Reunions

Reunions is a first season episode of the animated television series She-Ra Princess of Power, produced in 1985. Written by Larry DiTillio, directed by Marsh Lamore.

Synopsis
He-Man and She-Ra stand in the Whispering Woods, with He-Man confused about She-Ra's claim that she's his sister, having always believed he was an only child. She-Ra tells him she was as surprised, but knew it was true when she was told by "the woman in the sword," He-Man realizes she means the Sorceress, and takes the Sword of Protection to communicate with her, and she explains everything, beginning with the moment King Randor and Queen Marlena became the proud parents of twins, Adam and Adora. She-Ra sheds tears at seeing her real parents for the first time. The entire kingdom was happy, proud to have such fine children as a Prince and Princess. However the happiness did not last long, as Eternia was invaded by the Horde. With the combined might of the royal guard and the magic of Castle Grayskull, the invasion was repelled; however Hordak, the leader of the Horde, hatched an evil plot as revenge. Knowing Adam and Adora were destined for greatness, he snuck into the Royal Palace with his favorite pupil, Skeletor, intending to steal the children away. Hordak took Adora, but Man-At-Arms interrupted him before he could take Adam too.

Hordak fled, but left Skeletor behind. When confronted, Skeletor revealed the location of the Horde's secret base, Snake Mountain. The Sorceress and Man-At-Arms pursued Hordak, but he took the baby and escaped into another dimension as revenge for his defeated invasion. Despite years of searching, they were unable to find the particular world to which Hordak had escaped. To spare the pain of Adora's loss, the Sorceress wiped out everyone's memory of her, saving only Man-At-Arms and the King and Queen.

The Sorceress tells She-Ra she has met her destiny by taking possession of the Sword of Protection, and what happens now is up to her. He-Man asks She-Ra if she wants to return to Eternia with him. Alhough She-Ra yearns to return home and reunite with her parents, she cannot abandon Etheria to the Horde. The Sorceress tells She-Ra she doesn't need to decide immediately, and can be contacted through the sword anytime. She-Ra notes how the sword has changed her entire life, and He-Man tells her she should take time to decide what she wants to do next. The two reunited siblings then hug.

Together, Adam and Adora return to the rebel camp where Cringer leaps onto Adam in happiness. Bow is quick to congratulate Adam on his capture of Force Captain Adora, but Adam surprises everyone by revealing that she is his sister and that Shadow Weaver was controlling her with a spell; Adora declares that she wants to join the Great Rebellion.

Glimmer expresses great concern over her mother, Queen Angella, who is being held prisoner by the Harpies of Talon Mountain. Adam and Adora volunteer to rescue the Queen, and out of sight transform into He-Man and She-Ra. Once they reach Talon Mountain, the harpy leader, Hunga, tries unsuccessfully to stop the twin titans. He-Man easily breaks Angella's prison collar and the Queen journeys back with them to the Whispering Woods.

Back at the rebel camp, Queen Angella and her daughter Glimmer are reunited. She-Ra feels that the rebellion can now stand on its own, so she feels safe in taking a trip to Eternia, wishing to meet her parents. As Adam, Adora, Cringer, and Spirit head to the dimensional portal, with Adam telling Adora she mustn't reveal the truth about their secret identities, two Horde Troopers spot them and report to Hordak. Furious that Adora may be leaving Etheria, Hordak assumes his rocket form and goes through the portal too.

The Sorceress welcomes Adam and Adora to Castle Grayskull, with Adora admitting it'll take a while for her to get used to being a Princess. The two then head to the Royal Palace, the Sorceress having told Randor and Marlena that Adam was away helping her and he was returning with a surprise. When they leave, Hordak speeds through the portal, out of Castle Grayskull and crashlands in the Evergreen Forest and realizes that he is back on Eternia. He then decides to look up an old friend...

In the throne room of the Royal Palace King Randor, Queen Marlena, and Man-At-Arms are overjoyed to see Adora again while Teela is surprised to be told of the newcomer's identity. Many tears are shed, with Randor thanking Adam for bringing Adora back before declaring the royal family of Eternia complete again. Meanwhile, Hordak enters Snake Mountain and discovers that Skeletor is still there; the two allow their old tensions to resurface in a duel. Neither able to gain a clear advantage, they settle on a truce: Skeletor will help Hordak capture the traitor he is looking for, then Hordak will leave Skeletor and Eternia alone forever.

To Be Continued...

Characters

 * Great Rebellion
 * Princess Adora / She-Ra
 * Queen Angella (first Filmation appearance)
 * Bow
 * Broom
 * Glimmer
 * Kowl
 * Madame Razz
 * Spirit / Swift Wind
 * Sprag


 * Heroic Warriors
 * Prince Adam / He-Man
 * Cringer
 * Man-At-Arms
 * Queen Marlena
 * King Randor
 * Sorceress
 * Teela


 * Evil Horde
 * Hordak
 * Shadow Weaver
 * Evil Warriors
 * Skeletor
 * Villains
 * Gayda (first Filmation appearance)
 * Hunga (first Filmation appearance)

Objects

 * Vehicles
 * Annihilator

Locations

 * Etheria
 * Talon Mountain
 * Whispering Woods
 * Eternia
 * Castle Grayskull
 * Eternos - Royal Palace
 * Evergreen Forest
 * Snake Mountain

Cast

 * Melendy Britt as She-Ra/Princess Adora and Hunga the Harpy
 * George DiCenzo as Hordak and Bow
 * Linda Gary as The Sorceress, Glimmer, Shadow Weaver, Madame Razz, Teela and Queen Marlena
 * John Erwin as He-Man/Prince Adam
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Cringer and Announcer
 * Erika Scheimer as Queen Angella and Gayda the Harpy
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Kowl, Swift Wind, Broom, King Randor and Horde Troopers

Behind the Scenes

 * Script was approved June 5, 1984 and final script revision took place August 17, 1984.
 * The full, original title as seen on the shooting script was "The Sword of She-Ra Part IV: Reunions". The unused part of the title is still spoken by the announcer (Alan Oppenheimer), although he refers to 'chapters' instead of 'parts'.
 * The music score was restructured for The Secret of the Sword to compensate for the numerous edits to the original five episodes and is completely different in many scenes.
 * Scenes from "Reunions" which were cut out of The Secret of the Sword:
 * During the discussion at the Rebel Camp, Bow and Glimmer each have an extra line.
 * On the way to Talon Mountain, She-Ra asks Swift Wind if he is tired, to which the unicorn replies "Not at all, I love flying".
 * Hunga orders Gayda to gather their sisters and stop He-Man and She-Ra.
 * The Harpies attack He-Man and She-Ra atop Swift Wind, but are maneuvered into crashing into each other by She-Ra. Hunga and Angella comment on the proceedings after watching the defeat on a view screen.
 * The Sorceress has a few more lines after meeting Adora before she transports them all away.
 * Sequences that were cut from the original shooting script:
 * After Queen Angella is freed, Hunga the Harpy is seen bound by ropes and hanging from a projection on the wall. When Hunga swears vengeance, Angella tells the Harpy there will be consequences if she ever leaves Talon Mountain again, and then conjures up a gag to muffle Hunga.
 * Adam has to drag Adora into the Royal throne room, as she's afraid her parents won't recognize her.
 * Hordak flies to Snake Mountain with the help of helicopter blades converted from parts of his armor. Beast Man and Trap Jaw see Hordak coming on Skeletor's tabletop view-screen and alert Skeletor, who is shocked to see his former mentor and orders his men to gather up all the Evil Warriors they can to stop him from entering.
 * At the foot of Snake Mountain, Beast Man and Trap Jaw trap Hordak using a whip and waldo claw, respectively. But Hordak transforms himself into a top and starts spinning, yanking the two henchmen off their feet. He then cuts the whip and extender rod with spinning blades, causing Beast Man and Trap Jaw to fall into the mud. Next, Tri-Klops, Whiplash and Webstor charge at Hordak firing blasters. Hordak transforms into a garbage scoop vehicle, scoops them up and deposits them in the mud as well.

Continuity

 * Despite Filmation's tendency to reuse the same footage, the kidnapping of baby Adora seen in flashback in "Reunion" is completely different from the way it was shown during the Sorceress' nightmare in "Into Etheria". Not only is the animation new, there are differences in the execution as well: Adora is now all bundled up instead of sitting on Hordak's arm. Hordak's weapon is no longer a stun stick in his hand but his right arm transformed into a canon. Man-At-Arms does not push the Sorceress and himself out of harms way, but instead they each flee in a different direction.
 * The room in which Prince Adam and Princess Adora were born in, as seen during the flashback sequence, was first seen as Teela's bedroom in the Royal Palace of Eternia in the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode The Starchild and will be seen again as Ariel's room at Castle Mystacor in the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode The Anxious Apprentice.
 * This story reveals that the Evil Horde built Snake Mountain to be their base of operations on Eternia. Whereas in the earlier He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode Golden Disks of Knowledge it was said Skeletor built Snake Mountain by using information from the Golden Disks of Knowledge.
 * The animated sequence of Adam and Adora hugging is seen again in The Eldritch Mist. An alternate version featuring He-Man and Adora hugging will be seen in Loo-Kee Lends a Hand.
 * The animated sequence of She-Ra hugging He-Man will be re-purposed for a scene in which She-Ra hugs Bow in the episode The Missing Ax.
 * The animated sequence of She-Ra and He-Man hugging will be altered to show Adora hugging Prince Adam in the episode The Inspector.
 * The shot of Queen Angella with her arms outstretched will be used again in the episode The Crystal Castle.

Errors

 * When She-Ra learns about her family history in the Whispering Woods, during one of her close-ups the background is from the top of the Magna-Beam Tower at the Fright Zone instead.