SHE-RA - 1985

The Wizard

The Wizard title card
S01E52

Official Synopsis

The Wizard synopsis still

Kowl fails to warn Bow and Adora about a Horde patrol at Petro's farm, and Bow is frozen before She-Ra drives off Leech and his Troopers. Back at camp Bow calls Kowl a coward, and Madame Razz is too busy to hear Broom out, so the two slip away to find a wizard in Silverglade who might have a courage spell. On the road they accept a lunch and a ride from Dr. Drome and his bouncing helper Acrobad, who turn out to be selling captives to the Horde and hand them over to Colonel Blast. Bow and Madame Razz admit they were too hard on their friends, and a spell from Madame Razz shows where the pair have been taken. She-Ra arrives on Swift Wind and clears the outpost while Bow and Madame Razz free the prisoners. Everyone ends at a feast in camp, apologies exchanged.

Watch the Full Episode

The Wizard Official upload, Masters of the Universe channel

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

Loo-Kee: "Hi, here's Loo-Kee again. Did you find where I was hiding? If not, take another look. See me now? Here I am! In today's adventure, Broom and Kowl ran away. That was wrong. But they did something even worse. They went away with a stranger. I'm sure you've been told about the dangers of getting into cars or going away with people you don't know. Never, never do it. Bye, now!"

Memorable Quotes

Madame Razz: "Broom, go away! I'm very busy, and I got no time for your foolishness."

Kowl: "I'm no good to anyone, Broom, especially the Rebellion."

Madame Razz: "Oh, dearie, my. Welcome back, my dear, dear friend."

heman.org Episode Review

Why would two loyal rebels walk off with a stranger? The Wizard answers that the stranger is pleasant to them when nobody at camp has been, and the episode is about how a feeling of being unappreciated at home gets sold back to you, with a smile, by the wrong people. It is a smaller idea than the usual Etheria rescue, and it suits the half hour.

The setup is a bad day. Kowl is posted as lookout at Petro's farm, falls asleep on a branch, wakes to a Horde hover vehicle, and flees without warning Bow and Adora, who are then caught in a crossfire while Leech and his Troopers move in on the family for back taxes. Bow is frozen in a block of ice, Adora becomes She-Ra, and the farm yard is cleared by wrecking Horde vehicles, one of them hoisted overhead with Leech still in it. Back at camp the fallout is petty and believable: Kowl calls himself a useless coward, Bow agrees without softening it, and Adora has to tell Bow he has hurt someone's feelings.

The spine is that nobody in this camp is cruel, only busy, and busy is enough. Broom takes Kowl to Madame Razz for a courage spell, finds her stirring a cauldron, and is told to go away because she has no time for his foolishness. The two of them then trade complaints about being taken for granted, and a rumour of a wizard in Silverglade ends with "No one around here will miss us." The writing is fair to everyone: Bow and Madame Razz both say they were too hard on their friends a few scenes later, so the grievance is real and the departure is still a mistake.

The best scene is the road. Dr. Drome introduces himself as a purveyor of potions and panaceas, Acrobad bounces around him saying yessiree-siroo, and lunch becomes bibble-fruit until Kowl is hiccupping and the pair agree to a ride. The wagon stops at a Horde outpost, and the question "You're not rebels, are you?" is answered by the pair with a nervous laugh and an insistence that the idea is ridiculous. Two rebels failing to pass as anything else, parked in front of a Horde outpost, is the best gag in the half hour.

The rescue is the usual machinery, done cleanly. Madame Razz's rhyming spell turns the floor into a box of steel over a squad of robots, Bow gets the credit for the shot that stops Colonel Blast, and She-Ra and Swift Wind clear the outpost. The quieter beat is in the cell, where each captive confesses to missing the person who snubbed him, which pays off the argument at camp before anyone has to apologise out loud.

What the episode drops is the errand. Kowl set out for courage, Madame Razz was said to have once had a spell for it, and nobody mentions it again after the feast, so the cowardice that started everything is never answered. The ending asks us to accept that being missed was the cure, and a prickly little apology at the feast table is a pleasant way to avoid asking whether Kowl is any braver. As a Filmation lesson episode it is among the more coherent ones, with a villain whose pitch is plainly the hook, and a Loo-Kee warning about going away with people you do not know that the plot has actually dramatised.

Notes of Interest

  1. Continuity: Leech's patrol is collecting three months of back taxes from Petro's family when Bow and Adora arrive.
  2. Continuity: Madame Razz's rhyming spells work here, from the location spell to the steel floor.
  3. Continuity: Kowl is named, with Light Hope and Madame Razz, in the opening narration as one of the few who share She-Ra's secret.

Cast Appearances

Full roster →
Princess Adora
Good

Princess Adora
She-Ra
Good

She-Ra
Bow
Good

Bow
Kowl
Good

Kowl
Madame Razz
Good

Madame Razz
Good

Broom (Madame Razz's broom)
Swift Wind
Good

Swift Wind
Leech
Evil

Leech
Horde Trooper
Evil

Horde Trooper

Episode screenshots

Leech and two Horde Troopers ride together in a Horde hover vehicle.
Leech and two Horde Troopers ride together in a Horde hover vehicle.
Leech bares his fangs in the hover vehicle.
Twisted purple trees and rocks stand empty beside a dirt road.
Twisted purple trees and rocks stand empty beside a dirt road.
Kowl sits on a gnarled branch with his arms folded and eyes shut.
Kowl sits on a gnarled branch with his arms folded and eyes shut.
Kowl sits on the ground, glancing up with a weary look.
Two Horde Troopers drive hover vehicles past a twisted tree.
Two Horde Troopers drive hover vehicles past a twisted tree.
Kowl flies low past a gnarled tree with a startled look.
Kowl's feet and tail kick up at the top of the frame over twisted roots.
Leech and two Horde Troopers sit in a hover vehicle by the road.
A burrow entrance sits behind blue bushes on an empty dirt path.
A burrow entrance sits behind blue bushes on an empty dirt path.
Kowl flies toward the viewer with a frightened look.
A cow grazes in a pasture beside a stone wall.
Petro and his family greet Bow and Adora outside their stone farmhouse.
Petro and his family greet Bow and Adora outside their stone farmhouse.
Petro, his wife and their daughter look on as Adora watches.
Petro, his wife and their daughter look on as Adora watches.
Leech and two Horde Troopers ride in a hover vehicle past a green hillside.
A Horde Trooper sits in his hover vehicle beside the farmhouse.
Leech raises his suction-cup hands beside Horde Troopers in the hover vehicle.
Bow and Adora duck behind a wooden trough as a blast streaks past.
Bow runs along a path through twisted rock arches.
A Horde Trooper and Leech look ahead side by side.
Petro's family peeks out from the farmhouse door.
Adora reaches out a hand beside a tree in the woods.
Adora scowls and looks aside among the twisted trees.
Adora raises her sword amid bursts of golden light, transforming into She-Ra.
Adora raises her sword amid bursts of golden light, transforming into She-Ra.
Bow stands frozen inside a clear block beside a Horde Trooper's hover vehicle.
A Horde Trooper holds Petro by the arms while Leech watches.
Leech stands with legs apart and his mouth open in the farm yard.
Petro looks up fearfully as Leech raises a suction-cup hand.
A Horde Trooper fires his blaster across the farm yard.
Two Horde Troopers stand side by side, scowling.
Leech stands beside a hover vehicle where a Horde Trooper sits.
She-Ra stands beside a wooden fence in the farm yard.
A wrecked Horde hover vehicle lies crushed against a stone wall.
She-Ra stands with Petro and his family, who smile beside her.
Leech sits in the driver's seat of a blue Horde vehicle.
She-Ra strains with both arms raised, lifting the underside of a vehicle.
She-Ra holds a heavy vehicle overhead, straining as she steps aside.
Leech peers out of an upended, wrecked vehicle between broken wheels.
Bow hugs himself, shivering and thawed, as She-Ra stands beside him.
She-Ra holds Bow in her arms as he smiles up at her.
A small blue-haired figure sits atop stacked crates and barrels beside a wagon.
Adora and Bow stand by a tent while Kowl sits at a table.
Adora and Bow look at each other, Bow with his arms folded.
Kowl sits on a wooden table beside a jug with his head bowed.
Madame Razz's broom stands in the woods with a hand held out.
Madame Razz's broom stands in the woods with a hand held out.
Madame Razz's broom scolds Kowl, who crouches in the woods.
Madame Razz's broom scolds Kowl, who crouches in the woods.
Madame Razz's broom wags a finger beside the trees.
Kowl covers his face with his wings.
Madame Razz's hat and face peek out above a dark forest clearing.
Madame Razz's hat and face peek out above a dark forest clearing.
Madame Razz drops a glowing insect into her steaming cauldron beside an open book.
Madame Razz's broom gestures beside shelves in her hut while Kowl peeks in.
Madame Razz's broom points at Madame Razz, who sits by her cauldron with hands clasped.
Kowl and Madame Razz's broom sit far apart on fallen logs around a glowing patch.
Madame Razz's broom leans on a log beside Kowl.
Kowl sits with folded arms and a droopy-eyed look.
Madame Razz's broom grins widely as it looks aside.
Madame Razz's broom stands with hands on hips beside Kowl on a log.
A full moon shines over purple bushes and a dark forest path.
Kowl and Madame Razz's broom walk past twisted tree roots.
A grinning jester in a purple hood looks sly.
An empty path winds past twisted trees and orange rocks.
Dr. Drome sits holding a red flower beside a green curtain.
The jester sits grinning beside Dr. Drome.
Dr. Drome waves from the top of a blue and pink wagon on a dirt road.
Kowl flies beside Madame Razz's broom, who looks up worriedly on a forest path.
Dr. Drome gestures grandly beside Acrobad in front of their blue wagon.
Dr. Drome waves a hand beside pots hanging on his wagon.
A golden palace tower rises behind purple bushes beside a streak of light.
Adora, Bow and Madame Razz stand together looking ahead in camp.
Bow looks guilty while Madame Razz dabs her face with her hand.
Adora faces two Twiggets while Bow stands with his back turned.
The blue and pink wagon sits parked beside trees with its green curtains open.
Dr. Drome and Acrobad hold up their hands at a table where Kowl and the broom sit.
Madame Razz's broom clutches its stomach at the table beside Kowl.
Madame Razz's broom leans across the table, talking toward Kowl.
Acrobad leans over Madame Razz's broom as Kowl slumps at the table.
Madame Razz's broom sits slumped beside Kowl in the wagon seat.
Madame Razz's broom holds a hand over Kowl's beak beside Dr. Drome.
A dark Horde outpost of towers and machinery rises beyond an orange dirt road.
Madame Razz's broom talks beside Kowl while Dr. Drome sits close by.
Dr. Drome and Acrobad grip the wagon's steering lever, grinning.
Madame Razz's broom sprints in the air flat out while Kowl flies above.
Kowl flies fast through a dark forest.
Madame Razz's broom stretches out in mid-air, its face scared.
Madame Razz's broom skims horizontally past a gnarled blue tree.
Acrobad holds a sack while Dr. Drome leans by the wagon over the fallen broom.
Bow looks ahead with a serious expression among tall plants.
Madame Razz sits cross-legged with two Twiggets, casting a spell over a blue plant.
Madame Razz raises both hands beside her face, looking anxious.
Bow and She-Ra stand side by side in a pink-bushed clearing.
A golden winged ornament glows with a streak of light at its centre.
Dr. Drome and Acrobad face Colonel Blast, while Kowl and the broom sit chained to blue balls.
Madame Razz's broom and Kowl sit shackled to blue balls with startled faces.
Colonel Blast scowls beside a Horde Trooper in the outpost.
Dr. Drome hands over chained Kowl and Madame Razz's broom to Colonel Blast.
Swift Wind's wing and orange mane enter the cloudy sky at the lower right.
Swift Wind's wing and orange mane enter the cloudy sky at the lower right.
A Horde Trooper stands by two barrels while another trooper is stuffed upside down in one.
Bow and Madame Razz run across the outpost as a laser blast hits the wall.
Swift Wind's wing sweeps past a Horde tower as troopers fire a red beam.
She-Ra swoops through the sky on Swift Wind, sword in hand.
Dr. Drome strokes his chin beside the grinning Acrobad inside the outpost.
Colonel Blast scowls beside Dr. Drome inside the outpost.
Two Horde Troopers walk down an outpost corridor, away from the viewer.
Madame Razz peers around a pillar while Bow stands behind her.
Madame Razz and Bow stand together, Bow holding his bow.
Madame Razz's broom and Kowl sit slumped in a blue cell.
Madame Razz's broom cries out beside Kowl in the cell.
Colonel Blast stands on an outpost wall with one arm held out.
Bow, Madame Razz and Madame Razz's broom walk together while Kowl flies near Bow.
She-Ra and Bow look off in the same direction, side by side.
Acrobad rubs his head while Dr. Drome grimaces beside him.
She-Ra, Bow, Madame Razz, Kowl, the broom and Swift Wind stand around a metal grate.
Bow sits at a feast table with Kowl and the broom while Madame Razz eats beside them.
Madame Razz tucks into a roast at the feast table while the broom stands behind her.
Bow raises a goblet at the feast table while Kowl rests his chin beside a bowl.
Adora sits at the feast table beside a bowl of fruit and a goblet.

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