#feels like she can’t compare to adora

[shalaaex]

Is there a she-ra fandom on tumblr somewhere?

[nefelibatat]

She-Ra's abuse narrative: fail or prevail?

So you might have heard about this cartoon called She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. And if you've heard about that, then you've definitely heard about Сatradora — an enemies-to-lovers ship between two women who must overcome their traumatic childhood to find love in each other, widely popular among fans and beloved by the showrunner ND/Nate Stevenson. His decision to canonize the couple in the final season was met with near universal acclaim, being compared to the likes of Korrasami (The Legend of Korra, 2014) and Bubbline (Adventure Time, 2018) in terms of queer subtext finally made text.

That could be the end of it, but then you wouldn't be reading this.

We’re here right now to talk about a real sore spot that never fails to incite berserker rage in the fandom: the question of abuse. It’s pretty much the main topic of the entire show, so naturally the romance that capped it off would have something to say about that. The catch is, people can’t agree on what it did say. Depending on who you ask, the union of Catra and Adora is either a perfect conclusion to a story of healing that proves abuse victims deserve to be loved, or it's a slap in the face of those same victims that sacrifices the story's core values to appease the shippers. Abuse and shipping being issues that people are famously not chill about, the debates on the matter can get nasty.

I have a lot of thoughts about it myself and I desperately wanna put them all down somewhere so they stop bouncing around in my head like a DVD screensaver. Thus I present you a detailed breakdown of the way She-Ra and the Princesses of Power handles abuse as a theme in context of Catra and Adora’s relationship. Take a sip of water every time you read “abuse” for a week's worth of hydration.

A few disclaimers before I go to town:

As you can probably tell by now, this is not light reading. I wanted to cover everything I could think of, and the line between exhaustive and exhausting begins to blur when you have this much to work with.

Though I didn't feel like getting a psychology degree for the sake of this meta, I researched the topic and provided my sources, so all the information here should be accurate.

Healthy discussion is welcome, but I reserve the right to ignore anyone acting aggressively or in bad faith.

With that out of the way, we can finally start…

Defining the subject

What even is this “abuse” thing people keep going on about?

It’s sometimes characterized as any action that intentionally harms or injures another person — such is the phrasing you’ll find at the Free Dictionary, for example. But that’s… broad, and covers anything from soldiers fighting in war to someone tripping you on the sidewalk. I’ve turned to more specialized sources, namely: The Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness, National Domestic Violence Hotline, Love Is Respect, and Healthline. They all say more or less the same thing, which we’ll put down as follows:

Abuse is a pattern of behaviors used to maintain power and control over another in an interpersonal relationship.

The key word is “control”. While abuse comes in many different types and kinds and forms, it is always a metaphorical leash that allows the abuser to feel powerful at the expense of someone else. This is something you need to understand before you can answer the question of…

How She-Ra and the Princesses of Power writes abusers

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, henceforth SatPoP, is aaaall about abuse. What it looks like, how people respond to it, why it even happens, etc. Most major antagonists in the show are abusive, and if you examine them closely enough, you could parse out something like an abuser formula. My theory goes that every abuser in the show does three specific things that, when taken together, are a dead giveaway to their role in the narrative. Here's why:

So first, we’ve established that the lynchpin of abuse is control. Not coincidentally, this is a word that crops up very often in SatPoP's dialogue, starting with this pithy phrase.

Madame Razz: “Wicked people destroy what they cannot control.” (Razz, 1:3)

The wicked people in question is the Horde. The Horde cannot be literally abusive because it’s not a person, but it is a toxic, exploitative force that tries to dominate everything around it and leaves only misery in its wake. The allegory is hard to miss. And when we do meet the Horde personified, his last decision is to try and destroy what he cannot control, so this line is both a long-reaching foreshadowing and a thesis statement for the entire show. Later (or earlier?…), this exchange takes place.

Mara: “I need the Sword to control She-Ra’s magic. That’s what my superiors always told me.” Madame Razz: “Ha-ha! She-Ra was here long before your people arrived. You cannot control magic! Magic simply is.” (Hero, 4:9)

Here's a clear juxtaposition: the First Ones — you know, the greedy colonizers who take advantage of idealistic young women — posit control as the key towards true power, but Madame Razz — the Iroh wise old mentor character — rejects this idea. She gives Mara a better advice rooted in actually connecting with the world around her instead of subduing it to her will, as demonstrated by their encounter with the boar-thing. The idea of rejecting control shows up a couple of times since as a rebuttal to tyranny and oppression.

Adora: “I won’t be controlled.” (Destiny II, 4:13)

Entrapta: “You can’t control us!” (Heart II, 5:13)

Thusly, we can claim that control in the show is more or less synonymous with abuse, except for a few cases where it’s not directed towards other people. Put a pin in this for now. Also, I'm sorry if “control” doesn't sound like a word anymore.

The second point deals with fantastic exaggeration. One of the ways to create exciting conflict in fiction is to upscale a more ordinary, familiar situation. If you’re trying to portray a heated argument? Turn it into a swordfight. If you’re trying to portray chronic illness? Turn it into a magical curse. If you’re trying to portray puberty? Turn it into a spider mutation! This approach allows you to crank up the tension while keeping the core emotional struggle easy for the audience to grasp and identify with. As a magical girl comedy drama, SatPoP makes full use of this method to explore complex themes in fantasy setting. Adora struggles with anxiety and pressure that many “gifted children” can relate to, except her concerns are less about getting good grades and more about saving the universe from an evil intergalactic army. Glimmer has trouble coming to terms with the grief of losing a loved one, except the consequence of that is nearly being killed by a giant monster. Peel back the hyperbole and you’re left with these very real, grounded problems. Then suppose you’re trying to broach the subject of abuse in a way that fits the high stakes of your story. What would be its logical extreme? I mean… nothing says control like literal mind control. Brainwashing is the most dramatic way of conveying the message that anyone who seeks to have complete power over another will end up robbing them of personhood. Take out another pin here.

Now since SatPoP is ultimately meant to have an uplifting tone, the forces of evil have to be defeated in the end. A victim becomes a victor by reclaiming control, or in other words, going against their abuser’s rhetoric. Like this.

Shadow Weaver: “You’ve learned nothing from me!” Catra: “I’ve learned everything from you! How to predict when you’ll strike, how to dodge, how to resist! You thought you were punishing me all these years? Wrong. You were training me for this day!” (Light Hope, 1:12)

Horde Prime: “Did you hear me, little brother? Do it now.” Hordak: “I am not your brother. You made me in your image, but I am more than that. I gave myself a name; I made a life of my own; I made… a friend. I am Hordak, and I defy your will!” (Heart II, 5:13)

Beyond just fighting back, they challenge a specific negative belief about themselves that the abuser wants to impose — that Catra is incapable, that Hordak is nothing but an extension of his maker — and get narratively rewarded for it. The majority of these epic denial speeches fall to Adora though. Protagonist privileges.

From all this we can derive three checkpoints. Every abuser in the show…

✔ Is described as controlling

✔ Attempts to violate someone’s free will through supernatural means

✔ Has the tables turned on them at a point of near-victory through their victim's affirmation of self-worth

Otherwise known as the three Cs: control, compel, and contradict. To prove the existence of this pattern, we’ll start with the trendsetter herself — Shadow Weaver. Pointed out as a control freak?

Shadow Weaver (disguised as Catra): “Shadow Weaver controls us both. She always has.” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

For sure. Tries to brainwash someone?

Shadow Weaver: “You are correct, Adora; you shall stay willingly. Because I am going to wipe your mind. You’ll have no memory of She-Ra or the time you spent with the Rebellion— Everything will be as it once was! As for the Princess, once I’m done, you’ll be happy to have her as your prisoner.” (No Princess Left Behind, 1:9)

Definitely. Told off by Adora?

Adora: “You never loved me. You just played your twisted mind games. I’m none of the things that you say I am. I’m not like you. You are bitter, and cruel, and you’re the one who used me! This is who I am. You hurt my friends. So now you’re gonna pay. […] I’m not going back. You have no power over me anymore!” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

Hell yes! Not in this exact order, but with all these elements present. Try it with the First Ones now. Control:

Entrapta: “So the First Ones made the Sword to control [She-Ra]. To use her.” (Destiny I, 4:12)

Compel:

Entrapta: “Once the planet is balanced, no one can stop it. Not even the First Ones could control it — that’s why they left! When the weapon is activated, it will channel all its power into you. You don’t get to refuse.” (Destiny I, 4:12)

Contradict:

Adora: “I won’t be controlled. I am not a piece of their machine. I am not a weapon. And I’m going to end. this. now!” (Destiny II, 4:13)

And lastly, Horde Prime.

Catra: “Horde Prime is taking control of Etheria!” (Taking Control, 5:6)

Horde Prime: “I made her anew. I saw her mind — so ensnared in rage and grief and pain. So I brought her to the light.” (Save the Cat, 5:5)

Adora: “No. You’re wrong. It’s time for you to go.” (Heart II, 5:13)

There you have it: three checkpoints, three abusers… and four acts.

Thing is, SatPoP can be divided into chunks of thirteen episodes, each signifying a different period in the story and having its own subplot. That’s the four act structure. It would’ve been four seasons too if someone hadn’t decided to do what Voltron: Legendary Defender did before and release content in smaller batches, leaving Act II cleft in twain. Given that every abuser we’ve reviewed so far had their to-do list ticked off in a single act — consider this an extra checkpoint on itself, really — that leaves a conspicuous gap.

Is there a character who's marked as controlling, who tries to force someone’s hand using magic, who gets put in their place by Adora after failing to break her, and who accomplishes all that in Act II?

Catra: “Are you kidding? I’ve got control of Adora; I am not giving that up.” (White Out, 2:5)

Catra: “As long as we have this Sword, we have the power to make her go berserk. We can turn the Rebellion’s own hero against them. That’s good. I wonder which of your friends I’ll have you annihilate first.” (White Out, 2:5)

Adora: “No, it’s not [my fault]! I didn’t make you pull the switch. I didn’t make you do anything! I didn’t break the world. But I am gonna fix it. And you? You made your choice. Now live with it!” (The Portal, 3:6)

Fits like a puzzle piece. What were the odds? But wait! There’s more!

Visual cues

A visual cue is essentially a shorthand that serves to draw the audience’s attention towards something without being heavy-handed about it or taking up a lot of time. Here’s a few examples of how it can be done: We’ve all watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, right? Then you probably remember how that show emphasizes different sides of Zuko’s face depending on the phase of his character development. His scar is emblematic of his father’s abuse, so putting it front and center is a clear indicator that he’s acting from a place of hurt. Another story that puts a lot of accent on abusive dynamics is Tangled (2010). Here mother Gothel is shown being overly affectionate with Rapunzel’s hair, in contrast to Eugene pushing the hair away so he can see more of her face. Since the hair in question has cool magical powers, you can deduce just from that which character cares about her as a whole person and which one only values her for the parts they can use.

SatPoP does not fall behind in the abuse-related imagery department. I’ll start with the cheek touch, since the show uses this one a lot. …like, a lot a lot.

Shadow Weaver practically owns the cheek touch, though Horde Prime’s never been deterred by things already belonging to someone else. It can be roughly sorted into two varieties: the “nice” and the “mean”. “Nice” means the abuser is hiding behind a veneer of benevolence and leveraging the victim’s deepest desires in exchange for obedience. Adora yearns to prove herself, so Shadow Weaver allows her the opportunity. Catra yearns to be loved, so Shadow Weaver gives her a taste of that. Glimmer yearns to save her people — well what do you know, Shadow Weaver can help here too! It’s giving “I will grant you whatever you want, but only as long as you behave”.

Then there’s the “mean” variety, when all masks are off except for the literal one. If in previous examples the victim either had the option to refuse or just didn’t mind, then this time the parties are in open conflict, and the abuser blatantly flaunts the fact that they’re in a position of power by forcing their victim to experience unwanted physical contact. It’s giving “I will take whatever I want from you, and there’s nothing you can do about that”.

And Catra hasn’t only been on the receiving end of this message.

Which brings us to these proxy cheek touches. What Double Trouble and Horde Prime have in common is that they understand Catra — whether it’s because they’ve peered into every nook and cranny of her mind or because they’re just that good. Therefore they know what the dynamic between her and Adora is like, and they act on that knowledge by making Catra cup her cheek. Why? While “to tease her about her crush” is a popular interpretation for… obvious reasons, this reading ignores larger context. Sure, in any other show this kind of touch might've been prime shipping fuel, but in SatPoP’s language it nearly always translates to manipulation and power play. Double Trouble says “you pushed her away”; the gesture adds “by making her feel lesser”. Horde Prime says “you can’t save her”; the gesture adds “remember what happened when you tried”.

But hold on a sec, why “nearly” always?

One exception is Angella. She’s not quite playing by the rules here, and the reason is simple: cheek touch, like I said, is as good as trademarked by Shadow Weaver, and Angella is the resident anti-Shadow Weaver. Her foil, if we’re being technical. Both are military leaders who also happen to be mothers, but where Shadow Weaver puts the “mentor” in “tormentor” despite an occasional maternal impulse, Angella is deeply caring beneath her coldness and strict attitude. Them being associated with the same visual motif makes the contrast stand out even more. Notice that both times Angella puts her hand on someone’s cheek it’s in the moment of choosing people’s needs over her own desires. She wants Glimmer to be safe and out of the battlefield, but knows her daughter would never rest easy if she wasn’t helping her friends. She wants to stay with the husband she hasn’t seen in years, but understands that her duty lies elsewhere. Angella’s affection is selfless, and that, more than anything else, is what sets her apart from Shadow Weaver. A few more examples are in Season 5’s section. If you have any pins left, this would be a good place for one.

For now we move on to electricity, an element favored by three of our not-so-fantastic four.

Catra: “Pretty good, huh? I got the idea from Shadow Weaver. At least she was good for something in the end.” (Flutterina, 4:3)

This might be a reference to Avatar: The Last Airbender, where lightning was used as an abuse metaphor. ATLA is a rather obvious inspiration for the show so it’s entirely plausible. Electrocution also has the benefit of being a non-gorey method of torture, allowing for some surprising brutality without technically breaking the age restrictions. Of course, just like the cheek touch, it does have exceptions. But instead of selflessness vs selfishness, the deciding factor here is protection vs punishment. That’s where Adora, Glimmer, and Scorpia differ from Shadow Weaver, Catra, and Horde Prime, even though all of these characters electrocute someone at some point.

The next and last recurring motif is perspective. You know how abusers tend to look down on their victims? Well, SatPoP took that a bit literally.

Not content with just being very tall, Shadow Weaver likes to up the intimidation factor by appearing as this great looming figure. It’s a good graphic representation of how abusers make themselves feel bigger and stronger than they actually are by making others feel small.

Catra seems to dig the angle too.

She’s often keeping Adora beneath her, whether it’s by following Obi-Wan’s example and getting the high ground or making her fall on the ground.

The Portal in particular puts Adora through this ordeal more times than is strictly necessary, but it does help emphasize the eventual reversal: Adora is now the one standing above Catra in a moment of payback and catharsis. They can’t be on an equal level because Catra doesn’t see Adora as an equal and balance can only be maintained through mutual effort. After Adora realizes that, she puts herself in a position where Catra won’t be able to bring her down anymore — literally or figuratively.

At this point you must have spotted something of a running theme: Catra is a copycat-ra. Unfortunately for everyone, her role model is the second worst person alive who tried really hard to be the first and only lost by a couple of genocides. The similarities between them are everywhere but they're at their most in-your-face obvious in The Portal. Again. Seriously, this episode is competing with White Out for who can scream “Catra is abusive!” the loudest.

It’s not hard to get what sort of feelings the interactions between Shadow Weaver and her wards are trying to inspire in you. Sympathy, because they're hurt and scared and vulnerable. Disgust, because Shadow Weaver is treating someone like dirt just to feel a sense of superiority. Horror, because this is a far too real scenario. Then the show deliberately takes these skin-crawling, nausea-inducing incidents of abuse and re-enacts them between Catra and Adora.

Why should they be perceived differently now?

The framing didn’t change. Adora is not any less terrified and Catra is not any less terrifying. If you weren’t supposed to view their relationship as abusive, then whoever storyboarded these scenes should’ve gotten fired faster than you can say “Eternia”.

This so far has only been about narrative devices, not real-life tactics, but worry not: there’s plenty to be said about that. Starting with…

Verbal abuse

For all the talk about sticks and stones, verbal abuse remains one of the most effective tools in abuser’s toolbox. Defined as “the use of hurtful language to assert control” and often synonymous with emotional abuse, it encompasses a wide range of behaviors, from straightforward insults to subtle condescension. Like all types of abuse, it’s a recurring pattern that exists within an interpersonal relationship, which is what sets it apart from just calling someone a poopyhead. While words cannot indeed break your bones, they might do something worse than that — break your spirit. The hows and whys of it come down to one word: familiarity. See, people are weirdly eager to believe stuff they’ve heard multiple times, even when they already knew it’s false. This bizarre quirk of our brains is called illusory truth effect. Other fancy science terms like mere-exposure effect and schema work on a similar principle. So if continuous reinforcement is this good at drilling stuff into your head, and the thing that's being continuously reinforced is how bad you are… The result is that verbal abuse erodes self-esteem in much the same way water erodes stone. You don’t see the damage as it’s happening; in fact it’s hard to believe that something as insubstantial as water could damage solid rocks at all. But it does. Drop by drop, word by word.

Shadow Weaver: “Insolent child. I’ve come expect such disgraceful behavior from you, but I will not allow you to drag Adora down as well. You have never been anything more than a nuisance to me.” (Promise, 1:11)

Shadow Weaver: “Catra has been nothing but a disappointment to me!” (Razz, 1:3)

Shadow Weaver: “You’ve always been a disappointment. You’ve learned nothing from me!” (Light Hope, 1:12)

Shadow Weaver: “I assumed Hordak finally realized what a lazy, worthless creature you are and banished you.” (The Frozen Forest, 2:1)

At least one person would call it the opposite of a problem though. As far as Shadow Weaver is concerned, a day not spent berating children is a day wasted.

Shadow Weaver: “You were nothing before I took you in, Adora, and you will be nothing without me!” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

Shadow Weaver: “Clever. You always were. The moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were different. You were—” Adora: “Special? No. What you always told me was that I didn’t matter. I was ‘special’ only as long as I obeyed you.” (The Price of Power, 3:1)

This is yet another patented technique of hers, not that it stops Catra from parroting her anyway.

Catra: “When did you get so weak?” (The Sea Gate, 1:5)

Shadow Weaver: “You’re weak!” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

Catra: “And it won’t be over until I see the looks on your friends’ faces when they find out that you failed, that you were too weak to save them.” (The Battle of Brightmoon, 1:13)

With a few targeted remarks she saps Adora’s will to go on,

Adora: “Fine, you win. You want me to be weak? Well, I am. And I’m afraid. Because I’m no good at any of this.” (The Beacon, 1:10)

Adora: “It’s too late. I’ve failed.” (Heart II, 5:13)

feeds her insecurities,

Adora: “I don’t want any of you risking yourselves. She-Ra can do this alone. This is what she’s for.” Bow: “Adora, not even She-Ra can take out an army of Horde soldiers all on her own.” Adora: “Then what good is she⁈” (The Battle of Brightmoon, 1:13)

Catra: “Tired already? I thought punching was supposed to be like, the one thing you’re good at?” (The Battle of Brightmoon, 1:13)

undermines her confidence,

Adora: “I wanna be the best She-Ra. I wanna protect the planet! But Catra, she’s just… in my head.” (The Frozen Forest, 2:1)

Catra: “If you hadn’t gotten captured, your Sword wouldn’t have opened the Portal. If you hadn’t gotten the Sword, and then the world’s worst She-Ra, none of this would’ve happened! Admit it, Adora! The world would still be standing if you had never come through that Portal in the first place.” (The Portal, 3:6)

and affirms her greatest fears.

Adora: “I hurt people; I ruined my friends’ lives!” (Light Hope, 1:12)

Catra: “You’re the one who left the villagers unprotected. You’re good enough at hurting your friends without my help.” (Flutterina, 4:3)

This specific variety of verbal tactics is known as…

Guilt-trip

Guilt-tripping is a subtype of emotional abuse that leverages the feelings of, well, guilt. It’s a really uncomfortable emotion that puts the victim in a defensive position — they’re usually too busy trying to prove they’re not terrible to accuse anyone else of being so. As for Adora, she’s not so much guilt-tripped as guilt-hamstringed.

Adora: “I’m sorry. It’s my fault she was here; I endangered Mystacor.” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

Adora: “How could I let this happen?…” Bow: “Adora, it’s not your fault.” Adora: “It is my fault. Entrapta’s gone because of my plan.” (The Beacon, 1:10)

Adora: “Commander, it’s my fault. I—” (The Beacon, 1:10)

Adora: “[Glimmer]’s hurt because of me; I messed up. I got Glimmer and Bow captured, and Entrapta… It’s— It’s my fault!” (Light Hope, 1:12)

Adora: “I thought I could get through to [Catra], but all I did was push her further to the side of evil. Light Hope said I’d endanger my friends by coming back, and she was right. Everything that’s happening now is my fault…” (The Battle of Brightmoon, 1:13)

Adora: “Catra will make me watch all of it before she finishes me off, and then everyone is gone, and the Horde wins the war, and Etheria crumbles and it’s all my fault!” (Roll With It, 2:4)

Adora: “It’s all my fault! I-I’ve been so afraid of becoming another Mara, destroying the world the way she did, and now… it’s happening.” (Remember, 3:5)

Adora: “It must have been a diversion so that I’d leave Elberon defenseless. And-And I fell for it! This is my fault.” (Flutterina, 4:3)

Adora: “I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got hurt.” (Pulse, 4:4)

You don’t need Mermysteries-level deductive reasoning to trace the origin of those thoughts…

Shadow Weaver (disguised as Bow): “Everything that’s about to happen is your fault, Adora. You’re to blame.” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

Shadow Weaver: “Mystacor will fall, and it will be your fault!” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

…or to predict that Catra will ape her in this as she does in everything else.

Catra: “Let’s be honest here — all of this is your fault.” (The Portal, 3:6)

Catra: “You broke the world, and it is all. your. fault.” (The Portal, 3:6)

Not only with these exact words, either.

Shadow Weaver: “Adora, you must do a better job of keeping [Catra] under control. Do not let something like this happen again.” (Promise, 1:11)

Catra: “You made me this! You took everything from me!” (The Portal, 3:6)

They both make choices to harm people and then claim it’s Adora’s responsibility to stop them by appeasing their demands. Be the perfect soldier, or your friend gets it. Choose me over the rest of the world, or there won’t be a world. Comply, or you’ll make me do something horrible. Speaking of doing something horrible and not owning up to it…

Gaslight

Gaslighting is not just a type of illumination. The term comes from a 1938 play Gas Light, in which a husband drives his wife mad by dimming the lights and then denying it. Deliberately creating a discrepancy between someone’s perception and their idea of reality convinces them that their own mind can’t be trusted — hard to imagine a more vulnerable position.

Shadow Weaver (disguised as Glimmer): “I think Adora has finally lost it! Did you see her in there? I think she’s going nuts!” Adora: “I’m not crazy!” *Adora sees that no one is around* Adora: “I’m… I’m not crazy.” (In the Shadows of Mystacor, 1:7)

I’m running out of animal analogies here, but you know the drill by now.

Catra: “You’ve officially lost it, haven’t you?” (Remember, 3:5)

Catra: “You’ve gone crazy!” (Remember, 3:5)

It’s really worth noting that some of the phrases from National Domestic Violence Hotline’s What is gaslighting? are things that Catra says to Adora word-for-word. A monkey on a typewriter would have better chances of stumbling into this exact phrasing than any dialogue writer who did basic research into their theme of choice and didn't want Catra to sound like an abuser.

Catra: “You’re just seeing things. It’s all in your head.” (Remember, 3:5)

Catra: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” (Remember, 3:5)

But does she know what Adora’s talking about?

Yes. The scenes that most clearly prove it follow pretty much the same steps: Adora confronts Catra about what’s happening; Catra’s old memories are triggered; she gets defensive and tries to shut Adora down to maintain the façade. The only part that might not be immediately obvious to the viewer is that the first memory flash was experienced by Catra and not Adora. She describes her vision this way:

Adora: “I remember… a sword, a-a bright light, and you were ther—” (Remember, 3:5)

which is obviously referring to her finding the Sword, getting flashbanged by it, and then being woken up by Catra. But that's not what we see. And it's not Adora whose face the camera stays focused on like it did every time before. This is a bit subtler than the show usually prefers, but don’t worry, because all subtlety is gone out the window in their second argument. By that point, if Catra’s guilty expression and shifty eyes don't alert you to the fact that she’s lying, then a glowing neon sign stating exactly that wouldn’t make a difference.

On two separate occasions it's made clear that Catra knows something’s up and chooses to discredit Adora anyway. She’s not acting out of genuine ignorance but a stubborn desire to keep things “perfect” at any cost, even when the cost is Adora’s faith in her own sanity.

Adora: “I don’t know what’s happening to me. It’s like I’m losing my mind.” Catra: “You just need to relax.” Adora: “Yeah. Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m fine. Everything’s fine…” (Remember, 3:5)

Adora’s body language — crossing her arms, hunching her shoulders, looking away — indicates someone who is deeply uncomfortable. She's growing more and more certain that Catra has done something seriously bad to her and that she's not safe with her anymore, but there's just enough doubt that Adora can't take any decisive action about it. The creeping realization that someone you've trusted with every part of you is actually a threat makes Remember into a borderline psychological horror.

Adora: “I know this is wrong; can’t you see it⁈ My memories don’t match; we’re jumping around; things are disappearing; it’s like time and space aren’t working right. And I—” Catra: “Adora, stop it. Stop!” (Remember, 3:5)

Catra's not just concerned. She’s angry that Adora won’t just shut up and accept her version of reality — a reality that doesn’t require Catra to acknowledge and face repercussions for all the ways in which she’s harmed Adora. Remember what I said about hyperboles in fiction? Strip this episode of portals and magic swords and all that nonsense, and what you’re left with is a person who wants to escape the fallout of their decisions so badly they’re willing to delude someone close to them until their world is falling apart before their eyes. Despite having gaslighting as its main focus, though, it also provides a striking example of a different tactic…

Physical abuse

We all know that generally, beating people up is bad. And yet a term was coined specifically for characters who start hitting on each other after just hitting each other — that ubiquitous “enemies-to-lovers” thing that plagues every SatPoP discussion. This inevitably muddies the waters, as it poses the question of how to identify physical abuse in a dynamic that must include violence by design. There’s some nuance to the problem. We could ask whether they fight for external or personal reasons, whether they have lines they won’t cross or will they stoop to anything, and what’s probably most important, whether they attack each other equally or is there an obvious aggressor. You're certainly welcome to ask yourself that. It shouldn't be hard.

But! for the sake of keeping our waters as clear as possible, I’ll draw a hard line and not count anything that happened in context of enemy battles as physical abuse. So, does Catra hit Adora when they're not locked in honorab— well, just in combat?

Yes. Case closed; moving on.

Repentance or

—no, fine, I may as well be thorough to the end and analyze these scenes in full, even if the point has already been proven. The first one takes place almost at the very beginning. Adora has just defected, but crucially, they are not treating each other as enemies yet, or else Adora would not turn her back to Catra and Catra wouldn't bother making excuses for stabbing her in said back.

Catra: “…oh man, that was a lot stronger than I thought. Are you okay?” Adora: “Catra!—” *Catra electrocutes her a second time* Catra: “I’m sorry! It was a reflex.” Adora: “Why… why are you doing this?” Catra: *pause* “Because you left me! And if I don’t bring you back, Shadow Weaver’s gonna have my head. So enough with this weird little identity crisis, and let’s go home already. Or do I need to zap you again?” (The Sword II, 1:2)

She says she didn't mean to hurt her. Then she hurts her again. Then threatens to hurt her again. Then attempts to hurt her again. For comparison, this is Catra's expression after her other shocking betrayal.

That's the thing: we know what Catra looks like when she regrets it. And she never looks like that when it comes to Adora.

Then, because abuse is a cycle, they go through the same motions in Remember.

Adora: “Ow! What was that?” Catra: “Sorry! You were freaking out, and it was freaking me out!” Adora: “Well you didn’t have to slap me!” Catra: “Come on, let’s get you outside; you need some air.” (Remember, 3:5)

Once again, Adora learns that her life is a lie and starts to break out of it. Once again, Catra immediately responds with anger and violence. Once again, she brushes right past Adora's indignation and tries to just paper over the whole affair until things go back to “normal”, the way they always have.

And look, I hear you. She's just a kid. We can't hold someone this young fully responsible for their actions, let alone brand them the most evil of anklebiters that ever learned to count to four. Just this once, I'd like to remove blame from the equation. It wasn't Catra's fault. That does not mean it isn't an important look into their dynamic all the same. We aren't asking who deserves to be punished here — that would be Shadow Weaver — we're asking what happened and what it means for the characters going forward.

So Catra is upset that her friend has been hanging out with Lonnie. There's probably some normal childish jealousy mixed in, but from a trauma standpoint, she's likely terrified that the one thing standing between her and her abuser is slipping away. Whatever the context behind it though, the situation is more or less the same: Catra feels that Adora is threatening their relationship, and the only thing she can think of is to lash out until she gives in. Not a surprising reaction for a desperate, panicked child soldier-in-training to have, but it's one that Catra simply refuses to grow out of. Her present-day actions demonstrate that she never stopped viewing pain as a means of correcting Adora's behavior. Maybe she's not as quick to resort to it. Maybe sometimes she'll just use cutting words instead of cutting claws. Maybe she'll even apologize after the fact. After all, she's not a child anymore, so her violence is actually thought-out. Deliberate. Either way, the second Adora steps out of line Catra will go from affectionate and playful to aggressive and pitiless until she gives in… or gives out.

I'll keep my promise and not bring in the scary A-word when they're at least ostensibly fighting for their respective factions, but I will call Catra's behavior what it is: cruel. It's cruel and vicious and needlessly brutal in a way she isn't towards anyone else she faces off against, and certainly not in any way Adora's been towards her. The goal is not to incapacitate — it's to hurt. That kind of unflinching willingness to cause harm doesn't come out of nowhere.

…but enough dwelling on the past! It doesn't matter if Catra pushed her into water off a bridge, because it's all water under the bridge. They've turned a new leaf, done a 180°, started from scratch— okay, that one is poor phrasing. Point is, it's all behind them now. Right?

Repentance or repetition

Interrupting my barrage of hot takes with a lukewarm but nonetheless correct take: Catra should be redeemed. More than that, her redemption is necessary for the story to achieve its full potential. And while I get why people say it should've begun earlier, I actually think its placement in the story makes sense. I've mentioned briefly that all four parts of the show have their own unique attributes. Act I is mostly introductory, establishing the cast and their position in the world without moving things forward too much. Act II is where the plot really kicks off, with the first mentions of a mysterious weapon and a wider universe. Act III in turn is a downward slope where everyone, heroes and villains alike, are starting to unravel and hit rock bottom. What then, you may ask, defines Act IV? Change. The status quo shattered along with She-Ra's sword. Etheria being overrun means there is no longer a comfort zone to retreat to. Nearly every constant you've gotten used to over the last four seasons is ripped away, pushing the characters into uncharted territory and forcing them to adapt. Thematically speaking, this is the perfect time for Catra to finally leave her old habits behind and start anew.

Did she though?

Catra: “I keep having this horrible vision of a blonde girl, who thinks she's better than everyone, barging into my room all day. Oh, wait.” (Taking Control, 5:6)

Catra: “I told you not to come back! But you just love feeling like a hero, don't you⁈” (Taking Control, 5:6)

If you think this line sounds kind of familiar, that's because it's almost the same thing she said back in Promise when their relationship completely fell apart.

Catra: “You always need to play the hero, don't you?” (Promise, 1:11)

I said it's not too late to redeem Catra in Act IV, and I stand by that. But it only holds true if the creators make full use of the time they have instead of ignoring the epiphanies she already had and having her go back and forth some more like an actual cat who can't decide if they want in or out the damn door. Or better yet, emphasizing that she hasn't changed at all halfway through the last season. Whenever you feel bad about your time management skills, remember that at least you aren't responsible for that. (If by chance you are, DM me. I have questions.)

Catra: “Then you've even dumber than I thought.” (Taking Control, 5:6)

Catra: “I always knew you were kinda dumb, but… come on.” (The Sea Gate, 1:5)

As Catra echoes her previous lines, so does Adora. Echo Catra, that is.

Adora: “I'm such an idiot.” (Taking Control, 5:6)

Catra: “You're such an idiot.” (Save the Cat, 5:5)

Whether it was intended as “light-hearted teasing”, if Adora immediately comes back to it when she's distraught and insecure then that's not what it was. I sure hope Catra doesn't repeat this later on!

Catra: “You're such an idiot.” (Heart II, 5:13)

Ah. The show does make a point that people don't get over themselves in a day. They do that in two days, apparently, because the very next episode opens with Catra messing with Adora as if they've been best buds for ages and she has no reason at all to be particularly careful around her.

The very face of shame and remorse right here. Catra did not apologize for lashing out again. She made no promises it won't happen again. The only reason they even moved past this is because Adora prioritized Catra's feelings over her own. Again. For a season that was supposed to be all about change, it sure gives me a lot of déjà vu.

War crimes aside, Catra's main problem has always been her inability to have healthy conflict. We already know she can be nice to Adora when they agree on everything — the real test of character is what happens when they don't. Can she express her disapproval in a constructive way, without falling back into familiar patterns? To which Season 5 confidently answers: nah.

When Adora isn't siding with her on every issue, Catra storms off in a huff so that she always has to come and make it up to her, even if she didn't do anything wrong.

When there's an opening to criticize Adora for defying her in the past, Catra takes it, even if it means twisting what actually happened.

Adora: “How are we supposed to fight our own friends?” Catra: “It never stopped you before.” (Save the Cat, 5:5)

Adora: “Don't move.” Catra: “Oh, please. You'd never have the guts.” (White Out, 2:5)

Glimmer: “[Adora] left us. She's headed to the Heart on her own.” Catra: “Of course she's gone! That's what she does, isn't it?” (Heart I, 5:12)

Adora: “Catra, please. Stay. I need you.” Catra: “No, you don't. You never have.” (Failsafe, 5:11)

And when all else fails…

This isn't about the argument itself. It doesn't matter which of them has objectively correct takes on Shadow Weaver or the failsafe or pineapple on pizza. What matters is that Catra still punishes Adora for not conforming to her expectations.

She still withholds affection if her conditions aren't met.

She still looks down on her. Wait, what's this pin doing here? …Oh, yeah. Another visual cue that came back is the cheek touch, and it sort of captures the whole issue with Season 5 in that it's clearly meant to be recontextualized, except the narrative fails to actually earn that. Adora already uses it as a gesture of comfort before they start working on their relationship at all. There's no struggle to reclaim it despite all the ways it's been weaponized against them, and still is weaponized against Adora. It used to be bad and now it just… isn't.

I'm sure some people would accuse me of deliberately leaving out the good parts in favor of things that support my own reading, but when it comes to abuse, the good parts don't cancel out the bad. In fact, the cycle of abuse specifically includes reconciliation and calm after every incident. One moment Catra sticks out her neck to protect Adora and apologizes “for everything”, the next moment she's yelling and hurling insults. One moment she's making a mean-spirited jab to satisfy an old grudge, the next moment she's going out of her way to lift Adora's spirits. One moment they're enjoying each other's company like nothing ever happened, the next moment Catra is giving her the cold shoulder for making a wrong choice. One moment Adora is left crying alone despite begging for emotional support, the next moment Catra pulls her back from the brink with the power of love. A relationship that's going up and down like a cardiograph is no less toxic than a relationship that's always down. Healing isn't linear, yes, but it's still going somewhere. Catra's relapses don't get any less intense — if anything, her lowest point this season is right before the finale. She's never called out on them by Adora or anyone else, either. Catra occasionally hurting her just seems to be a normal part of their dynamic, and there's absolutely no indication it'll go away after the credits roll.

No wonder then that the show doesn't feel too pressured to unpack everything that happened during the four seasons Catra spent gaslighting, guilt-tripping, and otherwise girlbossing. It's content enough to say that she did some nebulous bad things and hurt a bunch of nonspecific people, but none of that has long-lasting consequences that could get in the way of romance, thank goodness. If it did, the viewers might've felt a tad awkward that the person helping Catra work through her loss of autonomy is the same one she literally turned into a weapon at some point, with zero acknowledgment of that fact.

Any fear or anger or trauma that Adora might and did have regarding Catra conveniently vanish whenever she needs to take care of her. Which is a lot. No matter how badly she was treated in the past — and by “past” I mean “last time they talked” — she never once denies Catra her time and energy, being written less like an incredibly forgiving abuse victim and more like an idealized knight-in-shining-armor figure. Or a martyr.

Obviously this isn't Catra's fault. She didn't choose for this drawn-out… honestly, torture porn is the only description I can think of, crass as it is — to happen. But the writers did. They took a character who has already suffered far, far too much at the hands of her abuser, had her brutalized in as graphic detail as the rating would allow by someone who looks and sounds exactly like them, and framed it all as a great romantic sacrifice she makes for said abuser.

There is no universally correct way to write redemption — no, not even “make them just like Zuko” — and things only get more complicated when you throw a topic as sensitive as abuse into the mix. It requires a very thoughtful, careful approach to ensure that the work you put out doesn't trivialize anyone's experiences. But the writers of SatPoP seemed to care much more about cheap drama and angst than respecting their theme, and the result is unbelievably tone-deaf.

Perhaps Catra does love Adora. She certainly has some strong feelings about her, one way or another. But feelings alone aren't enough. Because if Catra's love looks like this:

then I don't think Adora deserves it, actually. …so why do so many people disagree?

The other point of view

Of all four antagonists we’ve brought up, Catra is the only one to have a clear reason behind her villainy. She’s cute, she’s sympathetic, she’s — let’s just say it — relatable. You can say a lot about what makes people look at an underdog (undercat?) who's mistreated and angry and deeply messy and go “she's so me”. There’s a reason Catra’s character resonated with so many who view her arc as the ultimate proof that they, like her, can be loved no matter what they're struggling with. So of course there’s a violent knee-jerk reaction towards people who are seen as trying to take away that message, taint it somehow. And believe it or not, that's not what I'm trying to do. Catra matters. But so does Adora. One victim's happy ending should never, ever come at the expense of another one's. Catra deserves a better story too — one where she truly breaks the cycle of abuse and inspires people to do the same, instead of living out a fantasy where you can keep treating your loved ones like trash and still have them come back to you in the end.

[aspoonofsugar]

I think one of the reason they didn’t go down that road for Vi and Jinx ending is because if Vi would have let go on Jinx in a healthy and active way and finally considered her as a person some fans would have feel like Vi betrays Jinx and kind of favorided Caitlyn over her. More and more people these days just can’t understand complexity and realism. As soon as their expectations aren’t meet they riot.

Hello anon,

I don't think this is the case to be honest... especially because Vi chooses to stay with Cait before the final battle. She chooses to stay and fight with Cait, rather than look for Jinx. This isn't wrong btw, as they are fighting to save the whole city.

In general, I don't think the fandom would have reacted negatively to Vi letting Jinx go, especially if it was framed as both sisters still loving each other and finding closure. Moreover, Caitvi is one of the most popular ships in the fandom, so an ending where Vi ends up with Cait would definitely not been welcomed negatively imo. I also don't see why "letting Jinx go after mending their relationship" should be worse than "being so stupid Jinx ends up (fake-)dying because of it".

I think the issue lies rather in the idea of redemption and what redemption arcs are. They wanted to give Jinx one, but were scared people would not accpet it. So, in season 2 they had Jinx:

Do very little wrong - her only terrorist attack is in act 1 and it is framed as an answer to Piltover's act of poisoning Zaun's air. Moreover, it is presented as a last desperate act of a suicidal person and Jinx is not even the one who activates the mechanism. Sevika does, while Jinx tells her not to.

Be more stable and develop more positive relationships. Compared to her character in season 1, who is lonely and lashes out against everyone, Jinx is now shown to care about others more healthily. She is trying to mend her bonds after all.

Have a positive impact on the plot: she unifies Zaun, seeks Vi out to save Vander, saves Cait, saves Vi, accepts her punishment and lets herself be arrested, joins the fight to save the world, saves Vi and Cait again.

However, they were still scared all of this would not have been enough (spoiler, it was), so they went with the most selfless thing a person can do: sacrifice their life for another person. Hence they framed Jinx's last action on screen as a sacrifice. She is wrong and bad, so she has to sacrifice herself in favor of Vi, who is right and good to gain the "redeemed-character approval mark". This is a very common trope in redemption arcs. Even if the character survives, the act of a selfish or bad person being ready to die proves they are now good. For example, Zuko sacrifices himself for Katara in the climax of book 3. Catra sacrifices herself for Adora twice in the last season. It is a quick and effective way to show how selfless hence good the character is.

The problem is that when it comes to Jinx, this trope is both repetitive and unfitting.

It is repetitive because Jinx does sacrifice herself for Vi at the beginning of act 3. Cait says Jinx only thought about saving Vi and let herself be arrested without resistance. Basically she saved Vi, even if she knew she would end up arrested as a consequence. Even before this, she acts selflessly in ep 4, when she stays behind to fight Vander and let Sevika and Isha escape. She even calls herself "a big fat hero" for this.

It is unfitting because Jinx is struggling with suicidal idealization. She is shown willing to die the whole season. By definition a suicidal person wanting to die is not "a selfless act", but it is actually rather selfish. This does not mean the person is bad or anything, but rather she is stuck in her own head, which means she fails to realize how her death might negatively impact others. As a result, Jinx's final sacrifice can't work as an act of selfless love, but it inevitably becomes a suicide in framing (yeah, even if she survives by the end). Basically suicidal arc and selfless sacrifice very rarely go well together... except in some rare cases (see, Erwin's death in snk and Penny's death in RWBY, even if I don't think the last one is really framed as a suicide).

So, I don't really think Jinx's "selfless act" works and it actually depowers what should have been her healing arc. As for Vi's arc, I agree with this other anon's opinion:

Hi! Completely agree with you about the fact that it would have been far more interesting to have Jinx taking herself the decision to leave and Vi to let go of her and to focuses to her own life and happiness she'll build with Caitlyn. Actually, because of that scene, many people think Jinx had no choice but to fake her death so that Vi could move on; like it was the only way because if Jinx was still alive to Vi then Vi would continually chase after her. But this doesn't make sense because just like you said Vi's entire arc is about moving on and embrace the future and not be stuck in the past. Vi should have let her sister go in an active way to conclude her arc

Hello anon,

thank you for your thoughts! I don't have anything to add to this, but let me just say a child show actually managed to convey the message you are describing:

Rapunzel and Cassandra of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure are two sisters, who get into a huge fight, make up and eventually let go of each other. In particular:

Cassandra spirals into a villain arc, but she keeps being loved by Rapunzel, which saves her. However, by the end she still decides to leave because she needs to figure out who she herself is. Moreover, she kept feeling inferior to Rapunzel because of their different social standings. Basically staying together with Rapunzel as her lady in waiting was something detrimental to her and her own happiness, despite her love for Raps.

Rapunzel initially wants Cass to come back to her, so that things could be how they used to be. However, she eventually accepts Cass needs to leave her to truly be happier. Moreover, thanks to her relationship with Cass, Raps is now grown up enough to start a new life together with Eugene by marrying him and becoming a full fledged queen to her people.

I think it is a good ending, which really lets every character be happy and conveys an important message. Sometimes no matter how much you love a person, they need to take a different path in life from yours and that is okay.

Thank you for the asks anons!

[youshouldjustliveinmychurch]

Thinking about the significance of falling when it come to Catradora. Obviously the imagery of cliffs, holding on to each other, and letting go are all significant in the narrative when it comes to their relationship. Two instances in particular stand out to me though as notable parallels. Catra falling into the portal and re-emerging as a twisted version of herself is very much in conversation with Adora falling into the chasm in the First One’s Temple and re-emerging as someone closer to the She-Ra that Light Hope (or her original programming) wants her to be. In both cases they’re reacting to having just experienced a mindbending mimicry of their lives together in the Horde before they split up. This is so eerie partially because reality is being expertly bent in both cases since there is a lot of truth woven into what Adora and Catra are seeing.

Adora is forced to literally let go (of her hold on the Cliff, her memories of Catra, her current feelings about Catra)/fall into the chasm. Light Hope has been trying to get her to let go the whole time because Adora’s attachment to other people threatens the First One’s plans to turn her into a weapon. Isolation. Other people are keeping her human. That of course extends to the Best Friends Squad, though it’s true that everyone expects too much of her, even the people she’s closest with. I think that’s one of the things that makes her relationship with Catra bloom in season 5. Catra wants Adora, specifically, not She-Ra. She is protective of Adora the person in a way that other people aren’t necessarily because she has an understanding of her that Bow and Glimmer aren’t going to have since they didn’t grow up with her in the Horde. Once Catra moves on from feeling in competition with Adora, then she can fully embrace her feelings. But anyway, tangent.

Adora being forced to let go/fall from the cliff is just the continuation of the idea that Adora feels like she has to choose the greater good over her own wants such as when she chooses the Rebellion over Catra. In her mind, she feels like there isn’t a choice. She has to leave Catra, even though she doesn’t want to do so. Light Hope is trying to take advantage of that trait for her own purposes, pushing Adora to follow orders and do what is best in the minds of the First Ones.

Now, Catra. Catra lets go of the cliff herself as reality is being pulled apart. This whole scene says so much about where her character is at this point in the plot. First of all, she tries to drag Adora down with her. She can’t stand the idea of Adora being better than her and on the moral high ground because part of that competitive dynamics is very much rooted in Shadow Weaver’s treatment of them both as children. Adora was prioritized. Catra was directly compared to Adora negatively and threatened with harm if she interfered with Adora’s “progress” in any way. Catra and Adora are both self-destructive at two ends of the same spectrum and the pressure/trauma caused by The Horde & First Ones are pushing them to extremes. Isolating extremes. Catra constantly feels a lack of safety and struggles with self-hatred. Catra lets go as she stares Adora in the eyes because she doesn’t feel worth much. I think that’s symbolic of her constantly pushing other people away on purpose as a way to both punish and protect herself.

When Catra re-emerges as Corrupted Catra we can see that her loathing for what Adora represents in her life has been taken to an extreme. I’m a believer that Corrupted Catra is just that. She’s still partially herself, but all of her instincts are taken to an extreme and it’s a raw expression of her hurt. Her pain is being visually symbolized by pieces of her simply being gone. This is another representation of the affect trauma is having on her and her life. That entire scene is brutal and it is good that Adora finally stands up for herself since obviously Catra is not justified in lashing out, but as she stands over Catra’s passed-out body, I think it’s a reminder that circumstances have been out of their control for a long while now. Trauma can isolate and push people away from each other (even when they need each other for healing), as well as away from being able to fully express themselves.

Then season 5 rolls around. Healing. Other people. Wanting. Self-expression. Wonderful things. Catra and Adora being together - what they bring out in each other - challenges both Shadow Weaver and the Horde’s purposes for them. Together, they defy control. You see, if they are able to truly love and connect with each other, then Adora might not conform to what the First One’s want of her and once Catra is able to move beyond the barriers in her relationship with Adora placed there by Shadow Weaver, she can’t be controlled by the Horde anymore either. They are defiance and self-expression and love and I’m totally obsessed with this show, aren’t I?

[mydearthisbe]

Ayesha Liveblogs She-Ra S1

“Is that a mouse?!” Why is it just an accepted fact of this universe that some people are furries and scalies

“This is what I raised you for,” is a messed up thing to say to anyone but particularly in the context of a military draft

I know “Horde” is an actual word but that it’s called the Horde and their leader “Hordak”... imagine if the Empire in SW was “the Darthettes” 

Based on only these two scenes Catra seems like a difficult friend to have with the sulking and not waiting her turn at the helm

“Dear Mom, I feel like you don't respect me.” A teenage mood 

Bow picking up and folding Glimmer’s clothes, what a sweetheart

“Will you fight for the honour of Grayskull?” Seems like an unfair question without defining Grayskull

“Not much for talking, huh?” “I prefer not to swap pleasantries with my captors.” Adora makes a very reasonable point, Bow

Speaking of captors, I assume that Adora did once have parents:

“Where’s a blinding flash of light when you need one?” We call that foreshadowing

Glimmer’s core personality trait so far is stubbornness to a fault

“I never knew where I came from or who my family was. Shadow Weaver said it didn’t matter who I was before, that I was nothing before Hordak took me in. There’s always been a part of me that I just don’t know anything about.” Which came first Finn from Star Wars or Adora from She-Ra lmao

Adora discovering birthdays and horses and all she missed of the outside world is really very endearing 

“She’s been messing with our heads since we were kids.” “How could you possibly be okay with that?” “Because it doesn’t matter what they do. The two of us look out for each other. And soon, we’ll be the ones calling the shots.” It’s actually really sad that Catra is so resigned to being manipulated and that she views Adora as her entire support system, someone put these girls in therapy

“But I was stupid. And a jerk, and I almost got us killed.” That was a quick turnaround time on the stubbornness, good on Gimmer

“It’s been an honour serving beside you, Horsey.” I delight in every minute of screentime that Bow has

I feel like a lot of these Horde soldier concerns can be partly addressed by making sure Adora has a different outfit when she meets the queen

I love the immediate friendship with the horse and how they just call them “Horsey”

“She attacked our troops with a sword and then fled with the help of a winged beast.” I mean... Adora defended herself with a sword, which is not the same thing as attacking. These guards are lying. She-Ra said, even in pastel space: ACAB

“I know her secret.” “And what’s that?” “Hm. Like I’d tell you.” Everything about Catra just screams I am gay and in 10th grade at all times. I’m sorry I compare everything to Naruto but she is Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke. I will not elaborate

I’m guessing Mara is a previous host(?) of She-Ra 

“I don’t have my glasses, you’ll have to speak up.” I relate to this sentiment, Madame Razz

Very genuine question: Is She-Ra’s pacing/dialogue slower than the average animated series because I keep having to switch it to 1.25 speed in order to move through the show hfkjhfkjhf what is up with it

Although I understand that this is a struggle between a corrupt military empire and a rebellion of united forces/nations a la Star Wars, whenever they bring up that this is a monarchical system, I can’t help but be like, “Dissolve the monarchy!!” I blame Magi the anime. Or the British empire. Probably both

“Catra has been nothing but a disappointment to me.” “If you have failed to condition her properly, you have no one but yourself to blame.” Hordak and Shadow Weaver are like a divorced couple who can’t agree on how to teach their kids responsibility

This is the second time I’m mentioning it, but how much of the outward hostility towards Adora would be solved if they got her a different outfit???? A lot of it, probably

I am assuming that Shadow Weaver is fixated on Adora mostly bc she is a lost princess and not bc she has any emotional attachment to her

“You want She-Ra to fix everything, but you won’t even try to save yourselves?” They are so close to the idea of democracy and yet so far 

Lmao @ these three teens turning a diplomatic supply mission into encouraging a pacifist nation to throw away their ideology and smack people down with plants

How the heck was Adora hiding that GIANT sword in her Horde uniform and somehow no one took note. No one ever managed to look at her back as she walked in?????

“Would I get to hit more people with flowers?” Perfuma said: Actually it turns out, I love violence

Bow and Glimmer giving Adora a firmer bed and sleeping in her room bc they understand she’s used to military barracks... I love the Best Friend Squad 

It’s funny how often Queen Angella makes war decisions based on ‘Glimmer asked very nicely’

“Everyone here looks like a real pirate.” I’m gonna be real with you, Bow, it looks like you’ve entered a lesbian bar rather than a pirate’s tavern, but I guess there is a Venn diagram crossover of interests

“Tragically, they went down in flames.” “How did that happen?” “I set them on fire.” I think I like Captain Sea Hawk

The men on this show are fun. Bow is so easily excited and impressed and Captain Sea Hawk is no thoughts just vibes

Gkhgkgjhg Shadow Weaver not giving Catra the Force Captain orientation while simultaneously using her to hunt Adora is kind of like cutting off her nose to spite her face

There is something about the concept of Mermista and Sea Hawk dating that I find very endearing:

Does some voice innately speak to Adora or does she point the sword and hope

“Try being the daughter of an immortal queen when your powers are ‘sparkles.’” 1) Salt in the wound to be named Glimmer kghkgjhgk imagine if Superman/Clark Kent was called Laser Eyes also 2) Way to casually drop that Queen Angella is immortal??? What???

 Makes a lot of sense that Bow would have the advantage in a battle since he seems to have been an active part of the rebellion for some time vs these Horde cadets who are on their first mission

She-Ra’s height is a little perplexing bc Adora seems to essentially maintain her proportions so rather than being a tall person she just looks like a person x1.15. Adora + HST (Hardy Size Two)

Update from 3 minutes later: Mermista just described her as an ‘eight foot tall lady’ which doesn’t make any sense at all. She is one (1) head taller than Catra, and I don’t think Catra is 7 feet tall. She-Ra’s gotta be like. 6′5″ at best  

Confused by Bow’s gesture with Mermista, is he participating in the magic or just posing???

“The Horde almost destroyed my home. I wanna help fight them.” This feels like a strong description for what happened. They knocked at your door and you kicked their sixteen-year-old asses. But I see your point, Mermista 

The sixth episode intro is giving very much Jumpstart 3rd Grade 

“I designed the castle as a labyrinth. I’m the only one who can navigate it.” What a horrible thing to do to your staff. Even cartoon rich people have no perspective LOL

[Glimmer Tiktok audio voice] 🎶 Adora wake up, I don’t like this, Adora wake up 🎶

I understand that Entrapta’s thing is tech but characters who like to experiment on beings with sentience give me the heebie jeebies like would she normally dissect a person like Adora??

Also I feel like it would’ve been more humanizing if she felt any emotion at all towards fighting the First Ones tech robots. But she seems to be indifferent to both people AND robots???

I appreciate that they’re starting to show the need for and strength of individuals like Bow and the kitchen staff in this world where princesses seem to be the be-all end-all of strength against the Horde

“You each have a skill that only you can do, even if it doesn’t come from some magical jewel.” Bow on theme as always. Love him to pieces:

Also LMAO @ Bow convincing the staff to join in on the robot fight in less than 10 seconds

“I don’t have enough energy to teleport us all right now. Not without leaving someone’s legs behind.” Is the implication here that Glimmer has left someone’s legs behind before jkhgkjhg

Loving how much this ep relies on teamwork <3 Go Bow’s Kitchen Robot Mercenary Squad hahaha

Entrapta immediately putting back together the disc that nearly just killed them. Hoo boy. Always trust your heebie jeebies

“My Aunt Castaspella is head sorceress there.” JKGHKJGHKJGH I guess I understand why Angella named her daughter Glimmer. They do literal names only in this family LMAO

They’re reinforcing that She-Ra is eight feet tall, which again, HOW?

“How nice that Glimmer has finally started making some friends.” We all have an aunt like Aunt Casta jghkjghgj

“Adora, do you know what ‘aunt’ means?” “No, I was just hoping someone would eventually explain.” KJHGKJGHKJGH Adora, what do they teach you in evil military space school

“Some say she never really left. That’s she only biding her time, waiting to exact her revenge.” Wgkjhkgjhg the connect between Light Spinner and Shadow Weaver is as subtle as a ton of bricks

Awww Glimmer and Bow immediately understand that Shadow Weaver is Adora’s Terrible Mum

Wasn’t sure til now if Shadow Weaver knew that Adora was She-Ra 

“You never loved me. You just played twisted mind games.” Everything about Shadow Weaver and Adora is like. Hallmark abuse

It’s cute how the beach has clouds as waves. I love world-building

“If you want to take down Adora, you have to go for the heart.” 1) Don’t like that 2) Why the lingering shot on Bow rather than Bow and Glimmer

“Unfortunately, you’re the only I can trust around here.” “Because we’re best friends.” Scorpia is kind of delightful lmao

“I never really fit in with the other princesses.” It’s tough being a half Scorpion in this economy

Princess Prom is SO cute I love their outfits and the ball concept

“But don’t you see? That’s how it starts. Then suddenly everyone has new friends and nobody needs me anymore.” Glimmer needs to talk to a therapist about her anxious attachment 

Bow is VERY good at communicating his feelings and boundaries with Glimmer re: having other friends. We love an emotionally aware man

“She stole my food and asked me to spy on people with her. Is this what love feels like?” Being gay and in 10th grade: Jealousy Edition

I guess Scorpia and Catra chose Bow first because he was the more accesible target, given Glimmer’s teleporting abilities

Catra continues to ruin Adora’s life and then question why she doesn’t want to hang around with her lol

“We’re the Princess Alliance. And the Horde took one of our own.” YEAHHH MERMISTA, I LOVE A TEAMWORK <3333333

Fjgkhkgjhg I would say that Mermista got the short end of this mission task for the sewer thing, but Perfuma and Adora have to wrangle Sea Hawk and Entrapta lol

GKJHKJGHKJGH a very honest take from Bow:

Bow: Why are you telling me all this?

Kyle: I don’t know... I guess because you’re the first person who’s listened to me. 

Bow: I mean, I’m being held prisoner, so I don’t know that I have a choice... but sure!

“Go to the force captain barracks and pack your things. Now that Adora is back, there’s no need for you there.” I feel like the flaw in Shadow Weaver’s thinking is how she possibly believes Adora could fight for their cause again

Adora sacrificing herself to get the rest of the Princess Alliance out is giving Season 1 VLD Allura, Dreamworks got one mission move 

“You shall stay willingly, because I am going to wipe your mind.” Ah, there it is

GO GLIMMER GIVING SHADOW WEAVER THE PUNCH SHE DESERVES:

“This is not because I like you,” said Catra as she handed over the sword, even though it definitely was, proving that being gay and in tenth grade can in fact lead to the downfall of imperialism

[Princess Alliance as ATLA voice] ‘Did Entrapta just die?’ ‘You know, it was really unclear’

Gjkghkjgh the fact the flames were the same moody green light for the door shut/burst of flames as it was for Jet in the underground. If the people who wrote this ep did not watch ATLA, I would be SHOCKED

As a sidenote, I don’t think Entrapta’s dead lol. It wouldn’t have even crossed my mind to consider she was dead until Bow suggested it LOL, I really just thought it was the door closing 

“If I had known, I never would’ve agreed to your foolish plan.” All this Horde team meeting suggests is that Hordak is not a particularly effective leader LOL 

I think honestly they should’ve kept him obscured for longer to up his villainous aura. Like on a scale of cartoon villainy from like, Dr. Doofenschmirtz to Him in that one really fucked up episode of Powerpuff Girls, this guy seems like a solid Hawk Moth. He’s certainly not as scary as the comparable media of VLD’s Zarkon

“What do you do when you have a cold?” “Remain out of sight.” [Concerned glances] “What? Displays of physical weakness are strongly discouraged in the Horde.” Once an episode Adora reminds everyone of what a horrific childhood she had 

Not sure what Glimmer plans to achieve by hiding her Dark Magic Flu, surely deceiving her mother will only result in more restrictions later on 

In answer to an earlier question, Adora’s strategy for figuring out her She-Ra powers really is just ‘point the sword and hope’

“Hey, you can’t just touch another woman’s tail without asking,” said Scorpia, like they weren’t holding Entrapta captive without asking

In fairness to Glimmer and Adora, they really just had to take the others word for it. They didn’t see what happened to Entrapta!

“Am I the only one who cares about sword safety around here?” Poor, rational Bow has been cursed to be besties with two people whose only two braincells constantly scream, ‘Magic’ and ‘Fight’

Again, I get that Entrapta is representing a specific type of person but it doesn’t sit right with me how ambivalent she is about the Horde. What is ur moral code Entrapta? What matters to u, aside from making technological discoveries? Who matters? 

“I was hard on you. I won’t deny it, and I won’t apologize. I just wanted to prepare you for the world. I wanted you to be strong.” “Well, congratulations, I’m plenty strong now.” Yaddah yaddah generational trauma 

“I shouldn’t have been so weird about you hanging out with someone else. I’m sorry Bow.” Glimmer’s hand on Bow’s chin as she reassures him: <3 Best Friend Squad 

“I don’t know how you feel? I got your father killed!” WHAT IN THE ABBY GRIFFIN

Ah, it was more of a battle decision than a betrayal lol

“Don’t make the same mistake I did. I should have kept fighting, and you should too.” Wow, this episode wasn’t kidding about yaddah yaddah generational trauma 

“You must let go.” Does this mean that She-Ra also has to go on a spiritual journey towards asceticism and not prioritizing her loved ones with a mystical racially-coded guru a la Aang

Update from 18 min later: Yeah.

I like that Catra and Adora are finally getting to hang out again, even if it is while they are being attacked by giant spiders during the Alien Mega-Computer Hang-out Cyber-Security Lockdown 

“I knew you’d be weird about me letting you escape. I told you it’s not because I like you,” Adora said the furry doth protest too much

These Fright Zone simulations are very sweet <3 Childhood!!

I love the subtle contact like Adora smiling when Catra’s tail brushes her hands 

“Adora, you must do a better job of keeping her under control.” Again. This favourite and scapegoat.... sickeningly realistic abuse tactic hoo boy

“I didn’t want you to come back.” We have circled back to Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke. Sever your bonds so u can get stronger Catra (derogatory/affectionate):

“I wonder what I could’ve been if I’d gotten rid of you sooner.” You would’ve unlocked your mangekyo sharingan, Catra

“You ever meet someone and just instantly click?” Awww Scorpia’s adoration of Catra is quite sweet

NJFKKJFHFKJ what I imagine to Catra’s inner monologue

Scorpia: She is the best friend ever.

Catra, biting her fist to keep from crying: Adora used to call me that.

“I watched you grow up from afar.” That’s a weird thing to say

KHGKJHGKJGHK lmao @ Adora pointing it out as well. “Creepy? Yes, I have, I been called this before.” I’ve only known Light Hope for like 10 seconds but already I enjoy her

“Our horse!” “I... am my own horse.” WHAT THE HELL SWIFT WIND CAN TALK?

“As part of Adora’s herd, I need your help.” That’s so cute and weird that Swift Wind measures friendship by herd. I am so thrown by this horse thing, I had no clue this was coming

“I will not consign you to the same regrets.” Angella said the generational trauma ends with me!!!

“Etheria’s not just a planet. Whatever the First Ones did to it, it went deep.” Oh good, I have been perplexed about what the hell Etheria was in the first place. A solar system? A galaxy? A country? So they are all living on the same planet, yeah?

I didn’t know the ‘You’re asking me about my theories’ audio came from She-Ra

“The First Ones were explorers who journeyed from beyond the stars to settle Etheria.” So were they like the actual first ones or is this a North America type of situation

“You are the first She-ra in a thousand years.” Ah, exposition

“Which means, [the runestones are] our best access point to hack the planet.” ENTRAPTA. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

Is this little guy Hordak’s son or like. The Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys

Oh. He’s like that iDog Robot that plays music from ur mp3 player

“You are distracted by your attachments. There was one before you who could not let go.” Oh no, Adora’ll never reach the Avatar state now

Wait Madame Razz knows Mara the She-Ra from ONE THOUSAND YEARS AGO? How old is she????

“Mara stranded us in the empty dimension of Despandos.” Stranded whomst?? Etheria?? Did she plop u down like a pin on Google Maps??

I assume it will become apparent to us that Mara had a reason for what she did

“You’re really going to let this... this Princess tinker with my runestone?” “Her tinkering has boosted the firepower of every weapon she’s touched. So yes, she gets to tinker with whatever she wants.” This what happens with u mix feminism with imperialism LMAO

On that note, is power passed on matrilineally in this universe? Since it’s all princesses using the runestones, I guess gender must be a relevant factor in magic usage, huh? Unless weirdly for two generations everyone just happened to have exclusively daughters?

“Freedom, equality and hay for all.” Fascinated by the horse politics 

“What good is all of your power if you don’t use it to help the people you love?” This is why I don’t see the point of these spiritual or emotional journeys to let go of the people around u. Ultimately, isn’t their reason for continuing to pursue balance, or the mission, or whatever the hell, the love of their people? I can’t believe I’m taking narrative reflections from a horse

“I didn’t do this fulfill some destiny. I became She-Ra to help others. My attachments, my friends, they’re part of who I am.” THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING, ADORA

“It’s in the name. Net-ossa. I toss nets!” “Yes darling, you have beautiful nets.” Are Spinerella and Netossa girlfriends? <3 <3 <3 Love that for them

“All I did was push [Catra] further to the side of evil.” I don’t think you can take responsibility for that Adora, Catra chose this all on her own 

Kinda worried they might kill or incapacitate Angella. Glimmer only has one living parent! 

Catra is being so mean and for what? Cause Adora’s more athletic and she’s the Avatar-Jinchuriki-Jedi-Chosen Magical Girl? Please 

Wouldn’t covering Etheria in darkness make it unsuable for the Horde? What do you gain from destroying the planet? Isn’t that where you want to take over? Very, ‘I’m one of the idiots who live there’ 

Oh my god. Has Glimmer been glitching because she’s connected to the Black Garnet now. Oh my god. IS GLIMMER GONNA BLOW UP THE HORDE

Adora apologizing for not being able to save the world on her own and Bow immediately comforting her, paying no heed to the weapons aimed at them... I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP A LOT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Also really enjoy how apparent they’ve made it that Spinerella and Netossa are 1) very nice and 2) very talented and battle-equipped

MERMISTA AND SEAHAWK AND PERFUMA WOOOOOOOOOOO

Even the little ice princess whose name I cannot recall!!! Whole gang’s here

Entrapta could be here too if she gave her friends the benefit of the damn doubt and didn’t terrorize the world for the sake of science!!

Absolutely LOVE that Sea Hawk and Bow are part of the princess magic rainbow blast:

“You will have other chances to prove your worth to me as my second in command.” Hate this for Catra. Like the Non-Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke, I just want her to get some therapy for her childhood trauma and then understand that experiencing love is not a weakness

What a colourful and happy ending to a violent battle. This show is really trying to balance two wildly different aesthetics and tones, huh? It’s grown on me, though! I like it 

[matt-the-radar-techncian]

Late but interesting. The whole part about that it reinforces the sympathetic side of pink diamond it's something that seems to be getting ignored by most people while everyone is more focusing on for actions and the consequences behind them.

The whole part about her thinking people don't care about her did kind of have me thinking at that. It just made me wonder if that whole low self-esteem and self-hate was from the diamonds and believing they were right about her because like I kind of don't want to go with the idea that her feelings about them and how she was treated from them were invalid just because they loved her. Even though it would ignore their treatment of her and how they went about it. To me it just sounds like It be like saying Shadow Weaver "loved" Catra and everything she did was to make her be "better" and whatever she thought and feel about SW is invalid despite that would ignore her abuse and manipulation towards Catra and be like victim blaming or something like that.

I don't know if the whole comparison towards the diamonds and sw is fair but I pretty much got the whole idea that it doesn't matter what they thought was better, they ultimately hurt somebody and that somebody had a lot of issues that ended up affected everyone, Pink and Catra respectfully.

Although I did thought there was some interesting parallels between the two. I'm not 100% sure how people feel about both characters being compared but I kind of feel like I got the possible impression that people would say Rose/Pink is worse than Catra despite Catra was proven to be very selfish, toxic and destructive to the point where she was willing to destroy the entire universe just to spite Adora Whereas Rose/Pink wasn't intentionally malice like that, both in her Rose and Pink days, even arguably during her pre-cracking volleyball days. While throwing Tantrums, I don't know if anything was said about her being manipulative towards Volleyball. The same could possibly be said about Spinel too like what you're getting at. There might be similarities between the characters but I feel like I'm sure there are differences between the characters and how they go about it

I do think that the way the Diamonds raised Pink played a big part in her self-esteem and it’s something important that a lot of people leave out of discussions about her character. When she is first sent to Earth she still feels like the others don’t see her as an equal, on account of being sent to the Garden and generally being treated as less mature (and not even being allowed to have her own pearl!) Then when she raises concerns about the well-being of Earth the other Diamonds just brush her off and created the human Zoo*** without taking into account what Pink thinks. It’s because of this neglect that she even starts the rebellion as Rose Quartz in the first place, since she wasn’t respected when speaking her mind as herself. We even see this again in “Can’t Go Back” when Steven has a dream about what is clearly Pink trying to get the Diamonds to abandon the Earth colony again, and getting shut down again. In the scene where she fakes her death, she even straight up tells Pearl, “Yellow and Blue don’t care, they never have.” Clearly, if the other Diamonds had shown her more respect her story would’ve played out very differently

Of course, Yellow and Blue do care about Pink on some level. They’re obviously heartbroken about losing her and even feel somewhat responsible for her shattering. But they still don’t realize that their treatment of Pink is what drove her away, partly because they literally just didn’t know that she was still alive, and in part because of their own arrogance. In fact, when Blue admits this in “Change Your Mind” is what causes her to, well, change her mind

As for how she compares to Catra? I think one of the biggest differences between the two characters is their role in the story. Catra is a deuteragonist, and her relationship and conflict with Adora is firmly established by episode 2, so the show, and the audience, get plenty of time to become endeared to her and think about her motivations and internal conflicts. Meanwhile, “Pink Diamond” isn’t mentioned by name until the end of season 3, and we don’t know Rose’s whole story until almost the end of the main series. It’s like I’ve said before, lots of viewers only think of Rose/Pink in terms of how she affects other characters, and not as an actual character with her own motivations and feelings. This is probably just down to a lack of screentime and direct narrative focus

It’s been a while since I’ve watched She-Ra so idk exactly what Catra has done to all the other characters she’s fought against, but you’re definitely right in saying that Rose’s misdeeds are more out of carelessness as opposed to Catra’s being motivated by actual malice (even if that malice comes from an understandable place)

***I’ve also seen a few people say that it was actually Pink’s idea to create the Zoo instead of Blue Diamond, which is just wrong and definitely doesn’t help people’s opinion of Pink when they hear people repeat this

[shera-dnd]

A Dream Come True

It’s finally here! The fic and comic you’ve all been waiting for! And it’s all catradora fluff as far as the eye can see.

I wanna thank my good friend @midnightechoes for her amazing work on the comic and to all the people who donated and helped us reach our 200 dollar goal.

And without any further delay, here’s the AO3 link (comic included) for those who’d rather read over there, and let’s get this nonsense going

Today was a big day for Etheria. It was the first Princess Prom since the fall of Prime, the first Princess Prom in many years to be celebrated in a time of peace and prosperity. So of course, Etheria’s great savior and protector was expected to make an appearance, and she was expected to look good.

Though if Adora asked just about anyone, they would claim that she always looked good. But she did want to put in the extra effort today. It took her some convincing from all of her friends to keep her from over planning and over preparing like last time.

There was no threat of war, no great enemy, no lies or intrigue, it would just be a ball with all the people she loved. She could just rest and relax tonight. So she put on a beautiful white dress, let her hair loose from its near permanent ponytail, donned a pretty little tiara, and just let herself not be combat ready for once.

Looking now at her own reflection in the room’s waterfall - the closest to a practical use she found to those wasteful things - she had to admit that she did look pretty, though for some reason she was struck by a strange sense of familiarity.

“Just let me brush it!” She heard Glimmer call from outside the room.

“No!” Catra yelled back as she ran into the room with the queen chasing after her, brush in hand.

Though Catra acted like she was running for life, they both still giggled. Catra tried to use her wife as cover from the queen’s attack, but Glimmer followed her anyway, and both just started running circles around Adora.

“Don’t let her touch me!” Catra yelled, hiding behind Adora, “she’s gonna torture me!”

“Do you always have to be this dramatic?” Glimmer asked, knowing full well that the answer was yes.

“Come on, guys,” Bow called, calmly walking in, “if we’re late to Scorpia’s first ball she’s gonna kill us.”

He pulled Glimmer closer and she leaned against him, hooking an arm around his back. For a moment there the queen seemed to forget about her plans to torture Catra, and just enjoyed that little display of affection from her husband.

“Fine, you’re off the hook,” she surrendered, but added just a little threat at the end, “this time.”

Catra stuck her tongue out at them, still using Adora for cover, as they left the room, leaving the two of them alone together. Once she was sure she was safe from Glimmer’s hairbrush, she stepped out from behind her wife and laughed a little to herself.

“You coming?” She asked, reaching a hand towards Adora.

The whole time Adora had been stunned. In equal parts by this constant feeling of dejavu, and by just how beautiful Catra looked right now. Her wife had always been a master of the casually gorgeous look, but this time she had completely out done herself.

“Etheria to Adora,” Catra called, playfully, “you still there, Adora?”

“Sorry, I just have this weird feeling that I’ve seen this before,” she explained, the feeling completely disappearing a moment later.

“What? Did you sneak a peek while me and Glimmer were putting the look together?” She teased.

“No!” Adora defended herself, “it’s just dejavu or something. I--you’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

Catra feigned offense, “such accusations from my own wife? I would never do such a thing.”

“Oh you little--!”

“Guys,” Bow interrupted again, calling from the hallway beyond, “Scorpia’s ball, remember?”

“Sorry, your majesty,” Adora shouted back, they both knew he didn’t like the title, but it was fun to mess with him sometimes.

That earned her a little laugh from Catra and a soft nudge to her side, “you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I think I am,” she answered, hooking her arm around Catra’s as they made their way out of the room.

They had barely stepped into the hallways of Bright Moon castle when they were stopped by a voice calling for them.

“Oh my goodness!” Exclaimed a very excited King Micah, “you both look stunning!”

The king had always been such a sweetheart, the man had nearly adopted the two of them after the war was over. After everything that had happened, it was nice seeing him this happy.

“Hey there, your majesty,” Catra greeted, “everything ready for the dance?”

“Indeed it is!” He replied, his bright smile growing wider, “before you go, though, I have a big surprise for you!”

“Oh?” 

With a dramatic flare worthy of Double Trouble, King Micah stepped aside to reveal…

The most adorable thing they’ve ever seen.

Behind the king stood their child. Little Finn looked as adorable as they looked annoyed at their new outfit, a lovely uniform in several shades of purple and beautiful gold accents. The kid was just short of ten years old, but they already looked like a fancy little dignitary of the kingdom. The only thing standing out from the illusion was their messy blonde hair.

“You look precious!” Adora squealed at the sight.

Catra gasped, holding on tighter to her wife’s arm. It was the only thing she could do not to run over and hug them right this instant.

“Moms!” Finn groaned, “please!”

Unfortunately their pleas for help were lost on their moms, who were still busy blabbering about how adorable they looked.

“Uncle Micah, do I really have to wear this? It’s itchy,” they complained, hoping their uncle would listen, “and lame.”

The king turned to address his little nibling, but was horrified by what he saw.

“How did you manage to mess up your hair in the five minutes since I finished it?!” He demanded, utterly shocked.

“It’s a skill, uncle,” Finn replied, giving him a smug look that clearly ran in the family.

Looking none too pleased with all that lost work, Micah drew a quick glyph in the air, using just a bit of magic to comb his nibling’s hair in an instant.

“There, fixed.” The king proudly declared, earning a hiss from the angry child.

And also earning him a hug from Adora.

“They look amazing,” she beamed, “thank you!”

“My pleasure, Adora,” he replied, his voice and expression growing softer, “I missed out on too many of these moments with Glimmer. I’m not going to miss any more of them.”

Meanwhile Catra no longer had Adora to hold on to to help contain herself, so she had dashed over to their child, too busy showering them with love and affection to notice the tender moment happening behind her.

“You are the cutest kid in all of Etheria,” she happily praised.

“Mom!” Finn groaned once more.

Adora let out a content sigh as she watched those two. She loved them with all her heart and they had made the past decade of her life better than she could have ever dreamed it would be.

“Thanks again,” she repeated to Micah, finally letting go of the hug.

Walking over to her family - wow, it really warmed her heart every time she thought of them like that - she picked up the little light of her life and carried them on her shoulders. They mumbled a few words in annoyance, but Adora could feel their tail happily swaying against her back.

“You’re going to win Best Kid at the dance for sure!” Catra commented.

“I don’t think that’s a real award, mom.”

“We’ll make it real, kid.” She declared, “don’t worry, I have some pull with Princess Scorpia.”

Adora couldn’t help but smile at that.

“What’s got you all smiley like that?” Catra asked, leaning closer to her wife as they walked together.

“It’s just…this is our first Princess Prom as a family,” she said, a little teary eyed, “I still can’t believe we got this far. It’s more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

“Well, you better start believing it,” Catra replied, giving her a little kiss on the cheek.

“Ew!” Finn complained, hiding their face so they wouldn’t be forced to see any more disgusting affection from their moms.

The two of them laughed together and Adora was certain that no dream could ever compare to the life she now lived.

[rwdestuffs]

Well, I’m about to get on someone’s shitlist… Assuming I wasn’t already…

I’m a little tired of being critical of RWBY. It’s honestly a good show, with a lot of flaws. That’s to be expected of what is essentially the first serialized web-series that isn’t a machinima. The legion of anti-rwde will probably call me a liar for saying that I like the show, but that’s their problem.

Not that it excuses any of the mistakes it made in handling the racism subplot, or how it blueballs people on LGBT+ Rep (Seriously? Five Volumes to give us a confirmed lesbian and it’s a hostile bitter lesbian who’s upset that her feelings weren’t reciprocated? And the only trans rep we get is a side character instead of the one who is literally wearing the colors of the trans flag?)

But, I’m about to come in with a take that’s sure to make me even more hated.

Zuko has ruined redemption arcs for everyone.

When we first meet Zuko, he’s training, and struggling with his firebending. He’s being mentored by his uncle, and is told to calm down. This is our first sign that Zuko is not a straight-up villain that we should root against. If anything, he comes off as more that he’s that guy on the street that causes problems, but is only doing so to get by.

Basically, we are told that he’s not an outright villain. The worst we see him do is attack Suki’s village, and that’s about the extent of the damage that he causes to a town or city. This lack of collateral damage tells us that Zuko is focused on capturing the Avatar, not killing the Avatar.

Later episodes, like The Storm and The Blue Spirit would also cement Zuko as a character who, while an antagonist, is not a villain. And yes. There is a difference. An antagonist is someone who opposes the protagonist. A villain is a character who opposes the hero. And as we’ve just established: Zuko isn’t a villain.

Zuko’s redemption arc is set up by the narrative in such a way that it’s rather amusing that so many other characters often get theirs compared to Zuko’s. Zuko’s redemption arc was spelled out to us by The Storm and The Blue Spirit. He’s a character we want to see get better and join the good guys.

Contrast this with a character like Catra, who people wrote off as irredeemable by the end of season 3 of She-Ra, because she caused the circumstances that led to Angella sacrificing herself. Zuko did something similar, in which he caused the circumstances that led to Aang being killed. Except while Aang’s death was temporary, Angella’s fate is ambiguous and permanent. Both Catra and Zuko had similar childhoods, being the unfavorite to the resident parental figure, and both had experiences that ultimately skewed their judgement on morality.

Both got better, but it’s a really telling point that Catra’s was harder to accept for some parts of the fandom than Zuko’s was for his. And this is because Zuko’s redemption arc is now a benchmark for all others. Other characters can’t have a “good” redemption arc unless it’s on par with Zuko’s.

This isn’t to take away from Zuko’s character arc. But it is to say that constantly comparing every character’s redemption arc to Zuko’s is an unfair comparison. Not every redemption is clean. Not every arc is perfect. Other arcs should be allowed to stand on their own, and not be compared to Zuko’s.

But since A:tLA set such a massive standard for all other forms of media, this isn’t the case.

Most Azula redemption arc stories often involve her having to be taken down several pegs, being humiliated, and basically hitting rock bottom before she’s “allowed” to be redeemed. Her own trauma and abuse is ignored in favor of thinking that only Zuko was abused by Ozai, when Azula was too.

The reason I brought up She-Ra is because of this exactly. She-Ra is essentially asking the question of “What if Azula had to face the horrors of what her people were doing, and had to be the one to put a stop to it?” It’s basically “What if Azula was the Avatar?” Is what I’m saying. Azula is basically She-Ra, but without the opportunity to be a better person. Adora was the “golden child”, much like Azula, similar to how Zuko was the “unfavorite” like Catra.

Azula didn’t get a chance to be redeemed because Zuko’s trauma was what was focused on. Most of Azula’s toxic behaviors can be attributed to Ozai, while a lot of Zuko’s healthy behaviors can be attributed to Iroh. Had Azula been given the same opportunities as Zuko, and been allowed to travel with Iroh, she would have turned out a lot like Iroh. And had Zuko stayed with Ozai, he would have turned out like Ozai.

Zuko’s redemption arc means a lot, because it says that “people can still be good guys no matter what they’ve done.” Except the extent of Zuko’s destruction was mainly just the village on Kyoshi Island. After that, his villainy didn’t really do much. We’re shown right off the bat that Zuko is an honorable fighter, and doesn’t involve civilians (except for that one time). Zuko’s arc is also reliant on the people around him, namely his uncle. Since Azula doesn’t get this positive influence, she doesn’t get to have the same chances.

Hell! Ty Lee and Mai were both just as involved in the take over of Ba Sing Se as Azula was, but they’re allowed to walk free just because they turned on Azula at Boiling Rock. The comics do an even bigger disservice to Azula by basically not giving her therapy, and while one could just attribute that to them not having figured out how therapy would work, it seems rather disingenuous to let that slide.

Zuko has basically made people dumb when it comes to redemption arcs. Because unless your antagonist is as squeaky as Zuko is, then them joining the good guys is “unbelievable” or “not natural.”

Zuko is “redemption arc” on easy mode is what I’m saying.

…

Welp. Time to deal with toxic anons.

[catrasredemption-moved]

Can you do a fic where catra gives birth without adora by her side and panics please

I feel like I can't do justice compared to the others that exist, but sure!

-----------------------

Adora hadn't wanted to go.

Catra hadn't really wanted to let her go, either. She was coming up on her eighth month of pregnancy, and every single nerve screamed in imagined agony when she wasn't in Adora's arms. She hated it - she had gotten over clinging to Adora years ago. But everyone assured it was okay. She was pregnant. She was allowed to want Adora right by her side all the time.

But this was important. Two ally planets were threatening to go to war, and there was a risk of Etheria ending up in the middle of it. Which, unfortunately, made it very much their problem. Normally, Glimmer would have brought Catra (who was surprisingly good at being diplomatic and talking people down), but Adora had flat out said no to the idea of her very pregnant wife going anywhere near a warzone. Catra would have argued, but that was fair, really. She felt the same way.

So Glimmer had taken Adora and Bow, with the hopes that the three of them would manage to calm everyone down. Catra had resisted the urge to point out that they hadn't even know what a coherent plan was before she joined them.

It sucked, watching the three people she trusted most clear Etheria's atmosphere and disappear into the stars. But after ten years, Catra no longer felt completely alone in the castle. Netossa and Spinnerella had agreed to stay in Bright Moon while Glimmer was gone; they had declared themselves the baby's aunts the minute Catra announced she was pregnant. Entrapta, after nearly two year of work, had managed to replicate Prime's teleportation technology to create teleporting points in each kingdom, so Scorpia could visit her bestie whenever she wanted. Micah had decided the new baby was going to be his grandchild (with a pointed look at Glimmer, who had rolled her eyes and informed him they were adopting), and was happy to look in on Catra every single hour, if she'd let him. She did not let him.

And they were great. They were all great. Catra loved all of them. But Adora's absence was an aching hole in her chest. She wanted her wife. She wanted her when she woke up at three in the morning, back screaming in pain, and there was no one she could ask to give her a massage, or even just hold her until she managed to fall back to sleep. She wanted to see the adoration in Adora's expression every time the baby kicked. She wanted to hear Adora's excited babbling as she told literally anyone who would listen about how they had just finished decorating the nursery, and it was so cute. She wanted Adora.

She really wanted Adora now, as she whimpered into her pillow, tightly clutching her swollen belly. Melog nuzzled her cheek, meowing nervously.

"No, it's fine," she mumbled. "It's nothing. Fake contractions, remember?"

That got her a very unimpressed meow in return. The fake contractions were sporadic and mildly painful, but this? This was a steady pain, pressing down on her uterus, coming approximately every ten minutes, as Melog kept reminding her. She reached out, pushing their snout away.

"I'm still three and a half weeks from my due date. It's fine."

Lying down wasn't a viable option; there was no comfortable position. She pushed herself out of bed, shuffling unsteadily around the room to try and relieve the constant ache on her back. Melog helped support her when she had to stop and lean on the wall, breathing heavily.

It wasn't fine.

"Fuck," she breathed, sliding down the wall, tears burning in her eyes. This couldn't be happening now. No. No no no no. Adora wasn't here. She didn't even know where Adora was. Not within communication range - Catra had already tried to call her. Who knew when she would be back. Catra was alone.

Not alone, Melog reminded her, nudging her shoulder. There were people here who could help her. A healer from Mystacor had even transferred to Bright Moon to be on hand for any emergencies, and the eventual delivery.

"Okay," she whispered. Melog nodded and disappeared. And she was alone.

She was alone.

Adora wasn't there. Adora wouldn't make it back in time. Her entire support system had relied on her wife, because why wouldn't it? Adora would be there. Adora didn't break her promises. Adora would be there.

Another contraction seized her, closing up her already struggling lungs. Tears pricked at her eyes as she wheezed uselessly. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe.

A hand rested on her shoulder. "Easy," Micah said, squeezing. "It's okay. You're okay. Can you breathe with me?"

He exaggerated his own breaths, giving Catra a guide to follow along. It took a few minutes, but finally she managed to take a shaky breath, curling in on herself. "Okay. Good. What's wrong?"

"I - I think I'm in labor," she admitted unwillingly. "And Adora isn't here, and she supposed to be here, she was so excited, I can't take this away from her, I can't - I'm the worst wife-"

Micah squeezed her shoulder again, cutting her off. "You can't control when this happens," he reminded her gently. "That doesn't make you a bad wife. Or mother for that matter." Was he a mind reader? "If Adora doesn't make it back in time, it's okay. I know she'll be disappointed, but she'll be here for everything else. And I know this is hard, but you have to relax a little. The stress isn't good for you or the baby. Take another breath for me. Please?"

Catra nodded, sucking in a breath and letting it out slowly. The bedroom door burst open, Netossa and Melog hurrying in. "Spinny is getting Ivy. Is it really time?"

"Think so," Micah said, taking Catra's hands and helping her stand. "Keep trying to call Darla. Hopefully we can get in touch as soon as they're back in communication range."

Melog brushed against Catra's leg, purring loudly. She scratched the back of their ears, smile turning to a grimace when the dull pain of contraction started to grip her again.

It was going to be okay.

-----------------------------------

"Adora?"

"Yeah?"

"Catra is never allowed to be pregnant again. That was the worst."

It turned out talking and being diplomatic was a lot harder than just punching things. It had taken nearly four days to negotiate a deal that made both planets happy and stopped a war. Adora was fairly certain defeating Horde Prime had been easier.

She and Glimmer were sprawled out on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Bow was slumped in the captain's seat, sleeping. Entrapta was working energetically at the console. She had gotten to spend the last week on Darla, since they all knew letting her try to talk to people was a nightmare. Adora wanted her energy.

"I'm so tired," Adora groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Glimmer reached out to shove her shoulder.

"Aren't you the one about to have a newborn? You better rest up now, you'll never sleep again."

Adora laughed, ignoring the uncomfortable swoop in her stomach. She missed Catra. She hated that she'd had to leave. She just wanted to be back.

"Entering Etheria's atmosphere!" Entrapta called, as if reading Adora's mind. "ETA - oh."

The console was beeping. There was a call coming in. Entrapta tapped a few buttons, bringing up a large screen. It flickered to life, showing Netossa, who was looking at something off screen.

"Yes I'm sure I'm calling the right - oh!" She jumped when she saw the call had connected. "Hey, finally!"

"Is something wrong?" Glimmer asked, immediately sitting up. Adora shot up as well, suddenly shaking. Netossa chuckled nervously.

"Okay, don't freak out. But um... Catra had the baby."

"What?!" Adora's voice cracked. She practically sprinted across the flight deck, grabbing the screen. "Is she okay? Is the baby okay? How?!"

"Are you asking how the baby was born?"

Normally, Adora liked Netossa's humor. This was not normally. "Netossa!"

"Okay, sorry. She's okay, the baby is okay, they're both sleeping now. It got a little rough, and Catra might need a little more time to recover, but she's okay."

Adora felt lightheaded. She took a step back, sitting hard on the ground. Catra had the baby. The baby was born while she was gone.

"Um... ETA five minutes," Entrapta said, quickly hitting a few buttons on the console and speeding Darla up. Glimmer and Bow moved to sit on either side of Adora, hugging her tight.

"I missed it," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. She had one job, to be there when Catra gave birth, and she missed it. "She probably hates me."

"There is no way Catra hates you," Bow said confidently. "Trust me."

"She never stops talking about how much she loves you and how you're going to be a great mother," Glimmer added. "I share an office with her, I hear about it every single day. 'Adora stayed up all night painting the nursery, Adora's been practicing how to swaddle with some stuffed animals, she's trying to set a record swaddling time, Adora woke me up at three a.m. because she had her head on my stomach and was letting the baby kick her ear' - seriously, it never stopped. I tried to send her on maternity leave two months ago so she'd stop."

"But I-"

"I know, you missed it," Glimmer said, hugging Adora. "But Catra isn't going to be mad. She probably just wants you there now. It's going to be okay."

Adora scrubbed her eyes, sniffling. "Yeah. It'll be okay."

They landed, and Adora darted off the ship. Bow and Glimmer smartly decided they could visit later, and let her go.

Netossa and Spinerella were sitting outside of Adora's and Catra's room, playing a game on their tracker pad. They both gave Adora a grin when they saw her approaching.

"Hey Mom. How's it going?"

Adora slowed to a walk, hands shoved in her pockets to keep from fidgeting. "Is... Is Catra mad?"

"Is Catra ever not mad?"

Spinnerella elbowed Netossa. "She's a little upset, but mostly at herself. I think she'll be happier you're here, though."

"How long has it been?"

"About twelve hours."

Adora had barely missed it. She did her best to put on a brave smile. "Thanks for being here."

"Honestly, thank Micah. He's the only one besides Ivy who knew what was going on."

"And he didn't almost pass out," Spinnerella added, smiling wickedly at her wife. Netossa gave her an offended look.

"I did not almost pass out."

"You absolutely would have if I didn't drag you out."

Adora left the wives to their argument, carefully peeking into the room. Catra was sleeping, bundled up in a nest of pillows and blankets. Adora just barely got a look at her before she was being tackled. Melog nuzzled up to her, purring and licking her cheek. She laughed.

"Hi, Melog."

This was good, right? Melog always did this when Catra was feeling particularly needy but didn't want to say anything. Adora couldn't have been in too much trouble.

She stood, feeling a bit more emboldened, and toed off her boots before making her way across the room.

And she finally got her first look at her baby.

They were so small. A small mop of blonde hair barely hid twitching ears, little claws kneading mindlessly against Catra's chest. Their fur was a mix of Adora's skin and Catra's fur - a beautiful dark blonde that was absolutely the most amazing thing Adora had ever seen. She wanted to pick them up, to hold them, to feel their weight in her arms. But she also didn't want to disrupt this moment of pure tranquility.

Catra made a small noise, nose twitching, and one eye fluttered open. "Hey 'Dora," she mumbled sleepily. "Really left me t'do all the hard, huh?"

Adora pressed a hand to her lips to keep from laughing. "Mind if I join you?"

"Left enough room for you, didn't I?"

She had, Adora realized. A perfectly sized space right next to her for Adora to slide into. She tossed her jacket off and carefully slid in next to Catra. Her wife shifted slightly to snuggled into her chest.

"How're you feeling?"

"Tired. Your child is so difficult."

"Oh, my child?"

"Yup. Stubborn, just like you."

Adora finally reached out to brush a finger against one of their tiny paws. "Cute, though."

"Got that from me."

George and Lance, it turned out, had a surprisingly extensive knowledge about Magicats, and had been more than happy to educate Catra after they'd met her. One of the big things they'd learned was that Magicats didn't name their children before they were a year old (some superstition) and all babies used neutral pronouns until they were old enough to understand what gender was and could choose their own. Two more things Shadow Weaver had taken away from Catra. Two things she was determined to give their baby.

"Do you think I can..."

Catra rolled her eyes, yawning. "No, Adora, you can't hold your own child. Come on, seriously?"

"I just don't want to bother them!"

Adora was reaching out even as she said that, carefully scooping up the little bundle. They wiggled a bit, making a few distressed noises, but stopped when they were close enough to burrow into Adora's shirt. And if the baby hadn't owned Adora's heart before that moment, they certainly did now.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, to their baby and to Catra. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"M'sorry they were so impatient," Catra murmured, snuggling a bit closer to Adora now that she was free. S'okay, though. You're here now."

Yes, she was. And she'd be damned if she ever left this planet again. Why would she? Everything she needed was already here.

[infartoomanyfandoms]

I'm in a ranting mood now so I'm gonna give my 2 cents on Supercorp.

Season 2:

In season 2 Kara and Lena were actually written pretty well. They were friends, they hugged, snuggled on the couch had food together, went to gala's together, defended the other behind their back and that kind of thing. And of course all the times Supergirl saved Lena. We'd be here forever if I mentioned everything lol. There was definitely some flirting happening. They were written as friends but there was absolutely something there the writers could have explored.

Season 3:

A little odd in terms of Kara and Lena. It's like the CW said 'I see you Supercorp shippers and I raise you a season of them barely interacting alone.' They fought and made up again at work, Kara tried to convince drunk Lena that she's good, they were sweet at the Christmas party with everyone, just all of 3x12, and then there was the hugs in 3x18 and 3x21. We had some Supergirl saves but Lena's relationship with Supergirl ended up on the rocks. They were written very much 'no homo' this season compared to season 2. There wasn't really any super obvious flirting, there were romantic parallels with the risking of identity though. Overall we didn't really get to see much of them existing together. Plus Lena started dating James. Alex and Lena got some really good development though so that's a plus.

Season 4:

They definitely interacted much more than in season 3. They were happy to see each other at the beginning, 4x02 was a goldmine of hugging, Lena protecting Kara, Kara protecting Lena, the works. Lena made the power rangers suit while she was still mad at Supergirl, she broke up with James, she was worried about Kara at the hospital, they had an argument in 4x19 and made up (after Kara longingly stared at a picture of Lena on her phone), Lena cried on Kara as Kara waxed poetic about how wonderful Lena is, just the entirety of 4x20. Plus Lena and Supergirl's relationship was mended. Season 4b had a lot of romantic undertones imo. The classic red/blue colour scheme, Kara staring at the picture, the sheer concern they both had for each other, how hurt Lena was that she hadn't seen Kara for a while after not seeing her for weeks on end just the season before, and where do I start with 4x20!? The looks they gave each other on the plane, how worried Lena was for Kara when the plane was crashing, all the physical contact, Kara's tape recorder stopped Lena from being stabbed, the concern and hugging again at the end, how defensive Lena got over wanting to apologize and the almost reveal. They obviously love each other, platonic or otherwise. Kara gives much more platonic love vibes at this point. Although the raw panic and concern and "Thank god you're okay"s from Lena this episode made me think that she loves Kara a little more than platonically. I'd always shipped Supercorp for fun but 4x20 made me wonder if they were really going to go down that road. This is me > 🤡 Because then we had the reveal.

Season *gags* Season 5

You watched it, we've all seen it. I'm terribly sorry to bring it up again. Season 5 I understood why people called them queerbait. Up until then I'd been like "yes to us these two are super gay but this can all (mostly) pass as platonic, I understand wanting them together but I don't think it's queerbait." And you don't have to come for me, because season 5 came for my JUGULAR. What the hell. Kara telling Lena she's Supergirl was heartbreaking, Kara has very rarely been that upset, don't even talk to me about the Romeo and Juliet ass shot 5 seconds beforehand. Then at the beginning when everything is 'fine' Kara seems unable to stop comparing herself and Lena to Alex and Kelly. You know? The canon lesbian relationship!? "For a friend like you there are no boundaries" Kara flying around the world to get Lena's favourite food...In the show that said "Maybe giving food is Brainy's language of love." 💀 "You Mean the World to Me" Playing over Kara and Lena scenes and Alex and Kelly scenes. Lena, even though she's mad, knowing that Kara will always save her. Lena's speech in the fortress deserves a post of it's own holy shit. She shot Lex for Kara, Kara made her trust people again, she loves Kara so much and I personally think that part of her anger stems from loving Kara in a more than friendly way and she's mad at herself for allowing that to happen and being so hurt and heartbroken after she finds out Kara's Supergirl. (watching this scene again hurts me just so y'all know) Kara is SO upset. Then we have 5x08 when Lena is panicking when the kryptonite cannons won't go off. "SHUT IT DOWN NOW!" Then there's 'Head Above Water' playing over Andrea and Russell. And then Kara and Lena staring at the same picture of them together. Come on. The whole 100th episode was about their relationship. She followed Kara out of the room Lex was celebrating in to give her a book on grief. Then Lex screams in her face and when she turns up at Kara's door after leaving him, her speech is so heartbreaking. She clearly misses Kara...a lot. Then she looks so SAD when she sees Kara and Alex hugging. She misses Kara's hugs 😭 Then "You can scream at me if you like I know I deserve it." - I hope we unpack that at some point. And she is so so upset when Kara doesn't accept her apology initially. (Although I have to say I find it interesting how much she brings up Kaznia, 5x07 and 5x19. You know how I feel about ep 4x20) Then she lays her life on the line for Kara. And when they FINALLY make up Lena's relief is actually palpable. Even if the writers don't follow through with this, they way they've written season 5 is undeniably romantic. I still get platonic...ish vibes from Kara, but definitely not from Lena.

Season 6:

Episode 2? I don't know her. But omg 6x01. Kara trusting Lena with Myriad "No matter what's happened I know what's in your heart." Kara talking about self sacrifice and Lena "I won't let you turn this into a suicide mission, I can't!" And why not Lena hmm? (This is very canon couple dialogue). Also they are SO VERY CATRADORA ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Kara the self-sacrificing hero (Adora) and Lena, the one who refuses to just accept the hero's sacrifice (Catra). Please even the whole evil or not evil, terrible family, traumatic childhood and hair colour are the same 😂. Anyways then we have "You're the only one in the galaxy I know would do right by it." I don't even know how that could be spun platonically. Kara really just said she trusts Lena more than her own sister. You two just made up 5 minutes ago. Kara opens up about her trauma to Lena!! Lena codes 'Lena Luthor Protocol' in about 2 minutes maybe? Because she needs Kara to stay alive. And to round it all out, she tells Alex to tell Kelly about Kara, because Kelly is Alex's person. Implying to us humble clowns that Kara is Lena's person.

The fact that I've written more about 6x01 than the entire season of flirting and flowers speaks volumes to me personally.

In conclusion, Supercorp is Catradora with a pair of glasses and it's hair tied up. I will go down with this ship and good night.

[akari-hope]

I saw a post recently that was talking about how Catra & Zuko’s arcs were both very complex & well-executed, which, yes! Cool, I enjoy seeing favorable comparisons between the two, bc the opposite is FAR more common (w/ Catra & those who relate to her often being the target of contempt.) But then the OP said, “Unlike Zuko, who only ever had Iroh - Catra had many people who care for her. Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio may not have loved her, but they have their loyalties to the people around them,

2/4  too. Scorpia, a constant source of love and care. Even Adora only gave up on her during the third season only” which kind of sours the post for me tbh. Lonnie (as much as I love her) is canonically shown to bully Catra. She’s apathetic toward her at best & threatening at worst, despite knowing that she’s w/o protection from SW or anyone else. (Hell, she capitalizes on it to assert power by saying just that while others flank her, illustrating Catra’s powerlessness pretty clearly.) Kyle &

3/4  Rogelio were shown as indifferent to her as well. That’s why Lonnie’s, “We were your friends!” line never sat right w/ me- she’s undermined & threatened Catra since they were kids. Scorpia (though I love her too) forced her friendship onto someone who was still wounded & violated Catra’s boundaries again & again despite her clear warnings. I know it’s common to call their friendship not only toxic, but abusive on Catra’s end (& I once thought that myself) but I have to revise that bc abuse is

4/4  predicated on leveraging power & dependence, & neither of them leveraged power over the other or was dependent on the other. I hesitate to even call it a full-fledged friendship. And Adora, in Catra’s mind, gave up on her the second she left the horde, so that point didn’t make since to me, either.

i think i saw the post you’re talking about, and my reason for not engaging with it was the exact same. i’ve never watched atla, so i can’t REALLY speak there (but i am consulting my roommate, who HAS), but the idea that catra had a huge group of people who cared for her is actually funny with how incorrect it is. 

at an ABSOLUTE maximum, she had...3. from the end of season 1 up until the portal, she had adora, scorpia, and entrapta. and even then i have trouble really saying that, bc while adora didn’t hate her they were still on opposite sides of a war, and her betrayal still stung. scorpia cared greatly for catra, but like you said, she was too forceful with it and catra was not ready to really accept something like that. and entrapta...well, while she was never cruel to catra (i like i imagine she genuinely felt a sense of kinship with her), ultimately they just weren’t super close. and like you said, the other cadets weren’t exactly super friendly with her either, with lonnie outright bullying catra. so it’s REALLY hard for me to say she’s got some giant support group. no one is really there to connect with catra, not truly. she’s very alone.

to my understanding of atla, uncle iroh is a figure who is incredibly supportive of zuko. like, completely so. and he always has been. which...catra really just does NOT have a relationship that’s even close to equivalent to that. a long-term support that never wavers or falters, that is on catra’s side and understanding regardless of what she does, even if they do not approve...no, there’s not really anyone who even comes close to that. zuko may only have that singular bond, but the strength of it is what really makes it so powerful. 

and even if catra DID have all those other bonds that op of that post claims she did, the difference is that catra never thought so. zuko always had uncle iroh to depend on and the one time he doubted it, he was still accepted with open arms. but catra always felt alone, and anytime she maybe began to think she wasn’t, she was betrayed, or it was snatched away from her once again. she starts to trust shadow weaver in season 2 and that leads to her escape. she opens up to scorpia in the crimson waste only to have that betrayal come crashing back in her face, with the even worse realization that shadow weaver went running to adora yet again. entrapta trying to stop her from opening the portal, while correct, was yet another betrayal in catra’s eyes. and when she finally pushes scorpia away in season 4, she’s utterly alone. and again, while we have adora’s assertion of “i never hated you” in season 5, that doesn’t mean catra didn’t feel like that bond was thoroughly severed the entire time.

idk, to me it REALLY just feels like catra and zuko are not really comparable characters other than both being people who get redemption. i think it can be fun to put them side by side in order to see how two different forms of redemption can be executed, but the whole compare/contrast thing most people want to do (even though op of the aforementioned post was being positive about both) just doesn’t sit right with me. it always ends up being “who had it easier” it feels. it just doesn’t approach either character with the understanding they deserve.

[firelxdykatara]

hm, while im still here and thinking about it

i’ve seen a lot of posts comparing rayaari to catradora, mostly positively but some also using the similarities to call rayaari an abusive/toxic ship, and i feel like a lot of people are missing key differences. and for me, as someone who was not completely satisfied with s5 of spop and never liked or shipped catradora for a lot of reasons, but who deeply enjoys and ships rayaari, there’s something very key that raya does right which i believe spop did wrong with respect to rayaari and catradora.

and it has everything to do with their history.

before adora left the horde, she had a history of physical and emotional abuse--primarily by shadow weaver, yes, but also by catra. we get a lot of memories from their past, and their relationship involved a very toxic codependency with a heavy dose of abuse--adora trying to protect catra but, when she failed, catra lashing out at her, verbally and physically (that scene where young!catra slashed across young!adora’s face w her claws left my stomache in knots for hours). they were set against each other by shadow weaver in a very classic scapegoat vs the golden child dichotomy, but that doesn’t erase the harm catra did long before adora left the horde.

(in many ways, their relationship was very like zuko and azula’s, although their roles in their primary caretaker’s eyes are reversed, with adora being most like zuko if zuko had been the golden child, and catra being similar to azula if she’d been the scapegoat instead. adora being the ‘preferred child’ in shadow weaver’s eyes doesn’t make her any less SW’s victim, and it didn’t do anything to protect her from catra when she lashed out as a result of SW’s abuse. in fact, i’d argue that it made her even more vulnerable, and we see in the show that she winds up blaming herself for not being able to save catra when they were children--even though that very much was not her job--and this is never properly addressed by the narrative. at least, not to my satisfaction. obviously, mileage on that particular score may vary.)

when you combine their history along with every awful thing catra did in the show proper, adora coming to realize she was in love with catra the whole time and not requiring (nevermind receiving) any kind of actual apology for that abuse or for, yknow, trying to destroy the world multiple times, it winds up leaving a very sour taste in my mouth. it doesn’t help that catra kept digging herself deeper and deeper for the entirety of the first four seasons, despite multiple chances to change and begin to make amends for her behavior (and lord knows i’m not trying to say a redemption arc should be linear, but you have to make progress in order to regress, and catra never got that far), which left the entirety of her redemption arc to fight for space in the final season with an entire galactic war.

except that it didn’t even really do that. catra saved glimmer at the eleventh hour (and that was a sacrifice, i won’t deny it) and then got brainwashed, and... that was it. she was ‘accepted’ by the group almost immediately, and all she had to do was stop being grouchy at them for saving her life.

did she ever actually apologize for anything she needed to apologize for, by the way? i genuinely can’t remember. i know she said she was ‘working on’ her anger and apologized for that but like, babe, there’s four seasons worth of shit and eighteen years before that which you really need to unpack before you should be telling adora you’re in love with her and starting a relationship. i’m just saying.

and all of this is without talking about the fact that, especially in regards to relationship development and plot pace, you will tend to expect more out of a television show compared with a movie. i’m a lot more ok with namaari’s redemption being a little rushed and coming down to a few of her own choices and the other characters choosing to forgive her in a less than 2 hour movie than i am with a television show that takes place over 5 seasons with 4 sets of 12 episodes. even cartoon length (roughly 22 minutes an episode when you exclude the credits). that’s a few hours shy of 20 hours worth of material. they had a lot to do, sure, but they also had a lot of room to do it in, and it was a deliberate choice not to start catra’s redemption even a season earlier--which, again given what it had to compete with in the last season, was ultimately to the show’s detriment imo.

so...........that was a very long tangent, and i’m sorry, i just have a lot of residual feelings of dissatisfaction about spop and catradora which i still needed to let out and this was a convenient post for it. but my ultimate point is, by comparison, rayaari is a much less toxic dynamic.

namaari betrays raya’s trust in the beginning, sure, and there are hints that they probably had a lot of run-ins during the six year timeskip given their familiarity, but in all that time they were enemies. that’s why enemies-to-lovers usually doesn’t involve outright abuse, unless there’s another facet to the relationship (ie catradora’s relationship pre-series)--because two people on opposite sides of a violent conflict being violent towards one another does not equal abuse.

and yeah, namaari betrays raya’s attempt at trust again--or seems to, resulting in the cliffside scuffle leading into the movie’s climax--but she also comes back of her own volition. she returns with her shard of the dragon gem, helping raya and her friends fend off the druun, when she could have run and attempted to save herself. that, i believe, is what ultimately prompts raya to trust her one last time. i believe that namaari believes she was about to put down her crossbow and never intended to actually shoot sisu--the horror on her face when the dragon falls to her death is proof enough of that, as is her final desire to just... give up and let raya take her revenge--and she proved that to raya by coming back and risking her life to help them in that final battle.

of course they probably have a lot to talk about and namaari has a lot to apologize for, but i can forgive a two hour movie for leaving that to the viewer’s imagination (especially when there is no expectation of a romantic relationship between the characters in canon--it’s catradora being canon which makes all the rest of it land so poorly for me) than i can an 18 hour television series.

again, opinions may differ on this score, and that’s fine. i just wanted to share my own thoughts.

[mydearthisbe]

Ayesha Liveblogs She-Ra S2-S3

“Wow, Flower Princesses can’t aim.” Mermista said we believe in power profiling LMAO also how many flower princesses could there possibly be

You know, I was expecting more emotional consequences from last season’s interactions for Catra and Adora

“Is the one you call Catra... not mean?” “No, she is.” Update from 1 minute later: The consequence is that Adora must work through her feelings through Codependent Romantically-Charged Unhealthy Friendship Simulation 

“Can you teleport anything you want? Like a cannon? I can make ice cannonballs.” Hahahah awww Frosta wants to be friends 

“When you grow up with someone, they just know how to push your buttons.” “I can relate. I also have buttons.” Light Hope really is deLightful lmaoooo

Catra’s emotional consequences are her becoming a peer mentor for Gaslighting Gatekeeping and Girlbossing

Also I can’t wait to see Kyle’s inevitable defection into the Rebellion

I love how often Bow says exactly what I’m thinking: 

Why is Mermista bullying Perfuma LMAO is this her way of inviting her to become a throuple with her and Sea Hawk

“Maybe we should hold hands and think healing thoughts.” ARE they flirting? It really seems like they’re flirting

Frosta is readily demonstrating the problem of having 10-year-olds in your army with her inability to listen to a single order 

“I thought I could help and be the Rebellion’s tech master.” Not to make everything about how much I love Bow but I love Bow

“Why can’t you be what I want you to be?” It’s a Miraculous Lucky Charm situation, Adora; your sword is telling you you need to be better hydrated and to use less brute force

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE FOREST REGROWING BECAUSE OF THEIR TEAMWORK. I KNOW IT’S ONE EPISODE INTO THE SEASON BUT I LOVE A MAGICAL GLOWING FRIENDS MOMENT:

“When they’re ready to roll out, I’ll be at the head, and you’ll be here, rotting. Thanks, I needed this.” You know those posts that are like ‘traumatize ur parents BACK’ that’s Catra and Shadow Weaver

“Entrapta’s alive. And we left her behind.” THE FACT THAT THIS IS BOW’S FIRST THOUGHT RATHER THAN THE RECOGNITION SHE IS HELPING THE HORDE. I LOOOOOVE BOW

The fact that Dryl has been forced to cede to the Horde just because Entrapta has no strength of character. Dissolve the monarchy!!!

“He is apart of you. Your destines are intertwined.” I won’t lie, I wasn’t expecting Horsey to have such a significant role

“We’ve got to save her.” Glimmer my love... your friend sucks kjghkjgh

I really am trying to give Entrapta some grace mentally, cause I get it, she’s like 16, her friends abandoned her, she’s got a hyper-fixation on alien tech, these guys offered her new friendship and encouraged her technological growth... but it’s not a good enough reason to like. Colonize and oppress a planet. Like, okay, Entraptylo Ren. Have some perspective, my girl. LOL

Hahahaha Light Hope having to reboot for her software update

“But [the Watchtower] was destroyed by Mara when she lost control and attacked Etheria.” I am so interested in them explaining Mara’s story. I love a legend inside a narrative. Avatar Wan was by far the coolest part of LOK, I am not accepting constructive criticism at this time

This fight with Catra and Scorpia really suggests that Bow should work on his hand-to-hand. He’s a mid-range fighter compared to Glimmer and Adora’s close combat

Perhaps Adora, like me, just doesn’t really know what to do with a talking horse:

“We took a hostage! We’re supposed to be the good guys.” Bow did this show not literally start with you and Glimmer capturing Adora LOL

Not directly related to the content, but it does bother me that the captions don’t match the audio. Like they shorten Scorpia’s “Catra, you beautiful genius, I’m coming,” to “Catra, I’m coming.” Why! Shouldn’t it be accurate? Those aren’t filler words or stuttering that might take away from the readability, it’s literally the way Scorpia is addressing her

I too, like Swift Wind, appreciate the toppling of unjust hierarchies

Entrapta really has -1,000 empathy. Casually telling Bow and Glimmer about hacking the Black Garnet which almost killed Glimmer’s mother. With peace and love. Get some help. 

“I saved a little magic, just for you.” [Blows raspberry] I think Glimmer should be a little spiteful, as a treat

I want to see the shady backstory between Mara and Light Hope!!

“Who needs Entrapta? You’ve got Bow, tech master and premier member of the Etherian Maker Community.” I love that Bow’s narrative arc is him being Rebellion tech whiz who is all empathy, all the time

“Thus far, your performance has been lacking.” Wow, so the emotionally-malnourished 10th grader you made your General HASN’T changed the tide of the war in two episodes? Who’d have thunk it, Hordak?

You know what’s genuinely a little funny. I think Catra came because she wanted parental attention (to be yelled at) and Hordak entertained her because he wanted someone to yell at. New fucked up father-daughter dynamic unlocked

“Nothing gets past us,” said Glimmer, which I’m sure isn’t foreshadowing 

I’m sorry I’m so sassy about Entrapta but I cannot believe she has more moral quandary over whether to go into Hordak’s sanctum than about orchestrating the downfall of society lmao

“Portals aren’t theoretical, they’re real. And I’m going to open one.” I love how quickly Hordak has embraced Entrapta as his lab assistant hahahah. Finally something funny!!

“Etheria is the only planet I’ve encountered that does not seem to understand [that there are countless planets and galaxies].” Is Hordak’s story about how he wants to go home like E.T. I’d laugh so hard

“You are the one bothering me, Force Captain, with your unwanted intrusion. I am working. With Entrapta’s assistance.” Daddy Hordak’s got a new favourite daughter 

Also. Why is Glimmer the only Princess with parents? Are the rest of these gals orphans? Like Frosta for sure bc she took the throne at age 8, but all of them??

“I need [Catra’s gift] to be something that says ‘Thank you,’ but also, ‘We are soulmates tied together by the beautiful threads of fate.” Scorpia’s adoration of Catra is very sweet

It kills me that in their DnD war simulation campaign, Bow imagines everyone in outfits accurate to their 80s design. I truly love him to pieces:

HAHAHAHAH PERMISSION FOR THE REST OF THE STORY TO BE TOLD ONLY FROM BOW’S PERSPECTIVE:

Bow: It looks like I’ve got you meow, evildoer. 

Catra: I’d paws to reflect on your upcoming death if I were mew.

Bow: I don’t know, I’m feline pretty good right now.

“Adora, isn’t this all going a little overboard. We’ve faced the Horde before. What’s the worst that could happen?” said Bow, as if Glimmer’s father didn’t literally DIE in battle

Fjkfhkjhfkjfh apparently Glimmer is still team pro-improvising. RIP Daddy Glimmer

Hahahahaha @ them taking halfway through the second season to identify Rogelio the Lizard Guy 

Love that there is no justification or explanation for why Perfuma can create sentient plants:

DID GLIMMER JUST MURDER ROGELIO THE LIZARD GUY. SHE THREW HIM OFF THE TOWER OMGGGG

Update from a minute later: Rogelio is fine. We did not witness a live casual murder by one of the protagonists just yet

“All in favour of blaming this on Kyle?” We continue the inevitable steps towards Kyle’s defection LOL

Legitimate question. If they glow every time their teamwork is good, would that become their main metric for how successful they’ve been? Like if you’re not glowing, the plan isn’t going well?

“Mermista cancelled our plans this week, and she’s hanging out with her other friends and didn’t invite me to join.” HKJHGKJGH Mermista told Seahawk you’re not invited to my weird flirt-bullying with Perfuma, actually

I’ve been wondering if Scorpia’s feelings for Catra were romantic or not (it seemed romantic, but like, could easily be read also as just loving her a lot as a friend) but this Arctic After-Hours Invite seems very clearly to be a date hahaha

Interesting that She-Ra is impervious to the cold! How exactly do these powers work lmao

“Maybe there’s scientific truth to the rumours about strange things happening in this region,” said the Magical Technology Princess to her two friends, who are half-scorpion and half-cat

1) Why have I never noticed Sea Hawk fighting with a lightsabre!!! Is that new? 2) I love him asking Scorpia if he’s cool mid-fight and her going, “Potentially.”

“Looks like you’re mine now, Adora.” Gay and rude. Catra’s only two personality traits 

“Yay! It’s a girls’ night in.” It’s interesting that infecting her sword has effectively made Adora drunk LOL

I won’t lie, I paused to watch some other stuff, so I forgot about the terrifying snow monster hahahaha

It’s so funny that Sea Hawk just politely announces he’s come to rescue Adora instead of you know, attacking with his laser sword. I am wondering if he is the diversion:

“Whatever the Horde is giving you, it’s not worth the damage you’re doing to Etheria.” Bow brought logic to a magical science fight

“Does she even understand how much I do for her?” “Exactly, it seems like the only time anyone wants to hang is when they need me to give them a ride or do something for them.”

1) It is so funny that Sea Hawk is bonding with Scorpia but please don’t tell me he’s going to join the Horde. I will lose my mind

2) Isn’t the way you met Adora, Glimmer and Bow literally bc they needed a ride to Mermista’s place? Why are you surprised that continues to be your role?

3) You’re in the Rebellion! Of course people need things from you, Sea Hawk

4) However, I get that you need some good friends who want you around. Maybe u should expand your social circle beyond miscellaneous rebel princesses lmao 

“I don’t need their opinions to validate me. I’m Sea Hawk.” “And me, I am brave, strong, and give great hugs, and I’m loyal.” YEAHHHHHH SEA HAWK AND SCORPIAAAA

“I’ve got control of Adora. I am not giving that up.” I wonder how many of Catra’s problems could be solved by getting some therapy

Sea Hawk telling Scorpia that caring is the greatest adventure of all. It is cheesy and I am WEAK and soft-hearted. I love them <3 

“You can’t expect me to out-cast Light Spinner, the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the halls of Mystacor.” I can’t believe we’re getting Shadow Weaver backstory AND finding out that boys can do magic

I don’t remember if they’ve ever said his name, but based on him needing to a relevant character, and on his similar appearance to Castaspella, I’m gonna say that Micah must be Glimmer’s dad.

Are we to gather from the lines and circles on Hordak’s back that HE is First One’s tech? Is he Mara or Light Hope’s weird boyfriend? I don’t know how I’d handle that 

Daddy Hordak has really found a way to recreate Catra’s exact Favourite and Scapegoat childhood trauma. He’s really embracing his place in the parent dynamic 

[Light Spinner, but also me, voice]: I’ve only had Micah for one day but if anything happened to him I’d [redact] everyone in this room and then myself:

“You’ll make [the Guild] see [the threat of the Horde]. If anyone can do it, it’s you!” Awww so Shadow Weaver wasn’t ALWAYS a terrible influence on teen lives. It’s a fun spicy update that we get later on

“Why do you really want to keep her around?” Stockholm Syndrome and Mommy Issues

I can’t believe that Shadow Weaver’s origin story is that she got Alphonse Elric’d by trying to do dark magic with a twelve-year-old

“I had to earn my power. Fight for it. Why should it be any different for you?” “I was a child when you took me in. What could I have possibly done to deserve the way you treated me?” Yaddah Yaddah Generational Trauma: The Sequel 

“Serenia. Portal. Mara.” I’m doubling down on Hordak as Mara’s Weird Boyfriend 

Are we gonna find more about Bow’s family!! I LOVE BACKSTORIES. WHAT A FUN COUPLE OF EPISODES

“Adora! Glimmer! We’re so happy to finally meet Bow’s school friends!”

Bow having two dads is actually one of the few things I knew about this show going in, but I am SO happy that they are depicted on screen, and not just like, mentioned. <3 YEAHHHH SHE-RA!!!

KJHGKJHGKJHGJK I CANNOT BELIEVE BOW NEVER TOLD HIS PARENTS HE WAS IN THE REBELLION OH MY GOD

This scheme has really forced me to remember that Adora STILL only wears her Horde uniform as her everyday outfit. HOW DO BOWS DAD’S NOT NOTICE JGHKJGHKGJH

“Youngest of 13! All historians just like us.” THIRTEEN??? THAT’S SO MANY SIBLINGS. ALSO HOW ARE YOU HISTORIANS THAT DON’T KNOW WHAT A HORDE UNIFORM LOOKS LIKE OH MY GOD

“So I did the only thing I could. I secretly taught myself archery, ran away and pretended I was at a made-up boarding school.” “That seems really elaborate, Bow.” Honestly. Honestly! Life mood for wanting not to upset your parents but still to live your life in way that reflects your values and identity

Yaddah yaddah parallel journeys to queerness in youth while inverting the heteronormative structures in which they usually take place 

From 5 min later: “I act like someone I’m not with my family because the truth would hurt them.” LIKE HELLO???? BOW!! I LOVE HOW CLEARLY THIS WAS WRITTEN BY A QUEER PERSON

And: “I’ve tried to tell them before but they don’t want to hear it. So, I pretend.” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 

HAHAAHAHA funny how they did not have a way to organically bring up Lance and George’s names so they made Bow first-name his own dads

“We’ll find Shadow Weaver, the two of us, and not a word of it will leave this room.” I KNEW THE iROBOT BABY RECORDER WOULD BE LISTENING

HKJFHKJGHKJGHKJHF Bow’s historian dad having a First Ones tattoo that says, “Lunch.” Poetic cinema. This is why u should never get a tattoo in a language you don’t understand 

“Adora is a sixth major in She-Ra?” I love how quickly Bow’s lie has fallen apart

I’m losing my mind that the thing that signifies Bow returning to himself his him wearing a crop top. Also his dads SCREAMING as he rips his shirt

“You only listened to me if I said what you wanted to hear.” [...] “We love you the way you are, Bow. And we’re proud of you, no matter what path you take in life.” CRYIN’

“This was a test, and you failed.” I won’t lie to you, I took a long pause from this show purely because I knew whatever emotional trap Daddy Hordak laid out for Disgraced Daughter Catra was going to make my heart clench LOL. Delayed this two minute scene by weeks 

Shadow Weaver said: I will not let Daddy Hordak take the terrible surrogate parent spotlight. Time to haunt Adora’s room like a sleep paralysis demon 

“Technically it’s the spare room. But it is more than adequate as a holding cell.” You’re telling me with guards as attack-happy as in S1, you’ve NEVER imprisoned anyone in the castle? I CANNOT BELIEVE. AREN’T U IMMORTAL ANGELLA. SURELY U’VE BEEN RULING LONG ENOUGH TO CREATE SOME KIND OF JUSTICE/REHABILITATION SYSTEM ON BRIGHT MOON. DIDN’T YOU FIGHT A WAR!!!

“Shadow Weaver is dangerous. I will not let that woman near you.” Angella said: Maternal bond with Shadow Weaver ended, Adora. Now I am your best mom 

“You will answer for the crimes you committed during your time as my brother’s teacher.” I’m glad that the Micah thing is coming into the main narrative because I keep forgetting if they confirmed it before bc I’ve stopped watching this episode for months at a time LOL

“I have to believe that others can change too, even Shadow Weaver.” Ohhhhh Adora <3 

Adora referring to Shadow Weaver as the woman who raised her :’( I’m with Angella, Adora deserves to not be around these adults who only want to use her 

Shocked that Shadow Weaver is being honest about Hordak’s plan. Shadow Weaver said manipulate, momtrauma, military defection

“You were bought through a portal from another world.” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?????????????

“I was a baby! Babies don’t remember things.” “Interesting, I will make a note of this.” Light Hope’s not wrong about her assumption though, there are studies on trauma in infancy. This is truly the story of how your fucked up childhood can come back to haunt you later on LOL.

“Don’t I get a say in what happens to me? Don’t I get a choice?” “No, this is your destiny, you do not choose.” 1) The heartbreak in Adora’s voice as she’s finding out she’s a First One is killing me and 2) WRONG 

KJGHGKJHGJH Catra dunking on Hordak in front of his entire army. She’s right, he is incapable of defeating teenagers

Bow tapping Adora on the head reassuringly with his Space iPad to let her know they’re there for her as much as they’re there for the Rebellion. I love himmmmmmmmmm

I have this series on 1.25x speed atm because it’s so hard to focus and let me tell you. It sounds normal. So I stand by the view that they just pace the dialogue too slowly LOL

Bizarrely, the more screentime they get, the more invested I am in the father-daughter relationship of Entrapta and Daddy Hordak. He really does seem to care for her. If it was just her value as a tech person, he wouldn’t have listened to her about changing his plans for Catra to go to the Crimson Waste instead of Beast Island: 

THE STAR WARS BAR??????????? ARE WE ON TATTOINE???

Why is the proportion of furries in this bar so much higher than in any other place. Furry Exile Wasteland

I’m with Adora in terms of immediately admiring Huntara. I think it’s the voice and how she stepped in to protect the kids. Also maybe the ponytail 

However. I believe her when she says no one should be trusted, including herself LOL

IFjkfjfkjfkjfh is that a smaller Hordak inside a test tube? Daddy Hordak making a new clone baby????????????? Saving an old baby???????

“We should say something.” “NO! We are supporting her.” LMAO @ GLIMMER AND BOW. When ur friend is making bad decisions but u don’t want to alienate them gkjhgkjhgjhg

“Paralyzing darts. But you probably figured that out, being a fast learner and all.” Best Friends Squad said: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal, Huntara

Why is Hordak and Entrapta’s relationship so fucking endearing???? It’s killing me as he hisses while she tries to force-feed him soup:

Are they still morally bankrupt. Yes, I do think so. Are they very funny. Also yes!!!!

“I am not discussing this.” “Your armor, it’s holding you together.” “It’s none of your concern.” Maybe I wouldn’t feel this way about Hordak if I didn’t have Repressed Immigrant Father Syndrome kjhgjhgkjhgb

“I am a clone. A clone of the Emperor of the Known Universe.” HELLO???????? I THOUGHT HE WAS CLONING, NOT CLONED. IT DOESN’T EVEN SOUND LIKE A WORD ANYMORE 

“And Horde Prime will see that he was wrong. I am not a defect. I am worth something.” WOW, IT REALLY IS THE STORY OF YADDAH YADDAH GENERATIONAL TRAUMA. EVEN HORDAK’S PROBLEMS ALL CIRCLE BACK TO DADDY ISSUES 

HOWEVER. I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ALL OF THE DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO THE HORDE. [Insert coolmotivestillmurder.jpg LOL]

LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND DISABILITIES HORDAK, NOT ALL OF US COLONIZE SPACE 

Side note: Adora and Hordak are really carrying the voice acting for this season so far. Like Adora’s yelling at Light Hope and Hordak’s “I am not a defect.” AHH!!!!!!

Also I really do love how they animated this cutaway sequence. Conveying the energy of Hordak’s past without necessarily revealing everything, and giving us a sense of how Hordak views himself and his history:

“I do not need your help.” “Everyone needs help sometimes.” Entrapta said: I’m here for you, Daddy Hordak!!! The generational trauma ends here, as I am impervious to criticism 

You can tell that she really doesn’t absorb criticism by the fact she talks about her homies abandoning her like she had nothing to do with it LMAO. THEY THOUGHT U WERE DEAD, FOUND U LATER, GAVE U THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AND U SAID ‘ACTUALLY I PREFER SPACE COLONIZATION INSTEAD XOXO’

“No matter what you say, you are not a failure. Any who discount you are utter fools.” Wow, Hordak’s using his words. Growth?

Awwwww I love that Adora’s comment from last episode about people can change is immediately coming to fruition with Huntara. Ex-Horde mentor!!!

“I’m looking at the Crimson Waste, the place Hordak sent me to die. I have no idea what you’re doing, as the last thing I told you was to leave me alone.” Scorpia’s just here to love you, Catra

Fhkjghkjghkj I feel like Catra and Scorpia fit in better at the Star Wars Bar because they are also Criminal Furries

“But me? I’ve already lost it all,” said Catra, as if her homie Scorpia who would go to the ends of the galaxy for her wasn’t standing right there 

Same energy as Kakashi saying everyone he cares about is dead when he has at LEAST four friends

“Who’s the strongest in the Crimson Waste?” “LASHOR.” Tung Lashor said my love language is words of affirmation 

Wild how so far Catra has been achieving victory over all these adults through no other skill than bullying jkhgjghkjgh. Although $10 says she wins this battle through the convenient paralytic darts she asked for earlier

Update from 1 minute later: Alright, I owe you $10. Bullying it is 

“This is the one place they’ll never find us. I saw what they would do. The deaths that would follow.” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Assuming ‘they’ is the army of Horde Prime? But it would be interesting if it were someone else. I really, really want to see more of Mara’s backstory

You know. This past two and a half seasons I have been assuming that this would lead up to a Catra and Adora relationship because they are the main characters. But they have also made it clear that Scorpia likes Catra and based on this episode, it does seem like Catra is starting to respond to those feelings: 

“So why would we go back? Let’s stay here. Forget Hordak. Forget Adora. Forget all of them. We could rule the Crimson Waste together, just the two of us. We could, you know, be happy.” Scorpia is shooting her shot

“We are going back. We are going to open a portal. And we are going to crush them all.” Wow. Didn’t take much to sway her in the other direction

Hordak 🤝 Catra 🤝 Entrapta

Pretending like your abandonment issues are a good reason to colonize space

Speaking of abandonment issues. LMAO @ BOTH HORDAK AND ENTRAPTA NOT WANTING THIS PORTAL TO DISRUPT THEIR FUCKED UP LITTLE FOUND FAMILY

“Before I started ‘rushing in,’ the Rebellion hadn’t made a move in years. You need me.” I feel like what I’ve learned is that Glimmer is usually not the best judge of what to do, unless she’s directly defying Angella, in which case it is the right call kjghkjghkgjhgkjh

“I could not have lied to you about who you are, because I have never known or cared about someone as inconsequential as you.” Daddy Hordak said Shadow Weaver got full-custody of Adora in the divorce

Glimmer hasn’t really learned much from her dad’s journey with having Shadow Weaver as a mentor. This is what happens when you keep secrets from your kids

Adora trying desperately to reason with Entrapta while Entrapta continues to facilitate the downfall of the planet. Just Quirky Girl things: 

You know, thus far this seems to be amounting to a rough day for everyone involved

“If we open a portal, the anomalies will be catastrophic. It’ll unhinge time and space, creating a warped reality that will collapse in on itself, erasing us from existence.” OH, SO NOW WE CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PLANET. WHERE WAS THIS THE PAST TWO SEASONS, ENTRAPTA? 

“Adora gets everything she wants.” LIKE ALL OF EXISTENCE NOT EXPLODING, CATRA? WHY ARE YOU ALL SO STUPID LMAO

[Insert Guardians of the Galaxy, “We’re the idiots who live in it.” LOL]

“Who do you think let the princesses in?” “She wouldn’t--” LOL @ CATRA TRYING TO RUIN ENTRAPTA AND HORDAK’S WEIRD FAMILY. Catra said: If I can’t maintain any meaningful relationships with the adults in my life, NEITHER CAN ANYONE ELSE

“Wow, I can’t believe you like me, that is so embarrassing for you.” [Laughing and playfighting] “Stop it, get off! This is not because I like you.” If Adora and Catra do end up together it will be a tough pill to swallow considering Catra has been so SO MEAN TO HER this whole time like she literally broke reality rather than listen to people side with Adora LOL

“I don’t know what it is, but I do not like you.” It’s because your crush is obsessed with her, Scorpia

“If you get us out of this, I promise I won’t hate you. I will just dislike you a reasonable amount.” I kind fo love that this has turned into a Buddy Adventure for Adora and Scorpia:

I like that Adora is connecting with people (Scorpia, Lonnie, Madame Razz) every step of the way <3 

“Don’t you get it? I am never going to go with you.” I know I’ve called Catra Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke, but truly that is unkind to Sasuke bc it’s absolutely understandable why Sasuke does what he does, but Catra barely has a whisper of a motive for her actions. What? You miss Adora? She’s right there extending her hand every time. Shadow Weaver doesn’t love you? Tough. Glimmer and Bow are the only kids in this show who have parents. You got an inferiority complex? Surely the legions of followers and the putting down everyone you meet helps. You were raised by the Horde? So the hell was everyone else, you don’t see them collapsing reality. Get! Some! Help! 

“That’s alright, dearie. You don’t need to understand. You just need to remember.” I love Madame Razz

MICAH <3 At least one good thing has come out of this!!!!

It is tragic though, that in order to preserve the world, Glimmer will have to give up her father

“You’re a great fighter, a genius inventor, and you shouldn’t worry about what your dads think. They’re proud of you, just like I am. And Glimmer, you never give up, and you never admit defeat. I know making friends is hard for you, yet you’re the one who pulled us all together. I’ve never met anyone like you.” ADORA TALKING ABOUT ALL THE REASONS SHE LOVES HER FRIENDS <3 SWEET GIRL

Ohhhhhhhhh Angella’s goodbye to Micah is killing me. They love each other so much 

MICHAH CALLING OUT TO ANGELLA “I’M NOT” IS DADDY GLIMMER ALIVE??????????

“But whoever shuts the portal down can’t leave.” AHHHHH is Angella going to strand herself here? Poor Glimmer!!!!!!!!!!!! She’s going to lose both her parents at once 

You know, I actually thought now was gonna be the time that Horsey’s fate and Adora’s intertwined 

“You made me this.” SHUT UP CATRA, YOU MADE YOU THIS!!!!!!

“I didn’t make you do anything. I didn’t break the world, but I am gonna fix it. And you? You made your choice. Now live with it!” YEAHHHHHHHHHH ADORA 

“And now I choose to be brave.” ANGELLA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Does this mean Shadow Weaver is the only adult figure for these princesses now? Oh how the turn tables 

“So that’s where you’ve been, little brother.” Not only did Glimmer lose both of her parents, but also the plan didn’t really succeed? What a deeply sad ending to this season omg 

[heartslobbf]

im really sorry guys but nothing compares to s4 catra. like i could write essays on her outfit change alone, the black sleeve where her arm got corrupted in the portal to show how she’s making those worst parts of herself her whole identity, cutting her tufts off after shadow weaver manipulated her with them to escape, it’s just... crushing. and she begins to repress herself more, her catlike instincts, she emotes less with her ears n tail and takes the time to brush her hair back, try to appear collected and in control. and then??? she’s having these awful guilt-induced nightmares about adora and entrapta and the portal, she can’t even look at emily, she’s completely falling apart and it just. it makes me go feral.

like, the way that scorpia ends up impacting her so deeply in s4??????? catra’s always acknowledged a similarity between adora and scorpia but their biggest different is that adora is so selfless she would leave catra behind to save the world, whereas scorpia is so selfish she would stay with catra and let the war destroy etheria. she always had this expectation that whilst she didn’t want scorpia like she wanted adora, she’d always be there regardless. and then she just leaves????? and catra is left, still with that expectation that she’ll come back, and it’s never met. catra is completely alone, she lost the love of her life, she sent her friend to die on beast island, the one person who promised to never leave her side did in a selfish act. like. oh my GOD. oh my god.

and, the horde are winning. they’ve taken salineas and are gaining more territory than ever, the rebellion is disorganised, it couldn’t be looking better. but catra is unfulfilled. after The Glare from 3x06, catra went fuckin tunnel vision mode desperately trying to beat adora, prove her wrong, we all know the shtick. instead of acknowledging her guilt over the portal and entrapta, or adora, she continued to try and make adora hurt in the way adora made her hurt— taking those worst parts of her corrupted self and making them her “authentic self”— not realising until it was too late that all that would do is damage her further. because in that time period, scorpia leaves, and catra is completely alone, and winning isn’t the victory she thought it would be. so what does she even have anymore?

and that’s why that black sleeve is so significant. in the portal, catra truly becomes her worst self, she is willing to die just to make adora hurt, she blames her for collapsing reality and fuels adora’s own feelings of guilt later about angella. she does terrible things, and then, when the battle is lost and won, when she-ra emerges victorious and stares catra down like she couldn’t have ever loved her, catra sort of takes that as the end. it’s hopeless now, to catra. she will continue to spiral further and further into this cycle of villainy and she won’t be able to escape it. it’s perpetual, eternal, whatever. catra wears a black sleeve. she is her worst self. she cannot be better.

after dt’s scathing take-down of catra, she really is left with nothing. she’s broken-hearted, on the floor, and telling the girl who stole her best friend away to kill her. because catra is the problem, right? catra hurt adora, catra pushed scorpia away, catra sent entrapta to die on beast island. she is finally beginning to accept that at the end of s4, but she internalises it too much. like with the black sleeve, she lets those things define her too much in the beginning. because catra, she has a reluctance to fix things, to apologise. we understand that. she’s a victim of abuse, she’s spent her whole life in a state of chronic stress just trying to survive, to avoid punishment. and she’s angry. why should she apologise to someone who has hurt her?

but catra’s walls are beginning to crumble. it is becoming harder and harder for her to ignore these nightmares, or these feelings of want, or this awful sense of remorse. in her complete isolation, catra begins to recognise what’s she’s lost and is finally brave enough to begin reaching out and trying to get it back. i just. yall will say catredemption came out of nowhere in s5 and i wholeheartedly wonder if we watched the same show. s4 catra is fascinating. she’s literally— GOD, her arc. i weep. i love her

[cruelfeline]

In response to the other anonymous people talking about season 4. I feel like none of Glimmers trauma is dealt with. As at most we she is even more determined to stop the war. Then onto Catra vs Glimmer the key point of that exchange is that Glimmer is the good guy protecting while Catra is the villain attacking so it is very weird for people to be anti Glimmer in that scene. Finally with Catra activating the machine is that she knew it would end the world and she still did it.

Y'know, I actually really sympathize with S4 Glimmer and her decision to use the Heart of Etheria. Chiefly because, as you say: Glimmer is trying to protect people.

She makes a bad mistake, of course, but comparing this to what Catra does is disingenuous.

Catra pulls the lever (after being told not to) because she wants to make Adora hurt. That's it. There's no positive motive there.

When Glimmer pushes forward with the Heart of Etheria despite being warned against it, her motives are positive. She wants to help people. She wants to save Etheria.

And, honestly? She's kind of stuck. She's newly crowned, inexperienced, and dealing with a dramatically worsening war. She is responsible for the safety of so many people. And she's failing. She's failing, people are suffering, and she doesn't see any other options.

Which is the issue that comes to a head when Adora and Bow try to prevent her from using the Heart: they tell her that it's not an option, but they don't give her a viable replacement option.

Saying "we'll figure something out" when Glimmer is watching people lose their homes and suffer isn't a solution. It's not an acceptable response. It's not an option because people need help now. And Adora and Bow aren't giving Glimmer a way to help them.

So Glimmer is desperate, and she does the desperate thing. It backfires, yes, but from her point of view, it was either trying something or... well, or forfeiting the war.

And that sort of desperate gamble is not at all analogous to Catra ignoring all warnings and nearly condemning everyone to death because she can't let Adora "win."

[kittyprincessofcats]

She-Ra S5 E06 - Taking Control

Yes, I am still determined to finally finish these reviews because I have thoughts on all of these episodes and still want to write them down (even though it’s been ages), so here we go. Spoilers for the rest of the season in case you haven’t watched it yet.

So let’s get into it:

- I love that they just took Wrong Hordak with them and that they’re actually calling him “Wrong Hordak”.

- Adora obsessively checking on Catra all the time is so sweet ❤️ (but also sad because she just came so close to losing her for good).

- “I honestly can NOT believe it worked.” Yeah, I’m with Bow on that. But like I explained in my Save the Cat review, I actually love that their super risky plan ends up working, as it already shows that Horde Prime is not as invincible as it seems.

- “Well, friends and one person who threw me off a cliff once.” I’m so here for all the “former enemies who now casually reference all the times they hurt each other in the past” banter, you have no idea!

- “I am honored to provide nourishment for my exalted brothers.” I love Wrong Hordak. Pretty much every one of his lines is a winner.

- Change in the opening: Only a tiny one (for now), but Wrong Hordak has been added to the heroes’ shot in the end and his expression is hilarious.

- Catra’s flashbacks to Horde Prime submerging her in that pool are so painful. (I saw a theory on here somewhere that this is why Catra’s fear of water seems even worse in season 5 compared to before. It makes sense when you consider Horde Prime tortured her in that pool. Side-note: This also makes me want to have a word with all those people who complain that Catra’s redemption was “too easy”. She literally went through extreme torture and mind-control to protect other people, but go off about how that’s “easy” or not a vaild reason for those people to forgive her, I guess.)

- Gosh, just the fact that she’s so panicked when she wakes up 💔

- I love how Adora, despite being so concerned and wanting to reach out for her, holds back and gives Catra her space.

(- Side-note: Let me take this moment to shamelessly promote what’s most likely Noelle’s fanfic: Don’t Go by Annacharlier on AO3 does an amazing job filling in the blanks between Save the Cat and Taking Control and explaining what goes on in Adora and Catra’s heads here. Give it a read if you haven’t already!)

- “I keep having this horrible vision of a blonde girl who thinks she’s better than everyone barging into my room all day.” I love how Catra’s still her snarky self, though. And how Adora isn’t even mad and just smiles at this.

- Okay, so the obvious topic of Catra not wanting to face everyone she’s hurt aside, I find it interesting how Entrapta is the only person she doesn’t use a nickname for - she calls them Arrow Boy, Sparkles and Entrapta. I think it’s a mix of her knowing Entrapta better than the others, and her respecting Entrapta more.

- The entire fight between Adora and Catra is such a good scene (as sad as it is). Catra doesn’t want to face all her mistakes (she didn’t think she’d actually live long enough to have to), is plagued by obvious guilt and still doesn’t really realize that Adora came back for her because she cares about her (hence her accusation that Adora “just loves feeling like a hero”). Adora on the other hand thinks that things should be okay now because she saved Catra and they’re together again, so why can’t they just make up? She doesn’t realize that Catra needs a bit of time to really digest everything that’s happened. And that “I never hated you!” moment? Beautiful. I think it’s a huge thing for Catra to realize that even when they were enemies, Adora’d didn’t hate her.

- Many She-Ra episodes have two plots going on at once and one of them happens to be way more interesting than the other. In season 1, it was often “the Horde plot is more interesting than the Bright Moon plot” for me. In this episode, it’s a very clear “the plot in space is more interesting than the one on Etheria” - sorry.

- I’m glad we finally got a Spinnetossa kiss, though!! This season is just bringing all the gay!

- Micah freaking out about Glimmer potentially not liking him (not realizing that Glimmer’s really not a kid anymore) is also kind of cute.

- I love Glimmer’s expression when Adora complains about Catra. She just looks so #done with all of this.

- Adora calling Catra a “stubborn brat” is amazing. (Though tbh, I misheard her at first and thought she said “stubborn cat” - which would be true, too.)

- “Did you think she was going to just instantly become a totally different person?” That’s a very good point and I’m glad the show didn’t make Catra just insantly act completely differently.

- “I believe - in Horde Prime.” Look, I could just quote all of Wrong Hordak’s lines here because they’re just too good 🤣. Also, the fact that his apron says “Smooch the chef” in first one’s writing? Amazing.

- Poor Bow being the designated driver and having to fly into an asteroid field. Love how excited Entrapta is about it, though.

- I just noticed that when Catra’s getting those flashes after the ship is hit, the first image she sees is of Krytis!

- “Once again, Catra is ruining out lives!” Okay, but that’s really not her fault this time. Though I get that Adora’s just being overdramatic here. (“Then try not to hit anything!” 🤣) Also, my first thought was Wrong Hordak was sending the trace signal, not Catra’s chip - but the chip does make more sense, since Wrong Hordak was cut off from the hivemind and Horde Prime also couldn’t find Hordak for years.

- Honestly, the group on Etheria should have left that party way sooner. Something was so obviously super off there, and they noticed it as well - but still stuck around for way too long. (But then again, they had no idea about the chips at all, so maybe that’s a bit harsh.)

- The way Spinnerella moves her neck when she says “something weird just happened” - very nice hinting/foreshadowing there!

- “Me? Why would I wanna hurt you? Ooooh, you mean because you sent me to Beast Island, stole my work and used it to rip a hole in the fabric of space and time? I get it. Hold still.” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Have I mentioned I LOVE ENTRAPTA??? I love how she’s not even mad at first and then so genuinely proud of herself for “getting it” - but also, since this is pretty much the worst thing Catra’s ever done and something she (rightfully) feels a lot of guilt over, I’m glad the show took the time to address it. Yeah, it’s played for laughs here at first, but then the episode actually seriously addresses it.

- “We’re doing this. Then if you think hiding from the people you hurt will make you feel better, we’ll drop you off and you’ll never have to see us again. *sigh* You’ll never have to see me again.” THIS MOMENT. Okay, let’s get into this: I like that Adora’s not letting Catra get away with anything here. That she tells her straight-up that they have to remove the chip or else Prime will find them, that she questions if hiding from everyone she’s hurt will really make Catra feel better, but that she also agrees to drop her off if Catra really wants that. And I like how Catra, now that Adora is offering her what she said she wanted earlier, realizes she doesn’t actually want to lose Adora again either. Adora offered to let her go, and Catra realized she doesn’t want that. I also really like Catra asking Adora to stay: It shows that Adora’s presence still makes Catra feel safe, hence why she wants her there for the chip removal procedure, but it also nicely foreshadows the finale, where Catra will ask Adora to “stay” again. Also, all that hand-holding and blushing? Cute.

- “I’m not protecting you, I’m protecting them.” YES. And here’s where Micah shows that he does take Frosta seriously and does understand how strong she is - good!

- Catra seeing Horde Prime’s thoughts: First of all, it breaks my heart how tiny and scared she sounds when she talks about Horde Prime “using” her (but also not really because I’m evil and I’m here for the angst). Then, I like how she insists she has to do this because otherwise Adora will “do something stupid and get herself killed” - Catra is super protective of Adora. And again with the hand-holding and asking Adora to stay with her 😭. I also like that it really works and Catra ends up finding out what Horde Prime is doing and even seeing what’s going on on Etheria.

- Also: I like that Horde Prime is genuinely furious about Adora saving Catra. That the whole reason he changed his strategy and started chipping people on Etheria is because he’s genuinely pissed about that and wants revenge (something Double Trouble will again confirm one episode later).

- Can we also talk about Adora and Catra immediately reaching for each other and hugging when the ship gets hit?

- “She-Ra, if you really are out there: Are you getting this?” Okay, but that’s just the thing: She literally is getting this! I like how the two plots connect here and how Adora becoming She-Ra and defeating the ships in space also helps Swift Wind power up and save the others.

- Everyone’s already talked about this at length, but I love She-Ra’s new transformation! The symbols representing Adora’s friends (winged boots for Glimmer, heart for Bow, mask for Catra), the way better outfit and hair in a ponytail, the beautiful galaxy background with those lights, the triumphant orchestra version of the transformation music - I’m here for all of it! (Also for Catra’s little blush at the end there.)

- She-Ra destroying the ships in space is epic.

- Catra’s apology to Entrapta is such a huge moment for her and such a nice scene! I like how she technically didn’t even have to do it: Entapta didn’t expect an apology and was already on her way out. But Catra has been feeling bad about this for a long time and realized now that she doesn’t actually want to run away. And after we’ve seen Catra being awful to everyone and feeling guilty over what she did to Entrapta since early season 4, it feels so good to finally hear her genuinely apologize for it (and genuinely apologize to someone other than Adora in general). And Entrapta patting her head with her hair is so precious 😭. I love both of them.

- The scene of Catra joining everyone else at dinner is so good 😭😭😭. How she’s finally ready to face them, but still sits away from them, not expecting to be forgiven or accepted, how Bow and Glimmer make room for her and invite her to join, how her ears perk up at that, Glimmer offering her food, that glance between her and Adora... YES. Catra is someone who’s been rejected and made to feel like an outcast her entire life, and she was convinced everyone hated her now. Bow and Glimmer inviting her to sit with them here was so important.

- I love Entrapta asking if the food comes in smaller sizes. She just has a thing for tiny food and I can respect that.

- And... oh no, Spinnerella is chipped!

This was another really good episode! I like how it shows Catra’s growth and shows her working on herself. I also like how things weren’t just immediately okay between her and Adora and that she still has to work on actually redeeming herself even after her heroic sacrifice. But I also think it’s realistic that Adora and Glimmer aren’t holding a grude against her, since she literally went through hell for them. Her apology to Entrapta was really beautiful and all the soft moments between her and Adora make my heart melt.

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