Three on a Dare

Three on a Dare is the 88th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Misty Stewart and directed by Marsh Lamore. Teela leads a trio of students on a field trip, but when one of them takes a dare they find themselves trapped inside Snake Mountain.

Synopsis
Teela finds Prince Adam and Man-At-Arms hard at work in the lab repairing the high frequency transmitter, and announces that she'll be using one of the Jet Crawlers to take three students on a field trip to the Mystical Forest. Adam and Duncan express concern that Teela might need some help, or that she'll be unable to contact the Royal Palace until the transmitter has been repaired. But Teela is confident she can handle things on her own and heads out. However, once she's left, Orko's mischief causes the transmitter to suffer even more damage, extending the repair time. Man-At-Arms won't be able to restore radio communication until he can obtain pure rainbow quartz, which can only be found in a cavern in Snake Mountain.

Later, Teela shows Krill, Tager, and Cynda around the Mystical Forest, where they are amazed by the guardian mushrooms and other dangerous plant life. Teela teaches them that danger is often obvious until it's too late.

Meanwhile, Adam and Cringer take a Wind Raider to Snake Mountain. Adam hopes to get the rainbow quartz so quickly that Skeletor will never even know he's been there.

Back at the forest, Krill dares Tager to take the Jet Crawler on a joyride while Teela is away. Tager is worried about leaving Teela behind, but Krill--unaware of the problems with the palace transmitter--insists that she can radio for help if she needs it. At this Cynda double-dares Tager, and he accepts, piloting the Jet Crawler away. Teela sees them leave, and realizes they're heading straight for Snake Mountain, but she's unable to contact anyone to assist her.

However, Skeletor is able to see and hear Teela from Snake Mountain, and he sends Evil-Lyn to capture her so he can ransom her for the secrets of Castle Grayskull. At the same time, the students in the Jet Crawler find themselves approaching Snake Mountain and are unable to turn away. Elsewhere on the mountain, Adam and Cringer try to find an exposed vein of the rainbow quartz by swimming into an underwater cavern, but they run afoul of Mer-Man, forcing Adam and Cringer to become He-Man and Battle Cat.

Now trapped within Snake Mountain, Tager, Cynda, and Krill discover that Evil-Lyn has captured Teela, and believe that Skeletor is looking for them as well. After narrowly escaping a Shrieker, the youths discover a way out, and plan to escape and come back for Teela.

Meanwhile, Skeletor berates Mer-Man for failing to catch He-Man, and wonders why he's come to Snake Mountain. Desperate to keep He-Man from interfering with his capture of Teela, Skeletor confronts the hero and offers to let him have what he came for in peace. However, at that moment Evil-Lyn broadcasts an announcement that Teela has escaped, prompting He-Man to rescue her and the children. As luck would have it, Teela finds her way to the children before they can get into any more trouble, but Trap-Jaw misleads the four of them into a trap. Just then He-Man decides to have Battle Cat roar to let Teela know they're in the mountain, so that she can let them know where she is. From there He-Man has no trouble stopping Trap-Jaw and freeing his friends.

He-Man, Teela, and the others race through Snake Mountain and discover Skeletor's launching pad, in a chamber surrounded by rainbow quartz. Skeletor arrives to gloat that He-Man should have accepted his first offer; he could have left with the quartz, if not Teela, but now he won't get either. Evil-Lyn surprises the heroes and immobilizes Teela, and Skeletor insists that He-Man take the children and leave Teela behind. He-Man is defiant, even in the face of Mer-Man, Beast Man, Trap-Jaw, and Tri-Klops. He turns Evil-Lyn's spell back on her and frees Teela. She and the children get aboard one of Skeletor's Bashers and prepare to launch while He-Man tears open the hangar door. Although Tri-Klops has used his vision abilities to deactivate the power, the Basher successfully glides out of Snake Mountain towards safety. With that out of the way, He-Man and Battle Cat snag a hunk of rainbow quartz and head home.

Back at the palace, Taeger apologizes for taking the Jet Crawler, and explains that he was afraid of what his friends would think if he hadn't accepted their dare. Teela's just relieved they got out of Snake Mountain in one piece. Man-At-Arms, for his part, is satisfied with the rainbow quartz he needed to repair the transmitter. But when Orko decides to take a closer look, he nearly destroys the equipment again if not for a last-second dodge. Man-At-Arms admits he couldn't have repaired the transmitter without He-Man; Adam jokes that he'll tell He-Man if he sees him.

Moral
Prince Adam: "Taking a dare doesn't prove you're brave or smart. It could prove you're pretty foolish because most of the time it will get you or someone else in trouble. The smartest thing to do is not to take a dare, and not to worry about what people will think. If you only do what you think is right, you'll come out the winner. Don't learn the hard way, like the children in today's story. Until next time, so long."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Battle Cat
 * Cringer
 * He-Man
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Teela

Allies

 * Cynda
 * Krill
 * Tager

Evil Warriors

 * Beast Man
 * Evil-Lyn
 * Mer-Man
 * Skeletor
 * Trap Jaw
 * Tri-Klops

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Beast Man
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Battle Cat/Cringer and Mer-Man
 * Linda Gary as Teela, Evil-Lyn and Tager
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, Trap-Jaw and Tri-Klops
 * Erika Scheimer as Cynda and Krill

Orko's Fun Facts
As featured in BCI's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD boxset (Disc 4)

(this was later disputed by James Eatock in his book He-Man and She-Ra: A complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures in which he wrote: Linda Gary voices Tager, and Erika Scheimer vocies both Cynda and Krill)
 * "In this episode, Linda Gary voices two of the children Tager and Cynda, and Erika Scheimer voices Krill."
 * "It is unknown where Beast Man's sudden fear of the word Grayskull came from, as it was never used before or ever again."
 * "In this episode, there is a scene in Snake Mountain where we see a Shrieker flying through a hallway!"
 * "When He-Man is next to Trap Jaw, pursuing the villain, you can see that just behind He-Man the cells of Teela in jail are not layered correctly, the cell covering her face should be behind her!"

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved on April 13, 1984.
 * Beast Man cowers when he hears the word 'Grayskull'. In the original script it was stated that when Skeletor uttered the word, lighting would fill the throne room. But this is not evident in the finished product, making Beast Man's reaction's quite unusual.
 * This marks the third and last time the five original Evil Warriors summoned by Skeletor in Diamond Ray of Disappearance are featured as a group. Their second group effort being in Prince Adam No More.

Continuity

 * He-Man's humorous lines about skates and a circus are used again by She-Ra during the final battle at Horror Hall in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Shades of Orko.
 * The stormy background seen when Adam and Cringer approach Snake Mountin in their Wind Raider was first used in the episode Keeper of the Ancient Ruins.

Errors

 * At one point, Beast Man, Trap Jaw and Mer-Man end up on He-Man's shoulders. Beast Man is heard to say "Put me Down" but it is Mer-Man who's mouth moves.
 * When He-Man is next to Trap Jaw, pursuing the villain, just behind He-Man the cells of Teela in jail are not layered correctly, the cell covering her face should be behind her.
 * In the hangar in Snake Mountain, in one shot Cynda's bonnet is yellow while at all other times it is orange.
 * When Teela is in the lab, in one shot the linings of her boots are red instead of the usual white.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * 30 YEARS - Top 30 GREATEST MOMENTS #27
 * He-Man and Battle Cat to the rescue!
 * Rainbow Quartz.
 * Rainbow Quartz reaction...
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