As Andros goes to find an item Zordon left behind, he discovers a revelation in the disappearance of his sister.
Tropes:
- Accidental Hero: Ecliptor's sabotage of the Super Serum kicks in just as Darkonda is poised to finish off Andros.
- Bad Guy Bar: Where Andros finds Darkonda on Onyx, in a sleazy saloon card game.
- Bond One-Liner: Subverted after Darkonda is presumably destroyed by the energy cyclone.Andros: Hey, Darkonda, see ya!
Darkonda: [standing back up] Sooner than you might think, Red Ranger! - The Cameo: The scenes on Onyx feature a number of recognizable faces:
- Various monsters in and out of the tavern include Octophantom, Stag Beetle, Marvo the Meanie, Sinister Simian, Dischordia (in her original form), Punch-A-Bunch, Snow Monster.
- Various mooks from past seasons make scattered appearances: a Z-Putty, Tengas, a Cog, and a Chromite.
- Monsters from Beetleborgs also appeared. Stego Dread is the bartender, while Ptera Dreg, Terror Bear, and Triplesaurus Rex can be spotted. Even a Maggot pops up.
- Cliffhanger: Of the mid-season variety. Mutantrus sending the powerless Astro Delta Megazord crashing into the street was the last thing viewers saw before the summer break.
- Didn't See That Coming: Darkonda is stunned that it was Ecliptor who sabotaged his Super Serum.
- Early-Bird Cameo: A few monsters appearing on Onyx are featured more prominently later in the season: Coralizer, Batarax, and Psycho Yellow's monster form.
- Elective Unintelligible: In his mutated form, Darkonda is largely growling like a savage, but he demonstrates he can manage to still speak when mocking Andros for thinking he was destroyed.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Upon spotting the morpher, Darkonda immediately realizes who exactly is asking about Karone.
- Evil Gloating: Ecliptor is only too happy to let Darkonda know who caused him all this misery.
- Flashback: During a dream, Andros recalls Darkonda telling him they met a long time ago.
- Foreshadowing: The key cards that Andros gets on Onyx set up the next episode.
- From Bad to Worse: Not only does Darkonda survive a finishing move, but then a piece of his body falls off and spawns a second monster (Mutantrus).
- Hope Spot:
- In disguise, Andros tries to get Darkonda to admit where Karone is. It almost works, but then Darkonda notices the morpher on Andros' wrist.
- The Astro Delta Megazord performs an energy attack on Darkonda to try to destroy him. After the explosion, Darkonda gets back up.
- I Was Never Here: After giving the supplier the poisoned serum, Ecliptor angrily reminds him to not tell Darkonda that he was ever there or else.
- Loophole Abuse: In the previous episode, Astronema had explicitly forbidden Ecliptor from attacking Darkonda. He was forced to look for another way and thus took advantage of Darkonda wanting a Super Serum.
- Mathematician's Answer: Of a sort. When Andros, in-disguise, asks for information about KO-35, Darkonda says that it has "trees, lakes, blue skies, mountains", before segueing into his story about his role in Karone's abduction.
- No-Sell: Darkonda effortlessly deflects the Astro Delta Megazord's Flying Power Punch right back at the Rangers.
- Properly Paranoid: The key cards were first acquired on Eltar. Andros immediately suspects they have something to do with Zordon.
- The Reveal: Darkonda abducted Karone.
- Sadistic Choice: "Red Ranger, if you wanna know where your sister is, bring me the key cards!"
- Sanity Slippage: The poison takes a toll on Darkonda's mind, in addition to mutating his body. He's left growling incoherently and gesticulating wildly. He appears to only possess enough state of mind to attack the Rangers.
- Shout-Out: During The Teaser, T.J. and Cassie head out to search a planet in the Dagobah system.
- Super Serum: Darkonda was on Onyx to get this, but Ecliptor got to the supplier first. While the potion gives Darkonda a power boost at first, it soon wreaks havoc on his body and causes him to mutate into an out of control form.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Carlos when reporting that the reserve power is about to give out.
- To Be Continued: The show left off on a cliffhanger for the Summer of 1998, with the fallen Astro Delta Megazord skidding through the city.
- The Unintelligible: Mutantrus is an incoherent monster, growling in a rather consistent way.
- Villains Out Shopping: Elgar was simply playing video games when Astronema entered to see what Darkonda was doing.
- Wham Line: Before the opening credits, no less!Andros: [after watching his recording thoroughly for the first time] Darkonda! It was you!
- Wham Shot: After Darkonda angrily makes his demand, we see the Super Serum supplier talking privately with Ecliptor.
