Masters of the Universe: Revelations- Season 1 Review (and critique)
Over the past couple of days, I have been watching the Masters of the Universe: Revelations series on Netflix and it’s an interesting show that tries some daring things. It features He-Man but he is not the main focus of the series. He is taken out of the equation pretty quickly and instead what we have is a character study of those left behind. It's a brave move that expands on the lore and motivations of the stable of characters but may upset some of the fanboys who were looking at a more action-oriented, boys-own adventure featuring the main man. However, with the He-Man name removed from the title that should have maybe been a clue as to what the intention of the show were by series lead writer, Kevin Smith.
He-Man’s presence is only fleeting in the first episode as the story starts with a bang as Castle Greyskull is taken over by the hordes from Snake Mountain. Skeletor traps the Sorceress and finds the secret contained inside the castle. Teela is made Man At Arms and she leads the Eternian army to battle and witnesses the deus-ex machina which changes the status quo we have grown used to from the old 80s series. The events of the opening episode act as a catalyst for an in-depth character study and so we have 3 episodes following Teela, Evil Lyn, Orko, Man At Arms and various villains as they try to find their place in an Eternia bereft of magic and He-Man. Similar to Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, the focus on the story is on deconstructing the idea of what a hero is, looks like and does and give other characters a chance to shine in the hour of need. In this case, Teela steps forward and takes centre stage. Much like with the rebooted She-Ra, the change of format of Masters of the Universe has upset some of the fanbase and I get (some of) it; this wasn’t what they expected but something bolder and different.
The rebooted, 5 series run of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was a modern reimagining of the classic ’80s Filmation series and I loved it. She-Ra is a part of the He-Man universe and so holds a place in many fans’ hearts, and as expected this led to many debates about the redesign of the characters, reworking of lore etc. Some arguments seemed to be reasonable, like the complaints about the cartoony, super-deformed art style, or the redesign of She-Ra herself, but some seem purposely argumentative and toxic like why there was a wider LGBTQ+ and minority ethnic representation on the show and why She-Ra herself was much less 'feminine'. However, the fact was that the story was amazing and well paced, the characters were well thought out and the interplay between them felt natural and the whole show was an excellent piece of television.
With Masters of the Universe, the approach has been somewhat different:
The animation is Castlevania-level great (it’s made by the same studio) and, even though it goes for a more realistic style compared to She-Ra's cuter, chibi style, it’s still a knockout.
The voice cast is solid and Sarah Michelle Gellar's Teela does a lot of the heavy lifting, but the voice acting is uniformly solid. Mark Hamill's Skeletor leans to his Batman: Animated Series Joker a bit too much but that's fine as it suits the character well.
The show is uniformly played straight and, whilst there are a few asides and jokey bits, the stakes are high here so don’t expect any pratfalls or Skeletor shaking his fists vowing, “I’ll get you next time He-Man!’ schtick. However, there is an amazing ‘Oh bollocks’ bit by Evil Lyn that had me in stitches!
It doesn’t have much humour but Evil Lyn is my MVP.
I enjoyed the series just fine but it didn’t charm me like She-Ra did and it didn’t wow me like Castlevania. The show is fine and I’m intrigued by the cliffhanger ending at the end of the season and, whilst I’m not exactly chomping at the bit for the next part, I am intrigued to see where Smith takes the story next. Ignore the haters who are review bombing the show but also ignore the sites that are giving the show near maximum scores- the show is okay, nothing more, nothing less… but it does seem to be growing into something bigger.
LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 1 Review
LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 2 Review
LINK- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Complete Season 3 Review
LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review
LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review
LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review
LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Series 2 Review
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