YOPR: 34-35. The Green Candle
On April 19, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: ONCE AND ALWAYS premieres on Netflix. I’m writing about all 60 episodes of MMPR’s first season in the lead-up to that premiere.
If you’d like to follow along on this rewatch, entirety of MMPR’s first season is available for free (with ads) on YouTube.
34-35. The Green Candle
One-sentence synopsis: So long, and thanks for all the flute.
Why it matters: In hindsight, it’s fair to wonder if the footage for this episode would have even been adapted if Saban Entertainment had known that Tommy Oliver and the Green Ranger would become an instant fan favorite. Its impact is arguably diminished by the character’s reappearance just 14 episodes later, but there’s still an emotional punch delivered by the series’ first departure and, honestly, one of its most well-handled exits. Behind the scenes, the plan was for Frank to move on from Power Rangers and star as the sole lead in Cybertron, another Saban tokusatsu adaptation. There’s a pitch reel with him in it. That show would ultimately be reworked as VR Troopers – another team-centered adaptation – and Frank would spend the next four years as a Power Ranger. In an alternate reality, perhaps Frank would have carved out a different life in entertainment after helming a show of his own. Or maybe Cybertron would have flamed out and his return to Power Rangers was inevitable. It’s incredibly difficult to imagine “The Green Candle” as his MMPR swan song, but if it had been? It was a good send-off.
Episode MVP: Stakes. Beyond the obvious – Tommy losing his Green Ranger powers – there’s a direct statement about the possibility of him dying, a rarity for a show that, to this point, has tiptoed around the finality of actual death through the catch-all “destroy” and “destruction.” It’s incredibly weighty for the show, even today, in part because of how the line is delivered by Zack to Jason in response to a less-pressing concern. Beyond that, there’s some brief closure to the burbling romance between Tommy and Kimberly, capped by the show’s first lip-to-lip kiss. Though their bow eventually becomes unraveled, it’s a quality Hallmark moment.
A good quote: “I’m a Power Ranger to the end.” – Tommy
Rating: 5/5 Green with Evil callbacks
