Go Galactic! Uncanny Fox at it again, continuing my run-through of the Power Rangers crossover episodes with the team up between In Space and Lost Galaxy, the 2-part compilation of “To The Tenth Power” and “The Power Of Pink.” Even though they have separate names, the 2 episodes are back-to-back and function like a 2-parter, so I’ll be reviewing it as such, unlike with the “True Blue To The Rescue”/“Always A Chance” review, which was two separate stories airing at different parts of the season.

After the success of In Space, the series was un-cancelled, and showrunners Tzachor and Lynn decided to follow up with another space-themed season. The problem this time? The Sentai they had to work with, Seijuu Sentai Gingaman, was nature themed. The Zords weren’t even space vehicles, they were animals. The mentor was a talking tree (about 15 years ahead of the times, aren’t we?). Luckily, they had a work around for the stock footage: they set the season inside a domed space station (think of this as Power Rangers’ version of Deep Space Nine) with an artificial environment just like Earth. So they were able to get away with using more Sentai footage.

Said station is named Terra Venture (or Promethea if you’re into the comics), which, after the events of “Countdown To Destruction,” has set out to explore the final frontier of space. Unfortunately, an army of bug-like aliens (the actual villains of Gingaman, a band of space pirates, would be phased in later. Oddly enough though, the toys had the pirates from the get-go, which confused the heck out of me as a kid) have decided to attack after a group of Terra Venture citizens (guess who they end up being) are chosen by the mystical Quasar Sabers to be the newest protectors of the universe. These new Rangers join forces with ancient creatures called “Galactibeasts” (the Zords of the season) to fight off this insectoid menace, riding in the good old Astro Megaship to take them on wherever they rear their mandibled faces.

This season served as a sort of bridge between the Zordon Era and the standalone storylines that would follow. Sure, there’s a whole new team of Rangers, but they still have the Megaship, Alpha 6 and the occasional appearance of Bulk as links to past seasons. Production would prove difficult as the show went on, with multiple rewrites, dropped concepts, and one major issue that the episodes I’m discussing today were partly made to address. You probably already know what I’m talking about…

With that in mind, let’s strap on our Starship Troopers uniforms (no really, they used those in this show, but they’re sadly not in this episode) and take a journey to the Lost Galaxy, where everything is high-tech and futuristic, but they still use box monitors.

The episode begins with the Previously On segment (showing the death of the previous Big Bad of the season, the bug/slug thing Scorpious, and how the treacherous pirate robot Deviot tried to have his daughter Trakeena killed to take over her position), then a cold open of Deviot (just look at that neck-frill) meeting up with a cloaked stranger on a desert planet. The ant-like alien (lot of bug people this season) gives Deviot an ancient-looking box (the robot brought the key, as part of some sort of exchange), which houses a very familiar-looking set of green data cards which he thinks will finally bring an end to the Power Rangers. The bug guy tries to kill him and take the cards for himself, but Deviot notices and shoots him.

Back on Trakeena’s scorpion-like warship, named the Scorpion Stinger, Deviot explains that the cards contain the deadly Psycho Rangers (a team of insane, killer robots that Astronema created to defeat the Space Rangers, only for them to be ultimately sealed away in the cards that Astronema kept hidden away for safekeeping), and that he’s reprogramed them to be stronger. He then places the cards into a Digital Re-animator machine, which brings them back to life after a dramatic scene of flickering lights and Star Trek transporter effects. Once fully revived and revealed, the Psychos strike a battle pose as an impressed Trakeena looks on.

The intro plays, and we get another awesome theme song set to a montage of actor greeting shots and Red Ranger Leo ripping off his shirt (you know, for the females/gay males watching). Honestly, it would be a much rarer thing for me to not like a PR theme (oh, we’ll get there, don’t you worry). This one in particular rocks pretty hard, even though it does get a little repetitive towards the end with the whole “Turn on the Power! Power Rangers!” bit. But the high point for me will always be the epic “Ah, Ah, Ah-Ah-Ah-Ahhhh” in the middle. Really gets the blood pumping.

Back on the desert planet, another cloaked figure (the Palpatine look must be in this year) walks up to the burning remains of the last guy (don’t worry parents, it’s just a cloak and a sword) and notes the opened box, lamenting that he’s “too late.”

On Trakeena’s ship, the evil queen tells the Psycho Rangers that they work for her now, and that they will first be targeting the Green and Yellow Rangers (There’s no Black Ranger this season, so Psycho Black will have to make do). This triggers an argument among the other Psychos, with Blue asking why he can’t kill his Ranger first. That was a problem during their arc last season, too. Trakeena signals to Deviot, who flips a switch on a remote that zaps the Psychos with an electrical current from a band on their arms until they submit to her will. Now that she’s got their undivided attention, she starts to lay out her evil plan…

Meanwhile, Damon (the Astro Megaship’s new mechanic and Galaxy Green Ranger) and Maya (a tribal girl from the planet Miranoi and Galaxy Yellow, who – purely as a side note – is played by Cerina Vincent, who would go on to play a nudist in Not Another Teen Movie. I’ve never seen that movie before, but I might have to check it out now. For research purposes. Just research. Nothing but research), are walking home from the grocery store, with the former doing all the bag carrying and the later snacking on an apple. Suddenly, a portal opens up on the sidewalk, and a Psycho hand reaches up to trip Damon, causing him to drop produce all over the place. An annoyed Maya bends down to pick up a tomato when Psycho Yellow reaches up to drag her down into oblivion. Damon notices she’s gone, and after nearly getting hit by a kid on a bike, gets grabbed through the wall himself by Psycho Black.

We then cut to Kai (played by Archie Kao, who would later appear on CSI, Desperate Housewives and Chicago PD alongside Casey Jones himself, Elias Koteas) and Kendrix, the Blue and Pink of this season, getting attacked by their respective Psychos in an alley. They’re easily out matched by the killer robots, who capture them before they can morph.

Now all that’s left is Leo, the Red Galaxy Ranger, who’s off practicing martial arts in the woods with his shirt onwhen he hears a little boy crying. But when he tries to comfort the kid, he judo Leo over his shoulder – turns out the boy is Psycho Red. The two Reds fight for a bit, with Psycho easily overpowering the good Ranger.

Leo morphs, and we see the Lost Galaxy morphing sequence, which is a simple scene of the Ranger appearing in their suit surrounded by their base element (in Leo’s case, fire) and waving their hands in front of their face to form the helmet. Sadly there’s no Engrish here, apparently the Reality Gangsters on Terra Venture are already pretty tight.

Leo tries to pull out his Quasar Saber to even the odds, but Psycho Red is way ahead of him, and soon has his good counterpart on the ropes after he kicks Leo into a tree branch, which demorphs him. Standing menacingly over his downed prey, the Psycho formally introduces himself by spinning his head around like something out of The Exorcist. He’s definitely living up to the “Psycho” part of his name.

After a commercial break, Psycho Red prepares to finish Leo off, only to be stopped by a dropkick from the cloaked person from before. Said figure then pulls out a familiar-looking blaster and fires off a laser at the evil ‘bot, giving both himself and Leo a chance to run away deeper into the woods.

Once they’re clear, the cloaked one pulls back his hood to reveal Andros, who Leo recognizes from having been in Angel Grove during the events of “Countdown to Destruction.” This is a neat touch, which adds a bit to Leo’s character (he originally snuck aboard Terra Venture because he wanted to be a hero like his brother, and in one of his first scenes he’s shown rescuing an old lady that was being mugged) and gives the feeling of the Rangers inspiring others to become heroes themselves through their actions.

After a friendly handshake, Leo asks who the Psycho is, and Andros replies that he’s “everything you are, except he’s exactly the opposite. And twice as powerful.” So he’s not everything Leo is, then. Andros goes on to say that Red will stop at nothing to destroy Leo or anyone else who dares call himself Red Ranger (I’d love to see him pull that crap with Jason), before he and Leo run back to the Megaship before Psycho gains wind of them.

Up on the Megaship, Alpha and Mike (Leo’s brother and the Magna Defender, the Sixth Ranger for this season) are looking for the other Rangers when Leo and Andros walk in. Alpha is overjoyed to see Andros again, but they have to find the others if they’re to have any chance of beating the Psychos. DECA announces that she’s picked up an unusual frequency coming from the Industrial Dome, and Leo and Andros figure it’s where the others are being held prisoner.

Andros points out that Psycho Red knows Leo will try to save his friends, and asks if something called the “Power Vault” is still sealed. DECA says yes, leading Andros to declare that it’s time to crack it open. He and the others head over to it, and it turns out that’s where Andros and the other Space Rangers left their morphers when they defeated Dark Specter’s army. Andros types up a code on a nearby keypad, which lowers the vault’s temperature to normal (it was apparently superheated, just in case someone tried to break in) and unlocks the door, allowing the former Red Ranger to grab his morpher. There’s this air of majesty in the scene, with a faint, formal heroic tune playing as the former Red Ranger straps the device on his wrist once more.

At the Industrial Dome, Trakeena and her cronies have the rest of the Galaxy team held up in an old warehouse, surrounded by a force field. Trakeena gloats that it’s only a matter of time before the Red Ranger shows up to try and rescue his friends, and that the Psycho Rangers have lived up to Deviot’s help.

But as the robot starts bragging about how wonderful his plan is, a large explosion goes off behind the group, and Leo is unsurprisingly not far behind. And he’s not alone, as Andros soon joins him, much to Trakeena’s surprise and Psycho Red’s anger. Nonetheless, Trakeena is thrilled at the chance to kill two Red Rangers, and she soon sics the Psychos on them.

Psycho Red declares that it’s “time for a Psycho Ranger rumble,” (that sounds like it could be a Pay-Per-View for Big Time Space Wrestling) and the two heroic Reds lead the evil doppelgangers outside, where a fight breaks out. The Reds hold their own against the Psychos, and Trakeena and her goons soon join the fray.

Back in the Megaship, we get a first-person view of someone walking into the Power Vault, where the rest of the Astro Morphers are still being held. They open the door and head inside, only for Alpha to catch them and be shocked at who he’s seeing. Take a wild guess who that is…

The other Galaxy Rangers are still trapped in the force field, surrounded by a flock of Stingwingers (the insectoid grunts for the season, who look pretty cool even if the Quantrons are still better). Mike, fully morphed as the Magna Defender (the first Power Ranger to wear a cape, something that would be repeated in Mystic Force) sneaks up from behind and knocks out the goon at the controls, then blasts the console and sets his teammates free.

Now free, the others join back up with Leo and Andros just in time to even the odds with Trakeena’s minions and the Psychos. Damon gives the bad guys one last chance to get out of this fight while they can, but of course they’re not hearing it. Psycho Red brags that even with seven Rangers, they still don’t have a chance against all of the villains there…

… At least until a familiar voice calls up from the upper floor of the warehouse, asking “how ‘bout eleven of us?” Everyone looks up to see the rest of the Space Rangers (except for Zhane, for some reason. The guy who played him, Justin Nimmo, wasn’t available), who – as you might have guessed – were the ones who broke into the Power Vault before. On a side note, Carlos got a haircut.

Now with the odds in the good guys’ favor, an epic sequence kicks off as the Space Rangers morph to the tune of the In Space theme, then jump down to join the Galaxy Rangers, who in turn morph to the tune of their theme, right at the “Ahhhh” bit for extra excitement. Everyone then gives a roll call and poses, as the background can do the only thing it can do in the face of such sheer awesomeness: explode. Yeah, that’s going to be happening a lot in the reviews to come…

Trakeena orders her minions to attack, and the fight is on. The Rangers pair off based on their respective colors: Leo and Andros take on Psycho Red in a sword battle – which Andros finishes with a laser blast to the gut, Kendrix and Cassie battle Psycho Pink over a railing, Kai and TJ deal with Psycho Blue inside with Kai taking him down with a cool flipping elbow drop, and Damon and Carlos lay some flying dropkicks on Psycho Black, who’s no doubt confused as to why one of his targets is the wrong color. There’s a simple explanation for tha… oh look, Maya and Ashley are fighting Psycho Yellow (Ashley wins with a shot from her Star Slinger) and Mike’s just taking on anyone who’s left over by himself in another part of the warehouse with lots of drum-cans. He’s kind of awesome like that.

All in all, the fight choreography is top notch in this scene, with everyone fighting in near-perfect sync like a well-oiled machine. It’s probably one of the best fights we’re going to see in these reviews, and it’s all American-produced to boot. Props to Koichi Sakamoto, longtime fight choreographer for the series, for his outstanding work here. The show wouldn’t be what it is without him.

Eventually the Psychos regroup outside, the tide finally turned in the Rangers’ corner as the heroes chase off after them. After Leo gives them one final chance to quit while they still can (guess how they answer) he and his team summon the Lights of Orion, a mystical energy that gives them golden armor and claw weapons. The Space Rangers follow suit with their Spiral Saber and Quadro-Blaster, firing off an energy blast that softens the Psychos up enough for the Galaxy Rangers to deliver the coup-de-grace by transforming themselves into a fireball that destroys the metal menaces once and for all. At least, that’s what we’re lead to believe…

Trakeena and her minions vow revenge and leave in typical fashion, and after another commercial break, the Rangers all head back to the Megaship to celebrate, much to Alpha’s delight. The Space Rangers say hello to their robot friend, who they haven’t seen for a year at this point, and explain that he sent out a distress signal when the other Rangers went missing. Wait, then why did they need to sneak up like that?

Mike asks if they can stay, and TJ replies that they can for a little while, but they’ll have to get back to Earth eventually. But in the meantime, Maya volunteers to give them the grand tour of Terra Venture. And if not for a certain misfortune I’ll bring up later, this would probably be where the story ends…

But it’s not, as back at the warehouse Deviot surveys the flaming remains of the Psychos, until he finds one that’s still alive: Psycho Pink. The deadly fem-bot emerges from the rubble like a zombie as Deviot tells her that she’s getting one last chance to destroy the Rangers, and this time, she won’t let anyone stand in her way…

Like I said last week, at this point the show stopped using bloopers during the credits, instead opting to show the Megazord transformation sequence for this season. So, I’m not going to bringing up credits anymore after this.

Part 2 (aka “The Power Of Pink”) picks up with the Galaxy Rangers showing the Space Rangers the Galactabeasts in their organic animal forms (they transform into robots for the Zord battles) out in the woods. Everyone’s impressed, as they never had anything like this when they were Rangers, and Cassie climbs up on the head of the Pink Wildcat to do a silly little dance. This would have been foreshadowing, but I’ll explain later. The cat doesn’t really like this though, and bucks her off onto the grass below. Even without the bloopers, Cassie’s still falling like a pro.

Up on the Scorpion Stinger, Deviot explains to Trakeena that he plans on recharging Psycho Pink as soon as she finishes recovering. Trakeena orders him to destroy all 10 of the Rangers (uh, last time I checked there was 11, or does Magna Defender not count anymore? Come to think of it, he doesn’t morph in this episode, so maybe Deviot’s right?) with the Psycho’s help.

But there’s a slight problem: Psycho Pink only wants to destroy the Pink Rangers, as she bolts up from her slumber to assert. Deviot tries to shock her for her tunnel vison, but the robot rips off the control armband and crumbles it to dust, declaring that she’s not his “little pink toy” anymore. And considering the Legacy figure of her ended up being cancelled, she won’t be anyone else’s either…

Trakeena tries asserting her authority over her, but Psycho summons up her bow weapon and draws it on the Insect Queen. She fires off a shot, but Trakeena’s loyal bodyguard Villamax deflects it with his sword, forcing Psycho to retreat. The goons try to take off after her, but Trakeena stops them, saying that while Psycho takes care of the Pink Rangers, they can deal with the rest…

After the intro plays, we cut to Kendrix in her lab (she’s a scientist working for the Terra Venture crew), doing some research on an artifact called the Savage Sword via the Galaxy Book (an artifact that contains knowledge about the Galactabeasts and the like). As her fellow lab assistants go out for a coffee break, she looks at the scans on her computer. Her very boxy, very late 90’s computer.

Meanwhile, a wounded Psycho Pink heads down to the city, where she finds an information kiosk detailing how Terra Ventures computers are all connected to the same network. Drawing inspiration from this little factoid, she phases into said terminal in order to travel through the network (which is apparently connected through the power lines, judging from where her energy trail goes) to Kendrix’s lab.

The Psycho reaches Kendrix’s computer monitor, waiting around on the other side for the Pink Ranger’s guard to go down. As soon as Kendrix locates the planet the Savage Sword is hidden (the planet Rashon, and it’s not too far from Terra Venture), Psycho reaches out and grabs her head, scanning her brain for knowledge of the Sword. Okay, pop-up advertising has official gone too far.

Once she gets all she needs to know, she shoves Kendrix aside and disappears back into the monitor, leaving the Pink Ranger to track where she’s going.

Kendrix runs off after her, bumping people aside as she hurries across a bridge to the mini-dome she tracked Psycho Pink’s signal to. She eventually runs past Cassie, who she explains the situation to. The two Pinks head off to find the Psycho and stop her.

Speaking off, Psycho Pink jumps back out of the terminal she jumped into before, and announces her plan to find the Savage Sword and use its power to destroy her enemies. Kendrix and Cassie then arrive, and morph to take on the evil robot. But Psycho Pink proves too tough for them even in her weakened state, and teleports away after distracting them with an explosive blast.

Kendrix explains to Cassie that the Savage Sword is stronger than all the Quasar Sabers combined, and that if Psycho Pink gets her hands on it, they’re all done for. She heads off to stop her, thinking that it’s her fault Pink knows about the Sword, but Cassie points out that Pink Rangers have to stick together, and they’ll stand a better chance if they team up. Kendrix agrees, and the two girls share a fist bump.

After a commercial break, they head off into space towards Rashon, Cassie on her Galaxy Glider and Kendrix on her Jet Jammer (sort of a hover-car type thing that was exclusive to Power Rangers. In Gingaman, they just rode horses). Kendrix calls up the other Rangers (who are out at lunch) and tells them where they’re going.

Leo tells her they’re on their way, but before the Rangers can spring into action, a pack of Stingwingers flutter down from space to attack them. The Rangers face off against the insectoids, eventually morphing when the baddies prove too tough. One funny thing of note in the group morphing sequence is how Carlos’s little box is green instead of black. Guess it works since he used to be Turbo Green…

Meanwhile, Psycho Pink arrives at Rashon, landing near the Savage Sword among the jaded desert rocks. Cassie and Kendrix aren’t too far behind, hoping to find the blade before the Psycho does.

Unfortunately, Psycho spots the Sword embedded in a rock like an evil Excalibur, and the Pinks arrive just in time to watch her pull it free after gloating to herself about how she will rule. Invincible! Cassie and Kendrix run at her in dramatic slow-motion, but the robot unleashes the blade, in a dark parallel to the Rangers claiming the Quasar Sabers at the beginning of the season.

Psycho Pink then attacks them with her new weapon, brutalizing Cassie with ease as Kendrix can only watch helplessly from the sidelines. Eventually, the Sword glows with pink energy (careful Psycho, too much of that can be dangerous) and increases in size, as Psycho Pink explains that it becomes more powerful with each strike. I guess it absorbs the Rangers’ energy when it touches them.

Due to this, the rest of the fight goes poorly for our heroes in pink. Cassie eventually takes a strike meant for Kendrix, and my theory above is confirmed as the Sword drains power from the Pink Space Ranger and Psycho laughs manically. The robot’s battle damage heals as she kicks Cassie away, and the Sword grows into a claymore that wouldn’t look out of place in Cloud Strife’s weapon cabinet. In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s a sword in the game that looks just like this one…

On second thought, this was the closest I could muster. I could have sworn I saw something that looked more like it, though. Darn Mandela Effect…

Back on Terra Venture, Deviot and Villamax joins the fight with the other Rangers, with the former taking on the Yellows and the latter dealing with the Blues.

On planet Rashon, Cassie is forced to demorph after being knocked to the ground by Psycho Pink and her Savage Buster Sword, her morpher slipping off her wrist as she rolls in pain. Psycho prepares a killing blow, until she sees said morpher on the ground and gets an idea: strike at it with the Sword and take all of its power for herself. She does so as Cassie and Kendrix can only watch in horror, breaking it and creating a massive vortex of pink energy. See, Zordon was right.

The ground shakes and the clouds turn pink (guess we’re in for nasty weather tomorrow) as the power rages out of the Sword. It eventually proves too much for Psycho Pink, and she’s knocked out of the field as it grows out of control. But she’s gained enough power from it to assume her plant-like monster form (the Psychos each have one of those), and she advances on the two vulnerable Pink Rangers.

On Terra Venture, the tide turns as Leo takes down Villamax and Andros compliments him on his move. Suddenly, the ground starts shaking, and a swirling red cloud appears in the sky. Alarms blare inside the Control Station, and Mike tells Commander Stanton (the colony’s leader and Discount Jonathan Frakes) that there’s “some kind of high energy disturbance.” The Commander orders him to put the engines into full reverse thrust as Rashon appears out his window, pulsing with energy at this point. Back on the ground, Deviot and the others take the hint to leave, and the Rangers chase off after them.

On Rashon, Psycho Monster Pink brags that she’s also draining Cassie’s lifeforce in addition to her Ranger Powers, as demonstrated by the Pink Space Ranger wreathing in pain on the ground. As more power flows into the Psycho Monster, she grows to giant size.

Luckily, the Galaxy Megazord (wait, how did they summon all the Zords without Kendrix?) arrives in the nick of time, and engages the monster head on. Kendrix helps Cassie to her feet and assures her that the Rangers are going to get her powers back. But for right now, the girls can only watch as the Megazord gets pummeled by Psycho. Cassie’s condition grows worse as more of her power is pumped into the Psycho Monster, and Kendrix can do little else but to urge her to hang on.

Meanwhile, the Astro Megaship takes off from Terra Venture, with the Space Rangers at the helm just like old times. They form the Astro Megazord and blast towards Rashon, using the mech’s shield to protect from the heat of reentry.

They arrive just in time to even the odds, making the save with a rainbow-colored laser blast (Zero couldn’t have done it better himself) just as Psycho Pink is getting ready to finish off Galaxy Megazord. The two Megazords then join forces to take on the monster, which is one of the only times this happens in a Power Rangers team-up (it does happen in the Sentai Vs. Movies all the time though). Needless to say, it is awesome. And, once again, completely original US footage that’s just as good as the Sentai stuff.

Back on the ground, the Savage Sword keeps on flowing with Cassie’s Ranger power, and Kendrix realizes that the time to act is now. Without fear, without hesitation, she slowly charges into the swirling energy field. She gets blasted back at first, but she soon picks herself up and heads back on through, despite Cassie begging her to stop. She powers her way past the torrent of lighting, inching ever closer to the Savage Sword.

Meanwhile, the two Megazords strike at the Psycho Monster with their sword finishers, taking the beast down once and for all. That… was actually shorter than I thought it was going to be. But I guess they needed to make room for what comes next…

Up in space, Terra Venture is being pulled into the pink clouds, Psycho Pink’s destruction having done nothing to halt the vortex. The crew hold on for dear life as the colony continues to face uncertain doom. Within the colony, the ground shakes, debris falls to the streets and people panic and run for their lives. So… a typical Saturday morning, basically.

And here we get to the real memorable moment of this episode, as back on the ground, Kendrix reaches Cassie’s morpher and the Savage Sword that’s pinning it down. Cassie cries out for Kendrix to get out of there, and the other Rangers rush to the scene as the Pink Galaxy Ranger calls them to say that she’s almost at the center of the maelstrom, where the Savage Sword is.

She soon reaches it, and she tells her friends that this is the only way to save Cassie. She knows what must be done, and what price must be paid to do it. As Cassie watches in horror and cries out one last time for her to save herself, as her friends run to the scene in slow-motion, as the life of a fellow Ranger – as well as billions on Terra Venture – hangs in the balance, Kendrix raises her Quasar Saber and strikes at the Savage Sword, destroying it and causing a massive explosion.

The energy dies down as the Rangers reach the site of the Savage Sword. But Kendrix is… gone. Up in space, the clouds dissipate, and Terra Venture is saved. Everyone’s relieved, but victory came with a price today.

Down on Rashon, Kendrix’s spirit appears before the Rangers, assuring her friends that she’s alright, and that she will remain in their hearts. She soon vanishes, and her Quasar Saber shoots into the sky, looking for a new owner. Yes, you read this correctly, folks. Kendrix Morgan gave her life to protect the city of Terra Venture, as well as a fellow Ranger, in one of the saddest and most well-done scenes in the show’s storied history. It would be the first time a Ranger died in the line of duty, and while other seasons have tried to replicate it (the key word here is try), this would be the best instance of such an occurrence.

In real life, Valerie Vernon (the actress who played Kendrix) was diagnosed with leukemia at the time of this episode’s production, and had to leave the show to undergo chemotherapy. Thankfully the treatments worked, and she is leukemia-free to this day, even having a couple of kids and starting her own interior design company. Heck, Saban even helped to pay for said treatments, even letting her stay in the opening credits for this purpose. Say what you will about how they short-change their workers and cut financial corners whenever possible, but you’ve got to admit they showed class there.

Cassie’s morpher repairs itself, its power being restored, but that’s little consolation for the team that just lost one of their own. Cassie laments Kendrix’s sacrifice, and the Rangers head home. In the Astro Megaship’s hanger, the Space team says their goodbyes to the Galaxy crew.

You’ll notice that the Space Rangers are morphed in this scene. And there’s a reason for that: it had to be re-filmed after the actors left due to the ending being re-written. Originally, Cassie was going to be Kendrix’s replacement as the Pink Galaxy Ranger (hence the foreshadowing with her and the Wildcat earlier), and this scene was going to show that. But Patricia Ja Lee (Cassie’s actress) ended up leaving due to a contract dispute after both this and at least one other episode was filmed, and the producers brought back Melody Perkins as Karone instead. Which still gave us a great storyline about a former villain that found redemption by following her brother’s path into Rangerhood. But that’s a tale for another day…

Anyway, the Galaxy Rangers solemnly say farewell to their new friends, what was once a joyous moment of meeting the heroes that came before now darkened by tragedy. Ashely asks if they are going to be okay, and Maya and Kai answer that they have to be. They still have their duty to protect Terra Venture, just like the Space Rangers have their mission to defend Earth. Cassie slips off into the background, no doubt feeling responsible for what happened to Kendrix, and Andros comforts her by saying that all Rangers take a risk in doing what they do, and Kendrix knew that, and she would want Cassie to carry on. Cassie agrees, and the episode ends with the Space team taking off on their Galaxy Gliders as Maya wonders what she and the other Galaxy Rangers will do now that they’re down a Ranger…

The preview for the next episode shows how Karone becomes the new Pink Ranger after she and the others search for Kendrix’s lost Quasar Saber at Mos Eisely… I mean, the Onyx Tavern.

So, now that we’ve finished talking about the story, on to Pros and Cons:

Pros:

Kendrix’s sacrifice being one of the greatest moments in Power Rangers history.

The near-perfect fight choreography in Part 1.

Having the Astro and Galaxy Megazords team up in Part 2.

Bringing back the Psycho Rangers was a brilliant pick-up of a dropped thread in the previous season.

Cons:

Not a whole lot, maybe that Zhane was nowhere to be found here, without even an explanation to where he might be.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best Team-Up episodes in the show’s run. Where to even begin? I guess I’ll start with how the Psycho Rangers were brought back: in the last season, they were sealed in the data cards, and Astronema held on to them for “another day.” That’s the last we hear of it, and in Megaranger the some thing happens only for the Psychos to never appear again, not even in the crossover movie with Gingaman. Since In Space was meant to be the final season of Power Rangers, I can only assume that the data cards weren’t meant to be a continuing plot thread, but just like Billy’s aging in Zeo the writers were able to pick up on a loose thread and build a great story onto it.

And then there’s Kendrix’s sacrifice, which brought real stakes to a show that’s mostly remembered for having the Rangers being baked into pizza and battling rapping Jack-O-Lanterns. I’ve already praised it enough, but it’s truly a great moment that cements Lost Galaxy as one of the best seasons in the show, at least in my eyes. Kendrix would be revived by the Quasar Sabers at the end of the season (somehow… but at least here they actually gave an explanation for how a dead Ranger is now alive and kicking) and would re-appear in the next season’s Team-Up, but that doesn’t take away from her moment here. Add in other factors like the world-building of having Leo be a witness to “Countdown” and the nigh-flawless battle between the Rangers and the Psychos and you’ve got the makings of a bona-fide classic.

And speaking of next season, next week we’ll be looking at that Team-Up, as we head back to Earth for the crossover between the Galaxy Rangers and the public service-themed members of Lightspeed Rescue in the McDonald’s-promotional-video-turned-2-parter, “Trakeena’s Revenge.” ‘Till then, I’ve been The Uncanny Fox. Live long, stay gold, and remember: We live in a world where Zhane’s fake “Psycho Silver” disguise gets a figure, but the one Psycho to actually (albeit indirectly) kill a Ranger doesn’t. Fix that, Hasbro.