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She-Ra and the Princesses of Power |OT| Sword to Reboot!
- Thread starter spookyduzt
- Start date
Damn Netflix gets this AND Avatar The Last Airbender today? My daughter and I are in for a treat this weekend.
This was a pretty great final season. Probably the best the show has been since season one for me. They did a lot of solid character work, the voice acting was wonderful, and the main villain was way better then I thought they would be. My only real nitpick is that I wasn't thrilled with how they used Shadow Weaver, but that's because I have always hated her the most.
I gave up on Voltron about two season in, but I've seen a lot of people echo this sentiment. Did it do something real bad, or just the usual queerbaiting?
This expresses everything I felt about that dynamic way better then I could. I can see this comparison coming up a lot and it feel really unfair to the character work that was put into not just this final season, but the whole show. It wasn't perfect, but I still think it was pretty well done.
I gave up on Voltron about two season in, but I've seen a lot of people echo this sentiment. Did it do something real bad, or just the usual queerbaiting?
The showrunners revealed that Shiro is gay at SDCC 2018 while airing the first episode of S7, revealing Shiro's ex boyfriend Adam. For weeks leading up to the release of the season, they really play up Shiro's sexuality and how great it is that they could do this for the LGBTQ+ community.
Adam is killed a few episodes after the first episode and is used to fuel Shiro's angst when he returns to Earth. Also Shiro barely speaks for the whole season and is kind of just there. He gets a few cool moments in the season near the end, though.
In S8, Shiro's character is reduced even further to a more generic commander role and barely interacts with the main cast. His relationship with the male characters, especially Keith who he was popularly shipped with, is also nonexistent.
At the end of the show during the slideshow epilogue, he gets married to a random male crew member on the ship he commands. This male character maybe speaks once during the entire show. The wedding scene with the kiss is made the final scene of the show and is a very short animated scene. It is played up as being a very triumphant moment even though we do not know why Shiro marries this man, what kind of person he is (his name is Curtis but even the audio description called him Adam lol so take that as you will), and it is just clearly there to make up for killing Adam in S7 and to say they had the first animated mlm kiss on television.
This is just the cherry on top of the shitty story choices made at the end.
Adam is killed a few episodes after the first episode and is used to fuel Shiro's angst when he returns to Earth. Also Shiro barely speaks for the whole season and is kind of just there. He gets a few cool moments in the season near the end, though.
In S8, Shiro's character is reduced even further to a more generic commander role and barely interacts with the main cast. His relationship with the male characters, especially Keith who he was popularly shipped with, is also nonexistent.
At the end of the show during the slideshow epilogue, he gets married to a random male crew member on the ship he commands. This male character maybe speaks once during the entire show. The wedding scene with the kiss is made the final scene of the show and is a very short animated scene. It is played up as being a very triumphant moment even though we do not know why Shiro marries this man, what kind of person he is (his name is Curtis but even the audio description called him Adam lol so take that as you will), and it is just clearly there to make up for killing Adam in S7 and to say they had the first animated mlm kiss on television.
This is just the cherry on top of the shitty story choices made at the end.
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so that was good.
I personally think catra went a bit too far last season but considering they're redeeming Hordak, this is full DBZ or Steven Universe
ofc catra's my favorite character and i'm glad with the result so i won't complain too much ;P
the attention to detail they put into every single glance catra and adora shared this season was impressive. I would have been real mad if they didn't get together after that lol
ofc catra's my favorite character and i'm glad with the result so i won't complain too much ;P
the attention to detail they put into every single glance catra and adora shared this season was impressive. I would have been real mad if they didn't get together after that lol
oh wow, that sounds horrible. No wonder fans were so hurt. That makes me appreciate what this show was able to accomplish even more. I'm actually kind of sad it's over, even though the ending was pretty satisfying. I hope this leads to more work for Noelle and the crew soon.
If you look back in the thread, there was a tweet possibly hinting at a Lumberjanes animated series (based on a graphic novel series which Noelle wrote on).
Binged the season with my girlfriend.
I have more thoughts but I'll save them for later.
I'm emotionally exhausted, in a good way. I take back every bad thing I said about Noelle Stevenson and this show. Bless her and the rest of the crew for that ending and everything else in the season. The show is still imperfect but they did a good job of making Catra and Adora's relationship work and feel earned in the end.
I have more thoughts but I'll save them for later.
I completely forgot about that. I hope it gets made, that would be a great animated series.
I liked it.
But if I could make one small change
But if I could make one small change
People lean in more with Shadow Weaver being the worst and Shadow Weaver learning about Catra saving Glimmer.
So when Shadow Weaver sets up the barrier and Catra asks "What are you doing?" Shadow Weaver takes off her mask and responds "My one good thing."
I could try and justify that but to be honest I just really liked that line.
So when Shadow Weaver sets up the barrier and Catra asks "What are you doing?" Shadow Weaver takes off her mask and responds "My one good thing."
I could try and justify that but to be honest I just really liked that line.
didn't think i'd have to deal with getting your hair cut to show a change of personality in this show, but i should have known better
My boyfriend and I binged season 5 today and we both agreed that there were some...flaws with the writing in this show. It felt like a lot of characters got sidelined in order to focus on Catra and Adora's relationship. I feel like there should have been a season 6.
The show received an order of 52 episodes. I don't think a season 6 was ever an option.
I think it's more of an issue of there being too many characters. The show overall definitely has some structural and pacing problems.
Catra's character development this season started before the hair change. At least the haircut makes sense given that all the Hordak clones have similar slicked back hair. The only haircut that Catra performs herself is the removing of the grey tufts behind her ears, which occurs between S3 and S4.
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I feel like the show having too many characters is a side effect of the original show having a ton of characters designed to do nothing but sell toys. But the writers were absolutely right to sideline them for the finale. The Adora/Catra relationship is the beating heart/emotional core of the new series.
One thing I rather liked this season was how they kept modifying the opening.
Here's all the variations of the title card.
Here's all the variations of the title card.
Ep 1
Ep 6
Ep 7
Ep 8
Ep 11
Ep 13
Ep 6
Ep 7
Ep 8
Ep 11
Ep 13
...Hrm.
I feel that
All in all, managed to tie things up relatively okay, all things considered.
I feel that
Catra's turn around, while relatively well executed, is maybe a wee bit lacking? She tried to destroy the entire universe back in season 3 or what have you.
I'm not opposed to Catradora, by any means, but in the grand scheme of things, Catra's motivation being reduced to 'I'm angry because Adora left me, which means she doesn't love me' at its core - it feels like it doesn't fully 'gel' with her previous actions and headspace in previous seasons.
Also kinda sorta feels wonky given that Adora doesn't REALLY express 'love' to Catra ever before this season, either - friendship yes, but IDK about love - there's subtext, sure, but it becomes maintext a bit abruptly.
Bit too much karma-houdinin'ing for both her and hordak-offshoot, tbh - and I love Mermista for pointing it out multiple times, lol
I'm not opposed to Catradora, by any means, but in the grand scheme of things, Catra's motivation being reduced to 'I'm angry because Adora left me, which means she doesn't love me' at its core - it feels like it doesn't fully 'gel' with her previous actions and headspace in previous seasons.
Also kinda sorta feels wonky given that Adora doesn't REALLY express 'love' to Catra ever before this season, either - friendship yes, but IDK about love - there's subtext, sure, but it becomes maintext a bit abruptly.
Bit too much karma-houdinin'ing for both her and hordak-offshoot, tbh - and I love Mermista for pointing it out multiple times, lol
All in all, managed to tie things up relatively okay, all things considered.
One thing I rather liked this season was how they kept modifying the opening.
Here's all the variations of the title card.
Ep 1
Ep 6
Ep 7
Ep 8
Ep 11
Ep 13
I skipped the opening when I binged. This is great. Spinnerella and Netossa go through a whole journey just in these openings. I love it.
There are other neat changes in the opening aside from the title card.
That's cool. I'm going to have to check it out on a rewatch sometime soon.
Yeah, some things were handled a little neatly, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.
I think there is enough subtext to kind of sell Adora having similar feelings for Catra. Especially in season 1. Part of me wonders if it was something they had to keep downplayed because of Dreamworks. Having a queer lead in a kids show is huge, so maybe they had to keep it kind of subtextual until the final season. This is a total guess though. Still, I am pretty thrilled with what was delivered, and the Catra Adora dynamic wound up a lot better then I really thought it would be in the end.
Overall I liked it, I do agree though that Catra's redemption arc was a bit rushed, the season could've done with a few more episodes especially to focus on the group coping with adding Catra to the gang instead of just blindly accepting it. Something like how they did it with Zuko in Avatar would've worked better but the main relationship they pulled off really well. I could tell where they were going with it though from the moment Hordak Prime mentioned Catra had dilated pupils and elevated heart rate. And since I was totally on board with the ship I'm so glad they went with that route and they handled it much better than say Korrasami.
It's still a bit of an issue where the character can only be Lesbian in the last episode of a show. Basically occured across Korra, Adventure Time and this. But that's fine.
Overall I enjoyed the show. My main gripe throughout the series was the major gap between the goofy loviness of it all and complete evil going on. It felt weird to have all this Hordak stuff going on with their henchmen, but the henchmen were all goofs. It felt neither side took the conflict particularly seriously? We're fighting a war, but also let's have a sleepover. I enjoyed that Hordak Prime was actually evil at least.
Also characters just not learning from mistakes - half of the episodes were "We're trying to sneak around" "Entrapta or Perfuma walk directly into danger and yell loudly".
Overall I enjoyed the show. My main gripe throughout the series was the major gap between the goofy loviness of it all and complete evil going on. It felt weird to have all this Hordak stuff going on with their henchmen, but the henchmen were all goofs. It felt neither side took the conflict particularly seriously? We're fighting a war, but also let's have a sleepover. I enjoyed that Hordak Prime was actually evil at least.
Also characters just not learning from mistakes - half of the episodes were "We're trying to sneak around" "Entrapta or Perfuma walk directly into danger and yell loudly".
Catra
Hordak
Glimmer is such a boss now. She probably got the best "final boss fight".
Really I just want to rewatch the whole dang thing again because I know I did miss a lot trying to watch it and wrangle the daughter at the same time.
redemption arc felt very rushed at first but eventually by the end was earned. Hated her the last couple of seasons but now I'm fairly ambivalent towards her.
Hordak
I wish had more screentime. Between Hordak, Shadow, and Catra his redemptive arc felt the most authentic. Not because he did some huge gesture, heel turn, or sacrifice, but just because Entrapta just brought out the best in him.
Glimmer is such a boss now. She probably got the best "final boss fight".
Really I just want to rewatch the whole dang thing again because I know I did miss a lot trying to watch it and wrangle the daughter at the same time.
Yeah, I quite like the little changes they do with Perfuma. It's a nice touch.
To be fair, however minimal it's been up to now, I think the show did a decent job establishing Adora as a queer character throughout the series, even though the ultimate payoff of her romance with Catra only happened in the closing episodes of the show.
Heck, Adora canonically has a thing for purple skinned Amazonian women! She's visibly crushed on two different characters in the show in S3 and 4 that had that build. She never once showed an interest or attraction to a male character for that matter either.
It's not perfect, but that's still a step in the right direction IMO.
Heck, Adora canonically has a thing for purple skinned Amazonian women! She's visibly crushed on two different characters in the show in S3 and 4 that had that build. She never once showed an interest or attraction to a male character for that matter either.
It's not perfect, but that's still a step in the right direction IMO.
As a fan of the original and the mythology I'm conflicted and envious of everyone without an attachment to the original and mythology, I hope we get some talk on how much of was navigating rights issues and how much were independent creative decisions. Still I enjoyed it and now I want a sequel series or movie or something that isn't a book or comic or any of that which most won't ever read. That...
updated She-Ra design and transformation tho, huge improvement. Catra's redemption was rushed but fine, no real problem with Adora and Catra being a thing, the end was great and almost set up a sequel of some sort and I'll be disappointed if we don't get at least a movie or something, let them find Eternia or some shit. I still wish there was more exploration of Adora's past, even if she was just a baby and that goes for Catra too.
It was fitting that the "honor of love" gave Adora the power, heh.
It was fitting that the "honor of love" gave Adora the power, heh.
Not sure if rights issues or creative decision with no relation but...
Grayskull is a squad name... Mara's squad name so it might mean more but it gets kind of avoided. =\
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Looking at interviews Noelle Stevenson has done regarding the finale and the show as a whole, executive meddling did play a part in what she and her team could do. This one is particularly illuminating.
www.digitalspy.com
Apparently "Princess Prom" in S1 didn't go over well with some exec(s), particularly Catra and Adora's dance. I very much get the feeling she gained more bargaining power at some point during production and/or supportive execs emerged. There's a clear dividing line between the last season and the rest of the show in terms of what they could do.
She-Ra boss and star break down that groundbreaking moment in the season 5 finale
Noelle Stevenson and Aimee Carrero break down that surprise ending.
www.digitalspy.com
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Looking at interviews Noelle Stevenson has done regarding the finale and the show as a whole, executive meddling did play a part in what she and her team could do. This one is particularly illuminating.
Apparently "Princess Prom" in S1 didn't go over well with some exec(s), particularly Catra and Adora's dance. I very much get the feeling she gained more bargaining power at some point during production and/or supportive execs emerged. There's a clear dividing line between the last season and the rest of the show in terms of what they could do.She-Ra boss and star break down that groundbreaking moment in the season 5 finale
Noelle Stevenson and Aimee Carrero break down that surprise ending.
I'm glad she was able to accomplish what she did. The payoff in the finale was great. It's really cool to see how far things have come since I was a kid, even if it still has a long way to go until shows like this are normal and not the exception. It's lame that the prom episode set some executives off. It was easily one of my favorite episodes of season one. The pearl clutching regarding queer characters is especially weird with a platform like Netflix that isn't dependent on advertisers like a broadcast show, so a conservative boycott should be less intimidating.
It's depressing that showrunners are still having to fight for this kind of thing, even after all the ground broken by Korra and Steven Universe. Very glad Noelle was able to do it in the end.Looking at interviews Noelle Stevenson has done regarding the finale and the show as a whole, executive meddling did play a part in what she and her team could do. This one is particularly illuminating.
Apparently "Princess Prom" in S1 didn't go over well with some exec(s), particularly Catra and Adora's dance. I very much get the feeling she gained more bargaining power at some point during production and/or supportive execs emerged. There's a clear dividing line between the last season and the rest of the show in terms of what they could do.She-Ra boss and star break down that groundbreaking moment in the season 5 finale
Noelle Stevenson and Aimee Carrero break down that surprise ending.
They were definitely struggling to juggle the sheer size of the cast at this point, but I still loved 99% of this even where they were having to sideline some people. Much more pleasant than the last season's steady stream of people being at each others' throats, even if it served the story as a whole.
I can't fucking *believe* they turned Catra around so quickly and made me buy it.
Her romantic affections always read as pretty one-sided to me throughout the show, and I thought the line where she admitted as much was them finally sinking the ship, but nope, big kiss ending. When you get the chance to have a canon gay lead on screen you take it and run, but from Adora's side it's the one piece of character work in the whole season I didn't think quite landed.
I can't fucking *believe* they turned Catra around so quickly and made me buy it.
Her romantic affections always read as pretty one-sided to me throughout the show, and I thought the line where she admitted as much was them finally sinking the ship, but nope, big kiss ending. When you get the chance to have a canon gay lead on screen you take it and run, but from Adora's side it's the one piece of character work in the whole season I didn't think quite landed.
I don't really get it either, you'd think DreamWorks and Netflix would want to have something that garners attention and critical acclaim like Steven Universe. I think it just comes down to conservative business thinking which is super short sighted.
I'm curious if the backlash against Voltron had anything to do with She-Ra gaining more freedom. It's hard to know how far along She-Ra was in the production process when that all occurred.
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From the sound of things, I get the feeling that Noelle probably got a lot more sway behind-the-scenes once the first season was released to the public and stuff like the Princess Prom episode and Catra/Adora's dance were praised and cited as highlights for audiences.
Also Noelle mentioned that she had to approach the show like a game of chess so she could pitch the finale in such a way where she could justify to the execs that Adora and Catra had to finally confess and become a couple for the story to make sense after everything they'd built up to.
Though honestly it wouldn't surprise me either if the Voltron backlash also played a factor too. It's hard to get a grasp on the exact timetable of the various seasons' productions.
Also Noelle mentioned that she had to approach the show like a game of chess so she could pitch the finale in such a way where she could justify to the execs that Adora and Catra had to finally confess and become a couple for the story to make sense after everything they'd built up to.
Though honestly it wouldn't surprise me either if the Voltron backlash also played a factor too. It's hard to get a grasp on the exact timetable of the various seasons' productions.
Can we talk about Netossa and Spineralla for a sec?
This season made them both stone cold badasses.
I am legit surprised at how great they have been.
This season made them both stone cold badasses.
I am legit surprised at how great they have been.
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Yep, they are a real power couple. Unfortunately it was hard for the emotional beats to land for me since they had been background characters for so long.
I'm gonna miss the show :(
Needless to say I enjoyed the season and ending. I was so infinitely tickled by wrong Hordak. I have no idea how they do it every time.
Also, seeing it rated 18 here in good old Singapore told me all I needed to know about
Needless to say I enjoyed the season and ending. I was so infinitely tickled by wrong Hordak. I have no idea how they do it every time.
Also, seeing it rated 18 here in good old Singapore told me all I needed to know about
how gay it would be.
I expected the show to be good (Lumberjanes is fantastic) but not this good. Really strong final season, if I ever have a daughter I'd love to watch this with her.
I would've loved to have an epilogue episode but other than that, this was awesome.
I would've loved to have an epilogue episode but other than that, this was awesome.
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