Paul Dini & Beth Bornstein

Lou Kachivas

Skeletor gets much more than he bargained for, when the summoning of a monster leaves him and his minions nearly destroyed. It will take an unprecedented joining of Heroic and Evil forces to get rid of this be-tentacled threat to Eternia and Grayskull! And you can bet that Skeletor will try at least one double cross...

Fisto, Man-at-Arms, Teela, Prince Adam (He-Man), King Randor, Queen Marlena, Cringer (Battle Cat), Zoar (Sorceress, harpy Sorceress), Orko

Whiplash, Evil-Lyn, Trap Jaw, Skeletor

Eternian guards, Eternian citizens, Sh'Gora, servants of Sh'Gora

Collector, Attak Trak

Into a crowded party held in the palace's royal throne room stumbles an apparently wounded Whiplash, who has tail-whipped the royal guards at the door to crash the celebration. As an armed Man-at-Arms approaches, Whiplash dramatically collapses, crying for help from King Randor. The dismayed and wondering heroes take the Evil Warrior to the court physician, and as he recovers in a bed, Whiplash tells his disturbing tale: Skeletor, with the assistance of Evil-Lyn, Trap Jaw, and Whiplash, performed a dark ceremony to summon the monster Sh'Gora from an evil dimension. But the monster proved more powerful and less biddable than Skeletor imagined, and defeated them all! Only Whiplash managed to escape the debacle at Snake Mountain, and begs the heroes to stop the summoned creature before he can conquer all Eternia.

Afterward, Adam and Man-at-Arms discuss their options and wonder whether Whiplash was telling the truth. Zoar flies by to confirm the story and urge Adam to head to Snake Mountain immediately: Sh'Gora knows about Castle Grayskull and will surely head there soon to steal its secrets! She informs the heroes that Skeletor and his lackeys are still alive and need assistance - it will take the combined powers of them all to defeat Sh'Gora. An obedient Adam lifts his sword and does his thing. He-Man and Battle Cat join Man-at-Arms, Teela, Orko, and Fisto, and the heroes are led by a healed Whiplash to Snake Mountain, where the villain lets them in through a secret door. Sneaking into the chamber where the ceremony was performed, they find Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Trap Jaw encased in crystal prisons, floating up near the ceiling! The rescue team must hide briefly as Sh'Gora slithers in to suck some more energy from his prisoners/batteries, but when the creature departs they crack open the fallen crystals and free their enemies. An at-first scornful Skeletor is convinced by He-Man to make a temporary pact: the villains and heroes will join forces just until Sh'Gora is defeated.

Their team-up is immediately tested, as Sh'Gora comes roaring back! Uninterested in battling the Eternian crowd now that he's stolen enough energy, the monster leaves behind a crowd of shrieking, winged bat-like creatures and zaps himself away. The heroes and villains are delayed as they are forced to defend themselves and round up the creatures. By the time they're done, they know they must all rush to Grayskull to aid the Sorceress, so Skeletor and co. hop in the Collector and He-Man and co. hop into the Attak Trak.

At Grayskull, we watch in horror as, scoffing at the best defenses the Sorceress can raise, Sh'Gora pulls down the Jawbridge and crawls inside. When the heroes arrive and make their way inside, they find the monster ensconced on the castle's throne, a defeated Sorceress lying at his "feet" (actually tentacles). Sh'Gora uses his magic to transform the Sorceress into a shrieking harpy, who strafes the heroes with magic beams! The attacks are devastatingly effective, freezing many of the allies. Evil-Lyn finally manages to reverse the spell, and the restored Sorceress informs the team that Sh'Gora has fled to the castle's travel corridors, intent on opening a portal to drag the castle to his own dimension.

Everyone rushes to the travel corridors, and the final face-off with Sh'Gora begins. Many of the heroes and villains pile in to restrain the monster while Evil-Lyn, Skeletor, and the Sorceress use their magic to recreate the summoning spell. A struggling Sh'Gora rips free of all his attackers but He-Man; the banishing portal opens and begins to suck the monster in - pulling our hero with it! A wily Skeletor seizes his chance, throwing a fiery barrier up so the other heroes cannot come to He-Man's aid. Bonehead and his minions run off, seemingly leaving He-Man to an eternal forced exile in an evil dimension.

But luckily, little Orko, who has been looking for a chance to poke his magic in somewhere, casts a spell that safely detaches the blonde wonder. Sh'Gora vanishes away, his threat to Eternia ended; now to get those Evil Warriors out! At He-Man's request, the Sorceress teleports He-Man to where Skeletor and his goons have gone: they are all gathered in a corridor full of different doors, behind one of which (or so Skeletor believes) lie the secrets of Grayskull.

Our hero then deftly deceives the bony bad guy, tricking Skeletor into believing that He-Man is defending the door he wants. The villains charge, He-Man steps to the side while unlatching the door, and the Evil Warriors are all transported through the doorway - right back into the throne room of Snake Mountain. (Imagine the Simpsons' bully, Nelson, making his derogatory laugh.) The day is saved, and He-Man rejoins his friends.

End with a Joke: The Sorceress reminds the heroes that they have a party to get back to: the one that Whiplash interrupted at the beginning of the episode. Teela wryly predicts that Prince Adam is back at the party having a "wonderful time" while the heroes have been working so hard. He-Man, with familiar dramatic irony, suggests that Adam would much rather be with Teela - and tips us a wink.

• Skeletor: Evil servant from beyond the galaxy, we summon you to do our bidding. I call upon the Sh'Gora. Come now and join our forces!
• Sh'Gora (laughing at Skeletor): Foolish creature - Sh'Gora serves no one. ... For eons I have watched Eternia from my dark world, waiting for one such as you to give me entrance. Now Eternia shall be mine.
• Whiplash: The last things I heard were those terrible screams coming from inside Snake Mountain.
• Zoar: Sh'Gora is a monster of enormous strength, and he knows the power of Eternia lies within Castle Grayskull. Only the combined magic forces of good and evil can send Sh'Gora back to his world again. It is up to you, Adam, as He-Man, to unite these forces.
• Skeletor (to He-Man): Join forces with you? (Laughs) Never!
• He-Man: Skeletor - follow us to Castle Grayskull. / Skeletor: I know the way, He-Man; I've been there before. (Laughs)
• Skeletor: He-Man! I don't know how you survived, but - hey! What's that door you're guarding?

• Evil-Lyn, hands on hips, laughs with her head thrown back: The beginning of the loop is co-opted to show Evil-Lyn making a magical gesture during the summoning spell
• He-Man swings sword overhand: Just his fist actually, to break a villain out of a crystal prison
• He-Man smiles close-up, looking at the viewer: Instructing Skeletor; and again later, for the episode-ending wink at the audience
• Teela from above, runs to mid-screen and pauses, battle-ready: Approaching Sh'Gora as he sits on Grayskull's throne
• Skeletor shakes his fists, three-quarter view: Frustrated at heroes running to He-Man's assistance

One full

Brought to you by Fisto
Our moralizing duties are unusually enough given to Fisto for this episode; not surprisingly, he tells us about the value of teamwork, demonstrated admirably in today's story. He advises us that when others ask for assistance we should "Give 'em a hand; it may not be as big as mine, but it'll still be appreciated." He also claims that he would be happy to give us a hand, thus reinforcing children's delusions that everything they see on television is real, even animated characters with giant metal fists.

Skeletor summons a monster: Boy, does he ever!
Skeletor manages to get into Grayskull: For the first time since MU030; but as in MU025, it is not due to his own direct actions, but because of a temporary pact with the Heroic Warriors.
Landmark Episode: Dini's last He-Man script? Skeletor and his minions deep inside Grayskull? A rare villain/hero team-up? You'd better believe this is a Landmark Episode!

• I'm not sure we've ever seen so many people in the throne room at once as there are at the beginning of this episode - apparently having some kind of reception or party, with the king and queen in attendance.
• Previous crowd shots in Eternia - I'm thinking particularly of the people we see watching Beast Man's sideshow parade in MU015 - have suggested a more interplanetary set of citizens, with interesting alien-like faces and features. In the throne room everyone we see looks human, with just some weird hairdos. For some crazier-looking Eternians, check out the crowd scenes in the late episode MU129.
• In the opening scene Man-at-Arms unusually wields the mace that was his action figure's main accessory. He hardly ever uses this weapon in the show - in fact, the only other record I've made of its appearance is in MU008!
• Having just had his debut in the previous MU074, Whiplash gets another important appearance in this one. In fact, as we shall see, we are in the middle of a consecutive run of Whiplash appearances, which will stretch to MU078.
• We learn that there's a court physician, and catch a brief glimpse of him tending to Whiplash. It makes sense the royal family would have a doctor, but we've never heard tell of him before.
• Skeletor describes Sh'Gora's home as being an "evil, little-known dimension." It's always nice to contact those little-known dimensions that haven't yet gotten overrun with tourists.
• Evil-Lyn appears for the first time this season, ten episodes in.
• The terrace where Adam and Man-at-Arms discuss Whiplash's tale appears identical to the one where Duncan and Randor were tenderly embracing at the beginning of MU007's "Curse of the Spellstone." We've seen this spot used in other episodes as well (MU029, for instance).
• Is it really home invasion this time? Whiplash voluntarily leads the heroes into Snake Mountain, making use of a secret entrance we've never seen before. When Zanthor led our heroes inside via a secret entrance in MU062's "Golden Disks of Knowledge," it was behind a waterfall; this one is a vanishing door accessed by a little button. (Let's not forget that the episode began with a reciprocal and undeniable home invasion, when Whiplash crashed the royal reception and, even though he was gravely wounded, managed to get right near the king and queen!)
• Teela uses her wrist blaster, this time not as a freeze ray as it has been in several other episodes (for instance MU063 or MU066), but to break Evil-Lyn out of a crystal prison.
• Evil-Lyn rescues Teela from an attack from behind, happily recalling their brief truce in another great Dini episode, MU059's "The Witch and the Warrior."
• He-Man uses his super breath to create his own tiny whirlwind, an interesting use that we've never seen before.
• Things that go into Orko: a whirlwind packed with servants of Sh'Gora. Hmmm... I hope he remembers he's got that in there!
• For the first time since MU042, and one of the only times in an episode not written by Robby London (see also MU017), He-Man raises his sword and commands the Jawbridge to open. Skeletor, looking on, mutters, "Oh, so that's how he does it!" Unless I'm mistaken, this is the last time in the series we'll see He-Man opening the Jawbridge this way. In later episodes, particularly MU104, the show writers will devise other glaringly inconsistent ways for people to get into the castle.
• As I noted in the Connected episodes, it's been a long long time since Skeletor has seen the inside of Castle Grayskull. The last time he got in under his own power was back in MU030, when he managed to steal the entire building and take it to another dimension. This time he just gets lucky, since the heroes let him in. Still, you have to credit him for taking advantage of the position once he gets in there!
• Orko's magic: he vanishes into nothing but his hat when the evil Sorceress swoops at him; ironically mimicking a move he had to pull back in MU006, when the normal Sorceress buzzed him.
• Sh'Gora heads for the "travel corridors" in Grayskull, perhaps recalling the space portals the heroes used way back in MU005 to travel to Phantos.
• In an interesting sequence, Skeletor and his minions wander into other parts of Castle Grayskull once the villains believe that He-Man is lost. They come to a hall with many different doors. "Within one of these chambers is the power of Grayskull," Skeletor claims. You mean the Sorceress doesn't just leave it lying around all over? Okay... This is reminiscent of the scene in MU027's "Orko's Favorite Uncle," where an evil-ized Montork makes it to what the Sorceress calls the "Inner Chamber." She appears to have made the chamber a little harder to get to now. Interestingly, without knowing it Skeletor is standing in front of the very door that Montork found in MU027. He was so close! We will see these doors making other appearances in later episodes of the series, such as MU104 and MU108; and they will even make a brief but confusing appearance in the Secret of the Sword movie.
• As he occasionally does, He-Man manages to use his brain and be downright sneaky in this episode, bluffing Skeletor and his minions into falling into the wrong door in Grayskull: a travel corridor that leads them right back to Snake Mountain. (See some further comments on that corridor below!)

• This episode's opening has to be one of the best in the series. It's an intriguingly mysterious and thrilling moment when a seriously injured Whiplash (accompanied by very emotive moaning and groaning) staggers into the throne room and collapses, crying out for assistance from his enemies. I love the extra touch of Teela holding Adam back in case it's all a trick. Great stuff!
• "It's hideous!" cries Evil-Lyn on first getting a look at Sh'Gora. Whoa there, young lady! Haven't you learned by now that looks aren't everything, people aren't always what they seem, not to judge a book by its - oh Jesus @#$% he did get slapped with the ugly stick, didn't he? No, but actually I like Sh'Gora - he's an impressive villain with Lovecraftian vibes. And he has a lovely smile.
• I like how Trap Jaw at least is able to zap Sh'Gora with his laser gun arm, but all Whiplash can think to do is menace the monster by holding his arms up threateningly. Dude, your tail - use your tail! It's the only thing you've got!
• Interesting that the heroes, as shown by a statement of Adam's, are convinced by Whiplash's story that Skeletor is in fact dead. They don't seem all that cut up about it, either! Man-at-Arms's rather off-the-cuff response is, "Looks like Skeletor's got his own at last!"
• This episode makes me wonder more than usual about all the evil minions who aren't present. Usually you can just assume that when Skeletor doesn't call for them, the missing lackeys are just in another part of Snake Mountain, perhaps feeding the monsters in the menagerie, or maybe on lunch. But it really seems like, given that Skeletor and everyone involved in the summoning ceremony are imprisoned, if anyone else was in the house they would have done something. But we don't hear or see a peep from Beast Man, Mer-Man, Tri-Klops, Webstor, Clawful, or Jitsu. Where do they go when they're not at the fortress? In the pilot episode (MU004), Skeletor has to call his allies from across the universe (with Mer-Man for instance off in some swamp wrestling a fish); we haven't seen this device used since then, but perhaps the Evil Warriors do wander off from time to time, to do their own things.
• I love Sh'Gora's little screaming servants - a fun character design.
• Skeletor is shown steering the Collector using a side lever, very likely the lever that activated its petrifying beam in the ship's introductory episode (MU014), rather than the much more logical looking paired handles positioned directly in front of him.
• This is a bit unfair, considering that the best attacks Skeletor could muster against him just made Sh'Gora laugh; but when Sh'Gora comes knocking at Grayskull, we get another prime example of the Sorceress being virtually helpless to defend the castle she's supposed to be defending. She throws one beam at him, and before sending the second beam is already telling herself "This is my last chance!" Should the castle maybe employ an extra bird lady? Would that help? Or should He-Man just sleep there permanently?
• Surely the evil, cackling, harpy form of the Sorceress is one of the more disturbing things we've seen in He-Man! Interestingly, the evil Sorceress has a red eye-beam attack which we haven't seen the good version use before.
• I like the little touches we see in the battle with the transformed Sorceress that show the very fragile nature of the heroic/evil truce: Skeletor volunteers to stop the Sorceress, presumably by destroying her with the magic from his havoc staff, and He-Man has to disarm him to prevent it. When Teela asks Evil-Lyn to reverse the spell, Lyn demurs, opining (with wicked amusement) that the Sorceress "looks much nicer this way."
• It's nice to see Battle Cat, who I was just saying seemed under-utilized by the show writers (see MU074 Firsts/Lore), get in a good pounce on Sh'Gora in the ending battle. Also, little Orko ends up being the one who rescues He-Man from getting sucked away - way to go, you little bag of wind, you. (When the Sorceress thanks Orko for his help later, an embarrassed and modest Orko replies mysteriously, "Aw, it's just what any purple-plotted (-blooded?) Trollan would have done.")
• On the subject of home invasion again, which I already mentioned earlier... In this episode we see the heroes invited into Snake Mountain, and the villains invited into Castle Grayskull. So no real invading is done in those instances, except that done by Sh'Gora. But note that He-Man's clever trap sends the villains through a door in Grayskull that leads directly to Skeletor's throne room in Snake Mountain. Soooo.... He-Man can literally walk through a door in Grayskull and be in the middle of Skeletor's fortress? Again, I have to ask (as I did back in the Commentary for MU009): why is Skeletor still in business? Why has He-Man not just led all his allies through that door and wrecked the place? Perhaps our cynical Eternian friends would rather keep dealing with the enemy they know, and believe that if Skeletor is destroyed another, potentially even more threatening arch-villain will take his place.
• This is the great Paul Dini's last script for He-Man. Sad to see him go, as this writer probably has the single highest proportion of my selected Landmark Episodes to his credit (8 of his 11 episodes). A lot of the reason for that is that I tend to tag episodes that focus on main character flashbacks and character development, which seems to be Dini's specialty; but isn't that what we all want in good television? Anyway, luckily we now have J. Michael Straczynski on the staff for this season, and we can still look forward to scripts from the talented Larry DiTillio and David Wise.