Get ready for a wild trip!
As anyone who grew up in the The '80s can tell you, as far as media, the government, and parents were concerned, there were three things children needed to be protected from at all costs: drugs, drugs, and drugs. To that end, every children's show had to include a "Don't do drugs!" message at some point, and a sci fi-fantasy show about feline aliens set in a post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Kitchen Sink was no exception.
The Very Special Episode starts with Tygra investigating a strange series of earthquakes outside Cats Lair. He discovers they're being caused by a giant worm, which drags him underground. He tries following it, only to end up in a colorful, sparkly, flowery place that makes him gasp quite appropriately, "What in the cats-eyed cosmos...?!" As the lighting and style of his eyes indicate some supernatural mind manipulation is already taking place, a talking plant offers him some of her fruit. One bite later, and he's as high as a kite. Once he comes back down (literally), he tries to leave, only to find the garden has moved back in front of him. he quickly goes from vehemently insisting he wants out of there to weakly asking if she has any more fruit. He's too zoned out to see what the viewer can — that it's actually Mumm-Ra — but he gets the message that he'll only get more fruit if he brings him the Sword of Omens.
Tygra walks back to the lair in a daze, barely noticing when he almost gets himself run over by the Thundertank. The first time he tries to take the sword from the chamber, he snaps out of it when the Eye of Thundera opens and lights up, but several hours later, the pain of withdrawal is so strong that that's not enough to stop him, and he takes the sword to Mumm-Ra.
And Then What? The-Sword-of-Omens-cannot-be-used-for-evil Rule still stands. Mumm-Ra can't even touch it without the sword fighting back. He can't use it. He can't even destroy it. But there must be a loophole, right? Maybe if he just politely asks someone who actually is pure of heart to use it for him... Yes, he actually tries that, and he judges the most likely candidate to be Willa, Queen of the Warrior Maidens. He teleports her to the pyramid and ignores her attempts to tell him she's not interested in helping him take over the universe.
Realizing her crazy kidnapper won't take "No!" for answer, Willa pretends to go along with it. She leads the Warrior Maidens in an attack on Cats Lair and easily captures the four adult Thundercats when they see that she has the sword. Tygra, who's not locked up with his teammates, recommends Mumm-Ra kill Lion-O to secure his victory in exchange for more fruit, but Willa notices he only pretends to eat it.
Mumm-Ra takes his advice and prepares to have Willa execute Lion-O with the sword in front of his friends. The part is ruined when Willa cuts Lion-O free instead and gives him back the sword. A fight scene ensues, and after exchanging only a few blows, the Mutants decide to screw it and teleport away. Lion-O defeats Mumm-Ra with the old reflection move, and Tygra's learned his lesson about the dangers of addictive magical substances (at least until Season Three...).
This episode provides examples of the following tropes.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the plot, insert "The fruit is this/causes this" after every drug-related trope listed below instead of deleting them as Zero Context Examples. Rest assured, they do occur in the episode — there's just no reason to type the same sentence over and over again.
- Beneath the Earth: The Garden of Delights is underground.
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Broken Aesop: The message technically isn't that you shouldn't choose to do drugs of your own free will but that you should never let someone hypnotize you into trying drugs against your will. Good — that's easy! - Descent into Addiction
- Deus ex Machina: Zero explanation is given for why Tygra is just suddenly no longer affected by the fruit and sober enough to trick Mumm-Ra.
- Easily Forgiven: Tygra's friends aren't even interested in hearing his apology when it's all over!Tygra: Obviously, I have a lot to apologize for...Panthro: Not you, Tygra — that was some other person. We're thankful you had the strength to pull yourself out of it in time.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: This is why Mumm-Ra refuses to accept that he really can't use the sword. "Nothing is without a taint of evil spirit!" He just sees the rule as a challenge to beat, a mountain to climb. This is no doubt why it never occurs to him that if a heroic person like Willa agreed to work for him, they would then be evil and just as incapable of using the sword as he is. His plan makes no sense, but he can't see that.
- Evil Tastes Good
- Fantastic Drug
- Forced to Watch: Mumm-Ra intended to have the other Thundercats watch willa kill Lion-O.
- How Is That Even Possible?: This is Panthro's reaction to seeing that Willa has the Sword of Omens.Panthro: It is impossible that you have that, but, obviously, you do.
- Mole Men: Tygra runs into them while chasing the worm. They quickly move on without contributing to the plot at all.
- Mushroom Samba
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: It's blatantly obvious to his friends that's Tygra's acting very out of character and that it can't be a good sign.
- Pretend to Be Brainwashed: Tygra does this at the end.
- Space Whale Aesop: It's either "never accept magic fruit from a talking plant" or "never be hypnotized."
- We Can Rule Together: Mumm-Ra gives Willa this speech.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Mumm-Ra locks the three sober adult Thundercats in their own lair's holding cell, but we never see what he did with the Thunderkittens, who are free to show up at the climax and give the adults their weapons.
