AN: Spoilers for season 1 – 5

It took me a while to start watching this show. For the most part, it was because of the animation style and how the show was portrayed in the trailer. There was just no way the trailer could possibly manage to capture the intricacy and nuance of this show within a one minute clip. And so I saw it as just another fantasy kids show with sparkles. It was only when I ran out of things to watch that I even clicked on it.

And oh boy was I in for a ride. I binge watched this show, from season 1 – 5 in less than a week, even pulling an all nighter at one point.

Saying I love this show is an understatement.

But I’m also not the only viewer who felt this way. Ever since season 5 aired, my YouTube recommendations have been blowing up with She-Ra content. People clearly love this show. And they have very good reasons to.

This show is an embodiment of the progress we have achieved in terms of representation of not only LGBTQ+ characters but also characters of vastly different body types and skin colours. Each character is a unique individual with an established back story. While so many kids shows before it fall into the hole of creating identical characters, She-Ra jumps over the hole and then pours cement over it.

Not only that but the show conveys a set of values that are often missing from most other shows. Redemption is valued but there is also nuance. Everyone is capable of redemption but not in the same way. For each person the journey is different.

Diversity

Often with mainstream media, diversity is only ever presented for brownie points. Maybe there’s one POC or one gay guy or one character who doesn’t fit the cookie cutter shape most of the actors and actresses fit into. Furthermore, the vast majority of the time, even within fantasy, being a gay character is portrayed as something that comes with institutional disadvantages. Yes, that is worth mentioning. Giving LGBTQ+ people a platform to express the hurt and harm they face on a near day to day basis is important.

However, a big reason why many people love fantasy is because of its ability to provide an escape from reality. She-Ra understands this and provides its audience with a world that openly accepts not only LGBTQ+ people but also people of colour and women with vastly different body types. The world of Etheria is definitely not a utopia but it is a world that accepts LGBTQ+ people as normal. There is no closet. There is no coming out.

For example, the main pairing: Adora and Catra struggle to admit they love each other, not because they are both women, but because of the trauma they both faced and the insecurity and sense of abandonment that Catra feels on a day to day basis. Spinnerella and Netossa are a happily married lesbian couple that live to the end of the show.

This show’s representation is genuine. It is not trying to achieve brownie points and it refuses to kill off LGBTQ characters after they achieve their (often) sole purpose of appeasing a group of people who just want to be seen.

Redemption

Does It Overlook Logic In Its Rush To Redeem Its Characters

At first glance, it may seem the show blindly redeems everyone (except Prime) but that is an oversimplification. Yes, every character is at least partially redeemed but not every character has achieved full redemption. There is nuance. A nuance that many have overlooked due to this show not showing any conflict between newly changed villains and those they hurt.

Questions come to mind like, why did no one go after Catra? Why did no one go after Hordak? They both caused untold destruction on the people of Etheria. Many died (offscreen). Yet all Catra gets is a punch in the face from Frosta and a lecture about friendship from Perfuma before receiving acceptance. And Hordak doesn’t even get that. He receives a hug from Entrapta and a side eye from Mermista. There is no conflict or progression.

Due to “She-Ra” being a kid’s show and therefore being limited in its ending, I think it is intentionally left open-ended (in regards to the different redemption arcs). The viewer doesn’t actually see enough of the show to really even know whether or not Catra and Hordak are forgiven. It just seems like they are from the two minute snippet shown at the end of the conflict.

There isn’t enough time for anyone to even acknowledge Catra or Hordak. In light of Horde Prime brainwashing half of Etheria’s population and then trying to destroy the universe, the war they were fighting previously is momentarily forgotten. Hordak and Catra are momentarily forgotten. But there is nothing to say that they will not be confronted later on for their participation in the war against Etheria. But for now, they are left alone.

Journeys of Redemption

I’d argue that the redemption arc has the most nuance of anything in this show. Different characters achieve full and partial redemption in different ways.

An example of this is in the difference between Catra’s and Shadow Weaver’s redemption arcs. For Shadow Weaver, it is simply a matter of prioritising the lives of her daughters and the rest of Etheria over personal gain. In an effort to return the magic to Etheria and save them from Horde Prime, Shadow Weaver pushes her daughters out of harm’s way and sacrifices herself. Shadow Weaver knew that Adora would never leave to the heart of Etheria until she was assured of Catra’s safety and so she sacrifices herself. This allows Catra and Adora to safely reach the heart of Etheria.

Her death partially redeems her but it further complicates the turbulent relationship she had with her daughters. They now have to overcome the abuse they suffered at her hands while remembering the fact that her last act was to sacrifice herself for them.

Shadow Weaver’s sacrifice is fully in character. She may be abusive and driven by revenge rather than moral values but she has at least the hint of maternal instinct. One that has partially survived everything she has done. There is nuance within her sacrifice. Yes, it furthers the trauma that Adora and Catra suffer at her hands but it is not unrealistic or sloppily portrayed.

Catra, on the other hand, may attempt to achieve redemption through death but she is saved again and again. The journey is not so short for her. She is forced to reevaluate her actions and face the people she hurt. The journey of redemption for her is long and hard. Yes, she is forgiven or at the very least, tolerated, by all the people she harmed but she has to work at it.

While Adora may have rescued her, she isn’t willing to deal with Catra’s abandonment complex. Catra has to make the choice to stick by the Best Friend Squad of her own free will. No one will force her to. She has to confront the people she hurt, starting with Entrapta. Entrapta, being the literal most chaotic and socially inept character in the show, forgives Catra without hesitation. This paves the way for Catra to keep trying. It is her choice to join the circle when they are eating. It is she who realises that she has issues with anger and chooses to work on it. Nobody tells her what to do. She realises it by herself and chooses to change and make amends.

And in doing that, her redemption is complete. It isn’t enough to sacrifice oneself in order to save the world. Redemption comes with true connection. An emotional bond has to be formed. Catra does that.

Final Thoughts

I really like this show. I didn’t grow up with it but somehow, it carries the same sense of nostalgia that many of the shows I watched as a kid exudes. I think it’s because “She-Ra” is the type of show I wish I grew up watching. That way, I might have accepted my identity a long time before I actually did. Kids need shows like “She-Ra”. They need this show to understand that it is okay to be different. They need to be able to see themself as the hero.

The reason why so many people are going crazy over this show is because we have been waiting for a show like this for a long time. And we finally got it.