NEW ADVENTURES - 1990

The Siege of Serus

The Siege of Serus title card
E32

Official Synopsis

He-Man swings his glowing blue sword at a rocky creature in the dark.

An asteroid storm batters the shield, and one rock gets through and heads for Levitan. Blasts do nothing and He-Man's sword cannot slow it; the Sorceress tells him to use its own power against it, and it is stopped. Then the asteroid cracks the casing around the undersea city of Serus, where Hydron's sister Aquata lives. Gepple's goo seals the crack for a time, but the scientists find the rock is alive: Keto and his kind demand the planet's energy. He-Man goes alone to the wreck on the ocean floor and offers his sword instead. Keto explains it was a test of his response, and Sagitar is last seen on his third dessert.

Morals by closing safety lesson, paraphrased from the episode audio

The closing lesson is about food: eating well is one of the best things in life, but be careful how much, and do not overdo it.

heman.org Episode Review

Where does a hero's power really come from? "The Siege of Serus" asks the question twice in one episode, once with an asteroid over Levitan that shrugs off He-Man's sword, and again with a living rock on the ocean floor that does the same, and both times the way through has little to do with strength.

The opening is a quiet piece of escalation. A patrol picks up blips heading straight for Primus, Hydron orders everyone to fall back from the hole in case it is the Mutants, and the storm is called a magnitude 8.5. A scientist remarks that it is almost a shame a few of the asteroids do not make it through, since think of the knowledge to be gained by studying them, and a moment later one does. It is a neat bit of be-careful-what-you-wish-for, and it marks the scientists as the curious ones whose excitement will cost something.

The chase to Levitan follows. Shots at the falling rock do nothing, the cities are put on alert, and when He-Man tries his sword it does not even slow the asteroid down. The Sorceress tells him not to fight its power but to let it fall and use its own power against it, and the rock is stopped. In plain words, that is the shape of the episode: the problem is not beaten by hitting harder, and the hero has to find another way twice over. The scientists' delight at the asteroid's strange molecular structure is the cue for trouble, because the rock has already hit the casing around the underwater city of Serus.

The Serus scenes are the warmest part. Hydron's sister Aquata calls for help, and Hydron answers that this is what big brothers are for; he says he is the only one of their family who left Serus for the surface, and wishes now that he had not. The crack is too large for laser sealers and the city is flooding, and Gepple's goo seals it just long enough for the scientists to take over. Afterwards Hydron says all he did was provide the transportation, and his sister's answer is that he liked giving others the credit.

Then comes the turn. The orb is revealed as a living creature, Keto, who says his people are asteroids that adapted to space travel, and a scientist exclaims that this is the greatest discovery in history, just before Keto declares that their power source has failed and that they will take the energy of the planet if refused. The wiki notes this is the first episode of the series to feature neither Skeletor nor any of the Mutants, and the absence lets the story stand on its own argument.

He-Man goes alone to the wrecked ocean lab, telling Hydron to destroy it if he fails. He and Keto fight, the sword has no effect, and he offers it to Keto as a source of power in place of the planet's energy, saying his friends matter more to him than his enemies. Keto's people turn out to be explorers who judge other life by whether it is a threat, and the demand for energy was a way to see how he would respond; his willingness to sacrifice impresses them, and they admit that compassion is a quality they lack.

The weakness is that reveal. After flooding and a drained generator, the threat is withdrawn in a few lines, and what felt like a siege becomes an examination the hero was passing all along. A short slot and a lesson that needed delivering probably explain it, but the stakes suffer.

Verdict: a thoughtful, gently odd stand-alone that is strongest for its idea, that power shows itself in what you are willing to give up. The closing dessert gag, with its tip not to overdo good food, is a light afterthought.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: The He-Man wiki says this is the first episode of the series to feature neither Skeletor nor any of the Evil Mutants.
  2. Edit history: According to the wiki's errors list, Krex has two lines, but the first is in Gepple's voice and the second in Meldoc's.
  3. Continuity: The He-Man wiki and Wikipedia summaries say the episode introduces Hydron's sister Aquata and the undersea city of Serus.
  4. Continuity: Wikipedia's summary names the living asteroid behind the trouble as Keto, who plans to drain Primus of its energy.
  5. Voice cast: Don Brown voices Hydron and Gepple, per the He-Man wiki cast list.
  6. Voice cast: Doug Parker voices Adam and Meldoc here, according to the wiki cast list.
  7. Voice cast: The wiki cast list credits Ted Cole and Alvin Sanders as "Various" for this episode.

Cast Appearances

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He-Man
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He-Man
The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull
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The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull

Episode screenshots

A white spaceship with a red nose flies through a starfield beside a dark void.
A white spaceship with a red nose flies through a starfield beside a dark void.
Rocky asteroids tumble past a blue planet as sparks of electricity crackle on its edge.
Rocky asteroids tumble past a blue planet as sparks of electricity crackle on its edge.
A white robot with a clear dome head and a spiky-haired elder lean over a console.
A white robot with a clear dome head and a spiky-haired elder lean over a console.
A bald man, an elder with a topknot and a man in a red cap stand together.
A bald man, an elder with a topknot and a man in a red cap stand together.
A robot, a spiky-haired elder, a woman and a man in a red cap cross a shiny floor.
A robot, a spiky-haired elder, a woman and a man in a red cap cross a shiny floor.
Two asteroids drift in front of a blue planet as a ball of blue lightning flickers.
Two asteroids drift in front of a blue planet as a ball of blue lightning flickers.
A white spaceship with a blue and red nose flies above the ocean of a blue planet.
A white spaceship with a blue and red nose flies above the ocean of a blue planet.
A small blue and white craft flies through a pale blue sky.
A small blue and white craft flies through a pale blue sky.
A white spaceship with missile pods slices through streaks of cloud.
A green gloved hand points at a window of glowing orange panes.
A single rocky asteroid falls through a field of white clouds.
A large blue-grey disc-shaped station hangs in the sky on a spiked stem.
Two orange cannons with red tips point upward against a pale blue sky.
A bald man with a staff and a blond man with a red headband look on with worry.
A bald man with a staff and a blond man with a red headband look on with worry.
A blond man in a grey tunic raises a sword overhead with both hands against a dark sky.
A blond man in a grey tunic raises a sword overhead with both hands against a dark sky.
A glowing yellow figure with huge shoulders lights up the frame.
A glowing yellow figure with huge shoulders lights up the frame.
He-Man rides a spiked white skyship through the sky.
He-Man rides a spiked white skyship through the sky.
A burst of white light fills the frame with streaks of blue.
A raised arm with a dark wristband holds a glowing sword hilt against blue sky streaks.
He-Man grips the Power Sword at the controls of his skyship.
He-Man scowls, eyes fixed ahead against a streaked blue sky.
He-Man stands on the wing of his skyship and holds his sword overhead with both hands.
A glittering trail curves around an asteroid beside a dark domed city wall.
White foam streaks across blue ocean water.
Elders in red and white gather before a window showing an ocean whirlpool, a small robot beside them.
Four elders stand together, one in a tall red cap with arms crossed.
Elders and a small robot stand before a window showing a whirlpool.
A woman in a purple robe stands by a whirlpool window as a small yellow robot rolls past.
A man in a red cape and red pointed cap smiles as he walks down a pale corridor.
A man in a tall red cap raises a pink-gloved hand with his mouth open in alarm.
A man in a red cap holding a pink handheld device stands before three elders.
Master Sebrian smiles from a small viewscreen.
A man in a red cap holds a pink handheld as three elders crowd behind him.
He-Man and a red-haired man in green sit at the controls of a grey cockpit.
Aquata speaks from a screen as Captain Hydron watches in the foreground.
Small pink fish swim past long green seaweed in deep blue water.
Aquata sits in a pink craft, seen from behind, looking out through the clear canopy.
Two mechanical arms spark where they meet in a bright flash beside a tall white tower underwater.
Captain Hydron presses a button beside a blank yellow screen.
A small white craft drifts in the deep blue sea.
A white submersible glides through shafts of light in the sea among dark fish.
A spiky-haired elder and a man in a red cap sit in dark pilot seats.
White towers and domes stand on a green headland above the sea.
Spray and bubbles drift across a pale blue curved wall of water.
A pink submersible and a gold craft speed through the blue water.
Aquata looks out of her pink craft as it speeds through the water.
A curved sheet of blue water fills the frame with a few white wisps.
A pink submersible speeds through the water, trailing white streaks.
Aquata winces and grips her seat as her pink craft lurches.
Two small crafts speed across the water in a spray of white streaks.
A white craft with pink exhaust streaks through a pale cloud of mist.
Captain Hydron smiles in the foreground as a spiky-haired elder gives a thumbs up behind him.
A white jet-like craft banks through blue water leaving a trail of foam.
A spiky-haired elder with round glasses and a man in a red cap grin at each other.
He-Man, Captain Hydron, Aquata and elders gather around a low table with a robot in a round room.
Captain Hydron smiles as He-Man leans in beside him.
Workers in orange suits kneel on a brown slope beside a crack where lightning flickers.
He-Man raises an arm to shade his eyes as Captain Hydron stands with hands on hips.
Elders and a woman gather around a table holding an open case with a screen.
He-Man and Captain Hydron look down at a hand-held device.
He-Man rests a hand on his chin as he and Captain Hydron study the device.
Tall white towers and a domed building stand beneath a curved sheet of water crackling with light.
Aquata, He-Man and Captain Hydron look worried as they listen.
Aquata taps her chin in thought as He-Man and Captain Hydron stand behind her.
A spiky-haired elder reads a paper at a desk beside a man in a red cap.
A man in a red cap grins as a spiky-haired elder squints at a printout through his glasses.
He-Man and Captain Hydron stand before a screen of scrolling yellow lines, looking to the side.
A group watches a screen where a rocky face with glowing blue eyes appears.
A spiky-haired elder reaches a hand toward a screen filled by a rocky face with blue eyes.
A rocky face with pitted skin and glowing blue eyes stares from a monitor.
Aquata, Captain Hydron and He-Man stand side by side, looking stern.
He-Man holds up a small orb and looks to the side with a frown.
Elders and a man in a red cap gasp as they look up, in a darkened room.
Aquata, Captain Hydron and He-Man stand small in a dim room beneath a dark ceiling.
Aquata, Captain Hydron and He-Man look on with tense faces in shadow.
A rusted undersea base sits on a rocky ledge with bubbles rising.
A grey undersea base with two towers sits on a rock shelf.
A glowing blue wireframe map of the seabed shows on a screen as a green-gloved hand reaches in.
A pale crystal slab is held by clumsy brown hands underwater.
The undersea base on its rocky ledge, with a pink tool reaching from its roof.
Captain Hydron frowns in close view, his blue eyes narrowed.
He-Man in a white and blue helmet stares ahead in a dark corridor.
He-Man in a helmet grips the Power Sword and reaches forward in the dark.
He-Man in a white helmet looks up with his mouth open in alarm.
Blue water splashes in a jagged white burst against dark wreckage.
The undersea base sits on a rocky ledge as a stream of bubbles rises from it.
He-Man, seen from behind in a helmet, reaches an arm up into the darkness.
A swirl of blue water crosses white spray beneath dark machinery.
He-Man in a helmet grimaces as he braces against falling debris.
He-Man in a helmet speaks with a tight smile in the dark.
He-Man's sword strikes a bright white starburst of light.
He-Man grips his glowing sword in the dark with a wary look.
He-Man stands with his glowing sword amid shards of broken metal.
He-Man in a helmet stares with a worried face.
A rocky face looms over rubble with two glowing blue eyes at the top edge.
He-Man in a helmet stands with his sword lowered in a dark blue chamber.
A glow of yellow light rises over white-capped waves under a pale blue sky.
A bald man in red, a blond man and others sit at a table as a robot arrives.

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