Psych Out!

Psych Out!

Production
Episode	2.07
Original Airdate	September 15, 1987
Writer(s)	Sandy Fries
Chronology
Previous Episode	Catfight
Next Episode	The Mask of Gorgon
All Episodes	Episode Guide

Psych Out! is an episode from the original series of ThunderCats. Written by Sandy Fries, it originally aired on September 15, 1987.

Official Summary

Playing upon Aluro's hunger for power, Mumm-Ra employs him to find the Egora Talisman, a magic charms piece which gives its possessor supreme self-confidence. Lion-O and Snarf discover Aluro searching the Cats' Lair grounds and after following him, learn of his quest and of the riddle which will lead Aluro to the talisman. Lion-O summons the other ThunderCats and together they decipher the ancient scroll's riddle: they will find the talisman by traveling through the Forest of Mists to Darkside. Arriving in Darkside, the ThunderCats encounter Aluro who has found the talisman. Soon, Aluro has all of the ThunderCats entranced by the charm's magical powers and under his control. Discovering the talisman's closed storage box nearby, Snarf assumed an aura of confidence and attacks and defeats Aluro. Only after the ThunderCats are free from their spell does Snarf learn that the storage box was empty and that the talisman was destroyed. Snarf's strength with which he freed his fellow ThunderCats came from within himself.

Official Moral

Mumm-Ra and Aluro team up in an attempt to use the Egora Talisman to conquer Third Earth. Mumm-Ra bids Aluro to find the talisman, whose power is pronounced every one-thousand years when Mumm-Ra's pyramid is aligned with the full moon. The bearer of the talisman becomes supremely self-confident to the point of being invincible. Aluro, using a riddle from a scroll, finds the talisman [in] Darkside, just ahead of the ThunderCats. Only Lynx-O who can't see Aluro's psych club, and Snarf, who isn't considered important enough by Aluro, remain outside his power at first. Then Lynx-O, too, succumbs by means of Aluro's voice. Only Snarf remains determined and free from defeatist attitudes. Mastering his determination, he bolsters his confidence by arming himself with many weapons of the ThunderCats. He plans to find the talisman to use against Aluro and thinks he does when he finds the box which contains it. Confronting Aluro, he shatters Aluro's Psych Club and confidence, and turns him away. Later it is revealed that the talisman was fragmented and Snarf's victory came from his own inner confidence rather than from the talisman.

Success in action stems primarily from out abilities and our self-confidence not from external props or incidental factors. We do not perform well in a play because we dress for the part, but because we know our lines and act them well. We do not do well on test because we brag we will but because we have studied and know the material. We are not liked because of who we know but because of the kind of person we are. Confidence is important, but to help lead us to success it must be linked with competence. We are sure of ourselves in facing tasked when we know we have the ability to perform well. Authentic confidence is that which is based in a realistic knowledge of our abilities. Bragging is often done to cover up insecurity about a lack of ability, but bravado is no substitute for competence. It is when we are sure of our ability to do a given task that we can approach the task confidently and be successful.

Story

Mumm-Ra summons Alluro to his pyramid and tells him to seek out the Egora Talisman, an ancient artifact that gives its possessor supreme self confidence. Assured that the talisman will enable him to control the Lunataks as well as Third Earth, Alluro heads out to search for it.

Lion-O and Snarf overhear Alluro as he searches for the talisman. They summon Lynx-O, Bengali, and Pumyra, and together head to Darkside after the Lunatak. Unfortunately, Alluro locates the talisman, and with his newly acquired confidence, puts all of his pursuers under his control. Due to his blindness, Lynx-O comes to his senses on his own and he together with Snarf, whom Alluro didn’t bother to hypnotize, take their still entranced friends back to Cats Lair.

Lynx-O and Panthro try once again to stop Alluro but both fall victim to Alluro’s mind control. Soon all the ThunderCats except Snarf are under Alluro’s spell. Not one to ever give up, Snarf gathers all of the Cats’ weapons and goes after Alluro alone. He finds the Ice Runner and from it retrieves the box containing the Egora Talisman. Feeling supremely self confidence and armed with the ThunderCats’ weapons, Snarf destroys Alluro’s Psych Club freeing the ThunderCats from his control and sending the Lunatak fleeing, before he learns that the talisman was shattered and it was his own confidence that enabled him to defeat Alluro.

Characters

Lion-O

Tygra

Cheetara

Panthro

Snarf

WilyKit

WilyKat

Lynx-O

Bengali

Pumyra

Mumm-Ra

Ma-Mutt

Alluro

Vehicles

ThunderStrike

Ice Runner

Locations

Cats Lair

Black Pyramid

DarkSide

Forest of Mists

Trivia

• The scene of the ThunderStrike flying through the Forest of Mists and into Darkside is reused from the earlier episode Mumm-Ra Lives! - Part II.

• It is never shown or explained when or how the Egora Talisman broke.

• The episode also doesn't show Alluro hypnotizing Tygra, Cheetara and the ThunderKittens but they all are shown to be under his spell.

Goofs

• In a number of scenes the black panther head is missing from the ThunderCats insignias.

Media

This episode was released on the following media:

DVD

• Season 2 Volume 1 DVD
• Season 2 DVD
• Seasons 1 & 2 DVD

Episode Screenshots

External Links

• ThunderCats 1985 cartoon series on Wikipedia
• ThunderCats on ThunderCats.org