One sees the Power Rangers name and immediately gets the wrong impression. They think this is a kids show, and it is. However this incarnation of the show is the closest that the series ever came to being considered an adult-worthy program.
Let's start by talking about the way that the series starts off. You have a dangerous mutant criminal named Ransik that escapes after being captured and then kills Alex, the Red Ranger before escaping with a prison full of criminals to the year 2001. That's right, in the first episode a character actually dies showing off the stakes at hand. As a result, Alex's fiancé Jen swears revenge and honors Alex's last request by stealing the other four Time Morphers and a timeship to follow Ransik back in time to capture him. When they get back, they realize that without a Red Ranger to activate the power, the morphers are useless. By chance they run into Alex's twin ancestor Wes who becomes the new Red Ranger, and after a period of trust joins the team permanently.
Despite starting off a bit dark, it isn't until a few episodes in that the show does what it does to truly make it stand out. Ransik captures Wes and explains the reason why he is a criminal. In the year 3000, genetic engineering has allowed for human beings to become genetically perfect in every way. Ransik was born out of an accident and was immediately feared and hated by society for looking different or imperfect. This spawned a cycle of hatred that he ended up passing on to many of those around him with his kind hating humans and vice versa. This is a really mature take for a kids show. Today we see so much violence and hared stemming from racism that watching this in 2021 makes it so incredibly relevant. This theme would continue to recur through the series, and shows off the strength of Ransik as a character as he is a morally grey character with a genuine reason for feeling the way he does.
Also I may just want to point out, the series unlike so many others gives a genuine reason for the show to end: it being that Ransik only has access to a limited number of criminals in his stolen prison that the rangers recapture every time one is defeated. Once he runs out, he only has himself left. What makes this even better is that he is powerful enough to defeat the rangers single handedly in the finale, even when they fight with everything they got.
Going back to the themes, there is a great deal of character development, particularly from the relationship between Wes and Jen, Wes' father, and Eric the Quantum ranger. Rangers learn to trust each other, with Wes and Jen eventually falling in love. Wes leaves his rich life behind to make a difference, and even though his father appears to dislike his decision it's later revealed that he was proud of his son for taking charge of his destiny. Eric makes his own future by becoming the Quantum ranger and eventually accepts the help of the other rangers even though he spends most of his time on the show pushing them away. All of these interconnected storylines prove that the show is perhaps the most mature and complex out of the series, and it does it so well.
Going back to the cycle of hatred, towards the end of the series Ransik's daughter Nadira eventually has an experience that makes her rethink her hatred of humans. She eventually abandons her father during his final attack to help a baby that has lost its mother. Ransik accidently attacks her during his final pursuit of the rangers and this makes him realize that his hatred nearly cost him the one thing that he truly loves. This makes him give up his hate and surrender to the rangers, a rare instance of the main villain reforming towards the end and breaking such a complex cycle of hatred.
To sum it up, everything about this show is interesting, complex, and extremely relevant to today's issues. Power Ranger's Dino Thunder may be the slightly better show due to its sense of danger and nostalgia, but this is probably tied with it for the top spot. Watch it, trust me you won't regret it.
Let's start by talking about the way that the series starts off. You have a dangerous mutant criminal named Ransik that escapes after being captured and then kills Alex, the Red Ranger before escaping with a prison full of criminals to the year 2001. That's right, in the first episode a character actually dies showing off the stakes at hand. As a result, Alex's fiancé Jen swears revenge and honors Alex's last request by stealing the other four Time Morphers and a timeship to follow Ransik back in time to capture him. When they get back, they realize that without a Red Ranger to activate the power, the morphers are useless. By chance they run into Alex's twin ancestor Wes who becomes the new Red Ranger, and after a period of trust joins the team permanently.
Despite starting off a bit dark, it isn't until a few episodes in that the show does what it does to truly make it stand out. Ransik captures Wes and explains the reason why he is a criminal. In the year 3000, genetic engineering has allowed for human beings to become genetically perfect in every way. Ransik was born out of an accident and was immediately feared and hated by society for looking different or imperfect. This spawned a cycle of hatred that he ended up passing on to many of those around him with his kind hating humans and vice versa. This is a really mature take for a kids show. Today we see so much violence and hared stemming from racism that watching this in 2021 makes it so incredibly relevant. This theme would continue to recur through the series, and shows off the strength of Ransik as a character as he is a morally grey character with a genuine reason for feeling the way he does.
Also I may just want to point out, the series unlike so many others gives a genuine reason for the show to end: it being that Ransik only has access to a limited number of criminals in his stolen prison that the rangers recapture every time one is defeated. Once he runs out, he only has himself left. What makes this even better is that he is powerful enough to defeat the rangers single handedly in the finale, even when they fight with everything they got.
Going back to the themes, there is a great deal of character development, particularly from the relationship between Wes and Jen, Wes' father, and Eric the Quantum ranger. Rangers learn to trust each other, with Wes and Jen eventually falling in love. Wes leaves his rich life behind to make a difference, and even though his father appears to dislike his decision it's later revealed that he was proud of his son for taking charge of his destiny. Eric makes his own future by becoming the Quantum ranger and eventually accepts the help of the other rangers even though he spends most of his time on the show pushing them away. All of these interconnected storylines prove that the show is perhaps the most mature and complex out of the series, and it does it so well.
Going back to the cycle of hatred, towards the end of the series Ransik's daughter Nadira eventually has an experience that makes her rethink her hatred of humans. She eventually abandons her father during his final attack to help a baby that has lost its mother. Ransik accidently attacks her during his final pursuit of the rangers and this makes him realize that his hatred nearly cost him the one thing that he truly loves. This makes him give up his hate and surrender to the rangers, a rare instance of the main villain reforming towards the end and breaking such a complex cycle of hatred.
To sum it up, everything about this show is interesting, complex, and extremely relevant to today's issues. Power Ranger's Dino Thunder may be the slightly better show due to its sense of danger and nostalgia, but this is probably tied with it for the top spot. Watch it, trust me you won't regret it.