She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 2
April 29, 2019 8:04 AM - Season 2 (Full Season) - Subscribe
In this reboot of the 1980s series, a magic sword transforms an orphan girl into warrior She-Ra, who unites a rebellion to fight against evil.
I've watched about half so far? And so far it's better than season 1. I've enjoyed seeing further exploration of the characters and the - d e e p - l o r e - of the series.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 9:26 AM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 9:26 AM on April 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
I think it's a similar situation to Dragon Prince, where the first season had to do a lot of world-building and character introduction. Of course She-Ra handles it much better than Dragon Prince, but now it's where a lot of character development can take place.
I like that Adora's psychological situation is that she's added onto her issues from last season, instead if resolving them all or backsliding.
Also, as a teen I could have told her that D&D *ahem* battle simulation never helps.
It says a lot about She-Ra's potential power that the locals have to have the concept of stars explained to them. Putting an entire star system into a pocket universe is extreme levels of power.
Also, Catra is way out of Glimmer and Bow's league. Pity her fun starts to wear off soon.
How many kids series point out that proper paperwork is vital to a functioning evil organization?
Hordack doubles down on his "Shit rolls downhill" management theory. Of course it's not as though he really wants to be in Eternia. A lot of his attitude can be explained if he's really only middle rank in the overall Horde.
posted by happyroach at 9:59 AM on April 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
I like that Adora's psychological situation is that she's added onto her issues from last season, instead if resolving them all or backsliding.
Also, as a teen I could have told her that D&D *ahem* battle simulation never helps.
It says a lot about She-Ra's potential power that the locals have to have the concept of stars explained to them. Putting an entire star system into a pocket universe is extreme levels of power.
Also, Catra is way out of Glimmer and Bow's league. Pity her fun starts to wear off soon.
How many kids series point out that proper paperwork is vital to a functioning evil organization?
Hordack doubles down on his "Shit rolls downhill" management theory. Of course it's not as though he really wants to be in Eternia. A lot of his attitude can be explained if he's really only middle rank in the overall Horde.
posted by happyroach at 9:59 AM on April 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
We finally get some of that LGBT content I was promised!
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 10:57 AM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 10:57 AM on April 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm up to White Out, and Scorpia and Sea Hawk bonding over not feeling good enough is amazing. The whole season is just great!
posted by numaner at 2:51 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by numaner at 2:51 PM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Just saw the D&D episode, and we watched the "original She-Ra" segment three times because we could not. Stop. Laughing.
posted by kyrademon at 10:29 AM on May 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by kyrademon at 10:29 AM on May 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
I think they're doing the same thing that happened with Voltron - short, frequent seasons instead of longer annual seasons. Or, kind of like how Cartoon Network handled StevenBombs, only with a little more notice.
posted by dinty_moore at 1:42 PM on May 1, 2019
posted by dinty_moore at 1:42 PM on May 1, 2019
What I have read indicates that this was the whole of Season 2, but that the next season will be coming most likely before the end of 2019. Or, what dinty_moore said, basically.
posted by kyrademon at 3:30 PM on May 1, 2019
posted by kyrademon at 3:30 PM on May 1, 2019
[Scorpia, locked in a supply room with Adora, has spent half the episode bemoaning the fact that she is not Catra's "best friend" because she cannot compete with Adora, Catra's previous "best friend". Then --]
SCORPIA: I can't believe I'm stuck in a closet here with you!
*snort*
posted by kyrademon at 8:23 AM on May 2, 2019 [7 favorites]
SCORPIA: I can't believe I'm stuck in a closet here with you!
*snort*
posted by kyrademon at 8:23 AM on May 2, 2019 [7 favorites]
some highlights:
* Hordak has a nasty baby gargoyle just to tattle on people
* Frosta's middle school anime drawings
* "for the honor of grey whales!"
* actually everything about Mermista, ever, she's the best, up to and including her give/take with Perfumia
* Bow's dads!! the cute bowled me over and I could physically not take my face out of a pillow for about thirty minutes because I was too busy squeeing into it. You academic dorks!! You sweet goobers! supporting your son!! keysmash keysmash keysmash but oh no, their poor library!!!
* Swift Wind keeps surprising me over and over again, because he's voiced by a dude, and is clearly so psyched to be Adora's steed, and I've never seen a dude that enthusiastic to be partnered in a supporting role to a woman, ever, it's just so good
* Sea Hawk's bedraggled reprise as he's hauled up the glacier
* Catra being quite the bastard, really, she's so great
* but the Shadow Weaver thing? Devastating.
* I think Scorpia gained a bit of a woobie reputation after S1, and this season absolutely wasn't having it. Great choreography with the tail, love the the Scorpia/Catra moment at the end of White Out. "Sorry, Wildcat!"
excellent storytelling decisions I did not see coming but approve of 100%:
* Catra losing authority to Entrapta almost immediately, and for good reasons
* we don't have to wait on season finales / special occasions for Rainbow Power, and the princesses hang out a lot more instead of remaining special episode guests
* leaning into the logistics of war -- supply chains! bureaucratic paperwork! -- as story fodder
* portals?? YES. If Hordak turns out to be the disgruntled middle management of the Horde I will be thrilled.
* Light Hope getting a boost, with no immediate effect on the story -- call it Chekov's Mainframe?
some great references I noticed:
* EKS (Emily's Kid Sister) seemed like a nod to the omnidroid in The Incredibles
* the tiny dancing First One figure called back to a Doctor Who Dalek episode (I think)
posted by snerson at 2:08 PM on May 2, 2019 [5 favorites]
* Hordak has a nasty baby gargoyle just to tattle on people
* Frosta's middle school anime drawings
* "for the honor of grey whales!"
* actually everything about Mermista, ever, she's the best, up to and including her give/take with Perfumia
* Bow's dads!! the cute bowled me over and I could physically not take my face out of a pillow for about thirty minutes because I was too busy squeeing into it. You academic dorks!! You sweet goobers! supporting your son!! keysmash keysmash keysmash but oh no, their poor library!!!
* Swift Wind keeps surprising me over and over again, because he's voiced by a dude, and is clearly so psyched to be Adora's steed, and I've never seen a dude that enthusiastic to be partnered in a supporting role to a woman, ever, it's just so good
* Sea Hawk's bedraggled reprise as he's hauled up the glacier
* Catra being quite the bastard, really, she's so great
* but the Shadow Weaver thing? Devastating.
* I think Scorpia gained a bit of a woobie reputation after S1, and this season absolutely wasn't having it. Great choreography with the tail, love the the Scorpia/Catra moment at the end of White Out. "Sorry, Wildcat!"
excellent storytelling decisions I did not see coming but approve of 100%:
* Catra losing authority to Entrapta almost immediately, and for good reasons
* we don't have to wait on season finales / special occasions for Rainbow Power, and the princesses hang out a lot more instead of remaining special episode guests
* leaning into the logistics of war -- supply chains! bureaucratic paperwork! -- as story fodder
* portals?? YES. If Hordak turns out to be the disgruntled middle management of the Horde I will be thrilled.
* Light Hope getting a boost, with no immediate effect on the story -- call it Chekov's Mainframe?
some great references I noticed:
* EKS (Emily's Kid Sister) seemed like a nod to the omnidroid in The Incredibles
* the tiny dancing First One figure called back to a Doctor Who Dalek episode (I think)
posted by snerson at 2:08 PM on May 2, 2019 [5 favorites]
Bow's dads!! the cute bowled me over and I could physically not take my face out of a pillow for about thirty minutes because I was too busy squeeing into it. You academic dorks!! You sweet goobers! supporting your son!! keysmash keysmash keysmash but oh no, their poor library!!!
Someone on twitter pointed out that Bow's dads were pretty much Dorian from Dragon Age and Matt from Dream Daddy and now I can't unsee.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:39 PM on May 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Someone on twitter pointed out that Bow's dads were pretty much Dorian from Dragon Age and Matt from Dream Daddy and now I can't unsee.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:39 PM on May 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
* Catra losing authority to Entrapta almost immediately, and for good reasons
yesss I super like the Hordak & Catra & Entrapta dynamic because they're each so firmly on a wavelength of their own. Catra wants to crush the rebellion! and take over the world!! Hordak would like to blow this popsicle stand, and is entirely on board with exploiting and/or conquering it as a means to that end. Entrapta wants to research and build interesting things.
Also all the depictions of Catra in "Roll With It" were excellent, yay for narrative within narrative.
posted by bagel at 7:23 PM on May 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
yesss I super like the Hordak & Catra & Entrapta dynamic because they're each so firmly on a wavelength of their own. Catra wants to crush the rebellion! and take over the world!! Hordak would like to blow this popsicle stand, and is entirely on board with exploiting and/or conquering it as a means to that end. Entrapta wants to research and build interesting things.
Also all the depictions of Catra in "Roll With It" were excellent, yay for narrative within narrative.
posted by bagel at 7:23 PM on May 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I can't even be mad at Entrapta. She just wants to research and build stuff and evil just happens to line up with her interests better. Sure, Adora has her own First Ones priorities, but the rebellion just wants to make sure the tech is working and keeping the world safe, they'd never let Entrapta dissect it the way she wants to.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:57 PM on May 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 12:57 PM on May 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
Minor notes:
When Adora warns that shooting an arrow at Catra won't work because she'll duck, she isn't just being paranoid -- in a later episode Catra does exactly that.
One of Bow's dads (George, the one who fought in the original Princess rebellion), bears a significant resemblance to the original 80's character design of Bow ... which means that when Bow is imagining himself a great dashing hero, and takes on aspects of that design, he is also imagining himself looking like one of his fathers.
At the end of the D&D episode, the closing credits song they play is a version of the original closing credits song of She-Ra. There are also direct references within the episode to the original opening sequence. (Bow's "I am Bow, friend of She-Ra etc." and Mermista's "Fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my trident etc.")
Bow's parents wanting him to be a historian, and Bow pretending to go along with it, blows a hole in pretty much every single one of my theories of Etherian naming conventions. And now we've got a George! And a Norwyn! Norwyn was even in the original! WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING
posted by kyrademon at 2:40 PM on May 3, 2019 [5 favorites]
When Adora warns that shooting an arrow at Catra won't work because she'll duck, she isn't just being paranoid -- in a later episode Catra does exactly that.
One of Bow's dads (George, the one who fought in the original Princess rebellion), bears a significant resemblance to the original 80's character design of Bow ... which means that when Bow is imagining himself a great dashing hero, and takes on aspects of that design, he is also imagining himself looking like one of his fathers.
At the end of the D&D episode, the closing credits song they play is a version of the original closing credits song of She-Ra. There are also direct references within the episode to the original opening sequence. (Bow's "I am Bow, friend of She-Ra etc." and Mermista's "Fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my trident etc.")
Bow's parents wanting him to be a historian, and Bow pretending to go along with it, blows a hole in pretty much every single one of my theories of Etherian naming conventions. And now we've got a George! And a Norwyn! Norwyn was even in the original! WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING
posted by kyrademon at 2:40 PM on May 3, 2019 [5 favorites]
We're rewatching season 1 now and it's kind of amazing how much was set up in advance ... my favorite thing so far being Bow saying, in episode 4, "I thought I was being supportive but instead I was being terrible!" ... the EXACT THING his dad says at the end of the next season.
posted by kyrademon at 10:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by kyrademon at 10:23 AM on May 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
The emotions in Bow coming out to his dads was AMAZING.
posted by Mogur at 11:56 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Mogur at 11:56 AM on May 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I gotta say, tho. I *hate* the opening theme song. While the show possesses emotional nuance and subtlety, the theme song does not.
It expresses the idea that the characters are "on the edge of greatness", which they hope to achieve - against the teachings of Master Yoda - by fighting. It also expresses the idea that fights are something that you can "win", rather than simply being a tragedy that should be avoided, and furthermore, that "winning" will bring an "end" to the conflict.
The rest of the song exhorts the characters to strength and bravery, which could be useful advice if we're talking about using bravery and metaphorical strength to navigate complex emotional situations (like they do in the show), but the tone the song has set at that point leads me to believe that they're not talking about the "speak your truth" type of bravery, but the "you're a chicken if you run from a fight" type.
Judging from the song, the greatest finale for the show would be that Adora stabs Catra in the face and therefore becomes "great". Lemme tell ya, I would find that highly unsatisfying.
In fact, the song is so bad that thinking about it is making me re-evaluate the whole show! I mean, I want and expect every show to be Steven Universe, so maybe I'm seeing it here when it's not really here. Adora isn't going around making the Horde rethink its position by teaching them empathy and compassion - she really is cutting up tanks with a sword. And at the beginning of the show, Glimmer is acting like a Vietnam War hawk - "of course we're losing! We could win this war in a week if those wimps at Brightmoon would give us the clearance to do what it takes."
However, we get such sympathetic and nuanced portraits of the villains that I have faith that we'll find some other way to end the conflict besides "winning" a "fight".
In conclusion, whenever the theme song starts, I cannot click "Skip opening" fast enough!
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 7:00 AM on May 8, 2019
It expresses the idea that the characters are "on the edge of greatness", which they hope to achieve - against the teachings of Master Yoda - by fighting. It also expresses the idea that fights are something that you can "win", rather than simply being a tragedy that should be avoided, and furthermore, that "winning" will bring an "end" to the conflict.
The rest of the song exhorts the characters to strength and bravery, which could be useful advice if we're talking about using bravery and metaphorical strength to navigate complex emotional situations (like they do in the show), but the tone the song has set at that point leads me to believe that they're not talking about the "speak your truth" type of bravery, but the "you're a chicken if you run from a fight" type.
Judging from the song, the greatest finale for the show would be that Adora stabs Catra in the face and therefore becomes "great". Lemme tell ya, I would find that highly unsatisfying.
In fact, the song is so bad that thinking about it is making me re-evaluate the whole show! I mean, I want and expect every show to be Steven Universe, so maybe I'm seeing it here when it's not really here. Adora isn't going around making the Horde rethink its position by teaching them empathy and compassion - she really is cutting up tanks with a sword. And at the beginning of the show, Glimmer is acting like a Vietnam War hawk - "of course we're losing! We could win this war in a week if those wimps at Brightmoon would give us the clearance to do what it takes."
However, we get such sympathetic and nuanced portraits of the villains that I have faith that we'll find some other way to end the conflict besides "winning" a "fight".
In conclusion, whenever the theme song starts, I cannot click "Skip opening" fast enough!
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 7:00 AM on May 8, 2019
Oh, I forgot to complain about the "Turing darkness to light" line. I generally ignore that one because I don't know what the hell they're talking about, but I gotta say, it seems to represent the type of binary thinking that would cause you to think that fighting is a good idea.
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 7:58 AM on May 8, 2019
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 7:58 AM on May 8, 2019
I am spotting sooooo many Easter Eggs in the Season 1 re-watch.
(Loo-Kee shows up at the Princess Prom. One of Scorpia's rejected prom dresses -- the one Catra gives a "WTF?" look to -- is pretty much one of Scorpia's outfits in the original series. Sea Hawk desperately claiming to be an "Inspector" to get into the Horde Base was an actual cunning plan in the original series. Etc.)
posted by kyrademon at 1:49 PM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
(Loo-Kee shows up at the Princess Prom. One of Scorpia's rejected prom dresses -- the one Catra gives a "WTF?" look to -- is pretty much one of Scorpia's outfits in the original series. Sea Hawk desperately claiming to be an "Inspector" to get into the Horde Base was an actual cunning plan in the original series. Etc.)
posted by kyrademon at 1:49 PM on May 8, 2019 [1 favorite]
blows a hole in pretty much every single one of my theories of Etherian naming conventions.
@CozyJamble:
@CozyJamble:
I had the time of my life writing on this season of She-Ra, but I especially loved writing Bow’s two dads. Fun fact: I named George after original 80s Bow voice actor, the late George DiCenzo! I named Lance after my google search “names that are weapons” #sheraspoilersposted by Gary at 3:02 PM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]
They've announced Season 3 arrives on August 2nd. Geena Davis will be the voice of Huntara.
posted by Gary at 3:38 PM on May 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Gary at 3:38 PM on May 10, 2019 [4 favorites]
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'I get boots that are slightly cooler than my usual boots'
'Sparkle sparkle dolphin sparkle'
posted by dinty_moore at 8:13 AM on April 29, 2019 [14 favorites]