She-Ra's second and third seasons are a bit strange, as they were originally intended to be just one season that ended up being split in half. As a result, I can't really talk about one without talking about the other.
While Season 1 focused on assembling the titular princess team, Seasons 2-3 raise the stakes a little bit, or at least Season 3 does. Since Season 2 is only the first half of the intended season, it's mostly fairly episodic outside of the last two episodes. Anyway, the main plotline of this season is that Hordak is trying to build a portal to Horde Prime, while Adora is trying to find the ship of the previous She-Ra, Mara. As a whole, I don't think these main storylines are the most interesting, rather it's how the characters get involved. Shadow Weaver is given more depth and backstory as she switches sides, Adora learns she's part alien in a super cool plot twist, Catra becomes way more complex and morally grey as I'll explain later, Entrapta develops a cute friendship with Hordak, and even Glimmer's mom Angella gets some moments of her own. Frankly, the story doesn't become truly amazing until Season 4, but the character work in these two seasons are even more top-notch than before.
Season 2 is the lighter of the two seasons, mostly composed of a few light-hearted episodes with the exception of the last two. It's probably the funniest season of the series, with episodes like White Out and Roll With It being genuinely really hilarious. It ends on a weird note as the finale Reunion doesn't quite feel like one, though it's still a great episode with some really good representation and a tense double cliffhanger. Season 3 is one episode shorter and feels a bit stranger paced, mostly because it is intended to be the darker second half of a larger season, but I'd say it's generally the stronger half. It has a surprising premiere, a fun arc in the desert, and a tense final bunch of episodes that executes the concept of the "What If?" scenario better than most shows I've seen (looking at you, Mr Robot). Overall, both seasons are pretty solid and improve on Season 1 in their own ways, it's just a shame that they had to be split up.
Catra Segment: In Seasons 2 & 3, Catra starts to spiral out of control a bit, especially during the episode Light Spinner, which has Shadow Weaver use Catra to escape and get to Adora, another example of the abuse and neglect Catra has to deal with. In Once Upon A Time In The Waste, Catra gets to become a gang leader and is truly happy for once in her life, she's surrounded by people who respect her and doesn't have to be in the Horde anymore, only to fall back into her vengeful ways upon running into Adora again. The season ends with Catra completely hitting rock bottom, burning her bridges with Scorpia and Entrapta and nearly erasing reality itself, causing Adora to finally call her out for being a lost cause. Catra is pretty much irredeemable right now, but she's also facing her consequences right off the bat! Pretty much everyone absolutely despises her right now, even her ex-best friend. Catra fell into the same type of abuse that SW inflicted on her, and is absolutely alone as a result.
Both seasons have some pretty good episodes, with these being my favorites:
Roll With It: This one was just adorable. There's not overarching plot here, it's just the team making a plan to storm one of the Horde's fortress, each character brainstorming their own idea. The highlight is easily the hilarious homage to OG She-Ra, but the whole episode is just packed with cute exchanges, funny moments, and good vibes all around.
Light Spinner: Easily the darkest episode of Season 2 (really just the only dark episode of Season 2), Light Spinner goes in depth on Shadow Weaver's backstory and her original identity. But that's not the real emotional punch of the episode, rather it's her using Catra to escape, made even worse when we learn she's going to see Adora.
Moment Of Truth: This is easily the most intense episode of the season, a mad chase to stop Catra from activating the portal before she destroys reality, something that feels like it could be a season finale. This episode has Catra's worst act, sending Entrapta off to die and potentially destroying reality is gonna be a hard thing to come back from.
The Portal: I was worried when I learned the last two episodes of the season would be a "What If?" episode, as they tend to not have any ramifications on the overall story. Boy, was I wrong! The decision to not have this episode take place in a literal AU was a genius one, because dramatic scenes like Adora calling out Catra and Angella's heartbreaking sacrifice actually stuck. We also got to meet Micah, Mara, and Horde Prime himself, ending the season on a big cliffhanger.
Overall, Season 2/3 suffer a bit from being split up and its story isn't super compelling, but in terms of humor, drama, and character work, this is far and away an improvement on Season 1. And the show just keeps getting better...
Season 2: 3/5 Stars
Season 3: 4/5 Stars
3.5/5 Stars
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