By The Podcast Of Grayskull

Dave recaps “No Princess Left Behind,” an action-packed jail-breaking adventure in which the newly-recruited Princesses of the Rebellion (plus Sea Hawk) come to the aid of the Best Friend Squad and duke it out with the dark denizens of the Fright Zone. So much happens! Fights! Escapes! Plans gone awry! Big surprises! Laser stuff! And just when we almost forgot him: KYLE.

Hi. This is Sarah speaking. I’m not going to try to be funny about this description because DEAR LORD is this episode brilliant and intense, and HOLY MOLY does Dave do a superb job recapping it. Again, this is Sarah, not Dave. He’s not tooting his own horn. Anyway, you’d think a princess prom-themed animated show wouldn’t dare entwine teenage longing with nation building, comedy with terror, or societal collapse with party etiquette ... or, hell, maybe you would. You seem pretty smart about story elements. But join us for dark surprises: here we are at the Kingdom of Snows.

Sarah recaps the psychological minefield of “In the Shadows of Mysticor,” wherein the BFS is tested on a magician spa island ruled by Glimmer’s powerful but passive-aggressive aunt. Adora struggles with PTSD-related sleep deprivation psychosis! Or, wait, dammit, is somebody gaslighting her!? Bonus: cute swimsuits!

It’s a robot battle nightmare in a hacker-maker wonderland, where the obsessive genius Princess Entrapta, she of the prehensile ponytails, has harnessed some dark old-timey coding to dicey effect! Dave talks us through the rapid-fire thriller System Failure, in which Beau gets the thankless task of risk management, then rises to glory in rebellion badassery with his squad of regular-folk kitchen staff. Also, bonus troll.

Welcome to the Sea Gate! Sought by the Best Friend Squad! Ruled by a bitter teen! Assailed by the Horde! Plus: Bow’s boy crush on the very hot & ridiculous Captain Sea Hawk is adorableness for the ages. Plus plus: It’s GLIMMER, dammit! Sarah recaps.

New year, new ep of BTPOG! Dave recaps Flowers for She-Ra, wherein the Best Friend Squad come to the aid of Plumeria, a tree-hugging queendom of dirty hippies who nevertheless turn out to be metal AF. Will Adora fulfill their Waste Land prophecies? Will Plumeria join the Alliance? Come with us to the land of weaponized flowers and find out.

RAZZ HANDS She’s silly, she’s wise, she’s got kickass reading glasses, she’s into berry-picking, she’s circled by moths, she’ll hit your enemies with a broom and she’ll remind you just who the fuck it is you are. Gen X slides into Etheria as Dave recaps Razz, episode 3 in the Netflix/Dreamworks original series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

AAAHHHH! It’s the beginning of a special BTPOG podcast-within-a-podcast mini-series about the new Netflix “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power”! In this extra-length holiday season episode, Sarah fangirls out while recapping the first two eps, and cannot shut up. Noelle Stevenson (showrunner, of Nimona fame), lead us forward! P.S.: Bow, you are too a princess. SPOILER ALERT: Sarah and Dave recommend watching the first two She-Ra eps on Netflix before listening. Squad Goals, Y’all

It’s Orko’s birthday, and he can cry if he wants to. Meanwhile, Castle Grayskull gets zapped into another dimension, which is trippy as hell. Dave leads you through a strange and sometimes dumb journey. PS don’t eat too much. What does that have to do with anything? Unclear.

Join Sarah as she recaps The Cosmic Comet, in which a very silly vaudeville sorcerer gets his mojo back by reuniting a same-sex couple of heavenly bodies. SWOON. She’s here for all of it. PS Dave’s Ed Wynn impression is UNCANNY.

Dave recaps The Shaping Staff, which is chock full of fake identity, shapeshifting, and awkward dinner conversation. Oh, and Dave’s fave: STUPID ORKO MAGIC. Bonus topics include Stranger Danger, Animator Spotlight and female rage. Enjoy!! To purchase James Eatock's awesome book, He-Man and She-Ra: A Complete Guide to the Classic Animated Adventures, follow this link: https://amzn.to/2OtLH92

Good ol’ Lou Zukor helms a dialogue-heavy script by Larry DiTillo, in which a venerable dragon takes a dim view of humans, the Giving Tree makes a cameo, and it’s pretty damn philosophical. Dave hates the “treeprechaun,” though. You can’t have everything. Sarah recaps “The Dragon’s Gift.”

How did a line of toys inspired by a blood-soaked sexed up R-rated movie evolve into a quirky, nonviolent force for good? Meet the minds behind Eternia: a creative boss who was a feminist ally; unsung animators who became masters of analog artistry; and the shyest legend in show business. Sarah and Dave confer after watching “The Power of Grayskull: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.”

Dave recaps a marquee episode directed by The Big Boss, in which Orko raises hell, kinda. Orko-sized hell. Isn’t that enough? Stay tuned all the way to the end to hear about our special next episode!

Teela’s pal Ileena comes to Eternia for a visit and to fulfill all the 80s stereotypes: Donna Dixon hair; “Slave Leia” bikini; crippling self doubt worthy of a John Hughes heroine; and a fondness for performance-enhancing “special potion” to rival John DeLorean’s.

You should always be your authentic self, right? -Not so fast, Adam. Your Dad likes He-Man better (or does he?) Dave talks you through some family therapy, plus schools you on Great Animator History, vol. 1.

This Dragoon Is not some old Timey British regimental position or whatever. This one is half man, half dragon, and surprisingly talkative. He menaces the land of Girl Orko, but He-Man leads him through a dark night of the soul. Also, This may be the only masters of the universe episode to warrant a trigger warning

SPOILER ALERT: Despite the title ...there’s a pretty long lead up to Evil Lyn’s Bitch Queen antics in this plot. Dave leads you there through a sea of wee Widgets, rock-punching, and a saucy breastplate for ol’ Skull Face.

Have you got a beeper in your pants? Got some doom that needs busting? Did your Banshee Jungle not appear as advertised? What if your Wolf Bat Attractor attracts Wolf Bats; will LASER BARS save you? Get out from behind that curtain, Skeletor enthusiasts. Sarah will explain everything. Or try.

If there’s one thing Teela’s learned from her old man, it’s always be prepared. Or keep up your STEM skills. Something like that. Anyway, Dave recaps “Like Father, Like Daughter” and lays it all out for you.