Netflix-DreamWorks new SHE-RA series -- whattya think?

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Pretty much devoured the last season today. Good, good stuff.

spoilers:

They did a fine job convincing me of Catra's redemption. While I did think it was a bit too fast (and Scorpia forgave Catra REALLY fast), I did emotionally buy it. I'm not surprised Adora and Catra kissed and ended up in a relationship. I was actually MORE surprised by Bow and Glimmer getting together, since the show really emphasized their platonic friendship. I was satisfied by how much Entrapta we got. Horde Prime was a terrifying villain. I dig how they made him more of a cult leader. Him brainwashing everyone via chips kinda reminded me of the Tech Men's plan in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, another Netflix animated reboot. My only nitpick is the appearance of the Star Siblings and "Prince Peekablue", since they felt like retcons from season one, where they were treated like existing princesses (and it was the Star Sisters and Princess Peekablue). The former felt a bit pointless since they didn't show up to fight the Horde in the finale. Double Trouble is always fun, though.

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Great finale, overall. I'm so glad they ended it on a strong note.

[Personamanx]

spoilers:

They did a fine job convincing me of Catra's redemption. While I did think it was a bit too fast (and Scorpia forgave Catra REALLY fast), I did emotionally buy it. I'm not surprised Adora and Catra kissed and ended up in a relationship. I was actually MORE surprised by Bow and Glimmer getting together, since the show really emphasized their platonic friendship. I was satisfied by how much Entrapta we got. Horde Prime was a terrifying villain. I dig how they made him more of a cult leader. Him brainwashing everyone via chips kinda reminded me of the Tech Men's plan in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, another Netflix animated reboot. My only nitpick is the appearance of the Star Siblings and "Prince Peekablue", since they felt like retcons from season one, where they were treated like existing princesses (and it was the Star Sisters and Princess Peekablue). The former felt a bit pointless since they didn't show up to fight the Horde in the finale. Double Trouble is always fun, though.

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Yeah, she wasn't meant with a lot of resistance after she returned to Etheria with the others. Aside from a few initial reactions, everyone kind of just ran with it. Which does make sense under the circumstances. The rebellion needed everyone they could get. Would have been interesting to explore her status among the rebels a bit more after the war, but the show leaves that to the imagination. As for the kiss, like I said after successfully rescuing Catra everything was on the table. There were some moments where they could have done it, and pulled back just enough to know that the relationship was there. But they went for it, and I'm happy they did. I'm not entirely sure if Bow/Glimmer were meant to be seen in a romantic light. I can see it, but it felt more ambiguous than other declarations of love in the final season. I've never actually watched the Stretch Armstrong cartoon, any good? The toys were never really an entity for me as a child so I was never really drawn towards it. It didn't really bug me too much, but I was having a bit too much fun with the episode. Double Trouble is an entertaining character, but aside from a single shot in the last few episodes was largely a non-entity afterwards.

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Largely a non-spoiler but I enjoyed how the openings evolved over the final season to reflect character emotions, and allegiances. It's not so necessary on a streaming service where most viewers are binge watching, but in the markets in which the show airs on TV it would definitely assist in knowing if you've seen an episode or not.

[heretic]

Just Marathoned. Aw, mush.

spoilers:

Glimmer/Bow confirmed. Ditto Mermista/Sea Hawk. They took an Clue-Shaped-I-Beam to the head of anyone still denying Spinarella/Netossa, and dropped a few more hints concerning Perfuma/Scorpia. The argument about Catra/Adora being a bad example needs to factor in the number of outright suicide runs Catra pulled for Adora's sake (which also strongly indicates Double Trouble's little chat at the tail end of S4 took root). I'd still get Catra and Adora to a therapist if there were any in the known universe, but by now that is a tautology. Still wanted someone to belt Shadow Weaver, but going out saving the more blatantly mistreated kid means we can forgo building an outhouse on her grave....

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[Personamanx]

All I want at this point is a holiday special that introduces Adam/He-Man to the PoP canon. I don't know how you'd make Queen Marlena being an astronaut from Earth work considering what's been established in the new show, but I'd love to see it happen.

[Hypestyle]

haven't seen a single episode--
how is the show structured thematically? Is it clearly aimed at "kids"? (age 5-10? middle-school aged?) Is it something that is more for "adults"?

[Personamanx]

haven't seen a single episode--
how is the show structured thematically? Is it clearly aimed at "kids"? (age 5-10? middle-school aged?) Is it something that is more for "adults"?

It's an ongoing serialized story made up of arcs, but with a few done-in-one episodes peppered throughout a 52 episode run. I would say it targets the same age range as Avatar the Last Airbender and even covers some similar themes. Young kids can get a lot out of the visuals, and comedy without being too lost in complicated plot. Older kids would probably appreciate the ongoing war plots, and the character dynamics.

[titanfan]

Just caught up on the past season....I thought it was the worst season by far....

spoilers:

WTF, Catra spent the first 4 season doing a bunch of pretty awful things (I know it's a children's show no one is irredeemable) and it seemed like all of a sudden she had a super quick change of heart and was a good guy. I thought they did a good job of slowly developing/repairing her and Adora's relationship once she did turn--but her good guy turn happened really really fast. And everyone sure forgave her pretty quickly. Her previous actions more than likely resulted in lots of innocent deaths. All in all, the show wasn't afraid to tackle tough relationships and issues but then it went and put a happy pretty bow on everything at the end. I know...children's show. But it giving everyone an overly happy ending made it feel a little cheap because in the end they didn't lose anything. (Ok Glimmer's Mom is still MIA in that lost dimension) Catra and Adora are still going to need a lot of therapy. Bow kissed Glimmer on the forehead, so I didn't think that was romantic. Netossa became one of the my favorite characters this season. The segment where she pulled a "Batman" and had everyone's weakness diagrammed out was funny. They could have used her tactical knowledge earlier! Did anyone think Catra was going to be kidnapped from the planet they went to where she got her cat friend? Maybe the end of the next He-Man series ends with Adora, Glimmer, Bow and Catra landing on Eternia...

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[bob.schoonover]

Un-spoiler-y, I enjoyed the heck out of the last season. A fitting conclusion that (mostly) gave everyone a solid season-long arc (I think Glimmer's dad and Entrapta got a bit of a short shrift, but there was a lot going on). I do hope they see value in a special, a movie, or a limited run coming back to these characters in a few years.

spoilers:

*I bought Catra's redemption - I'll have to re-watch, but I think they played honest with Catra's jealousy/feelings of inadequacy about her relationship with Adora from start to finish. She always seemed to be trying to move up in Hordak's organization to parallel Adora's rise through the rebellion. She wasn't evil to be evil, she was acting out. *Glimmer and Bow's relationship had a very Ron and Hermione vibe in the last season (I felt like Glimmer was interested in Bow more than he was in her before S5). You could see it coming, but it was all going to happen in the last second. *I'd have appreciated more wrap up - Glimmer barely seeing her long-last dad was probably the biggest missing piece, but Wrong Hordak and Hordak's new status quos would have been worth knowing. *It may have been too on the nose, but it'd have been nice if Shadow Weaver had said something out loud acknowledging Catra and Adora as daughter-like figures in her life. It was somewhat obvious that that's why she sacrificed herself at the end, but it's okay sometimes to let the subtext be actual text *Prime was a damn terrifying villain for the final season. Hordak and Catra were both solid and compelling, but Prime was a grand and chilling antagonist throughout the final season and that elevated the story. *Scorpia's song at the underground night club was glorious. That plot was a little too much of a diversion from the main arc, but the song really made it worthwhile.

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[Personamanx]

spoilers:

The concept of redemption, and forgiveness are also kind of tricky subjects. It often has less to do with what a character does to receive it (or what they did to require it) as much as it has to do with the character giving/offering it, and the situation in which they do. Yes, forgiveness can be "earned" through absolute action, but it's more often a gift given out of compassion or necessity. A way to move forward in acceptance for one or all of the parties involved, things can grow from that. Catra's actions over the course of the series have often been far from virtuous. Sympathetically portrayed, but the negative consequences of her actions while serving the Horde are clear. To the extent that Adora (whom she loved) had been forced to write her off as a lost cause. But things changed with Horde Prime, and what was essentially her mutual captivity with Glimmer. Glimmer's small amount of compassion towards Catra (whom she had every reason to offer none towards) eventually lead to Catra making a few right choices. To the extent that Adora found her worth fighting for again. Catra was given a few chance she didn't really earn, and it ultimately paid off. Maybe things got friendly a little quick, and some things went unaddressed but they had to move forward. With Glimmer, and Bow it was more just a matter of needing time before things got back to normal. Which kind of makes sense, Bow isn't the kind to hold a grudge but he was deeply hurt by Glimmer's actions. It helps that just by engaging in the war Glimmer was making up for her previous actions, but Bow is a compassionate and understanding person. Adora and Catra even implicitly forgive Shadow Weaver. Shadow Weaver who even when assisting the rebellion with no intention of betrayal is still only in it because it benefits herself. She ultimately pulled the "I'm sacrificing myself, you have to forgive me now" gambit, and it worked. Adora, and Catra needed the closure and could now move on from the trauma she caused the two of them. I'm interested in that Horde Prime was the only character truly deemed irredeemable, and undeserving of forgiveness. It makes sense, I would have to stretch in order to find for any qualities in him that could be considered good or compatible with peace on Etheria. He was wholly malignant, and was purged out of Hordak like an illness. In doing so, Adora forgave Hordak as he had shown the ability to care for someone else. There are things that went unaddressed, and the show ends in the immediate aftermath of victory on a positive note. I think that allows for the interpretation or speculation of these characters/events to have more value than if we were given an epilogue. Maybe things will be fine in Etheria, and everyone lives in peace. Maybe King Micah is gonna have a lot of issues with Catra, and former Horde soldiers having carte blanche around Etheria. We don't really know, and I think there's validity to that. I could stand to see more SPoP, and have some of these unknowns explored. But I'm content in being left wanting more.

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If they do ever do something with this Canon in regards to MOTU, I would love it if they acknowledged Queen Marlena as being a Russian-American.

[kidfresh512]

The only problem I had with the show honestly after watching the last season this weekend is

spoilers:

EVERYONE except Horde Prime turned out to be the "good guy" at the end. I mean even Hordak and Shadow weaver ffs. Look I was fine with Prime being molded as a WORSE villain than Hordak. I thought that worked. But, to me it would have been better story line for him to still be evil. Story line wise it seemed they needed ALL conflict on Etheria to be completely resolved. So they could go "spread magic to the rest of the universe". It is what it is. But, I personally am not a fan of all villains being made to be good in stories.

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Only other thing was not dropping the hint of twin brother, or He-man at all. They wanted to do their own thing stand on its own I get it. But I will have the same disappointment if the new He-man shows don't go there too. They don't have to link to this version of She-Ra. But to me they have to at some point touch that story line.

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[Jokerz79]

The only problem I had with the show honestly after watching the last season this weekend is

spoilers:

EVERYONE except Horde Prime turned out to be the "good guy" at the end. I mean even Hordak and Shadow weaver ffs. Look I was fine with Prime being molded as a WORSE villain than Hordak. I thought that worked. But, to me it would have been better story line for him to still be evil. Story line wise it seemed they needed ALL conflict on Etheria to be completely resolved. So they could go "spread magic to the rest of the universe". It is what it is. But, I personally am not a fan of all villains being made to be good in stories.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Only other thing was not dropping the hint of twin brother, or He-man at all. They wanted to do their own thing stand on its own I get it. But I will have the same disappointment if the new He-man shows don't go there too. They don't have to link to this version of She-Ra. But to me they have to at some point touch that story line.

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spoilers:

Mattel put the kibosh on any He-Man mentions and we'll only get She-Ra in any new He-Man if Mattel controls the She-Ra film rights after this show.

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This is very much the same thing as the MCU and any FF, Spidey, or X-Men mentions before the deals and mergers.

[titanfan]

spoilers:

The Entrapta episode(s) feel like they were written by a person who knows someone who is autistic or has Asperger's. Reminded me of a similar coworker. Brilliant, but lacks nuance, unable to read body language, etc. If you were mad you had to tell him. Similar to Entrapta--who is just so narrowly task oriented. I actually didn't find Shadow Weaver's plot that diabolical. She always had pragmatic suggestions, she was the only character willing to win at all costs--and I don't think there's anything wrong with that perspective. Once she "switched sides", she was loyal, she just couldn't help being a bitch to everyone else around her.

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[Cyke]

haven't seen a single episode--
how is the show structured thematically? Is it clearly aimed at "kids"? (age 5-10? middle-school aged?) Is it something that is more for "adults"?

I'm curious, too, which is what got me to this thread. I haven't seen the show yet, but my social media feed has been showing that a *lot* of my friends across age groups (from parents and their little children, to teens and adults up to their 40s) really, really dig this show. So I came here to see if the board matched that enthusiasm more or less, and it seems to be so.

[Personamanx]

I'm curious, too, which is what got me to this thread. I haven't seen the show yet, but my social media feed has been showing that a *lot* of my friends across age groups (from parents and their little children, to teens and adults up to their 40s) really, really dig this show. So I came here to see if the board matched that enthusiasm more or less, and it seems to be so.

It does seem to bridge a lot of age demographics. It is very much a children's show, but one well made enough that it appeals to anyone looking for a fantasy series with heart or integrity. It helps that the Avatar generation never really stopped watching children's animation, and this is probably one of the first serialized action/fantasy series they can now watch with their kids.

As for enthusiasm on this boards, I'm happy to say that people seem to have warmed up to it. If you look earlier posts in the thread, there was a significant amount of resistance to the series based on stylistic choices. Even look at the poll options: OKAY, TERRIBLE, and UNDECIDED. It couldn't even fathom that someone might just think the new show looked good.

[skyvolt2000]

I'm curious, too, which is what got me to this thread. I haven't seen the show yet, but my social media feed has been showing that a *lot* of my friends across age groups (from parents and their little children, to teens and adults up to their 40s) really, really dig this show. So I came here to see if the board matched that enthusiasm more or less, and it seems to be so.

I would say this-watch a few episodes before letting your kids watch it.

People have different feelings towards LGBTQ content. If you feel comfortable with it-let the kids watch.I liked the fact you have LGBTQ folks and it was NEVER made an issue. They were just there. They were people.

I binged the first four seasons last month and enjoyed it.

The biggest strength to me this series had was fleshing out so many characters I saw in the 80s version

This was not made to sell toys and everyone looked the same to match toy molds or repetitive animation models.

I would say the He-Man series has a high bar to reach after this one.