The second part of 'Chase into Space' begins immediately where the first part left us - the Rangers charge out of the Power Chamber and down the mountain towards the army of piranhatrons. They leap into the fray and begin battling piranhatrons, but are soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of opponents that they are facing, as hundreds of piranhatrons attack them and hundreds more race up the side of the mountain.
Then, a whole heap of piranhatrons fall over in an explosion of sparks - Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster arrive, taking out dozens of piranhatrons as they do so. Divatox, however, is unimpressed, and she orders the piranhatrons to "finish them off!". A line of piranhatrons pull out sea-shells which they blow into - at the sound of the shells, about fifty warriors turn back from the Power Chamber and head towards the cars - using nets, Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster are then captured.
The rangers finally realise that there are far too many piranhatrons, and as they are forced to fight up against the Power Chamber's walls, they decide to head back in. Because TJ is still fighting, Justin, Carlos, Ashley and Cassie go in first, and as they are shutting the doors, TJ dives in. The rangers then go inside to meet Alpha, only to watch as the external cameras show the piranhatrons leaving. Carlos and Justin have a brief, but oddly enough touching conversation - they both reveal to each other that they are scared, and then Justin tells Carlos about his dad. His father won’t take the job that he so desperately wants because it would mean Justin having to leave Angel Grove.
Then, Elgar and the piranhatrons return, carrying hammers, grappling hooks and a huge battering ram. As they begin the assault on the building, Alpha offers to teleport them to safety, but they turn him down, saying they’d much rather remain with Alpha. Then, the piranhatrons manage to break into the building and get onto the roof. As the rangers power up and prepare to stop the evil warriors from breaking through the inner doors, the roof collapses, and dozens of piranhatrons enter the room. The rangers and even Alpha fight valiantly, but by now, fires are breaking out everywhere and the Power Chamber is in ruins.
Elgar enters the Power Chamber. Picking up a hammer, he throws it into Dimitria’s and Zordon’s plasma tube, smashing it so that they can’t return. Then, he goes around and plants eight small bombs, all the while the rangers are fighting furiously. Soon, he is back with Divatox, and she is holding the remote detonator - smiling, she pushes the button, and the Power Chamber disappears in a massive explosion. The screen goes blank.
As the piranhatrons search through the wreckage, Divatox is angry because they can’t find the bodies. Suddenly, a flaming head appears in the sky, telling Divatox that he is a messenger from the Cimmerian Planet, and that Zordon has been captured and Divatox is expected to leave for the planet immediately. Divatox dismisses him, telling him to congratulate whoever caught Zordon but telling him that she just captured the Earth and she isn’t going anywhere. The messenger tells her that Dark Spectre will not be happy, and hearing the name Dark Spectre, Divatox instantly backs down and, calling out to her troops, decides that they must leave at once. She then calls out to the rangers, "I’ll be back!" before disappearing.
Of course the rangers survived, but as they and Alpha climb out of the rubble, their suits and, of course, their powers disappear into thin air. After a little argument, they decide to go after Divatox and stop her before she returns Earth - as they do so, Alpha retrieves the ‘Black Box’, which contains the power decoder, saying that they will all need it. Wondering how to leave the Earth, Justin tells them that he has an idea - a longshot, but it just might work.
They all go to NASADA. The others, including Alpha, hide outside the complex, but Justin sneaks past the guards and makes it all the way into Mission Control. He is then found, and the security officers are dragging him outside when Commander Norquiest sees him. Justin tells him that the Power Rangers need a shuttle, but as no-one else believes him, he then whispers into the commander’s ear, telling him about the situation at hand (it was never made clear exactly what Justin told the commander, but evidently, he didn’t let his identity slip). The commander understands, and immediately orders a shuttle to be prepared to go to Eltar (which is odd, because didn’t the rangers want to go to the Cimmerian Planet?).
The shuttle is readied and Justin calls the others on their communicators. The rangers get the idea, race into the complex, up the ladder and into the shuttle, where they sit down and strap themselves in. As the shuttle is about to take off, TJ calls Mission Control where Justin is sitting, telling them that they are missing someone. Justin says that the person (keeping his identity secret) can’t go - he has his reasons. The rangers realise that he is talking about his father, and tell Justin that they will miss him. Justin says he already knew that. Then, the shuttle lifts off and Commander Norquiest turns to Justin, only to see his seat empty. In a beautifully-filmed scene, Justin is now outside watching as the space shuttle blasts into the atmosphere and out of sight.
To be continued in the next season, Power Rangers in Space...
Well folks, the final half of the season finale for Turbo has hit us, and what an episode it was. The point of season finales is to give us closure on what has already happened, hint at what possibly might happen next but essentially leave us wondering, 'what the hell happens now?', and I have to say that 'Chase into Space part 2' gave us all those things. In some aspects it was great, in some aspects it failed, but mostly, it built up ih preparation for the next season.
I have to admit I loved the idea of the rangers engaged in a furious battle right in their home ground. See, I never saw the episodes where Zedd invaded the Command Centre and planted the bomb, but if they were anything like this, I missed out on something legendary. And it was such a good battle to watch. Even Alpha got in and beat up a couple of piranhatrons. The point is, it was great to see the Power Rangers left to fight with no other options. I mean, in every other battle, even if they lost, they still had somewhere to retreat to, but with the Power Chamber itself under attack, they absolutely had to fight. It was a bit worrying, though, that only one of the rangers thought of using their blasters.
Divatox stole the episode with her few minutes in the spotlight, commanding the battle and overacting at every chance she got. And it was a great display from her when she was told to give up the Earth and head off. Watch - the second she hears Dark Spectre mentioned, she loses the ‘tough girl’ attitude and is all smiles. Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that we have a key next season villain!
What really got me were the emotions portrayed in this episode, despite the fact that this is, after all, a children’s show. All the actors did their respective parts really well, and I really did feel sorry for them when they surveyed the remains of the Power Chamber. And though I never really warmed to Justin, I still felt sorrow at his departure, having to choose between his friends and his family.
Now, the action and excitement of the first fifteen minutes were in direct contrast to the second half. It was like they changed writers and director mid-episode. I’ll explain - watching Power Rangers alone requires an incredible amount of suspension of disbelief. I mean, after all, the show’s premise is that a group of colour-coordinated teenagers in spandex can save the world from evil aliens in giant robots. But during the last ten minutes, quite frankly, my suspension of disbelief snapped completely.
Now, here’s a run-down of what I could believe -
Now, here’s some of the things that my mind just cannot get around -
But look, don’t get me wrong. I really, really enjoyed this season finale. It was fun, exciting and fast-paced, and not to mention, it really sets the scene for Power Rangers in Space. And despite the fact that the last fifteen minutes could have used a little bit more thought, ‘Chase into Space’ was a fantastic way to end what, after an initial letdown, has really shaped up to be a great season.
For ‘Chase into Space’, the Best Line of the Episode was a tie, going to Divatox’s "Eek!" at the sound of Dark Spectre’s name as well as Elgar’s not really funny but still laughable "Let’s blow this joint...up, that is!"