The motivations of the villain, his main assistant, and his dupe are completely unclear. I guess they’re just going through the villain motions? And the thing Alanna loses in the battle - does she ever get it back? Totally unknown.

Still, this one is less problematic than #3, so small wins. I would have loved this series if I had read it as a teen in the late 80s/early 90s, but it just doesn’t hold up.