The Quest

While fishing in a nearby pond, three of the Trobbits are attacked by a water serpent. One of them goes under, accidently swallowing a substance called "the poison of the pond." An unfortunate mishap, you ask? What do you think? A consummate planner, the Overlord knows the only cure for this ailment is the Healing Stone, which is carefully guarded by a tribe of desert dwellers. Why he wants the Healing Stone, nobody knows, and for whatever reason, he can't simply march in and take it, but he's got an incredibly convoluted plan that's sure to work. Once the Trobbits realize their spells won't cure Poulo, Blackstar, being the predictable, softhearted good guy he is, is sure to ride off to the desert dwellers' city for the Healing Stone. And once Our Hero has the Stone, in will come the army of purple gargolyes led by an energy whip-wielding knight to take it from him....but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

The gratuitous Trobbit hot-tub scene has got to be seen to be believed; it's rather more of Gossamer and Carpo without their shirts (below, left, with Rif providing the heat) than we really wanted to see. However, it's only the beginning of the visual wonders of this episode. Sadly, the Healing Stone itself is a bit of a disappointment, as it resembles a 1000 karat hunk of cheddar cheese (below, right)



It's amazing how quickly the desert dwellers are willing to part with their prized possession, considering that Blackstar manages to fumble and lose it in about five minutes. The purple gargolyes are goofy, but their leader, an ass-kicking knight with a cool arsenal (we love the paralysis cage and think Blackstar should spend time in there more often), manages to get away with the Healing Stone.

This little battle is only to whet your appetite for the later battle with the knight on the drawbridge of the Ice Castle, in which--oh my goodness!--under the helmet is a young woman. Well, not so young, because she ages right before our very eyes. Apparently she sold herself to the Overlord for eternal youth, granted only when she wears the helmet, but now in true Filmation fashion she sees the error of her ways and wants to atone for her crimes. We weren't really fooled by the Emerald Knight's disguise; her armored legs have a very feminine curve to them, and that cold voice, muffled by some sort of robotic synthisizer, definitely belongs to a woman. But Blackstar is certainly surprised, proving once again that this guy's got the grapes to fight a man, but give him a woman and he's all for negotiating. I mean, what's the use of killing a potential date? Blackstar's motto is obviously Make Love, Not War.

Of course, the obligatory macho bullshit fight scene between Blackstar and the Overlord is yet to come. And what does Blackstar do? Ask this female knight who already kicked his ass once to lend her assistance? No, he tells her to wait outside. What a guy!

Taking a quick tour of the Ice Castle, we see what an ominously cool bachelor pad the Overlord has. He's got a great interior decorator, but we were baffled by the UNIVAC closet and futuristic sliding doors. Considering the fact that our heroes live in a giant treehouse with apparently no running water and one bed between them, we have to wonder when did the Sagarese suddenly get so technologically advanced?

Some minor quibbles: Why don't Blackstar and Klone ride over the Gorge of the Winds instead of through it? And where does Blackstar get that rope and spike, anyway? Did we miss out on a quickie side trip to Osh? Also, when Balkar is trying to find a cure for Poulo's ailment, why doesn't he turn the page and read the rest of the instructions first before using poor Rif as a guinea pig?

And if the Trobbits know about the poison of the pond, why the heck do they still fish there?

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