Adora enlists the help of an intimidating woman to guide the group through the wastes, and Entrapta discovers Hordak's end goal and struggles.
As the group travels through the Red Wastes, Glimmer explains that although Angella hates their idea, it's necessary, and no one else will do what's needed.
Bow thinks it's not so bad, but sees a bird freeze upon touching a plant, and reveals his tracker pad is dead. Adora assures them her tracking skills will keep them going the right way, but Glimmer is unnerved upon spotting a Horde soldier's skeleton nearby. Meanwhile in the Fright Zone, Entrapta tests a new portal, only to have it explode, damaging Hordak as he shields her. She wonders if any tech Catra brings back will be the key, since they've already added power and fixed the grid, but Hordak laughs that Catra is never returning. Declaring the device a failure, he snarls at Entrapta to get out. Adora's group begins arguing after numerous perils, including giant sand snakes, and Glimmer makes a few teleport trips when she and Adora discover quicksand. Bow says that, despite supporting Adora, they might not be ready, and Glimmer suggests they take shelter at a nearby bar made from an enormous skeleton. They are surprised to find a large group of cutthroats inside, and Adora suggests they act tough, which Bow comically attempts. The bartender ignores Adora's questions, and though the others become nervous, Adora climbs onto the bar and asks the room for help. Two patrons approach, with one (Mary Elizabeth McGlynn), saying they don't like outsiders, but a large woman, Huntara (Geena Davis) kicks them out. She explains her two rules: The strong make the rules, and don't disturb her while she's eating; she made the first, and they broke the second. Huntara warns them not to trust anyone in the Crimson Waste, as she might not be around to help next time, not noticing Adora is in awe of her. She drags the group over and interrupts Huntara flirting with the bartender to ask if she'll direct them to the center of the Crimson Waste. Confused, Huntara reminds her what she just said, but Adora reasons that she can't be all bad if she just saved them. Realizing they'll just go out and get killed without her, Huntara agrees to guide the kids, while back in the Fright Zone, Entrapta learns a secret about Hordak.
As the seasons go on for this show and we get more world-building, I'm really starting to enjoy it so much more, and this episode added to that.
Though everything of course follows the over-arcing storyline, episodes like this remind me of how cartoons used to be, with characters midway into a journey that encompasses the single episode. Like Bow says, we quickly see that, despite Adora's training, they're really in over their heads, unaware of the dangers the Crimson Wastes truly pose. I mean how could you not get caught off-guard when you see a bird land on a dying plant in the middle of an arid wasteland, and instantly freeze solid? The whole place feels terrifying, with the group coming across sights like that, enormous sand snakes, and quicksand as easy to slide through as plain water. This makes it all the more surprising when the group discovers an outpost, which is full of people, albeit rough killers. Bow's actions in this room help make it pretty comedic, as he takes Adora's advice and tries to act tough, of course just looking goofy. From then on, he and Glimmer take a backseat, as Adora ignores their pleas to be quiet in favor or asking for help, specifically from Huntara. The large women demands respect when onscreen, with a muscular frame and intimidating presence that she backs up with actions. It helps that she's voiced by the great Geena Davis, known for Beetlejuice, Thelma and Louise, and A League of Their Own, among other things. It quickly becomes clear that Huntara has a secret past and is more than she seems, but she for the most part keeps it under wraps.
The moments with Hordak and Entrapta really catch my attention this episode, as we really dive into where his injuries came from and a budding friendship.
Entrapta has been working tirelessly to create a working portal machine for Hordak, but she just can't get it right. She mentions that they've already had to increase the power, then upgrade the power grid to handle it, and now she wonders if there's some tech that is the key. Really, the two haven't yet scratched the surface of what First Ones tech can do, considering she discovered the whole planet is full of it. She thinks Catra might find exactly what they need in the Crimson Wastes, but of course Hordak sent Catra away certain that she'd perish. At this point of the season, we actually haven't even seen Catra yet, so one has to wonder what her current situation is as she travels. Unlike Adora, Catra is all alone, and likely has no supplies, so she's having to figure out everything and survive solo. We learn a lot about Hordak in these sections, even before the point I stopped my summary, as he becomes frustrated with stagnating progress. The machine exploding would've been bad enough, but Hordak also suffers great damage protecting Entrapta from the blast. Because of these things, he quickly goes into one of his rages, demanding that she stop the project and get out. For someone who managed to build an army and conquer the majority of the planet, Hordak seems to give up pretty easily. Then again, we don't really know just how long he's been at this, but really, Entrapta has made great strides in completing his project.
--------------------SPOILERS FROM HERE ON--------------------
After the damage Hordak takes from the blast, we learn a lot about who he is, namely that he's a clone of galactic warlord "Horde Prime."
This individual cloned himself to take over the universe, but Hordak was an imperfect clone, and crashed on Etheria after being sent out. This does show how impressive Hordak can really be, as like he proudly proclaims, he forged his own empire here with only his damaged ship. His aim is to create a portal that, like Shadow Weaver claimed, will let his brothers through to conquer everything, and prove himself a success to Horde Prime. In these moments we get to the heart of Hordak's character, for more than just the background we get, as we learn why he's so angry. Hordak is massively ashamed of his frail body, and feels inferior to his fellow clones who are more perfect copies of Horde Prime. He's been marooned for so long on a backwoods planet, and finds shame in having to survive using technology, unable to even clone himself a proper replacement body. It's obvious Hordak has only known darkness in his time, and his short temper is a result of both his negative self-worth and how long he's been trying. Entrapta, who sees Hordak the same as everyone else, takes the time to craft him an exoskeleton suit, which is more impressive then his old prosthetic attachments. In an awkwardly funny twist, we get a moment of compassion from Hordak, as he struggles to thank and complement Entrapta for her work. She mentions having felt like a failure just like him, and he declares that anyone who says so doesn't know what they're talking about. As Entrapta helps Hordak like this, we really see how dangerous it can be to have her as a foe, because she could end all of Etheria. We've already seen her almost destroy everything by draining magic from the gems, and now she goes along with Hordak's plan to bring in the clones. She doesn't seem to bat an eye at his violent desires, which goes along with her nonchalant attitude as she only cares about science.
I'm honestly pretty surprised Adora was so quick to trust Huntara, and didn't see what the woman could potentially do to them.
Just like Huntara tells them, they shouldn't be trusting anyone in the Wastes, and Glimmer and Bow are wisely suspicious of the woman who makes the rules Adora, meanwhile, is certain she's good, which allows Huntara to lead them right to her trap where ​her cohorts shoot the group with paralyzing darts. In the time it takes them to make the trip, Adora is able to piece together parts of Huntara's identity without the latter realizing it, and impress her in a way. The others continue taking a backseat this episode, but Adora surprises Huntara by spotting and pointing out some quicksand. They have a slight chat about the war that tells Adora about Huntara, as the latter is steadfastly against it and believes both sides will fall. Later, after retrieving her sword with Glimmer's help and transforming, She-Ra reveals she realized Huntara is a former Horde soldier. Huntara had previously claimed everyone in the Wastes is running from something, but she herself runs from nothing. She-Ra determines Huntara deserted the Horde just like she did, and asks that she join them in fighting, as while one person can't make a difference, a group can. This of course inspires Huntara, and she agrees to take them to their destination, but we actually end up with a few more questions than before. First off, Huntara reacts when Glimmer says they need She-Ra, surprised to learn the name is that of a person, and is in awe after Adora transforms. She-Ra poitns out that the Horde doesn't teach you about her, but we never actually learn how Huntara knows her identity. This'll definitely be something to learn later, and we get another question after, when Huntara takes them to the center of the Wastes and they discover Mara's ship. The craft is massive, and is likely the best place for Adora to learn everything she needs about her predecessor, home, and destiny. I'm also going to take a guess that, since Huntara knew where the ship was, it's how she learned about She-Ra, even if she didn't know the name was a person.
Now that the gang is really starting to adventure out to fight the Horde and uncover Adora's destiny, things are really getting interesting.
We're just getting more and more interesting characters like Huntara, voiced by fantastic actors like Geena Davis. Along the way, we're also learning more about established characters, like Hordak, the man with an inferiority complex and a dangerous goal. I actually had a question answered this episode, as I recall the previous one had me wondering if Shadow Weaver was telling the truth about Hordak, and she was. Adora and the others might have found Mara's ship and have Huntara's help now, but Hordak also has Entrapta's continued aid and the use of an excellent new exoskeleton. We've definitely just begun to get to the good stuff, and the more time goes on, the more excited I am to keep watching.
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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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