Who will heal Eddie Banks

Eddie is portrayed by Andre Meadows.

Watching Edward “Eddie” Banks get hurt both emotionally and physically on Power Ranger’s HyperForce was not an experience I was expecting going into this series. Traditionally in Power Rangers, when someone gets hurt the wounds usually heal fast and there’s a happy ending around the corner. But in HyperForce, nothing is as what you would expect. Your heroes might find their long lost brother, but they might not be the person you thought they were. You might find out the origin of your birth, but you end up having to question your humanity in the process.

“Who heals the Healer?” In Eddie’s case it’s a bit complicated.

For Eddie, you can be the healer on your team, but you can’t expect the same thing back. You might be the hero that keeps his team together, but you yourself can’t be put back together and that’s a tough pill to swallow. Power Rangers (on TV) never grappled with this type of loneliness, isolation, and emotional labor. In fact this topic is something that you might find in a show like Neon Genesis Evangelion than light hearted Power Rangers.

Eddie’s situation is like a call back to the poem “Who heals the Healer?” by Terry Donovan.

The focus of the poem is about the limitations of one’s self, having the power to intercede another’s pain, but also the unfairness that comes from not receiving the same healing that they give. Eddie’s greatest strength is his ability to empathize with others and heal them literally with his energy. Whenever his teammates are hurt or need power to do something dynamic in battle, Eddie is the first one on the scene to sacrifice his energy for the cause. It’s a power that’s even greater than his ability to use water or his super speed.

And yet this also means he takes in a lot of the hurt that comes to the group. He’s often left behind, injured, isolated in scenes, and is usually put in situations where his knowledge and emotional labor is asked for and used on demand. We see this start to come to a head in HyperForce episode 18 where Eddie and Marv discuss his relationship to the team, the dreams he has, and a lot of what is happening internally with Eddie.

“Eddie Banks” Civilian

And at first glance you would think that the relationship between Marv and Eddie would be enough to solve the problems being discussed, but that comes with a stipulation...an unspoken stipulation. Yes Marv will be there for Eddie, but that’s only if his brother is out of the picture. Yes Marv will be there for Eddie, until Marv gets in over his head which forces Eddie to take on the emotional and physical labor that comes with being Marv’s friend. It’s a complicated relationship that is being explored.

And we see this same thing in relationship to Vesper. The focus there isn’t “not being able to get the girl” but rather “another connection has been broken…” and “how do we move forward when another connection has been severed?” There’s also taking the brunt of Vesper’s pain which includes both the pain dealt to Vesper and also the pain dealt by Vesper. And factoring in being left out of individual adventures, trying to get the team to work together, and also dealing out knowledge to a group that doesn’t use that knowledge as well as they should.

And thus we understand a little deeper into the mindset of Eddie Banks. “Why does Eddie want to be a Hero?” because he enjoys the connections he makes out of helping other people. “Why does Eddie adore the Power Rangers History so much,” again it’s a connection to something larger than himself.

I don’t know what the future holds for Eddie, but I expect it to be one where he finds answers. One that involves self-care and exploring what it is that Eddie wants out of his relationships. It might involve putting his foot down and having to say no to the things that not only cause him harm but also those around him harm. And that’s going to cause some friction, but in the end…it’s going to take that type of friction to get him to move forward.

I again ask the question “Who heals the healer…?” And in Power Ranger’s HyperForce, I can’t wait to see how they answer this question.