In a flashback, He-Man and Teela are held captive by Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, and Mer-Man over the Crystal Sea. At Mer-Man's command, his Aquatican troops drop the duo into the depths of the sea to drown, but Man-At-Arms intervenes to save them. Together, the three take down the villains on board, with He-Man remarking that Skeletor is "all washed up".
In the present, Andra asks in bemusement if He-Man really said such a pun, and Teela fondly notes that He-Man had a teenager's sense of humor. Evil-Lyn injects to downplay He-Man, stating that she had always believed that it was Man-At-Arms who was the true threat, considering him to be the most dangerous man in Eternia.
In a nearby village, a group of destitute villages are in line at a fountain, gathering their shares of what little magic water is left. A fight almost breaks out when one of the villagers spills their water, but it is interrupted by the arrival of Tri-Klops and his Motherboard cult, who have come to destroy the fountain and anyone still using magic.
A fight breaks out between the cult, Teela's group, and Duncan who was one of the people gathering water at the fountain. Despite their skills, the heroes are overwhelmed by the cult's numbers, but are saved by the unexpected arrival of Beast Man, who attacks Tri-Klops out of loyalty to Evil-Lyn. Beast Man easily defeats Tri-Klops with his speed and stealth. The latter concedes his defeat and the cult leaves.
After a tense reunion between father and daughter, Duncan takes Teela's group back to his hut, where it is revealed that the water he gathered was for Orko. With magic dwindling in Eternia, the Trollan is also dying slowly, and he still morns for Adam, something that Teela can relate to as the two hug.
Teela tries to convince Man-At-Arms to help them reforge the Sword of Power, but Duncan has forsaken fighting after his failure to protect Adam. Teela accuses Duncan of caring more about the royal family then his own, but she is refuted by Roboto, who explains that there are many types of family and that Duncan considered Adam family just as much as Teela, Roboto or Orko. As such, Duncan believes that his responsibility is to protect the family he has left.
Despite his words, Roboto (and Orko) decide to join Teela on her quest. Seeing the rest of his family willing to go to battle again, Duncan decides to help after all, but Teela rejects him, as Roboto has Duncan's memories and can reforge the Sword of Power himself. She insists that Duncan's focus should be on protecting the Sorceress at the Hall of Wisdom, as the Motherboard cult will inevitably attack her, as well.
Teela's group heads out across the Crystal Sea, searching for the entrance of Subturnia. Along the way, Evil-Lyn muses to Teela about how she, Evil-Lyn, spent so long trying to make Skeletor's dreams a reality that she never tried to achieve her own. Teela is unimpressed and tells her to get over Skeletor's death already, but Evil-Lyn points out that Teela isn't over Adam's death either.
Suddenly, their ship is attacked by Mer-Man and his cronies. Evil-Lyn calls Mer-Man a traitor because they both fought side-by-side for Skeletor, but Mer-Man retorts that they could have taking over Eternia together if she had worked with him after Skeletor's death, and it is too late for them to work together now. Once again, however, Mer-Man is thwarted by the timely arrival of Duncan, fully decked out in his Man-At-Arms outfit. Duncan quickly proves that he truly is the most dangerous man in Eternia, swiftly taking down the Aquaticans and subduing Mer-Man. With no other choice, Mer-Man is forced to guide the group to Subturnia's entrance.
Teela calls out Man-At-Arms for coming after them when she told him to stay back, but Duncan tells her that he loves her. This act seems to finally heal Teela's broken feelings towards her father, and she hugs him before he departs to the Hall of Wisdom, crying Manly Tears.
The group reach Subturnia's entrance, finding their way blocked by a giant black pillar. Evil-Lyn is able to open the entrance by placing the ram skull of the Havok Staff onto a skeleton body in front of the pillar. Teela warns the group that it will be dangerous trespassing into the depths of the land of the dead, but her companions are undeterred. Before traversing down to the depths of the underworld, Evil-Lyn retrieves the ram head from the body and the pillar closes, leaving the group no choice but to press forward.
Tropes:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Mer-Man gets several of these from Evil-Lyn and Beast Man, being refered to as a "traitorous trout", as well as them debating whether they should "fillet the fish" or "free the flounder".
- The Alliance: The Teela, Andra, and Evil-Lyn are joined by Beast Man, Orko, and Roboto as they travel to Subternia. Man-At-Arms also offers to come along, but Teela tells him to defend the Sorceress in case Tri-Klops and his cult come after her.
- Big Damn Heroes: In the episode's Cold Open, Man-At-Arms arrives to save He-Man and Teela from the Aquatican soldiers dragging them to the depths of the sea. He repeats this feat in the present, saving Teela and the rest of the alliance from Mer-Man and his soldiers.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: When she sees him for the first time in years, Teela calls Duncan by his first name, still hurt over the secret he kept. She eventually calls him dad later on in the episode and hugs him, showing their broken relationship is mended.
- Eye Scream:
- It's shown at the start of the episode that Trap Jaw did survive his Gory Discretion Shot at the end of the previous episode, but has a nasty scar over the top of his head, and his left eye has been replaced with a cybernetic version.
- It's shown that, sometime between the episode's Cold Open and the present, Mer-Man received a cross shaped scar over his right eye.
- He's Back!: After being left in exile and believing that all he can do is take care of his remaining family, Duncan finally gets the resolve to come out of retirement after seeing everyone ready to head to Subternia. He arrives to save them fully dressed back up as Man-At-Arms, before heading back to protect the Sorceress.
- Manly Tears: Duncan cries when Teela hugs him at the end of the episode.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Evil-Lyn makes quite a few of these towards Teela pointing out that there both still pining over the deaths of men who overshadowed them in life and that they haven't moved on form their deaths.
- One-Man Army: Evil-Lyn considered Duncan to be the "most dangerous man in Eternia" preciously for this reason. In the present, Duncan shows he hasn't missed a beat, beating up the members of the Motherboard cult without any of his usual gadgets, and later on arriving decked out in his full Man-At-Arms outfit to save the alliance from Mer-Man and his minions singlehandedly.
- The Unreveal: After reuniting with her, Duncan tries to reveal to Teela one more secret he's kept from her, but Evil-Lyn says they don't have time for anymore family bonding. Duncan promises to tell the story to Teela when he gets the chance.
- We Can Rule Together: It turns out that after Skeletor's death, Mer-Man wanted to team up with Evil-Lyn in order to rule the land and seas together. She rejected this offer, leaving him bitter, and he decides to kill her instead.
- We Will Meet Again: After leading the alliance to the entrance to Subternia, Mer-Man warns them that he won't forget the insult done to his person.
- You See, I'm Dying: While the loss of magic has hit everyone hard, Orko is shown having suffered the worst of it. He's left bed stricken in Man-At-Arm's hut and needs magical water in order to survive.
