Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

Sorceress is back!

Good premiere. 3 1/2 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "Frozen Solid"

Oooh, George Takei as Mer-Man!

Bold opinion: I think Ben Diskin has wound up the best Skeletor voice. Come and get me.

I like Man-At-Arms as the bug on the windshield.

Cool. 3 1/2 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "Wrath Of The Mer-Man"

King Grayskull being a bad guy was hinted at before, but essentially confirmed here.

Good arc for Teela.

Mer-Man very much reminds me of a Gremlin.

Skeletor seems to be having fun as a ghost. "King Blandor" is a total Skeletor pun.

Gettin' good. 4 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "The Tomb Of Grayskull"

I love that there appears to be an in-canon explanation for Thunderpunch He-Man.

They can give Mer-Man the embarrassing death because it's a different continuity. I found the implication that Mer-Man doesn't like the texture of wetness either amusing too.

Big ending too. 3 1/2 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "A Leap Of Faith"

I knew it would be Ork-O at the end, if only because he had yet to appear this season.

I didn't much like the episode. Tell me if I'm crazy, but he's freaking He-Man. It shouldn't take this much effort to make him give up Havok. Part of him should already be fighting against it the entire time. I don't like the fact that it's such a struggle for him. That's a failing of both the character and the entire show.

I DO however like the idea that Trapjaw is secretly smart, and his dumb-guy routine around Evil-Lynn is partly done to lower her expectations so he can put his own plans into motion without her interference. That's an interesting notion.

But I didn't much like the subtext of He-Man being swayed to the Dark Side so easily. 2 1/2 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "In-Can't-Ation"

Skeletor's new design is totally badass.

The original Orko's design is pretty old-school cartoon, but I didn't dig Wallace Shawn for the voice.

Speaking of cartoons, it was funny seeing everybody in the 2D Revelation designs.

Pretty good (if a bit heavy on the preachy toddler morals). 3 1/2 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "The Beginning Of The End"

We have a problem. Having Krass switch sides only upon realizing Skeletor wasn't going to keep his word about reviving her parents is a narrative mistake. Now, no matter what happens, I won't be able to forgive her. If she was forced to make a tough decision to rejoin the good guys I could have eventually done so. Now I can't.

I liked the scene where Man-E-Faces asks Randor how he can be sure his brother is responsible for the storms, a giant laughing skull pops up into the air, and Randor dryly says, "Context". That was a cool moment. Also kinda literate for a kiddie show.

For the record, whatever his intentions and plans turn out to be in the next episode, you'll never convince me He-Man giving up the sword and letting Skeletor win is anything but a tactical mistake. The show thinking it shows a message about the power of friendship instead is crazy.

I liked Skeletor and Krass poking logic holes in He-Man's dumb entrance line. For the record, every thing they stated about its lameness and nonsense was actually true. I like that on this show, Skeletor is literally cooler than He-Man. That's kind of funny.

We'll see how things shake out in the finale, but Krass' arc here is making me even more unhappy than it did last year. 3 stars.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe "The End Of The Beginning"

It's clear the show was intended to run for at least another season (Kevin Conroy as Hordak / Evil-Lynn's father is NOT where you want to leave things) but also it's clear it was canceled during Netflix's recent animation purge. A shame, although I thought the episode itself was a bit shady.

I mean, it turns out He-Man trading Skeletor the sword for Krass wasn't part of some larger plan, he just really IS that stupid. After learning that I partly believed the heroes didn't even DESERVE to win. Similarly disappointing is learning Trapjaw's cunning in a recent episode was a one-off and the dude actually IS that dumb too.

I thought returning Skeletor to Keldor at the end was a just punishment, but since it's clear the series wasn't supposed to end, it's less impressive realizing they would have eventually undone it.

Like the last episode, the animation in the battle sequences was quite impressive. No denying it.

It was decent, but I wish the show hadn't been canceled and forced to leave us on THAT. 3 1/2 stars.

August 18, 2022 (...whole lotta green going on on that day, huh?...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqHz2ONb7k