Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Ghost of a Chance Part 2

Welcome back to the Jungle my friends, and welcome to the second half of our two parter, Ghost of a Chance. Last time, after a few victories over Dai Shi and his monsters, the Rangers were feeling a bit cocky, which made them think that it was a good idea to fight Dai Shi head on after he’d had a massive power up. Naturally, the Rangers found themselves on the receiving end of a world class ass whooping courtesy of Dai Shi, who would have killed them if RJ hadn’t made the save and surrendered himself in exchange for the lives of his students. The Rangers were visited by the ghost of Master Mao, who told them that there was a way to save RJ, but it would involve entering the spirit world and training with three deceased masters. Mao agreed to open the portal to the spirit world, but warned them the journey would be dangerous, and they’d be on their own when it comes to getting back. Part 1 ended with the Rangers encountering Masters Rilla, Lope and Guin, the latter of whom was played by Michelle Langstone, aka Kat from SPD.

Our episode opens in Dai Shi’s castle where RJ is informed that he’ll be fighting Dai Shi one on one in some kind of arena. RJ maintains his snarky and relaxed demeanor, but it’s clear he’s growing concerned.

Back in the spirit world, after kicking the shit out of the Rangers, the new masters introduce themselves and say that their new students must pass a test to prove themselves worthy. Theo says bring it on since they’re not afraid of anything, but Master Guin says that true courage comes not from the absence of fear, but the ability to keep fighting in the face of what one is most afraid of. Each of the Rangers will in turn face a trial based on their own personal fears.

Lily is up first and finds herself teleported to a cave full of spider webs. Seems dear Lily has a serious case of arachnophobia.

Theo is the next to be sent on his journey, finding himself on a stage in front of hundreds about to sing karaoke. It would seem that singing is not one of Theo’s many talents and he fears looking like a fool.

Back at Dai Shi’s castle, RJ and Dai Shi finally meet one on one inside a steel cage. Ain’t that a bitch, two of the toughest fighters in the show in a pro wrestling style setup, and our man Flit is nowhere to be found. In any case, RJ doesn’t want to fight Jarrod, but Dai Shi doesn’t especially care and knocks him around with the power of his lion spirit.

Back in the spirit world, it’s Casey’s turn. Casey finds himself in his childhood bedroom reliving old nightmares about a monster in his closet. Don’t worry Casey, times have changed since Watenoose got arrested, closet monsters are only out to make you laugh nowadays. I joke, but the monsters in this very show are powered by fear, that’s not to much of a far cry from using the screams of children as an energy source so we may be closer to Monsters Inc. than we realize.

Back at Dai Shi’s castle, RJ has finally started fighting back, but it seems to make little difference as Dai Shi has grown far superior in strength. Besides, RJ is still holding back, refusing to unleash his wolf spirit. Dai Shi unleashes a devastating attack to RJ’s chest which seems to somehow damage his animal spirit and causes him to collapse. Now that RJ is down for the count, Dai Shi and the overlords plan to use him as bait to draw out the Rangers.

Back in the spirit world, Lily manages to walk through a huge web full of nasty spiders despite her fear. Theo, despite feeling self conscious, manages to entertain the crowd with a stirring rendition of This Little Light of Mine. Finally, Casey passes his own test by doing the one thing he was never able to do as a child, open the closet door and see that there never was any monster to begin with. I find that a bit counterintuitive in a reality where we know that monsters are very real, but whatever, Casey passed his test and gets some well deserved kudos from Master Rilla. With all three Rangers having passed their tests, they have gained the ability to call upon the animal spirits of their new masters. Initially, the masters insist that the Rangers remain in the spirit realm to finish their training, but once they hear that Dai Shi has escaped, they allow the rangers to return home. A little convenient, I’ll admit, but I appreciate that the masters have enough common sense to put the safety of planet earth before the arbitrary rules of the spirit realm.

Back at Jungle Karma pizza, Fran is once again running the restaurant all by her lonesome. Honestly, I think given the circumstances, it would be perfectly acceptable to close the place until they can get RJ back. At the very least, it would give poor Fran a day off for once. Fran hears the TV is on and heads up to the loft to turn it off. More on that later.

Later, Dai Shi calls out The Rangers once again, but this time our heroes are ready for him. Dai Shi is still tough and puts up one hell of a fight, but the Rangers have a new trick up their sleeve, Jungle Master Mode, a powered up form that swaps out the black highlights on their costume with white. They also now appear to have jet boosters on the sides of their outfits. Because ancient Kung fu masters were all about jet engines I guess. In any case, with their new power up, the Rangers manage to more than hold their own against Dai Shi and his Shadow Guards as RJ watches on with pride. Casey even manages to best Dai Shi in a one on one fight.

Unfortunately it’s not over yet as the Shadow Guards grow giant sized. But the Rangers are ready for that too as they call upon the spirits of the Gorilla, Antelope and Penguin, who is apparently riding on a little snowboard. Makes no sense but who cares, it’s adorable. The three new spirits combine to form The Jungle Master Megazord. Gotta say, in my personal opinion, the Jungle Master Megazord is not as cool as Jungle Pride. It’s certainly not the worst by any stretch, but my problem is that it's just so top heavy it looks like it could tip over any second. The good news is, Flit is on hand to provide commentary. Better late than never eh little buddy. The Jungle Master Megazord reduces the Shadow Guards to rubble, and the day is won.

However, all is not well, as upon returning to the loft, RJ finds that an unspeakable act of evil has been committed. Someone has been sitting in RJ’s chair. That’s when Fran makes her presence known. She saw the whole fight on the monitor and knows everything. And with that, we cut to credits.

Ghost of a Chance is an episode that shakes up the status quo in many key ways. Some of them big, like the introduction of Jungle Master mode or Fran finding out the Rangers’ secret, and others subtle, like RJ still suffering the effects of Dai Shi’s attack, something that will come into play in a big way a little later. If I had one nitpick, it’s that the Face your Fear tests don’t really reveal that much about our characters. Casey being afraid of the Monster in his closet never gets mentioned again, same with Lily’s fear of spiders. In fact, despite the Monsters of the week having an animal motif, we never actually fight a spider monster, at least not to my recollection. The only exception is Theo, but that’s more of a discussion for a later episode. Keep the fact that Theo can’t sing in the back of your minds for now. In any case, Ghost of a Chance was a lot of fun, showcasing the Rangers and the villains getting stronger, upping the ante in their conflict going forward. Next time, we officially deal with the fallout of Fran uncovering the secret in Bad to the Bone. Until next time Rangers, May the Power Protect You.