Hecate, demigoddess of the night and witchcraft, is furious that her ideas to renovate the Underworld weren't considered. Scheming to take over Hades' throne, she entraps his godly essence in a crystal, declaring herself the Queen of the Underworld. With Hades trapped in a boring meeting and his life draining away, Pain and Panic turn to the only one who can help defeat Hecate—Hercules himself. Herc reluctantly agrees, on the condition they have to watch Hercules' sheep...
This episode contains examples of:
- Adaptational Wimp: While still skilled in magic, Hecate's mythological inspiration was a full-fledged goddess who Zeus himself said had no peers; in the series she's a scheming demigoddess with little sway among the Olympians or Hades himself.
- Better the Devil You Know: Pain says this word-for-word when trying to convince Herc to help out.
- Call-Forward: Hercules defeats the crystal monster in the exact same way he'll later defeat the Hydra. Pinned against a wall, he slams it with a hand to bring the ceiling down on it.
- Evil Versus Evil: The crux of Hecate's appearances have her scheming to take the Underworld from Hades, which would be equally bad for the heroes.
- Freudian Excuse: Nobody really listens to Hecate and tells her to be content in her position, which makes her more determined than ever to take over.
- Near-Villain Victory: Hecate almost succeeds in her takeover attempt, only losing in the last minute of the episode.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Hecate notes that if Hades were in her position, he'd try the exact same thing, which is silently underscored by Hades' series-long goal to take Zeus' position the way Hecate tries to take his.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Panic shows surprising skills in martial arts, effortlessly defeating one of Hecate's wolves with a stick.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Hecate plans to increase the Underworld's efficiency by collecting the souls of everyone on Earth.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hades becomes more and more mellow the more of his essence is drained away, to the point where he's glad to consider Zeus and Poseidon brothers and doesn't care about Hecate's takeover attempt.
- Power Parasite: Hecate steals Hades' godly essence by trapping it in a crystal.
- Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: Pokey the sheep turns out to be a girl and gives birth at the end of the episode.
