Of Shadows and Skulls

 is the 56th episode of She-Ra: Princess of Power.

Synopsis
At the start of this episode we see Shadow Weaver, Catra, and some Horde Troopers are surrounding a pit that have caves. Down Inside that pit are Adora, Bow, Kowl and several other rebels. Bow tries to climb up and see if the Horde members have noticed where they are at. Bow then has to jump back down after two horde troopers try to blast him with lasers. Adora tells Bow and Kowl that she is going to try to find a way out of there. She starts running avoiding several blasts from lasers and Shadow Weaver notices she is trying to escape. Adora makes it safely into another cave. She then draws out the Sword of Protection and changes into She-Ra. After she has changed into She-Ra she knows that she has to find another way out of the cave because if She-Ra was to come out of the same cave that Adora went into that would give away her secret identity. She-Ra then finds a weak spot in the wall and kicks it making an exit hole that allows her to sneak up behind Shadow Weaver and Catra. Shadow Weaver, who is becoming impatient involing how it is taking too long to capture the rebels, casts a spell that allows her to shoot lightning bolts out of her hands to destroy the rocks of the caves. She-Ra then changes the Sword of Protection into a Sheild and thows it to deflect the lightning back at Shadow Weaver, Catra and the Horde Troopers. The power of that blast made the Horde members get knocked out for a while and when Shadow Weaver asks "What happened?" Catra responds saying "That stupid magic of yours ruined our trap!"

Back at the Fright Zone Hordak is very angry that Shadow Weaver failed to capture Adora and the rebels. Imp suggests to Hordak that he should do something awful to her punishment. Shadow Weaver is angry at Imp and wants to cast a spell on him. Hordak hears her say that and says "You dare to threaten Imp in my presence!" He then tells Shadow Weaver to be gone out of his sight. Then later on while Shadow Weaver is in her private area of the Fright Zone known as Horror Hall she is angry at how Hordak treated her. She comes up with the idea that if she could get rid of Hordak things would be better. She realizes she will need someone else to help her that hates Hordak as much as she does and so she goes to her cauldron and starts using her magic to find out who she could call on. Then all of a sudden Skeletor's face appears in the flames. Shadow weaver then says "Yes, Skeletor! He is ideal, I will contact him immediately!"

Meanwhile on the planet Eternia at Snake Mountain Skeltor and Spikor are together talking when all of a sudden Shadow weaver appears in a magical transmission of a message offering to Skeletor that she will open a portal for him to come to Etheria and get revenge on Hordak. Skeletor then asks her "What is in it for me after the task is done?" Shadow Weaver then tells Skeletor that she will give him all the means for him to take over Eternia if he helps her deal with Hordak and take control of the Horde. Skeletor says ok to it and Shadow Weaver says that the portal will arrive in a few moments.

Then back on Etheria She-Ra and Swift Wind are flying to the Crystal Castle because Light Hope has asked them to come. When they arrive, Light Hope tells She-Ra that he has sensed that Skeletor is now on Etheria thanks to some powerful magic coming from Horror Hall. She-Ra realizes it is of Shadow Weaver's doing. Then Light Hope tells her that Shadow Weaver and Skeletor are joining forces.

She-Ra realizes she must look into this because those two with thier magic combined could cause a whole lot of trouble. Light Hope also tells She-Ra that Skeletor and Shadow Weaver can be found in Snake Tongue Pass. She-Ra then leaves for there to catch up to the two villains. At that very moment in Snake Tonuge Pass, Hordak is leading a convoy of Horde Tanks through the pass. Shadow Weaver and Skeletor are looking from an overhead view at Hordak's group. Shadow Weaver tells Skeletor "See he comes just as I said,  Let's take our positions!" Then Shadow Weaver teleports herself to another spot and starts an avalanche that blocks the Horde Tanks from going through.

Skeletor then fires magic beams from his hands damaging the first Horde tank to an imoperable condition and starts shouting "I've done it! That fool Hordak never knew what hit him." Then all of a sudden some drill sounds happen and Hordak comes up out of the ground in his drill form. Then when he changes back to his normal form he looks and sees Skeletor. Then Hordak shouts "You!", then both Hordak and Skeletor start to fight each other.

Hordak tries many of his different weapons he can change himself into but Skeletor is able to move fast using his magic. Then after Hordak changed into a tank and tried to ram Skeletor he laid there on the ground shaking his dissy head  Skeletor then said "I think you need some rest, have a little Sleep Mist!" Hordak then lay there knocked out and Shadow Weaver is excited because Skeletor had won the fight. Just then She-Ra shows up riding on Swift Wind and she sees Hordak knocked out. She-Ra yells at Skeletor questioning him "What is he doing on Etheria?" Skeletor says "This is a private matter between me and Hordak woman!" She-Ra then says "I don't like Hordak but I would not leave him in the hands of your brand of mercy!" Skeletor then says "Just like He-Man always Medeling, Very well fool come and get it!" Then Skeletor fires a beam form his right hand at She-Ra but Swift Wind is able to move out of the way. Sadly they do not know that Shadow Weaver is there too.

Shadow Weaver then uses her magic spell she calls her Shadow Coils and it causes She-Ra to fall of of Swift Wind and land on the ground right near Skeletor. Skeletor then tells She-Ra "You should have run when I gave you the chance!" He then uses his Sleep mist on She-Ra too. He then starts cheering himself on that he defeated both Hordak and She-Ra in one day and he laughs. Just then Swift Wind tries to make a pass at Skeletor but Shadow weaver uses another one of her spells to create a tornado that takes Swift Wind far away from them.

Skeletor asks Shadow Weaver if her winds will keep Swift Wind away and when she garuntees it Skeletor then says "It is time we put Hordak on ice!", "Behold my mystic cage of Bone!" Shadow Weaver then comments "You exspect that flimsy thing to hold Hordak?" Skeletor responds " That cage is charged with magic, Hordak will be powerless against it!" Then after they carry Hordak into the Mystic Cage of Bone Shadow Weaver comments toward Hordak "So mighty one this is how it ends, you should never have mistreated me!" Then Skeletor all of a sudden says "And you should have never been stupid enough to enter my cage!" Then Skeletor closes the cage door on Shadow Weaver trapping her in it too. He then uses his magic to make the cage float into a cave and seals the entrance of the cave off. He then starts laughing again because he thinks he has succeeded in his plan at last. He even comments to himself saying "I can't remember when I have had a more pleasing day!"

Back at Wispering Woods Bow is playing his musical instrument and he notices Swift Wind showing up without She-Ra on his back. Swift Wind faces Bow, Madame Razz and Kowl telling them that She-Ra has been captured by Shadow Weaver and Skeletor and that they need to help her. When Bow asks "Do you know where they may have taken her Swift Wind?" He tells Bow that She-Ra may have been taken to the Fright Zone. Madame Razz says "We better get cracking Dearie, there is no telling what Skeletor has Planned For She-Ra." Bow says "Right, and we will make better time flying if you do not mind Swift Wind." So when Bo gets on Swift Wind's back and Madame Razz gets on Broom and Kowl flys with them they head for the Fright Zone to save She-Ra.

Meanwhile in the cave where the cage of bones is at Shadow Weaver is trying all her different magic spells to try to get out as Hordak is waking up. Hordak notices Shadow Weaver in the cage with him and asks her "Did that boney Bafoon get you too?" Shadow Weaver says Yes but then lies telling Hordak that she was coming to his aid when she was caught. Hordak then comments that they need to get out of the cage and Shadow weaver tells him that she has tried all her magic and his weapons will not work either That Skeletor had planned well. Hordak then comments that he taught Skeletor but they will still have the last laugh. Hordak then comes up with an idea after changing his right hand into a sawblade by telling Shadow Weaver to cast her magic on his sawblade and that their combined powers shoudl get them out of the cage. When Hordak starts cutting on the cage Shadow Weaver says "It is working!" Hordak then says "Naturally, and when I catch that old pupil of mine he is going to regret the day he set foot on Etheria again!"

Inside the Fright Zone in the area that is Hordak's throne room Skeletor is sitting on the throne because he has She-Ra trapped in a magic bubble and at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Throne are  Catra, Scorpia, Grizzlor, Mantenna and Leech. Skeletor starts giving commands to them that he wants the army ready to move against Eternia by nightfall. Ip starts saying to the five of them "What is the matter with you?, Are you going to let Skeletor order us around like this?, He is nothing compared to Hordak!" Just then Scorpia makes the comment that Hordak is not around to protect Imp and Catra agrees. Then the five of them start chasing after Imp because they figure with Hordak not around they can finally get after that little flying pig for how he has been rough on them all this time.

The five of them start chasing Imp and as  they are running they go right by where Bo, Madame Razz, Broom, and Kowl are hiding at without noticing them. Madame Razz says "Things are moving Fast around here!" Bow then says "Come on, let's find She-Ra!" Skeletor is sitting on the throne thinking to himself that when he takes over Eternia he might make King Randor his court Jester if Randor is funny enough! Bow and the others are sneaking up on the throne room.

When Bow Spots She-Ra who is in some kind of Force field bubble he uses one of his new Electro arrows to destroy the generator in order to free She-Ra. When the spark happens Skeletor shouts "What!" Bow and the others come charging up to get to She-Ra. Bow kindly asks She-Ra "Can we offer you an escort Ma'am?" Skeletor then tells some Horde Troopers to get them. She-Ra does some moves that knocks out all the troopers but two. Madame Razz uses a spell that magnetizes two troopers together and Broom says "Cute Very Cute"  She-Ra then tells Skeletor "Give up Bone Head your robots are finished!" Skeletor the says "Then I will have to give you something else to play with!" Skeletor then sends a magic beam from his right hand causing a giant snake to appear. She-Ra then uses some moves and a large metal item to knock the snake out of the way. She-Ra then asks "Any more tricks you want to try Skeletor?" Skeletor then claims "I do not need tricks to beat you!" Just as he fires another magic beam out of his hand She-Ra jumps onto the other end of the platform Skeletor is standing on causing him to fly out of the Fright Zone Throne room and into the river that runs through the outer edges of the Fright Zone. Just as Skeletor gets out of the water and says "Blast that woman, she is worse than He-man!" Hordak and Shadow Weaver show up to confront him. Just as Hordak is about to fire his cannon, Skeletor starts to tell him that this treason was not his idea that a member of the Horde had plotted it, but Shadow Weaver cast a spell sending Skeletor back to Eternia so that he would not be able to tell Hordak that it was her.

When Hordak ask why she did that, Shadow Weaver simply says "Oh forgive me Hordak, I was angry at his treatment of you, I did not think because I suppose he was telling a lie because who would betray the great Hordak!" Then Imp shows up shouting for help with Mantenna, Catra, Scorpia, Leech, and Grizzlor following. Hordak asks Imp "What is going on?" Imp is so happy to see Hordak that he points at the other five telling him what they had been doing to him and suggests to Hordak to get the Trap Door ready. The five of them just stand in shock seeing Hordak is back. Then outside the Fright Zone, She-Ra, Swift Wind, Bow, Kowl, and Madame Razz comment on how things look back to normal in the Fright Zone and that they should get back to Wispering Woods. Bow Makes the comment "You know it is weird, By Fighting Skeletor we actually helped Hordak." She-Ra then says " Seletor had to be stopped we had no choice"  Bow then says "Hordak may be a villain but at least he is OUR villain!" Then they all start to laugh.

Moral
Loo-Kee: "Hi everybody! It's Loo-Kee in person! Did you find my hiding place today? If not, look for me now. See me yet? I'm right here! Today, Hordak was mean to Shadow Weaver, so she tried to get revenge. But as you saw that didn't work. If someone is mean to you, don't try to get revenge. Instead try to forgive and forget, because that usually works. Bye now!"

Characters

 * Great Rebellion
 * Princess Adora/She-Ra
 * Bow
 * Kowl
 * Loo-Kee (cameo)
 * Madame Razz
 * Spirit/Swift Wind


 * Allies
 * Light Hope


 * Heroic Warriors
 * He-Man (mentioned)
 * King Randor (mentioned)


 * Evil Horde
 * Catra
 * Grizzlor
 * Hordak
 * Horde Troopers
 * Imp
 * Leech
 * Mantenna
 * Scorpia
 * Shadow Weaver


 * Evil Warriors
 * Skeletor
 * Spikor

Objects

 * Vehicles
 * Horde Crawler
 * Ground Buster

Locations

 * Etheria
 * Fright Zone
 * Horror Hall
 * Skydancer Mountain - Crystal Castle
 * Snake Tongue Pass


 * Eternia
 * Snake Mountain

Cast

 * Melendy Britt as She-Ra/Princess Adora and Catra
 * George DiCenzo as Hordak and Bow
 * Linda Gary as Shadow Weaver, Scorpia and Madame Razz
 * Alan Oppenheimer as Skeletor
 * Erika Scheimer as Imp and Loo-Kee
 * Lou Scheimer (credited as Erik Gunden) as Kowl, Swift Wind, Broom, Grizzlor, Spikor and Light Hope

Trivia

 * Script was approved December 13, 1984 and final script revision took place March 20, 1985.
 * Scenes cut from the shooting script:
 * There is more dialogue when Catra and Shadow Weaver return to the Fright Zone and blame each other for being defeated by She-Ra.
 * When an angry Shadow Weaver returns to Horror Hall, there are three weird and goofy looking demons cowering in the corner. She waves her hand at them and puts a spell on then which causes their legs and arms to swap places.
 * During their conversation at the Crystal Castle, Light Hope mentions that Skeletor is a being unfamiliar to him, but She-Ra is able to identify him.
 * In his script, Larry DiTillio refers to the Hordesmen chasing Imp as the "Let's-Eat-Imp-For-Brunch-squad."
 * During his brief appearance, Spikor's trident is attached to his right arm where it should be on his left.
 * During her transformation sequence, Adora/She-Ra stands before the same cavern background seen in the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe episode The Gambler during the transformation of Adam/He-Man.
 * The animation of Hordak threatening Skeletor with his arm cannon is reused from Battle for Bright Moon.

The He-Man and She-Ra Blog

 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #1
 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #2
 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #3
 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #4
 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #5
 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #6
 * She-Ra script: "Of Shadows and Skulls" #7
 * Shocked Skeletor!
 * Skeletor's muscles!
 * Skeletor on the throne #3
 * Bow bows...