Handing the Gold Ranger powers directly to Jason upon his return would have felt like the ultimate hero’s welcome. It would have validated his decision to leave for the Peace Conference by bringing him back as a higher-tier superhero. The fan base would have gone absolutely wild, as Jason was still massively popular despite being gone for a year.

The drama of the Gold Ranger powers being unstable and needing to be passed to others would have been entirely erased. We wouldn’t have gotten the interesting storyline of Billy aging rapidly or the brief stint with the Alien Rangers taking the powers. The Gold Ranger would have been a steadfast, reliable member of the Zeo team from day one.

Jason and Tommy’s dynamic would have shifted dramatically. In MMPR, Jason was the leader and Tommy was the rogue. In Zeo, Tommy was the Red Ranger leader. Having Jason as the Gold Ranger would have created a subtle power struggle. Would Jason defer to Tommy’s year of experience, or would his seniority cause friction?

The Pyramidas carrier Zord would have been utilized much more consistently. Because Jason was a main cast member, the writers would have been forced to incorporate Pyramidas into the standard Megazord formations, rather than treating it as a guest Zord that only showed up when Trey was around. The Zeo Ultrazord would have been formed much more frequently.

As a kid, Jason getting the Gold powers was all I wanted. I threw a fit when they gave it to Billy, and then to the Aliens. Looking back, I see that the instability of the Gold powers made it a unique plot device. But giving it to Jason full-time? That’s pure, unadulterated fan service, and I would have eaten it up with a spoon in 1996.