MMPR Improves Its Continuity With Pink Energy Line In Once And Always
Millennials who grew up with the "Power Rangers" franchise got a massive shot of nostalgia from Netflix's "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always." The streaming special saw the return of David Yost and Walter Jones as the Blue and Black Rangers, respectively, from the original 1993 action series. While the show's original Pink Ranger, Kimberly, played by actress Amy Jo Johnson, opted not to return for the hour-long spectacle, Catherine Sutherland — who played the subsequent Pink Ranger, Kat Hillard — did appear.
In the show, a returning Rita Repulsa traps the original Red, Pink, and White Rangers in toy form while extracting their powers, in order to travel back through time and inform her younger self how to stop the Power Rangers at their source. With those original Rangers out of play, Turbo Red and Turbo Pink Rangers Rocky (Steve Cardenas) and Kat take their place, taking over the original's Power Coins.
Black Ranger Zack expresses concern that Blue Ranger Billy and Alpha are working on the Morphin Grid so that all Rangers across time can use Dino powers at the same time. Zack recalls that duplicating active Ranger powers can be very dangerous, according to their old mentor Zordon. Kat puts a button on the scene by saying, "I don't care how dangerous too much pink energy is." She explains why she is able to inhabit Pink Ranger powers in the special, while referencing a meme-worthy moment from the original series.
A line about pink energy became hilarious out of context
"Once and Always" is filled with nods to the entire "Power Rangers" brand for the show's 30th anniversary, leaning heavily into the mythos of the first few seasons. One Easter egg reference is sure to crack up any of the show's long-time fans, addressing a canon issue that has come up before in the series. In "Power Ranger" lore, no two Rangers can possess the same color of Dino powers, as it is said to be dangerous.
In a "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" episode entitled "Wild West Rangers, Part II," Kimberly gets sent back to Old West times and has to get into Power Rangers battles by herself. In need of backup, she summons Zordon and Alpha and asks if she can give Power Coins to ancestors of the then-current timeline's Rangers to help them morph and fight alongside her. While they have Coins for the other colors of Rangers, she's told she can't share her Pink Ranger powers with anyone else. Zordon tells her, "You already have the energy from your pink coin. Too much pink energy is dangerous."
"Too much pink energy is dangerous," became something of a meme when taken out of context from that old "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" episode. But with one line delivered by Kat, "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always" both made light of the original meme and closed a continuity gap within the canon.