She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 3

August 4, 2019 6:18 PM - Season 3 (Full Season)

he-Ra and the Princesses of Power follows Adora, an orphan raised by the Horde. This evil army is led by Hordak, who rules the planet Etheria with an iron fist. One day, after getting lost in the woods, Adora finds a magic sword that transforms her into the Princess of Power, She-Ra. After realizing the suffering that the Horde has inflicted on Etheria and its inhabitants, Adora joins the Resistance in the fight against the Horde through rebuilding the Princess Alliance, a group of other magical girls that once all opposed Hordak. Adora's newfound allegiance to the Resistance pits her against her former best friend Catra, whose sense of abandonment, malicious ambitions, and the disappearance of her former friend enables her to rise in the ranks of the Horde to become the new heroine's mortal enemy.
posted by snerson (27 comments total)

Huge improvement over season 2. Fast-paced and intense.
posted by zeek321 at 6:54 PM on August 4, 2019

This was a great season.

(Really the second half of Season 2 in any way that makes narrative sense, but hey, they can number it however they want, I guess.)

First moment that blew my mind was something that was tossed off like a throwaway line in episode 2, when Entrapta says, "Adora abandoned me ..."

She didn't forget. She NEVER forgot. She acted all, "Oh, I don't really care or even remember what went down in season 1, I'm just an oblivious scientist being where the science-y science is la la la," and sure, there was a lot of truth in the second part of that, but she DID care that they didn't come back for her and she DID remember and she was HURT. And this comes back later in the season. They meant it; it wasn't a throwaway line at all.

Whoa.

Second moment that blew my mind was, after Catra takes steps that make her a complete monster, a villain willing to literally risk destroying the planet for the pettiest of reasons ...

We see her "perfect" imaginary life and what is it? It's a world where Adora never left and her mother loves her. :( SHE ISN'T EVEN FORCE CAPTAIN.

Whoa.
posted by kyrademon at 6:54 PM on August 4, 2019 [5 favorites]

I hope Catra has a way to redemption, but she is really fucked up, IIRC, to the point where she was knowingly willing to destroy the world. It was a little bit surprising, even though the show set up how her experiences sequentially interacted with her psychology pretty well. Not sure how she's going to come back from that. Maybe if she helps to save the world. But, she's in a really twisted place, and I don't see how her and Adora get a happy ending. Toxic toxic toxic.

Also this is the gayest season.
posted by zeek321 at 7:16 PM on August 4, 2019

One can only imagine the very-early-childhood trauma that Catra must have gone through given how rigid her frame is and how anything that happens to her just reinforces and intensifies it.
posted by zeek321 at 7:18 PM on August 4, 2019

My tiny one swooned into the couch cushions over the Scorpio/Catra and Hordak/Entrapta scenes and went to bed talking about how she is going to grow up to kick butt and destroy bad guys and she loves She-Ra as much as Steven Universe, how will she choose which one is her favourite? She decided as she fell asleep that they would share both #1 spot in her heart.

I love the way the portal fractured Catra in the final scenes - I hope they keep the physical damage for season 4 and that maybe it turns out to be the same as the damage Shadoweaver is hiding! And I really really hope they have some fallout for Glimmer losing her mother suddenly and Adora not knowing or quite understanding familial loss over Adora losing an entire possible heritage/family - such different losses. And the horde refugees! Oooh.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:00 PM on August 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Oh my god I somehow missed that this was out, and have no more time this weekend to watch it. Woe.
posted by dinty_moore at 8:27 PM on August 4, 2019

I like how Hordak went from being the big bad to being yet another person trying to prove themselves to an authority/parental figure. I don't think he'll become a good guy but could definitely see a Vader style redemption moment now that Hordak Prime is the big bad.

I like the callbacks to the prison cell being the spare room with (most of) the cushions removed.

In a show full of delightfully stupid 80s character names, Tung Lashor was finally too much and had to be called out for having a stupid name

I had to go back and re-watch the scene to see that none of the princesses (other than Scorpia) know that Entrapta got sent off to Beast Island. I was annoyed that they had ditched her in the Fright Zone, again.
posted by Gary at 8:32 PM on August 4, 2019

I'm so worried about Entrapta! The thing with Hordak getting anime sparkle vision was actually cute, but now she's trapped somewhere terrible without tools or allies and has a scary, vengeful dude mad at her.
posted by marfa, texas at 8:40 PM on August 4, 2019

yeah i hope they can rescue Entrapta next season, but it all seems to hang onto Hordak Prime finding Etheria.
posted by numaner at 6:10 AM on August 6, 2019

Is it just me or did they drop a hint that Glimmer's father may still be alive?
posted by redyaky at 10:57 AM on August 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

How so, redyaky?
posted by ursus_comiter at 8:40 PM on August 7, 2019

Also, I want Entrapta/Hordak to somehow work for Entrapta's sake, but it's going to take a lot to reform Hordak enough that he's not abusive - especially with Catra's gaslighting.
posted by ursus_comiter at 8:42 PM on August 7, 2019

I just can't with the Hordak redemption though, it's too much. Maybe if he sacrificed himself to save Entrapta but the idea that they end up a cozy couple just doesn't seem like a thing that will happen.

The rest was really good. I did keep thinking that open portals could mean they met He-man's world eventually. Which would be where Adora came from if it followed the original series.
posted by emjaybee at 8:51 PM on August 7, 2019

Ok, so right before the portal "consumes" Bright Moon and Micah, he pauses, seems to recover his memories, and says something like "Angella, wait, I'm not...", and it's fade to white.
posted by redyaky at 3:19 AM on August 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm totally with you on the hint thing, redyaky.

I have issues with redeeming Hordak too. I mean, it’s good for the plot, though — any change in Hordak gives Catra more room to move up in the Horde hierarchy. (After she totally lies to him about Entrapta, he listens to her and does exactly what she says, and that was previously only something Entrapta and the weird baby pet thing could do.) With Horde Prime coming, she might even be able to take Hordak's place as a general.

I feel like Entrapta is seriously coded as being on the autism spectrum (which I love) and it's fantastic that she's finally able to connect with someone (though in Hordak's case, his obsession and lack of social skills probably stem from being a clone in an unhealthy military setting his whole life rather than neurodivergence, but who knows).

People have been trying to translate the First Ones writing on the armor Entrapta made and uh, it's looking like either "lurd" or "luvd," which would be a big step for someone who previously had no friends and struggled to connect with anyone.

I'm glad that Hordak has actually treated Entrapta with respect in their scenes together, but he punches physical objects too much and I can't get over the fact that he tried to suffocate Catra multiple times.
posted by marfa, texas at 7:47 AM on August 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Ok, so right before the portal "consumes" Bright Moon and Micah, he pauses, seems to recover his memories, and says something like "Angella, wait, I'm not...", and it's fade to white.

I caught that too! MICAH LIVES.
posted by nonasuch at 5:38 PM on August 8, 2019

Can we talk about Huntara now, whose gay levels are WAY over 9,000? She was even flirting with a barmaid when Adora and pals interrupted her.

And Adora thought she was the bee's knees. This show, you guys. So many big, powerful women.

If they DO bring in Eternia, I cannot wait to see how they do Teela. She was a badass in the original, I assume she will be one here, and also not have to wear a swimsuit and heels while she kicks butt.
posted by emjaybee at 5:51 PM on August 8, 2019

Yes! Huntara was amazing and I love her.
posted by marfa, texas at 7:31 PM on August 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Hordak *says* he's a clone, but the final scene has that Emperor going "hey little brother" - what if he's the little brother and the clones are because he physically can't survive in Eternia or was dying physically and trying to extend his life? Or was body-hopping to live an extended life - given that the Horde has been in Eternia since the first She-Ra, maybe he's been using these bodies to keep his life extended as Horde ruler and has simply lived for thousands of years over numerous clone-host bodies.

I don't think they can or will redeem Hordak given he is a straight out mass murderer, but he's moving towards Catra depth in the story, rather than just being The Bad Guy.

I want to know the story behind the little bat boy!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 11:05 PM on August 8, 2019

I'd thought the missing word in "Angella, wait, I'm not..." was real but I like the other interpretation, too.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:58 AM on August 9, 2019

I have spent the entire week processing S3 and am no closer to coherency, but I'll give it a shot here. I am loving the way this series uses villains -- the only other series I've seen that comes close is The Good Place. Also, SPOP seems similar to TGP in that it's fine with setting up a perfectly fine premise for a season and then blowing right past it.

SHADOW WEAVER/GLIMMER TEAM UP!!! The tension ratchet-up sequence before they shook hands was so good y'all. And now that Angella's out of the picture, we might see Shadow Weaver take a leadership role in the rebellion -- or we might see Aunt Castaspella step up to prevent exactly that? (Side bonus: we might see Glimmer get a costume change, since she's now the ruler of Bright Moon? Also, will another Princess step up to fulfill Glimmer's commander-in-the-field role? cough Huntara cough)

Scorpia! Deserves! Better!! I like that we see her tail more often in combat here. I also love that she immediately disliked Adora in the collapsing reality sequence -- bitch eating crackers from a normally cheerful character is so fun.

Catra continues to spiral downward -- loved the collapsing reality design change and also the orosboros logo on the jackets, I see you, Noelle -- and at this point, I'm really hoping she'll get the treatment Azula was supposed to in The Last Airbender. LOVED that Adora finally took a hard stance against Catra. Nemesis magnificence. Also a piece of growth Adora sorely needed.

I don't want to say Huntara was responsible for most of the gay in the season, but she certainly was for the gay in my heart.

Entrapta/Hordak is striking me similar to Good Omens' Crowley and Aziraphale, in that the relationship is obviously there but also ineffable; there's something that resists categorization. I'm calling it lab partners, and an important part of my buy-in isn't even in the show -- somebody confirmed on twitter that she's in the 25-35 range.

We get more Mara! Finally! Her writing is so dramatically good -- "I am Mara/She-Ra, and I am gone" and "I didn't ask to be a hero, and I won't be remembered as one." Shivers, y'all. There's some concern going around that Mara is whitewashed when she turns into She-Ra (blonde hair, blue eyes) and I desperately hope that's not the case. The crew has done a great job with representation, and I hope that continues with Mara's transformation.

Micah being still around somehow is *chef's kiss*, because now we have Shadow Weaver "on" his side. Love his design, love that his immortal angel wife towers over him, love that he plays magic ball with his daughter. My speculation is that he's sealed into the polearm that Glimmer now has. It's the only thing we have tied to him, and we don't know of any other big magic players that would be able to keep him under wraps this long.

tl;dr season 4 when??
posted by snerson at 10:04 AM on August 9, 2019 [4 favorites]

Scorpia! Deserves! Better!!

Agreed. I'd watch a show that was just Scorpia going about her day.

And I don't...I believe "ship" is the word I want? I don't "ship" Scorpia with anybody in particular. I just want her to be happy!

As a side note, it looks like my and everybody's autocorrect wants to call her "Scorpio." Scorpia/Scorpio is a teamup I wouldn't mind seeing.
posted by MrBadExample at 1:43 PM on August 10, 2019 [2 favorites]

Agreed. I'd watch a show that was just Scorpia going about her day.

I want one split between Scorpia doing stuff, and Huntara flirting with Bartenda.
posted by happyroach at 9:13 PM on August 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

Huntara flirting with Bartenda

So, the other night, my girlfriend and I are driving to a show in San Francisco and drive past a place (which I now know is an Italian restaurant) called "Dispensa".

[me] That... that's totally a She-Ra Princess name
[girlfriend] Yep. She giggles a lot for no reason and is always looking for snacks
posted by hanov3r at 11:17 AM on August 15, 2019 [3 favorites]

Kevin Smith Announces Anime ‘He-Man’ Series for Netflix.

While a crossover probably wouldn't work for a lot of reasons, I hope this means the rights are cleared if Noelle Stevenson wants to include He-Man characters in her show. Hordak Prime bringing more than just clones would be interesting. Evil-Lyn could fit in well if they don't want to go full Skeletor.
posted by Gary at 10:46 PM on August 18, 2019

Spoiler note: This comment contains moderate spoilers for an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990) and an episode of Life Is Strange (2015).

I enjoyed this season.

The last couple of episodes reminded me very strongly of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Remember Me”, the Dr. Crusher episode in which the crew slowly disappears—along with all traces and memories of them, except for Crusher’s memories alone—until Crusher is the last remaining being in the universe, as reality collapses in on itself.

Also, the business with King Micah reminded me of the “restoring the timeline means sacrificing your best friend’s dad” subplot in episode 4 of Life Is Strange.

I'm utterly uncertain who's eventually going to get a redemption arc in this show and who isn't. Hordak, of all people, was a more sympathetic character than Catra this season. Narratively, it still seems likely that Catra will be redeemed, but she's so consistently and unnecessarily cruel and destructive at this point that she could almost be a “sometimes someone you liked turns out to be really messed up, and sometimes you can’t fix them and you have to let the friendship go” lesson instead.
posted by Syllepsis at 12:24 AM on September 16, 2019

Season 4 premieres on November 5th. They posted a short teaser. "There's also a Boys Night Out episode with Bow, Sea Hawk, and Swift Wind."
posted by Gary at 12:37 PM on October 6, 2019