Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss is the 83rd episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Robert Lamb and directed by Steve Clark. Prince Adam and Teela decide to have fun with Adam's training, but things take a dark turn when Teela falls into the bottomless abyss around Castle Grayskull.

Synopsis
At the Widget Fortress, He-Man, Orko and Teela fight off Beast Man and his army of rock creatures. After the danger has passed they visit Castle Grayskull to debrief the Sorceress and then return to their usual business. For Teela this means catching Prince Adam up on his training. For He-Man, this means making sure he's transformed back into Adam before Teela comes looking for him.

On their way out of the castle, Orko floats over the bottomless abyss surrounding Grayskull. He-Man warns him of the dangerous winds in the abyss, as well as the source of Castle Grayskull's power. Orko is confused by the notion of a bottomless pit, but Teela argues that going down to the center of Eternia is bottomless enough in her book.

At the Royal Palace, Teela finally finds Adam lazing about with Cringer. Adam is tired of his training and wonders why they can't have some fun once in a while. Teela is angered by his attitude, but Adam is still her prince and he gets the last word on the subject. Cringer scolds Adam for treating Teela so rudely, and Adam promises to apologise later but also confides to his friend that he's exhausted from his duties as both Adam and He-Man.

Later, Teela talks to Man-At-Arms about her spat with Adam, but Man-At-Arms tries to make her see Adam's point of view. He reminds her that it's been a while since she and Adam had fun together, and while her duties are important she should also take the time to relax especially after the recent battle at the Widget Fortress. He suggests that she find a way to combine her training with some fun. Teela is inspired to take Adam and Cringer out for a picnic in the Evergreen Forest, where she challenges the prince to a game of hide-and-seek. While she hides from Adam, Teela discovers a cute little creature that she names "Pookie," though this distracts her long enough to let Adam find her. Teela heads off to keep Adam from catching her, taking Pookie with her to Castle Grayskull. However, when Pookie lingers too close to the edge of the abyss, Teela steps over to retreive it, and they both fall into the bottomless pit. As she falls, Teela's body strikes a rocky outcropping, and when she and Pookie land on a ledge, she is unconscious.

By the time Adam tracks Teela to Castle Grayskull, there's no sign of her, so he decides she must have doubled back to the picnic site. Cringer tells Adam she hasn't been back, and they agree that she must have returned home.

Meanwhile, in the abyss, Teela awakens to find that Pookie is unharmed but her forearm is broken. Realizing that Adam has no idea where she is and she can't save herself, Teela begins to give in to despair. However, she remembers that she brought a transmitter which could send out a homing signal, on the off chance Adam is in range to detect it.

As luck would have it, when Adam returns to the palace, he and Duncan begin to worry about Teela and decide to check Adam's transmitter. Man-At-Arms boosts the power with the city's long-range sensor, and narrows Teela's location to the vicinity of Castle Grayskull. Once Adam, Orko, and Man-At-Arms reach the castle, they realize Teela must be down in the abyss. Fearing the worst, the heroes' sorrow gains the attention of the Sorceress, who is horrified to learn the situation. Reaching out with her senses, the Sorceress establishes a psychic rapport with Teela, which is enough to determine that she is still alive somewhere in the abyss. Adam transforms into He-Man to lead the others down.

In the pit, Teela literally sees the Power of Grayskull flowing through the abyss at He-Man's command. Deciding she can't afford to stay, she renews her efforts to escape, but just then He-Man and the others arrive to help her out.

Once the heroes have climbed out of the abyss, Teela confides that she had this vague feeling that her mother was trying to protect her and loves her. Up in the castle, the Sorceress quietly affirms Teela's intuition.

Moral
Man-At-Arms: "Teela learned two extremely important lessons today." He-Man: "She learned it's just as important to play as it is to study and work. " Man-At-Arms: "But it's also important to take the time to learn the rules for playing safely." He-Man: "Right, Duncan. Teela wandered too far away and when she ran into trouble, there was no one around to help her or to go for help. so when you play away from family or friends, make sure someone knows where you are at all times."

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Cringer
 * He-Man
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Sorceress
 * Teela

Allies

 * Lara (cameo)
 * Squinch (cameo)

Evil Warriors

 * Beast Man

Locations

 * Castle Grayskull
 * Evergreen Forest
 * Royal Palace
 * Widget Fortress

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Beast Man
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Man-At-Arms and Cringer
 * Linda Gary as Teela and the Sorceress
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko and Pooki

(Squinch and Lara appear in this episode, but receive no dialogue.)

Orko's Fun Facts
As featured in BCI's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD boxset (Disc 3)


 * "Originally during the scene where Prince Adam chases Teela through the forest, they are swinging Tarzan-like on vines, until Adam crashes into a tree."
 * "In the script, the Sorceress leaves Castle Grayskull to attend the Widgets' celebration, explaining where she was when Teela falls into the abyss."
 * "Originally Act One ended with Teela hanging onto the side of the chasm: a real cliffhanger."
 * "As Prince Adam, Man-At-Arms and Orko stare into the abyss, Zoar originally flew back into the castle only to reappear as the Sorceress and question their sadness."

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved April 23, 1984 and final script revision took place June 18, 1984.
 * In the original script, as Teela is searching for Prince Adam at the Royal Palace, she was to encounter Man-E-Faces who was rehearsing his lines for a play, with Ram Man standing in for a female part.

Continuity

 * The design of Beast Man's Rock Men was previously seen as Rabar in Quest for the Sword and as a Sand Demon in both Temple of the Sun and The Witch and the Warrior.
 * The animated sequence of Teela spinning around a tree branch was previously used in Trouble in Arcadia.
 * Teela's 'I'm falling!' line is reused from The Taking of Grayskull and her loud scream was first heard in Attack from Below.
 * Pooki was previously seen as an unnamed blue creature chased by the Gronk in Orko's Missing Magic.

Errors

 * In Eternal Darkness and in Jacob and the Widgets, Eternia has only one moon. But in this story, The Shadow of Skeletor and the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode He Ain't Heavy there are more than one.
 * When Adam transforms into He-Man, he says "I have the power!" a second out of sync between the audio and video.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * 30 YEARS - Top 30 GREATEST MOMENTS #3
 * 30 YEARS - Top 30 GREATEST MOMENTS #5
 * We must climb down...
 * Robert Lamb: Prince Adam and Teela...
 * Robert Lamb: Prince Adam's personality...
 * Robert Lamb: He-Man's Character...
 * FILMATION ART: Royal Palace courtyard tree.
 * Snoozing at a picnic.
 * That will be all...
 * I'm just tired, Cringer...
 * Happy Birthday He-Man #16 - He never gets tired...
 * Teela falls!
 * Memories #11 - I'm looking for...
 * Bob Forward's relaxed companions.
 * Teela is pissed.
 * Forward's faces.
 * Tease and pout.
 * Let's go all out...