A Friend in Need

A Friend in Need is a first season episode of the animated television series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, produced in 1983. Written by J. Brynne Stephens, directed by Ed Friedman.

Plot
Ileena, an old friend of Teela's and her father Zicran have traveled to the palace in order to demonstrate Zicran's new invention, the Transmutator. While her father meets with the king Randor, Teela and Ileena decide to go for a ride on horseback, although Orko warns them that the dangerous sorcerer Jarvan has escaped from the Prison Mines.

In the Geyser Field, Jarvan attacks Teela and Ileena by causing the geysers to erupt and knock Teela unconscious. He-Man and Battle Cat race to aid the women, and drive the sorcerer away. Ileena complains that she is too weak to have been any help to her friend. Jarvan sees this weakness in Ileena as an opportunity to get his hands on the Transmutator.

Disguised as an old woman, he approaches Ileena in the grounds of the forest and gives her a ring with which to summon him, and a potion which makes her feel strong and powerful. When the potion runs out, Ileena is struck with withdrawal symptoms, and so needs to request more of the potion. Under the influence of its effects, Ileena takes Adam out in her father's Air-Car, despite not knowing how to drive it, and ends up nearly killing him and herself in the process.

The next time she runs out, Jarvan refuses to give Ileena any more potion until she hands him the Transmutator. She does so, and is shocked when Jarvan appears in his true form. He-Man fights Jarvan, and even against the added power of the Transmutator, he wins, although Jarvan simply teleports away. Admitting to the others what she has done, Ileena uses the ring to summon Jarvan back to the Royal Palace where he is finally captured. Although Jarvan swears revenge, he is sent back to the prison mines, never to return.

Moral
He-Man: "In today's story, Ileena tried taking a magic potion which she thought would help her. Well, she found out there aren't any magic potions. And you know what? There aren't any magic drugs either. Any time you take one from anybody but your parents or your doctor, you're taking a very big chance. You're gambling with your health, maybe even your life. Drugs don't make your problems go away, they just create more".

Characters

 * Heroic Warriors
 * Prince Adam/He-Man
 * Cringer/Battle Cat (non-speaking role)
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Orko
 * Teela


 * Allies
 * King Randor (non-speaking role)
 * Queen Marlena (non-speaking role)
 * Ileena
 * Zicran


 * Villains
 * Jarvan

Locations

 * Eternos
 * Royal Palace
 * Geyser Field
 * Prison Mines (mentioned)

Objects

 * Vehicles;
 * Air Car
 * Android Horses


 * Technology
 * Transmutator

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam and Zikran
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Man-At-Arms and Jarvan
 * Linda Gary as Teela, Evil-Lyn, Ileena, and Old woman
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko and Door security

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved March 9, 1983 and final script revision took place August 11, 1983.
 * The character model sheet for Ileena indicated that her midriff was covered by armor. But the colorists decided to make this section flesh-colored, giving her a much more revealing outfit than originally meant.
 * When summoning Jarvan with the ring he gave her Ileena says "Em ot emoc" which is "Come to me" said backwards.
 * After He-Man saves himself from falling by grabbing onto a tower, his lips are moving but no words are heard. In the original script, the line was "Thank goodness!".
 * After Ileena confesses she gave the Transmutator to Jarvan, the script originally indicated that there was supposed to be the sound of an explosion. This is why Man-At-Arms looks so startled and Prince Adam immediately runs off.

Continuity

 * When Orko informs Adam that Teela and Ileena aren't back yet, Adam and Cringer are sitting at Man-At-Arm's Memory Projector from Teela's Quest.
 * Jarvan assumes the same old woman disguise previously used by Evil-Lyn in The Curse of the Spellstone and again in The Royal Cousin. A slightly altered version appears as the good witch in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode Brigis and then as a disguise used by Catra in Portrait of Doom.
 * The animation of Orko wiggling his fingers when he recounts Jarvan's history is a sequence previously seen in Diamond Ray of Disappearance.
 * Jarvan's character model was reused as Zem in The Return of Granamyr and partially as Spyster in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode The Inspector.
 * Zicran's character model was recolored and used as Brindle in The Return of Granamyr.
 * The android horse is seen again in The Royal Cousin & Pawns of the Game Master, where it is called 'Strider' by Adam. However, it is not the same character as the toy based Stridor that would be seen in Origin of the Sorceress.
 * The Royal Palace courtyard where Jarvan re-materializes is seen again in Eternal Darkness when He-Man and Teela jump onto their Sky-Sleds to go to the Crimson Valley.
 * The background used for the geyser field will again be seen as the landscape of Spikeheart in She-Ra: Princess of Power episode The Crystal Castle.

Errors

 * Ileena's character model is too large in proportion to the table and chairs she is standing behind when she summons Jarvan. Later, she collapses in front of the table and now she is the right size.
 * During the Palace shrinking scene, Man-at-Arms' hand is flesh-colored instead of green.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * A brief review #010 - "A Friend in Need"
 * Memories #22 - He-Man returns in 1984!
 * Scrawny legs...