Betrayal of Stratos

Betrayal of Stratos is the 78th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by David Wise and directed by Steve Clark. Stratos is accused of betraying the Bird People of Avion to Skeletor, and He-Man must help him prove his innocence.

Synopsis
In Avion, Stratos runs into Hawke on his way to check on the force field generator. Hawke explains she was going to do just that, and Stratos leaves the task to her. Later, Skeletor, Tri-Klops, Trap-Jaw, and Beast Man launche a daring raid on Avion. Stratos is confident they cannot penetrate the force shields, but he is told all the defenses are completely down. Stratos orders the Bird People to counterattack while he repairs the shields; when he reaches the force field generator he finds it sabotaged. After Skeletor's party is repelled, Hawke discovers Stratos struggling to repair the generator, and accuses him of being the one who sabotaged it.

Later, Stratos stands before the Bird People and defends himself against Hawke's accusations. By popular accord, the Bird People decide to banish Stratos from Avion. He protests his innocence and begs mercy, since to be banished from Avion means that he will lose the power of flight once he is too long removed from the Egg of Avion. Hawke has the crowd on her side, however, and convinces Stratos to accept his punishment.

After flying away from Avion for hours, wondering what will become of him, Stratos takes a rest in what he thinks is a forest but is actually the nest of the giant Carrock. When the Carrock returns it angrily chases Stratos from his nest. Coincidentally, Prince Adam and Orko are nearby with a Wind Raider during a trip to the countryside. When they spot Stratos fleeing the Carrock, Adam transforms into He-Man and takes the Wind Raider to save his friend. Realizing the creature is not evil, He-Man feeds it several large fruits, causing it to settle down and befriend the heroes. Stratos tells He-Man and Orko about his troubles, and they agree to help him find the real saboteur to prove his innocence.

Meanwhile, Skeletor and his cronies prepare to launch another attack on Avion. This time all of the Bird People's defenses fail, and Skeletor successfully steals the Egg of Avion. Confused, the Bird People wonder what happened to Hawke, who has mysteriously disappeared.

When He-Man, Orko, and Stratos arrive, they realize they are too late. He-Man reasons that Skeletor has hidden the egg somewhere besides Snake Mountain, so they go to Castle Grayskull to ask the Sorceress for help in locating it. The Sorceress divines that the Egg of Avion is the cause of a disturbance coming from the Demon Zone, the lair of Skeletor's ally Whiplash. She directs the heroes to the highest peak in the Mountains of Doom, where they will find a gateway into the Demon Zone. The Sorceress cautions that He-Man take care not to let any demons escape through the gateway.

At the gateway, He-Man is able to pry open the doors long enough to get himself and Stratos inside, but Orko is trapped outside and He-Man dares not break the gateway open for him to join them. Elsewhere within the Demon Zone, Kraal, king of demons, alerts Whiplash of the arrival of the heroes. Kraal reminds Whiplash that the demons may only open the gateway to world above twice each year, but Whiplash believes it is worth using one of those opportunities to send his giant snake through the passage to attack Orko. However, before the snake can finish off the wizard, the Carrock returns to save its friend.

He-Man and Stratos make their way through the Demon Zone and dispatch Whiplash. They find his menagerie of caged creatures, and realize that Hawke is imprisoned among them. He-Man accuses Hawke of being the real saboteur, and she admits to helping Skeletor bring the Egg of Avion to the Demon Zone. She had expected to be rewarded, but instead Skeletor allowed Whiplash to cage her as one of his "pets." He-Man decides that Hawke has learned her lesson and is willing to give her a second chance, though Stratos still has reservations. The three of them recover the egg from Whiplash's pet dragon.

Whiplash tries to stop the heroes from escaping the Demon Zone, but Kraal advises him to stay his hand. As Kraal hopes, He-Man is forced to smash the gateway to get out, but he is able to re-seal the passageway before any demons are able to escape.

Back at Avion, Hawke faces judgement for her crime. The Bird People demand that she be banished, but Stratos insists on a less cruel punishment until she can regain their trust. The Egg of Avion is returned to its rightful place, and Stratos leads the Bird People in a cheer for He-Man.

Moral
He-Man: "Today, Stratos of Avion learned the true value of forgiveness. When someone does somehthing we don't like, it can be hard to forgive. It's at times like these that we must remember everyone deserves a second chance. We all make mistakes, and when we do, it's nice to have a friend who will understand and give us another chance. Right, my friend?" Orko: "Right!" He-Man: "See you next time."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * He-Man
 * Orko
 * Stratos (final Filmation speaking role)

Allies

 * Carrock
 * Hawke
 * Sorceress

Evil Warriors

 * Beast Man
 * Skeletor
 * Trap Jaw
 * Tri-Klops
 * Whiplash

Villains

 * Baraka
 * Kraal

Locations

 * Avion
 * Castle Grayskull
 * Demon Zone
 * Mountains of Doom

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, Whiplash, Beast Man and various unnamed Bird Men
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Kraal and various unnamed Bird Men
 * Linda Gary as the Sorceress, Hawke and an unnamed Bird Woman
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko, Stratos, Trap-Jaw, Tri-Klops and various unnamed Bird Men

Orko's Fun Facts
As featured in BCI's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD boxset (Disc 2)


 * "The Carrock is a red colored version of the Mother Row from the Season One episode 'Valley of Power.'"
 * "Even though he has already appeared in a few episodes, this particular episode treats Whiplash as if this is his debut. Whiplash suddenly resides in a place called the Demon Zeon where he takes orders from a demon called Kraal."
 * "Kraal, even though he is just seen as a head in the episode is actually a red colored version of Daimar from the Season One episode 'Daimar the Demon.'"

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved May 4, 1984 and final script revision took place July 11, 1984.
 * In the first draft of the script Man-At-Arms played a supporting role throughout the entire story. All his dialogue was ultimately distributed to be said by Prince Adam, He-Man and Orko.
 * Judging by the background, the forest Stratos finds himself in after being exiled from Avion appears to be the Tar Swamp.

Continuity

 * The creature that attacks Orko will be used again as a snake that wraps himself around a Horde Trooper in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Friendship.
 * The Carrock is a red colored version of the Mother Roe from Valley of Power. Another variation was seen in The Games and a slightly altered version of this design would be seen as the Krytis Bird in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode The Mines of Mondor.
 * The animation of He-Man using his mighty lungs to blow something away was first seen in The Once and Future Duke and will be used again in The Rarest Gift of All, A Trip to Morainia, Just a Little Lie, The Greatest Show on Eternia and Happy Birthday Roboto.
 * The animated sequence of Whiplash turning and snapping his tail would be used again in The Shadow of Skeletor.
 * The character design of Kraal was used earlier as the adult version of Daimar in Daimar the Demon.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * Kraal?
 * Orko revealed?