In the Skull Cavern, Jinxer watches through a telescope as the planets near alignment. Leading battalions of batlings, the five demons all head to Mariner Bay and meet up with the creepy Spellbinder monster in an underground basement. Loki takes charge of the ceremony for bringing back Queen Bansheera, and when Olympius angrily objects, Loki furiously sends Olympius back to the Skull Cavern, telling the demon to learn some manners. As Olympius leaves, Jinxer turns and follows. In the city, Carter and Joel and patrolling in the RescueMobile, and Chad and Kelsey are roller-blading, when they all notice a large black cloud forming over the city. The six Rangers all meet up in the Aquabase, and after Ms Fairweather tells them of the planetary alignment, Ryan informs the team this is the day the demons have been waiting for, the chance to bring Bansheera back.
In the city, Spellbinder is performing the ceremony (which involves lots of spooky chanting), and lightning from the dark cloud strikes down, setting buildings on fire and causing havoc. The Rail Rescues are deployed, and the Rangers head into the city, Dana clearing the highway of cars, Joel and Chad putting out fires, and Carter and Kelsey heading into a skyscraper to rescue the people inside. Meanwhile, Ryan has discovered that the explosions across the city form a pattern of lines, and they intersect at a certain spot. This is where the ceremony is taking place, and Mitchell sends Ryan in to stop it. Ryan enters the building and spies on the ceremony, but Vypra and some batlings surprise and capture him.
As the alignment draws ever closer, Spellbinder completes the ceremony, and a huge pillar of energy blasts forth from the symbol on the ground, ripping the roof off and reaching to the clouds. Watching from afar, the Rangers realise that the energy beam is 'ground zero' and race towards the building, dramatically busting in and interrupting the ceremony. Enraged, the demons attack the Rangers, Loki fighting Kelsey and Chad, Vypra battling Dana and Joel, and Carter taking on a horde of batlings before freeing Ryan and going after Spellbinder. Ryan finishes off the batlings, morphs into the Titanium Ranger, and helps Carter take Spellbinder down. However, the monster instantaneously grows, going right through the roof, and the Rangers all race outside and call on their zords - the Solarzord and Lightspeed Megazord touch down soon after.
The Rangers fight the monster, but find that he is too powerful and form the Lightspeed Solarzord. Just at that moment, Queen Bansheera appears in the sky above Mariner Bay, and summons a massive tidal wave to wipe out the city once and for all. Inside the Aquabase, all the Lightspeed crew begin to panic. As the wave towers over the train bay, Ryan figures out that he needs to cut off the Queen's power source, and exiting the Lightspeed Solarzord, he enters the temple. Seconds before the planets align, Ryan destroys the power source, and there is a fantastic explosion that throws Ryan to the ground and envelops the building. With a scream, Bansheera fades away to nothing, and the tidal wave disappears. In the Skull Cavern, Olympius is furious. The planets finally align, remaining in alignment for a few seconds, and before contining in their orbits. Whoops.
However, Spellbinder is significantly weakened, and despite their concern for Ryan, the Rangers destroy the monster for good. Inside the temple, Olympius is grieving for his mother, and when Vypra and Loki enter, he turns to them and takes his anger out on them, dismissing them both as incompetent morons. Loki threatens Olympius, but Olympius angrily throws Loki to the ground, saying he's had enough of them. Suddenly, Queen Bansheera appears in a corner of the room, but in a horribly disfigured body. Olympius swears vengeance on the Rangers for interrupting the ceremony, and the villains teleport away. As they leave, Ryan crawls out from under a pile of rubble, having heard everything. The Rangers enter the building and find Ryan, and they all return to the Aquabase.
Back at Lightspeed, Ryan tells the team just how powerful the Queen is. But the demons were all imprisoned once, so it's possible they can be trapped again. With that in mind, Ryan tells the team that he's leaving - he has to find a way to imprison the demons forever. Mitchell tells Ryan how proud he is, and after Dana tearfully hugs him, Ryan walks away.
We've reached a turning point in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, ladies and gentlemen, and after an episode where so many major events happened, things from now on are going to be very different. Overall, despite some minor flaws, this was a great episode. The awesome fight scenes at the ceremony were a plus, particularly Carter mowing down all those batlings to get to Ryan. And I absolutely loved the shot of the tidal wave towering over the train bay and bearing down on the city. That was cool, no doubt about it. The scene where Ryan abruptly ends the ceremony, saving the city, and Bansheera screams as she fades away was also worth the price of admission.
It looks like Ryan is following Zhane's example back in season six and is leaving the team for a while. Major, major bummer. It was too abrupt, and Ryan is too likeable a character. I just hope the series doesn't suffer, and we're gonna miss him. Rhett Fisher has given us a wonderful performance as Ryan, and we'd better see him again soon.
Once again, we see where Jinxer's loyalties lie, and Vypra and Loki grow even more estranged from Olympius, particularly after the demon humiliates them both in front of his mother. This is gonna get interesting... Also of note, those scenes with Spellbinder were just a little too creepy and disturbing for a kid's show. Anyway, like I said, apart from some minor problems, this was a great episode, and with so much changing in Mariner Bay, I can't wait until next week when we'll finally see the Omega Megazord in action. Coolness!
On the subject of Vypra, I'm sorry to say this, but Jennifer Yen is a terrible actress. I admit, I was willing to give her a chance at the beginning of the season, hoping that she'd improve as the show went on (like Melody Perkins and Amy Millar), but she is getting worse, and bordering on absolutely horrible. Honestly, her lines are pained and her acting is terrible, making her scenes almost unwatchable. Someone drop a Lightspeed zord on her head fast, and get her off the show.
Phew, I’m done.
The opening conversation between Carter and Joel in the Rescue Rover was a definite highlight, with Carter's line, "You know, I can stand the music, but do you have to sing along?" a classic. And Joel, a country and western fan, who'd have thought?