Horde cadet Adora is steadfast in her mission to defeat the evil princesses, but her views are challenged upon finding a magic sword and meets rebels Princess Glimmer and Bow. In the land of Etheria, Horde trainee Adora (Aimee Carrero) is called in for a training session with other cadets, though her friend Catra (AJ Michalka) doesn't show up. The Sergeant (Kreston John) explains their simulation will have them trying to defeat the Queen of Princesses and liberate Bright Moon, facing "vicious, violent princesses" along the way. Though annoyed Catra's not there, the Sergeant sends them in, immediately facing robot "princesses," one of which defeats Adora's friend Kyle (Antony Del Rio). The others continue on, with Adora dodging trap door floors and using a staff to defeat a robot, and Catra arrives just before Adora falls into another hole. Though Adora's annoyed that Catra took so long to show up, the latter helps her up and they head back to the locker room, where their friendship is shown through joking teasing. They are interrupted when Shadow Weaver (Lorraine Toussaint) arrives to praise Adora, leaving Catra annoyed when all she gets is dismissal. Shadow Weaver calls Adora away and reveals Lord Hordak (Kreston John), seeing good progress, wants her to be the Force Captain to lead an invasion against the fortress of Thaymore. Adora is excited they'll be seeing action, but Shadow Weaver reveals she won't be taking her group; Catra and the others haven't proven themselves to her. Shadow Weaver gives clunky exposition about finding the infant and orphaned Adora, and how she saw potential even then; she encourages the girl to take what she's wanted for so long. Over in Bright Moon, meanwhile, Queen Angella calls her daughter Glimmer chewing her out for leading the rebellion into combat after being ordered to retreat. Glimmer protests that she was trying to protect a village, and Angella snaps that her reckless actions put herself and her forces at risk. When Glimmer complains that all they seem to do is retreat and lose footing and asks why Angella even made her a commander, her mother grounds her, causing a tantrum and argument. Back with the Horde, Catra snatches away Adora's badge, excited and proud that she got promoted but saddened and jealous when she learns the rest of them aren't involved. Catra leaves in a huff, calling Adora a people-pleaser, and the latter follows her to a high spot where she apologizes for the situation hurting her feelings. Catra shrugs it off, revealing she's just bored and wants to see what's outside the Fright Zone, so Adora produces a key and suggest they do so. The duo leaves in a skiff, and the excited Catra demands the wheel, causing them to spin out for a bit as they struggle for control. They end up at the Whispering Woods, which Adora recounts some scary stories about, inspiring Catra to rocket them in when she mentions that no Horde soldiers have ever made it out. Their wild, speedy path causes them to bump into some trees, and Adora is knocked from the vessel as Catra rockets away. When Adora wakes in a bush on the ground, she realizes she's alone but notices a vine-wrapped sword sticking out of the ground. She approaches and reaches for the sword, but suddenly has a vision of a woman telling her that Etheria needs a hero, with snippets of different things flashing through her mind. The woman's voice is soon replaced with Catra's; the girl tells Adora how she fell from the skiff, and is confused when Adora asks about the sword, pointing out that it's gone. When Adora tries to tell Catra what happened, her friend becomes concerned that Adora has brain damage, and decides they should leave, worried that she'll get in trouble. Heading back to Bright Moon, we find Bow (Marcus Scribner) sneaks through the foliage to Glimmer's room, where the princess is venting about her mom by writing in her diary. Bow fires a note into her room telling her to look outside, and as she is too far, he obnoxiously keeps shouting that he can't hear her, causing her to teleport out and bring him in. As Glimmer vents her feelings, he tidies up while noting that everyone but him seems to a princess, then notes that Angella has a point: Glimmer only got out because of her unreliable teleportation. He suggests she be more cautious and reveals he's found a piece of powerful "First Ones" tech in the woods, and Angella might be happy to get it, but Glimmer reminds him she's grounded. Angella arrives just then, so Glimmer teleports Bow out, then lies that she's alone and argues for a bit before slamming her door, then goes outside and agrees to go with Bow. In the bunks back at the Horde base, Adora again hears the woman talking to her and snaps awake. She decides to go back to the woods, waking Catra in the process, and though her friend again thinks she's brain damaged, she says she needs to get another look to find the sword. Feeling that the sword is important but not wanting Catra to get in trouble, Adora asks her to stay behind and cover for her. Bow and Glimmer are already in the woods, and when his equipment starts scrambling due to proximity to the sword, Glimmer notices it shimmering nearby. Adora is starting to believe she was just seeing things, only to find the sword just as Glimmer and Bow step out, immediately putting them on the offensive. Adora tries to avoid combat, not wanting to hurt the two, though Glimmer things that doesn't make sense for a Horde soldier. As they pin her down, Adora reaches for the sword's jeweled hilt, and a burst of light knocks them back and gives her another vision. The holographic woman reveals herself to be Light Hope, and says the sword is meant for Adora, though this only confuses the girl. Explaining that Etheria is calling on Adora for help, Light Hope asks if Adora will fight for the honor of Grayskull, but this only puzzles her further, and Light Hope simply says she'll understand soon and disappears in a flash of light. Adora finds herself in the real world, now a captive of Glimmer and Bow, with the former interrogating her about why she was there and how. She states that she simply walked in and that she found the sword first, and Glimmer replies that the forest is under the rebellion's protection. Excited to have both the sword and a "Horde spy," Glimmer then leads the trio back to Bright Moon, with each of them learning along the way and facing threats in their path. I definitely get the feeling this is gonna be one of those reboots that polarizes audiences, especially those who watched the original He-Man and/or She-Ra cartoons.
A lot has clearly been changed, with some relationships like Adora and Catra's friendship, as well as Bow's skin color. The latter is obviously one that will likely catch a lot of attention, and while people will point to it as a way of being PC, it doesn't really matter in the end. If you're taking a classic idea and redoing it, there would be little-to-no point in doing it exactly the same (looking at you, remake of Psycho). Although I did watch some He-Man shows as a kid, then was later introduced to She-Ra by an art teacher, I of course don't know everything about the characters and situations. But at its base, Bow's character in the original could be summed up as an ally character who uses a bow and arrows, which is what we have here. I will say I'm not too sure how to feel about the characters yet, though, especially Bow, and this feeling mostly comes from his introduction. I've said before kids shows don't have to be dumbed down just because of their target audience, but at the same time they'll clearly be sillier and more lighthearted. I can see how a kid would find Bow's introduction scene funny, but I, especially as one who has seen that kind of thing done before, was just annoyed as he kept yelling "what?" due to not being able to hear Glimmer. He also doesn't get much to do in the fight for the sword, where he mostly just runs with the sword, then jumps on Adora to help Glimmer pin her down, giving out a rather awkward yell. Bow does, however, show a good amount of maturity in this episode alone, taking the middle ground when it comes to Glimmer and Angella and later showing some intelligence as he, Glimmer, and Adora head back to Bright Moon. Glimmer definitely shows her rather immature personality with this episode, so sure that she's right and angry about her mom's punishment, as well as being desperate to prove herself. It's pretty funny to see her try to put on an intimidating front after capturing Adora, only for the cadet to not be fazed at all and Glimmer's facade to drop once she and Bow step aside. Adora has her own desire to prove herself, and is also trying to find a place to fit in, it would seem, since she was adopted into the Horde and her limited, influenced view keeping her ignorant to how the world really is. At the same time, as one would expect, heading out on her own even for a short time is going to show her what the world is really like, and her views are already being challenged. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here, as in the original series she learned the truth after meeting her brother He-Man, while here she's learning as Bow and Glimmer's captive. With the creators keeping the origin of Adora being an orphan whom Shadow Weaver found, I also have to wonder if there are plans to make a He-Man show somewhere down the line as well. The animation is pretty good for this show, and although the art style doesn't really stand out as something impressive for the character designs, there is some great scenery, especially in the Horde's base where there is an abundance of metal and technology. The show definitely nails the idea of combining a fantasy world with futuristic sci-fi tech, which was a popular style when the original show was airing and hasn't really been done much for a while. In the end, those who decide to take a look to see how the show compares to the original should definitely keep in mind that this show is different from what they had. There's also going to be a nostalgia factor if you try to compare it to the original, but it's not like it was perfect either, and I'm sure this show will have plenty of serious moments like the original. For what it is, I'm holding out hope that the show will be fun, and of course I know it's aimed at a younger crowd, particularly a female one. I'm certainly prepared to go at the show with an open mind, and am enjoying the fantasy/sci-fi mix as well as some of the jokes already.
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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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