Hordak's Power Play

Hordak spots an alien ship from the planet Argon, whose power cells are the greatest source of energy in the galaxy, and has it shot down so he can use its cell to put an unbreakable force dome over the Fright Zone. It lands near the village of Flax, where Adora and Bow, alerted by Dr. Blankford, go looking. Adora, as She-Ra, finds the pilot, Larg, who has had the ship taken to a barn and is forcing the villagers to repair it. He is told that on this planet people are not ordered around. Hordak arrives with robots and tanks, and sleep rays put She-Ra down while he takes the ship. Larg's sensotron then warns that the power cell is not working right and could explode and destroy all of Etheria. He, She-Ra and Bow get past Catra's patrol, but Hordak switches on the cell and the force field traps him, Shadow Weaver, She-Ra and Larg. She-Ra breaks through as the cell overloads, leaving Hordak in a shrinking field. Larg vows never to force people again, and Loo-Kee closes with a talk on respect.

Loo-Kee: "Hi everybody, it's your friend Loo-Kee again. Did you find where I was hiding today? If not, here's another chance. See me? Here I am. In today's story, Larg mistreated the villagers because they were different from him. He was wrong. No one likes to be treated badly. Always remember that other people want to receive the same respect and understanding that you do. Bye now, see you next time."

Larg: "I had no choice. I had to make the villagers work for me, fast."

Larg: "The explosion could destroy all of Etheria."

Hordak: "Oh, I'm trapped by my own force field."

Larg: "I'll never try to force people to do what I want again. If I need help, I'll ask for it."

Hordak and Larg both try to solve a problem by pushing other people around, and the script lets each of them get pushed back. Hordak wants a force dome over the Fright Zone, so he shoots a spaceship out of the sky for its power cell. Larg, the pilot of that ship, wants it repaired, so he bullies a village into working. Only one of them is a villain. The other is a scared stranger.

The set-up is tidy. Hordak's robot leader reports a ship from the planet Argon, and the scene lays out the reasoning: Argonian power cells are "the greatest source of energy in the galaxy," his new machine can use one, and the result would be "an unbreakable force dome over the Fright Zone." Then comes the line that matters most: "And not even She-Ra could break through." The plan is built around her, and it is the plan that catches him.

Larg gets the better introduction. We hear about him before we see him. The villagers hammer out parts under a deadline and recite his dimensions: "Larg is eight feet tall. Larg's 300 pounds. Larg's big. Larg's tough." When She-Ra finds him, he asks if she is a Horde officer and sets her a test: "If you can carry this, you can help me." She takes it on: "No problem. But I think you need it more than I do." He turns out to be gruff but reasonable, and when he is told, "on this planet, we don't order people around, no matter how big we are," he answers, "I had no choice." The dialogue gives him a motive without excusing him.

The midsection is a standard brawl. Robots fire sleep rays, Bow ties some of them up with a bola arrow, and tanks roll in. She-Ra handles the tanks and even a pair named Pitbull and Crusher. Then the sleep rays catch her, and Hordak takes the ship. The loss of the ship and its failing cell is what sends the heroes into the Fright Zone.

The standout is the finale. Hordak has been told that the cell looks wrong and may not be controllable, and he answers, "Who asked you to think?" He is soon daydreaming about a new title from Horde Prime: "Hordak the Invincible. Hordak the Fearless." A voice breaks in: "How about Hordak the Humble?" Then the cell overloads, the controls melt, and his own field refuses to let him transport out. He says, "Oh, I'm trapped by my own force field." Hordak blames Shadow Weaver: "This is your worst idea yet, Shadow Weaver!" Her reply is "My idea?" It is a good joke, and it shows the bully undone by his own tool.

The weakness is the secret Larg keeps. His sensotron tells him the power cell could explode within hours and destroy "all of Etheria." He says he should have asked for help, "but I was afraid of starting a panic." The excuse is thin. A planet-ending danger goes unmentioned while he drives the villagers harder, and it conveniently turns up right after Hordak has the cell. The urgency is a plot device and lets Larg's bullying look like haste instead of a choice.

That also blurs the Loo-Kee talk. It says Larg "mistreated the villagers because they were different from him," but nothing in the story shows prejudice. What we see is fear and hurry. Larg's farewell is closer to the truth: "I'll never try to force people to do what I want again. If I need help, I'll ask for it." The snack baskets that follow, dinner and dessert, are a kind final touch for a hungry alien. It is a brisk, funny episode with a clear idea, though the closing talk draws a different lesson from the one the story earned.

1. Continuity: Hordak says he wants the ship's power cell for his new machine, a force dome over the Fright Zone, and later says Horde Prime will be pleased and might give him a new name.
2. Continuity: Catra commands the Fright Zone patrol and uses a radio communicator; she is also the one who takes Larg's sensotron from him.
3. Note: Larg says a single pill is "a whole dinner," and the closing scene sends him home with two baskets, dinner and dessert.
4. Production: Written by Brooks Wachtel and Tom Bagen and directed by Bill Nunes; first aired 14 November 1987.