Hope for the world: "Danger and Destiny"
Dec. 26th, 2009 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameRight off the bat, I'm glad to say that "Danger and Destiny" didn't try to be "Countdown to Destruction." Good as the PRiS episode is, it wouldn't have been right for RPM. Also, it didn't rely on the original plans Eddie Guzelian had for the ending, but it still held true to the spirit he built in the first half of the series. Everyone's character stories really came to a close.
Many Power Rangers finales feature the original core team fighting the final battle. Notable twists were in Space and Lost Galaxy. In "Countdown to Destruction," Andros faced Astronema alone, just as he'd been alone at the beginning of the season, and the Earth-born Rangers were joined by Zhane on Earth--except for Zhane, they'd been together as a separate team in the first episode, the Turbo Rangers. Before "Journey's End," Mike had lost his morpher and could no longer become the Magna Defender, and it was the core five who fought Trakeena and returned the Quasar Sabers to the stone altar--of course, with Karone filling in for the deceased Kendrix, who returned after everything was set right. "Danger and Destiny" featured Scott, Summer, and Flynn facing down Venjix while Ziggy defended Doctor K, Tenaya was fighting Crunch, Dillon was unconscious and then trying to save Tenaya, and Gem and Gemma were being revived. RPM started off as Dillon's story, so we never saw the original three Rangers in action, so it's equally fitting and strange that they're the ones to fight. They started it, but at the same time, this is the first time we really see them as a trio.
Gem and Gemma get to join the ranks of dead and revived Rangers, and the reactions to their deaths is as heartbreaking as it was for Kendrix in Lost Galaxy. Summer actually broke down crying, Scott took the loss personally, and Flynn got aggressive--arguing openly with Scott, and then insisting to Tenaya that she help them if she really wanted to help Dillon. Of the three ships in the show (Summer/Dillon, Ziggy/Doctor K, and Flynn/Gemma), Flynn and Gemma are the ones that are never really acknowledged, so I was glad to see that it was Flynn who acted like this following Gem and Gemma's death. And when Doctor K managed to revive them, the look on Ziggy's face as he realized what was happening said it all--until, of course, he ruined the moment by pointing out to the Doc that they could make money off that trick. And just as the original three can't hold off Venjix any longer, Gem and Gemma heroically drop the Tower down on top of him while Dillon and Tenaya parachute to safety.
And of course comes the ending, where we see what happens to the Rangers now that they're no longer Rangers--a tradition since Wild Force, I think. Presumably some time after the battle, the military and Scott head outside the dome because the fallout has finally cleared from the air. Apparently, this was caused directly by the Venjix Palace, so it meshes the pollution theme from Go-Onger with the post-Apocalyptic nuclear wasteland of RPM. I'd say the science bothered me, but honestly, everything else made up for it. Scott and the Colonel start talking about what Scott's going to do now that the Rangers don't need him anymore, and the Colonel suggests that Scott heads up Eagle Squadron, admitting finally that he's the right man for the job. Scott agrees to rejoin the Air Force, and he returns to the Garage with Gem and Gemma, letting the others know that the three of them are new members of Eagle Squadron--a job that thrills the twins since they can blow stuff up for money. Flynn reveals that he and his dad are opening a shop to help with restructuring Corinth's computer systems--probably playing with the revelations about that "simple" mechanic from "Not So Simple." Doctor K looks over Tenaya's eyes and reveals that the implants are holding but she's not sure if Tenaya's vision is permanent, but Tenaya doesn't mind. She rejoins Summer and Dillon, who are packing the Fury--the three of them plan to set out across the world and see what's out there and try to rebuild. Dillon even lets go of his bad boy persona long enough to hug Ziggy goodbye, when Ziggy offers a handshake like Scott did. And Ziggy and Doctor K are going to open a school, where Doctor K will teach kids about the bio-fields and Ziggy will teach cooking and shadowpuppets.
But of course, they've got to turn over the morphers, and it's handled with sorrow. I don't think I've seen any team of Rangers really show how reluctant they are to leave the power at the end, but it starts with Ziggy mournfully placing his morpher in the case with a whisper of "Get in Gear," and continues with all the Rangers but Dillon keeping a lingering touch over the morphers. It's reminiscent of Lightspeed Rescue, but it's really emotional--they've been the Power Rangers for a while now, and now they've got to say goodbye--not just to the power but to each other too.
Dillon, Summer, and Tenaya hit the road from Corinth, and in a wonderful callback to "The Road to Corinth," Dillon stops the Fury when he finds a yellow flower in the middle of the wasteland. He and the girls come out as he takes a bottle of water to water the flower--now a small cluster of flowers--and Tenaya notices clusters of flowers growing all over the hill. As they climb the hill, grass is growing, and they see the mountain and a lake in the distance--all of it forested again, and they know the world is going to move on. The scene is straight out of WALL-E, but it really is the perfect ending for RPM--the world is ready to move on again, and you know that everything is going to be all right. The darkest season of Power Rangers ever ends with life.
And a hidden danger, by the red glowing light we associate with Venjix coming from one of the morphers as Doctor K seals the case and takes it away. Power Rangers ends with RPM, but they made sure to leave us a little bit to play with.
All in all, a gorgeous and fitting end to a wonderful season. It may not have hit everything I would have liked it to touch on, but overall, it was the ending the story needed, as the series comes to a close after seventeen years.
Many Power Rangers finales feature the original core team fighting the final battle. Notable twists were in Space and Lost Galaxy. In "Countdown to Destruction," Andros faced Astronema alone, just as he'd been alone at the beginning of the season, and the Earth-born Rangers were joined by Zhane on Earth--except for Zhane, they'd been together as a separate team in the first episode, the Turbo Rangers. Before "Journey's End," Mike had lost his morpher and could no longer become the Magna Defender, and it was the core five who fought Trakeena and returned the Quasar Sabers to the stone altar--of course, with Karone filling in for the deceased Kendrix, who returned after everything was set right. "Danger and Destiny" featured Scott, Summer, and Flynn facing down Venjix while Ziggy defended Doctor K, Tenaya was fighting Crunch, Dillon was unconscious and then trying to save Tenaya, and Gem and Gemma were being revived. RPM started off as Dillon's story, so we never saw the original three Rangers in action, so it's equally fitting and strange that they're the ones to fight. They started it, but at the same time, this is the first time we really see them as a trio.
Gem and Gemma get to join the ranks of dead and revived Rangers, and the reactions to their deaths is as heartbreaking as it was for Kendrix in Lost Galaxy. Summer actually broke down crying, Scott took the loss personally, and Flynn got aggressive--arguing openly with Scott, and then insisting to Tenaya that she help them if she really wanted to help Dillon. Of the three ships in the show (Summer/Dillon, Ziggy/Doctor K, and Flynn/Gemma), Flynn and Gemma are the ones that are never really acknowledged, so I was glad to see that it was Flynn who acted like this following Gem and Gemma's death. And when Doctor K managed to revive them, the look on Ziggy's face as he realized what was happening said it all--until, of course, he ruined the moment by pointing out to the Doc that they could make money off that trick. And just as the original three can't hold off Venjix any longer, Gem and Gemma heroically drop the Tower down on top of him while Dillon and Tenaya parachute to safety.
And of course comes the ending, where we see what happens to the Rangers now that they're no longer Rangers--a tradition since Wild Force, I think. Presumably some time after the battle, the military and Scott head outside the dome because the fallout has finally cleared from the air. Apparently, this was caused directly by the Venjix Palace, so it meshes the pollution theme from Go-Onger with the post-Apocalyptic nuclear wasteland of RPM. I'd say the science bothered me, but honestly, everything else made up for it. Scott and the Colonel start talking about what Scott's going to do now that the Rangers don't need him anymore, and the Colonel suggests that Scott heads up Eagle Squadron, admitting finally that he's the right man for the job. Scott agrees to rejoin the Air Force, and he returns to the Garage with Gem and Gemma, letting the others know that the three of them are new members of Eagle Squadron--a job that thrills the twins since they can blow stuff up for money. Flynn reveals that he and his dad are opening a shop to help with restructuring Corinth's computer systems--probably playing with the revelations about that "simple" mechanic from "Not So Simple." Doctor K looks over Tenaya's eyes and reveals that the implants are holding but she's not sure if Tenaya's vision is permanent, but Tenaya doesn't mind. She rejoins Summer and Dillon, who are packing the Fury--the three of them plan to set out across the world and see what's out there and try to rebuild. Dillon even lets go of his bad boy persona long enough to hug Ziggy goodbye, when Ziggy offers a handshake like Scott did. And Ziggy and Doctor K are going to open a school, where Doctor K will teach kids about the bio-fields and Ziggy will teach cooking and shadowpuppets.
But of course, they've got to turn over the morphers, and it's handled with sorrow. I don't think I've seen any team of Rangers really show how reluctant they are to leave the power at the end, but it starts with Ziggy mournfully placing his morpher in the case with a whisper of "Get in Gear," and continues with all the Rangers but Dillon keeping a lingering touch over the morphers. It's reminiscent of Lightspeed Rescue, but it's really emotional--they've been the Power Rangers for a while now, and now they've got to say goodbye--not just to the power but to each other too.
Dillon, Summer, and Tenaya hit the road from Corinth, and in a wonderful callback to "The Road to Corinth," Dillon stops the Fury when he finds a yellow flower in the middle of the wasteland. He and the girls come out as he takes a bottle of water to water the flower--now a small cluster of flowers--and Tenaya notices clusters of flowers growing all over the hill. As they climb the hill, grass is growing, and they see the mountain and a lake in the distance--all of it forested again, and they know the world is going to move on. The scene is straight out of WALL-E, but it really is the perfect ending for RPM--the world is ready to move on again, and you know that everything is going to be all right. The darkest season of Power Rangers ever ends with life.
And a hidden danger, by the red glowing light we associate with Venjix coming from one of the morphers as Doctor K seals the case and takes it away. Power Rangers ends with RPM, but they made sure to leave us a little bit to play with.
All in all, a gorgeous and fitting end to a wonderful season. It may not have hit everything I would have liked it to touch on, but overall, it was the ending the story needed, as the series comes to a close after seventeen years.
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-27 03:57 pm (UTC)I'm trying to work on ADS right now but at the same time, trying not to copy the ending of either series. I've gotten the ending of ADS plotted out but I've gotten a ways to go.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-27 04:42 pm (UTC)I'm working on "Shifting Gears." I figure I've got three more scenes after the Flynn one I'm working on. I'm going to definitely keep "Danger and Destiny" in mind while writing it and also homage the beginnings without blatantly ripping them off.
I just have to remind my brain not to try and take every promise for a sequel in RPM and turn it into a fic. Otherwise I'll have another Yang-Yin on my hands. Maybe if I take the character bits and work on individual pieces, I can write post-series fics, but I definitely can't touch that Venjix-in-morpher thing.