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Icon-mightymorphinThis article is about an episode in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

For the place where the episodes took place, see Island of Illusion (place).

Island of Illusion is a two-part episode and the twenty-eighth & twenty-ninth episodes in the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Synopsis[]

Part 1[]

Rita traps the Power Rangers on a mysterious island where not all is as it appears.

Part 2[]

The Rangers must overcome their own fears to escape Rita's Island of Illusion.

Plot[]

Part 1[]

As Zack is practicing for his upcoming dance contest at the Angel Grove Youth Center, Bulk and Skull start hounding him about losing and implant seeds of self-doubt in Zack.

Meanwhile, Rita Repulsa is calling forth the ultimate monsters she has summoned—the mutant warrior Mutitus and the spirit warrior, Lokar. Goldar realizes that his Empress is planning to destroy the Power Rangers with their own worst fears by sending them to the Island of Illusion in a remote dimension.

Back at the Youth Center, Zack is challenged by Bulk to a dance-off but Bulk ends up embarrassing himself; it still does not make Zack feel any better, so he leaves the Youth Center to collect his thoughts.

While up on the Moon in Rita's palace, Rita realizes that doubt is in the Black Ranger's mind. She casts another incantation and summons a storm to Angel Grove. When the Power Rangers realize what is happening, they contact Zordon, and he tells them that an unfamiliar energy is being summoned by Rita. The Rangers start rushing out of the Youth Center to look for Zack, but Tommy realizes that two karate students he had been mentoring are frightened of the unnatural phenomenon, so he stays behind to watch them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Power Rangers find Zack in a secluded area of Angel Grove Park, just as Putties start attacking. The Rangers manage to hold them back until Goldar and Scorpina show up. The Rangers morph and attack the pair, but the villains defeat them. This gives Rita enough time to chant her final incantation, summoning the giant Mutitus. The Rangers summon the Megazord and fight the monster. They have the chance to destroy him, but then Rita appears on a fire escape. Then, a giant fireball streaks through the sky and transforms into a giant spirit head. This is Lokar, the other monster Rita has summoned.

Back at the Youth Center, Tommy gets a call from Zordon, and after making arrangements with Ernie for him to watch the two boys, he runs off to help his team. Back at the battlefield, Lokar has just used his Breath of Doom to mutate Mutitus and increase his power. Mutitus blasts the Megazord with stronger energy, putting the Rangers on the verge of defeat until Tommy appears and summons Dragonzord. The Megazord joins the Dragonzord in the fight against Mutitus, but then the mutant monster incapacitates the Zords with toxic foam. Then, as the Rangers evacuate the Zords, Lokar opens a portal to the Island of Illusion dimension. At the Command Center, Alpha 5 is panicked at the fact that the Power Rangers have disappeared into another dimension, and Zordon tells him that his chosen ones are beyond his reach, and only their individual self-confidence can help them escape.

When the Rangers land on the island, they realize that their communicators and Morphers have disappeared, and they start exploring the island, each of them realizing that they are all afraid that they may never get back home. A few minutes into their exploration, they hear flute music, and realize that a little man is playing a panpipe. When Kimberly tries to explain that Rita sent them to this island, she does not get to finish, as the little man —who reveals himself to be named Quagmire — tells her he is not a friend of Rita's and vanishes.

Then, Goldar's image appears in the sky, taunting the Rangers that they would soon lose more than their powers before the day was over, and then five monsters the Rangers have previously defeated appear — Pudgy Pig, Eye Guy, Snizzard, Pineoctopus and Shellshock. The Rangers prepare for a battle that they know they cannot win without their powers, but just as they come near, the monsters vanish. The Rangers wonder where they are, and Goldar taunts them that the only thing real in this dimension is the danger. Zack's fear and self-doubt grow considerably, and he takes off down a path, only to come face-to-face with a giant python. However, when the other Rangers hear Zack scream, they realize that he is screaming at something only he can see. Billy deduces that Rita is trying to destroy each of them with their own individual self-doubts and fears. Zack starts gradually fading away, and Quagmire tells them in verse that Zack's own worst fears and self-doubts are causing him to fade. Jason urges Zack to fight Rita's spell, but it's no use. The episode ends when Goldar taunts the Rangers with the fear of ceasing to exist, one by one.

Part 2[]

Zack attempts to fight Rita's spell, but his fear and self-doubt are too great. In his verse style, Quagmire tells the Rangers that only he can help them escape. Meanwhile, back on the moon, Rita and her minions are reveling in their apparent first victory.

Back on the island, the Rangers realize what they had learned, and after a few tries of remembering his name, Trini shouts Quagmire's name, and the little man appears. Kimberly tells Quagmire that Rita is making her friend Zack fade away, and then Quagmire realizes that Rita has sent the teens here to destroy them with their own worst fears and self-doubts. Quagmire urges Zack to think about something positive, and Zack recalls the time he'd faced off against Rita's Knasty Knight. By remembering he had the power to defeat the monster, Zack's body fully restores itself.

When Rita discovers that Zack has escaped her spell, she still looks on the positive side, because without their powers it is only a matter of time before the rest of the Rangers are killed. Meanwhile, at the Command Center, Alpha 5 and Zordon are trying to contact the Power Rangers, but are unable to. This leads Alpha to attempt to boost the power of the communication signal, but ends up destroying the console instead.

Back on the island, Tommy suggests that Quagmire may know what happened to the Rangers' powers, but in verse he tells them that they must find their powers on their own. Billy suggests to start going in an opposite direction from their position, but just as they are getting started, Goldar confuses Kimberly with an illusion of Bulk and Skull dressed as angels and helping a lost turtle find its way home. But just like before, when Zack faced the python illusion, the other Rangers cannot see what Kimberly is seeing. This illusion implants seeds of self-doubt in Kimberly's mind and heart, and she begins to fade away. Trini calls for Quagmire's help, and in verse, he urges Kimberly to recall her memory of how she destroyed the Terror Toad monster (she is initially hesitant to remember that because she finds it repulsive before being persuaded by Tommy to do so). With that positive thought, Kimberly's body is able to fully restore itself.

However, Tommy now feels the effects of the island's magic, and he begins to attack Putty Patrollers who he thinks are attacking him. Under the island's spell, Tommy has mistaken the other Rangers for Putties. The Rangers and Rita realize that Tommy has lost confidence in his friends. The other Rangers try to snap their friend out of the spell, but fighting the "Putties" soon exhausts Tommy and implants seeds of self-doubt in his mind and heart. He starts to believe he is unable to win and begins fading away. Zack urges for Quagmire's help, and Quagmire urges Tommy in verse to believe in his skills. Tommy recalls the day of the Angel Grove Youth Center costume party, when he had had to fight off a horde of Putties on his own. He had managed to defeat them and restore himself to normal.

Later on, Trini begins to fear that Rita may try something with her next, and at that point she starts to fade away herself while experiencing a traumatizing event — when Billy was trapped on a high mountain ledge by Putties, and only she could rescue him in spite of her fear of heights. Quagmire realized what was happening, and in verse told Trini to overcome the traumatic event. On this, Trini could see in her mind's eye herself reaching Billy in time and sending the Putty hurtling over the ledge. On this note, she regains her full corporeal form. Billy starts feeling doubtful about his own skills, and Quagmire presents a memory of when he had to save the other Rangers from Madame Woe's dimension. By remembering the positive outcome, his body was fully restored. Kimberly and Trini share a hug.

Then Jason suggests that they find a way off the Island of Illusion, but is taunted by Goldar, who says that Jason should have been the one to lead the Rangers to victory. In his illusion, Jason sees his friends fade away completely, and he believes it is his fault that he is now alone. But Quagmire's voice echoes in his head, telling Jason he can win. Jason remembers his first solo battle with King Sphinx, and recalls the positive outcome, because of the fact that he refused to give up even though he was all alone in battle.

After the final illusion is broken, the Rangers' communicators and Power Coins are restored to them, and they realize that they could have escaped all along if they had each believed in themselves to begin with. Rita then transforms into a giant and shakes the Island of Illusion, causing earthquakes all over. The Rangers morph and teleport off the island just as Rita uses her wand's energy to destroy it.

When they return to Earth, the toxic foam melts off the Megazord and the Dragonzord, and all six Power Rangers reappear in the Megazord cockpit. Combining their Zords into the Mega-Dragonzord, they are able to destroy Mutitus. They call forth Titanus and form the Ultrazord, launching its finishing blow on Lokar, but he retreats back into space with Rita.

The Rangers return to the Youth Center, in time to see Bulk and Skull perform poorly on the dance floor and getting a negative score in return. Then Zack is called forth to compete, and after some gentle urging and the audience chanting his name, he goes out and dances well. Kimberly wonders who is providing the music, and then realizes that the disc jockey is Quagmire. At the end, the judges give Zack a perfect score, and Ernie declares him the winner.

Cast[]

Errors[]

  • Goldar was the one to taunt Jason about his supposed failed leadership, but he later said "She's right" and the Rangers told him not to "listen to her", stating that it was Rita taunting Jason instead.
  • When Mutitus advanced on the Rangers in Part I, a Japanese girl (an artifact from the Zyuranger footage) can be seen amongst the Rangers.
  • In Part I, just after the Rangers are sent to the island and the scene changes to the Command Center, smoke appears to be coming from Alpha’s body.

Notes[]

  • This two-parter was originally titled "Monumental Mischief".
  • In Part I, Tommy’s morphing call is completed off-screen before joining the rest of the Rangers in battle.
  • Zack suffers from ophidiophobia (or ophiophobia) an extreme or rational fear of snakes. He also suffers from arachnophobia, an extreme or rational fear of spiders, established in "Itsy Bitsy Spider".
    • The footage of the snake would later be used in the VR Troopers episode, "Defending Dark Heart: Part 1".
  • In Kimberly’s illusion of Bulk and Skull being too nice, she temporarily suffers from pistanthrophobia, a fear centered on extreme difficulty and anxiety in trusting others - often due to bad experiences with prior relationships.
  • Tommy temporarily suffers from a psychosis-related disorder, which causes visual hallucinations. In his confused state, he attacks his friends which he perceives to be Putty Patrollers.
  • Part II revisits Trini’s acrophobia, an extreme or irrational fear of heights, established in "High Five".
  • In Part II, Billy and Jason temporarily suffer from imposter syndrome (or perceived fraudulence), it involves feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments.
    • Billy states, “it’s no use, even all my scientific knowledge can’t get us out of this one, it failed.”
    • Jason believes Goldar’s statement, “if you were a real leader, Jason, you would have saved your friends already.”
  • This is the first appearance of the Mega Dragonzord.
Cockpit 9 Mega Dragonzord & Ultrazord

Tommy in Mega Dragonzord cockpit with all Rangers

  • This episode marks the only time Tommy as the Green Ranger rides in the cockpit with the other five Rangers.
  • This is the first episode to feature a monster destroyed by the Mega Dragonzord’s energy sphere attack.
  • The Rangers' flashbacks are footages from six of the previous episodes:
  • This episode was not originally included in the Best of Power Rangers rotation, but when ABC Family added it as part of a fan poll (where it received almost all the votes), they had to get the master tapes to it as they did not have at the time. They aired on 1/26-27/2005.
  • This two-parter was part of a week-long marathon called "Morphin' Wars" on Fox Kids.

See Also[]

External Links[]

Icon-mightymorphin List of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Episodes
Season 1

0: Day of the Dumpster (pilot) • 1: Day of the Dumpster • 2: High Five • 3: Teamwork • 4: A Pressing Engagement • 5: Different Drum • 6: Food Fight • 7: Big Sisters • 8: I, Eye Guy • 9: For Whom The Bell Trolls • 10: Happy Birthday, Zack • 11: No Clowning Around• 12: Power Ranger Punks • 13: Peace, Love and Woe • 14: Foul Play in the Sky • 15: Dark Warrior • 16: Switching Places • 17-21: Green With Evil • 22: Itsy Bitsy Spider • 23: The Trouble with Shellshock • 24: The Spit Flower • 25: Life's a Masquerade • 26: Gung Ho! • 27: Wheel of Misfortune • 28 & 29: Island of Illusion • 30: The Rockstar • 31: Calamity Kimberly • 32: A Star Is Born • 33: The Yolk's on You! • 34 & 35: The Green Candle • 36: Birds of a Feather • 37: Clean-Up Club • 38: A Bad Reflection on You • 39 & 40: Doomsday • 41: Rita's Seed of Evil • 42: A Pig Surprise • 43: Something Fishy • 44: Lions & Blizzards • 45: Crystal of Nightmares • 46: To Flea or Not to Flee • 47: Reign of the Jellyfish • 48: Plague of the Mantis • 49 & 50: Return of an Old Friend • 51: Grumble Bee • 52: Two Heads are Better than One • 53: Fowl Play • 54: Trick or Treat • 55: Second Chance • 56: On Fins and Needles • 57: Enter… The Lizzinator • 58: Football Season • 59: Mighty Morphin' Mutants • 60: An Oyster Stew

Season 2

1-3: The Mutiny • 4: The Wanna-Be Ranger • 5: Putty on the Brain • 6: Bloom of Doom • 7: The Green Dream • 8: The Power Stealer • 9: The Beetle Invasion • 10: Welcome to Venus Island • 11: The Song of Guitardo • 12 & 13: Green No More • 14: Missing Green • 15: Orchestral Maneuvers in the Park • 16: Beauty and the Beast • 17 & 18: White Light • 19: Two for One • 20: Opposites Attract • 21: Zedd's Monster Mash • 22-24: The Ninja Encounter • 25: A Monster of Global Proportions • 26: Zedd Waves • 27 & 28: The Power Transfer • 29: Goldar's Vice-Versa • 30: Mirror of Regret • 31: When is a Ranger Not a Ranger? • 32: Rocky Just Wants to Have Fun • 33: Lights, Camera, Action • 34: Where There's Smoke, There's Fire • 35: Scavenger Hunt • 36: The Great Bookala Escape • 37: Forever Friends • 38: A Reel Fish Story • 39 & 40: Rangers Back in Time • 41-43: The Wedding • 44-46: Return of the Green Ranger • 47: Best Man for the Job • 48 & 49: Storybook Rangers • 50 & 51: Wild West Rangers • 52: Blue Ranger Gone Bad

Season 3 & Alien Rangers

1-3: A Friend in Need • 4-7: Ninja Quest • 8: A Brush with Destiny • 9: Passing the Lantern • 10: Wizard for a Day • 11: Fourth Down and Long • 12 & 13: Stop the Hate Master • 14: Final Face-Off • 15: The Potion Notion • 16: I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger • 17 & 18: A Ranger Catastrophe • 19-21: Changing of the Zords • 22: Follow that Cab! • 23-25: A Different Shade of Pink • 26: Rita's Pita • 27: Another Brick in the Wall • 28: A Chimp in Charge • 29-31: Master Vile and the Metallic Armor • 32: The Sound of Dischordia • 33: Rangers in Reverse • 34 & 35: Alien Rangers of Aquitar • 36: Climb Every Fountain • 37: The Alien Trap • 38: Attack of the 60' Bulk • 39: Water You Thinking? • 40: Along Came a Spider • 41: Sowing the Seas of Evil • 42 & 43: Hogday Afternoon

Movies & Specials

Alpha's Magical ChristmasMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The MoviePower Rangers (2017)Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always

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