SHE-RA - 1985

Swifty's Baby

Swifty's Baby title card
S02E28

Official Synopsis

Swifty's Baby synopsis still

While out riding, She-Ra and Swift Wind stop a Horde patrol led by Catra from seizing a Bibbet village. Swift Wind then introduces his mate, Star Wind, on Unicorn Island and says a baby is on the way. Hordak overhears, and a plan is made to take Star to Beast Island, where a force-field cell will trap She-Ra. Mantenna captures Star while Swift Wind is knocked from the sky, and he warns that a foal born anywhere but Unicorn Island will be a normal horse. She-Ra and the unicorn king follow, She-Ra gets Hordak to explain his trap, and Hordak and Mantenna end up caught in their own beam. The sea floods the dungeon, so She-Ra and the king use chains to move two moons and hold back the tide. Afterward the foal is born, and She-Ra and her friends call on the sword's power to make him a unicorn. Loo-Kee closes with a word about the wonder of a baby.

Morals by Spoken by Loo-Kee at the episode's close, original Filmation broadcast

Loo-Kee: "Hi, it's Loo-Kee again. Did you find where I was hiding today? No? Well, I'll give you another chance. Look carefully! I'm over here. Today's story was about the most wonderful thing in the world: the birth of a baby. And why is it so wonderful? Well, it's because in every child who is born, no matter who his parents are, the hope for all things good and beautiful is born again. Bye now. See you next time."

Memorable Quotes

Swift Wind: "Indeed I am, She-Ra. Indeed I am."

Hordak: "Besides, I hate babies."

Catra: "One of these days, She-Ra, meow, I'll get you!"

She-Ra: "Teamwork, Your Majesty. Teamwork."

heman.org Episode Review

Swifty's Baby is built around a single condition, which is that a foal born anywhere but Unicorn Island will be "just a normal horse, and not a unicorn." Everything else in the plot, from Hordak's trap to the fight against the tide, is there to push that deadline against a ticking clock.

The first act sets the mood well. Swift Wind is in a hurry and will not say why. "Indeed I am, She-Ra. Indeed I am." She-Ra wheedles a hint out of him, and he gives her one: it is tiny, but it is the biggest thing that ever happened to him. The tease is gentle and the stakes are warm, which makes the Horde look worse when Hordak first hears about the baby. His first reaction is a sneer. "Besides, I hate babies." The plan to use Star Wind as bait comes from someone else in the room, and Hordak only agrees once it is dressed up as a way to catch She-Ra.

The character work is solid where it counts. Swift Wind spends most of the episode frightened, hurt and stubborn, and the writing lets him be all three. He is knocked from the sky, comes round on a shore, and sets out to swim under the force field even though a voice warns him that a unicorn "can't swim under water." Star Wind has less to say, but her fear in the cell lands because the episode keeps her condition in view. Catra gets the funniest early exchange, snarling "One of these days, She-Ra, meow, I'll get you!" and then ending up soaked and in tears.

The standout scene is the one about the lever. Hordak is so pleased with his trap that he explains it to She-Ra when she asks how he caught her so easily. His answer is the giveaway: "I just waited until you were in the right spot and threw the lever on the control unit." She-Ra checks that this is all there is to it, and a moment later Hordak and Mantenna are the ones standing in a beam of light. "Swift Wind. Good work." Then the sea comes pouring in through the tunnel She-Ra dug. The fix is a nice piece of scale, since She-Ra and the unicorn king drag two moons with chains, and when the king asks how they can control two moons at once, she answers, "Teamwork, Your Majesty. Teamwork."

The weakness is the ending. Everyone has been told the baby will not be a unicorn if it is born elsewhere, and the answer is that She-Ra and her friends call on Grayskull and wish it so. The new foal appears with wings and nuzzles her. It is sweet, but it undoes the tension the episode built, and the magic arrives with no warning that it could. Catra's thread also disappears. she is left locked in a freezlin cell as punishment for her failure with the Bibbets, and we never see her released.

Still, the pieces fit. The Horde plans are silly in the usual way, the rescue is clear, and the Loo-Kee talk about a baby suits the quiet joy that frames the story. It is a minor Season 2 entry with a clear heart, and a good one for Swift Wind.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: Swift Wind introduces Star Wind as "my mate," and Star Wind tells She-Ra "we're going to have a baby"; the baby must be born on Unicorn Island to be a unicorn.
  2. Continuity: Catra leads the Horde troopers against the Bibbets at the start, and she is later left locked in a cell as punishment for failing to capture that Bibbet village.
  3. Continuity: Mantenna is ordered to prepare the Sea Fright and later takes Star Wind, and She-Ra concludes he has taken her to Beast Island, where the baby is not meant to be born.
  4. Production: Directed by Ed Friedman, and first aired on 1987-12-12; the stub lists no writer.
  5. Note: She-Ra uses her sword as a grappling hook ("Sword to grappling hook") to pull one of the moons with the unicorn king.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
She-Ra
Good

She-Ra
Swift Wind
Good

Swift Wind
Catra
Evil

Catra
Hordak
Evil

Hordak
Mantenna
Evil

Mantenna
Shadow Weaver
Evil

Shadow Weaver
Imp
Evil

Imp
Loo-Kee
Good

Loo-Kee

Episode screenshots

Swift Wind flies through the clouds with She-Ra on his back.
Swift Wind flies through the clouds with She-Ra on his back.
She-Ra rides Swift Wind through the sky, gripping his mane.
She-Ra rides Swift Wind through the sky, gripping his mane.
She-Ra looks down, startled, as Swift Wind glides with wings spread.
She-Ra looks down, startled, as Swift Wind glides with wings spread.
A tiny Bibbet crouches among dark berry bushes in a blue forest.
A tiny Bibbet crouches among dark berry bushes in a blue forest.
A Bibbet in a red hat tells a story to seated Bibbets as another holds a staff.
A Bibbet in a red hat tells a story to seated Bibbets as another holds a staff.
A Bibbet draws water from a stone well while another watches.
Catra stands with hands on hips in a Horde vehicle beside a trooper.
Catra stands with hands on hips in a Horde vehicle beside a trooper.
Catra stands with hands on hips beside a mossy tree, a blue creature above.
Two Bibbets run along a forest path.
Two Horde troopers aim their rifles forward.
Two Horde troopers aim their rifles forward.
Catra shouts beside a blue imp perched on a Horde vehicle.
She-Ra stands with a hand at her waist in a forest clearing.
A Horde trooper fires a beam beside a Horde troop carrier, Catra behind.
Catra gestures with open hands as a blue imp hovers beside her.
She-Ra stands at the left edge facing Catra beside two Horde troop carriers.
Catra stands in a Horde vehicle as a blue energy ball flashes beside her.
Catra stands with arms out at the mouth of a rocky cave.
She-Ra steps up beside a stone well, calling out.
Catra in panther form lies soaked in a puddle, tears streaming down.
Catra rides in a Horde troop carrier behind a trooper.
She-Ra and Swift Wind walk across a pink clearing ringed with dark tendrils.
She-Ra smiles at Swift Wind, who looks off to the side.
Swift Wind looks to the side against dark foliage.
An imp sits on a tree branch with a finger to his chin.
An imp sits on a tree branch with a finger to his chin.
A blue bird spreads its wings and perches on a dark branch.
A blue bird spreads its wings and perches on a dark branch.
Waves roll across an empty blue sea under cloudy skies.
A blue bird flies through the cloudy sky.
The Horde fortress glows in a dark wasteland as a white beam flashes.
Swift Wind looks down with a red desert landscape behind him.
She-Ra hugs Swift Wind's head in a rocky desert.
She-Ra talks with Star Wind, a pink unicorn with small wings, in a clearing.
Star Wind, a pink unicorn with a pale mane, looks ahead beneath dark palm trees.
She-Ra smiles warmly beside dark palm branches.
An imp peers out from behind dangling blue foliage in a tree.
Dangling blue-black fronds fill the frame.
Mantenna, Catra and Shadow Weaver stand together in the Horde fortress.
Hordak scowls with his mouth open, his collar of bones framing his face.
Hordak scowls with his mouth open, his collar of bones framing his face.
Shadow Weaver stands before a wall of Horde machinery, one yellow eye showing.
Shadow Weaver stands before a wall of Horde machinery, one yellow eye showing.
Shadow Weaver turns her hooded face away in a red stone hall.
Catra speaks with Mantenna beside her in the Horde fortress.
Mantenna works a control console in the Horde fortress.
Mantenna works a control console in the Horde fortress.
A bright blue light beam flashes between dark pipes.
Hordak and Mantenna stand side by side, Mantenna wide-eyed.
Hordak speaks, glaring ahead in his bone collar.
Hordak looks on with Shadow Weaver's hood in the foreground.
Hordak stands with Shadow Weaver beside him, red eyes narrowed.
Swift Wind and Star Wind stand together beside dark palm trees.
She-Ra naps in a bed of flowers with her arms behind her head.
Mantenna fits a metal device over his head while Hordak sits on a throne.
Mantenna points at a viewscreen showing two flying unicorns as Hordak watches.
Hordak leans forward with a wide-mouthed grin.
Mantenna flinches with wide yellow eyes and bared teeth.
Swift Wind flies with wings outstretched, looking ahead.
A butterfly flutters over a large white flower on a flowery hillside.
She-Ra sleeps among the flowers, eyes closed.
Swift Wind's tail flicks at the lower left as streaks cross the sky.
Swift Wind glances down with a worried look as he flies.
Swift Wind lowers his head, looking up from beneath his brow.
Swift Wind's horn and mane rise from the bottom edge of the cloudy sky.
A red energy burst holding a unicorn's outline is gripped by mechanical claws.
She-Ra stands at the left edge beside a dark spindly tree.
Swift Wind lies wounded on a desert shore beside blue water, wings spread.
She-Ra looks ahead with concern in front of dark palm trees.
She-Ra closes her eyes, her face tense with worry.
Swift Wind raises his head, looking weak, his wings folded behind him.
She-Ra's golden hair sweeps along the bottom of a cloudy sky.
Swift Wind looks down and to the side, his mouth slightly open.
Swift Wind speaks, head lowered, with his tongue showing.
Swift Wind meets a herd of unicorns in a rocky cave.
She-Ra and Swift Wind stand among the unicorn herd under palm trees.
Mantenna stands before two Horde control consoles with his hands on his knees.
Hordak grins with his mouth open, his armor lit by green light.
Star Wind stands trapped behind a pale blue force field.
She-Ra rides Swift Wind, his wings sweeping up on both sides.
She-Ra looks ahead with a determined expression.
A viewscreen shows a flock of winged unicorns in flight.
Hordak watches with a snarling grin in the Horde control room.
A flash of white light bursts over a skeletal island rising from the sea.
Swift Wind looks off to the side with his mouth open, alarmed.
She-Ra leans forward on Swift Wind's back, looking ahead.
A glowing underwater seabed stretches past coral and rocky spires.
Three Horde control consoles stand in a row in a green cave.
Star Wind hangs her head inside a pale beam of light.
She-Ra looks ahead, lips parted in surprise.
Mantenna and Hordak stand beside the Horde consoles in the cave.
Hordak stares ahead with a smug look.
She-Ra stands trapped inside a beam of light beside a Horde console.
A pink shape intrudes at the lower right of the cloudy sky.
Bubbles rise through dark blue underwater currents.
Hordak watches She-Ra, who raises a hand inside a beam of light.
Hordak and Mantenna stand together in the cave, looking pleased.
Swift Wind stands in the cave before the Horde consoles, horn lowered.
Hordak talks with a sneer as Mantenna's ear shows at the right edge.
Hordak and Mantenna stand trapped inside a pale beam of light.
She-Ra stands in the cave with one hand out beside a Horde console.
Swift Wind leans over Star Wind, who lies on the cave floor.
Swift Wind lifts his head and looks off to the side, wings folded.
She-Ra faces Swift Wind and Star Wind, who lies resting on the floor.
She-Ra rides the unicorn king through starry space, looking ahead.
A tall splash of blue water bursts up from a flooded floor.
Star Wind lies on the floor, looking up as Swift Wind stands beside her.
She-Ra rides the unicorn king past a streak of stars.
Winged unicorns fly through space, pulling on chains.
She-Ra rides the unicorn king, who bares his teeth with effort.
She-Ra leans low over the unicorn king as they speed through space.
Dark blue floodwater ripples across the cave floor.
Hordak glares with his mouth open, Mantenna beside him at the right edge.
A golden winged ornament glows with a bright flash at its center.
She-Ra raises the Sword of Protection high while riding the unicorn king.
She-Ra stands with hands on hips beside Swift Wind among dark palm trees.
Swift Wind smiles gently, looking down at something off screen.
She-Ra smiles softly in front of twisted blue branches.
She-Ra holds the sword aloft beside Swift Wind, her face set with determination.
Star Wind smiles on a desert hillside.
A tiny winged foal nuzzles She-Ra as it flutters beside her.

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