Man-At-Arms
and Professor Smallen search for artifacts in the ancient ruins,
but during a radio communication the thousand-year-old Zactons appear.
At the Royal Palace Teela is panicking in the radio room, thus she,
Adam and Cringer head out to help her father and the professor.
Adam navigates the way for Teela, but the storm knocks the Wind
Raider out of the skies. At Snake Mountain, Trap Jaw monitors the
Wind Raider crash. Adam and Cringer wake up, but Teela seems hurt
and unconscious. Adam is stuck in the Wind Raider, so he transforms
into He-Man to break free. He calls on the Sorceress, who sends
help. He-Man and Battle Cat leave the scene, heading into and then
out of the eye of the storm. He-Man traps the storm cloud underground.
At the ancient ruins two Zactons collide and one is seriously injured.
Trap Jaw intrudes with his captive Teela in hand. He and He-Man
clash until a Zacton freezes the villain. Teela returns to her Wind
Raider in the cavern, where Adam and Cringer are waiting.
He-Man
"Today we saw Professor Smallen find a great treasure. It wasn't
gold or jewels, but something even more precious knowledge. There
are many places to find knowledge and one of the easiest and best
is a museum. Museums are storehouses of knowledge where you can
see and learn all sorts of fascinating things. There's probably
one close to you, so pay a visit. Remember, knowledge is power and
you get the power."
"Keeper of the Ancient Ruins" is a highly enjoyable mid-first season episode, and quite an underrated one.
The story is interesting, and gives Trap Jaw a rare opportunity to work as a solo villain.
Professor Smallen is an interesting new character, and seems to be based upon Albert Einstein.
The only thing that spoils the credibility of this otherwise enjoyable episode is one of He-Man's silly feats that Filmation decided to stick in occasionally. There's a scene where He-Man and Battle Cat are in the desert, caught in the middle of a giant storm. In the eye of the storm, He-Man uses his sword to cut a large whole in the sand, flips it open, the storm disappears down it, and he flips it shut again. Even when I was a kid, this ridiculous scene spoilt the episode from me.
But all in all, if you look past the one silly sequence, this is a really good episode. Overall, 8.5 out of 10 (it loses out on being a 9 due to the aforementioned silly sequence!).
