#hopefully this makes sense dfjhskbn i am Very Tired

[akari-hope]

Could you talk more about Catra’s role in perpetuating the cycle of abuse when it came to her past treatment of Scorpia & Entrapta? And I know we didn’t get to see much of it onscreen (unfortunately), but how do you think she made amends w/ them & unlearned the survival tactics that were toxic in general? It’s always awesome to hear your input!

sure!

so we’re all on the same page, abusive relationships typically involve a power imbalance, as well as some degree of reliance or trust. that’s why it’s often so hard to leave abusive romantic partners, or to get away from abusive parents. the victims trust and/or rely on the abuser, and it’s how the abuser keeps them in line, how they’re able to manipulate them. now, important to note: some abusers are NOT aware that they are being abusive. and i don’t mean people who pretend they’re not, who use that as part of their gaslighting or other methods of control, i mean genuinely not realizing the degree of their actions until the damage they’ve done is too great.

with that being said, let’s talk about catra. we already know catra herself is an abuse survivor, and that has a big effect on how she goes about forming relationships with others. she’s alone and afraid, and doesn’t know how to BE friends with someone, really.

enter scorpia. scorpia is basically everything catra isn’t. patient, kind, laid-back. she doesn’t care nearly as much (arguably at all) about ranks and the horde’s “mission”. and this all makes catra feel deeply uncomfortable. she tries to push scorpia away again and again. until...she realizes scorpia can be useful. 

princess prom is really the big turning point in their relationship. catra uses scorpia’s status to enact her plan, and that’s when it really gets cemented in her head that she’d be better off keeping scorpia around than pushing her away. problem is that catra doesn’t know how to be friends with someone. she has sincere moments of affection that shine through (sharing the blanket in “white out”, the entirety of “once upon a time in the waste”), but for the most part their friendship hinges entirely on scorpia’s genuine care for catra. meanwhile, catra constantly berates and insults her, and uses her for her own ends.

now, entrapta gets it even worse in my opinion. the minute entrapta shows up, catra’s already thinking about how she can use her for her own gain. she uses physical affection as a weapon, stroking entrapta’s hair to comfort her, to convince her to work for catra. it’s a strikingly similar scene, mirroring something shadow weaver has done regularly to both catra and adora. (quick side note, it’s kind of brilliant that we see catra repurposing this before we even really see shadow weaver do it. if i’m remembering correctly, we don’t see this specific gesture until flashbacks in “promise”.) unlike with scorpia, catra also uses physical force with entrapta, grabbing her by the hair being a go-to. catra really relies on entrapta’s lower position and lack of social awareness to keep her on her side. after hordak takes a liking to entrapta, though, catra realizes this method won’t fly anymore.

you could call both of these situations simply “toxic friendships”, but to me that really doesn’t cut it. this is where catra really projects her own trauma and abuse onto others. this is where she perpetuates the cycle. the other common claims of catra abusing people, adora and hordak, really just don’t have that power imbalance, that level of trust necessary for that idea to hold water. but scorpia and entrapta, up until the end of s3, both REALLY trust catra. they consider her their friend. and catra uses this to get what she wants out of them both, all while treating them like shit.

the dividing point for both entrapta AND scorpia is the same - when catra shocks entrapta and sends her to beast island. it’s the first time she uses REAL force against either of them, and the first time she directly threatens scorpia. the illusion is broken. she’s NOT their friend, not really. catra is only in it for herself. and come s4, catra is once again using her position of power over scorpia, cutting what few threads kept scorpia tied to catra.

with entrapta, catra used her from the start. there was never a genuine thread of friendship there. it’s one of the reasons i think that what she did to entrapta merely haunted her, and didn’t break her. with scorpia, it’s hard to say if catra really meant to hurt her or not. there’s moments where it seems like catra truly cares. and i think she didn’t actually have the intention of hurting scorpia. it’s why scorpia saying “you’re a bad friend” and leaving hits catra so much harder than anything else.

the biggest thing that catra needed to unlearn, i think, is that being vulnerable is bad, and that she won’t be rejected if she is. this is the biggest one we see her grow to learn in s5. apologizing to entrapta is her first big challenge after “save the cat”, and we can see how much she’s struggling to get the words out, how she flinches when entrapta reaches out. she’s fully expecting to be met with hostility, or at least rejection...but instead entrapta forgives her. she doesn’t excuse catra’s actions, but she’s willing to let catra back in. she’s willing to try.

and catra’s very lucky that entrapta and scorpia are both incredibly forgiving people. she’s very lucky that they both know she can be better, and that they’re willing to be in her life again. that’s something that could’ve very well ended her relationship with them permanently. catra’s healing is something that can only be done, really, with other people. so, making amends with catra and scorpia is part of her healing. they’re both the end and the means.