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For the uninitiated, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a reboot of a 1980s cartoon about a girl raised from childhood to fight for the Horde (a militaristic empire), who rebels against it after discovering an Excalibur-esque magic sword. Seeing the devastation her faction has wrought upon the neighbouring lands, she joins a rebellion against the Horde. This premise, established in episode one, sustained the show for the first four seasons, but this is not to say that there have been no status quo shake ups. Characters switch sides, power dynamics change, and characters die, in a manner that is consistently well paced. Pacing,indeed, has been one of the show’s strongest assets. The end of season four saw one of the most impactful changes the show has seen. As such, from this point my discussion will include spoilers for said ending, and I leave those of you who are interested with a hearty recommendation for a show that deals with abuse, responsibility and identity in interesting and respectful ways.
Until season four, She-Ra had been an incredibly self-contained story, taking place on the fictional planet of Etheria. The shift at the end of season four which saw the planet pulled into a wider universe was naturally going to change the kinds of stories that could be told. Season five sees the unlikely alliances and interpersonal tensions that have made the show so engrossing thus far. What was most interesting for me, however, was how the show dealt with themes of rebellion and colonialism. Most narratives where a rag-tag group of rebels fight a galactic empire understandably draw from the Star Wars Return of the Jedi school of political revolution, whereby after the emperor is killed the rest of the empire withers and dies. By contrast, She-Ra shows a group of rebels from another planet becoming inspired to revolt, and albeit in a rather expedient fashion, inspires more colonies to rise-up. This is but one example of how She-Ra handles rebellion in a more humanistic manner, with an episode also dedicated to the fears of ordinary folk living under an oppressive regime.
Furthermore, when exploring themes of empire and rebellion the show makes allusions to real-world modern colonialism. The rebels are described by the primary antagonist Horde Prime (Keston John) as drawing their strength from “myth and magic”, while he drains worlds of their resources and commits atrocities while hypocritically declaring that he brings peace. The comparison is only strengthened by the language used by the Horde who cry “glory to Horde Prime”. For me this biblical language calls to mind how many European colonial ventures saw local cultures supplanted with a western Christian culture. While I do think the show can be interpreted as slightly dismissive of western religion when read this way, I think it is a fascinating angle to take thematically and was well handled.
The narcissistic Horde Prime’s god complex is an interesting foil to the selfless She-Ra’s (Aimee Carrero) chosen-one complex. This brings me to our protagonists as the central dynamic between She-Ra and characters Glimmer (Karen Fukuhara), Bow (Marcus Scribner) is still as compelling as ever. As usual their interplay with AJ Michalka’s Catra is a show stealer and this is ultimately what has and will continue to be the draw for most fans.
One criticism I do have of this final season is a few interpersonal wounds are healed rather quickly. This may irritate a few fans that praised how season four saw multiple characters break from abusive cycles in character defining moments of introspection. I think this is largely due to the ground the show attempts to cover in one 13-episode season, which was likely dictated by Netflix. As such, it is to some degree understandable.
She-Ra season five is a satisfying conclusion to what has come before it, but is not afraid to cover novel thematic ground either. The show deals with these issues in a way that does not speak down to children, but is also of interest to older viewers. While it would have been nice to see the series breathe a little more, it never sagged and I for one have loved every minute.
