Power Rangers fans: Judge 'Once and Always' for what it is, not what it isn't
Conversation about Power Rangers (2017) returns every spring, around the anniversary of its March 24 premiere. It’s the Easter Bunny with a Power Coin.
There’s no hard-and-fast way to quantify this, but of Power Rangers media created in the two decades, Power Rangers (2017) is probably the most consumed by and most recognizable to people who wouldn’t normally walk around calling themselves “fans” of the spandex-suited soldiers. Its legacy is complicated within the online fandom1, but it has a legacy that exists beyond the niche audience of adults who devour anything related to the franchise. That often goes unmentioned; the movie was watched by millions of people who hadn’t thought about the show since they were in elementary school. Even if they walked out of the theater disappointed, they still walked out of the theater. That’s better than never going in.
The theater is at home this go-around, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always is the first time since 2017 that a Power Rangers “event” will attract lapsed fans and people with vague curiosity about a franchise approaching its 30th anniversary. I have twos request of my fellow fans: enjoy this for what it is, and don’t ruin this moment for the people just passing through.
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Evaluating media based on what it isn’t or what it could have been — or “should have,” to many who “critique” — has always felt a bit unfair to me, especially when it comes to behemoth franchise projects with ambitions that go beyond merely telling a contained story.
It’s easy as a fan to say “This would have worked better if” or “If I’d been in charge, here’s how I would have written it,” but we always have the benefit of hindsight and no corporate-backed lead blocks attached to our feet. Playing the “What if?” game can be a good time, but it almost always becomes one untethered from the reality of the creative situation experienced by those who actually made the thing. When waxing poetic about how a character could have been better serviced in a story, rarely does a “critic” ever preface that with the necessary caveat of “and to achieve that, here’s the sacrifice we’ll make elsewhere.” Nor do they acknowledge that their proposed change will need the approval of multiple executives and then, if focus groups don’t care for it, it’s gonna be scrapped regardless of how well-received it was up to that point. That’s just showbiz, kid.
One doesn’t need to watch Once and Always to know that fans are absolutely going to run it through the “What if?” ringer. It will be dissected to the point of comedy, because that’s what fans do: we watch, react, watch again, nitpick, watch again, nitpick some more, react again, watch again, repeat the cycle until the end of time.
To a degree, that is healthy! Things like Power Rangers don’t last as long as they do, nor engender vibrant communities, without people like us combing through it and experiencing it in a way that goes beyond the allotted run time. Analysis, conversation and (reasonable) speculation is great. When it reaches the point of “Well, this didn’t happen and it should have” or “I didn’t like this, I would have preferred this” is when we need to take a step back and re-examine how we’re talking about any piece of media — particularly something like a reunion special built on so much sprawling lore that, to address all of it.
Would it ruin the special for you if Adam Park morphs into the Green Ranger? Everything else checked all your boxes, but the idea of seeing someone other than Jason David Frank/Tommy become the Green Ranger really ruffles your feathers — it’s why you abandoned the comics when Matthew showed up. “They mocked a dead man’s legacy!!!” you angrily type on Twitter, ignoring the fact the late actor declined to be in the special, prompting yet another rewrite of a script that’s been in the works for at least a year.
What if Rita Repulsa’s return as a mechanical version of her past self goes unexplained? What if that explanation doesn’t jibe with established lore or isn’t what you wanted it to be? What if the Dragonzord isn’t mentioned at all? What if the Dragonzord is revealed, after all this time, to be a female zord? What if non-MMPR Rangers show up for the final battle? What if they don’t? What if Trini’s on-screen death is “too much” for Power Rangers? What if it isn’t gruesome enough? What if your favorite season of Power Rangers isn’t somehow referenced? What if it is, but that reference isn’t enough for you? What if Zordon’s rules get broken? What if they do and there aren’t consequences? What if Billy transforms into a bipedal triceratops and graphically stabs Putty Patrollers with his horns? What if he doesn’t? What if Angela is actually the new Yellow Ranger? What if Mihn is a bratty teenager who doesn’t deserve to become a Power Ranger? What if she is a badass and that unsettles you because you’re a weenie who hates women and clearly don’t understand the show you allegedly like? What if some of the past Rangers get more screen time than their peers? What if Rocky just wants to have fun? What if the Megazord fight looks weird? What if it looks awesome? What if Bryan Cranston shows up as Zordon, wearing a speedo and a pair of Ray-Bans? WHAT IF HE DOESN’T?
Would any of that ruin, or make Once and Always demonstrably “lesser” for you? If the answer is “yes,” then you probably shouldn’t watch it. You should just pretend it doesn’t exist. Because some of that is going to happen (fingers crossed for Triceratops Billy) and it’ll piss you off, because you’re a fan who wanted to see something else. Just like all the rest of us.
If a person can’t handle that something we want to enjoy might not meet our expectations for what it should be, we have two choices. Option 1: Don’t engage with it at all. Option 2: Consider reassessing our relationship with our expectations and watch it accordingly. It’s one thing to not like or agree with a choice, but the fan-fic you’ve scripted in your mind should have no bearing on the actual content in front of you.2
If you can’t watch this special — or anything — and have feelings about it that don’t involve your grand, sweeping ideas that didn’t get into the 55-minute runtime, just go write your own story and stop wasting time with stuff you’re never going to enjoy.
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Once and Always will be the most-consumed piece of Power Rangers media since the 2017 movie, which means it’ll be the most discussed, dissected and devoured by the online fandom.
Frankly, though, I’m far more interested in the response from outside the dedicated Power Rangers fandom — casuals, lapsed fans, non-hardcores, whatever label you wanna give to them — than I am people who wear spandex to bed. I know what they’ll love, hate and be indifferent about. I want to know what resonates with others, because ultimately it’s them who matter most. When it comes to growing the Power Rangers “brand,” getting more people aboard this Skittles-colored boat is the most valuable thing. There will be plenty here for all to enjoy — and I hope they dig it enough to stick around awhile.
Regardless of whatever state Power Rangers is in six years from now, or how many fans it's earned with its experiments, I'm confident that every April 19, old and new reflections about the special will emerge, and in mostly the same places3. Many of those thoughts will be underpinned by sound logic and inspire reasonable discussion. Many will be rooted in idealization that, while admittedly fun to ponder, has no actual bearing on the content at hand. Many will just be ridiculous.
Together we are more, but we’re also predictable. In our never-ending quest to make mountains out of mole hills, let’s try not to scare away the innocent bystanders.
If I’m being 100% honest, I think that’s mostly because it didn’t blow up at the box office; if it’d been a hit, I think the fandom generally would be much less harsh toward certain creative choices. Perhaps I’m being overly generous, though.
I wanted to see Austin. St. John, Amy Jo Johnson and Jason David Frank reunite with Walter Jones and David Yost as much as anyone. That’s the bias I bring to Once and Always, but I won’t let it color my opinion of what exists. To critique the special in a way that at all invokes hypotheticals about their involvement is fruitless; it was made the way it was made because that’s how it had to be made. Period.
Probably not Twitter, which by then will be a pay-to-use service to which only Nazis, NFT enthusiasts and Neil deGrasse Tyson will be subscribed.