If there’s anything I love about tv series, be they animated or live action; is a good well-grounded plot line. To me, if the plot is falling short there’s not much that can make me stick around to keep watching. I’m not a shippy person, though I do enjoy a good ship and the content could be the most visually pleasing thing I’ve ever seen. If there’s no solid plot, my mind wanders and sooner or later I’ll turn it off. A lot of shows I start out watching with great enthusiasm end up never being watched again once the story fumbles. Which is why for all my hesitation towards Netflix’s new She-Ra reboot, I’m glad that the plot solidifies itself early on. We know where this story is going and even though there may be twist and turns, the bigger picture is clear. Adora is the one to wield the sword and defeat The Evil Horde. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.
In the second episode of She-Ra and the Princess of Power, we’re thrown back into the world of Etheria while Adora, Glimmer, and Bow tried to avoid being killed by a giant monster. Adora is GIimmer and Bows captive but the three of them have to work together if they don’t want to be eaten. Glimmer holds what seems a special dislike for Adora and refuses to let her anywhere near the sword. Bow is a bit more curious and after the three of them come centimeters away from dying, he gives the sword back to Adora. After all, when she had it the first time, the monster bowed down to her and ceased its attack. Forget Glimmer’s grudge, Bow just wants to live. But Adora lacks confidence in herself and isn’t able to transform into the mysterious figure that tamed the beast. So the three are forced to run and end up tumbling over the side of a small cliff. Where an ancient temple awaits them and only opens its doors after Adora says the password written in an old forgotten language.
All of this causes Glimmer to dislike Adora even more. Together, the three young adults explore the ruins but the stones only react to Adora. And when Glimmer touches the hologram instead of Adora, they’re registered as a threat. Desperate to save them, and even more desperate to not let Adora be the one to do it, Glimmer teleports herself, Bow and Adora out of the ruins and into the sky. It saves them but it hurts Glimmer in the process, knocking her unconscious. When the princess awakens, she’s surprised that Adora is still there. But the young girl is too curious to know why she’s got a connection with the sword. She wants to know who she really is. The three of them set off to return to Bright Moon, in the hopes that Glimmer’s mother has the answers to Adora’s questions.
Meanwhile back in The Fright Zone, Catra is assigned the task of bringing Adora back. Even though the young cadet wants nothing to do with the entire situation, Shadow Weaver won’t hear it. She threatens Catra and forces her to take a group out in search of Adora, and to bring her back or suffer the punish in Adora’s place.
I like the second episode a little more than the first for a simple reason. It establishes the fact that Catra and Adora are going to be enemies. I’ll always love the trope of best friends turned against each other. To me, it adds a level of emotional drama to the characters. Catra and Adora were best friends, they took care of each other while training to become soldiers. Later in the episode, Catra reveals to Adora that she’s known all along how evil the Horde is. It just didn’t matter to her because she and Adora had each other. She’s been depending on Adora to help her keep her sanity for a long time. Now with Adora switching sides, that dependency is shattered and I very much expect Catra to react in hurt anger.
I also look forward to more of Adora, Glimmer, and Bow as a friend squad. Once Glimmer is able to get over her distrust of Adora, the two of them will make an amazing team. Although I wonder if because of her insecurity in herself, will Glimmer grow to be jealous of Adora in future episodes? If so, I’ll be rather interested to see how that plays out. I’m pleasantly surprised at how quickly the show has managed to plant the seeds of great character development to come. I’m geeked to watch it all play out over the season.
-Danyi