J. Larry Carroll

Ernie Schmidt

Beast Man and Trap Jaw have perhaps the worst collective idea of their lives, when they use a magical amulet to force the kidnapped Orko to be their slave. The Trollan's legendary magic powers can now only be used to do exactly as they say - with predictable Orko-ish results! He-Man's attempts to free the magician lead him on a diplomatic mission to a race of ancient insect people - but how much He-help does our devious little friend really need?

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

Trap Jaw, Beast Man, Evil-Lyn (mentioned only)

Polti, Polti mounts (including Maggie), Polti queen, squid?

Attak Trak, Wind Raider

What are Beast Man and Trap Jaw up to, all alone together in the forest? They're busily digging a trench with Trap Jaw's laser and tossing some "seeds" in it, to grow a gigantic orange rocky tower. The purpose of the structure is unclear; but what is clear is that these lackeys are feeling ambitious today, and are going to work up some solo mischief!

Back at the royal palace, Orko is busy working at his unpaid job: performing unreliable magic tricks for the royal family. This time, his show seems to be going really well - he successfully conjures a top hat, to thunderous applause. Then the Trollan begins to glow and completely vanishes - to even more applause, as the audience believes it's all part of the show. But we see Orko reappear in a glass prison inside the orange tower, where Beast Man and Trap Jaw are waiting to receive him. Now with the perfect bargaining chip, the go-getting minions send a video ransom message (in the shape of a bubble) to King Randor, demanding the kingdom's entire supply of photanium in exchange for Orko's safe return. The heroes are horrified, since losing all their photanium will leave them defenseless - in addition to geometrically increasing the strength of the villainous pair.

I should note that Beast Man is sporting a charming accessory today: a medallion of stunning proportions, which he identifies as the Amber Crystal of Millarca. The furry villain uses the power of the crystal to cast a spell on Orko - their new hostage is now their slave, because his magic can only be used to do exactly what Beast Man and Trap Jaw command. Should Orko ever try to use his magic for any other purpose, he'll be teleported back into the glass prison.

Prince Adam and Man-at-Arms hop into the Attak Trak to go searching for their lost friend, in the hopes of circumventing any ransom payments. You'd think that just roaming around the Eternian countryside hoping to stumble upon the Evil Warriors was a fool's errand, but in fact the heroes very quickly spot a towering anomaly on the landscape: the huge Amber Fortress that Beast Man and Trap Jaw cultivated in the episode's opening scene. Their attempts to approach the structure are firmly rebuffed, however, even after Adam turns into He-Man: the building is firing energy beams at them at a rate too rapid to evade. Beast Man's floating head appears atop the fortress to taunt the heroes, leaving them in no doubt that this is the place they need to get into. He-Man and Duncan decide they need to consult with the Sorceress.

At Grayskull, the Sorceress gets a look at Beast Man on her viewing window and informs them that Fur Face is in possession of the Amber Crystal of Millarca, an ancient and powerful relic of a race of insect people known as the Polti. If anyone knows how to penetrate the seemingly impenetrable fortress, it will be the Polti. They were once very warlike but are allegedly a peaceful race now, so He-Man and Man-at-Arms have some hopes of being able to negotiate some assistance. But once a tractor beam pulls their Wind Raider down near the Polti city, the heroic pair are escorted by armed guards to an audience with a very uncooperative queen. The Polti are not feeling particularly welcoming of strangers right now, since they just got their magical amulet stolen by a wicked sorceress (who, by a very easy deduction, given that the number of evil sorceresses on Eternia totals to one, the heroes correctly conclude must have been Evil-Lyn). The queen doesn't trust He-Man's claim of good intentions, and tells him to get the heck out. In fact, if they ever return, they will be imprisoned!

Very conveniently, just as the heroes are departing in failure in their Wind Raider, they catch sight of a Polti pet mount (whose name is Maggie) in great danger. He-Man leaps out of his craft to land on the crumbling cliffside by Maggie and swing her to safety. Maggie's watching owner is incredibly relieved; but the heroes are surrounded by a troop of Polti soldiers and informed that they will be punished for having returned against the Queen's orders. Back at the throne room of the city, the Queen marvels at He-Man's bravery and selflessness in saving a lowly pet, and decides he's worth trusting after all. She gifts the heroes with a nullifier ray, which should temporarily deaden the effects of the Amber Crystal and allow them entrance to the tower. She also decides that she doesn't really want the crystal back, and will be perfectly satisfied if He-Man just smashes the thing.

Ah yes! The tower. Within the structure, Orko is teaching his captors a new definition of pain, as every one of Beast Man and Trap Jaw's commands to the little Trollan go awry. First, they demand that the magician spread them a huge banquet; but a facetious comment from Trap Jaw about their slave needing to keep them from getting too fat causes Orko to make all the food vanish before the villains can put any in their mouths. Next, Beast Man requests a set of magical hairbrushes to keep his fur soft and silky; but he soon finds himself fleeing from the overzealous strokes of the ceaseless brushes. By the time He-Man and Duncan finally return with their nullifier beam, a command from Trap Jaw to keep the brushes away has left the villains stuffed together inside the glass prison, with the amulet dropped to the ground below; and having been denied the use of his magic to try to kindly rescue the villains, Orko has been stuffed inside along with them.

Man-at-Arms zaps the tower with the nullifier, giving He-Man the opportunity to punch his way inside the structure; but the beam offers only a temporary entrance to the building, and He-Man has to fight his way to the center through at least one obstacle - some squid tentacles, which pop out of the walls to impede him. By the time He-Man has wrestled himself free, the nullifier is dangerously low on charge and Duncan is yelling at his friend to hurry. Our blonde hero finally reaches the trio imprisoned in the center, grabs the amulet, and crunches it in one meaty palm. Boom! No more Amber Fortress!

End with a Joke: With the Amber Fortress vanished and the crystal's power undone, the villainous pair and their so-called captive plummet to the bare ground. Approaching a bemused He-Man, Beast Man frantically asks the hero: "How long can you hold him?" He means Orko. Trap Jaw estimates that he only needs ten minutes to make a safe escape. Orko innocently asks if the Evil Warriors don't want to take him back with them to Snake Mountain. Petrified at the prospect, the two lackeys take to their heels, leaving a very amused trio of heroes to laugh at their receding behinds.

• King Randor: Beast Man! Trap Jaw! What is the meaning of this? / Beast Man: Grrr, "Mr. Beast Man" to you, Randor. / Trap Jaw: Yeah, and from now on, it's "Mr. Trap Jaw," see?
• Beast Man (casting a fateful magic spell on Orko): By the power of the Amber Crystal of Millarca, little wizard, you may henceforth use your magic only to serve the exact commands and wishes of Mr. Beast Man and Mr. Trap Jaw.
• Trap Jaw: Only now you're gonna have to use your magic to keep us from gettin' fat. / Orko (muttering): As you command... Biggle, baggle, buckle, blat, see to it my masters can never get fat.
• Polti Queen: Many have come seeking the super-weapons of the Ancients, but our laws forbid us to share that terrible knowledge. / He-Man: Not even in a just cause, Your Majesty? / Queen: We have no way to determine the justice of your cause, He-Man. Your request is denied.
• Polti Queen (to He-Man): You have risked imprisonment to save the life of a mere pet. Why? / He-Man: All life is precious, Your Majesty: a man's, a woman's, a child's - and yes, even a pet's. / Queen: Ah, well said, Eternian.
• Beast Man (passing the buck most shamefully, in classic Laurel and Hardy style): Well, Trap Jaw, this is another fine mess you've gotten me into.

• Beast Man swings sword overhand: Beast Man is unarmed, but the usual sword-swinging loop is used to show him flinging some seeds
• Adam rolls along the ground: To avoid some energy bolts
• Beast Man runs at the viewer, bug-height: Fleeing from his magic brushes
• He-Man punches the viewer: In a move we've been waiting for all episode, to finally bust into the Amber Fortress

One partial (missing Cringer/Battle Cat sequence)

Brought to you by Orko
Addressing the children in his viewing audience, Orko advises them not to try any pranks on people like the amusing (but thankfully not very imitatable) tricks he played on Beast Man and Trap Jaw. Pranks can go wrong and hurt people. Teela gave very similar advice in the PSA for MU093 - as did Man-at-Arms in MU007's PSA. Orko says that we should leave the pranks to professionals - like him. In appreciation of his advice (or perhaps his pranks), Adam, Teela, and Man-at-Arms give Orko a round of applause, using the same animation from the throne room scene that opened the episode - except this time they are standing in the palace's open-air courtyard.

Skeletor-less episodes in Season 2

• Beast Man and Trap Jaw announce in the episode opening that they are "going into business" for themselves - a business we all know is doomed to fail, but quick. Beast Man grumbles occasionally about some day getting back at Skeletor (see MU009 for one), but we've rarely seen him show this level of initiative. Perhaps in MU029, when he kidnapped Randor; but his main object there was to get himself back into the good graces of his boss. Trap Jaw, on the other hand, has tried to strike out on his own before - or at least with Mer-Man. See as a couple of for-instances, MU042 and MU091.
• The villainous pair deliver their ransom note to the palace via what Duncan identifies as a "Polti communicator ball." (The Polti will end up playing an important part in the episode, though we don't know that yet.) It's a floating and glowing yellow ball that acts as a video screen. It reminds me of the bubble-encased call for help that Orko sent to He-Man in MU076's "The Ice Age Cometh."
• As the price for setting Orko free, "Mr." Beast Man and "Mr." Trap Jaw demand "all the photanium in Eternia." Photanium is a substance we haven't heard about since way back in MU005's "She-Demon of Phantos," where it was superlatively hailed as the strongest material in the universe. In this episode, Beast Man and Teela pronounce the word differently, with a short "a" rather than a long "a." Trap Jaw later pronounces it the way it was said in MU005. It seems odd to demand photanium from Eternians, and not from Phantosians, since they're the ones who mine and refine the ore; but I suppose the ulterior motive here, as Teela suggests, is to leave the heroes "defenseless." Regardless, and as expected, the Eternians make not the slightest effort to actually make good on the ransom demand, and we never hear about photanium again.
• It's worth noting that this episode shows another rare instance of villains actually taking advantage of their valuable hostage. I've discussed recently (see commentary for MU117) the long history of MOTU baddies not managing to do this - so bravo Mr. Beast Man and Mr. Trap Jaw!
• It seems that Man-at-Arms and Prince Adam get to go out in the Attak Trak to look for Orko, and not Teela, because Teela's duty (as Duncan puts it) "is to remain at your post and protect the palace." Yeah, totally - except for all those other episodes, where she didn't remain at the palace. !?!!? Also, isn't one of her jobs to guard the prince (see Randor's comment at the beginning of MU069, for example)?
• In an unexpected return of what you'd think was just a throwaway bit of lore, Beast Man demands "roast gooble" from his prisoner. He-Man and his friends enjoyed a lovely meal of roast gooble provided by Orko's Uncle Montork at the end of MU077's "Trouble in Trolla."
• Orko's first twisted use of his magic on the Evil Warriors, in obeying an offhand comment from Trap Jaw, recalls the mythical punishment of Tantalus: with a huge feast spread before them, the villains are denied the ability to eat. Poor Tantalus suffered the same hellish punishment in the depths of Tartarus, as retribution for defying the gods (though to be fair, it was because he'd cooked up his own son and tried to make the gods eat him - ew).
• Balked by the villains' rocky pinnacle of a fortress, He-Man and Duncan retreat to the Sorceress and give Beast Man a call using Grayskull's all-purpose viewing window. The Sorceress also uses the window to provide an artist's rendering of a Polti, as a handy visual aid.
• It makes sense that Beast Man sent his message to Randor using a "Polti" communicator ball since, as it turns out, his new piece of bling is a powerful artifact of the Polti - an ancient and warlike insectoid race. We've seen insect people in MOTU before. Buzz-Off the Heroic Warrior is of course a bee person, whose apian race had to face off against another insect race in the form of the locust-like Tycons in MU103's "The Good Shall Survive." And the butter-man Garth and his insect people have shown up in two episodes (MU055 and MU106). But the Polti, as seen first in Sorceress's visual aid, seem even more insect-like than these previous examples.
• He-Man and Man-at-Arms have what turns out to be a very ironic conversation about their concern over Orko, with Duncan commenting: "I never thought I could miss that little trickster so much." We've actually had occasion to hear Duncan make this kind of comment so many times now in the series that it seems he shouldn't be so surprised anymore. He reacted this way most recently in MU106, when he stated, "Orko would never believe I was so anxious to find him."
• It's suspiciously convenient that, whenever He-Man needs some member of a distrustful race of people to trust him, one of their members gets into life-threatening danger, giving our hero the chance to prove his good intentions with a muscular rescue. We've seen this happen as far back as MU007's "The Curse of the Spellstone," when a helpful lava beast snatched up a fire person, giving He-Man the opportunity to save a life and earn some good will. Slightly more recently (and pertinently), his protection of the insect people's eggs from crumbling rocks in MU055 helped gain the admiration of Garth and his fellows. In this episode, Maggie the Polti mount gets into trouble, providing He-Man the only excuse he needs to wade in and do some very convincing good.
• As has happened several times in the past, we are treated to another confusing example of nomenclature in this episode. The Polti queen identifies He-Man as an "Eternian," thus implying that she herself is not. But they are all living on the planet Eternia, are they not? Similarly confusing terminology was bandied about by the cat folk in MU066, just to give one other example.
• This episode extends another oft-seen theme in MOTU, of ancient races having seemingly been more advanced than those currently extant on Eternia. The Sorceress has frequently spouted hints about the great knowledge of "the Ancients," and the heroes had to nab one of their books of spells in MU095. Here, it seems the Polti have grown stagnant but still have powerful artifacts of their distant ancestors lying around. It almost seems sometimes as if Eternia is in the midst of its own Middle or Dark Ages, looking back with awe at the wisdom of their forebears like medieval monks searching for alchemical secrets in Ancient Greek texts.
• I've listed two characters above who have some shaky provenance. Even though she doesn't actually appear on screen, I've chosen to list Evil-Lyn, since she plays a part in the episode's plot and is mentioned several times. I've also included "squid?" in the other characters listing, since He-Man is temporarily stymied by some tentacles inside the Amber Fortress, and expositionally cries out "Squid!" in reaction. All we see are the tentacles, however, and they look strangely metallic, so it's unclear whether they're just a robotic obstacle built into the structure, or an actual living creature.
• In describing his planned escape from his horrifying hostage, Trap Jaw mentions several familiar Eternian locales: the tar swamp (first seen in MU018 but used as recently as MU116), the Forgotten Forest (a special location used in MU034, so it's odd that he would have chosen this as part of his route - he may have meant one of the more commonly used forests in Eternia, such as the Evergreen Forest, Enchanted Forest, Mystical Forest, or Haunted Forest), and the Mystic Mountains (seen often in maps of the planet and first home of Garth's insect people in MU055).
• Another episode with the variant ending credits showing the flat-painted Jawbridge.
• Believe it or not (I find it hard to believe), this episode makes the very last appearance of the Sorceress in the regular series. Going by episode codes and episode number order, she will not appear in the subsequent 12 episodes of this second and final season. If you use the Search page, you can confirm for yourself that across the entire series the Sorceress has only appeared in 64 of the 130 episodes - just about half, making a smaller total than Skeletor (he racked up a more respectable 71 appearances).

• In the opening sequence, Trap Jaw is wearing his laser gun attachment, but it's remarkably stubby: the gun seems to be attached directly to his shoulder, with no length of "arm" in between. Later he's seen wearing his hook attachment, with a much more reasonable length of arm.
• Orko's magic show in the beginning garners an unusual amount of applause from his royal audience - I honestly suspected the whole scene of occurring only in the Trollan's dreams, as the reaction from the crowd seemed so excessive for the trick performed. All Orko does is summon a top hat - a typical magician's prop, but one the already-hatted Trollan is incapable of wearing. He then unintentionally executes his greatest trick of all (and to the great enjoyment and amusement of the crowd), by vanishing.
• Beast Man announces that "Now Orko's gonna be our slave" - the emphasis implying that the Trollan was, till now, the slave of the royal family. I'm sure Orko wouldn't see it that way, but it does throw a different light on his continued residence in the palace! We've already had cause to question Randor's hiring practices; remember in particular the fact that Orko does not seem to earn a wage as court magician (see MU106).
• I find Beast Man and Trap Jaw's insistence on their new titles of "Mr." hilariously endearing and adorable. They aren't shooting for Emperor, or King, or Count, or even Sir - they just demand the most barebones honorific. All they want is a little respect - something Beast Man in particular, as we should well know by now, is very unlikely to get.
• What is the purpose of the huge rock structure that Beast Man grows out of a crack in the ground using seeds and his amulet? Was it to draw the heroes to the exact "secret" spot where the villains are hiding their hostage? If so, it works perfectly!
• He-Man and Duncan come up against this rocky tower (which Beast Man calls the "Amber Fortress") and have to dodge and deflect some energy bolts. No problem, right? He-Man spends half his days punching through rocks, and the other half deflecting energy bolts. Furthermore, they can safely assume that the only people they have to deal with inside the fortress are Mr. Beast Man and Mr. Trap Jaw - people He-Man has easily wiped the floor with on several previous occasions. Yet the pair of heroes immediately just give up and go running to the Sorceress for help. What gives, men? Of course their circumspection proves prescient, since as the Sorceress explains, the Amber Fortress is nigh impenetrable - but it's hard to see how they could know that from their five-second foray.
• When Beast Man is inevitably attacked by the magical brushes that he so imprudently commands Orko to summon, we see them brushing the ruff of the dark red collar behind his head. Based on the way his action figure was built, I never considered this red collar to be actual fur - on the toy, it's just his chest armor or clothing. I suppose we can't expect brushes to "know" which part of the guy is fur and which part is clothing, so it could just be their mistake - but I would guess that the animators considered this to be part of Beast Man's actual body hair, which is interesting (and somewhat disturbing).
• When we finally meet the Polti in person, they don't act very friendly, but they look utterly charming - I particularly loved the wonderfully cute yellow-and-green bug mounts they ride (who couldn't love Maggie?!). Though I have to say, for a people who have been described as having become peaceful, they seem pretty heavily armed!
• Animation error? The first Polti He-Man speaks with is missing his antennae - the only one of the beings drawn without them.
• When stuffed into the boxy prison between his erstwhile captors, Orko claims that he can't do any magic because he's unable to move his hands. I'm pretty sure there are numerous examples in other episodes of him doing magical things without any finger waggling (for instance, vanishing into his hat, teleporting away, or becoming two-dimensional to fit between prison bars). Is Orko just playing dumb here? Is this some kind of weird Trollan kink? Does he enjoy being crushed between two Evil Warriors?
• There seems to be some inconsistency in the treatment of the nullifier beam. In one scene, holding the non-firing ray gun at his side, Duncan advises He-Man to get inside the Fortress while the effects of the ray are still operating. A few seconds later, we see Man-at-Arms with the ray raised again, firing a continuous beam into the Fortress, as though its constant emission is the only thing allowing He-Man to remain safe inside.
• The tale of the prisoner turning the tables on his captors is a bit of a trope, but it works well in the context of the series, making for a good use of Orko and his magic, and making this a memorably amusing episode. As a bonus we got the fun new character designs of the Polti, and some quality Beast Man content. Though I haven't gone so far as to tag this as a landmark episode, I think it has some of the same qualities of clever story ideas and effective utilization of established character traits that made MU116's "Here, There, Skeletors Everywhere" such a success. This script was brought to us by J. Larry Carroll, and will unfortunately be his sole offering to the show.