She-Ra Makes a Promise

At a victory feast, Madam Razz offers cream of bug broth, and when golden spuffles are suggested instead, the twiggit Sprocker secretly sets out for the Singing River to pick some for Adora. Hordak, meanwhile, rages at Mantenna and wonders how to catch She-Ra. When Sprocker is missing at dinner, Spritina tells Adora where he went. Swept toward the Fright Zone, he is caught by Octavia, and Hordak uses him as bait: if She-Ra comes unarmed and alone, Sprocker goes free. Adora becomes She-Ra and rides Swift Wind to the Fright Zone. She-Ra gives herself up and promises never to escape, in return for Sprocker's release and Hordak's vow to leave her friends alone. Bow and Madam Razz try a rescue and are trapped. Bound by her word, She-Ra calls on her brother, Adam becomes He-Man, and when Hordak boasts that promises are made to be broken, she counts herself released. She-Ra and He-Man chase Hordak's command ship toward Beast Island, He-Man takes on the robot fighters, and Hordak retreats. Loo-Kee closes with a reminder to tell parents where you are going.

Loo-Kee: "Hi everybody! I'm Loo-Kee. Did you find me in today's show? If you didn't, try now. Find me yet? I'm right here! In today's story, Sprocker went off on his own to look for Spuffles. It's a good thing he told Spritina where he was going, or She-Ra might not have found him. Remember to always let your parents know where you're going, even if it's only to visit a neighborhood friend. Then they won't worry. And you'll be a lot safer if you do."

Sprocker: "Hunting spuffles isn't easy, but I'd do anything for Adora."

Hordak: "A twiggit! I want She-Ra and you bring me a twiggit!"

She-Ra: "It's no use. A promise is a promise, no matter to whom you've made it."

Hordak: "Oh, have you forgotten that old Horde saying? 'Promises are made to be broken'?"

Honesty is a handicap against an opponent who has none, and this episode is willing to leave its hero in that bind. The setup is small. Madam Razz offers cream of bug broth for the victory feast, golden spuffles are suggested instead, and the twiggit Sprocker decides to fetch some from the Singing River as a surprise. Kowl warns him off the Fright Zone. Sprocker answers, "Don't worry. The Horde won't get me."

The writing keeps the plot honest to its moral. Sprocker tells only Spritina, and she is torn between his secret and his safety. Adora draws it out of her gently, guessing first ("He's somewhere he's not supposed to be, isn't he?"), then saying she understands, and then explaining that if Sprocker may be in danger, "you must tell us everything, even if he asked you not to." It is a small scene and a good one. Meanwhile Sprocker has his own motive, stated plainly as he reaches for a spuffle: "Hunting spuffles isn't easy, but I'd do anything for Adora."

Hordak supplies the trap. Octavia plans to collect "a nice fat reward," and when Sprocker is brought before Hordak he is unimpressed: "A twiggit! I want She-Ra and you bring me a twiggit!" Then he sees the use of him. A message goes out, She-Ra is to come unarmed and alone, and the terms at the throne are worse than advertised. She must submit to custody, promise never to escape, and follow orders without question. She asks only that her friends in Whispering Woods be left alone, and Hordak gives his "solemn promise."

The best scene is the cell. She-Ra stands in front of a wall she could cut through, and she will not. "It's no use. A promise is a promise, no matter to whom you've made it." Two sentences carry the theme, and the show lets them sit. Then comes a neat turn. She promised not to escape, so she does not escape; she concentrates instead on her brother, "I need help," and a star catches her brother's eye. The loophole is in her own wording, and she never has to break her word to use it.

Hordak then breaks his. "Oh, have you forgotten that old Horde saying? 'Promises are made to be broken'?" The reply is the payoff: "By breaking his promise, he's released me from mine." The weakness is that the knot is not hers to untie. Hordak cannot resist a taunt, and his own speech cancels the rule she has spent a scene honouring. She never works out a way around the problem. The villain hands it over, and the rescue party (Bow and Madam Razz) is trapped almost as soon as Hordak says he will handle the fools himself.

What is left is a brisk chase. He-Man and She-Ra go after Hordak's command ship on the way to Beast Island, He-Man drops in on the robot fighters, and Hordak retreats. It is a tidy fable. Loo-Kee's closing tag, about telling your parents where you are going, is already proved by the plot, since Spritina's confession is what sends the rescuers out. As a story about keeping your word it is sturdier than most of the show's lessons, and it gives She-Ra a villain who bargains only to break the bargain.

1. Continuity: Hordak makes his bargain with She-Ra in the Fright Zone: Sprocker goes free only if she gives herself up, promises never to escape and follows orders; in return she asks for, and is given, his word that her friends in Whispering Woods will be left alone.
2. Continuity: Mantenna is shouted at for failing Hordak, who calls him an "armor-plated pop-eye" and orders him out of his sight.
3. Continuity: Prince Adam changes into He-Man after seeing a star that seems to be trying to tell him something, and works out it is She-Ra: "My sister needs help."
4. Note: Hordak's saying, "Promises are made to be broken," frees She-Ra from her own pledge, and the Horde's planned attack on Whispering Woods the next day is announced in the same scene.
5. Production: Denis Higgins wrote the episode and Tom Sito directed it; it first aired on 1987-10-03.