Michael Chase Walker

Ed Friedman

Would you believe me if I said this was yet another episode where Orko's heedless actions cause the story's main problem? This time it's because he plucks the lonely Bitter Rose out of Rose Mountain to give to his love, Dree Elle. Turns out the rose is magical, and its presence in the mountain was the only thing preventing a calamitous avalanche. He-Man and crew hold back the mountain and try to find the oblivious Trollan; but Skeletor would like to have that pretty flower as well!

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

Skeletor, Beast Man, Trap Jaw

Dree Elle, Bitter Rose (Rose Goddess), Garth, unnamed butter-man, insect people, Shaman

Wind Raider, Roton

With the help of Orko, who magically raises the covering cloth, Man-at-Arms presents a tapestry to the king and queen. The subject of the piece: a single rose, the Bitter Rose, associated with a legend which Duncan relates. It involves a "goddess" who spent day after day coming to Rose Mountain (the mountain was presumably named after these events) to watch for her love to return from a war. When he failed to appear, she vanished; but her tears of mourning watered the ground and a rose grew where she'd stood - the only living thing that now grows on Rose Mountain.

It's a sad story, and it produces tears from one of the onlookers: Orko's girlfriend Dree Elle, who for some reason is also present in the throne room. Orko is dismayed by Dree Elle's weeping and, after she departs, cogitates over what he should do to help. Cringer wanders over to suggest a few things, and eventually the tiger's words give Orko the idea of taking the Bitter Rose from the mountain and giving it to Dree Elle as a gift. He doesn't come right out and say this, but Cringer eventually connects the dots and is upset at the prospect. Why? Well, we'll soon find out.

The Trollan floats right on over to Rose Mountain, where he finds that the rose is a nimble little thing, capable of avoiding his grabbing hands. He tries reasoning with the flower, and when he brings up his love for Dree Elle it stops dodging and allows him to pull it from the ground. As he flies away, he hears rumbling and looks over his shoulder to find an avalanche has begun on the mountain. Should he be concerned about this? Does he connect it at all to the flower he's just taken? Naaahhh! However, the insect people who live at the foot of the mountain feel the rumbling and have an idea just what is causing the geological disturbance endangering their homes. The winged insect man Garth (who He-Man scholars will remember from "Eye of the Beholder") flies up with a friend to the rose's bed and finds it missing. He spots Orko flying away and knows just what has happened. Garth flies after the Trollan, sending his partner to warn the other insect people and get help.

Shaman, the insect people's leader, gets the news and can think of one person who might be able to save their homes from being crushed with falling rocks: He-Man. He sends the butter-man off to Eternos to enlist the hero's aid. The butter-man arrives at the palace, panting, and relates the danger to the collected heroes: Man-at-Arms, Cringer, Teela, and Prince Adam. When Cringer hears the problem is at Rose Mountain, he immediately blabs something about Orko, and Adam gets the story of the Trollan's gift idea out of his tiger. While Teela and Man-at-Arms head for the Wind Raider so they can rush to the mountain, Adam walks off with Cringer to "find He-Man." The quartet of heroes all arrive at the mountain and get right to work fighting the best efforts of Mother Eternia to rain rocks down on the insect people. He-Man uses logs to build a defensive perimeter around the houses, and in the short term is able to forestall any major destruction; but the Shaman assures him that unless the Bitter Rose is returned, heck will continue to break loose and the mountain will continue to crumble. The heroes realize that they really need to track down their cloddish court magician; so He-Man sends out Teela and Duncan as a search party while he stays behind to hold the mountain together.

So, about that Orko... he wandered off with his rose, but found himself weakened and confused near Snake Mountain. It so happens that Skeletor had felt the rumbling of Rose Mountain and, in search of the source of the infernal racket, used his spy TV to collect the clues and put the pieces together. For whatever reason, old Bonehead has decided he wants the rose for himself, so he sends Beast Man and Trap Jaw out in the Roton to fetch it. The minions track down the Trollan and zap him with a freeze ray, then toss him in the back seat of their vehicle. In the dungeons of Snake Mountain, Trap Jaw struggles in vain to extract the rose from the frozen Orko. When he wanders off in search of help from Beast Man, Fur Face shows up with a hose to water the flower and "keep it fresh for Skeletor." The dousing also has the unintended effect of defrosting their hostage, who is still clearly feeling peaked but summons enough magic to teleport himself to another room. Luckily for our hero, Garth was following the trail of the rose, sneaked into Snake Mountain, and was awaiting his opportunity to lend a hand. He grabs hold of Orko and the pair fly out of the fortress. The butter-man is able to explain Orko's weakened state: the rose that he's still clutching is draining his powers to keep itself alive. He also explains the terrible situation in which Orko's actions have left the insect people, and how they must return to the mountain; but they still have villain problems. Beast Man and Trap Jaw have jumped back in the Roton and are on their tails!

This is when Teela and Duncan show up and rescue the pair, giving them a lift in the Wind Raider. A desperate Trap Jaw, who knows he can't afford to disappoint his boss, begins firing the Roton's lasers at the Wind Raider; but as Teela is blocking the beams with her sword, a stray deflected ray strikes the Bitter Rose! Beast Man spots the problem in his binoculars, and the minions figure the flower is toast. Deciding it's best to head home to figure out how they're going to explain their screw-up to Skeletor, they skedaddle. Meanwhile, the horrorstruck heroes notice the state of the rose and contemplate the scope of the disaster. Orko makes a sorrowful comment that puts Duncan in mind to try his "maturator" on the rose, so the heroes speed to his lab. He sticks the flower under the rays of the machine, hoping it will revive the plant; but for once the man-at-arms's technology is useless. Dree Elle floats in to see what they're doing, and Orko has to shame-facedly explain the whole story. His girlfriend is touched at the Trollan's generous act of love, and as she holds the flower, it miraculously comes back to life!

The heroes then rush the revived rose back to the mountain, where the insect people, He-Man, and Battle Cat must be awfully tired by now, holding back all those boulders. He-Man quickly replants the flower; but it at first does not seem to have helped, as they feel even more rumbling. The flower glows, and from its magical aura a woman appears, in very flowery regalia and with a blossom-shaped hat. Orko and Dree Elle are pretty sure they're about to experience some major punishment from the flowery being, for having plucked her and nearly killed her; but the woman instead says that she owes them her thanks. She identifies herself as the very Rose Goddess of the legend. She was bitter for years over her own sorrow, and did not allow any other plants to grow on the mountain; but now that she's experienced Orko's unselfish act, she's gotten closure and is fulfilled. Immediately the mountain busts forth with plant life, which Duncan explains will keep the rocks in place and prevent further avalanches. The goddess gives the rose (they weren't one and the same thing, apparently) to the Trollans as a gift, and after she magically vanishes Dree Elle orchestrates its re-gifting to the insect people, who promise they will plant it in eternal memory of the goddess and of their salvation.

End with a Joke: This episode ends with two. As the heroes celebrate the resolution of the story, Dree Elle bursts into tears once again. "What's the matter now?" moans a weary Orko, who must be beginning to believe he will never understand the female mind. Dree Elle explains that she just loves happy endings. Everyone laughs. Orko theorizes that there is someone who doesn't think this is a happy ending... Cut to Snake Mountain, where Trap Jaw and Beast Man have tried to prevent a tirade from their evil master by painting up a fake Bitter Rose. Skeletor arrives and grabs the phony flower, only to find that the still-wet paint has rubbed off onto his face and hands. The infuriated sorcerer pursues his dismayed minions in a sky sled. "Gee," a panting and bewildered Beast Man asks, "Trap Jaw, how do you think he caught on?" Trap Jaw advises his buddy to "just keep running."

• Orko: Gee, I wish I could do something for Dree Elle - something that would make her happy. But what could I do? / Cringer: You could do a magic trick. / Orko: That's right, I could! / Cringer: B-but your magic never works.
• Skeletor: Confound it, I must find out the source of this infernal rumbling. / Trap Jaw (peeking around a corner along with Beast Man): We-we weren't mumbling, Skeletor! / Skeletor: Not mumbling, you meat-heads - rumbling; r-r-r-r-rumbling!
• Skeletor: Looks like it's moving time for the insect people! (cackles) (Turning to his minions) Quick, you two! Get out there! / Beast Man: Eh, y-you want us to help them move?
• He-Man (straining against a crumbling mountain): Of all the problems we've come up against, the force of Mother Eternia is one of the greatest.
• Man-at-Arms: Orko would never believe I was so anxious to find him.
• Dree Elle (to Orko): You took the rose with only goodness in your heart. You mustn't blame yourself.
• Rose Goddess: You see, all these years I've been a prisoner of my love's sorrow. I was so bitter, I refused to allow anything else to grow on this mountain. Orko, because you chose me as a gift of true love, I am free and fulfilled.

• Skeletor laughs, head back: Enjoying the fact that the insect people are in danger
• He-Man picks up and throws a rock: Throwing logs to help block an avalanche
• A look through widespread legs: Teela lands after leaping out of the Wind Raider

One full

Brought to you by Man-at-Arms
Man-at-Arms pinpoints Orko's mistake in this episode as the Trollan failing to heed "that small voice in all of us" that can tell right from wrong: our conscience. Duncan, I think Orko's small voice got lost in the mail. The man-at-arms claims that Orko "suspected" he was doing something wrong when he took the rose, but there's very little evidence of this hesitancy in the story. Regardless, Duncan advises us to pause and think if we ever happen to hear this little voice; and if we're unsure, to consult a family member or "someone else who cares about you." If we could be certain that Orko would take this advice, we could probably look forward to many fewer episodes of this show.

N/A

• This entire episode could be seen as falling under my sub-category, "only a legend," as its story centers around the "legendary" bitter rose. I'll let Duncan tell the story: "It's said that the rose was formed by the tears of a goddess; every day she climbed Rose Mountain to look for her husband to return from the war. But, alas, he never came back. Her tears poured from her cheek and entered the ground. One day, she disappeared; but where she stood was a single, solitary rose. It's the only thing that grows on Rose Mountain."
• After Duncan's story, we hear weeping; the camera cuts over to reveal that the source of the mourning is none other than Dree Elle! My reaction: What the heck is she doing here? Orko's girlfriend, or betrothed, usually only features in episodes that include a trip to the Trollan homeland. This is largely because that's where Dree Elle lives, and travelling between Trolla and Eternia takes some effort (though the amount of effort definitely varies; compare for instance MU020 and MU077 - see my commentary in the latter episode). It's typically a big deal when Dree Elle shows up; but in this episode, she's just here. We have to assume she used the magical pyramid Orko accidentally created for travelling to Trolla in MU020, and which she also used to get to and from Eternia in MU053 and MU077. I suppose she's just having a visit?
• Cringer points out that Orko doesn't have any money. Eternian money doesn't come up very often, but it definitely does exist; there are examples of market stalls where money presumably changes hands, such as the ones Duncan and Orko visited in MU098. A few further for-instances, though they're hardly needed: a disguised Evil-Lyn used a coin to help Adam's jerky cousin Jeremy to buy the magnetic boomerang in MU021, and Skeletor agreed to pay an obscene amount of gold pieces to a goblin army in MU081. It does seem rather odd that Orko doesn't have any money, though, since he ostensibly does have a job at the royal court - he's their magician, pseudo-court jester, and he sometimes serves the royal dinner or pours drinks (see MU009 or MU048). Is he just paid in room and board? Maybe it's time to re-negotiate with King Randor, Orko!
• Though he does not appear in this episode, good old Uncle Montork gets the nod from Orko when he quotes his relative's aphorism, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Montork has been in several MOTU episodes, two of which mentioned him in their titles: MU027, MU023, MU077.
• We get the surprise return of some characters that I didn't think we'd ever see again: Garth and his bug people from MU055's "Eye of the Beholder." Garth looks identical to how he did by the end of that episode (in his evolved, no-longer-an-ugly-duckling state), but the insect people have changed their appearance somewhat, having been given some more human eyes and beak-like mouths instead of pincers. Ironically these changes seem to be in direct opposition to the lesson of MU055, which preached acceptance of weird, ugly people. Nah, don't bother; we'll just redraw them to be less weird!
• The insect people have also clearly changed their place of residence since the last time we met them; in MU055, they were hunkered within tunnels under the Mystic Mountains. Here, they are out in the open, in weird turtle-shell-shaped huts at the foot of Rose Mountain.
• Instead of spying on Eternia using his more typical desktop dome, we find Skeletor in his basement checking out the doings on a large-scale TV screen. It looks similar to the one that the villains used to spot the autopiloted Wind Raider at the beginning of MU099's "Hunt for He-Man."
• Skeletor very accurately describes Orko as "that little menace;" after analyzing 106 episodes of the Trollan's shenanigans, I have to agree that the moniker is undeniably apt!
• I noted before that the insect people's houses look like turtle shells; but actually, they really remind me of the shells of those beetle characters from Super Mario Bros., whose name I had to look up: Buzzy Beetles.
• He-Man throws a lot of rocks and logs in this episode, for which the animators pull out all their many pre-drawn sequences of He-Man throwing things; one of which is the strikingly odd-looking one where he hurls a huge object with his eyes tightly shut the whole time. I remarked on this sequence when it was used previously, in MU095. It will be used again in just the next episode (MU107).
• Duncan announces his plan to melt some rock with the Wind Raider's "laser ray;" we've seen it fire weapons before, notably in MU081's "The Arena," though not very often.
• This episode gives us the second series appearance of the Roton, a villainous flying vehicle (and Mattel toy) that Beast Man and Trap Jaw crusie around in (its first appearance was in MU102). This time we discover that it has a freeze ray that projects out of one of its eyes.
• As Trap Jaw vainly attempts to extract the Bitter Rose from a frozen Orko, we discover that his hook arm has the ability to retract, using a sort of piston action. Nice!
• Beast Man is seen making use of some binoculars. We've seen the heroes use these in MU089 and MU096, but this may be the first time we've seen a villain with a pair. (If Tri-Klops were here, he wouldn't need any!)
• Garth's voice in this episode is identical to Cambro the giant's in MU065.
• This episode features the variant ending credits with the flatter-painted Jawbridge background, last seen in the previous episode (MU105).

• Dree Elle refers to the picture of the bitter rose as a "tapestry," but it looks much more like a painting.
• You'd think that Orko would at least have a few second thoughts about plucking the rose when he saw that it could move for itself, clearly did not want to be picked, and seemed to understand what he was saying. You know, something along the lines of: if this plant is clearly sentient, maybe I shouldn't uproot it? Nope! Doesn't even slow him down.
• In the lore section I pointed out some inconsistencies with the depiction of the insect people between this episode and their first appearance; but there's another issue to raise, and it has to do with Garth. In MU055, Garth started out looking like all the other insect people, but turned into a beautiful (or creepy, depending on your point of view) butter-man after he was plunged into the waters of the Sea of Eternity. When He-Man tactfully asks him about the change, Garth posits that his time in the sea changed him into "the form my people will evolve into in centuries to come." OK... so how does that explain the presence of another butter-man flying around at Garth's side in the beginning of this episode? Did Garth meet someone on Grindr and tell him all about the health benefits of almost drowning in the Eternian sea?
• This episode features some absolutely hilarious banter between Skeletor and his minions - in particular the moment where a thick-skulled Beast Man thinks his boss wants Fur Face and Trap Jaw to help the insect people move.
• As in some other episodes featuring Skeletor's machinations, the ultimate goal of his plot is somewhat unclear. What exactly does he think he's going to gain by obtaining the Bitter Rose? Does he think it has some magical power that he can add to his own - or is he just hoping to give the insect people a really crappy day?
• During his frankly exhausting-looking sequence trying to stop the avalanche, He-Man does a really cool spin kick to fend off some boulders.
• Battle Cat gets his paw stuck in a crack of the mountain, but oddly there is no dialogue announcing the problem: we are just shown a close-up of the stuck paw, and then He-Man helps his tiger get out of the jam he's in. Before and after the scene, however, Battle Cat makes use of several baseball terms ("strike one," "home run") which we wonder how he acquired...
• "Well, all's quiet now, Shaman," remarks He-Man to the insect people's leader. "Do you think it will stay that way?" "NO!" Shaman shouts, his high-pitched, forceful voice making it sound as if he's angrily disagreeing with our hero. It's another - albeit unintended - humorous moment in this episode that I found solidly humorous.
• Beast Man adds to the amusing antics in this episode by stupidly watering the frozen Orko and his rose with what looks to be a fire hose, causing the Trollan to be defrosted. Oh, Fur Face... bless your heart.
• Home invasion again, folks! Right in the wake of He-Man's - and, subsequently, Adam's - intrusions into Snake Mountain in MU105, Garth sneaks on in to help rescue Orko. He is undetected until he reveals himself by grabbing the prisoner and making a successful escape. We haven't seen an effective security alarm go off in Skeletor's fortress since way back in MU066, so it seems old Bonehead should really be walking around the house and replacing some batteries. (There have admittedly been other defenses in place, such as the traps Skeletor set for He-Man at the end of MU072, and Evil-Lyn's crystal ball prediction in MU092.)
• It's very unclear how Orko's use of the phrase "one-of-a-kind original" puts Man-at-Arms in mind to use his maturator on the rose. Duncan's mind moves in mysterious ways!
• The obvious conclusion to draw from the legend of the Bitter Rose is that the "goddess" character transformed into the flower: the rose is the woman, and vice versa. However at the end of the episode we find this is not the case, since when the goddess finally appears, seemingly having been spawned out of the flower, she is still holding the Bitter Rose, and is able to give it as a gift to Dree Elle and Orko. This is confusing. It puts me in mind of the mystery of Christianity's Holy Trinity. The character design for the goddess is quite similar to that for the She-Ra character, Perfuma.