Our Hero assists a sorceress in distress, only to learn she isn't what she seems. Hell apparently hath no fury like an evil sorceress scorned, as Taleena first brainwashes Blackstar (not a terribly difficult thing to do, it seems), tries to use him against his friends and then attempts to roast his coals once Mara sets him free.

A verbal clue in the opening scene tells us this episode takes place after "Tree of Evil." Blackstar and Gossamer are on their way back from negotiations with the wood sprites (remember the spunky underage Delia from that episode?) when they stumble upon a battle between a ferocious looking warrior and a lady obviously in some distress. Now of all the people Blackstar might have taken along with him, why the Trobbit with the funny ears? If you were going to engage in some heavy-duty negotiations with an alien race, wouldn't you take Mara along, or perhaps Balkar? Marc Scott Zicree, who wrote this episode, probably realized it would end in about five minutes if somebody with brains tagged along, because neither Mara nor Balkar have ever heard of a Princess Taleena or a kingdom in the west.

Thorg isn't exactly the monster he first appears to be. Sure, he's big, he's built and he's the menacing silent type, but he doesn't like to be stereotyped. Of course, Our Hero is too dimwitted to remember that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or rather, he's too besotted by the shapely pair of legs Taleena is flashing at him to consider that maybe getting involved just isn't the best idea. Yeah, sure, he makes a token attempt to talk things over, but really he's just trying to impress another damsel in distress. Notice he introduces himself to her with his full name; he rarely does this, even when introducing himself to Delia in "Tree of Evil."

Taleena isn't really a princess She's that rarity, a female servant of the Overlord who stole Thorg's kingdom and imprisoned his people inside the crown she wears. So you can't blame the guy for being a little upset and trying to blast her. The fight between him and Blackstar is well animated; physically they're evenly matched, and you can tell it's a real struggle. The only question mark we had during this scene is that when the Starsword flies out of Blackstar's hand and lands in front of Taleena, why doesn't she pick it up and try to use it? Either the idea doesn't occur to her or she knows from earlier attempts by other servants of the Overlord (Neptul in "Kingdom of Neptul" and Nihilis in "The Air Whales of Anchar") that this really isn't a good idea.

Speaking of the Starsword, the weapon doesn't get much mileage in this episode. For such a powerful weapon, it's utterly ineffective in Blackstar's hands, since he can't aim worth squat and has to call upon Mara and Thorg to help him take out the lovely pair of demons Taleena leaves him as a farewell present. Apparently only the Overlord is capable of levelling entire cities. And since when can the Starsword deflect a devilstorm without becoming a lightning rod and frying Our Hero? Still, you'll forgive the writer when it shields Blackstar long enough for him to walk through a wall of demonfire to defeat Taleena.

The subplot about the missing jewel from Taleena's crown is a bit goofy. The Sagarese have obviously never heard of Crazy Glue, because the gem gets knocked loose rather easily. Balkar and Mara don't like the look of the gemstone and the Trobbit leader decides to inflict a badly rhyming spell on us to find out the history of the stone. Strange, the jewel looked like an ordinary ruby to us; we think Balkar probably made the story up and got Mara to go along with it just to keep Rif and Carpo from fighting over it.

The tiger rue Balkar uses for his spell (below, center) looks an awful lot like Battlecat's tail from He-Man.

Guess what's for dinner?	Taleena picks out a rock for her engagement ring	You gotta love Taleena's taste in decorating but why is the Overlord holding a bowling ball?

Nice touch with the jewel answering Balkar in equally bad rhyme.

While Balkar goes with Mara and Thorg to try to stop Blackstar from making a really bad dating decision, four of the Trobbits are left to guard the gemstone. Well, there's a disaster just waiting to happen. It's obvious the Trobbits don't know what pockets are, because they carry the jewel around with the tips of their fingers, practially begging to have it snatched from their hands by a mother bird looking to feed her chicks (yeah, more sappy Sagarese wildlife), a hungry squirrel and a nasty blue demon sent by Taleena to get the jewel back, because the Crown of Karn only works with the jewel in place. Oh, yes, and don't forget about chain reaction tripping sequence, which ends with Carpo in the water, where he is nearly swept over a conveniently placed waterfall.

The one scene this episode is missing is a duel of the sorceresses, Taleena versus Mara. Okay, so dumping Taleena is Blackstar's problem, but we wanted to see these two blue chicks engage in a bit of heavy bitchslapping. Then again, it seems that Mara is awfully tolerant, even bemused, by Our Hero's overactive libido.

It's really too bad Blackstar never indulged in the type of shameless end morals tacked onto He-Man and other Filmation series, because we'd like to suggest one:

FADE IN:

Stock footage of the Sagar Tree, tacky rainbow, your standard flying geese and all.

CUT TO:

Mara, standing by the nest of hungry chicks we saw earlier in the episode. With a bemused smile, she drops in a couple of demonseeds, then looks toward the camera and nods.

MARA:  Kids, what you saw today was an example of what happens when you think with your gonads instead of your brain. Make sure you always do a thorough background check on your date. If he or she turns out to be a sorcerer who collects demonseeds and is into mind control, you might want to move on. (Pause) I'd also like to take this opportunity to let you know that Blackstar will not be appearing in next week's episode. For his own good, he has been neutered...

(Off camera: a man's howl of pain)

MARA: (continuing) ...and is recovering nicely. See you next time.

FADE OUT