Netflix Synopsis: Baboo sneaks a magic potion into Kimberly and Billy’s drinks that turns them into angry punks.
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Volleyball!
Expectation vs. Reality?
Strap in kids, it’s another Mark Hoffmeier episode!
Kim turns up mid-game with some refreshments, just in time for Billy to make a swift exit after falling on his face.
Water never looked so good.
Wait, where are we now? All we can see are test tubes and all we can hear is Baboo laughing about test tubes…
Oh, looks like Rita’s “Chief Alchemist” is doing some alchemy.
What ON EARTH do those look like.
So, turns out that those weird ingredients are an ancient concoction for a ‘punk potion’ (obviously) that Baboo plans to use to poison the Rangers and score some points with his boss.
Um, a sweater to a beach volleyball game? Really, gurl?
SNEAK PUTTY ATTACK
While the putties distract the Rangers, Baboo hops on Rita’s flying penny farthing and zips over Angel Grove with the ‘punk potion.’ There is absolutely nothing to laugh about here,
In a sequence that can only be described as akin to date raping (yeesh) Baboo spikes the drink that Kim brought to the volleyball game.
I know the Rangers have a putty problem while this is going on, but HOW do they not see him just hovering over their drinks?
The putties disappear, leaving Billy and Kim thirsty for a post-battle celebratory drink.
Wait… That’s no “tasty” water drink!
Peak acting in the episode. PEAK.
The other Rangers come over to check on them, leading to a STRONG exchange of coarse language.
Trini seems to mistake sunstroke for a brain altering condition.
The now ‘punk-ified’ versions of Billy and Kim run off. Jason gives them his best stank face.
Meanwhile at the Cyber Peacock, Rita is happy with Baboo’s work, but doesn’t really thank him. Instead, she’s got one thing on her mind…
Finster: “As you may recall we had great success with it on Sorcery Seven.” Weird planet name, right? According to the RangerWiki: “Sorcery 7 was a planet where Rita Repulsa first unleashed the Terror Toad, he most likely ate everyone on the planet.” Everyone?! Could he be even hungrier than the Pudgey Pig?
Oh, is that Angel Grove High School logo? Pretty rad. Looks like the entrance to the X-Men mansion.
I like this next scene because we get to see what’s in some of the character’s lockers, which is always the quickest way to see someone’s personality distilled. The production team would have had to deliberately pick things to put in these, so let’s see if we can get a closer look… Trini seems to just have a photo of a really white boy in hers. Strange choice.
Zach! Are those sexy photos of ladies?
Kind of enjoy that Zack also keeps his own personal basketball in his locker.
Ooh, we get to see what Bulk and Skull are hiding in their lockers too!
SKULL HAS A SKULL IN HIS LOCKER. And lots of photos of people with skulls stuck over them… A tad obsessive, then. You know how Victor Von Doom took his name super literally and let it define his entire personality? Well, that.
Bulk just has – surprise, surprise – loads of food in his locker, which is gross.
WOAH. Is that a fake severed hand..?
And a fake snake..? For pranking purposes, I guess.
Billy and Kim enter showing off their brand new wardrobe malfunctions.
And Bulk and Skull can barely contain their arousal.
Trini, on the other hand, can’t hide her disapproval.
Kim wastes no time in attempting to seduce an unsuspecting Skull. What a ‘Power’ couple they would be, right? Right?
Meanwhile, Billy has a bit of rough play with Bulk. A little too rough for Bulk’s liking. In doing so, Billy also recklessly shows off his powers. Oops.
Luckily, Zach finally figures out that the sun wasn’t the culprit behind these strange goings on.
At the HQ, Alpha’s also figured things out. Apparently, “going punk” was a well-known phenomena in the 90s.
So Zordon knows what a punk is, too? I guess he’s a worldly cosmic Wizard after all. Also, what is he afraid they’ll do? Steal his lunch money? I guess he’s worried after Billy flagrantly roughed Bulk up that their identities will get revealed.
He teleports all the Rangers to the HQ straight away, and traps Billy and Kim in the “transparent force field”.
Zordon has also helpfully found some footage of Baboo doing his drink spiking earlier and sticks it on the viewing globe. Wait, if he was watching the whole time why didn’t he warn them? C’mon Zordon, that ain’t cool man. He also shows us a flashback from “eons” ago, and we get our first glimpse of Zordon when he had a body!
This footage is from Super Sentai, of course, and so that’s exactly Zordon, but rather it’s his Japanese equivalent. The RangerWiki explains: The flashback footage of the Singing Squash shows Mysterious Wizard/Sage Barza, the Rangers’ mentor, in the original Japanese series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.
Also, why is there a pre-existing cure for a potion that didn’t exist until now? In case of punk, break glass and use squash.
Zordon: “Rita has released a Terror Toad on earth! It’s Rita’s most evil creation yet. It has an enormous appetite.” ‘A’ Terror Toad rather than the Terror Toad? Is there more than one? Perish the thought.
Jason, Trini and Zach morph and teleport over to take on the Toad, only to find he really is a terror.
The biggest shock of the episode so far is that the Toad’s power is actually kind of cool (and gross).
For some reason, once the Toad’s victims have been swallowed up, their faces become emblazoned on his belly.
Jason and Zach try their Blade Blasters, but the Toad simply deflects them back.
Alpha teleports to the “dimensional gap” to get the singing squash. Apparently you create a dimensional gap yourself at home pretty easily. All you need are pink and blue light filters, a smoke machine and some tarpaulin.
A bunch of putties ambush him, but luckily Alpha’s taken a leaf out of Batman’s playbook and installed some defences into his helmet.
He grabs the singing squash, which looks more like a singing carrot.
The singing squash is basically a Mandrake Root, right?
Back in the battle, Jason and Zach decide to double-team the toad. But then instead they fight him at the same time. (Tee hee.) Unfortunately, Zach gets gobbled up too,
Alpha creates and administers the cure to Bill and Kim. He really is the MVP of the episode.
Zordon then gives the de-punkified Billy and Kim a lot of key strategic information that he maaaaybe should have given to Jason, Zach and Trini earlier. Kim also accurately ascertains that the Toad is “totally gross.”
Billy and Kim morph and teleport over to the battle, just in time to watch Jason get eaten. Not with the laser tongue though. The Rangers leader is treated instead to full-on physical, slimy contact. Ugh.
Billy comes up with a full-proof plan.
Oh, I spoke too soon.
Kim gets her bow out, but before she can fire, Baboo teleports in to support the Toad, literally pushing her out of the way before she can shoot.
Undeterred, Kim goes full-on Katniss Everdeen,..
…and gets the team back.
She scores a perfect bullseye into the Toad’s mouth, and he’s blown (somehow) to high heaven.
YAAAAAS.
Later on at the Gym & Juice Bar, Skull (and Bulk) turn up all dressed up for his date with Kim. Aww.
Kim apparently has no memory of her wild punk days, and the boys are rebuffed.
To settle the matter, Bulk and Skull agree to play the Rangers at a volleyball game, which of course – they lose. And in true Bulk and Skull style.
Morph In Or Morph Out? 