Bob Forward

Richard Trueblood

Shadow Weaver and Hordak have a snazzy plan to drape the Whispering Woods in eternal darkness, withering the protective magic of its trees and plants. To assure their plan's success, they just have to imprison the Great Rebellion's plant expert, Perfuma. Shouldn't be a problem, right?

Bow, Princess Adora (She-Ra), Mermista, Perfuma, Glimmer, Swift Wind, Light Hope, Madame Razz

Shadow Weaver, Hordak, Mantenna

Horde soldiers, various rebels, Horde spy bat (mentioned only)

jetmobiles, wagon

In the gloomy throne room of the Fright Zone, the sorceress Shadow Weaver approaches her leader Hordak with a plan that could spell certain doom for Etheria's Great Rebellion. It involves a black ruby that has boosted her already formidable magical powers, and - but hold up a second; Hordak has to take care of something. Using his throne's built-in PA system, he calls in Mantenna, who comes running in dripping, with a towel about his waist and a shower cap over his head. Hordak grills the minion about a golden statue that Mantenna placed in the throne room. When Mantenna explains that he thought his boss would like the look of the stolen item, Hordak blasts the sculpture to a melted stub, ranting that he hates all things that are pretty, and won't have them in his fortress. For good measure, and as is his custom, he then sends Mantenna down a trapdoor, jesting that the dolt would do better to have a bath than a shower.

Back to that evil plan of Shadow Weaver's: with her augmented powers, she claims she is now capable of permanently blocking out the sun above the rebels' hideout in the Whispering Woods. The uninterrupted darkness will stifle and stunt the forest's magically protective foliage, leaving their enemies defenseless. Hordak loves this idea and instantly claims it as his own; but Weaver subtly goads her boss by prompting him to explain the one flaw in the plan, which she's already considered. There is one rebel with botanically based powers, who could keep the sun-starved plant life thriving and spoil the whole scheme: Perfuma. Hordak, seeing the logic in this, immediately orders that the flower-loving lady be captured.

So where is Perfuma, anyway? Having never met her before, we're not sure where she hangs out. Well, we're about to discover: cut to the Crystal Falls, where Bow has convinced rebel leader Princess Adora to take a rare break and relax by the waterside. While they're dabbling their toes in the water, the pair chat with Mermista, who explains that she has another visitor: Perfuma. Perfuma is busy doing what she does: decorating, by magically conjuring pretty flowers and plants all over the place. She swings by to say hi and bedeck Bow and Adora with blooms. When Adora asks her friend whether she's concerned at being so far from the safety of the Whispering Woods, Perfuma shrugs off the danger. Indeed, even when a Horde strike force, riding through the sky on jetmobiles (AKA "skycycles"), swoops in over the falls to threaten them, Perfuma continues wandering about the grotto, unconcernedly sprouting bushes.

Adora advises her friends to scatter, then runs off to a secluded part of the dell to transform. She-Ra can then dive into battle against the Horde soldiers. With the assistance of Bow and Mermista, the heroine smashes a healthy helping of Hordesmen; but while the trio are distracted with this task, one soldier manages to nab Perfuma and fly off with her! Before the heroes can fully process this situation, another peril presents itself. With the plant defender safely in their grasp, the Horde immediately enact Shadow Weaver's - I mean, Hordak's - plan: the day darkens to night, and sunlight is snuffed out over the Whispering Woods.

She-Ra quickly deduces the details of Hordak's dastardly design, and knows they will need light to keep their defensive wall of woods alive. Is there a way to break this solar blockade? And what about the poor hostage Perfuma? To get some magical advice, She-Ra hops on over to Sky Dancer Mountain and Light Hope. After explaining about the black ruby and consulting their magical portents, the wise light beam gives the heroine the rather baffling suggestion: do nothing! Confused but obedient, She-Ra heads back to the Whispering Woods to hold tight rather than orchestrating another boring prison break from the Fright Zone. Still... a little meddling couldn't hurt. She enlists Glimmer and her light-based powers for a temporary fix for the forest: flying the pink-haired princess high in the sky on Swift Wind's back, She-Ra encourages her friend to blast her magic at full power. The result is a replacement sun - at least for an hour, which is as long as Glimmer can keep up the rays before being completely spent. Glimmer can manage one hour a day, and keep the plants in good health; but her strength will only hold out for so long. It seems the rebels are only delaying the inevitable. And, really: what about the Horde's prisoner, Perfuma?

Well, about that: Hordak's problems with his prisoner begin almost right away, when he spots pretty flowers wrapped about the soldier giving a report on Perfuma. He blasts the robot into its component parts, because - as we helpfully established in the opening scene - Hordak hates all forms of beauty, and won't have them in his house. Perfuma quickly tests his limits and resolve on this score. Having filled up her prison cell with plants, she easily slips out the door by growing vines through the keyhole, then takes to decorating her guards and dancing through the dungeon halls with them while intoning a sing-song melody. Hordak, venturing to her cell to check on the prisoner, is incensed at the situation but finds himself powerless to stop it. He resorts to banging his hammer-shaped head on the wall in frustration.

Back at the Whispering Woods, the rebels receive a message cube from the Horde commander, offering to give back Perfuma in exchange for She-Ra. This is a deal our golden heroine would usually take in a heartbeat, and in fact she's done so in the past (she gave herself up to free an imprisoned Bow in the fabulous 67053's "Unexpected Ally"); but hewing to the terms of Light Hope's strictures, She-Ra this time opts to wait. Sure enough, the rebels soon receive another message cube from the increasingly desperate Hordak, now offering to simply release Perfuma over to the rebels if they'll just come to the Fright Zone to pick her up. Bow and She-Ra are both suspicious of this too-good-to-be-true, no-strings-attached deal; but She-Ra ultimately decides she has to take the chance, since Glimmer is fading fast. Leaving a disappointed Bow behind to guard the camp, She-Ra sets off for the Fright Zone atop Swift Wind.

Cautiously landing a short walk from the edge of the Fright Zone, She-Ra approaches on foot and blunders right into a Horde border patrol. The soldiers, entirely ignorant of the planned prisoner release, immediately open fire on our heroine, who must defend herself vigorously. She smashes up quite a few of the soldiers before bumping into Hordak, who has impatiently come in person to treat with his nemesis - and to get away from his blossom-bedecked throne room, echoing to the sounds of Perfuma's singing as she leads a conga line of troopers around the place. Seeing Hordak's eagerness and inferring the desperation behind it, She-Ra remains aloof to the Horde commander's initial offers. She ultimately negotiates not only the safe return of Perfuma, but the lifting of Shadow Weaver's shroud, the delivery of the black ruby that facilitated it - and a shipment of supplies for the rebel camp.

Laughing over the easy success afterwards, She-Ra smashes the ruby to fragments, and she and her friends in the Whispering Woods wonder how Hordak is getting along now that Perfuma is moved out of his place. Cut back to the Fright Zone, where our Horde commander is immensely relieved that his soldiers have managed to relocate all the hated flowers out of his throne room. There's just one more thing he needs to do so he can feel completely at ease again: drop Mantenna down the old trapdoor. But when he triggers the hatch, Mantenna doesn't disappear: his fall has been blocked by all the blossoms, because - as Hordak's lieutenant has been trying to tell him - that's where they put all the plants. Hordak once again cradles his head in his hands, a pose he's resorted to often over the course of this episode: "No, no, no, no, no!!!"

• Hordak (of the golden statue Mantenna stole and left in the throne room): It's very pretty. / Mantenna: Ohh, thank you Master! / Hordak: So I hate it! (destroys statue with his arm cannon) I hate pretty; I can't stand beauty. Nothing in the Fright Zone should ever be beautiful.
• Hordak: Why are you dripping water on my floor? / Mantenna: I-I was in the shower when you called, o mer-mer-merciful Hordak. / Hordak: Shower? You don't need a shower. / Mantenna: I don't? / Hordak: No; you need a bath! (drops Mantenna down the trapdoor)
• Bow (wisely): I know better than to swim against someone who has fins.
• Hordak (with many snorts): Make sure that the prisoner Perfuma is placed in the darkest, dankest, dampest, dismalest dungeon we have. ... I shall visit there later, in order to gloat.
• She-Ra (instantly deducing Hordak's evil plot): The magic trees of the Whispering Woods are what protect us from the Horde. If the trees get no sun, they will wither and grow weak, leaving us helpless before the Horde.
• Glimmer: Nobody said the rebellion would be easy.
• Perfuma (dancing with a Horde soldier outside the opened door of her prison cell): La da dah da dah da dahhh - Oh, hell-o, Hordikins! / Hordak: She calls me "Hordikins"?! Dancing with my troopers?! / Perfuma: Oh! Do you want to dance? I hope you're better than your robots.
• Hordak (to She-Ra, of Perfuma): Oh, just take her away - give my nice, dismal Fright Zone back! / She-Ra (clearly amused): Well, gee, I don't know, Hordikins. She says she wants to stay.

N/A

One partial (missing Spirit/Swift Wind sequence)

4:33 - Along with our friends Bow and Adora, we can also find Loo-Kee hanging at the Crystal Falls. In fact, he's literally hanging, from a tree branch at the top of the screen, during the panning shot revealing the location.
Did I spot him? YES!

Loo-Kee thinks we should be like Perfuma - a little bit - by sharing her love of flowers and trees. Just don't take it too far, kids, or your endless daisy chain crowns will just annoy your friends.

Landmark Episode: For bringing me so much joy, and providing the character debut for Perfuma.
Shadow Weaver weaves a wicked web: A clear case of Shadow Weaver bringing us the motive force for the plot.

• In addition to his two classic MOTU scripts, writer Bob Forward has already brought us eight of the better POP episodes, making this story his ninth.
• Shadow Weaver's claim that the black ruby she's acquired will boost her powers makes sense, given the gem-based origin story for her powers revealed in 67047's "The Price of Power."
• Speaking of Weaver, this episode is the first one in which she's played a major role since she got fed up and tried to betray Hordak, back in 67056's "Of Shadows and Skulls" (an episode I would highly recommend). Between that episode and this one, she's only appeared in one other story (67061), and I don't believe it was a speaking role. Given her strong emotions in 67056, she's surprisingly restrained here, even when Hordak immediately co-opts her idea. I get the sense she's still simmering about her abusive boss but has decided she's going to endure his poor treatment - for now.
• Mantenna, cementing his reputation as the most miserable minion of the Horde, stops in the middle of a shower to answer Hordak's summons - and inevitably winds up being sent through a trapdoor by his master. Though we've been hearing about Hordak's love for trapdoors in recent episodes (I didn't mention it in my analysis, but Catra made a very brief reference to trapdoors before falling into a hole at the beginning of 67062's "Magicats;" also see 67056), and there are many dunkings in Mantenna's past, he hasn't made this trip since 67055's "Loo-Kee Lends a Hand." Today's trapdoor is located in a slightly different spot than usual, just at the entrance to Hordak's throne room, indicating the Horde commander has the things installed all over his floor.
• The scene also gives us a rare opportunity to see Mantenna almost completely naked (if you enjoy that kind of thing - sicko), revealing that his skin is almost entirely blue, with only his head and neck being bright scarlet.
• To fetch Mantenna, Hordak makes use of a communicator device on a flexible hose which comes out of the arm of his throne. We've seen him use this before, in 67049's "For Want of a Horse," another very fun Forward script.
• Hordak transformations: Hordak uses his typical arm cannon to destroy the "pretty" golden statue that he hates so much. The cannon comes out again twice more, as Hordak is exposed to further instances of prettiness. On the third and final transformation, the use of the arm cannon is prevented by a growth of flowers out of its muzzle.
• Today's plot revolves around the magical protection provided by the plants of the Whispering Woods, an idea introduced back in 67011 and addressed as recently as 67055.
• The plot also involves our head villain and his sorceress trying to seal the deal on an evil scheme via the preventative measure of putting out of action the one good guy they think could ruin it. This exactly mirrors the setup to MU121's "The Magic Falls." In that story, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn have a wonderful plan to steal King Randor's Scepter of Power; to make sure it comes off without a hitch, they first hobble their most dangerous magical enemy: Orko. Ha! This story makes more sense, honestly.
• It seems that as She-Ra's first season draws to a close, our writers have become anxious to introduce us to several toy-based characters that we haven't seen until now. We were finally introduced to Mermista in 67064, and today we get an episode focused on Perfuma. (Interesting to note that at this point neither Mermista nor Perfuma had been released as action figures; they would be included in Mattel's second wave of Princess of Power toys, in 1986.)
• We find our heroes lounging at Crystal Falls, which - speaking of toys - has the same name as a Mattel playset released in 1986 (though there's much less plastic content in the animated version). We've heard tell of a "Crystal Mountain" in Etheria (67013), met some elves with some Crystal Mines (67054), and of course She-Ra has visited the "Crystal Castle" on numerous occasions, but this is our first time at the falls.
• ...Well, maybe; Mermista is at the Crystal Falls (making her second consecutive POP appearance), which may mean this is meant to be the same location Bow and Adora visited to speak with the mermaid in 67064. It looks a bit different than the pond in 67064, however, and the location was unnamed in that scene.
• Incidentally, it's likely Mermista's appearance here that caused the sequence swap in 67063 and 67064 on my DVD set. In 67064, Adora and Mermista briefly chatted about it's having been "a long time" since they'd last seen each other, a claim that would have made little sense if this story directly preceded it.
• The Horde strike force sent to collect Perfuma arrive riding on jetmobiles, a sky-sled-like vehicle we've seen on a couple of other occasions - most recently in 67050's "Just Like Me." Here they're the subject of yet another case in the long history of confusing Horde vehicle names. Madame Razz definitely called these things jetmobiles in their first appearance (67011); but in this episode She-Ra refers to one as a "skycycle." Sigh.
• Rather than make any attempt to justify her sudden appearance to the curious Bow, She-Ra rides over his questions with the claim that there's "no time to explain." Secret identity safe again!
• Bow shows off a single arrow that can split into two in mid-air - a "two birds with one stone" situation if I ever saw one.
• We also get a chance to see Mermista using her powers in a fight: she apparently has control over water, and generates a wave in her pool to eject a pair of "dirty" Horde soldiers.
• This episode continues a disturbing equine trend in the series, of having Swift Wind suddenly appear on the scene even though we never saw Spirit getting transformed. The winged horse is standing next to She-Ra during her visit to Light Hope. It's only logical for him to be there, since (as established back in 67021) She-Ra's easiest route to the Crystal Castle involves flight; but it's just another in a long string of continuity issues for Adora's beloved steed. We last saw something similar as recently as 67064.
• As for Light Hope, we last saw She-Ra's mentor in 67061, where the light beam annoyed me by usurping the Sorceress's place in She-Ra's sword gem.
• Though the former rebel leader Glimmer has appeared in several recent episodes, she's been (per the writing team's usual poor treatment of her) relegated to very brief cameos, or given undesirable tasks such as washing a wild girl's hair (67064). The last time we saw her playing a major part in a story was also a Bob Forward script, 67053's "Unexpected Ally" (a corker). Here, as in that episode, Glimmer is given a very rare chance to use her light-based powers. Impressively, she's able to (temporarily, at least) take the place of the missing sun over the rebel camp. You go, girl! I have a lot of pity for Glim, so I'm always glad to see her contributing.
• Hordak transformations: In a fit of intense rage at Perfuma that has left him nearly inarticulate, Hordak transforms his head into an octagonal prism - the head of a hammer - the better to bang his head against a wall of his fortress.
• We get another reference to Horde spy bats and message cubes, both of which appeared in 67015's "He Ain't Heavy," another Forward script.
• Note She-Ra once again telling Bow that he needs to stay behind and not get involved in the cool good guy stuff. Forward loves emasculating our archer hero, something I also happened to note in 67015.
• Swiss army sword: It's a "sword to shield" day, so She-Ra can better block the fire of a grossly uninformed group of Horde soldiers. The shield shows some highly unusual and unlikely additional uses today, however: our heroine throws it like a boomerang, then hops on and rides it like a hoverboard on its return. The weapon gets a cooler-than-usual morphing style animation when She-Ra subsequently commands it to revert to a sword.
• Earlier I compared today's plot to the He-Man episode "The Magic Falls" (MU121). But by its conclusion, this story was giving me flashbacks to another Orko-themed MOTU episode: MU118's "Orko's Return." In it, Trap Jaw and Beast Man thought they'd got it made when they kidnapped Orko and turned him into their magical slave; but Orko's devilish interpretations of their orders left them desperate to foist their irritating prisoner back on He-Man. Here we find Hordak grown even more desperate to return Perfuma to her people.
• Mantenna gets his second trapdoor trip of the day - but what must be by far his most comfortable, well-cushioned one - to provide this episode's ending joke, and torment Hordak one last time.
• One more added bit of trivia, which I didn't notice until well after my initial analysis: this is one of only, I believe, five episodes in the series that feature Madame Razz but do not feature Broom. Razz appears to give some opinions on Glimmer's limited magical strength, but the witch's wooden companion is nowhere to be seen.

• I really feel like one of Bob Forward's knacks as a writer is crafting hilarious villain hijinks. The opening scene with Mantenna coming out of the shower and getting a trapdoor-ing is iconic. (Hordak's setup line, "You don't need a shower.... you need a bath!" is fantastic.) What I especially love about it is that Hordak interrupts his important conversation with Shadow Weaver to do it: Mantenna's punishable offense having randomly flitted into his mind, he feels the need to deal with the issue right away.
• Note also the extra touch that Mantenna acquired the statue by stealing it "from an old woman," demonstrating the type of victim that aligns with his skill level. This is comedy genius, people.
• I don't know if it counts as a continuity error, or just serves to reinforce Perfuma's obliviousness; but it's funny that right after Adora has become aware of the Horde strike force and loudly ordered everyone to scatter, we see Perfuma calmly standing around growing more flowers, apparently unimpressed by the threat.
• As I noted in the lore, She-Ra doesn't bother to explain to Bow her sudden appearance at the Crystal Falls. That's fine; there's a battle going on. But once it's over, the archer should be very concerned about the seeming absence of Princess Adora. After all, they just witnessed Perfuma getting kidnapped; why wouldn't Hordak's former force captain also be a target?
• I love the pair of very cautious Horde soldiers, who just barely peek their heads through a doorway to hold a conversation with Hordak right after the Horde commander has blasted their flower-covered co-worker to smithereens. I also love Hordak's unnecessary declaration that he's planning to visit Perfuma in her dungeon later, "in order to gloat."
• Animation error: While Glimmer is talking to She-Ra from Swift Wind's back, the color of her lips alternates between red and all black.
• I had previously dubbed Forward's story for 67049, "For Want of a Horse," the funniest episode of She-Ra; but I think the crown must now be passed to this one. Hordak's blind fury at all things pretty is incredibly entertaining to watch. Some highlights: his changing his head into a hammer to pound it against a wall, and the incredibly wacky, almost surreal conga line of Perfuma and Horde troopers bobbing by, while Hordak sits on his throne with his head in his hands.
• The lack of concern over the lack of Adora continues: it seems that the time Perfuma is kept locked up in the Fright Zone stretches to at least several days, since Glimmer gets steadily weaker spending one hour a day being a substitute sun. All this time, we only ever see She-Ra wandering around the rebel camp. Isn't anyone concerned that their rebel leader and Eternian princess is nowhere to be found?
• Animation error: As the Horde border patrol begins firing their stun lasers at She-Ra, one of their first blasts, which is probably meant to miss her and go over her shoulder, instead appears to strike the heroine dead on.
• Speaking of that border patrol: has the mayhem Perfuma has wrought in the Fright Zone resulted in a major Horde communication breakdown? The patrol's guards are clearly entirely unaware of the prisoner exchange Hordak has set up with She-Ra, since they indiscriminately fire on her as soon as she appears. As the lead guard complains afterwards in response to Hordak's criticisms: "No one tells us anything."
• Continuity error: When he first meets She-Ra outside the Fright Zone, Hordak is shown in a close-up shot with a flower tucked into one ear, and the Horde soldier over his right shoulder has a lei of the same pink roses hanging around his neck. In a subsequent wide shot, the flowers on the guard have disappeared, and Hordak is now the only one wearing any.
• Animation error: Hordak tries to block the sound of Perfuma's inane singing by covering his ears; but the cruel animators refuse to give him this respite, since his ears remain layered on top of his hands, even when those hands are pressed against the sides of his head.
• The interesting subtext of this episode is that Hordak is not the only recurring character who can't stand Perfuma's antics: her own fellow rebels aren't super thrilled by her either. In the flowery lady's introductory scene, we find Mermista already rolling her eyes at her friend's constant "decorating;" and at the end of the episode, Bow ruefully admits that he can kind of understand how Perfuma could drive Hordak so crazy.
• It also makes you wonder: is Perfuma secretly the most powerful member of the Great Rebellion? Her plant growing and loony prettifying was enough to not only defeat Hordak, but convince him to give supplies to his enemies - a result we've never seen achieved before. What else have you got, Perfuma? Can you grow roots into the base of the Fright Zone until the entire fortress collapses? Can you torture Hordak to insanity? Stand back and let the lady work, She-Ra!
• As I already couldn't help but mention, this episode was a delight. I suppose it was goofy and childish as well, but it had me laughing uproariously on several occasions. I almost wish Bob Forward could just take over full-time as the writer of POP, I've so enjoyed his last few episodes.