She-Ra (2018): Season 1

 

Based on: She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985) by Larry DiTillio and J. Michael Straczynski; a spin-off of He-Man (1985), based on Masters of the Universe (1981) franchise created by Mattel

Developed by: ND Stevenson

Executive producers: ND Stevenson & Chuck Austen

Starring: Aimee Carrero (Adora/She-Ra), AJ Michalka (Catra), Karen Fukuhara (Glimmer), Marcus Scribner (Bow), Reshma Shetty (Angella), Lorraine Toussaint (Shadow Weaver), Lauren Ash (Scorpia), Christine Woods (Entrapta)

For a long time, I wouldn't go near the Masters of the Universe franchise because my impression of He-Man was nothing short of vomit-inducing hyper-masculinity, and I have personal problems with that. 

I never really knew what She-Ra was, but I knew it was associated with the vomit-inducing hyper-masculinity, so I stayed away. However, I did find the promotions somewhat intriguing, and it looked a little bit like My Little Pony, which I enjoy. So when a few friends told me it was actually a good series, I caved and but it on my list. 

And I'm glad I did!! The season didn't hook me right away but it definitely caught my interest from the first episode and never lost it. I did see a bit of a cliché immediately: two warring factions, each drowning in propaganda by their respective commanders that gives them a completely false impression of their enemy. I feel like that's been done... a few times. In real life, too. 

But I really enjoyed the characters, mythology, animation, and magic. I could also tell early on that there seemed to be hints of advanced technology disguised as magic, and that excited me a lot. (The season finale confirmed this!) I liked the idea that Adora wasn't about to go back into the abusive blindness of her home faction once the truth had been revealed to her. There are some truths you can ignore and some truths you can fight against passively, but not this. She saw that people were being unjustly massacred under her command, and that's not something she could turn away from. 

Shadow Weaver, the manipulative Horde commander who ruled her soldiers through manipulation and oppression 

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow made a great and very fun trio and that's definitely part of what kept the season afloat. Their dynamics (much like other successful trios of Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron) of friendly banter and strategizing kept things fresh each episode. I enjoyed being introduced to each new Princess with each new episode and they each added their own charm and fun skill to the group, though I was surprised none of the new Princesses stuck with the group. 

The main trio of Glimmer, Bow, and Adora (in She-Ra form)

Catra succeeded as the most interesting season 1 plot point, from premiere to finale. Her dynamic with Adora was tragic and very compelling. The penultimate episode definitely tore my heart the most, just as it was meant to. Catra's change in allegiance (or should I say, affirmation of allegiance?) toward the Horde and thus betrayal of Adora was heartbreaking but, most ingeniously, believable. In an effect sadly outside of Adora's control because she was mostly ignorant of it, Catra came to believe herself as inferior to Adora, and the latter's absence created a space for Catra to finally shine. The effect was seen and exploited by Shadow Weaver and Hordak, Catra's commanders, who only praised Catra's efforts in the absence of their vocally-preferred Adora. 

Catra and Adora trying to figure things out

Thus, when it finally came down to a crucial moment, Catra came to believe the lie she had been conditioned into: she could only shine when Adora was out of the picture. So Catra abandoned Adora to her fate and returned to the Horde to take command. 

Princess Entrapta was a similar story, though less emotionally charged. She show implied heavily that technology and research were Entrapta's only real, true passions; the team she was working for seemed to mean nothing. So when she found herself forgotten and left among the ranks of the Horde and under Catra's command, she put up no resistance. Especially when Catra began providing her new technologies to develop. 

Going forward, I'll be most interested in how the series develops those two. I think they each have righteousness at their core, and serving the Horde doesn't reflect that. When the stakes become higher, I think both Catra and Entrapta will defect back to allegiance with Adora. It'll be fascinating to see how that goes down and to continue exploring more of this world.