With Adora still shaken from her ordeal with Entrapta's robots, the group heads to Glimmer's aunt in Mystacor, but Shadow Weaver has a magic danger following.
In the woods, Adora awakens after hearing Shadow Weaver's voice, and follows a sound into the brush. The others wake later, and after arguing about when to get up and whether Bow snores, they realize Adora is standing by a tree.
She explains she saw something the night before, and at first trying to keep the situation light, Glimmer soon asks if Adora even got any sleep. Adora asserts someone needs to stand guard, and Glimmer, feeling she's on edge after their robot encounter, says their next location Mystacor is perfect for a vacation. This excites Bow, and Glimmer explains it's a floating kingdom where Etheria's sorcerers live, including Glimmer's Aunt Castaspella, the head sorceress. They assure Adora she'll be safe, as Mystacor has an invisibility shield, and is the safest place in Etheria. Bow resolves to change that Adora has never relaxed before, but unbeknownst to the group, one of Shadow Weaver's spies follow them. In the Fright Zone, Catra goes to Shadow Weaver as the latter watches Adora and the others, sighing about having yet another mission about her former friend. To her surprise, Shadow Weaver reveals she's handling the mission herself with magic while Catra simply stands guard to ensure she's not disturbed. Annoyed at first, Catra runs outside and watches as Shadow Weaver pulls together multiple shadow spies and merges them into one creature.
Back in the woods, Glimmer leads the group to a cliff, and Adora is shocked when they jump off, then rise on a platform. Adora joins them, noticing Shadow Weaver's spy behind her, but assumes she's just stressed; Glimmer urges her to just hold on.
They ride to the floating city, and while Adora worries about the shadow, she follows as Glimmer says her aunt can be a bit much. Castaspella (Sandra Oh) greets them, happy Glimmer has a new friend in Adora; she assumed Bow was fake before he visited. She is sad to see Glimmer isn't wearing the sweater she knitted, though Bow has the socks, and when Glimmer brings up the alliance, Casta decides to feed them. Adora is amazed to see people doing magic everywhere, and Casta says they've made it in time for an eclipse, and she wants to give them a tour of the Lunarium. Glimmer awkwardly points out she and Bow have seen it, annoyed when he says Adora hasn't, and is further frustrated when it is left up to Adora and she agrees. Casta leads them to a domed room topped with "lunar lenses" that replenish their defenses. She asks if they're coming to the ceremony, and Glimmer again tries to let her down easy, but Casta guilt trips her again. As Adora wonders at the room's crystals, she notices Shadow Weaver's creation and rushes off, catching the others' attention, though Casta thinks she's eager. Adora finds nothing, so Casta leads them through the Hall of Sorcerers, with statues of Mystacor's past leaders, like Glimmer's father. Surprised to learn Micah was the woman's brother, Adora admits she doesn't know what "aunt means." Glimmer again brings up the alliance, but Casta turns it into a moment to bicker about Angella, whom she never hears from. Adora notices a damaged statue, and Casta says it's Light Spinner, who sought control and was cast out, though some say she's plotting revenge. As Casta leads the others out, Adora stares at the figure, shocked when a shadow stretches from it and moves. The others teleport back, with Glimmer excited about the beach until Bow notices Adora is upset. They decide she's just stressed and head out, while Shadow Weaver, watching from the Fright Zone, has her shadow take shape.
The kids go to the beach, where Bow quickly falls asleep but Adora, hesitant about relaxing, just grows restless, so Glimmer decides to visit the Steam Grotto.
The cavernous room is full of hot springs, which Glimmer explains are full of magical properties and the sorcerers use them to rid themselves of worry and fear. Adora manages to fall asleep, but Shadow Weaver again wakes her, so she leaps out to get her sword, but the shadowy figure disappears. Surprised she brought the sword, her friends say no one is there and ask if she's okay; she claims they're wrong and Shadow Weaver was there and in the Hall of Sorcerers. With Glimmer confused, she explains who Shadow Weaver is, but Glimmer says she couldn't have been there, and Bow points out she obviously has an effect on Adora. He assures her she's free of the sorceress, and suggests other relaxation methods, but Adora decides to be alone and clear her head, so they leave. Adora hears Glimmer say she finally went nuts, so she rushes outside to snap at her, but finds she's alone. Returning to the statue, Adora hears Shadow Weaver talks again, and this time the shadow creature attacks her before escaping. She transforms into She-Ra and hears Catra slinking around, claiming Shadow Weaver has always controlled both of them. Adora follows the voice into the Lunarium, where suddenly Hordak taunts her about her inability to stop the Horde. He appears behind her in one of the crystals, so she swings around and sends a blast of energy that hits only the wall's crystals. Casta and the others arrive, with the former horrified at what Adora did, and despite Glimmer and Bow sticking up for their friend, Casta is storms off in disgust. While Glimmer deals with her aunt, Bow asks Adora to get some sleep, so she goes to her room. The creature again jolts after her, taking Glimmer's appearance to chide Adora for her actions, saying they must not be friends and suggesting she leave. With her confidence shaken and everyone convinced she's breaking down, Adora is forced to combat her own demons as Shadow Weaver's magic rocks Mystacor.
Positives for this episode definitely come in the way Shadow Weaver approaches her problem of Adora in her own way, rather than with brute force.
It wouldn't exactly make sense to just keep sending forces after the girl when that clearly hasn't worked before, and Shadow Weaver has dark magic on her side. Her use of shadows gives her an advantage over the group, as even when Adora does occasionally see the creature, everyone assumes she's just tense. With only her seeing such unclear images, no one can really be sure what's going on, and it's easier for them to believe it's just in her head. It makes more sense for SW to use her dark abilities to manipulate the group, rather than attack them straight out, destroying them from the inside. Psychological damage can affect a person as much or more than physical ones, and as the person who raised Adora, SW would know the girl's fears and weaknesses. By not showing us the shadowy figure as much, and especially not showing Adora, it is able to mimic people from her life to really stab at her faults. Catra is the person Adora was closest to for most of her life, and having that voice talking about the hold Shadow Weaver has on them hammers She-Ra's fears home and suggest at worry she has for Catra, who is still under SW's thumb. Coming into her room later as Glimmer is a perfect way to drive the nail in on Adora's pain, leaving her shattered as she thinks her now-best friend wants her to leave. Now more negatively is how the episode follows an obvious reveal by introducing "Light Spinner," who it's easy to see is Shadow Weaver. I do like her past look for the most part; it's clearly still her, but the designers changed her appearance enough that it's not like they have current Shadow Weaver in the hall. The name change is blatant, however, and with as much as we've seen the dark sorceress, a story about a sorceress who desired power and control, and now seeks revenge, was an obvious sign. Also, while I understand Adora's friends thinking she's stressed after Entrapta's castle, they don't even take a moment to believe what she's saying. Shadow Weaver's manipulation is effective, but I don't understand why they would repeatedly give any credence to what Adora claimed to have seen. I don't yet have much of an opinion on Castaspella, though I did facepalm and laugh at her pun of a name and how they treat it so normally. Despite her being the head sorceress, we don't see her performing magic in this episode, instead we get a look at her and Angella having a feud. She's fun enough to watch for how silly she is with Glimmer, but at the same time it was odd to see how uncaring she was about what Glimmer had to say. She talked about wanting to spend time with her, but whenever Glimmer would actually try to talk to her, Casta would completely ignore her for her own ideas. I did like her design, though, and got a sort of Captain Marvel vibe from the design on the chest of her outfit. Now that the group has journeyed to Mystacor for a vacation, I'm sure they'll soon be back on their journey to recruit more princesses into the alliance.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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