She-Ra: Princesses Of Power is a reboot of the spinoff of the iconic 80s Saturday Morning Cartoon He-Man. I haven't seen either of the originals and don't entirely want to, so I will not be comparing the She-Ra reboot to them at all. She-Ra deserves to be reviewed on its own merits, because it's an excellent and ground-breaking animated series with likable characters, complex themes, and a phenomenal second half. It's also incredibly gay.
She-Ra: Princesses Of Power is about Adora and Catra, who were both originally raised to be a part of the Horde, an army bent on taking over the planet. Adora finds a sword that turns her into She-Ra and sets off with her two new friends Glimmer and Bow to assemble a rebellion to destroy the Horde, while Catra is left feeling betrayed that her best friend left her and becomes Adora's enemy. There are a lot of other characters here such as the eclectic cast of princesses that Adora assembles, from the snarky Mermista to the hotheaded Frosta (yes, I said hotheaded). All of the characters in She-Ra have unique designs and personalities that help them stand out as memorable, even if they don't become super fleshed out until later seasons. This season follows a fairly standard save the world plot, so the real highlights are Adora and Catra themselves. They're both super complex and interesting characters with a compelling parallel, both having their own major flaws to overcome spawned by their abusive upbringing under Shadow Weaver, yet they both end up going in different directions, Adora joining the heroes and Catra doubling down on being a villain. Their relationship is the beating heart of the series, and this first season does a good job at laying the groundwork for what's to come.
Something I really liked about this season is the pacing. For most of the first half, each episode is focused on Adora's team trying to recruit a new princess to the alliance. Then, halfway through the season, they reunite for the big Princess Prom, which shifts the storyline to something far more serialized and serious... or at least until the pretty standard "power of friendship" finale. While Adora, Catra, and to an extent Glimmer have a lot of character development and depth throughout the season, I sadly can't say the same about most of the cast, which ends up just making this season feel somewhat predictable and basic, especially compared to the later ones. And while I think the pacing is strong, the fact that the season spends half of its time establishing characters means that things don't get really exciting for a while. As for the animation, I think it's alright. I already praised the character designs, and the art style is clean and expressive, but the action is pretty weak, and I wouldn't say it gets much better throughout the series. On the other hand, I really like the background score, and it becomes legitimately killer in key moments of the show. I'd say the entire score is amazing, but the opening theme is pretty grating.
Catra Segment: Okay, so Catra is an insanely complex and interesting character, probably my favorite of all time, so each season is going to have a little segment that unpacks her development and character arc. Season 1 introduces a lot of the core elements of Catra's character, her jealousy and fear of betrayal, her feeling like second fiddle to Adora, and her abuse under Shadow Weaver. But for most of the season, Catra's heart really isn't in being evil, at least not until Promise which has her enter the citadel and confront her own past, at which point she fully turns on Adora for breaking the promise she made about always protecting her. At this point, Catra is very much a villain with a sad backstory and history with Adora, who still hopes she can get her to change her tune.
While it takes some time to get there, She-Ra's first season does have some really great episodes in its second half:
Princess Prom: I don't think this episode would be nearly as satisfying if we didn't have that first half to introduce us to most of the cast in isolation, so now that we have an episode where the entire cast unites at one place, it feels huge! There are a ton of cute character interactions, particularly that amazing dance scene between Adora and Catra. And then there's the pretty surprising cliffhanger which has Catra get a win by capturing Glimmer and Bow, and She-Ra's sword.
No Princess Left Behind: And coming right after Princess Prom, we get the first teamup as the Princesses unite to create a rescue mission. It's a ton of fun, at least until it isn't and everyone leaves Entrapta behind because they think her to be dead. Did that mistake have a lot of ramifications for the future...
Promise: Easily the best episode of the season, Promise is pretty much a two-woman play (with a ton of horror and bizarre situations) that has Adora and Catra stuck in the citadel together and forced to work out their problems. It's an emotional episode that really makes you understand both of these characters' point of view, especially Catra's and the abuse she had to face in the Fright Zone, and the final scene where Catra lets Adora fall to her supposed death is tragic but also perfectly in character.
Battle For Bright Moon: Given the emotional rollercoaster that is Promise, this finale did feel a bit on the simple side. Still, it was great to see most of the Princesses reunite for that big final battle, Glimmer's character arc ends on a strong note, and I like how the Horde's actions didn't immediately get reversed in the end, there were still lingering consequences like how the forest was still frozen.
Overall, She-Ra's first season is fine. It has great pacing, a strong cast, and a great second half, but it's also pretty basic and it takes some time before it really starts to unpack some of the characters.
3/5 Stars
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