Revenge is Never Sweet

 is the 102nd episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Douglas Booth and directed by Ernie Schmidt. Only He-Man can help Evil-Lyn when Kothos seeks revenge against her...and then only He-Man can help Kothos when Evil-Lyn wants revenge as well.

This episode serves a sequel to Kothos's first appearance, "The Witch and the Warrior," in which Evil-Lyn transforms him into a sand slug for stealing her magic. Additionally, this is the first appearance of the Roton vehicle in the series.

Synopsis
While traveling through the desert with Prince Adam, Teela, and Cringer, Orko is told to let Adam fix the Attak Trak when it breaks down. Orko laments that he can't use his magic to help, but Kothos (still trapped in the form of a sand slug after the events of "The Witch and the Warrior") emerges from the sand and says that surely a great wizard like Orko could change him back into his human form. Orko is both flattered by the compliments and eager to use his magic, so he transforms Kothos back into a human. Kothos thanks Orko and praises his magical ability, then decides to see how strong his own magic is by trapping Orko and his friends in stasis. Remembering his vendetta with Evil-Lyn, Kothos contacts Skeletor and offers to trade him the four captives in exchange for Evil-Lyn. Skeletor does not accept the trade, but says that he will if Kothos can give him He-Man.

Kothos decides to lure He-Man into a trap by setting his captives adrift at sea on a raft and waiting on the shore for He-Man to rescue them. He removes them from stasis, and Adam swims out to sea and transforms into He-Man as Kothos conjures a tidal wave. He-Man guides the raft away from the tidal wave and back to shore, but Kothos places He-Man's friends back in stasis and weakens him with a magical helmet. He then summons his floating palace and contacts Skeletor, who cages Evil-Lyn and leaves for the desert in the Roton with Beast Man. The two villains meet to exchange captives, but as Kothos wheels Evil-Lyn away, He-Man calls out to her and says that even though they're enemies, they're each other's only hope right now. Evil-Lyn accepts that he's both correct and can be trusted to keep his word, and uses her magic to remove his helmet and free his friends from stasis. He-Man tries to come to her rescue, but Kothos blasts loose the flagstone he's holding as his palace rises into the air. Skeletor tries to use the Roton to trap He-Man and Teela in a pit, but they work together to escape and save Orko from Beast Man. He-Man then lifts the Roton up and throws it at Skeletor and Beast Man as they flee.

With Skeletor out of the picture, He-Man has to keep his promise to rescue Evil-Lyn. He and Teela use Sky-Sleds to reach Kothos' floating palace while Orko flies after them, leaving Cringer with the Attak Trak. Kothos summons a storm that stuns Orko and destroys Teela's Sky-Sled, but He-Man catches them as they fall. When they arrive at the palace, Kothos raises columns from the floor to trap them, but they climb onto a chandelier and punch through the ceiling to escape. While He-Man tries to catch Kothos, Teela and Orko find Evil-Lyn and defeat the orks that are guarding her, then free her from her cage. Meanwhile, Kothos conjures a giant stone fist to grab He-Man, then drops him down a trapdoor after he breaks loose. He-Man grabs hold of a grate and uses it to swing onto a platform, then climbs some stairs and finds Evil-Lyn throwing pottery at Kothos with her magic. Both of them insist that they have good reason to want revenge on the other, and Evil-Lyn decides to complete her revenge on Kothos by destroying the control system for his palace. After doing so, she is thrown out a window by the violent motion of the palace and lands in the ocean below, realizing that revenge might not be all it's cracked up to be.

Kothos, realizing that his palace will soon crash and be destroyed, begins to panic. He-Man agrees to save the palace if Kothos changes his evil ways and forgets about revenge, to which the wizard eagerly agrees. He-Man uses a Sky-Sled to fly outside the palace and holds it still as it heads toward a mountain, stopping it. Once the control system is fixed, Kothos thanks He-Man for his help and announces that he has decided to travel around Eternia in his floating palace, bringing rain to farmers who need it as part of "Kothos' Instant Weather Service." However, he accidentally makes it rain on Orko, and He-Man jokes that they'll let him know the next time Orko needs water.

Moral
Teela: "Today we learned there's no such thing as getting even. Even if someone does something to you and you get back at him." Orko: "And he gets back at you." Teela: "And you gets back at him." Orko: "And he gets back at you." Teela: "And you gets back at him again." Orko: "And he..." Teela: "So you see? It never stops. No one is really getting even at all. The best thing to do is talk it over and start fresh. Now, you were going to say something?" Orko: "See ya next time! "

Heroic Warriors

 * Prince Adam
 * Cringer
 * He-Man
 * Orko
 * Teela

Evil Warriors

 * Beast Man
 * Evil-Lyn
 * Skeletor

Villains

 * Kothos

Cast

 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam, Beast Man and Kothos
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor and Cringer
 * Linda Gary as Teela and Evil-Lyn
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Orko and Orc guard

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved May 17, 1984 and final script revision took place October 16, 1984.
 * This story was released on VHS in the UK together with One for All & Search for the Past.

Continuity

 * The villain Kothos from The Witch and the Warrior returns, but the color of his costume and skin have completely changed.
 * The animated sequence of Prince Adam unsheathing his magic sword underwater previously appeared in Hunt for He Man.
 * The animation of He-Man retrieving the Sky Sled from the back of the Attak Trak was previously seen in Prince Adam No More & Journey to Stone City.
 * The shot of He-Man turning to Teela after using his sword was first seen in Diamond Ray of Disappearance.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * Kothos' second appearance.