The Crystal Castle

The Crystal Castle is a fictional castle in the animated television series "". It is a place of refuge for She-Ra, which she must keep secret from everybody else. Within the castle resides a magical entity named Light Hope, who acts as a guide and mentor for She-Ra.

History of The Crystal Castle

Long ago a castle was built on the summit of Etheria's highest peak, Skydancer Mountain. This building was "The Crystal Castle". Like Castle Grayskull, on Etheria's sister planet Eternia, the castle serves as a refuge for the series' protagonist. The origins of the Castle and how She-Ra found it are revealed in the episode "The Crystal Castle".

Shadow Weaver launched a series of brutal magical assaults on Bright Moon for the specific purpose of exhausting the magic that maintained its defenses. The reason for this was an approaching lunar eclipse that would darken the three Etherian moons from which Queen Angella's magic is derived and render her powerless, making Bright Moon ripe for conquest. The Rebellion's only hope was for She-Ra to find the mythical Crystal Castle. She-Ra realizes what she must do. Knowing of the links between the trolls and the Castle, She-Ra sought Ahgo, a very powerful sorcerer and King of the Trolls of Spikeheart, to ask him the location of the Castle. King Ahgo, was the only one she knew who had seen the castle. The Trolls distrust humans due to the fact that the Etherians rejected their offer of help when the Horde first arrived, so Ahgo is unwilling to tell She-Ra the location of The Crystal Castle. She-Ra is able to convince Ahgo that she can be trusted. He did not tell her the location directly, but instead gave her a riddle. She-Ra understood the riddle and set off to The Crystal Castle on Skydancer Mountain, whose peak is constantly surrounded and hidden from sight by a dense cloud bank. As Shadow Weaver's final attack on the Castle began, She-Ra entered the Castle and found Light Hope, who explained the only way to stop Shadow Weaver was to find The Great Clock that measures out all time on Etheria and cause it to move faster, thus speeding up time itself. He transported She-Ra and Swift Wind to the clock, and after battling a trio of gargoyles, She-Ra reached the Clock and sped up its movements, causing the eclipse to end. Angella's magic was restored to full strength and she easily defeated Shadow Weaver. After the attack, She-Ra went back to The Crystal Castle, and Light Hope told her the Castle is to be her haven, and that she must keep its location secret from any others who do not know her secret. She agreed and the Crystal Castle remained a place of legend to all Etherians. The people who know She-Ra's secret and about the Castle are He-Man, whose secret identity is Prince Adam, Kowl, Loo-Kee, Swift Wind and Madame Razz. Only these few trusted allies join She-Ra to see Light Hope. It should be noted in the episode "Out Of The Cocoon" Flutterina also visited the Crystal Castle with She-Ra upon discovering her own powers. She is the only one, next to Ahgo, out of the very few people on Etheria that knows of Light Hope and The Crystal Castle's whereabouts, but does not know that Adora and She-Ra are one and the same. [cite web|title=The Crystal Castle|url=http://www.he-man.org/cartoon/episode_reviews/review.php?episodeNumber=PP022|publisher=He-Man.org]

Because the Castle is shrouded in legend and myth, Hordak and his Evil Horde never attempt to attack it, unlike Skeletor who is always trying to capture Castle Grayskull for his own nefarious plans.

Difference between toy and TV castle

The Castle is portrayed differently in the TV series and toyline. In the series, the Castle is gold-colored, and based primarily around She-Ra's crown with a jewel-like door. In the toyline, it is pink, and more castle-like in appearance with an elevator at the top. Additionally, in the series, She-Ra only needs to ride Swift Wind and ask Light Hope to enter the castle. In the toyline, she needs her Sword of Protection to "unlock" the doors because, as noted in a "She-Ra" storybook, "the Sword of Protection is the key".

Light Hope

Light Hope is a magical entity composed entirely of light. He is the guardian of The Crystal Castle, and acts as a mentor and advisor to She-Ra in her battle against Hordak and the Horde. He is voiced by the series' executive producer Lou Scheimer.

Light Hope is also one of those on Etheria that know Adora is She-Ra. The entity, created by the founders of Etheria, called the First Ones, built the Crystal Castle on top of Skydancer Mountain. The mountain is located not too far from The Whispering Woods within the Kingdom of Bright Moon.

Light Hope appears outside the Castle in the episodes "The Stone In The Sword", "Treasure of the First Ones", and "The Day The Whispering Woods Bloomed". He also appears in the stone of the Sword in various episodes such as "Shades of Orko" and "Darksmoke and Fire".

Light Hope is roughly equivalent to the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. In spite of being introduced in the opening credits as one of She-Ra's trusted friends, Light Hope appears in only 15 out of the 93 episodes of the series, being introduced in the episode "The Stone In The Sword", the 21st episode of the first season. It should be noted in chronological order, "The Stone In The Sword" was produced before "The Crystal Castle" episode officially introducing Light Hope's character. Lighthope's final appearance on the series was in the episode "Shades of Orko."

Cultural references

The Toronto-based band, "Crystal Castles" credit She-Ra's home as the inspiration for the name of their band.

References