Bob Forward

Bill Reed

Prince Adam finally completes the mission that sent him to Etheria (though perhaps not in the way he intended, and with a lot of help from the Sorceress), as Adora takes up the magical sword and comes into her own true identity and power! Secrets are revealed! Transformations are accomplished! Various objects are smashed! Come and check it out, yo.

Force Captain Adora (She-Ra), Bow, Glimmer, Prince Adam (He-Man), Cringer, Madame Razz, Sorceress, Spirit (Swift Wind)

Mantenna, Hordak, Imp, Shadow Weaver

Horde soldiers, various rebels, Twiggets, random brown horse

battle wagon

Hordak gathers a few of his current favorite lackeys (Adora, Shadow Weaver, Mantenna, and - for the first time on screen - his tiniest minion, Imp) on a rooftop of the Fright Zone to show off his latest invention: the Magnabeam Transporter. As the snorting villain demonstrates on a wrecked and useless battle wagon, the ray of this weapon is capable of transporting anything it zaps to the Valley of the Lost, from whence nothing can return. Hordak explains that his big plan now is to finally get rid of those pesky rebels by zapping away the entire Whispering Woods - which he knows is where they are hiding. The only thing holding him back is that this beam needs a lot of juice. He teleports his audience down to the Plunder Room, the place where (rather nonsensically) he keeps the power source for the beam. It's a chamber that sucks the willpower out of people! A feisty rebel is clapped into the chamber while they watch, but a full drain of the bald man's energy barely lights up the power meter on the beam - and Hordak will need it completely filled to banish the rebels. Better line up all the prisoners in the dungeons!

Back in the Whispering Woods, a resurfaced Prince Adam explains to his fellow rebels that he needs to wander off into Etheria and... take care of something. Bidding an awkward farewell to his new friends, and leaving Cringer there, Adam trudges off into the forest and towards the Fright Zone, hoping to meet whatever destiny awaits him with the mysterious force captain. Adam stealthily approaches the Fright Zone, hoping to infiltrate the evil base. Realizing that his pink vest and cheerful demeanor sort of stand out, the prince changes into He-Man and grabs an unsuspecting Horde soldier, knocking him out and stealing his armor as a disguise. You'd think He-Man would have no trouble marching right into the place in this outfit; but he's seen through almost at once. Hordak has drained the willpower of every rebel prisoner, and still has a lot of energy to go before he can fire his ray. Asking Shadow Weaver to magically look in on the latest troop of guards returning to the Fright Zone, Hordak is dismayed to see that they have zero prisoners in tow - but what's this? Why does the last soldier in line have some blonde locks peeking out from under the rim of his domed helmet? Obviously it's that muscular rebel fighter again - and now they're ready for him! Hordak wants to just kill the guy, but Shadow Weaver realizes the beefy blonde could make a tasty power reservoir for the Magnabeam, so they decide to lay an ambush.

He-Man, unaware that he's already been rumbled, lurks in a shadowy niche somewhere inside the base and accosts a passing Adora. He questions her quietly, hoping that his words to her at their previous meeting have helped open her eyes to the true evil of the Horde; but in addition to not realizing he's been spotted, he also doesn't know that Shadow Weaver has re-upped her spells on the girl since they last spoke. Adora eventually whips out a blaster and holds He-Man at gunpoint, just as Hordak, Shadow Weaver, and a troop of Hordesmen show up. She even uses the blaster on He-Man, knocking him unconscious. But just when we might be thinking Adora has gone fully evil, she balks at Hordak's command that the blonde oaf be shoved into the Magnabeam chamber and sucked dry. It takes another squirt of mystifying mist from the hands of Shadow Weaver to quiet her objections.

Hordak gets an idea of just how much power He-Man has in him once the hunk is inside the energy chamber; the villain realizes he's going to have to be careful not to overload his cherished Magnabeam, and that the extraction process is going to take all night. Come the morning, however, He-Man's juice should have easily filled up the power meter, allowing Hordak to safely zap away all his rebel troubles; so he's entirely unconcerned when Shadow Weaver, on the other side of the Plunder Room, expresses anxiety over her inability to learn more about the two power swords which have been placed there. The pair walk off, visions of world conquest dancing in their heads. Meanwhile, Adora is passing a troubled night, her dreams plagued with worries of evil and the voice of a strange woman who calls to her. Ultimately awakened, she decides to just pop down to the Plunder Room and check on the strange, bedazzled sword that seems made just for her, and the muscular rebel who seemed so determined to change her mind.

Adora finds He-Man almost entirely drained, and the Magnabeam's power meter nearly full. She's distracted from trying to process her uncertain feelings over this development by the strange voice from her dreams, which is now coming from the sword. Within the gem is a bird-hatted lady, who urges Adora to take up the sword and help the rebel. He-Man, she claims, is an incredibly important force for good; and not only that, but he's also Adora's twin brother! She must save him and defeat the Horde - for the honor of Grayskull. Repeating this last phrase, Adora takes up the sword, and an amazing transformation takes place. "I am She-Ra!" the woman's alter ego cries, leaving no doubt as to the name of her new, more powerful identity. She rushes over to help her brother, smashing the chamber open; but unfortunately the power meter is now full, and Hordak and his soldiers, somehow alerted to the unexpected events within, are pounding on the Plunder Room door. A greatly weakened He-Man calls for his sword, which She-Ra fetches for him, and he's just able to zap himself back to full power as the Horde busts through the door.

A pacific He-Man is prepared to find a way out of this situation without a fight, but has to change his mind when he learns about the Magnabeam. He sends She-Ra off to warn the rebels while he stays to attempt to fight off the soldiers and prevent catastrophe. She-Ra leaps out the window and down to the stables, where she mounts her horse Spirit - and is then amazed to find the power of Grayskull transforms the regular horse into a talking, winged unicorn, who introduces himself as Swift Wind. She flies off, but sees that He-Man, delayed by the Hordesmen, has not managed to destroy the Magnabeam. She-Ra lands quickly to grab a big boulder and toss it in the path of the ray, saving the Whispering Woods. He-Man, who has smashed his way up to the roof and the Magnabeam, solves his problem in the usual way, by punching it. The energy stored in the now busted ray disperses back to its owners, and the will-filled rebels break free of the prison. A furious but impotent Hordak can only watch as his plans are shattered to bits, and She-Ra swoops back to pick up her brother and fly him away to the Whispering Woods.

• Bow: You are a brave man, Adam; I salute you. Good fortune speed you on your mission. / Adam (clearly ill-equipped to respond to this): Uh... er... well thanks.
• Shadow Weaver: Something strange about these swords. They are not of this world. They have a strange power that I cannot control.
• Hordak: Tomorrow the dawning of a new day shall herald the final end of the rebellion! (Snorts and laughs alternately)
• Adora (to herself): The strong rebel grows weaker; soon he will be just another slave. But it is for the good of the Horde! It must be done - yet - why do I feel so unsure?
• Sorceress: He is He-Man, hero and champion on the side of goodness. But to you, Adora, he is also something more. Adora, the Horde stole you from your parents when you were a tiny baby, so you never knew your mother, and you never knew your father. But you also had a - twin brother. / Adora: (gasps) / Sorceress: This man is your brother Adora - and Adora - he needs your help! For the honor of Grayskull Adora!
• Hordak: Well rebel - you smashed my Magnabeam and saved your worthless friends. / He-Man: So I did; pretty good, huh?

• He-Man juggles his sword: The unsheathing animation is used while He-Man is wearing the armor of a Horde soldier
• He-Man punches the viewer: To smash the Magnabeam Transporter

One full, divided
For the first time in the series, and in very thrilling circumstances, Adora lifts her sword and says the magic words that change her into She-Ra. A few moments later, we also see her accidentally change her horse Spirit into the winged Swift Wind after she jumps onto his back; but the sequence is different than it will eventually become, since the sword does not directly zap the horse. Variation - though the transformation sequence of Adora is identical to what will eventually be used in the show's opener, it is not the same one that will be used in the show for most of its run. In this version, the background painting of Castle Grayskull clearly has an open Jawbridge, but the Jawbridge itself is nowhere to be seen: only the gaping hole of the open mouth.

In terms of He-Man transformations, Adam gets a partial one early in the episode (without the Cringer/Battle Cat sequence) when he prepares to grab a Horde disguise. In the episode's exciting closing moments, though there is no accompanying transformation (since at the time he's already He-Man), we hear the magic words again when a drained He-Man recharges himself.

N/A
In the first five episodes comprising the Secret of the Sword movie, Loo-Kee does not appear.

N/A
There are no PSA segments for the first five episodes.

MOTU crossover
Landmark Episode
Changing hearts and minds: This category I created mainly for cases later in the series proper, where She-Ra convinces others to fight for the rebellion; in this first instance, it's He-Man and the Sorceress convincing Adora and thus bringing She-Ra into being!

• This is an abbreviated entry since the beginning of the series was already featured as part of the movie, Secret of the Sword. For a full analysis of the first five episodes of She-Ra, see my entry for the movie. What I will mainly be focusing on here will be the differences between this episode and the corresponding section of the movie ("Act III"), and connections to later episodes of the series.
• The episode begins with an opening identical to the one featured in 67001 and 67002, with a narrator setting the scene for rebels vs. Horde. After the opening, a different-sounding narrator gives a recap of the previous episode, leading into the typical title screen with writer/director credits.
• In an interesting variation from the movie, the sequence of events is somewhat flip-flopped, with the Magnabeam demonstration occurring before we see Adam say farewell to his rebel friends and walk off towards the Fright Zone.
• We will next see the character of Imp in 67008's "The Red Knight."
• The location of the "Valley of the Lost," introduced here, will actually be visited by our characters in 67020's "Three Courageous Hearts." It will also feature in 67044's "The Rock People" and 67048's "Birds of a Feather." Disappointingly, it will never really live up to its reputation as a place from which people never return.
• There's an added bit at the end of the Magnabeam demo, where Adora asks what happens to the drained prisoners, and Hordak gleefully explains that they will become servants for Horde generals. The first drained prisoner then makes a compliant and brainless reply to Hordak: "Yes, master."
• Before Adam leaves the rebels, there's an added exchange with Bow where the mustached archer offers to travel with him into the Fright Zone, and the Eternian prince must quickly dissuade his friend.
• As part of the larger SOTS movie this doesn't apply; but taking this episode by itself, and considering the very short scene that is all we will get of the rebel camp, it represents one of only a very few times where we will see Madame Razz unaccompanied by Broom. The next time this happens will be in 67009's "The Missing Ax."
• When He-Man gets inside the Horde fortress, there's an added scene where he ponders just how difficult it's going to be to find Adora in the huge complex - and then immediately spots her. Nice.
• After Adora awakes in her bed and looks out her bedroom window, she has a few seconds of additional visions of the power sword and the imprisoned He-Man.
• In the movie, He-Man's "recharge" magic words are abbreviated, with only the first line ("By the power of Grayskull") being pronounced before the door to the Plunder Room busts open. In this episode, He-Man gets through the whole sequence, including "I have the power!" Afterwards, She-Ra hears Hordak speaking on the other side of the door, realizes her father figure is about to blow it down, then leaps out of the way.
• Hordak transformations: In this episode, as noted in the entry for the movie, we see that Hordak can change either or both of his arms into cannons; we also see the odd variation of one of his hands sometimes appearing as a metallic claw. For the rest of the series, the standard form of Hordak will sport a matching pair of blue hands, with no metal claw; so it's possible this was an early and ultimately rejected adjustment in his character design.
• As with the other episodes recapitulating the SOTS movie, the backing soundtrack has been changed in some scenes from what was used in the film.
• Again as with the previous episodes, the ending shot includes a "to be continued" message, and we then get some sneak preview scenes from the next episode (67004).

• A couple of interesting things about the recap of the previous episode: the clip used to show Adora discovering the evil deeds of the Horde is the one that was added for only the show, and did not appear in the movie. Also, when the narrator informs us that He-Man escaped from the Horde prison, it shows him snapping his chains as he lays on the stone table - something that didn't actually happen in the story! (Kowl released him by pushing the correct button on the control panel, since He-Man was unable to break the chains himself.)
• This episode could be considered the first instance of "home invasion" in the POP series, a subject I covered extensively in my database of MOTU episodes. Here, we see He-Man infiltrating the Fright Zone - the first of what will very likely prove many, many occasions where the rebels will find it necessary to break into Hordak's house, raising questions on the efficacy of Hordak's security systems and as to why the rebels don't just storm the place. (Though to be fair, in this case He-Man is detected before he even manages to get inside, even through a pretty effective disguise.) In fact, I suspect this event will prove so common that it's not really worth keeping track. Also, unlike in MOTU, where Skeletor was frequently returning the favor by breaking into the royal palace of Eternos, Hordak will have a much harder time getting into the Whispering Woods, so there's not as much to compare/contrast here.
• When I watched this section of the movie, I was so distracted wondering where He-Man pulled his sword from while wearing his Horde trooper armor that it never occurred to me that he did it (and his subsequent deflections of Horde laser beams) with his left hand, showing that he is ambidextrous! Or, more prosaically, that the animation cel was flipped.
• I've been surprised as I go through these to find all the little additions to the individual episodes. Even this chunk of the story, which I did not expect to have many variations, had quite a few sprinkled extra bits.
• Bow's formal farewell to Prince Adam in the beginning of the story, complete with salute, is made even more awkward by the additional line where he melodramatically vows to accompany the uninterested royal heir.
• It's amusing how the added scene of He-Man inside the Fright Zone fortress, which could have helped explain how he manages to track down Adora, instead just serves to emphasize the unlikeliness of his easy discovery of her.
• Though I already noted it in my commentary for the film, I feel the need to reiterate just how exciting and well-constructed the moment is where Adora first becomes She-Ra. And historic!