This was a great episode, one of the best of the series, although my personal favorite is probably "Into the Dark Dimension." Here, Shadow Weaver has had enough of Hordak's abuse and decides to get revenge. She allies secretly with Skeletor, transporting him to Etheria to attack Hordak. She-Ra inevitably gets involved.
Some little bits I liked included the fact that Imp proves to be the only minion truly loyal to Hordak; and Bow and Madame Razz handily freeing She-Ra later. I also love the line by Skeletor; "confound that woman! She's worse than He-Man!" I much preferred this series to He-Man (which I also liked) as I thought the stories were more thoughtful and the scenario more complex, with the rebels always on the run (sort of).
Spoilers follow:
Shadow Weaver (SW) and Skeletor launch an ambush on Hordak, with SW causing an avalanche to fall on Hordak's transport vehicle, and Skeletor then blasting that vehicle. Skeletor think he's won but Hordak proves resilient, extricating himself from the wreckage and engaging Skeletor.
(Note: I disagree with the comment in James Eatock's otherwise generally good guide to the He-Man and She-Ra series, that Skeletor defeats Hordak in a "fair fight" here. Hardly. Hordak was already weakened by the sneak attack, which probably would have taken out Skeletor outright if it had happened to him. Instead, he continues the fight and is stunned when he is tricked into running into a wall, whereas he probably would have been fine if he hadn't already taken several major surprise hits before.
Further proof is the fact that, at the end of the episode, when Hordak confronts Skeletor, where the latter doesn't have an unfair edge, bone-face is now shaking in his boots.]
She-Ra falls for an ambush also when SW surprises her long enough for Skeletor to knock her out with sleep gas. (but in general She-Ra, like He-Man, always beats Skeletor handily). Skeletor predictably double-crosses SW and traps both her and Hordak.
Hordak is not quite so dumb here for once, being suspicious of Skeletor's comment that someone else betrayed him, but SW is saved when Hordak is distracted by the threat to Imp from his other minions.
I'm probably in the minority in that Hordak was my favorite villain from the two series, and I much preferred him to Skeletor. Skeletor is more sneaky and clever but also much more evil. The worst thing Hordak ever does is drop people down trap doors and imprison them. He shows rare signs of redeeming qualities occasionally (e.g. Into the Dark Dimension) unlike Skeletor.
Oddly, having watching both series in their entirety, I noticed that Skeletor is generally portrayed as being far more powerful when he appears in She-Ra. In He-Man, he seems impossibly out-matched by He-Man. An episode I particularly disliked was "Evil-Lyn's Plot," where Skeletor acquires a device that increases his power 100x, yet he is still easily beaten by He-Man in a straight-up fight. That episode practically made Skeletor into a bad joke, suggesting he was less than 100 times weaker than He-Man.
Some little bits I liked included the fact that Imp proves to be the only minion truly loyal to Hordak; and Bow and Madame Razz handily freeing She-Ra later. I also love the line by Skeletor; "confound that woman! She's worse than He-Man!" I much preferred this series to He-Man (which I also liked) as I thought the stories were more thoughtful and the scenario more complex, with the rebels always on the run (sort of).
Spoilers follow:
Shadow Weaver (SW) and Skeletor launch an ambush on Hordak, with SW causing an avalanche to fall on Hordak's transport vehicle, and Skeletor then blasting that vehicle. Skeletor think he's won but Hordak proves resilient, extricating himself from the wreckage and engaging Skeletor.
(Note: I disagree with the comment in James Eatock's otherwise generally good guide to the He-Man and She-Ra series, that Skeletor defeats Hordak in a "fair fight" here. Hardly. Hordak was already weakened by the sneak attack, which probably would have taken out Skeletor outright if it had happened to him. Instead, he continues the fight and is stunned when he is tricked into running into a wall, whereas he probably would have been fine if he hadn't already taken several major surprise hits before.
Further proof is the fact that, at the end of the episode, when Hordak confronts Skeletor, where the latter doesn't have an unfair edge, bone-face is now shaking in his boots.]
She-Ra falls for an ambush also when SW surprises her long enough for Skeletor to knock her out with sleep gas. (but in general She-Ra, like He-Man, always beats Skeletor handily). Skeletor predictably double-crosses SW and traps both her and Hordak.
Hordak is not quite so dumb here for once, being suspicious of Skeletor's comment that someone else betrayed him, but SW is saved when Hordak is distracted by the threat to Imp from his other minions.
I'm probably in the minority in that Hordak was my favorite villain from the two series, and I much preferred him to Skeletor. Skeletor is more sneaky and clever but also much more evil. The worst thing Hordak ever does is drop people down trap doors and imprison them. He shows rare signs of redeeming qualities occasionally (e.g. Into the Dark Dimension) unlike Skeletor.
Oddly, having watching both series in their entirety, I noticed that Skeletor is generally portrayed as being far more powerful when he appears in She-Ra. In He-Man, he seems impossibly out-matched by He-Man. An episode I particularly disliked was "Evil-Lyn's Plot," where Skeletor acquires a device that increases his power 100x, yet he is still easily beaten by He-Man in a straight-up fight. That episode practically made Skeletor into a bad joke, suggesting he was less than 100 times weaker than He-Man.
