It takes a lot to make me feel sorry for Drakkon, a character that's been pretty irredeemable since he was first introduced several years ago, and has well and truly earned his place as a villain worthy of hating, but, there's something about this issue that makes me feel a little bit sorry for him.
The issue starts with the Omega Rangers and Drakkon arriving in the strange dreamworld like construct that Drakkon was imprisoned in at the end of 'Shattered Grid', a place that was supposed to allow him to live out the rest of his days in relative comfort and peace. Those who were able to read the FOC covers that showed the destruction of the Red Emissary will be a little familiar with this place, as they saw it then, when it had been Drakkon's prison for a while.
Now, however, the place is falling apart. Having been modelled on Angel Grove, it's now a ruin, with pieces of the reality broken away and floating in the sky above our heroes. It seems that in the destruction of the Emissary reality itself has begun to fall apart here. If that wasn't dangerous enough, those giant spirit animals left to protect the prison still remain, and are more than willing to fight the Omega Rangers for trespassing there.
This issue not only gives writer Ryan Parrott a great opportunity to show readers a little bit of what was going on inside Drakkon's head, with glimpses into the ideal world he wanted to create, but also allows artist Francesco Mortarino a chance to do some weird and wonderful things with the environment. Thanks to the way it's drawn, and the colours provided by Raul Angelo, the whole thing look suitably weird. It's not simply a ruined version of the Ranger's home town, but a place where the line between dream and reality is skewed, and the art really reflects this.
It also becomes apparent that despite being able to fill the world with fake versions of the people he knew, Drakkon was still very much alone here, and that this definitely had an effect on him. We see some of the things he came up with to provide a much needed sense of company and reality, and it's one of the least healthy coping mechanisms you could come up with. I'm sure there are some who will say that Drakkon got what he deserved at the end of 'Shattered Grid', perhaps even that he got of light, but it's clear that things definitely had an affect on his mental state, and have played a large part in the way he is now. It's not just the fear of the Empyreals that caused his mental health issues, but the place he was locked away in too.
We end the issue with the team collecting the pieces of the remains of the Red Emissary, and them learning that they could put those pieces back together to revive him; unfortunately, it seems like the Empyreal that killed him took one of those pieces with them. At least now the Rangers have a goal and something to go after. Though it does raise the question of whether they could go and gather the pieces of the Blue Emissary since Kiya killed him too.
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