New Adventures of He-Man: Season 1 Episode 7 Review

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword...or is it?
Written by Jack Olesker and Dorissa Curry

In Gorn City, Skeletor and Flogg search for Mutant recruits. Skeletor finds a piece of art on display, and senses something special about its creation. He discovers that the artist is Helm of Darus 7. Helm is on a trade mission, and has made a stop on Primus. He bequeaths Mara and Sebrian with some of his paintings. In a conversation with Gleep, Adam discovers that his interest in Mara has not gone unnoticed by the droid.

Skeletor finds passage to Primus via Captain Dipper's transport ship. He escapes being discovered by Galactic Guardians during their inspection. He uses a spell to unleash a dragon from one of Helm's paintings. The dragon attacks Leviton. Hydron and Flipshot attempt to stop the dragon with lasers that could damage a Mutant mother ship. The dragon turns its interests to the Oasis, where Master Sebrian resides. Adam becomes He-Man and defeats the dragon, which disintegrates. The Scientists discover that the particles from the dragon are made of temperic oil paint, as used in Helm's paintings. Adam becomes suspicious of Helm; Helm accuses Adam of being jealous of Mara's attention on Helm.

Skeletor activates another of Helm's paintings in the Scientist's lab - He-Man is able to defeat the butterfly creature. He realizes that Mara and Sebrian are endangered by the paintings they were given. Discovering the foul play of Skeletor, He-Man races to rescue them from the painting creatures. Helm reluctantly destroys his magic paint brushes, which stops the creatures. As Skeletor attempts to attack the party directly, Helm's hunter painting retaliates and chases Skeletor and Slush Head. Mara becomes suspicious of Adam's disappearance. He-Man quickly comes up with an excuse for his absence, and apologizes to Helm for Adam's unfounded accusatory demeanor.

 Review:
This is an interesting episode - it does not advance the overall plot of the series however. This episode is noteworthy of revealing the romantic element in the relationship between Adam and Mara - particularly Adam's jealous feelings. Adam doesn't seem to have his feelings sorted out, since just in the previous episode, some flirtatious dialogue was exchanged between himself and Drissi. Skeletor again hints at his continued strategy of working subversively against enemies and allies alike.

Appearing Characters
Galactic Guardians:
Adam/He-Man
Gleep
Master Sebrian
Mara
Meldoc
Hydron
Flipshot
Tuskador
Spinwitt
Artilla
Gepple

Space Mutants:
Skeletor
Flogg
Slush Head