The Inspector

On Eternia, He-Man is testing Man-At-Arms's new electric force shield against explosions and freeze rays when the Sorceress summons him to Castle Grayskull. Through her mirror, Adora and Madame Razz tell him that a stranger outside Whispering Woods led the rebels into a Horde ambush. Adora lost her sword, and the others were frozen and locked in the Fright Zone dungeons. He-Man agrees to come. Meanwhile Horde Prime tells Hordak that Inspector Darkney is on his way to find out why a few paltry rebels have not been beaten. Darkney ends up tangled in his parachute and tied up, and Adam takes his place in a false beard. Hordak shows Adam and Adora around the Fright Zone, and they trick him into a dungeon cell. Adam finds the sword, Adora becomes She-Ra, and Adam marches the freed rebels out the front gate. Hordak escapes and gives chase, but He-Man and She-Ra bring down a boulder to block the road. Madame Razz sends the real Darkney back to the Fright Zone, where Hordak is scolded, and Loo-Kee closes with a talk about counting on family.

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! In today's story, She-Ra and her brother He-Man both had tough jobs to do. But because of their love, they knew they could count on each other for help. It's great to have someone to turn to when you need help, because that's what love and families are all about."

Hordak: "If anything happens to these prisoners before Darkney gets here, I'm finished!"

Prince Adam: "Hmm, squeaky doors. Not good, not good. Make a note of that."

Hordak: "I've tried so hard to be bad."

He-Man: "That's what I call teamwork, sis."

Hordak is at his funniest when somebody is checking his work. Most of The Inspector is a performance review that goes wrong, and the episode knows it. The Horde Prime audit is the real engine, and the rescue plot just supplies the room.

The setup is lean. On Eternia, Man-At-Arms is testing his "new electric force shield" against explosions and freeze rays when the Sorceress calls He-Man to Castle Grayskull. Adora and Madame Razz tell him what happened. A stranger met them outside Whispering Woods with a story about villagers sent to the Horde mines. It was a trap. Adora was hit with a stun ray before she could change, Spirit carried her off, and the others were frozen and taken to the Fright Zone. The sword was lost too. The shield does not stay a throwaway gag. Within minutes He-Man is saying that it will protect them against freeze rays.

Hordak gets the best of the character work. Hordak has just thanked Spyster for the captives and is enjoying himself. Then Horde Prime shows up on the Astro-com to announce that Inspector Darkney is coming to look into why a few paltry rebels have not been beaten. Hordak cannot hide his fear. He orders a triple guard and says, "If anything happens to these prisoners before Darkney gets here, I'm finished!" Catra and Spyster stay in the background while Hordak carries the episode.

The standout is the tour of the Fright Zone. Prince Adam, in the Inspector's hood and false beard, walks through the doors and says, "Hmm, squeaky doors. Not good, not good. Make a note of that." Hordak answers, "Yeah, I've been meaning to fix those doors." The scene keeps the jokes small. A drill ends with troopers in a pile. Hordak looks at his only catch and says, "I've tried so hard to be bad." Then comes the cell. He insists that no one can break out, and Adam says, "Lock the door." Hordak puts himself behind the bars and shows off the "pure creetorium". Adora speaks up, and he realizes he has been tricked. His pride builds the trap, and the script lets him sit inside it.

The weakness is the rescue itself. Bow and the other captives are the reason for the mission, yet Bow and Netossa barely speak. They are frozen for the first half, and they get a short argument about staying to fight before being sent off to the Whispering Woods. Darkney also needs help from the plot. He is a pompous man who is happy to watch a battle, then he lands in a parachute and ends up tied up with rope. The gate scene also spots a flaw in the disguise. A voice in the dungeon corridor notes that "Hordak isn't with them", and Hordak is soon heard shouting from his cell.

The finale is brisk. Adam turns into He-Man, and the twins use "Sword to pole" and then "Sword to discus" against the chasing Horde vehicles. The boulder that blocks the road gets He-Man's line, "That's what I call teamwork, sis." The closing gag sends Darkney back to the Fright Zone, where Spyster calls him a rebel spy in disguise. Darkney shouts at Hordak, and Hordak ends with a wail about everything happening to him.

As a season two story, it is a light, tidy team-up. It gives He-Man a real job and lets Adora lead. It also gets a family message from the way the twins count on each other. It is light, quick and funny. Hordak's mix of fear and vanity is the reason to watch.

1. Continuity: Man-At-Arms's new electric force shield is tested at the start, and later He-Man says it "will protect us against these freeze rays" on Etheria.
2. Continuity: Horde Prime appears on the Astro-com in Hordak's hall and sends Inspector Darkney, who later calls himself Inspector General of Horde World.
3. Continuity: Someone quotes Adora as saying you can always count on her brother Adam "when things get really tough", which is the idea Loo-Kee repeats at the close.
4. Production: Written by J. Larry Carroll and directed by Bill Nunes, first aired 1987-10-31.