Passing the Torch (Revisited Series)

Passing the Torch is a two part episode of Power Rangers: Aero, encompassing the eighteenth and nineteenth episodes. The two parter's significance is in the passing of the Red, Green, Yellow, and Pink Aero powers from Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kim over to their successors, T.J., Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie.

Summary
Visited by her mother, Telissa is inspired to take down the Power Rangers by removing their leader. While heading to the outskirts of Angel Grove to go camping with Adam, Tanya, and Dylan, Tommy and Kim are ambushed by an army of Icthyotrons, with Tommy being captured and to be dumped into the Vortex of Eternal Doom, while the others fight the Flamite at their campsite. Luckily, a part of young teens in the midst of moving to Angel Grove, T.J. and Cassie, spot the disturbance and come to the Rangers' aid.

As T.J. and Cassie head off to rescue Tommy, Flamite plans to burn down Angel Grove. Carlos and Ashley help bring a group of children into the Youth Center while the rest of the Power Rangers attempt to put out the giant fire. On top of all that, time is running out for the four eldest Rangers, who must pass on their powers to worthy successors by the end of the day.

Part 1
As Telissa sleeps in her quarters on the Space Station, she is visited in her dream by her mother, who is not happy at her daughter's incompetence and calls her a failure to the family name. She orders Telissa to redeem herself by destroying the Power Rangers, or else. When Telissa asks how, her mom hammers it in deep: "Remove the leader... and the rest will fall like dominoes".

Out in the mountains, Tommy and Kim are driving out to meet with Dylan, Tanya, and Adam for a camping trip. Elsewhere on a cross-country bus, a young teenage girl is singing to her portable radio, annoying all the other passengers until a nearby teenage boy tells her to stop. As the two strike up a conversation, they introduce themselves to each other as T.J. and Cassie. Cassie is heading to Stone Canyon to pursue a music career, while T.J. is heading to Angel Grove to get some training and become a baseball player.

Back with Tommy and Kim, Telissa has sent her foot soldiers out on motorcycles to chase their truck and capture Tommy. The two Rangers are forced to head off-road as the fishy fiends stay in hot pursuit. Kim jumps out to safety and drops her Aero Morpher while Tommy keeps the Piranhatrons focused on him as he escapes, but they blow up his truck and knock him out. At a nearby rest stop, T.J. hears the battle and runs off to investigate, ignoring Cassie's reminder that the bus is getting ready to leave.

Telissa, having spotted the other Rangers camping, sends out a pair of Petra Pods and the monster Flamite in order to keep them from coming to Tommy's rescue. While Adam and Tanya bicker over setting up the hammock, Dylan spots movement in the bushes and follows it only to be ambushed by Flamite. Nearby, a Petra Pod hatches and attacks Adam and Tanya.

No longer able to stall the bus driver, Cassie decides to stay behind and look for T.J.. She finds him near Tommy's blown-up truck, and they soon see Kim being harassed by the fish warriors. T.J. runs to help her with a reluctant Cassie following. They are attacked by another group of warriors before they can even get close to her, but they prove surprisingly capable of fighting them off to Kim's amazement. However, none of them are paying attention to the Petra Pod that is hatching.

At the campsite, Dylan gets his Turbo Key knocked away by Flamite and struggles against his grip. Tanya and Adam trip up the Petra Pod in their hammock and run to help him, but their Keys get kicked away as well and they are forced to dodge Flamite as they retrieve them. In the desert, T.J., Cassie, and Kim join together to fight the fish warriors but are unable to save Tommy as the Petra Pod drags him away. And in a hidden cave, Divatox cackles in triumph as the leader of the Power Rangers is delivered to her.

Part 2
Dylan, Tanya, and Adam morph and draw their Aero Weapons, but Flamite blocks their shots. Adam then dumps a fire-bucket full of water on the monster to weaken him. While it works, Flamite teleports away before the Rangers can attack. Unable to follow for now, the Rangers head out to meet with Kim and scare off the fish warriors. T.J. and Cassie show the Rangers their gratitude for the rescue and help console Kim before leaving.

In the cave, Telissa has hooked Tommy to a rope and is boasting over how she'll make him suffer for all the misery he and the Rangers put her through, but she can't decide how to do it. Her mom appears and suggests dumping him into the Vortex of Eternal Doom. Telissa agrees with the idea, so her mom summons the Vortex to appear below Tommy's feet as he dangles for dear life. To add one final touch, Telissa spreads peanut butter on the rope so that the rats will gnaw through it, keeping Tommy on edge until his last moment.

In the Power Chamber, the remaining Rangers have their hands full. Delta 4 is unable to locate Tommy, a giant Flamite is on a rampage in Angel Grove, and Fera has warned the Rangers that their time is fleeting and fading fast, as evidenced by a diminishing hourglass. The Rangers can't fight Flamite in their current state, so they morph and focus on getting civilians to safety first. Back in the desert, T.J. is still excited over meeting the Power Rangers and explains to Cassie that he had wanted to be one when he was a teenager, but she doesn't seem to share his sentiments and simply wants to get back into town. When they find stony footprints left by the Petra Pod, T.J. decides to follow them. Cassie doesn't and goes her own way instead.

As the Rangers help the civilians, a pair of familiar faces are spotted: Carlos and Ashley from High School. Adam and Tanya recruit them to help evacuate the children to the Youth Center. Elsewhere, Piranhatrons are preventing the fire department from putting out Flamite's fires, forcing Kim and Dylan to fight them off.

T.J.'s following of the slime trail leads him to a rocky cliff... and Cassie, who can't bring herself to leave her new friend behind. Together, they reach the cave where Tommy is seconds away from falling into the Vortex. Though a trio of Piranhatrons try to stall them, T.J. is just barely able to grab the rope as it snaps, allowing Cassie to grab and save Tommy. After a moment of introduction and thanks, T.J. and Cassie leave while Tommy teleports behind their backs to join the battle at Angel Grove. Now at full strength, the Rangers summon the Turbo Megazord and give Flamite a Spin-Out to end the long battle, leaving Telissa to face her mom's disappointment.

With the hourglass now out of sand and Angel Grove safe, the Rangers are ready to do what must be done. Fera and Delta 4 show them to a special room in the Power Chamber, where they are reunited with Zordon and Alpha 5 as part of a grand event: the Power Transfer. Tommy, Tanya, Kim, and Adam have been asked to choose new individuals to continue on as the Power Rangers in their stead, and they have chosen T.J., Ashley, Cassie, and Carlos to take up their respective mantles as the Red, Yellow, Pink, and Green Aero Rangers. With Justin at their side as the Blue Aero Ranger, the legacy continues...

Cast

 * Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Red Aero Ranger 1)
 * Blake Foster as Dylan Peterson (Blue Aero Ranger)
 * Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (Green Aero Ranger 1)
 * Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan (Yellow Aero Ranger 1)
 * Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart (Pink Aero Ranger 1)
 * Gregg Bullock as Jerome Stone (background action only)
 * Patricia Ja Lee as Cassie Chan (Pink Aero Ranger 2)
 * Selwyn Ward as T.J. Johnson (Red Aero Ranger 2)
 * Bob Manahan as Zordon (voice)
 * Unknown performer as Alpha 5
 * Richard Horvitz as Alpha 5 (voice)
 * Roger Velasco as Carlos Vallerte (Green Aero Ranger 2)
 * Tracy Lynn Cruz as Ashley Hammond (Yellow Aero Ranger 2)
 * Carol Hoyt as Fera
 * Donene Kistler as Delta 4
 * Kristen Lazarian as Delta 4 (voice)
 * Hilary Shepard Turner as Telissa
 * Carol White as Telissa's mom