J. Brynne Stephens

Bill Reed

Adora is overjoyed when her childhood nurse, Shakra, leaves the Fright Zone to join the Great Rebellion in the Whispering Woods. There's just one problem: unbeknownst to Shakra, she is a spy for the Evil Horde!

Broom, Madame Razz, Bow, Glimmer, Princess Adora (She-Ra), Spirit (Swift Wind)

Shadow Weaver, Hordak, Mantenna, Catra, Grizzlor

Shakra, Horde soldiers

wagon, Horde trucks, ground busters, Horde tanks, jetmobiles

What's this? Hordak and Shadow Weaver have an old lady servant living with them in the Fright Zone? It seems so; but the gray-haired woman, named Shakra, is preparing to leave the fortress after many years under its roof. Hordak and his sorceress, acting uncharacteristically friendly and compassionate, wish Shakra well in her future life and even give her a parting gift: a lovely pendant on a chain. Shakra is surprised by this behavior, but doesn't spend a lot of time questioning it. She's too excited to pack up and head off to the Whispering Woods, there to sign up with the Great Rebellion and be reunited with the woman who was put into her charge as a baby: Adora!

After Hordak and Weaver leave Shakra's room, we hear them talking and discover that - surprise! - Hordak's kindness was all a sham. He's learned that Shakra secretly plans to join the rebels, and the pendant he gave her is actually a spy device which will allow him to see and hear his enemies' plans. Unaware of the nascent betrayal hanging at her bosom, Shakra finds her way into the rebels' clearing and comes upon Madame Razz, Broom, Bow, and Glimmer in the midst of planning their next attack on the Horde. Surprised that the stranger dressed in Horde colors could have made it through the protective borders of the forest, our heroes ask who she is, and Shakra announces her intention to join their cause - and her desire to meet Adora. Just at that moment, Adora appears and recognizes her old nurse immediately - avoiding any further social awkwardness. Well, mostly; the princess is overjoyed to see Shakra again, but Bow is anxious to get back to the strategy meeting.

Later that day, their plans having been laid with Shakra in attendance, the rebels and the old nurse are hiding in the bushes, preparing to ambush a Horde convoy. As the trucks roll by, our heroes jump out, armed with "circuit confusers" that can shut down any Horde soldiers on contact. But they very quickly find that more than just the usual crew of Horde soldiers are on the trucks and tanks. There's Mantenna, and Catra, and Grizzlor - and clearly, their enemy must have known this attack was coming! Even Hordak eventually reveals himself, popping out the top of a truck on a jetmobile. The rebels try their best to mount a counterattack, with Razz nabbing Adora and flying her off to a private spot so the princess can change herself and her horse into She-Ra and Swift Wind. But while She-Ra is occupied elsewhere, the Horde commander zaps Bow and Glimmer, capturing both in a bubble and hauling them away. He even stuns the golden-haired heroine and her horse with his arm cannon. Before departing, Hordak makes a parting shot at Shakra which Madame Razz overhears, thanking the nurse for her help.

When the un-captured heroes regroup after the battle, an enraged Razz accuses Shakra, telling She-Ra what she heard. But Shakra insists she's entirely innocent, and She-Ra won't hear a word against Adora's nurse, refusing to consider her a traitor. Instead, the heroine even invites Shakra up on Swift Wind's back, to accompany her and Razz (and Broom) on the rescue mission to the Fright Zone. Shakra was just living in the Fright Zone yesterday, so she has the latest intel on Hordak's fortress and can help them sneak in and find Bow and Glimmer. Razz still has serious doubts about Shakra's loyalty, but has no choice but to go along with She-Ra's wishes. When the party arrives at the fortress, Shakra leads them to an aged and barely used secret entrance. Surely, no one will possibly detect their approach? But of course, Hordak can: he's been watching the heroes the whole time. He pushes a button on the arm of his throne that looses a flood into the tunnel they're sneaking through. She-Ra is forced to punch a hole through the ceiling and pull Shakra up to safety.

The rescued Shakra pauses to contemplate Hordak's quirky behavior, mentioning in passing the seeming kindness he showed earlier in gifting her the pendant she's wearing. She-Ra finally puts two and two together and takes away the spying pendant, smashing it to bits. There! Shakra is exonerated, and their actions can no longer be tracked; but they still have to make it through the center of the enemy fortress and find their imprisoned comrades. Soon enough the heroes run into Hordak and his soldiers and a battle breaks out. Razz's magic pins some robots, while She-Ra blows away the rest, then wrestles with the form-shifting Hordak; and even Shakra manages to get a hit in, hindering the Horde commander with a spare circuit confuser. This buys the rebels enough time to reach their friends.

Just what has been going on with those prisoners? Well, Shadow Weaver was feeling particularly malicious today, and decided to drain Glimmer's light-based powers so she could add them to her own dark ones. To do so, she has been using a wand with a green ball on the end. One session with the wand left Glimmer exhausted, and one more will drain her entirely. Just as Shadow Weaver is approaching with the wand a second time, Bow (who's hanging by his wrists in chains just next to his friend) kicks the weapon out of the sorceress's hand. It shatters on the ground, returning the stored powers to their rightful owner, and Glimmer promptly blinds Weaver with an extra-bright blast. The pink-haired princess has already broken herself free of her manacles by the time She-Ra and company break down the prison door.

Back together at last! Now all our friends have to do is escape. It's a thrilling race against time today, as Hordak and Shadow Weaver try their darnedest, by weaponry and by wizardry, to stop the rebels. But She-Ra uses her sword's gem to zap a hole in the outer wall, and deflects both villains' attacks, sending portions of the roof caving down on each of them. The good guys make it out just as Hordak has freed himself and is bearing down on them (Bow having been forced to hang for dear life off of Madame's shoes as she flies away on Broom-back). Once they're finally all safe in the Whispering Woods and Adora has heard the blow-by-blow account from Glimmer, Razz apologizes to Shakra for doubting her, and everyone happily and unreservedly welcomes the former nurse to the rebel fold.

• Hordak: Ahh, no one understands the real me. They all think I'm mean and cruel. In reality, I'm a kind (long snort), generous, wonderful person. (and modest, too!) Don't you think so, Shadow Weaver? / Shadow Weaver: (blinks confusedly) / Hordak (menacingly): Don't you think so?? / Shadow Weaver: Oh. Of course.
• Shadow Weaver: She doesn't think we know that she intends to join Adora - and the Great Rebellion. / Hordak: Don't worry; with the help of the pendant we gave her, we'll soon know everything about the rebellion. And I will personally supervise their downfall! (laughs)
• Shakra: I want to join the Great Rebellion. And I'm looking for a little girl I once knew - a woman now. Her name is Adora.
• Princess Adora (of Shakra): This woman raised me from the time Hordak stole me as an infant until I left the Horde. She was there for me when I was sick or afraid. Shakra was all the mother I had until my brother Adam found me. I have no secrets from her, Bow.
• Madame Razz (having flown by and knocked Hordak off his jetmobile): This broom is good for sweeping dirt.
• She-Ra (to Shakra): I'll trust you because I have to - and, because I want to.
• Madame Razz (to Shakra): I'll take your word for anything from now on, Shakra. I'm uh - sorry I didn't trust ya. Can we be friends? / Shakra: I'd like that.

• She-Ra mounts Swift Wind and flies off: Just after transforming; later, the mounting part of the loop is used as She-Ra prepares to fly to the Fright Zone with Shakra

One full

4:41 - Loo-Kee's hiding place is identical to the one he was just using in 67076: he's standing against a plant with leaves colored similarly to him, looking off to the left. Today the background has changed to a lovely forest scene.
Did I spot him? YES!

Loo-Kee suggests that we not be so quick to distrust people we don't know, as Razz did with Shakra today. If you give new people a chance, they might turn out to be your best friend. OK, but we still shouldn't talk to strangers, right?

N/A: On its surface you might think this qualifies for the "Changing hearts and minds" category; but that was created for a theme that was much more common in the first season, of She-Ra convincing characters of uncertain or downright evil starting loyalties over to the side of the rebellion. Shakra decides all by herself to join the side of the rebellion, with no convincing needed. Technically Madame Razz is made to change her mind about Shakra - but that's not really pertinent to the category.

• Today's writer, nowadays known by the name Brynne Chandler, contributed 7 scripts to MOTU under the name of J. Brynne Stephens, including some of the more classic early episodes: MU014's "Colossor Awakes," MU017's "Daimar the Demon," and MU022's "Song of Celice" are some of my favorites. She also, however, wrote the first He-Man episode without Skeletor as the main villain, the underwhelming MU010's "A Friend in Need;" and her later scripts, such as MU071's "The Rarest Gift of All" and MU089's "Just a Little Lie," focused on the bumbling Orko learning valuable lessons, a story format I found distasteful. This episode will be her only POP writing credit.
• I never bothered to google J. Brynne Stephens when I was working on the MOTU part of this database, and so never learned a few additional interesting facts about her. One bit of trivia: she was for a time married to Michael Reaves, another MOTU writer (MU009, MU022). Outside of the MOTU/POP realm, Stephens had a healthy and impressive career in the animation field, with writing or story editor credits for classic series such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gargoyles, and Batman: The Animated Series - the latter of which earned her an Emmy nomination. (Thanks to Wikipedia and IMDb for all this information.)
• Our story introduces a character from Adora's past: Shakra, who turns out to have been Adora's old nurse. I suppose it makes sense that, though they served as parental figures, Shadow Weaver and Hordak wouldn't have known or cared much about the day-to-day necessities of raising a child, and would have pawned it off onto someone like this. I do wonder what inspired the choice of Shakra's name, which sounds like "chakra." Chakras are "the seven energy centers within our bodies that influence our physical, emotional, and spiritual health," according to a very new-age-y looking website I found, and they're important to Buddhist and Hinduist beliefs.
• The sudden appearance in the Fright Zone of this figure from Adora's past is very reminiscent of the introduction of Adora's old friend Lohni in 67014's "Friendship." Both of them end up being tools of the Horde, though in Shakra's case it is all unwittingly.
• We see our heroes making use of a new gadget: a "circuit confuser," which seems to scramble and deactivate any Horde robot when put in physical contact with one.
• Glimmer gets to use her light powers to good effect today, something that used to be a rare event but seems to be happening more often lately. She was zapping people in 67074's "Above It All" as well.
• Hordak transformations: When the Horde commander appears in the midst of the Horde's attack on the rebellion, one arm is already converted to cannon form.
• Swiss army sword: She-Ra changes her sword to its common shield form in order to block a bolt from that very arm cannon.
• Hordak traps Glimmer and Bow in a bubble - what he calls a "magnetic energy globe" - which is fired from the gun of his jetmobile. Hordak has enjoyed putting the rebels in bubbles ever since 67008, when he first invented his "laser bubble blaster." She-Ra herself was caught in a bubble thanks to the Monstroids during the Christmas Special.
• In case we were wondering whether Shakra was somehow in on Adora's little secret, we get a conversation that proves she isn't: Shakra greets She-Ra, saying she's heard of the heroine, then asks after Adora. She-Ra gives the tried-and-true "she's safe" response, thus covering for her secret identity.
• We get to see something today which I never thought we'd see: what Madame Razz looks like with her hat off! The witch gets very aggravated by her unproductive accusations of Shakra, and jams her hat down low over her entire head. When Broom helpfully pulls it off, there is a split-second moment when Razz's face is completely uncovered. I've captured it in the stills section above.
• She-Ra/Adora continues in her long trend of trusting people that no one else in the rebellion wants to trust. Today it's Shakra. Most recently she had what seemed like incredibly misplaced faith in the amnesiac Prince Kevin (67069); but she also put trust in Kowl when others absurdly considered him a traitor (67043).
• Though past episodes have shown She-Ra/Adora capitalizing on the knowledge of Hordak's fortress gained while she was growing up there, today Shakra points out that "Hordak has made a lot of changes since then," and that the nurse will have more up-to-date information on the layout. She-Ra hasn't been steered wrong yet by her childhood memories of home, but admittedly there was that one time when she tried a secret passage into the Fright Zone and found it had been peppered with laser beams since her last visit (see 67043's "Welcome Back, Kowl"). In the event, our rescue party enters the place not through a newly constructed tunnel, but via an ancient entrance that no one's been through for years. Well, Adora could have found that! (As an added detail, She-Ra even points out that "Adora" remembers playing by the entrance and discovering it with Shakra when she was a child.)
• The panning shot that takes us from the Whispering Woods to the Fright Zone repeats a transition we saw very early in the series, when Prince Adam traveled that way to track down Adora (67003).
• We find Hordak on his throne, viewing the transmissions from Shakra's pendant on the same projected screen he has been using for the last two episodes (67076, 67075), among others. He also shows off his throne's rotating feature, something we saw in 67045, 67041, and 67017 (the latter of which will prove a major source of inspiration and material for this one).
• Some disturbing and unusual developments in the Horde's treatment of prisoners! In the past when they've captured members of the rebellion, the Horde has just stowed them in a cell somewhere. Today, Shadow Weaver opts to hang Bow and Glimmer by their wrists in a dank torture chamber. She then begins draining Glimmer's light magic to add to her own, using a ball-tipped wand that we've never seen before. Creepy! And a surprisingly dark turn for the show.
• Madame's Magic: Today Madame casts a spell without words, just waggling her fingers and shooting sparkles at a chandelier. Her professed intention is to put out the lights to sow confusion, but she instead causes the light fixture to drop, snaring a good half-dozen troopers within its ring. "Well, how about that!" Razz comments.
• Opting not to change the shape of her sword during the Fright Zone battle, She-Ra instead uses it as a sort of fan blade, swinging her wrist around very quickly to generate "high winds." You could get a sprain that way, She-Ra!
• Hordak transformations: The previous episode (67076) saw Hordak taking the form of a pincer-armed tank, which at the time I pointed out as a callback to 67017's "A Loss for Words." Today's transformations copy that episode even more thoroughly. In his fight with She-Ra, Hordak goes through all the same full-body shapes he assumed in the 67017 fight, with all the same results. First comes the four-armed, lozenge-shaped body on one wheel. She-Ra defeats this the same way she did last time, by causing Hordak to drill himself into the ground. To get out, Hordak changes briefly into a spidery machine with four spindly legs. He then almost instantly changes into the pincer-armed tank again. She-Ra avoids Hordak's tank form the same way she's done the two previous times: by leaping over it, then tossing him away. As in 67017, Hordak ends up stuck in the ceiling by his pincers. I suppose the animators thought we wouldn't notice them repeating themselves - but we did! We did!
• An inserted and new moment in the preceding battle comes when Shakra steps in, holding a circuit confuser, and claims that placing it on Hordak will "switch off his computer." Of course, past remarks by Hordak implied that his ability to transform his own body is thanks to modifications made by science and technology, not magic or sorcery (which he's constantly denigrating); but it's odd to contemplate the idea that he might have a "computer" inside him. I suppose Shakra is simply suggesting that the mechanical parts of him at least will be shut down by her gadget; but in the event it doesn't seem to have any effect. The thing that slows him down is being stuck to the ceiling by She-Ra's throw, and he gets out of that almost immediately.
• Still not bothering to transform her sword, She-Ra finds a strange alternate use for the beam that shoots out of the blade's gem. Usually it just physically changes horses - and, that one time, a Melog (67042) - but today it makes a hole in the wall. Huh - useful!
• Hordak transformations: In his last change of the day, Hordak goes back to an old favorite with the arm cannon. The sequence of him walking up to the screen and firing it is the same one we see in the opening of every episode.
• It's been suggested before (67044) that Bow was forced to share a Broom-ride with Madame Razz, though we never got to actually see it. In the more recent 67075's "Day of the Flowers," we saw Adora riding side-saddle on Broom behind Razz. Today, the archer gets a thrilling last-minute pickup from the witch, but is forced to dangle, holding onto her feet, while she flies off on Broom. It doesn't appear there is any room for him on the vehicle. This reminds me of the incredibly varying amount of legroom in He-Man's Wind Raider - sometimes providing a full and comfortable backseat for Cringer, other times necessitating that the cat be crammed in sideways.
• Ending credits variation: Yep, still Castle Bright Moon in the background, and not the Crystal Castle.

• This story gives us one of those character retcons that we have to resign ourselves to, like the many insertions of long-lost relatives into the MOTU/POP universe. Adora herself is the most prominent example; but also consider her grandfather King Miro, of MU098 and 67013; or Glimmer's father Micah from 67046. Heck, even Captain Sea Hawk got a deadbeat dad (67059, 67060). The thing that makes the existence of poor Shakra so hard to swallow is the fact that, for all the time the show has been running and Adora has been a member of the rebellion (however long that's been in terms of internal chronology - based on the conception, birth, and toddlerhood of 67067's Telzy, it's been at least 3 or 4 years since 67001), the princess has been fully aware that her blameless old nurse is living in the Fright Zone with her enemies, and hasn't bothered to do anything about it. WTH?
• The other thing that's weird about this whole situation is Shakra herself. If the Horde hired a completely innocent and non-evil child-minder, which I suppose is in the realm of possibility, for what reason would they keep her hanging around, fed and sheltered, after Adora left them? Could she really have been that good a servant? Was Hordak playing a long game, waiting for just such a set of circumstances as happens in today's story? This seems unlikely. The much more probable reaction from Hordak once Adora betrayed him would be to kick Shakra out on her ass. At the least, if he kept her, it would have been in a dungeon - not the nice (if chilly) bedroom we see the nurse occupying in the episode's opening.
• Just moments after reusing the Loo-Kee hiding spot from the previous episode, our animators reuse a truck sequence from 67076, with a convoy in the distance that then drives up over a hill in the foreground. I recognized it because it includes a subtle animation error/continuity error that has plagued these kind of convoy shots since back in 67011's "The Peril of Whispering Woods;" namely, that the trucks in the far shot don't match in sequence or type with the trucks/tanks in the foreground shot. I failed to note this issue in 67076 since I wanted to give the animators the benefit of the doubt - perhaps, I thought, the part of the convoy in the foreground is a part we haven't seen pass by in the background. But that really doesn't seem to be the case.
• Way to go Madame Razz! During the convoy battle she gets in a solid hit on Hordak, knocking him off his flying vehicle. The witch even gets to deliver a snappy accompanying pun, about how good Broom is at "sweeping doit" (see memorable lines).
• Continuity error: After Hordak has solidly and rather brutally struck She-Ra and Swift Wind several times with his arm laser, dropping them to the ground, he makes the illogical comment "You can't dodge forever, She-Ra!" Um, she definitely wasn't dodging, man. She wasn't even using her shield, though we saw her using it earlier to deflect Hordak's bolts.
• It's curious that Shadow Weaver should suddenly be so interested in stealing Glimmer's light powers, given how little the evil sorceress enjoys bright light. We've seen her defeated or at least discomfited by it several times in the past (see 67044, 67047), and indeed, Glimmer eventually uses a big flash against Weaver today, in one of the more exciting scenes in the episode.
• Yes, about that scene! I loved that, even though Bow and Glimmer were imprisoned and needed to be rescued, our writer gave them the chance to fight for themselves. It's Bow who kicks the wand out of Shadow Weaver's hands, smashing it; and it's Glimmer who then uses her fully restored light powers against her jailer. Even more surprising, she then proves strong enough to bust out of her own chains - a level of power we wouldn't usually ascribe to the young princess. I'm always a big fan of stories where the side characters get a chance to pitch in.
• Animation error: The script makes it very clear that our heroes sneak into the Fright Zone to free the prisoners; yet in one of the final shots of Shadow Weaver trying to stop the rescue, the background painting behind her is clearly of her detached dwelling in Horror Hall. Oopsie! I mean, it does make sense that if Weaver was going to experiment on people, she'd do it in her own lab; but that's just not where we're supposed to be right now.
• This was a pretty good story; even though the comfortable existence of Shakra in the Fright Zone is hard to swallow, I liked the idea of the character and think she was effectively imagined. As noted above, I also really enjoyed the several instances of side characters getting their licks in (Razz giving Hordak a good smack, and Bow and Glimmer nearly freeing themselves from jail before She-Ra busts in to do it). The ending escape is full of exciting thrills and tension. But - also as noted - the animation today took a lot of unimaginative and frankly lazy shortcuts, reusing hiding places, vehicle sequences, and even entire fight scenes, and sometimes subbing in seemingly illogical background paintings. I guess what I'm saying is, it's a shame Brynne Stephens's above-average story didn't have better visual support.