NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

Four Ways to Sundown

Four Ways to Sundown title card
E38

Official Synopsis

He-Man and a masked man raise their hands as armed mutants surround them.

Hydron and Flipshot fly medical supplies to Muninos, and Flipshot recalls his finest hour, the battle of the Quagmi Swamp, where the heroes went to pick cockleberries to cure a sick Master Sebrian. Hydron remembers it differently, so each hero casts the other as the one who lost his nerve. On the Mutant side, Flogg and Slush Head argue over the same battle, each telling it with himself as the leader and the other as a groveling subordinate. In Flipshot's version a bird and some mud save the day, in Hydron's the bush is cut with He-Man's sword, and Slush Head's ends with a pal from the swamp interrupting. The Mutants trade blame, a swim goes wrong, and a reminder to use the buddy system closes.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

Slush Head swims alone in the swamp, is grabbed by something, and the closing lesson is the buddy system: even a Mutant should know better than to swim alone, so at the beach or at home, swim with a buddy.

heman.org Episode Review

Ask four people what happened at a battle and you get four heroes. "Four Ways to Sundown" builds an episode from that observation, in a shape the He-Man wiki says writer Jack Olesker took from Kurosawa's Rashomon, and the affection it has for its cast keeps the exaggerations a pleasure to watch.

The frame is modest. Hydron and Flipshot are carrying medical supplies to Muninos, which an ion storm has hit badly, and Flipshot grumbles that he was born for action and would not mind meeting a stray patrol; he then reminds Hydron of his finest hour, the battle of the Quagmi Swamp. On the Mutant side Flogg and Slush Head are arguing over the same battle, which one of them calls the greatest in Mutant history, and each has a plan, a measure of bravery and a memory that does not match the other's.

In plain words, the episode is about how everyone edits himself into the hero and the nearest friend into the coward, and it lets all four tellers do it until the contradictions become the joke. Flipshot's version has Hydron frozen at the sight of the planet, admitting he cannot land the ship, with Flipshot gamely taking over. Hydron's version has Flipshot as the nervous one, and the captain promising him a return to flight school. Hydron's dry interruption, that Flipshot has a great imagination and that he himself remembers things a little differently, is the cleanest statement of the premise.

The Mutants are better still, partly because their vanity runs in such different directions. In Slush Head's telling he is the hero of the Quagmi Swamp, a forgiving soul, while Flogg gushes that Slush Head is masterful and in control and is sent off to the pilot's seat. Flogg's rebuttal is to tell what really happened, and the same phrase comes back with his own title attached: the future king of his galaxy is a forgiving soul. A line about firing at will, and the puzzled question of who Will might be, turns up in both tellings in the mouth of whichever Mutant is being made to look the fool. It is a tidy piece of structure, because the audience watches one joke bent to flatter two different egos.

The heroes get the smaller gags, but they are good ones. Flipshot's account ends the fight with a borrowed bird, Clobber, and some mud to blind the Mutant viewscreen, and the correction is that someone remembers the bird too, mostly because he had to have his uniform dry-cleaned. In the other account the cockleberry bush becomes a running joke: He-Man is told to use his sword to cut it, with a joke that the important thing is to be a good bush cutter, and a startled yell is met with the observation that he would have burst a Mutant's eardrums.

The weakness is that the heroes' two tellings are close to mirror images, each accusing the other of cowardice, while the Mutants each get a distinct comic engine, so the human half has less to offer. The likely reason is the short slot: the Mutants' vanity can keep escalating, while two heroes accusing each other has fewer places to go. Keeping four narrators straight also takes some effort on a first viewing, since the switches come quickly.

The ending lands on the Mutants, with one accusing the other of being too scared to see straight and the other insisting he is the bravest Mutant who ever lived. Slush Head then goes for a swim on his own, gets grabbed by something, and is told to use the buddy system.

Verdict: a clever, well-voiced oddity among the run's stand-alone adventures, and it leaves the question of whose story is true wide open.

Notes of Interest

  1. Homage: The He-Man wiki says writer Jack Olesker conceived the story as an homage to Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon.
  2. Continuity: Per the He-Man wiki, Adam of Grayskull does not appear in this episode.
  3. Edit history: The wiki's errors list says a line Slush Head begins, 'And I would've had them, except...', is animated as coming out of Flogg's mouth.
  4. Voice cast: Ted Cole voices Slush Head, Scott McNeil voices Flipshot, Alvin Sanders voices Flogg and Don Brown voices Hydron, according to the He-Man wiki cast list.
  5. Voice cast: The same cast list gives Venus Terzo as Crita and Campbell Lane as Skeletor.
  6. Continuity: Wikipedia's episode summary places the battle in the Quagmi Swamps, and the He-Man wiki's own Behind the Scenes section for the episode is very short.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
He-Man
Good

He-Man
Flogg
Evil

Flogg
Slushhead
Evil

Slushhead

Episode screenshots

A pilot dozes with a smile while a red-haired man and He-Man lean in behind him.
A pilot dozes with a smile while a red-haired man and He-Man lean in behind him.
A brown-haired pilot smiles with his eyes closed.
A brown-haired pilot smiles with his eyes closed.
Two mutants sit in seats before a creature with a large toothy mouth.
Two mutants sit in seats before a creature with a large toothy mouth.
Slush Head looks alarmed beside Flogg, who scowls from his hood.
Slush Head looks alarmed beside Flogg, who scowls from his hood.
Figures stand in a dim chamber with a staircase and a glowing round window.
Figures stand in a dim chamber with a staircase and a glowing round window.
Flogg sits with folded arms beside Slush Head's yellow-spotted arm.
Flogg sits with folded arms beside Slush Head's yellow-spotted arm.
A red-haired man in a teal suit sits looking ahead beside a reclining pilot.
He-Man leans over a sleeping pilot and a red-haired man.
He-Man leans over a sleeping pilot and a red-haired man.
A brown-haired pilot smiles slyly, looking aside.
A white spacecraft with glowing thrusters approaches a cratered planet.
A white ship with a red engine glides through the starfield.
A brown-haired pilot glances back over his shoulder at a control panel.
A pilot stares ahead, stern, while He-Man and a red-haired man huddle behind him.
A man in a silver winged helmet looks ahead calmly.
A man in a winged helmet and jet pack clenches his fists, speaking.
A masked man in a teal suit stands beside a bare chested man in the ship's bay.
Two figures in swamp gear walk across a dark marsh beside a ramp.
Three small figures stand on a swamp bank as ripples spread across the water.
He-Man looks worried beside a masked man in a teal suit as a red bird perches behind.
He-Man looks worried beside a masked man in a teal suit as a red bird perches behind.
A yellow and blue splash bursts across the frame.
A violet eye fills the frame.
Purple lightning flashes across a tilted view of He-Man, a masked man and a red bird.
A pilot smiles with his hands behind his head as a red-haired man sits behind.
A pilot clasps his head with both hands, mouth open.
A red-haired man in a teal suit glances back, frowning, over a seat.
He-Man sits in a pilot seat before a cratered planet, a red bird perched beside him.
A light beam sweeps a dark swamp past the edge of a ship.
He-Man looks back over his shoulder from the pilot seat.
A white spaceship sits landed at the water's edge among trees.
A still swamp pool lies under dark trees.
A masked man, He-Man and a helmeted man stand on the bank beside a yellow raft.
A man in a blue suit and winged helmet stands beside a yellow raft.
A masked man, He-Man and a helmeted man stand together with a red bird on one shoulder.
A raft carrying four figures speeds across the water, flinging up a big spray.
Purple beams shoot from the cannons of a spiny creature-shaped ship.
A masked man in teal with an orange hose collar looks tense.
A spiny armored ship crawls through the night with a red eye glowing.
Slush Head smiles in profile beside Flogg, who scowls.
Slush Head smiles in profile beside Flogg, who scowls.
A large pink and green ship tilts with curved claws.
A grey-faced mutant in a dark cap stares sideways, eyes wide.
A grey-faced mutant in a plumed military hat and red uniform stares wide-eyed.
The red-haired mutant woman holds a small skull in her hand as mutants sit behind her.
Flogg sits in a blue seat, a plumed officer stands, and Skeletor sits at right.
Two armored mutants sit at a window, one clasping his hands and one raising both arms.
The plumed officer grins as Skeletor presses his hands to his cheeks behind him.
Flogg holds his head while the plumed officer and Skeletor stand beside him.
Flogg holds his head while the plumed officer and Skeletor stand beside him.
A mutant in a gold helmet looks to the side with wide eyes.
The red-haired mutant woman stretches her arms out wide in a cave of lights.
The red-haired mutant woman rests a hand on her chin beside the plumed officer.
Three mutants sit in front of a large toothy creature in a glowing chamber.
The red-haired mutant woman looks alarmed, mouth open.
Slush Head scowls while the red-haired mutant woman and Skeletor stand behind him.
A glowing spiny ship drifts beside a cratered planet.
Slush Head shouts with raised fists as Flogg and Skeletor sit behind him.
Flogg reaches out a hand toward Skeletor, who looks on.
Skeletor walks down steps in a dim hall as Slush Head's arm blocks the foreground.
Skeletor walks down steps in a dim hall as Slush Head's arm blocks the foreground.
Slush Head looks stricken as Skeletor leans toward him.
A yellow raft speeds across the water, spraying a wake.
Flogg glares from his hood, fangs showing.
Flogg sits in his seat as another figure kneels below in a dim chamber.
Flogg looks startled beside Skeletor, seen from behind.
Flogg strides across the chamber toward a crouching figure with a staff.
Skeletor leaps through the air as Flogg sits in his seat.
Skeletor leaps through the air as Flogg sits in his seat.
Slush Head hangs from cables above a red platform.
Slush Head hugs Flogg, who grimaces.
A mutant in a gold helmet looks over his shoulder, mouth open.
A red-haired man and a brown-haired man point angrily at each other.
A purple beam fires from the mouth of a spiny ship.
A spiny ship fires a blue beam while purple lightning crackles below it.
Four figures struggle on a yellow raft on dark water.
A masked man looks worried beside He-Man, who smiles faintly.
A yellow raft carries a helmeted man, a masked man and He-Man across dark water.
A helmeted man in a blue suit faces He-Man, seen from behind, with a red bird beside him.
A huge dark bird spreads its wings over the raft.
Skeletor stands holding his staff as Flogg sits behind him.
Purple lightning cracks across the sky above a distant spiny ship.
A helmeted man, a masked man and He-Man look anxiously off to the side.
A dark bird with glaring eyes grips the raft in its claws.
A red robot bird perches on a seat before a control panel.
A red-haired man smiles beside a brown-haired man, seen through glass.
A helmeted man laughs with his eyes shut, gesturing with an open hand.
A dark mossy rock fills the frame.
A masked man stands with arms crossed beside a purple column.
He-Man holds his sword low among tall swamp reeds with red buds.
He-Man smiles as a yellow hose crosses in front of him.
A helmeted man cringes with his hands at his mouth.
A red bird flies above three figures on the bank and a man kneeling on a raft.
From above, He-Man, a helmeted man and a masked man stand on a raft with a white sheet.
A helmeted man squeezes his eyes shut and yells.
Slush Head sleeps, head tilted, as Flogg watches him with a scowl.
Slush Head winces behind his helmet glass.
A masked man on hands and knees looks up beneath two pale boots.
He-Man raises his hands between two green-skinned mutants aiming blasters.
Slush Head sleeps with his mouth open inside his helmet.
Flogg glares in his seat as Slush Head sleeps in front.
A small yellow raft floats near a dark hillside with a huge fin at right.
Skeletor, Flogg and Slush Head stand in a row in the swamp.
Skeletor grins widely, red eyes glowing.
He-Man shouts as boots swing across the frame in front of him.
He-Man holds his sword across his chest and smirks.
A pink and green ship tilts through space with curved claws.
A white ship with red engines flies through the starfield.
Slush Head points a thumb, scowling in profile.
He-Man stands calmly with a sword on his back, face turned to the camera.
Skeletor laughs, mouth wide, red eyes glowing.
A large spiny creature ship shines two bright lights.
He-Man leans over a seat as a red-haired man and a pilot cringe.
Skeletor grins behind a worried He-Man.
Slush Head lies on the water with one arm raised as a wave splashes.

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