The Rangers try to pick themselves up after Goldar and Rito destroy the Command Center and seemingly kill Zordon and Alpha 5. However, an evil bigger than Lord Zedd and Rita is just around the corner.
Tropes
- Amnesiac Resonance: After losing their memories, Rito thought Goldar had gold wings, but dismisses this claim because he doesn't see them on him. As we see later (in a Freeze-Frame Bonus), Goldar's wings were taken by a henchman during the retreat from Rita's palace.
- Canon Discontinuity: The "Zeo serial", which aired before reruns of episodes from the previous season and depicted an alternate sequence of events for the season premiere (namely, Zedd and Rita's first conversation about the arrival of the Machine Empire is completely different, it's implied several weeks have passed since the events of the prior episode and Bulk and Skull know about the Cogs far earlier than normal) that would be rendered non-canon by the events of this premiere.
- Cliffhanger Copout: Season three of Mighty Morphin' ended with the Zeo Crystal being stolen by Rito and Goldar. The Rangers find it amidst the rubble of the Command Center, speculating that Rito and Goldar dropped it.
- Comically Missing the Point: Amnesic and on the streets, Goldar and Rito ask a couple of civilians for help. The two people immediately scream and run away from them.Rito: Why do you suppose they did that?
- Cool Bike: Skull's big surprise for Bulk is a motorcycle that his cousin was going to throw out. Bulk is less than impressed with this hunk of junk, but Skull wins him over by saying they can fix it up into a badass patrol bike used to catch criminals.
- Continuity Nod: Goldar lost his wings, again.
- Didn't Think This Through: Mid-retreat and out in the open, Zedd realizes they never actually figured out where they'd be retreating to in a Zord that frequently has power supply problems.
- Don't Wake the Sleeper: Master Vile tells Rita and Zedd he'll leave them a Skeleton Key under his doormat, but not to wake him when they come in.
- Dumbass Has a Point: When Finster points out they have to plot Serpentera's course carefully or risk losing power and drifting off into oblivion, Squatt points out that'd still be better than getting blasted to pieces by the Machine Empire (all while not even knowing what "oblivion" means).
- Eviler than Thou: Master Vile himself notes that the Machine Empire is worse than he is, destroying everything they touch.
- Failed a Spot Check: Zedd and Rita's tunnel vision finally bites them in the ass. They were so focused on besting Zordon and his team that they, for all intents, didn't keep an eye on their own backyard and thus didn't realize an invasion fleet was inbound until it's literally on their doorstep.
- Honor Before Reason: Zedd refuses any help from Master Vile, even as the Machine Empire is shooting at them and coming closer.
- I Warned You: While Rita and Zedd are celebrating their victory, Finster tries to warn them of the Machine Empire before they start attacking.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Goldar and Rito end up losing their memories in the Command Center implosion while trying to escape with the Zeo Crystal.
- Make Way for the New Villains: The Machine Empire makes their grand entrance by scaring off Rita and Zedd.
- Missing Steps Plan: Zedd realizes on the way to Serpentera that, though they might be able to escape the onslaught of the Machine Empire, they don't actually have anywhere to go; Finster compounds the problem by explaining that, as usual, Serpentera is low on fuel and they have to pick a destination lest they run out of fuel and drift off into space. Justified, since they were fleeing in a hurry thanks to the Quadrafighters' assault on the moon palace.
- Near-Villain Victory: With the Rangers powerless and the Command Center destroyed, the stage was finally set for Rita and Zedd to conquer the world. Then the Machine Empire comes along to shoo them off.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Subverted. Mid-retreat, Rita realizes that Goldar and Rito are nowhere to be found. Zedd says they have no time to wait for them and says they'll have to catch up.
- Not Quite Dead: The Rangers are relieved to see Alpha no worse for wear after the implosion.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Master Vile grumbles about how Rita will be bringing Zedd along to crash at his place.
- Oh, Crap!: "I think we're in trouble..."
- Put on a Bus: Rita, Zedd, Finster, Baboo and what's left of Zedd's forces jump on Serpentera and make a beeline for Master Vile's place, completely taking them out of the way for the plot.
- Sarcasm Mode: Zedd's response to Master Vile agreeing to let the group hide at his place.Zedd: Goodie goodie gumdrops...
- Snap Back: After being blown to smithereens, the exterior "shell" of the Command Center reconstitutes itself while the team explores the tunnels underneath the facility. Eventually, they discover a "Power Chamber", extremely reminiscent of the original area Zordon and Alpha were stationed in, with the explanation that it was something they'd been working on for several months prior to the events of the episode.
- Special Edition Title: The original broadcast airing of both this episode and the following installment uses a special sequence
utilizing a unique variant of the theme (Jeremy Sweet's "Unleashing the Power") that was used for the "sneak peek" serial broadcast on Fox Kids throughout the winter of 1996. - Special Effects Evolution: Three years have meant an increase in production values, and this means the Power Chamber set is a huge step up from the relatively plain Command Center set.
- Stock Footage: This is the last episode to use Zyuranger stock footage of Bandora's Palace.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: For all their might as galactic potentates, Zedd and Rita are ultimately a relatively small-scale operation at the end of the day (and they've also exhausted most of their resources against the Rangers and Zordon over the course of the last three years). When faced with the overwhelming manpower and war machine of Mondo and his Court, they're no match for the Machine Empire and have to run for their lives.
