"She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" Series Talkback (Spoilers)

Rate & Discuss this new "She-Ra" Animated Series!

  • *****

    Votes: 5 45.5%
  • ****1/2

    Votes: 1 9.1%
  • ****

    Votes: 2 18.2%
  • ***1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ***

    Votes: 1 9.1%
  • **1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • **

    Votes: 1 9.1%
  • *1/2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • *

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1/2

    Votes: 1 9.1%

  • Total voters
    11

Fone Bone

Matt Zimmer
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I don't take the "reboot" thing with Hordak at face value. What I think is gonna happen is he's gonna be conditioned to be a badass faceless soldier, and Entrapta is gonna talk him down, and remind him how much she cares about him. There is no way they went through all that shocking pathos with that specific character simply to kill him off.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "The Coronation"

I noticed they slightly changed up the opening title to give more ambiguity to Scorpia.

Catra is pretty scary at the end. Personally, I think Scorpia can do better.

The stuff with the heroes was less interesting, but I think the drama at the end was strong. I also want to again compliment the voice acting on the show for delivering on the heartbreaking moments. Considering there aren't any celebrities in the cast, that's a very impressive thing.

Solid opener. ****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "The Valley Of The Lost"

That was a great fight between Double Trouble as Catra and She-Ra. That was awesome.

This was a decent, if not great, episode. ***1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Flutterina"

Oooh, that trick ending was BAD. I did not like falling for that at all. But bad things are coming because of it.

And poor Scorpia. I said she can do better than Catra. But the truth is Catra could also do better for her. This is an upcoming mess of Catra's own making.

Stand strong Scorpia. You are better than this. ****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Pulse"

Shadow Weaver has daisies because they are cheery. That was great.

Also funny was Double Trouble making fun of the fact that Bow doesn't cover his abs even though they are one of the most vulnerable parts of a soldier. Catra was getting some rare amusement out of that too.

The end says that Catra is the type of soldier who doesn't fight fair. I am really starting to loathe her. ****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Protocol"

There is just something sinister about Light Hope that I do not trust.

Those Horde kids are all right. It is very ironic to me that almost nobody working in the Evil Horde besides arguably Catra is actually evil.

I like episodes focusing on and getting to know supporting characters. This did that admirably. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Princess Scorpia"

It was so great watching Scorpia come to her senses. What's amazing is that if Scorpia had brought that recording to Hordak himself, Hordak would realize Catra was the traitor and lied about Entrapta. Even though she's given up on Catra, she still decided to protect her from that, which shows that she's a good person. And also shows she's a bad fit for the Horde.

The hero stuff wasn't as strong as it usually is just because the conflicts are all well-worn nonsense I recognize from lesser shows. That's not to say this show definitely can't do anything interesting with the idea of Dark Glimmer. But I don't expect it to and think the sooner this plot runs its course, the better.

For the record, Hordak's voice actor is particularly amazing in a show with nothing but amazing voice actors.

Scorpia has pretty much become my favorite character. This was a great showcase for her. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Mer-Mysteries"

Watch out! Horde Prime is coming!

You know it's serious when Hordak comes on the mission himself.

I like that the big fight between Adora and Glimmer was a facade to lure out the culprit. I didn't expect that and was impressed by it.

I think one of the biggest selling points of the show is that it is good at comedy. The comedy admittedly isn't great, but it's good enough and a nice way to mix the tone up from episode to episode. But while the tone of most of the episode is fluff, the end is so horrible and real and says exactly what the stakes are, and what failure actually means. Normally an ending that dark in a light episode is something that bugs me, but I think this is a show that works equally well dark and light, and I don't feel that it needs to separate those elements from episode to episode to make them both work. I'm not sure why that is, but it's a selling point of the show for sure.

Big stuff happening. ****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Boys' Night Out"

This is not a show that should be doing musical numbers. Normally I accept whenever the show stretches the premise a bit in the name of comedy, but that's a line for me.

I really love the fact that Glimmer blamed Adora for her mother's death. Because ultimately, that's probably what the season long-fight has actually been about. And as bad as things seem, that is a thing that needed to be said.

Boys night out? Aren't there like only three male characters period?

Catra discovering Scorpia left is her realizing you can only repeatedly abuse someone who cares about you for so long until they give up on you. I think for Catra, Scorpia was a tool for her. When she needed someone to take out her rage, she was there. When she needed a friend to bond with, she fit that role too. I think everything Catra wants from Scorpia is a form of using her and taking advantage of her kind nature. Which is why glad I'm Scorpia left.

I laughed at Swiftwind telling Seahawk to read the room. Mermista saying this was her jam was funny too.

I love Bow bemoaning how much it sucks to be stuck in the middle of a huge spat. Usually you don't hear complaints from the peacemaker character in TV and movies. They are just supposed to tolerate the poor behavior with good humor. Frankly, that sucks. I want to hear more complaints from "good friends" from my TV in the future.

That was all right but I'm knocking off a star and a half for the singing. That don't sit right with me. ***1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Hero"

That was great. The specific mythology the episode gave us was unexpected, because it was a curveball in a season that didn't actually have much to do with it. At first we thought the Big Bad of the series was Hordak. And then we were led to believe it's Horde Prime, who was searching for Etheria to destroy. Ultimately, the Big Bad might be Light Hope and the Old Ones's plan. It's like the deeper you go into Etheria, the worse the intentions of the movers and shakers involved is.

But this episode changed everything.

I like the idea that perhaps Razz is a time-traveler of sorts, and that's why she gets mixed about the sequences of events and the people she is with. Normally a franchise will have that specific sort of character act scatterbrained and mysterious to teach the hero a lesson in patience. But there are actual story reasons to Razz's mystery and confusion which is something I really love. If only there was an explanation in Star Wars as solid for as why Yoda is such a jerk and always wrong about everything.

I liked the episode because I didn't expect to get it when we did. *****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Fractures"

Do you know what I love best about Scorpia? She's appreciative. Which is why she was all wrong for the Horde. I hope she gets some much needed lessons at the palace.

I wasn't really buying "Dark Glimmer", but what the show has done is far worse than that. Instead of potentially turning evil, she's making terrible, rash decisions at the precise time they can't afford them. It was a very big moment when Bow parted ways with her, and told her she was wrong. He's never done that before, and when she pulls the "I'm the queen and I said so," card, it's like, "If there is hope for Glimmer in the future" something else is going to have to happen first. She is not at a place where she can understand exactly how bad her decisions have been.

And yet, Horde Prime is still a threat. The worst thing is that the heroes are fighting and losing wars on three separate fronts and things are only going to get worse.

My favorite moment in the episode is when Adora, Bow, and Swiftwind enter the ship they are playing the fanfare and playing up the Big Hero Moment of them sitting down in the chairs, and getting ready to fly the ships. And then they're like "What now? Any ideas?" I love that. I think the ship taking off so fast and crazy is something out of a live-action movie blockbuster, specifically Men In Black. I have never seen that type of comedy scene in a cartoon, which is probably just as well, because I doubt animations techniques were previously advanced enough to pull the gag off. It would not surprise me if that sort of thing could only have been believably done within the last five years. But you know what? It totally worked. It was hilarious.

The season sort of started off a bit slow, if I'm being honest, but it pretty much as the point where things have gone bananas. *****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Beast Island"

So Scorpia is the key? Love it.

I don't know what I expected from Beast Island, but it wasn't that. Some truly frightening and freaky imagery.

King Micah was a pleasant surprise too. Did not see that coming.

The climax was extremely tense and dire in the best way. I don't think the explanation of why the sword wasn't working was great, but I accepted it. That was good stuff.

Excellent episode. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Destiny, Part 1"

Oh, my God! Hordak is in freaking TEARS! He REALLY cared about Entrapta which is why her supposed betrayal hit him so hard. And to find out Catra has been b.s.ing him about that the whole time? I thought it was perhaps character progress that Catra is no longer afraid of Hordak. Now I'm thinking it was probably foolish as long as that particular secret was hanging over them. Jebus.

Another super dire climax that there was no easy way out of, where the heroes crazily won anyways. I love those.

As angry as I am with Glimmer, I thought her bonding moments with Scorpia were really cool. She's doing the wrong things, but not entirely for the wrong reasons.

Double Trouble LOVED twisting that knife with Hordak. The only reason they can get away with that is because their specific superpower makes them practically untouchable. But they REALLY enjoyed putting the screws to Catra that way. But who wouldn't?

Another amazing episode. *****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Destiny, Part 2"

Horde Prime is the stuff of nightmares.

It is very interesting where Hordak's arc wound up. He's been by turns sympathetic and plain pathetic, and it's like nothing he does is enough. What he most desires is something he will never have. And that actually makes him a tragic figure instead of a mere villain.

I love that the Horde kids bailed, but did Scorpia the solid before they did. Whatever the next season holds, the dynamics of the Horde and the Princesses should be entirely different.

I loved Double Trouble twisting the knife with Hordak last episode, but I found it beyond satisfying the things they threw in Catra's face here. Every bad thing that has happened has been down to her decisions and her destructive need to destroy anyone who shows her the slightest bit of respect or kindness. Catra's crummy life is entirely of her own making.

As satisfying as it seemed to see Hordak going after her with a laser blaster at the beginning, I am a bit shocked and impressed Catra used the moment to again point out that Hordak's goal of impressing Horde Prime will never work because Prime thinks of him as a freak and a failure. As bad as Catra is, and as righteous as Hordak's fury is, I love the fact that Catra refuses to stop with the mind games. Which is probably why Double Trouble's doublecross hurt so much. She finally gets an ally who thinks the same way she does. The downside to that is that they think the same way she does. She was always gonna get screwed.

Hordak Prime's character design is both creepy and grotesque. I see those four eyes positioned the way they are and I say, "Yikes!"

That wasn't as satisfying a finale as last year since it was a cliffhanger, but it was still pretty gutsy and a grim way to leave off the season. If there isn't a fourth (fifth?) and final season I'm going to be furious. *****.
 
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AdrenalineRush1996

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I don't take the "reboot" thing with Hordak at face value. What I think is gonna happen is he's gonna be conditioned to be a badass faceless soldier, and Entrapta is gonna talk him down, and remind him how much she cares about him. There is no way they went through all that shocking pathos with that specific character simply to kill him off.

SNIP
I definitely agree with you on Hordak and just to point out, Double Trouble is non-binary and uses "they/them" pronouns.
 

M.O.D.O.K.

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That wasn't as satisfying a finale as last year since it was a cliffhanger, but it was still pretty gutsy and a grim way to leave off the season. If there isn't a fourth (fifth?) and final season I'm going to be furious. *****.

The show was slated for a total of 52 episodes. We're up to 39 now. We're guaranteed at least one more season.
 

Fone Bone

Matt Zimmer
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I definitely agree with you on Hordak and just to point out, Double Trouble is non-binary and uses "they/them" pronouns.
Thanks for that. Review amended.

The show was slated for a total of 52 episodes. We're up to 39 now. We're guaranteed at least one more season.
I know that's what was planned. But had Netflix actually renewed the show up to that point?
 

PapaGreg

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Good season but my one gripe was that nobody in the village asked who Flutterina was, I don't know maybe have the leader of said village(who was portrayed as cautious mind) asked "Who's Flutterina" or something
 

The Overlord

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Horde Prime seems like he plays a role similar to 2002 Hordak and the recent DC comics Hordak, both those incarnations were really powerful and really evil.

2018 Hordak has Hordak's name and look, but is given a more sympathetic personality, while Horde Prime seems to have the more sinister personality from previous serious versions of Hordak.

I hope Horde Prime remains irredeemably evil, I can see Hordak, maybe even Catra be redeemed (that would take a lot though), but Horde Prime should be the ultimate evil that needs to be defeated. His cruelty makes people like Hordak sympathetic in comparison.
 

M.O.D.O.K.

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I know that's what was planned. But had Netflix actually renewed the show up to that point?

Yes. Dreamworks cartoons don't follow the usual renewal rules. Netflix orders several hours of programming and Dreamworks splits those hours throughout different shows. So, each show has a set number of episodes from beginning to end. They might do bonus shorts or specials to accompany the show, but they never extend episode orders beyond the initial set.
 

Fone Bone

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Yes. Dreamworks cartoons don't follow the usual renewal rules. Netflix orders several hours of programming and Dreamworks splits those hours throughout different shows. So, each show has a set number of episodes from beginning to end. They might do bonus shorts or specials to accompany the show, but they never extend episode orders beyond the initial set.
Excellent news. Look forward to a great wrap-up.
 

The Overlord

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It seems like when Hordak is fighting He-Man he is usually the one in charge of the Horde, but in She-Ra adaptions, Hordak is Horde Prime's servant. Hordak in Masters of the Universe franchise adaptions is presented like Sauron, Darkseid or Emperor Palpatine, a ruthless dark lord conqueror who lusts over power and wants all sentient life to bow to him. DC Comics Hordak was particularly vile, a Satanic figure who creates Skeletor, betrays his own people, trapping and torturing people's souls and blowing up a planet so he can rule the galaxy through fear. Horde Prime getting this characterization makes sense, he is at the top of the pyramid and there is no authority figure he is trying to appease, he is the ultimate authority and someone who just acquires power for himself, not to impress someone else.

I think the sympathetic Hordak works here because he is not the one in charge and a lot of his negative qualities have been moved to Horde Prime. Its why its easier to feel sorry for Kalibak over Darkseid.
 
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Fone Bone

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She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Horde Prime"

Scorpia seems to like her new team. Catra really WAS the worst.

I love that Horde Prime is polite and soft-spoken. Makes him scarier, especially when he offers up extinct cuisine from a world he destroyed. "I see everything," always has added layers of spookiness when said by a guy with four creepy uneven eyes.

As usual Catra believes herself in a stronger position than she is actually in. This is the consequence of that.

The Horde clones are very unlike Hordak in that they are fanatics. Is it possible his supposed genetic inferiority is the precise reason Hordak could occasionally seem decent deep down?

Is Shadoweaver still a prisoner? I also would like an answer to that.

Strong opener. ****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Launch"

Do you know the most dangerous thing about Horde Prime? His words are reasonable. He has the gift of being able to make genocide and universal destruction seem rational and common sense. He's what would happen if the creators of South Park actually held any real political power.

I love that he isn't put out by Glimmer's tantrum. A lesser villain would have been. But I get the sneaking and unwelcome suspicion that he never places himself in a situation where another person's behavior actually surprises him. That's probably why he got where he is.

For the record, I'm glad Entrapta IS on our side after all, but the concern that she'd switch sides if she decided Horde Prime had shinier tech is a real one. There were other factors in her turning to the Horde, but that was the main one. Entrapta is cute and all, but she's not just a flake. She's a seemingly amoral flake with situational ethics. I'm glad she's going to make an effort from now on. But if the writers had gone in the opposite direction I would never say they had been writing her out of character.

Micah in the She-Ra drag was dumb.

Horde Prime can see through every Horde clone? Yeah, that's an asset. When the good guys DO win, it won't be because it was easy.

I love that the episode ended on the quiet and solemn moment of Glimmer and Catra offering each other silent comfort and solace back-to-back against the prison shield. This is literally the only children's show I have ever seen that would make that the final scene. And it's mature for it. Harley Quinn is not a mature show because of the f-bombs. This is a mature show because it offers no easy answers about who the good guys and bad guys are. Glimmer and Catra are on opposite sides. And yet the only person they have is each other. It's an interesting dynamic, especially because I always got the sense Glimmer is the Princess Catra hates the most. In her mind she stole Adora from her. And they are each other's only option at this point whether they realize it or not.

Man, I love this show and this episode reminded me of why I love this show. I'm am going to miss it, but part of me is excited and curious how it will end. My only prediction is that it will fabulous. That's never a safe bet for any TV show's last episode, even the great ones, but there is a confidence in the writing of the show that hints that in this rare case, the writers actually what they're doing. We'll see if I'm right in eleven episodes. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Corridors"

A lot of the stuff I said in the last review was basically said on-screen by the characters themselves. I am very good at psychologically deconstructing characters.

Horde Prime was just surprised by Catra. And he did not like it. At all. But when she laughed at him you kind of realize he SHOULD have seen it coming.

Adora tangled up in the wires reminds me that Adora is at her most lovable when she is portrayed as the clumsy goofball. And I love that the show often allows her to be that.

Kid Catra's ears twitching like a cat's when she is scared or sad is a very nice touch.

Speaking of that flashback, her screaming she would never apologize for anything seemed to distill the character's self-destructive behavior over the first four (or three depending on your count) seasons to a tee. It made me roll my eyes to realize that this is a character who has not grown an inch since she was little. But it was a great thing to show because it shows she HAS grown after all, and her apology to Adora at the end lands a thousand times harder after hearing her years ago so-far-kept promise to never apologize for anything. It was a huge moment.

Hordak is in such a bad place there is no question in my mind that he will be redeemed by the series' end. Unfortunately, he's SO bad off, I predict his redemption will have to take the form of self-sacrifice. I do not see the white picket fence and 2.5 kids with Entrapta in his future, do you?

This show just continues to knock my socks off. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Stranded"

Did you notice that it's already episode four and this is the first time She-Ra (briefly) appeared this season?

Bo and Adora were so admirably focused on getting Glimmer back it never occurred to me there would be hurt feelings after they did. And you know what? There should have been! This show knows what it's doing.

Even if I'm personally against Bow forgiving Glimmer right away, her telling him he's allowed to be mad at her for at long as he needs to be, but that she'll never give up on him and always be there, tells me she's worth forgiving eventually. Any person who has done a bad thing and acknowledges they are not automatically entitled to forgiveness is more deserving of it than people who believe it is automatically owed them.

Swiftwind's scene with Scorpia amazes me that Scorpia was ever a villain.

Solid. ***1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Save The Cat"

This is going to be a controversial opinion and but I'm sure it's true: But this show has the best voice acting of any animated series ever. I think BoJack Horseman fans might disagree, but I think that had an easier task. You get people like Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Deidrich Bader, Stephanie Beatriz and Andre Braugher together, you are automatically gonna get great stuff. She-Ra is so amazing because none of the voice actors outside of Amiee Carrero are people I've ever heard of before this show. And they deliver the goods spectacularly every time. If anything tells me about the importance of a voice director it is this show. You do not need to hire expensive celebrities to get great animated performances. You just need to know how to get regular actors to give amazing performances. And that is a gift the show has and why it's amazing acting impresses me far more than BoJack Horseman's. It would actually be weird if BoJack's acting WASN'T great considering the level of talent involved. This show delivering as much pathos as a great live-action series because of the voice performances of actors who work for scale is the much bigger accomplishment.

Wrong Hordak is quite pathetic. I really loved Hordak's reemergence at the end. His love for Entrapta will be a factor going forward.

One of the reasons I love Horde Prime is because I love him despite all of the reprehensible things he's done. I would hate a similar character on another show. Instead his voice and demeanor make me fascinated by this monster instead of repulsed. It's a weird feeling, but I get the sense most successful villains should make a viewer feel that way. The fact that I rarely do shows that most fictional villains are ineffective. It's a short list of villains I think that highly of. Scorpius from Farscape is the major one that springs to mind although Thrawn from Star Wars Rebels was great too. There is something very scary about an unflappable soft-spoken villain, especially one with a British accent, which Prime weirdly has.

That was the greatest and most epic She-Ra entrance of all time. I got chills, man.

That was good television right there. *****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Taking Control"

Wrong Hordak proves Keston Johns is surprisingly good at comedy. Which is great because that is not a skill Hordak's actor ever needed in the seasons before this. The most pleasant of shocks.

I like how Entrapta simply forgave Catra. Here is an opinion: The situation is only a huge mess because both Adora and Catra believe it is. Perhaps Entrapta's simplicity is the best way for everyone to move forward. That goes for Bow and Glimmer too.

I don't know who came up with the idea but it was brilliant. This is a TV-Y7 show. They can only go so far in implying the way Horde Prime violated and broke down Catra through torture. But whichever writer came up with the idea that he cut her hair deserves a pay raise and a promotion, or they would if this weren't the last season. It's a simple and brilliant way to instantly show the audience how much the character was violated without ever having to state a thing explicitly. Catra is known for her wild hair and it is a major part of her fun personality. And Horde Prime took it away from her without her permission. That is genius, gets the point across visually, is properly upsetting, but something a TV-Y7 show can actually do with no problems. There is some very powerful talent in that writers room that they think of things like that to land pathos. Most action cartoons are stuck because they take their cues from live-action television and believe the only way to get a reaction from the audience is to show violence. And since the censors never let them show anything at all, most action cartoons instantly fail. She-Ra finds the pathos and drama through character interaction and psychological writing. And it's as constant a reminder of what he did to her as if he had disfigured her with acid to the face. It's simple. It's brilliant. It gets the point across. And it can be shown to kids. These are gifted and talented writers. This is a very special show that I am going to appreciate while I have what little left of it I do. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Perils Of Peekablue"

I am going to be blunt. I am VERY unhappy with a mind-control element being introduced in the show, at least to this extent. And if you've read my reviews (or my comic book) you'll understand why I despise that specific trope in all circumstances so I won't rehash it here. Me being mad about that probably won't surprise anyone with even a cursory history of reading my reviews.

Here is what WILL surprise you (because it surprises me): I am willing to give the show a little leeway there. I didn't with the surprise betrayal on Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, and I was right to be skeptical there. But this show has reached a level Tangled never did, as promising as that show started off as. It has earned a bit of trust with me. If it did that stuff every episode I wouldn't tolerate it, but as of now, I'm willing to trust the show about this. Believe me. This is unprecedented regarding me and specific tropes that I believe destroy shows. I'll get back to you in a few episodes on whether or not that trust was misplaced. But as of now, the show has the benefit of the doubt from me that I would never give any other show for that same plot turn. It scares me a little how much faith I have in the writers. Because if I am wrong, I will be devastated. Please don't make me wrong, producers. I'm begging you.

For the record, I love She-Ra making peace with Catra in the main title and She-Ra returning to the main cast shot and Catra now with the heroes. I love that very much.

Also great is that Scorpia's undercover name is Linda. One of the few normal names on the show and it's fake.

I have faith in this show. ***1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Shot In The Dark"

I love Shadoweaver offering the handshake to Castaspella to promise to take her down if she takes the magic for herself. That is a great, adult bargain. I loved it.

Castaspella is a dumb name though.

The thing Catra hates most is being appreciated by other people. That will make her stint with the heroes much harder than her time with the Horde. She responds negatively to anyone who show her the slightest bit of affection (as Scorpia can attest). This will be new and scary.

Another good episode. ***1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "An Ill Wind"

What I love about Wrong Hordak is how much he enjoys doing things he wasn't previously allowed to do. Hordak himself was allowed to do anything he wanted. But he never chose to do anything nice or fun which is why he was a stick in the mud. Wrong Hordak learning the joys of winking and subterfuge is quite endearing.

Mushroom people? Too goofy. Even for me.

I am rooting for both Wrong Hordak and Hordak. It strikes me that Hordak in particular will wind up crucial to the heroes winning if only because he is so close to Horde Prime. It's weird that Prime cannot see there is something wrong with him even though he has access to a Hivemind. I don't for one second consider it a plot oversight. The show is more careful than that. Instead it makes me wonder how the Hivemind actually works and what possible weaknesses it could possess.

Horde Prime is losing his cool. Which definitely says things are not going according to plan. If nothing else does it's the fact that Horde Prime now regularly raises his voice and throws stuff in anger.

The Princesses getting used to Catra is going to be fun to watch. And vice-versa. Frosta seems particularly unforgiving and I love her for it.

This show continues to be good episode after episode. ***1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Return To The Fright Zone"

I love that Netossa takes down Catra with a spray water bottle at the beginning. That sounds about right.

Still not loving the mind control but I like the idea that Perfuma is adjusting Catra to the idea that opening your heart is a strength and not a weakness. And the reason Perfuma is on message here is because she is insightful enough to throw how sucky Catra used to treat Scorpia in her face. So you know she has credibility on the subject.

The surprise reappearance of Shadoweaver at the end was great. Love that character and love her voice.

Getting good. ****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Failsafe"

I don't much like Shadoweaver, but I have to say, it's not fair that she is given the level of grief she is. She has been helping the good guys since season 3 and she's gotten nothing but scorn for it. Why is Catra instantly forgiven? I have to say, as bad as Shadoweaver was when Adora and Catra were kids, Catra herself did far worse as an adult. It bugs me that we are supposed to root for Catra's reformation while believing Shadoweaver's isn't genuine. I don't think that should be true.

So I'm apparently feeling out the ships as the series winds up. I believe there will be a few romantic kisses in the final episode. It's a kids show, so kisses are always reserved for series finales. It's obvious Entrapta and Hordak are a ship as are Glimmer and Bow. I'm thinking Scorpia might be paired up with Perfuma. And what's strangest to me considering their arc, I think Adora and Catra will kiss in the series finale. That sounds like a crazy prediction but I've always felt that Catra was so angry at Adora's betrayal because she was secretly in love with her, and Adora's reactions to her in the past few episodes make it seem like it is now mutual on her end. This could wind up a crazy prediction in two episodes. But I'm not changing this part of this review because I want you all to see how I did with my guesses. A more likely scenario if I'm wrong is that it will be made ambiguous and not fully said either way. But I am pretty positive that Adora and Catra will not wind up in a ship with a person other than each other. That's my guess. We'll see how I did.

Entrapta's scene with Hordak tells me I was right that a big sacrifice is coming from him. I both dread it and can't wait for his actual redemption.

Big stuff happening this episode. ****1/2.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Heart, Part 1"

Boom. Oh, we are in for a finale.

Turns out I was right about the Adora / Catra ship. Still pretty gutsy.

Mara telling She-Ra that she is more than what she can do for other people is an adult moral. Usually kids are given the untrue moral that heroes must sacrifice their happiness and desires to be heroes. That doesn't strike me as a thing that remotely needs to be true, so it's weird how universal the idea is for superheroes. You get the occasional hero with a spouse like Spider-Man or the Flash, but mostly the lesson comic books teach us is that being a hero actually sucks, which is why so few people do it. You know what? I'm pretty sure most firefighters on 9/11, and most nurses during Covid-19 have families at home. And it doesn't stop them from being heroes. "What do you want?" is a moral for an adult in a children's show, while all other superhero projects geared towards adults are offering us the simplistic child's moral. Which is why I love this show.

If the finale isn't amazing, I'll be very surprised. *****.

She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power "Heart, Part 2"

The show did it to me again.

And let me say how rare what it did to me is. If you read my season two review you have noted I had an unusual reaction to the sad ending. I started laughing uncontrollably. Not derisively. Not at all. No, I laughed because I was hurting and I was enjoying the way I was feeling hurt. It was a GOOD hurt. It felt cathartic and absolute 100 percent right for me and the show. I was like, "This is SO perfect!" For a REALLY great sad ending I'll bawl like a baby. But for a magnificent scene like Catra and Adora revealing their love for each other, I am going to actually enjoy it. It hurts SO good.

And I have to say that is a very unique gift that almost no current television writer can do. Joss Whedon has done it two or three times in the Buffyverse, but never since then. Star Trek got there in The Inner Light and The Visitor, but it is SO freaking rare to feel good when a sad thing is occurring because it's the right thing.

Another amazing thing I loved about the finale is how right my theories turned out to be about everything. Catra and Adora DID kiss. The mind control DIDN'T ruin anything. Hordak DID make a big sacrifice. Adora and Catra WERE being unfair to Shadoweaver. I don't know how well somebody reading this will get what I'm saying, but it gives a viewer a very personal connection to a television show to actually understand it. I don't feel ripped off or believe it to have been predictable. There is not only something satisfying about seeing a show play out the exact way it should, but I feel like I get the show in a way I do few others. As a rule my batting average for correct theories is better than almost anyone I know. My real blind spot, and where I always get tripped up, is by predicting what SHOULD happen in a good story, and always expecting the writers to do the right thing and then deliver the proper moment. And I often get stuff wrong simply because I have better ideas than the shows I watch. But if a show is great I can often predict how it will go. And I never once resent a single great show for proving to me how great it is. It's weird that certain people who correctly guess theories disdain those TV shows for being predictable. That's not always a bad thing, and I will say it again that there is something to be said for watching a TV show go down the exact way it is supposed to.

I made one huge erroneous guess this season, but I'm not embarrassed by it. Because the reason I was wrong is that I was operating under the assumption that the finale of the show might be great, but it still had certain expectations and rules to follow. That's why I predicted Hordak would be redeemed, but I mistakenly thought the show was pedestrian enough to have to make the price of that be a self-sacrifice. Instead, the series gives him the happy ending with Entrapta along with the hilarious quip by Mermista "So I guess we're okay with this now?" Yes we are! The show fooled me because it wound up being a better show than I assumed it would ever be allowed to be by the network or the toy company. And the one thing I got wrong is the thing I'm glad I got wrong.

To speak more specifically about the mind control, it didn't wind up helping anything. It never does. But it also didn't hurt anything, which is almost never true.

I found Shadoweaver's mortal sacrifice extremely profound because it clarified everything about the character. Her refusing to go back and take the magic herself and saving Adora says that her desire to help the heroes once she flipped was actually genuine THE ENTIRE TIME, and all of the good guys were beating her down for trying to help for no good reason. What I especially love about getting confirmation of this is that it speaks even higher of Shadoweaver that she never stopped helping anyways, even if every hand of friendship she offered was slapped away. And again, I predicted this, but I was a little less sure about that one thing. I'm glad I was right.

So here is my new opinion. She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power is the third best animated TV show of all time. Justice League Unlimited is and probably always will be number one, but this show's quality was a little more steady than JLU's. JLU delivered very few duds, but a mediocre episode or two DOES exist. But JLU had bigger highs. The second greatest animated series of all time is The Simpsons, which would be number one forever and always if it had been canceled after its eighth season. Even though both shows' sensibilities are different (The Simpsons is a comedy and She-Ra is a drama) I don't feel She-Ra ever QUITE hit the high points the best Simpsons ever did. But unlike The Simpsons, She-Ra's quality was consistent the entire way through. So even if She-Ra is number three it's BARELY number 3. I feel it's almost as good as The Simpsons. Almost.

But yeah, the series finale lived up to the hype, and it's refreshing to see a show tell its entire story correctly, hitting all of the right notes, in the given 52 episodes. There is something irresistible about a show that exits the stage gracefully while it is still amazing, instead of waiting for the quality to dip and everyone to be sick of it. This series started great, stayed great, and went out at the top of its game. I couldn't ask for more. Great series. Great finale. Great everything. *****.
 

Draco Dracul

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One of the reasons I find Shadow Weaver so compelling of a character when all is said and done is that she's one of the few characters I've seen in any animation that legitimately switched sides to the good guys without actually improving as a person, though her actions after switching sides do re-contextualize a lot of what came before. In the end Shadow Weaver was someone very straight forward, very honest about her intentions, and a genuinely awful person who died without remorse or regret.
 

M.O.D.O.K.

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Yeah, I wouldn't say Shadow Weaver had a genuine change of heart when she sneaked by Adora's bedroom. For most of the show after, she is driven by pragmatism. She was driven away by the Horde, so now her best bet is with the Rebellion. Horde Prime's empire has even less use for her, so she sticks with the Rebellion. Even when she tries to help, she still gives poisonous advice to Glimmer and Adora and still has little regard for anyone's life but her own. Her sacrifice is the closest she gets to be selfless for once in her life, and even then she has to be smug about it.

Anyway, I loved this season so much. So much satisfying payoff everywhere for both major and minor characters. I was worried that Catra's redemption would've been too rushed, but the way it was handled worked. I even bought Hordak's redemption, and there was less time spent on that. The way the relationships ended up made sense emotionally. Apparently, even Scorpia and Perfuma are canon, so that's cool.

I like that they even sneaked in more characters from the original lore. Melog was a fun addition to the series as Catra's therapy cat. Double Trouble was both Swen and Prince Peekablue, who I would've loved to meet in person. Is he still dating Sweet Bee? There's even another Loo-Kee cameo. I think the Star Siblings were the only ones that didn't sit right with me. They didn't really do much in the long run. There's also a bit of a plot hole from season one, where the Star Sisters are mentioned and are also princesses.

There's really no complaints aside from those nitpicks. I'm glad the show got to end where it did, with a complete story and a strong number of episodes. Not even Netflix cartoons are saved from cancellation, so I'm glad the Netflix/Dreamworks format worked on this show's favor. It's hard for me to see how anything else can top it this year, but I hope I'm wrong.
 

VeiledHat

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I actually hated this show at first because I loved the 80s She-Ra, and I didn't want anyone making my childhood "gay." But then I made ideas for a fan reboot of the Justice Friends, where a lot of them were gay, and eventually I remembered Grid in my Cyborg series I have in development was gay for Cyborg, and decided I should take inspiration from Catra. Now I like this show, and I'm glad I do.
 

The Overlord

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So apparently there are a lot of people on Twitter who want a She-Ra movie, the only problem is to make a movie, I think they would need access to the rest of the Master of the Universe franchise, She-Ra going to Eternia, finding her family and fighting Skeletor is epic enough to be a movie, but that would require Mattel and DreamWorks getting along.

That would be an interesting movie though, Skeletor is She-Ra's uncle and perhaps he gave Adora to Light Hope he could be a personal foe, She-Ra could be tempted to stay in Eternia over Etheria and Catra could feel threatened by that, and heck, maybe she doesn't quite get along with Adam and the others at first.
 
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Antiyonder

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I actually hated this show at first because I loved the 80s She-Ra, and I didn't want anyone making my childhood "gay."

Funny thing is though, the original She-Ra and He-Man? The gay undertones might not have been some clueless accident.

Erika Scheimer (original series cast member and daughter of one of Filmation's founder Lou Scheimer came out in the 2000s and she said this at one point: Features » Crossing Swords (of Protection) with Erika Scheimer

I was a strong female voice myself, and—guess what?—I happened to be gay. Does that make any difference about anything? I'll tell you one thing, it didn't matter, because Filmation was one of the gayest places in town.

So yeah. Depending on how you look at it, the new version only made official and noticeable what the original nodded and winked at:).

So apparently there are a lot of people on Twitter who want a She-Ra movie, the only problem is to make a movie, I think they would need access to the rest of the Master of the Universe franchise, She-Ra going to Eternia, finding her family and fighting Skeletor is epic enough to be a movie, but that would require Mattel and DreamWorks getting along.

Never really objected to the Bat Embargo of the 2000s (happened to a lesser degree in the 70s), but I respect it all the more even now for not putting in limitations only to back out.

This situation is like the Universal Human Torch movie back in the 70s and the attempted Aquaman series for the CW in 2005 that only got an obscure pilot. The embargo on Masters of the Universe as I recall was a planned film which didn't get off the ground.

Basically denying the other side some toys when the ones holding them don't even play with them.:rolleyes:
 

SweetShop209

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The show got a GLAAD nomination (which is about recognizing LGBTQ content in media).

 

Classic Speedy

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I binged seasons 2-5 since the start of the year. Great show. Catra is easily one of my favorite villains in recent memory, the way she has inner conflict throughout the whole thing.

But I have to give a special shout-out to Scorpia. She was one of the most original henchman characters I've seen, a refreshing change from how "the muscle" would be in most shows, in that her personality doesn't fit the body type. Whenever she was on screen, I lit up.

Entrapta was also a lot of fun, with how her twintails were basically another set of hands. Although her frequent switching sides based on whoever would satisfy her needs for science was frustrating, especially since she was clueless that there was anything wrong with it.

Favorite episode was probably The Portal. Always enjoy "alternate universe" stories, especially when combined with a character who has amnesia but has a nagging feeling that something's not right.
 

ABrown

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I binged seasons 2-5 since the start of the year. Great show. Catra is easily one of my favorite villains in recent memory, the way she has inner conflict throughout the whole thing.
Catra was easily my favorite character in the series.
 

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