[DreamSword]

Wild Force

Pre-Show Preamble

Wild Force is a show that everyone hated for the longest time, but over the years has gained more and more fans. Which to me is great, because I've always liked this show!

Starting off with probably the biggest influence it had on the franchise: This was the first season to feature Auxiliary Zords... okay well, technically not the first, the series has had them before, but Wild Force? It went all in on this concept, and made various Collectible Mecha a staple of the franchise for decades to come. (And yes I know we technically have Gaoranger to thank hush.)

And honestly? I actually think that no other season has done it the way that Wild Force has done since. Because with this show, each Zord was basically its own separate character with a defining personality trait; Something that many seasons have discarded over the years. This not only made every Zord memorable from a design standpoint, but a story standpoint too.

Heck, speaking of characters, I love everyone in the cast! Most people of course gravitate towards Zen Aku and Merrick, but my favorites were always Max and Danny, the BFFs of the Rangers. Not only was their friendship charming, but all of their focus episodes were just the right balance of heart-warming and utterly ridiculous(Let's beat the monster using a bowling ball that creates tornadoes!).

This was also the final season of the Saban Era, and to me, it really felt like they did their best to go all out with it. Like I said, every character is memorable, the musical score, while not the best in the series, is rather good, the action is fun, and the Battlizer is one of my favorites if only from a sheer design standpoint, and uh... it almost feels like I'm forgetting something...

...

Okay who am I trying to kid? We ALL know what episode I'm about to talk about. The one that keeps Wild Force relevant to this very day and is one of most love it or hate it crossovers of all time.

Episode 34: Forever Red

Oh my god I'm so giddy watching this again!!

I don't care what you all say, this is one of the best crossovers ever made and you'll never change my mind!

So what is it? Well, remnants of the Machine Empire, who happen to be Evil Bettleborgs, decide to dig up the remains of Serpentera on the moon in an attempt to rule everything. In order to combat this threat, every Red Ranger from across the series needs to join together as one, and put the Machine Empire, and Serpentera, down once and for all.

That... that is like the coolest premise of a Power Rangers episode EVER!!

And yes, ALL the Red Rangers! They even bring in Eric(Quantum Ranger) from Time Force! It's just unfortunate that they couldn't contact Steve Cardenas to be Rocky or David Bacon to be Aurico proper, because oh man would that have kicked this up to an entire new level!

Bulk and Skull even get to make a cameo! Thus answering the question as to whether or not Bulk ever returned from Terra Venture. I also got a kick out of how their chess set features cameos from the Psycho Rangers and Lord Zedd's' Evil Rangers.

On the moon, I love the civilian fight here alot. They did a great job at showing off each Ranger's' unique fighting style; such is the advantage of having trained martial artists in your cast, people! That said, I can't help but always get a kick out of Carter the most. Everyone else is doing flips, and spin kicks, and stuff like that. Carter? He opts to just shoot everyone, haha.

And then, one of my favorite scenes in anything EVER happens:

I... I am a HUGE sucker for team up Morphs like this. And remember, Power Rangers and I are the exact same age. So when I was 10 and I first saw that? All the great memories of the past 10 years came flooding back to me all at once. Heck, even now, almost 20 years later, this scene still has that effect!

Know what? For those who maybe still don't get it, let me attempt at giving you a comparison that maybe you will understand. So, I haven't watched Kamen Rider Zi-O yet, right? But one of the few things of it I have seen is this:

And already that scene is one of my favorite scenes in the entire franchise. Like, Zi-O could end up being the worst Rider show, heck, the worst toku I'd ever seen in my life, and a whole bunch of it would feel totally justified just for that Henshin sequence alone.

Because to me, it's stuff like this that shows that the makers of the show are trying. Trying to honor the seasons of the past, trying to make their audience happy, trying to do something cool to have their season stand alongside the rest. It's just... I get very emotional when it comes to celebratory scenes like this, alright!?

So after that escalation of ecstasy, we're treated to another great action sequence, and I love all of the team-ups that happen here. Just like with the unmorphed fight, every Ranger is given their proper chance to shine. Their weapons, their unique fighting styles, the banter they share with eachother... it's just so well done I just don't even know how well I can actually get it across.

As for Serpentera, well, while the Rangers fail in preventing it from launching, what proceeds is definitely Cole's' most badass moment in the entire show: Using the Wild Rider to tank a world destroying lazer right in the face and blow Zedd's' Zord up from the inside. You can call bull if you want, but I don't care. That is just so frikken cool that I can't help but love it.

The episode ends with the Rangers disbanding, but not before trying to flex on one another. But I gotta say, the victor is TJ, with this single line:

"Did I ever tell you guys about the time I got baked into a giant pizza?"

Overall, there's a reason that to this day, fans still ask for a Forever Red 2. This is a crossover that has pretty much everything; Almost every main hero up that point, great attention to detail, good character interactions, excellent fight scenes, and a premise that, on its own, is just so cool you can't help but feel excited about it.

It's not only my favorite episode of Wild Force, but is really close to being my favorite episode in the entire franchise. And I really hope that either Hasbro or BOOM! Studios can make Forever Red 2 happen for the 30th Anniversary.

After-Show Bonus

If you wanna say that Forever Red shouldn't count because it's a crossover, then I think my follow-up would be Team Carnival, since it features Jindrax trying to knife Taylor in public, and dude, that's just hardcore.