Real Good Scare: Viktor Adler As The Second Master Org

Power Rangers is rated under the TV-Y7-FV standards. In short, many things from the source material are toned down and even potentially cooler villains (like Ransik) tend to become Large Ham, American style. However, there are moments when Power Rangers manages to create some villains that can be downright disturbing or cruel to the heroes. One real nightmare fuel is Viktor Adler as the Second Master Org. Power Rangers Wild Force is one such season. I've had my complaints on Power Rangers including the number of episodes. Wild Force only had 40 and I felt "Forever Red" was a weak spot in the series. However, I still feel the Second Master Org proved himself much worse than the Greater Scope Villain. 

Jindrax and Toxica discover that the real Master Org was long gone. Both Orgs learn that they were serving a HUMAN. Jindrax and Toxica had redeeming traits compared to their Wild Force counterparts. I find their redemption another plus that Wild Force has over Himitsu Sentai Gaoranger. The lack of a real main villain made Gaoranger in a bit of a downscale. The only things Gaoranger has advantage over Wild Force are Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai and the episode count. Otherwise, the Second Master Org is truly a menacing figure that can't be discounted.

The Second Master Org has it PERSONAL with our hero, Cole Evans. The episode "Soul Searching' doesn't mince anything. Sure, the murders happened off-screen because of censorship policies. Super Sentai got toned down since Gaoranger and most murders tend to happen off-screen or censored. Himeno Ran's parents were murdered by Grodie in Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger but discoloration was used. The Second Master Org finds a photo and finds a link with Cole. It's discovered by the audience but not by Cole that the Second Master Org MURDERED the latter's parents. It all started with jealousy though it seems Viktor (before becoming the Second Master Org) was only after his selfish ambitions. Viktor willfully swallowed the Org seeds and such evil agreed with him. In short, many of the actions done by the Second Master Org were really Viktor's actions. The Second Master Org hated his former identity as a human.

One of the best episodes ever was "The Master's Last Stand". Jindrax and Toxica sought to revive Mandilok -- the most powerful General Org. The Second Master Org challenged Cole to a death duel. What I like about the episode is that it filmed everything from scratch -- no use of Gaoranger footage. The same goes for the Power Rangers Time Force arc since Mirai Sentai Timeranger had no crossover with Gaoranger. It was also nice to see the Second Master Org attempt to corrode the heroes in slimy vines. The Second Master Org reverts back to Viktor. Viktor begs Cole to destroy him but the latter refuses. Cole may have been raised a barbarian but he had more morals than Viktor. Viktor was highly educated but was more of a savage than Cole. 

What gets interesting is when Viktor survives the fall. I find this scene downright disturbing -- even for a children's show! Some argue that Viktor died and Master Org was reincarnated in the same vessel. Some say that Viktor survived and that he allowed the original Master Org to be his vessel. It's kinda like what happened years later in Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger -- the moment Kuervo allowed himself to become Don Armage's host. However, there are already hints that this is the Second Master Org. A horn grew on Viktor. I assume that Viktor had enough malice and the the Org power acknowledged it. Viktor tried to assert his authority on Jindrax and Toxica. However, Mandilok threw Viktor off the cliff.

Mandilok took over for a short while. However, Master Org slowly prepared his return by using Onikage. Onikage's counterpart Dorodoro was working with Rasetsu from start to end. Viktor becomes a full org and becomes the Second Master Org. The Second Master Org MURDERS Mandilok in cold blood. The Second Master Org offered forgiveness to Jindrax but it was all a ruse. Jindrax commented on how life became meaningless for the Orgs. The Second Master Org says, "That's not my name!" when Shayla calls him "Viktor Adler". It's proof that the Second Master Org still remembers who he is but hates his former human identity. Even the scene where the Second Master Org swallows the Org Heart (which Shayla's necklace was necessary) just gets rather scary. It was nice for Jindrax and Toxica to get redeemed. It was to show how humans can be more evil than the non-humans!

The finale arc really worked its nightmare fuel. It was a mixture of Gaoranger footage and some well-done American footage. The finale revealed how beyond redemption the Second Master Org had become. The Second Master Org goes to destroy EVERY ZORD around. What I find weak in Gaoranger is that Senki was merely the combination of the three Org Highnesses. Here, Senki's form is used for the most wicked human in the series -- or maybe even in the Power Rangers lore. Viktor was once human and ceased to be human. The world would've been destroyed if it wasn't for a last-minute miracle that brought back all the Wild Zords! Amazingly, Cole still forgave that worst human and wished that monster peace. 

This was one of the crowning moments of Power Rangers. Lord Zedd was introduced to be a more cruel villain but became comedic over time. I felt that Lord Zedd could've retained a scary persona even when married to Rita Repulsa. Instead, Lord Zedd got comedic. Ransik was shown to be a genuine threat BUT he was later toned down presumably due to 9-11. Fortunately, the Second Master Org never had that treatment. In fact, the Second Master Org was truly terrifying from start to end. 

Sadly, Disney would later cut most episodes from 40 to 32 (which rushes things even more). The Neo-Saban era and the Hasbro era are still stuck with Mighty Morphin' hype. I even hate how Nickelodeon is doing things -- making me think I'm better off skipping Power Rangers. I may have still enjoyed Power Rangers back then. However, the same can't be true now. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to name some things I liked about it back then -- or stuff I feel Power Rangers may have done better than its parent show!