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abeanblogs · 4 years

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I’ve never fully talked about my feelings about season 5.

I’m mad. I’m mad it had SO MUCH POTENTIAL.

Don’t get me wrong. It had a LOT of good in it and Catradora was great. But all of it was RUSHED

Season 5 should have been spread out over 2 seasons. It’s as simple as that.

My main issue is that the side characters were discarded. They had so much story and development built around them in previous seasons and never got a resolution.

Lonnie and the Horde Squad had so much development in “Protocol.” Kyle proved his worth and saw that he had true friends. They got to talking about leaving the Horde, which was repeated when Glimmer and Scorpia showed up at the Horde. They could have joined the rebellion or just become a neutral party, but all we get of them is a cameo in season 5.

Double Trouble was so fucking hyped up in season 4, especially in the media over being the first nonbinary character in the show. They were the catalyst most of season 4’s events and even Catra’s will to change. While we did get Perils of Peekablue, they were pretty much reduced to a comedy character and were just used for some exposition. It’s very rare you see chaotic neutral characters. It would have been interesting to see if they joined the rebellion and switched to Horde Prime’s side, for example. They could have learned that burning bridges with the only friends you ever made is a horrible and lonely life. The other side characters had story arcs and character development, where was theirs? I’m working with a bunch of DT fans to make a whole AU around this concept. (@chipped-dt )

Huntara. She only had two episodes in season 4, but she deserved better. We don’t know much about her story, but we should.

And there were a lot of things we didn’t see enough of for our main characters.

Glimmer reuniting with her dad after decades of thinking he was dead???

Catra literally is the reason Angella is gone. Glimmer knows that. A resolution for that? Did they forget about the portal?

Glimmer and Bow should NOT have made up that quickly. I thought “you can be angry and you don’t have to forgive me, but I will always be here.” “Okay” thing would mean that it would show that it would take time. Glimmer and Adora didn’t stop fighting in season 4 after one episode. Forgiveness takes time.

Speaking of forgiveness taking time...Catra being held accountable for her actions but still being allowed room to change. I feel like nobody asks “why.” Why did Catra do everything she did? Why did Glimmer want to use the weapon? Understanding why is a big step towards forgiveness.

Horde Prime was hyped up to be a horrible villain, so it would have raised the stakes if we saw what he was capable of. We needed to see him in action. It sounds awful, but we needed to see him destroy worlds to actually believe he’s as big a threat as they make him out to be. The “purification” thing was a perfect example, but we don’t see much other than that.

Season 5 would have been better like this. Best Friend Squad should have spent more time on Etheria investigating Horde Prime. Then we could have seen more development of side characters. Double Trouble and Horde Squad joining the rebellion? We could have seen how they lost Brightmoon. Why they had to hide in the middle of nowhere instead of any other kingdom or town?

Save the Cat should have been the season finale. Imagine a whole season without She-Ra, and Adora coming to terms with that. Imagine seeing her using her Horde training and fighting the entire season, only to have her FINALLY transform when she saves Catra! The theories that would have followed after the season ended about where it’d go from there would be amazing.

Then season 6, the final season, could have been focused on Catra’s redemption. Adora could have learned not to internalize all her pain and unlearned her unhealthy coping mechanisms. It could have talked about how people got chipped and how it affected them. Plus adding conclusions to all the side characters’ stories. Catradora could have gotten the time and development it deserved. As in Catra and Adora actually being on the same side and coming to terms with their feelings for each other, and working through the pain their past actions caused. It could have resolved so much.

I know season 5 was focused on Catradora, and that was so important and well written in its own right. But it feels like they got a little tunnel visioned on that and neglected tying up all the other characters’ stories they previously established. I don’t know if they were worried about it being cancelled so they rushed it, but it felt like so much was missed. And it makes me sad.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! What would you have liked to see?

#she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #spop #she ra spoilers #a bean speaks #she ra s5 critiques

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dreamerandcrazy · 3 years

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Ok, so I haven't been able to comment much on my Riverdale rewatch mostly bc i'm watching it with my boyfriend and we have an agreement of no cell phones when we're watching, otherwise we can't pay proper attention to it. But I wrote down some notes about the episodes I did watch (I watched up until ep 6, which is very ironic bc apparently today is its anniversary, so yay for my perfect timing). I actually remember most of the stuff that happened in s1, so here's mostly a few things I paid more attention to or noticed about the characters and the ships, or things i'm able to look at through a different view now that i've watched all the seasons. Strap in if you want to see my notes, if not just scroll please, no ship or character hate here please. Also, feel free to ignore, this is really just a personal look in some stuff I didn't notice in my first watch.

- Betty's character used to be much happier and lighter in season 1. I know we're introduced to "Dark Betty" right in episode 3, but still, I feel like the way Lili played Betty in season 1 did not hold the same "darkness" as it does in the following seasons. The scene where she is dancing happily in her bedroom because she's going to homecoming with the boy she likes? The scene where she introduces Jughead to the Blue & Gold and gets him to work with her? Her genuine innocent happiness at seeing her sister again after so much time? The way she interacted with Kevin and Veronica? Those were all chef's kiss because she actually feels like a teenager in them. In all her girly glory, she radiates youth energy and it's a thing that was sadly lacking after s1. Btw this is not a critique at Lili's acting at all, I blame it entirely on Ras and his obsession with dark Betty.

- There's actually so many indications of Cheryl being a lgbt character in the first episodes that I have no idea how I missed it the first time. But then again, there were many indications with Veronica as well, and sadly that's not the path Ras chose for her.

- Jughead in s1 is truly so superior in so many ways that it's not hard to see why he quickly became such a fan favorite. I think even if he wasn't played by Cole Sprouse, he still would have conquered many fans' hearts. Sadly, the things that made Jughead such a loving and interesting character for me also fizzled out in s2 when the writing team decided to make him a woke serpent leader instead of allowing him to sticking to his true personality as a passionate mystery lover, a dedicated friend and very nerdy, which was very cute. I feel that we got some of that back for him in s4, which was good, but sadly s1 is where my love for him really stayed to stay. But I still care for him, and s5 has a promising storyline for him which i'm excited about, so let's see if s5 Jughead can become better than s1 Jughead.

- Going back again to Cheryl for a sec, I just noticed that the red lipstick actually wasn't that common for her in s1? At least not in the first five. I wonder when did it start becoming her trademark? Anyways, it's actually a really good look her and allows you to appreciate Madelaine's natural beauty even more.

- Also, did anybody notice how Alice lowkey figured out who killed Jason in ep 2 lmao, like... in episode two she legit says she wouldn't be surprised if the Blossoms themselves had killed Jason, which... is what happened LMAO, considering we know it was his father. And even more hilarious and tragically ironic note, in ep 6 she's laughing at Betty suggesting that Hal killed Jason because "do you think your father has the stomach for it?!"... Ma'am... i'm-.... 😂😂😂😂.

- This rewatch has reminded me of how much I adored and how I much I miss Josie and the Pussycats. The girls were such a nice addition to the cast, and their songs were so beautiful. I truly wish we get to see them again someday, but at the same time I also think the actresses deserve to be at a work place where they're given the treatment they deserve and not completely ignored and treated like extras.

- Archie/Valerie was super cute and is very underrated in the fandom, but i'm glad Valerie stood up for herself and didn't take any of Archie's or Cheryl's sh*t. Still sucks because they were really good together, though.

- Why was Jason not allowed to talk, lmao? Like, i'm sure it's become a running joke in the show at this point, but back when season one was airing what was the excuse for it? He appeared in so many flashbacks and scenes and we still never heard a single word ☠️☠️☠️☠️. I just want to know what was the reason lol.

- I liked s1 Reggie, but I feel like Charles Melton's Reggie is better because he actually feels like a douche with good intentions lol, and he has more of a personality. Most of the time I even forgot about Reggie in s1, but after s2 he definitely made me more aware of him. So for that, I like Charles Melton's Reggie more. But the actor from s1 still did a good job with what he was given.

From now on I will be talking about the ships, so bear with me, and know that I am a multishipper. Yes, I have my preferences. No, my word is not law, it's just an opinion, so please respect it.

- Bughead is still super cute in s1. I feel like from s1 they will always be my otp, even if I no longer feel as strongly about them now and have a different insight as to where I would like their story to go, and now I definitely see the problem others had mentioned before of how they kind of took over the show, which is something I kind of closed my eyes to before... But I really loved them in s1. It felt like a very juvenile teenage relationship, they didn't give much thought on why and if they should be together, they just went for it like teenagers usually do, and they were very very cute together.

- I feel like if you don't count Beronica (because they really were the best no matter what you say or ship), if there's a ship that deserves "best chemistry" award for s1 is probably Varchie. I lost my interest in them years ago, but this rewatch reminded me of why I actually loved them once. They never really became an otp for me, but Kj and Camila's chemistry in s1 was VERY GOOD, and I really liked them. Their kiss in the pilot was electric and the s&xual tension was OOF, and that chemistry carries on through the season. You can easily tell something will happen between them eventually. It makes me sad bc I don't know what happened after s1, but their chemistry from s2 onwards was just... not there for me. Which is ironic bc it's the season they truly started dating and they got a lot of smexy scenes, but I just... didn't feel it. But I'll leave that comment to my s2 rewatch. For now just let me enjoy Varchie's chemistry in s1 while it lasts because it was really good.

- Now we get to Barchie, who I made clear was the reason for my rewatch, so let's get to it. I LOVED the way Barchie was written in s1. I remember when I first watched Riverdale, I was curious about their dynamic but didn't put much thought into it because I loved Bughead too much and wanted them to be together, and I thought Barchie would be the traditional "first og ship" thing and wouldn't have a big follow up, but boy was I WRONG and am I GLAD for it. I'll talk more about their development in the next seasons when I get there, so for now let's focus a bit on s1. Just in like the first two episodes, there is so much Barchie foreshadowing, like, it's legit insane how it was right there in my face and I missed it the first time! "I have never felt what i'm supposed to feel with betty", "it's not my fault he doesn't like you", "I can't give you the answer you want"... Omg, those are obvious eyebrow raising "this will come back to bite you in the a$$" moments and it's incredible how they actually DO! I would call it clever writing, but like... it's Riverdale lol. So I really am just glad that the ship was done this way, i'm glad Barchie has the back story that they do, they've really come a LONG way and i'm happy I get to experience their whole growing storyline. It's also especially good because s1 actually provides you with scenes that show you their friendship and how they're so close, you see them hanging out, talking, their pictures together, everything was just really done well with them. Still have a bit of critique with the way Archie contradicted himself sometimes regardinf his feelings for Betty, but let's be honest, we've watched enough Riverdale to know that's just a problem with the writing.

- Kevin/Joaquin is still my favorite Kevin ship, i'm sad it's completely impossible to go back to them someday so for now i'll just be really glad it existed and that I got to see them even if it was short-lived. They had great chemistry and their kiss scenes always outsold.

- Beronica... sigh. Beronica. The most wasted chemistry i've ever seen on CW and I've watched a LOT of CW shows. There was so much potential there, s1 was practically overflowing with them and it's one of the reasons it became some popular. I remember when the Beronica fandom was the biggest one, ah, good times. Veronica and Betty were easily the best part of season 1, their friendship, their lowkey romantic moments, they were just superior in every way. This ship deserved better, not even just as a ship, but as a friendship.

- Veronica's s1 hair >>> Veronica's hair in seasons 2-4. I loved the side part and I am glad it's back in season 5, it looks so much better like that.

- Cheryl, as always, deserves better. Can't wait for her to meet Toni so I can watch again Cheryl finally get to love someone and be loved back, which is exactly what she deserves.

For now, that is all! I will probably make another post soon when i'm done with season one and from season two on I will be live-blogging the episodes since I will be watching it alone. Once again, pls, no hate, my thoughts are my thoughts. Peace.

#bri rewatches riverdale #riverdale #barchie #choni

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raayllum · 3 years

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Hi! Lover of shera here and i wanna say that im reading ur critiques of the show and im like "oh i didn't know that! Ill keep it in mind" and yea. People who cheered for catra when she basically took away hordaks disability aid had me like. Yikes. It felt like someone taking away my adhd meds "so i wouldn't have an advantage" but in reality you're taking away the thing that was making the race equal in the first place. Anyway I'm learning abt all this and yea. Just my thoughts, as a catra stan

before i had changed my view point on the series (which was two weeks after s5 came out), i did enjoy it, and i’ve also never been in the interest of blaming a creative work for the way fans react to / perceive it. atla is my favourite show and the fandom can be horrible and misunderstand a lot of what the show is actually about.

and this sort of thing is why i’ve always said i’m not an anti. do i think there’s something said about what gets popular in fandom and why? things people gloss over? oh yeah. do i also know sometimes it’s not that deep, and what’s off putting about a ship to me may be exactly what someone likes about it? or that it comes down to a difference of character interpretation? 100%.

what’s true for me and my ship and show preferences does not have to be true for anyone else. especially when no show is undoubtedly perfect. she ra, for me, just has more issues than most.

#thanks for asking #anonymous #shera #it's still better than voltron #Anonymous

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thethiefandtheairbender · 4 years

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disclaimer: I’ve only seen every season of shera once whenever each one dropped, including for this latest season, so some of my recollections may be fuzzy or even incorrect. if that’s the case, feel free to correct me, or to disagree — but do so civilly. a lot of these are also just my opinion and interpretation! while overall i love shera as a show, but it is much more of a mixed bag to me, and my reviews of season five and the series reflects that. if you don’t want to see any critique of shera, this might not be the post for you.

shera s5 review, spoilers galore

PROS

hands down the best season of the show with s1 as a close second

overall liked catra’s redemption arc but still could’ve done with it Starting, more so, internally like. half a season ago. that being said, “i made a promise to look out for [adora] a long time ago. it’s time i made good on that” was magnificent in the volumes it had and i loved it.

wrong hordak. Best Boy!!

first five episodes were really strong and so was the 2-part finale

it was just fun to see catra interact with glimmer and bow as well, warming up to them over the course of the season, and of course with being on better terms with adora - but more on that later.

altho it was mostly a plot device for letting the characters sneak by things, i did really like the magic cat and its bond with catra. very sweet.

i loved having more of an emphasis on bow’s internal struggles and him having support (largely from glimmer) rather than him doing emotional labour for everyone else.

was also very nice seeing his dads again and, if irc, in a more plot relevant way.

all of catra’s lil blushes.

catra having been plugged into the hive mind and mind controlled was continually used not only to inform her own experiences but also the plot. it could’ve easily been an already satisfying “one and done” episode thing, but it wasn’t and i loved it all the more for it.

maybe i notice them every season but. adora’s she-ra muscles. we love to see it.

glim/bow was incredibly sweet and that confession scene with the emphasis of “i love you. i love you.” was soooo good. i’ve been casually shipping these two and seeing the signs since s1 and it was cute/nice to see it come to fruition

glad we got to finally have netossa and spinerella’s relationship being confirmed this season with two kisses and netossa calling her “wife.”

scorpia and perfuma were adorable and seeing someone whole heartedly, selflessly, believe in scorpia was amazing.

i was glad to see another one of shera’s more ‘filler eps’ that still contributed really to plot and character, like the DnD ep a couple seasons ago, without Breaking Tone or narrative momentum.

liked seeing entrapta/hordak too, very cute!

adora. i’ve always loved how shera questioned the ‘chosen one’ narrative and what it actually means. from her solidifying her own legacy, getting her happy ending, being selfless but learning that she didn’t have to be, and her re-design / new transformation sequence, it was sooo good.

horde prime’s culty vibes were creepy and consistently foreboding. great endgame villain.

i liked that since horde prime was hordak’s primary abuser, he got to get rid of him himself. it’s something we don’t see hardly enough and adora had her hands full

i actually loved the final scene between hordak and adora. just that flashback to her as a baby, being discovered, to where they were now, as poignant and powerful and just. what a good end

adora and catra’s individual endings, and together, were amazing. and then as its own section, lmao:

Catra and Adora. I’m gonna talk even more about this in the series review, but I loved how in s5 in particular it felt like they were developing a Romance, clearly, explicitly. Not just a platonic bond that turned romantic near the end (which is what Korrasami felt like, and is still a good dynamic! but something more obvious was very welcome). Blushes, handholding, working out the bumps, and proving once and for all just how much these characters flat out care about each other, and that Catra cares more about Adora than anyone even if she’s only letting it rise to the surface now. There were so many sweet smiles and moments between them this season and I loved it. And the angst. Can’t forget the angst.

As for their canonicity, I’m honestly not surprised? I know some people were doubtful or didn’t think there would be a kiss, but I wasn’t doubtful or surprised at all. I wasn’t sure if they’d get to do all the lead-up as explicitly as they did (which was partially out of thinking Catra and Adora might only reunite later on in the season than they did) but I watch a LOT of Netflix cartoons and Dreamworks shows in general. Neither are shy about explicit rep, with TDP having three same sex couples, an onscreen lesbian kiss two seasons in with more on the way, and Dreamworks always being a company that pushes boundaries (just look at the dual disabled protagonists of the httyd franchise, or trollhunters/3below with some political commentary particularly in the latter). I guess people were worried after Voltron, which I always saw without a doubt as the show-runners fault, not Dreamworks itself. Looks like I was right.

So yeah, I always thought Catradora would 1) get together, and 2) kiss to confirm it. The I love yous were a beautiful bonus and what we deserve. (Looks like jumping off cliffs and having season finale I love yous is going to be a trend for my otps, now; I have zero complaints.)

WE LOVE!! TO SEEE IT!! i knew s5 would be the tipping point of either the show doing some new things, but also re-treading ground, or whatever it would set a whole new standard for queer rep, and i’m so, so glad it did the latter.

CONS

micah saying “baby girl” all darkly? weird vibes, thanks i hate it

swift wind.

horde prime’s hair reminds me of dreads and i’m not saying he’s black coded, but it is a little. uncomfortable? mostly because he’s the only villain with absolutely zero redeemable qualities.

after episode six while i was interested in how all the characters and catra would interact, it definitely felt more directionless in like, where the characters Wanted to go beyond a vague “we have to somehow defeat horde prime” that unfortunately didn’t go away until like, the finale.

theme of friendship and togetherness felt particularly heavy handed. sometimes less is more

still white washing mara. ok

shadow weaver’s “sacrificial redemption”? bullshit. why would she suddenly care about etheria being colonized by horde prime when she was genuinely trying to capture and rule it with hordak? hell, why wouldn’t she side with horde prime? esp when she was pushing glimmer to use the heart last season? and continued to try and manipulate adora and catra in s5 until she made a singular nice decision for both of them? bullshit.

double trouble was brought back in s5 pretending to be someone who would’ve been extremely important / useful, was saved, and then... amounted to nothing?

i didn’t really care about any of the princess b-plots (esp frosta and micah’s, but also entrapta + mermista and the others). the princesses to me have always felt like the weakest characters, personality and relationship wise in comparison to other characters on the ‘villain side’ like scorpia, lonnie, and kyle originally, but more on that in the series review.

also no defective squad this season, either, which is unsurprising but then sort of jarring to suddenly see them show up

the mind controlled princess fights got boring really quickly, because i never felt like anyone of them were going to be seriously hurt, i knew it was all going to be perfectly reversed by the end,

i feel like i watched good pacing slowly die (that b-plot of shadow weaver and castapella just... walking through the woods and having the argument twice) before it was suddenly revived for the finale. rip.

Things that went completely unacknowledged, particularly between Glimmer and Catra (kidnapping, that Catra opened the portal that led to Glimmer’s mother dying, etc.) and between Adora and Glimmer.

I appreciated having more focus on Bow, but the fact it was at the expense of more focus on resolving Glimmer and Adora’s friendship — because Adora couldn’t focus on Catra and Glimmer, apparently — is unfortunate. that being said i also felt like the drama between adora and glimmer in s4 was kinda contrived, anyway? so it didn’t bother me very much.

while i was happy hordak was the one who got rid of horde prime, and while that wasn’t his ultimate end, hordak just. lifting horde prime up and letting him drop was anticlimatic as hell

OTHER THOUGHTS:

This scene initially left me feeling quite conflicted. I was sad for Catra and Adora, who had spent almost half the season at this point rebuilding / re-strengthening their bond, to have been torn apart for half the finale. And while I’ve always been a Catradora shipper and that’s never changed as the series went on, I’ve also been evaluating canon for signs that the relationship wouldn’t actually be healthy (beyond the obvious). So to me, Catra choosing to flat out leave Adora because she thought her friend didn’t love her back in the same way, did send up something to be examined as “conditional support”. But Catra then proved it didn’t matter, as she chose to go back, stand by Adora anyway, and laid herself bare to save her friend, and was clearly surprised when Adora said, “I love you too.” So, we all good.

This nod to where Grayskull (ie. honour of graykull) came from was also very cool and a nice little touch.

Now, onto the series as a whole.

shera series review

Short-form? Solid 7/10, liked the main cast, satisfying conclusion overall, and nice queer rep. Might rewatch someday.

Long form down belong:

PROS:

The core four. I’ve always loved Adora, Bow, and Glimmer’s relationship with one another. All are great protagonists, even if sometimes I was frustrated with Glimmer and wanted more focus on Bow individually. Adora is a beyond fantastic protagonist for everything the series wanted to explore, in addition to being funny, properly heroic, flawed, and sympathetic. Catra is her equal deuteragonist and near equal in development, sometimes more so. They’re an amazing main cast with always endearing or interesting interactions and I’m so happy they’re happy together.

The villains. The antagonists and villains in She-ra, whether you love ‘em — Catra, Scorpia — like ‘em — Double Trouble, Hordak, Entrapta — or hate ‘em — Horde Prime, Shadow Weaver — have always been significantly sympathetic, threatening, cunning, or all three at once. (Here’s looking at you, Catra). All have very distinct personalities and relationships with each other and with the exception of Double Trouble and Horde Prime, have season spanning, over arching arcs. There’s twists and turns and are always entertaining. Catra and Scorpia are easily the standouts then, and Shadow Weaver will never be in my good graces, lmao.

Theme. The choice to tackle abuse so heavily surprised me when I first watched season one. Up until “Promise” the show had been a very standard “power of love and friendship” as its main theme, so to have the opposite side of it — the dark underbelly — made perfect sense but was still a definite turn to the series as a whole. I’m not a massive fan that every villain except Horde Prime got redeemed, but Catra and Hordak made sense to me, and before that, Scorpia and Entrapta. In terms of Catra and Adora both being characters able to leave the cycle of abuse they grew up in, and Hordak as another, I thought on a whole it was done sensitively and executed well. She-Ra’s friendships between the Best Friend Squad held up the happier half of this deep dive into interpersonal relationships just as well.

Animation style. I miss 2D Western animation, She-Ra’s style is cute and unique, they always have good water animation (thank you for my life) and I always appreciated that a more ‘girly’ art style was used for a decidedly action oriented show. It’s not my favourite animation style for 2D cartoons right now (that would have to go to “Carmen Sandiego” hands down) but it’s cute and I like the hugs.

Dissection of the Chosen One trope. Where Adora’s character and arc has shone strongest, tbh. I’ve always been fond of Chosen One stories — of someone being given a mantle they could not choose, as we are often saddled with responsibilities or obligations we didn’t choose in our own lives — and how they deal with those responsibilities. The reluctant hero has been a particular fave. Mara’s “I never wanted to be a hero; I won’t be remembered as one” broke my heart. Light Hope’s “You do not choose. You are chosen” sent chills down my spine. But this shining sentence from Mara illustrated what She-Ra has been driving home this whole time, successfully, and a lesson I know myself and others could do with more of. Bravo, truly.

Catra and Adora’s relationship, not even necessarily as a romance, although yes, that too, has always been one of the strongest parts of the show. She Ra is consistently at its best when these two are interacting. I remember coming out of S1 alone thinking that not only would these two be endgame, but that they had one of the most complex, developed relationship between two women on TV, period. All their development (particularly with the S3 finale as another turning point, and S5 as their conclusion) only emphasized this. When Adora was seeing multiple Catras walk towards her in season five — hive mind, childhood friend, enemy, etc. — I was reminded for the umpteenth time what a complicated, layered relationship this is, and how satisfying it was to watch it reach its natural end. The fact that it’s here and queer is even better and means a lot to a very queer me.

CONS:

Too many non-distinct relationships and one-note characters. Remember how I said I didn’t care about the princess b-plots in s5? Yeah, that basically goes for any season. And I just... don’t care about the other princesses? I just never got a sense that I got the best personality read on them, or that they had distinct relationships between that independent of the Best Friend Squad. Like I could tell you how Frosta and Glimmer’s relationship works, because I remember that one ep they devoted to it, but like. I cannot tell you how Frosta feels about literally any of the other princesses as anything other than a group collective, and the same goes for the rest of them. I feel like I know like, two or three traits about Perfma, Mermista, and Frosta respectively. And for these three in particular I think that’s a genuine problem because like, I can list flaws and good characteristics for Lonnie and Kyle, Scorpia and Entrapta, but the princesses? Of Power? We’re with these characters every season, and I feel like I barely know them whatsoever.

I remember Netossa being competitive once and Spinerella being nice? All the princesses are overall nice? I had a similar issue with Double Trouble (beyond them being another nonbinary non human / shapeshifer character who’s also. a villain. and the only nb character in the series. Moving on) and Bow’s dads. These characters may get 15-40 minutes (or more of screentime) but all seem very one note. And that’s not a bad thing, it’s fine, but it’s not gonna get me invested. Meanwhile I have characters in other shows, like The Dragon Prince or Trollhunters, where a character has only been around for 27 episodes, or is there for a few or one, but I feel like I really, really Know who they Are, and I’m way more attached and invested. I really felt this when Catra joined the Rebellion (I get why Scorpia was mind controlled bc we Like Her, but like — missed opportunity for her to be around Catra and resolve things between them, too?) and like. All of the princesses had exactly the same reaction with very few differences and none of those differences indicated anything about their characters or long standing, complex opinions about an enemy who didn’t mean anything Significant to anyone outside of the Best Friend Squad.

This lack of individuality also led to weak worldbuilding, imo. Like, the princesses sometimes back out of the Rebellion, but you always know they’re gonna come back. There’s very few cultures of each individual princess explored (except Perfuma, I think back in S1). Any of the more animalistic humanoids like Regelio or Catra ever seem to really interact with the world any differently than ‘fully human’ counterparts. Etherians are either on the side of the Rebellion, isolationist, or in the Horde. Those are the three things — and that tends to be the lines drawn in most war (ie. either one side or the other, or neutral) but like, there’s detailed subsections or subgroups or reasons why.

Kyle is in the Horde and exists differently in it than Catra, Adora, Scorpia, or Lonnie does. The same can be said for the rest of them. They all exist differently, have multiple distinctive relationships (ie. Lonnie with Kyle, Lonnie in the group, Lonnie with Catra, and with Scorpia, etc).

Can’t say the same for the princesses. This is why I didn’t care about their B-plots. Because it’s almost always a princess having an interpersonal relationship — one of them being a more one off character, like Huntara with Perfuma, or one off conflict, like Glimmer and Frosta — and it’s resolved because they’ve learned How to Be Friends, and that’s that. Every time. And again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, to not care about the side cast, or to want to teach lessons about friendship to a younger audience.

It’s just not by thing

Worldbuilding. She-ra has never had the most solid worldbuilding. Which is fine, because lots of fun things don’t. I don’t need to know all about the planet of Etheria, or any other planet, or have explanations behind all the princesses’ powers, or whatever. However, whenever the show does do worldbuilding or make it plot relevant, it never feels... all that solid? I still have no idea how magic works beyond the princesses having a rune stone, we never see how it works for anyone except Glimmer (which turns void once she becomes queen and doesn’t need to recharge anymore I think??) and Scorpia. Magic and the princesses’ powers can do whatever the plot needs it to, or needs it not to, without any tangible limitations or repeated consequences to over-usage, if that’s really even possible. (Again, I think Glimmer had issues, but that was it). Adora’s struggles with She-Ra happen more often, which makes sense, and I always felt like that, and She-Ra, was explained enough. The glimpses we get of Etheria’s history — the First Ones being colonizers, and not colonizers (war/colonization as a backdrop, not a focus, but more on that below) but Etheria’s saviour is also a First One etc. — as an example I found confusing / couldn’t keep straight. A wider galaxy is hinted at and presumably Horde Prime’s fall means all those other planets are free, and the Best Friend Squad does say they’re going to return magic, so it’s nice it’s acknowledged but... what does the return of magic, mean, really? How does it make any of them more powerful? So yeah, I kinda feel like I know nothing? Which wouldn’t be a problem, if She-Ra didn’t also try and act like it Has solid worldbuilding, sometimes. Because, in my opinion, it really doesn’t, and the expanding scope of every season didn’t really help matters when even simplicity was never really expanded on.

But like, in regards to the powers thing? Let little girls have their “I have cool super power” hero fantasy characters. I’m not gonna judge for it as a whole — kids aren’t going to be thinking about how the shopkeeper in s5 who was like “You’ll always be welcome here” doesn’t even have jurisdiction for it because she’s not mayor of that town.

Tone. Again, in the vein of: maybe I’m just getting too old, or don’t have a nostalgic filter for it, and She-Ra’s direct audience is for younger kids/girls than the cartoons I usually watch, but tone is something I feel She-Ra often struggled with. It would swing back from being a very serious, sometimes uncomfortable exploration of abuse, and simultaneously having a talking horse. And I get it, the show is made for younger girls.

But it does make me think of two of my favourite movies. Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996) is a masterpiece of animation and music, with an engaging and overall dark story to boot. But even without the talking gargoyles (although they don’t help) the move is tonally inconsistent. When it’s talking itself seriously, it is incredible. When it doesn’t... it flounders, and keeps the film from being the full on masterpiece it could be. Dreamworks’ “The Prince of Egypt” (1998) released only two years later is a story with a similar serious tone and also deals with religion, imo, in a way that’s even easier to mess up than critiquing the Church. The protagonist, Moses, even commits man-slaughter on screen at one point! Babies die! And it’s still very much a film for kids, and there’s jokes here and there, but overall, “the Prince of Egypt” is a serious film — and it acts like it. It sticks the tone and the film is so much stronger for it, and reaches heights that THOND just couldn’t.

Shows like ATLA are also ones I would let a five year old watch, like She-Ra, but it balances it’s sometimes very different tones excellently. She-Ra never quite managed to for me, and this is in some ways the series’ biggest problem. Like I said above, I was pleasantly surprised that the s5 “filler theme ep” was like, good, because except for the DnD episode a couple seasons ago, the one in s4 was a massive hit for me, disrupted tone and then we had to wait to get it back on track, and really slowed narrative momentum. And I remember thinking, “Oh, we’re doing this again?” back in s4 so. Not a solitary problem, either.

This is also why I had an issue with some of the show’s humour, like Swift Wind. Like even this past season, when Shadow Weaver and Castaspella were bickering over who got to reveal what they’d found, it felt like something only put in there to be funny. Not because it was actually in character. And while humour doesn’t always work for me even for characters I know are comic relief (like, Scorpia is consistently hilarious and endearing) even when their jokes miss, it always felt in character that they would make that joke. Didn’t usually get this feeling from She-Ra.

Also nothing can ever make me like Swift Wind. Never. If I never rewatch She-Ra in the future, it will single handedly be because I have asked myself, “Do you want to put up with the talking horse again?” and the answer was a resounding no.

(That being said: may do a rewatch one day, and will defs be a show I show nieces/nephews in the future when they’re the right age for it, so, we shall see.)

Other thoughts:

The fact that Hordak never realized that conquering Etheria was wrong (or like, that Catra, Scorpia, or Entrapta did, either) didn’t surprise me because the war has always been used as a backdrop for driving interpersonal challenges and questions for characters more than anything else. The focus on war itself was never going to be there, but the show made it clear what themes it was going to focus on early on. Even if it may be a little odd in retrospect but like. I’m not mad at it, so whatever? Like I said: for other thoughts.

Conclusion

She-Ra is a beautiful mixed bag with some truly great arcs, characters, and rep. It’s not for everyone, but it made me happy and I enjoyed my time watching it. It’s impact on raising the standard of what queer rep can be and dynamic relationships on female led projects will last for a long time, and I’m very proud that Dreamworks (my fave animation studio) took the leap with them.

For the honour of grayskull! (And till next time!)

#spop spoilers #spop #shera #dreamworks #catradora #if you disagree with me - great!! i don't care #make ur own post and respect mine plz #dragons reviews #if the cons sections seem longer it's bc i feel like critiques need more explanation behind them sometimes lmao #analysis #shera meta #mine

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sweet-fandom-trash · 4 years

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She-ra season 5 spoilers below!!!

(Reposting cause the first time didn’t work)

What up, so I made this account just to look at fandom content and not really intending to post anything, but that last season of she-ra really blew my mind and got me thinking about a lot of things. So here’s just some of my thoughts about how catra and adora deal with emotions and how that relates to their arcs and the finale. Also threw in how I relate cause why not. It’s really long and some of it probably doesn’t make sense bc I’m just kind of word puking, but I just needed to get my thoughts out. Also pls no hate these are just my thoughts, although feel free to add on or to critique anything I may have gotten wrong politely.

Ok first catra: Catra has been abused and told she wasn’t good enough, she wasn’t worth anything and that no one cared abt her. And bc of this she doesn’t express her emotions because she’s afraid of getting hurt, and that also causes her to lash out at people which can complicate things even more. She understands she has these emotions, But she refuses to accept them and express them bc she thinks that she doesn’t matter and she’s afraid of being vulnerable.

Now onto adora: Adora has been abused to think that she needs to be perfect for everyone else and it’s her job to make sure Everyone else is ok. She never learns to consider how she’s doing or what she wants. This causes her to push away her emotions and not think abt them Bc she sees them as a distraction or a weakness. She doesn’t allow herself to feel/want things bc it Gets in the way of being a hero.

And relating that to catradora, I think catra knows abt her feelings for adora but she’s afraid to show them bc she thinks adora doesn’t want her back, meanwhile adora has feelings for catra but doesn’t even recognize Them (or she kind of knows but refuses to think abt it) bc she keeps pushing her emotions back and ignoring them. That’s why catradora is perfect and the ending makes total sense. Catra accepts that she’s not going to be the center of adora life 24/7, but she still chooses to go back and help bc she cares abt adora sm. She finally realizes that she has to express her feelings abt adora even if those feelings aren’t requited. that’s the only way she can accept the feelings and accept that she’s worth it and it’s ok to be vulnerable, and it allows her to move on if adora doesn’t feel the same. Adora on the other hand, finally realizes her feelings for catra bc catra told her she loved her. She realized that ignoring her emotions wasn’t helping her be a hero, it was Holding her back from being She-Ra. And by realizing this, she finally accepts that she is allowed to want things and a future for herself, (a life with catra). When she does this she allows herself to accept catras love, and then return it. They kiss and now that adora finally finds a balance, she is able to become she ra and save everyone, because she finally put herself first. Catra has broken her cycle of lashing out and holding in her emotions by expressing her love for adora, and that helps adora finally understand her feelings for catra while also helping her recognize she can’t push her emotions away to be a savior. In that moment adora finally realizes that she’s not just she-ra she’s also Adora and she deserves to love and feel loved. And when adora says ilyt, catra finally realizes that she’s not alone and people do care abt her so she should stop venting her Feelings in the unhealthy way of lashing out. Both of them help each other recognize their flaws and get past them so they find a balance with each other and their emotions, and that’s why they are perfect together.

That’s why this show is so important, it gives people extremely relatable characters, and it shows them going through a lot And making mistakes, but then it shows them recognizing their flaws and working to fix them in order to get that happy ending. Catradora DESERVES that happy ending because they both worked so hard for it. This show is telling people that emotions are Complicated and you are flawed and you are going to make mistakes, but you have to keep trying and one day you will find that balance and be happy. Just like the intro says, we must be strong, and we must be brave.

Wowza that was quite a lot and I definitely repeated stuff but oh well. Anyways to wrap it up I absolutely LOVED s5 and the whole show and I’m so satisfied with the ending. Obviously it does have its flaws, but every show does and I do think the good things far outweigh the flaws. This rep and show made me so happy so thanks crew-ra. Also thanks to the fandom for all the great fanart, fanfics, edits, memes, etc... you guys made this show so special and so fun to watch, this fandom was such a joy to be apart of. This show and everything surrounding it will always have a special place in my heart 💗

#shera season 5 #she ra spoilers #shera #shera and the princesses of power #catradora #spop s5 #catra #adora #these two lesbians love each other so much and i cant get over it

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wherestoriescomefrom · 4 years

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If you could change something about She ra, what would it be?

Anon I love you for asking this omg, I get to be as self indulgent as possible!!

I truly think that the show got so many things correct, in the sense that I love the pacing and the story, everything is so thoughtfully written and considerate of character arcs. But I did have a few things I wanted more OF so:

1. There’s a bunch of minor characters I was really missing: Madame Razz. I loved the episode with her and the different timelines. I’d have liked to see more of her in s5. ALSO Double Trouble. I wept when they asked Seahawk to lift their hand in the theatre. AND OFC, MY HOT WIFE HUNTARA.

2. AN EARLIER CATRA REDEMPTION JUST FOR THE LOLS. This is the same energy as me wanting two seasons of Zuko hanging out with the Gaang, and no I will not apologise.

3. I was really hoping we’d get to see Queen Angella again.

4. This one is actually a more genuine thing, but I’d have liked to see more of the cultures in Etheria before colonisation. I’ve talked in this post about what I felt about She Ra’s portrayals of imperialism, and how the subtle critique of the First Ones is very clever, but I’d have liked to see some more of it.

#spop #fandom meta #hello void this is ridiculosity #the people??? want me to answer???

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sweet-fandom-trash · 4 years

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She-ra s5 spoilers below, read at your own risk!!

Ok I just want to write abt how adora and catra deal with their emotions and how I relate to them bc I have a lot feelings and this is how I’m expressing them. Ok first catra: Catra has been abused and told she wasn’t good enough, she wasn’t worth anything and that no one cared abt her. And bc of this she doesn’t express her emotions because she’s afraid of getting hurt, and that also causes her to lash out at people which can complicate things even more. She understands she has these emotions, But she refuses to accept them and express them bc she thinks that she doesn’t matter and she’s afraid of being vulnerable.

And relating that to catradora, I think catra knows abt her feelings for adora but she’s afraid to show them bc she thinks adora doesn’t want her back, meanwhile adora has feelings for catra but doesn’t even recognize Them bc she keeps pushing her emotions back and ignoring them. That’s why catradora is perfect and the ending makes total sense. Catra accepts that she’s not going to be the center of adora life 24/7, but she still chooses to go back and help bc she cares abt adora sm. She finally realizes that she has to express her feelings abt adora even if those feelings aren’t requited. that’s the only way she can accept the feelings and accept that she’s worth it and it’s ok to be vulnerable, and it allows her to move on if adora doesn’t feel the same. Adora on the other hand, finally realizes her feelings for catra bc catra told her she loved her. She realized that ignoring her emotions wasn’t helping her be a hero, it was Holding her back from being She-Ra. And by realizing this, she finally accepts that she is allowed to want things and a future for herself, (a life with catra). When she does this she allows herself to accept catras love, and then return it. They kiss and now that adora finally finds a balance, she is able to become she ra and save everyone, because she finally put herself first. Catra has broken her cycle of lashing out and holding in her emotions by expressing her love for adora, and that helps adora finally understand her feelings for catra while also helping her recognize she can’t push her emotions away to be a savior. In that moment adora finally realizes that she’s not just she-ra she’s also Adora and she deserves to love and feel loved. And when adora says ilyt, catra finally realizes that she’s not alone and people do care abt her so she should stop venting her Feelings in the unhealthy way of lashing out. Both of them help each other recognize their flaws and get past them so they find a balance with each other and their emotions, and that’s why they are perfect together.

Also adding on to that as if it wasn’t long enough, i relate to both of them in different ways. Like catra, I do tend to bottle up my emotions because I’m afraid to express them and I think that no one cares. I’m also hateeee being vulnerable. But I also relate to adora in the fact that I tend to ignore what I’m feeling either bc I get overwhelmed or bc I feel like I have to focus on other things.

#she ra spoilers #she ra season 5 #spop s5 #she ra #shera and the princesses of power #catradora #catra #adora #she-ra

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