he opens the mirror and then the putty explodes. Not only does the putty explode, but part of a cliff explodes. Unless that cliff has eyes, the Mirror does not require eyes to blow things up. That is important for later. Anyway, Jeremy is weirded out by the exploding mirror, so he throws it away.

Somehow, Billy has joined in the battle. I guess he wasn't really looking for Jeremy after all. Scorpina now has the mirror since Jeremy threw it away, and Rita makes her grow. Somehow the Rangers manage to summon the zords and bring them together before anything else happens. I guess transformation really is a free action.

Once the Megazord is assembled, Scorpina opens the mirror, and the Rangers all sheild their eyes, so nothing happens. Except that isn't how the mirror works, as it was established three minutes earlier. Whatever. Goldar shows up, and the Rangers manage to get him inbetween them and Scorpina, so Scorpina throws the mirror away so that it won't hurt Goldar. We are really sad that we don't get more of them together in this show. Apparently they even had a cute baby in Zyuranger!

Anyway, the Rangers blow up the mirror, and then (still morphed) they talk to Jeremy. They are seriously bad at this secret identity stuff, because Trini totally pats Jason on the shoulder when Jeremy says he wonders where his cousin is.

We go back to the Youth Center. I guess the others never get their vacation. Jeremy is telling Jason all about his adventures, including parts that there was no way he had seen, because he was busy looking for the mirror while Trini and Zack got thrown into the pool. The Rangers are all excited to hear this kid talk about how awesome they are. I guess the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Jeremy asks Jason where he was, and instead of saying the smart thing or telling Jeremy that he was looking for him Jason just totally blows off the question and says he has to teach a class. The lack of quality education in Angel Grove rears its angry head again.

Lists!
Five fish. If the episode had given us an explanation for where Tommy was, we'd totally have knocked off half a fish for the lack of Tommy, but since it made us wonder where he is, five fish. Also, this episode was totally ridiculous.

Covered in food: Bulk and Skull get covered in sloppy joe pizza.

Billy speak: "An exemplary motto."
"How idiosyncratic."