She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 1
November 16, 2018 7:01 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe

She-Ra is back and re-imagined because that's what we do now.

There's a sword and a place called Eternia and transformation sequences and rainbow colors but no castles that look like skulls or anyone named He-man. So what's going on here? Episode one introduces us to Adora, who gets promoted to Force Captain in the Horde within minutes of us meeting her. Not long after that Adora encounters a mysterious sword in a mysterious forest and becomes the mysterious She-Ra. Well, mysterious to her anyway. And it turns out a lot of things are mysterious to Adora, including much of the world and her place in it.

Despite being the lead, Adora is the audience's proxy by virtue of ALSO not knowing what the heck is going on here.
posted by phearlez (55 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
So I turned this on one afternoon after seeing Alexandria Erin talking about it on twitter. Anything that makes the incel/homophobe/ruining-my-childhood crowd angry I'm willing to support briefly.

I was somewhat surprised to find myself four episodes in before I thought much about it. Part of that is my personal sucker-dom for an origin story and the fact that I'm not scratching that itch with comics anymore, but the other part is that the story is peppy and the characters pretty likable and there's the looming so what does this have to to with the old cartoon anyway? question.

I never really watched that cartoon, but being firmly GenX I was well aware of it. This is more interesting and better done, but... wouldn't it have to be?

I'll probably go on to ep5 which is more than I can say for a lot of stuff I try of late so I thought it would be fun to talk a little about it. I'd be interested in the reactions of anyone who used to watch and like the old show. To my ignorant eye they seem to be playing with the implication that this is the same world but a lot of years later, but perhaps that doesn't survive any real knowledge of the old show?
posted by phearlez at 7:07 PM on November 16, 2018 [1 favorite]




A friend gave me her password and I immediately binged the show. I loved the original. I paid money to see the He-man and She-ra movie in theaters, and in high school my knick name was She-ra.

The original was good for its time, but it wouldn't play as well now. I think the changes to the story are intelligent and add a lot to the characters.

Also the dynamic between Catra and Adora is wonderful. And the prom with Catra in the suit dancing with Adora? *chef kiss*
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 7:44 PM on November 16, 2018 [4 favorites]


I don't think I ever watched an entire episode of She-Ra (or He-Man) back in the day -- I was still a cartoon-watching kid/tween in their heyday, but those never grabbed me. But I'd heard about this reboot because of the troll brigade's reaction to the trailer, so, wanted to check it out.

I just finished watching the entire season, and really liked it. The animation style is gorgeous, love the colors, and the variety in character design. The writing, the voice-work, just terrific all around.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:46 PM on November 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


This was a delight and Scorpia is my favorite.
posted by nonasuch at 9:18 PM on November 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


Me: "Ugh why are they rebooting She-Ra, I am annoyed"
Also me: "I LOVE THIS AND MUST WATCH ALL THE EPISODES!!!!!!!!"

---

My 7-year-old, "No, She-Ra sounds dumb like a girl show."
Also my 7-year-old: "Mom, this is THE BEST SHOW WE HAVE EVER WATCHED!"
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:15 PM on November 16, 2018 [15 favorites]


Guys... guys... have you seen the Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews from Nov 13th (the day the show was released)? They're hilarious. All these people giving the show 1/2 star, complaining that the animation, voice acting, and stories are inferior to the 1980s version, and that there's too much LGBT and SJW propaganda.

I think this one is my favourite (CW: sexism, fat-phobia, trans-phobia):
"This is an extremely horrible reboot. I grew up with He-Man and She-Ra and watched both show. The original She-Ra empowered girls and it was so awesome to see that girls/women could be feminine, physically strong, and smart all at the same time. The women in the original She-Ra were strong women. This piece of crap that dubs itself as the new She-Ra has poor animation and looks very cheap.

There are overweight characters, which sends the message that having metabolic syndrome or obesity is ok and healthy. She-Ra looks like a man and she has no breasts and dark bushy eyebrows (maybe she is trans?). Bow acts like a girl and in the first episode starts folding and putting away clothes for Glimmer. Now back to She-Ra, so she has no breasts and looks like a boy demonstrating right away that the show is rife with propaganda messages for young girls.

Here are the main problems:
1. It is ok to look like a boy and act like a boy
2. You need to look and act like a boy in order to be smart and strong
3. You do not need any femininity or feminine traits such as breasts, hips, or gracile features blurring the lines between male and female. Therefore, you can assume She-Ra has not reached puberty yet nor ever will. So no period, no breasts, and no hips thus She-Ra will not ever be a mother.
4. That men have to take the role of women
5. And finally, that it is ok to be overweight and obese.

My daughter who is only 2.5 knows what boobs are and wants them, she is very girly but occasionally also plays with cars and trucks, and she looks like a girl and acts like a girl with no persuasion. The same goes for my son. My children will not be watching this anti-male, anti-female feminist propaganda. If I could give it 0 I would. Netflix and Dreamworks are working together to shape the way our children think and trying to set the course for their moral values leading them to believe in a world that is completely incongruent with reality. Terrible and extremely anti-female."
This one is pretty emotional:
"Insulting to the original series on multiple levels. It is absolutely heartbreaking that the legacy of She-ra is tarnished with this juvenile liberal propaganda. The character design, voice acting, and writing take a back seat to shoehorning in as many SJW agendas as possible. Avoid this one and hope it dies a quick death. #notmyShe-ra"
Aaaaanyhoo, I've only watched the first episode so far but I'm liking it. Looking forward to watching the rest.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 11:53 PM on November 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


LOL those reviews are hilarious! The original series was a hunk of shit, even for toy tie-ins (and it had approximately 3 1/2 frames per second).

Kids are home alone with me tonight, and after reading the rapturous reviews, I put it on for them. Everyone (including me) loved it. What a great show! I just loooooove the art work, it's gorgeous. The voice acting. Everything in it is amazing. Yay She-Ra!
posted by smoke at 1:47 AM on November 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


MY GF, A FEW DAYS AGO: There's a reboot of She-Ra.

ME: Seriously?

MY GF: People have been comparing it to Steven Universe.

ME: Are you kidding?

MY GF: Any interest in watching it?

ME: Not really, no ... I mean, I don't see why I would. I don't even have any nostalgia for that show.

MY GF: Looks like it's written by someone named Noelle Stevenson.

ME: Oh OK I'm in.


(Turns out, it's great!)
posted by kyrademon at 7:18 AM on November 17, 2018 [8 favorites]


As weird as it sounds, this is the first show my entire family (mom, dad, daughters 4 and 6) have watched together in ages.
posted by selfnoise at 7:19 AM on November 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


I was surprised how much I liked the animation -- I don't care for Noelle Stevenson's art style in her graphic novels, so I thought I wouldn't like it, but I actually like it quite a bit! And then I went back and glanced at Lumberjanes again, and I was like, yep, nope, still don't like it. I wonder what makes it attractive to me when animated but annoying when still! But yeah, I went in prepared to grit my teeth about the animation, but I turned out to really enjoy it.

This is another one that, like The Dragon Prince, we've been enjoying as a family -- the story is interesting and complex enough for adults, but appropriate for children, and that's such a rare thing these days. Ha, yes, as I'm typing: "As weird as it sounds, this is the first show my entire family (mom, dad, daughters 4 and 6) have watched together in ages." TOTALLY AGREE.

Also the voice cast has so many heavy hitters/recognizable voices, and I'm constantly delighted when a new character appears and I'm like "Hey, it's that guy from Black*ish! Hey, it's Heather from Crazy Ex Girlfriend!"
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:24 AM on November 17, 2018


Just finished the first episode. I didn't like the animation style in the preview stills, but I like it much better in motion. Still don't like the way She-Ra's hair is drawn, though.

As a woman of a certain age who grew up with She-Ra and still hasn't forgiven the former friend who took my extensive collection of action figures when we were in high school, I felt like I had known the new Adora, Carta, Glimmer, and Bow (especially Bow!) forever. But one thing that stung was the choice to make Angella, the only adult woman, the one who is most of the demographic who grew up with the original show, such an Other. She was drawn differently, she had a different accent, she was such a nagging mom! And I don't want to be a Ghostbusters bro. I love the focus on diversity and I do understand this is not my show. On the other hand, in some ways it kind of is, because this is an amazing family show, as others have mentioned. I just found it off-putting and it took me out of the moment for a bit. (Of course, part of this relates to how much older looking they looked in the original, where Bow had that 80s mustache and Angella and Glimmer almost looked the same age.) I'll get over it, it won't stop me from watching the show because I really did enjoy the episode, but it just felt really weird to me.
posted by Ruki at 9:36 AM on November 17, 2018 [1 favorite]


I never really liked the HeMan or SheRa cartoons as a little boy. I had pretty much forgotten everything about the She-Ra back story (zero character names besides She-Ra, name of the planet, none of it).

So I went in as cold as can be, only three episodes in so far, and wow Adora is great, so great I found myself doubting her when Catra presented her plan to possibly change the Horde from within. Adora’s innate goodness and loyalty to her friends has the potential to change the Horde. I get that she couldn’t stay in after the village atrocity.

Someone else on Twitter, I think Alexandra Erin retweeted her, characterized the show as a metaphor for growing up Fundamentalist Evangelical and struggling with the evil of the movement versus the drive to rescue family and friends still loyal to the movement. I think about that a lot... the need to “save” others is so deeply ingrained in Evangelicalism that even people who leave still want to save their loved ones, and I tend to mistrust and see as uncontrollable people who don’t change their methods when they change ideologies. This is reflected in the show by Adora’s mistrust of She-Ra, who so far is definitely a different character.
posted by infinitewindow at 9:48 AM on November 17, 2018 [6 favorites]


the 7 year olds in my life LOVE this show, had a sleep over last night and they binged the thing, when the last episode wrapped up at around 10pm (way past bedtime) the was a serious rebellion when I suggested it was time for bed.

They insisted on watching princess prom just one more time. When catra dipped adora a room of little boys and girls chanted "kiss kiss! kiss!!" out of fucking nowhere.

My heart, just cant take it.
posted by French Fry at 10:05 AM on November 17, 2018 [17 favorites]


... also there are now hand drawn She-Ra posters all over my house and a She-Ra snowman in my yard. I wasn't a big fan of he-man or she-ra as a kid and the old shows super don't hold up, so I wasn't really looking forward to this, but man, it's so good.
posted by French Fry at 10:08 AM on November 17, 2018 [6 favorites]


also anyone suggesting this show is MORE gay than He-Man clearly wasn't paying attention.
posted by French Fry at 10:12 AM on November 17, 2018 [4 favorites]


The fact reactionary nerds are so offended by this show is not the best part of the show, but is delicious icing on an amazing cake. I have seen people arguing both that the character designs all look the same AND it's bad that some characters are fatter than others unironically at the same time. They're all regurgitating talking points from their reactonary YouTube heroes and so desperate to pick it apart without watching it that it's amazing any of them can accuse supporters of being "NPCs" with a straight face.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 10:12 AM on November 17, 2018 [2 favorites]


It's very good, y'all. It's definitely a kids show, so the plot is pretty simple. However, the characters personalities, the designs, the action, the jokes, and the emotions... oh boy the emotions... are so good.
posted by runcibleshaw at 7:59 PM on November 17, 2018 [2 favorites]


I am NOT a little girl, rather a largish man, and I am liking almost all of the show a lot. My only real complaint is the candy floss theme song. Otherwise, I am enjoying this all the way down.
posted by Samizdata at 5:31 AM on November 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


There's going to be some terrific cosplay created from this reboot, fingers crossed for getting to see some group doing the Princess Prom (or at least a Catra in her tux).
posted by oh yeah! at 8:27 AM on November 18, 2018 [2 favorites]


I KNEW buying that maroon velvet blazer a few months ago was a good idea!
posted by Ruki at 11:00 AM on November 18, 2018 [6 favorites]


Is buying a maroon velvet blazer ever not a good idea?
posted by Tabitha Someday at 11:32 AM on November 18, 2018 [8 favorites]


Before the silly string party, yes
posted by phearlez at 12:26 PM on November 18, 2018 [1 favorite]


And now I have seen the episode with Seahawk and my life is complete. So. Awesome. The subsequent episode was good but so far 5 is my fave by a mile. Perhaps I will write a shanty about how much I loved it.
posted by phearlez at 6:44 PM on November 18, 2018 [4 favorites]


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
posted by Samizdata at 6:17 AM on November 19, 2018


OH MY GOD, I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH.

I was super-psyched about it because I loved He-Man and She-Ra as a little kid but don't actually remember many specifics about them because I was pretty little (ages 5-8) so I wouldn't have many complaints about changes made to the story. And I love Steven Universe and read that it was similar in tone. (Spoiler: it is.) IT'S SO SO SO SO GOOD. I love Catra so much and Bow and Adora and the HORSE. (The dude bro voice coming out of the sparkle rainbow unicorn and spouting revolutionary philosophy is so goddamn hilarious.)

Episode 8 just DESTROYED me. CATRA.

I let my three-year-old son watch a few episodes and he was mildly interested until the horse turned into a winged unicorn with a pink mane and then he looked at me like, "!!!!!"

Mermista is my favorite princess (the rest are all tied for second place because they are all GLORIOUS). I love her attitude. I would have been in love with Bow when I was eight years old. HE IS THE BEST ALSO.

And Netflix, I never skip the intro. I LOVE THAT SONG.
posted by Aquifer at 6:47 AM on November 19, 2018 [5 favorites]


The 8 year old and I had a She Ra marathon on Sunday snuggling on the couch while it snowed outside and we had such a great time. Kiddo tends to get a heavy dose of secondhand embarrassment when a character is embarrassed or doesn't know what's going on, and we needed to take a break early in the episode that introduced the flower people because it was too much of that thing, but aside from that, he was 100% sold. I am also in that group of "was a huge fan of She Ra as a little kid, don't remember any plots but I remember how powerful it made me feel," and this show definitely delivered that. We kept commenting on bits that reminded us of our favorite parts of ATLA and Steven Universe and Lumberjanes and The Adventure Zone and My Little Pony and Rescue Bots, all beloved of him. But I didn't feel like it was derivative at all, just its own great thing.

I hope they get to do more!
posted by tchemgrrl at 8:52 AM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]


"It has been an honour to serve with you, horsie."

On an unrelated note, a common trope in "TV show about a bunch of adventurers who save people" is that one of them is always evil-turned-good (but backslides every so often, and in the meantime always gets the best lines). It's kind of neat to see the world from their point of view for once.
posted by Mogur at 9:49 AM on November 20, 2018


I'm still meh on the Angella arc, but relieved her first episode self had a point. It's a bit heavy handed on the adults are awful aspect, but I think I'm just feeling some Gen X angst here.

I loooooove that they dropped the secret identity aspect. Love love love. I am so here for the fact that she's She-Ra but also Adora trying to figure out what that all means and everything's out in the open and THAT'S OK.
posted by Ruki at 2:16 PM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


When Scorpia hugged Catra, Catra reacted just like my younger cat when she gets hugged. Well, except she didn’t lick her fur smooth.

A+++, Catra, would hug again.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:59 PM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


I watched He-Man and She-Ra back in the day and remember a fair amount of the mythology. "Eternia" is the planet He-Man lived on and "Etheria" was the planet She-Ra was trying to take back from the Horde to make up for helping conquer it in the first place. Adam and Adora (the respective secret IDs) were twins and, not that you could tell from the animation, were actually supposed to be teens in the original. (There are a few episodes of He-Man where you can tell Adam is still a minor, based on things he's not allowed to do.). The thing is, nobody bothered with different action figure molds in the 80's so everyone had a buff/buxom adult body to match the toys.

She-Ra as a role passed down for generations is definitely a new mythology.
posted by Karmakaze at 8:27 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]


"Adora! Get back in the boat!"
posted by Mogur at 1:39 PM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]


I haven't finished this yet, but I like it a lot.

I don't have much to contribute, but the sequence where a regular horse is magically transformed into a rainbow unicorn/pegasus and reacts in panicked body horror is one of the funniest ideas I've ever heard of.
posted by figurant at 11:05 PM on November 21, 2018 [8 favorites]


I did like the exchange over whether the Horde is the bad guys where Bow says something like “you are called ‘The Evil Horde!” and Adora has “we don’t call ourselves that,” but not with very much conviction.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:22 AM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


I know they're kind of locked into that plot thread by the source material, but giving Adora a "Hans, are we the baddies?" revelation is quite amusing. You live somewhere called the Fright Zone and your boss is named Shadow Weaver.
posted by figurant at 2:47 PM on November 23, 2018 [5 favorites]


Shadow Weaver’s a boss fuckin’ name, right up there with Ghost Face Killah and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
posted by infinitewindow at 3:19 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


I have finally finished the whole season and have Thoughts
- I like Scorpia and her new design but I miss the ridiculous "New Jersey?" accent she had in the original She-Ra.
- I feel like the bad guys all got more attention and characterization than the good guys, Entrapta, Shadow Weaver, and Catra all got a more satisfying arc than every good guy with the exception of Adora. Glimmer and Queen Angela are the only other two good guys that come close thanks to their strained relationship and drama about the dead King Micah.
- Did they ever explain Bow's deal? His deal isn't really explained in the original She-Ra either, as far as I can tell, but it'd be really cool to know what, uh, his deal is.
- Swift Wind was great. I'm not sure about how hard they lean into him being a revolutionary, but I have to admit his arc seems very believable for a normal horse magically turned into a sentient flying unicorn. Also: Adora turns a lizard into a flying unicorn lizard early on. I would be amused to see the lizard show up, maybe as the modern incarnation of Loo-Kee (Fuck, maybe he's already hiding in every episode...)
- Adora and Catra are great, former-friends-turned-rivals is always good for dramatic tension. It's also one of the hooks of Nimona so not surprising to see it show up here as well. The time they spend in the Crystal Castle's Mindfuck Chamber is great, as it crystallizes both Adora and Catra's resolve.
- Madam Razz IS the tragic former She-Ra, right?
- I would like to point out that She-Ra is a She and Cat-Ra is a Cat. There are other examples of this but those two are the important ones.
- Sea Hawk and Princess Tsundere was great. I'm glad Sea Hawk got to burn his boat in the end. I hope we get to see more of them, like for instance why exactly is the sea kingdom so short on folks?
- If Shadow Weaver used to be the Mystacorian sorceress Light Spinner why does she require the Black Garnet to use magic now? The magic users trained in Mystacor (like King Micah) don't seem like they need a connection to a runestone to use magic like princesses do, maybe when she turned evil they sealed her off from the magic other sorceresses can access? Seems like a bad deal for turning evil.
- I'm so glad they kept all the names from the original show. The ruler of the magic kingdom is QUEEN CASTASPELLA. Fucking GOLD.
- There's one thing that was overlooked during the Princess Prom that was disappointing. Etiquette and formality goes both ways. Guests can be required to show proper deference to their host, but the host is also absolutely required to ensure the safety of her guests. I get that during the attack she was busy keeping the castle from collapsing entirely, which is an important part of being a host, but what about afterwards? Guests under her protection were harmed and taken and she just washes her hands of it? She doesn't show up for the rescue mission, she just shows everyone that she doesn't really care to protect or avenge the people she was charged with protecting. She should have been first in line for the rescue mission. Maybe consistent for a 12 year old but also shows maybe a 12 year old shouldn't have been in charge of the prom.
- I appreciate that we're not going Game of Thrones with this and budget considerations etc etc but what's the point of having guards if they're not actually going to show up and guard anything? We keep seeing Bright Moon's general, was she even there during the final battle? At least Mermista showed up with a few ships, but otherwise it was really just Handful of Magic Folks VS a Couple Panzer Divisions plus Robot Infantry. It's nitpicky but it happens a lot with these shows, like how in Steven Universe every time bad guys show up it's a group that's comparable in power to the good guys and not like, an entire army.
- I didn't see any evidence to support the definitely good-faith complaints like "The animation is bad" and "the character designs are bad" and "It's full of SJW propaganda". The animation was not outstanding but is perfectly fine, the character designs and updated aspects are all good and meaningful changes, and it doesn't contain any more propaganda than any other cartoon does. Hell, it doesn't even have more propaganda than the original She-Ra, made in the era where cartoons were required to have explicit morals spelled out to kids at the end of the show. As far as I can tell the outrage is 100% because they showed pictures of She-Ra's new non-sexualized design and the Gamergate/Comicgate reactionary squad spun themselves up trying to sell people on the idea that this is an affront to the legacy of She-Ra, as if more than a few dozen people cared about the legacy of She-Ra before this new show was announced.
- Especially funny in retrospect is one dumbass who said Spinnerella was propaganda because they made her overweight and of course it's terrible to allow kids to see chubby characters on TV. He said she had the power to "break wind" (a bad-faith reading of her description on the She-Ra website) and this shows the people doing the show aren't treating She-Ra with respect. He went on and on about how this was terrible and an affront and proves She-Ra is bad and I'M NOT SURE SPINNERELLA EVEN HAS A SINGLE LINE IN THE SHOW. You see her early on and then again at the climactic battle and both times it's her "friend" Nettossa who does all the talking.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:55 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


So I've watched it long enough to realize there's basically types of Shera and the Princesses of Power fans. Those who want Catra to be redeemed and get back together with Adora, and the ones who want Catra to take over the Horde and crush the world under her clawed feet, as is right and proper. Er, I mean, as the fans think is right and proper.

Anyway:

I appreciate that we're not going Game of Thrones with this and budget considerations etc etc but what's the point of having guards if they're not actually going to show up and guard anything?

The guards were probably making sure the citizens were getting to safety. Adn their normal jobs are to maintain decorum and protocol in the throne room, and witness the battles between champions.

My headcanon is that in the old days, rather than going to war, disputes were settled by princesses meeting on the field of combat and battling it out, or more likely, talking things over. Basically, they used a very ritualized champion system. Which is one reason why actually getting into a real war was so traumatic. Also why their natural impulse is to go all defensive.

Alexandra Erin on twitter did a headcanon (which may very well be canon) is that when the Princess coalition first collapsed, they were on the verge of winning. I mean if you look at the Horde, twenty years later they really aren't in great shape, even outside of Hordak's Randian management style. They have machinery, but they obviously are short personnel, and a lot of those seem to be kidnapped locals. If the Horde was fighting a real army, they'd lose easily.

But to tie the two theories together, you have a decrepit Horde, fighting a culture who rely on superpowered champions. It's a recipe for a stalemate, and drama when someone comes in to tip the balance.
posted by happyroach at 9:15 PM on November 23, 2018 [2 favorites]


heeey so I started watching based on the first couple of comments, and I'm not trying to get spoiled so I'm posting as I watch before reading everything in the thread. apologies beforehand.

I'm up to episode 2 so far. It definitely reminds me a lot of the current reboot of Voltron, in terms of tone and characterization.

I also need a gif asap of Adora side-eyeing the flower that Bow puts on her.
posted by numaner at 9:45 PM on November 23, 2018 [2 favorites]


ok this show's got charms coming out the wazoo, and it's not just my 3rd glass of wine talking.
posted by numaner at 11:17 PM on November 23, 2018 [6 favorites]


> " I'M NOT SURE SPINNERELLA EVEN HAS A SINGLE LINE IN THE SHOW. You see her early on and then again at the climactic battle and both times it's her 'friend' Nettossa who does all the talking."

She does not have many lines, true, but I feel I must issue a correction here, because her "Yes, darling, you have beautiful nets!" was perhaps the most gloriously explicitly queer line even in a show where the subtext has already pretty much just become text.
posted by kyrademon at 11:54 AM on November 24, 2018 [9 favorites]


I stand corrected, and also happily note that this further shows how absurd those reactionary chodes are since she is in the most explicity queer relationship of the show but everyone is over there complaining about how she's not supermodel thin like her SINGLE APPEARANCE in the original She-Ra.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:44 PM on November 24, 2018


So I binged all of it and it was really great!

I even appreciated that they didn't necessarily have to do the transformation in every episode like Voltron does, which I tend to fast forward through if it's just the same every time.

I dunno which part I liked the most, but the horse suddenly talking and everyone freaking out but the horse himself offers no explanation was hilarious.

The stuff with Catra and Adora is so good. The emotions are written so well.
posted by numaner at 2:16 AM on November 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


I binged this over Thanksgiving weekend and only regret that I have no more new episodes (though I'm tempted to watch them all again).

The character designs are the best, I want everyone to be get along, and nobody annoys me.

Also, I have the theme song stuck in my head and have for days.
posted by dinty_moore at 10:58 AM on November 26, 2018 [2 favorites]


Just wrapped this up. Hella gay. Bow? Hella gay, or is it just that boys are not allowed to openly squee and coo over cool stuff. Rainbow wave? Hella gay. Catra and Lonnie? Hella gay.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 7:14 AM on November 27, 2018 [3 favorites]


I am fucking here for this show. It’s so cute and funny and the transformation sequence was clearly inspired quite a bit by Sailor Moon. I also wish the good guys had gotten more fleahing out but I’m super sad there are no more episodes.

Also please miss me with the opinions of internet toads. Their complaints seem to boil down to the girl character on the show for little girls doesn’t have big enough tits. Do any of these men ever ever have a moment where they just shut up and go away?
posted by supercrayon at 11:35 PM on November 27, 2018 [2 favorites]


So, Nettossa. Is that a title or her name? Did she have a moment when she was seven, thinking about her name, and concluding “well, I’d best start with the nets, then.” Most of the other princesses’ names aren’t so on the nose.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:08 AM on November 28, 2018


> "Most of the other princesses’ names aren’t so on the nose."

They kind of are. Frosta, Mermista, CASTASPELLA?

And this does not just apply to princesses, hence "Bow", "Sea Hawk", etc. However, it is *not* true in the Horde, where you can get a relatively normal name (Kyle, arguably Adora) or be named based on a physical characteristic that would be obvious from birth (Catra, Scorpia -- raised in the Horde even though a princess.) And note that Shadow Weaver was raised outside the Horde and that her name is canonically a pseudonym rather than a given name anyway.

I have come to the conclusion that there are only a few possibilities:

1) Rather than being named at birth, Etherians are named or choose a name whenever they develop a power, particular skill, or profession. Possibly they start with a "child name", or possibly they simply remain unnamed until the parents are certain they will not die in childhood and/or need to be left out in the woods to be devoured by wolves if they never develop nameable powers or skills.

2) It is (somehow) known from birth what particular power, skill, or profession a child will have. This may make sense with princesses, who perhaps have hereditary powers, but less so for, say, Bow.

3) Some combination of (1) and (2).

4) It is NOT known what powers or abilities children will develop at birth, but parents name their children aspirationally. E.g., Bow was named Bow because his parents wanted him to be really good with a bow, Frosta was named Frosta in the hope that she would develop ice powers. Children in general feel obligated to live up to these names, but there are exceptions where it doesn't work out -- Entrapta became more interested in robotics and prehensile hair than anything more directly related to her name, Perfuma went for flower power rather than going all in on smell-based magic, Shadow Weaver actively rejected her birth name when she chose a different, darker path, etc. This is my personal favorite explanation.

5) Or, the names are holdovers from an 80's cartoon so don't think about it too hard. I have already failed if this is the case.
posted by kyrademon at 7:07 AM on November 28, 2018 [7 favorites]


I think there's a very interesting feminine/masculine dynamic in the show, but every time I try to write something about it I can't quite pin it down.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 3:33 PM on November 28, 2018


"I'm no one's horse."

Swift Wind is the best.
posted by MaritaCov at 11:56 AM on November 29, 2018 [6 favorites]


Bow's battle cry is "battle cry!".
That's it, it's all you need to know.
posted by signal at 5:14 PM on December 11, 2018 [6 favorites]


As weird as it sounds, this is the first show my entire family (mom, dad, daughters 4 and 6) have watched together in ages.

My wife and I have been watching (we're not done yet) and I was originally thinking our daughter is a little too young for it, still, but she's almost four so maybe we should watch it again with her in the very near future.
posted by asnider at 10:34 AM on December 13, 2018


Update on the name thing: I just found out that Telemachus literally means "far-fighter".

Odysseus ACTUALLY NAMED HIS SON "BOW".

That is all.
posted by kyrademon at 6:12 AM on December 22, 2018 [6 favorites]




I can barely contain my excitement!
posted by kyrademon at 3:36 AM on January 25, 2019


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