She-Ra and the Princesses of Power on Netflix is a modern reimagining of the classic ’80s Filmation series. She-Ra is a part of the He-Man universe and so holds a place in many fans’ hearts, and as expected this raised the profile of the 2018 reboot, especially online.
Even before the show aired there were many debates about whether the new takes on the characters were any good. Some arguments seemed to be reasonable, with some complaining about the more cartoony super deformed art style, or the redesign of She-Ra herself, but some seemed purposely argumentative and toxic like why there was wider LGBTQ and minority ethnic representation on the show. People accused it of being a show for SJW’s with the common refrain, ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’.
So, away from the Twitter frenzy and YouTube comments, what has the show been like and has it proved the detractors wrong over the past 2 years and 4 seasons?
Warning- Spoilers Ahead As I Discuss the Plot Points of All 4 Seasons.
The story itself is classic hero fare: Adora is a cadet in the Fright Zone and a part of the Horde, who are trying to wipe out the 'evil' Princesses. However, after a joy riding accident in the Whispering Woods with her friend Catra, Adora finds the Sword of Power and has visions of She-Ra and the First Ones.
Adora is captured by Princess Glimmer of Bright Moon and Bow and realises that the Horde are evil and that the Princesses aren't a guerilla force but actually just peaceful rulers of their respective lands. Adora undergoes a crisis of Horde faith and joins Glimmer in her aim to unite the Princess Alliance which once fought the Horde but ultimately failed and fell apart.
Adora is then trained by Lighthope, a First Ones Yoda-type hologram, in the ways of She-Ra but makes slow progress. The Princess Alliance get used to being friends as well as allies and hold strong against the continuous daily onslaught of Horde robots.
The first two seasons of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power are bright and generally breezy but boy does season 3 crank things up a little. There are three main through-lines over the course of this season; Hordak's plan, which is suitably nefarious, involves portals and the Horde army travelling through space and time to take over Etheria; Adora and her Best Friend Squad deepen their bonds on a journey through the Crimson Waste to find more First Ones technology and learn what happened to Mara, the previous She-Ra, and Catra and Scorpia become closer as they search for the tech in the Crimson Wastes too.
The three storylines converge in dramatic fashion and, from episode 5, get pretty heady as the true area of development is character as we delve further into all our invested parties. We learn about Hordak's motivations, and even though he is the big bad in this series, it is hard not to feel a little sympathy for him. We see his friendship (maybe romance?) with Entrapta grow and so, what could have been a 2-dimensional bad guy, becomes more intriguing.
The storyline then goes to some pretty dark places, not Pulp Fiction level dark but for a 7+ kids show... pretty noir. Alternate realities, the darkest timeline and time and space being all wobbly wobbly feature in this series and actually play a huge part in the finale. We find out that Hordak's plan is to open a portal to bring Horde Prime and the intergalactic Horde army to Etheria, Adora finally gains some insight as to who she really is and where she came from and Catra goes full heel and sustained some cool but temporary evil looking scars to show how bad ass she really had become. It all reached a dizzying crescendo that culminated in the ultimate sacrifice from a figure that would change the structure of the Princesses Alliance forever and have grave implications for the Best Friends Squad moving forward.
The forth season kicks off as Glimmer has her coronation as Queen of Bright Moon. As she ascends the throne and has to deal with diplomatic concerns, Bow and Adora take the lead on missions. The excursions meet with initial success until a shape shifter, Double Trouble, enters the fold and adds some espionage into the unfolding drama. They' tap into the growing hostility between Glimmer and Adora and light the fuse to the powder keg, and we see the group splinter in spectacular fashion. Meanwhile, Catra bonds with Double Trouble, falls out with Scorpia and realises that victory is not all its cracked up to be as she and Hordak take over most of Etheria.
I really enjoyed the 4th season as it looked at the military industrial complex in more detail, specifically the many levels of bureaucracy that underpin it- heady stuff for a 'tween cartoon'. Glimmer struggles with the duties required from being a Queen, co-ordinating the campaign whilst sending her friends and colleagues out into the thick of battle whilst struggling with the guilt that mounting casualties unsuccessful campaigns rack up. Catra struggles with gaining resources to take the Horde war machine forward whilst Hordak struggles to move forward with creating the ultimate weapon without his colleague and potential love interest, Entrapta. The varying story threads all weave together wonderfully reaching an exciting and intergalactic climax as a deus ex machina is pulled and the status quo is shifted yet again.
All in all, it all added up to another great season that is building to a final battle between Etheria and the Horde Prime Empire. That is what season 5 will focus on.
What I have really enjoy about She-Ra is that the storyline has been intriguing, however the strong characterisation and the journey that each character goes through has endeared them to you; you become invested, be they hero or villain. There are definite shades of grey; Hordak seeks acceptance from his superior, Catra has attachment issues, Entrapta finds it hard to make friends, Scorpia is in a toxic relationship with Catra and Kyle wants to be loved and respected. The show also goes deep into lore and it is genuinely exciting to see the battle between Adora/ She-Ra and Catra as they realise that they want different things in life yet their paths are inextricably and destructively linked.
As for the animation style, I always liked the design of the '80s show but I thought the new art style was great too. I am a big fan of Noelle Stevenson (the creator and lead writer of the show), who created the amazing Nimona and Lumberjanes graphic novels, and her art style felt modern and stylised like Steven Universe. I didn’t understand why there seemed to be a small contingent of very vocal people criticising the show when many other cartoons had a more simplistic style compared to what they were years ago, after all, Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball and Over the Garden Wall are all brilliant but less detailed and 'realistic' when compared to '80s fare such as He-Man, TMNT, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, MASK or GI Joe. However, what is inarguable and has been beyond dispute is that the storylines, dialogue and characterisation in the new She-Ra show have been much better than its predecessor. In a medium which has been uniformly hegemonic in portraying white characters and often sexualised females, the recent wave of real world representations in cartoons has been exciting and the fact that She-Ra has been backed up by engaging stories and well-rounded characters is a testament to what the series has achieved.
After 4 stunning seasons and a cliffhanger ending building to a final battle between Etheria and the Horde Prime Empire, I can say that it’s been a heck of a journey but it seems like a good a place as any to end on a high. I can’t wait for the fifth and final season and I would advise everyone to ignore the detractors and naysayers and check out the show, it is one of the finest animated series around and well worth a watch!
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