#entrapta meta

[tippenfunkaport]

I was so excited to actually have confirmation of the timeskip we all knew happened before Season 4 only for ND to immediately derail the convo into jokes 😂

[source]

[edge-lorde]

i wish in the show when the boats crashed they would show pieces of them still floating over the water for the rock theory to work better.

alas...

i agree about modern technology in etheria being largely overlooked in favor of more simple, elegant magical alternatives already existing. I also like some first ones tech still being used by the princesses every day, like the holo display in brightmoon being first ones tech.

it is odd to me how the show strongly implies that all of the runestone kingdoms on etheria had to have been installed by the first ones because of their connection to the heart, and all (/almost all if you count the fire kingdom) are still in existence 1000 years later, but even the ruling class has forgotten their connection to the first ones and how to read their writing. i guess its necessary for plot reasons and is interesting, but it feels odd that there would be no continuing record of it.

like the oldest king recorded on britroyals is from the year 757 . thats over 1000 years ago, and china has records of dynasties going back to the bronze age like 1600 bc. yes many changes have happened, but 1000 years doesn't seem long enough to make them totally forget their history AND have kept the kingdoms in place. unless, the kingdoms formed after mara caused a planet wide apocalypse. But if so, how could brightmoon have working first ones tech built into their palace? idk.

as for the scorpian kingdom-- tryant king scorpio is as good of an explanation as any. it would explain why the horde would overthrow them first.

i also thought more about scorpias place in all of this. it confused me why if the horde stands for an anti-princess society they would keep scorpia in a privileged position and even tell her she was supposed to be the princess of the black garnet and giver her pictures of her parents. if they didnt want a princess led society and also didnt want to get rid of a baby, also fine. why not just not tell her shes a princess and toss her in with the other orphans? i think the answer is shadow weaver.

when adora came through the portal as a baby, shadow weaver was already enmeshed in the horde. we know she was eventually given access to the black garnet for her power. scorpia doesn't seem like shecould be more than a few years older than catra and adora and the other main teen cast, meaning she was probably a small child when adora was a baby. maybe scorpia was meant to be shadow weavers first adora-- shadow weaver would have known scorpia would have been able to connect to the black garnet. maybe she had been planning to raise her the way she did adora, to be her eventual access point to the heart of etheria. then adora came through the portal, and shadow weaver realized adora was more special and switched her focus onto her, while keeping scorpia close by as a back up.

however, i also like the idea of the scorpion kingdom having mechanical technology before hordak got there so he could be influenced by tech that was already there and have kept the scorpion motif designs. i think maybe the other princesses didn't like the scorpion kingdom before the war because they had an industrial society that they saw as polluting and unnecessary, while the scorpion kingdom saw the other princesses societies as old fashioned and out of touch. as their tech industry became more sophisticated, they stopped venerating magic and saw the warrior-ruling class of princesses sitting in their castles in luxury while the people worked to support this lifestyle in times of peace as oppressive.

Even if grandpa scorpio wasn't personally a tyrant, the people could have seen his rule by birthright as inherently oppressive and the first to go.

then once hordak came onto the scene scorpion tech went from industrial to futuristic in under 30 years. I put it in the original posts tags as a joke, but i do think hordak would have been the one to create the etheria version of the internet, or what ever they used to skype each other and track locations. the hive mind certainly seems to work in a similar way to the internet so he would have been familiar with the concept when he arrived.

he would have created everything he did for purely practical reasons, and the internet and digital video would have been made for military purposes. like i feel the internet exists on etheria but theres no scoial media. theres digital video recording, like the recruiting video clip specials on youtube, but no place where people go to watch videos like youtube. its like the 80s, where most people outside of the military dont know about it and you have to be in the know in order to use it. being part of the etherian makers guild is how you could get in the know. this is how bow gets tracker pads for him and his dads, but they dont seem to be common outside of that. the makers guild would be the only way horde tech slowly gets out of the horde and starts influencing the rest of the planet. i could see individual horde soldiers/civilians (if they have any) being part of the guild and talking to nerds in brightmoon as a pastime.

i also headcanon that maybe dryl once supplied the scorpion kingdom with materials as a mining operation until the horde overtook it. the workers either left because business dried up because none of the other kingdoms had markets for large quantities of the materials they mined and they didnt want to supply the Horde, or left to straight up join the horde. this left a child entrapta alone in the castle to do with it as she wished..... (her parents either dead, or left to find business elsewhere with the intent to return but never did).

more spop world building notes

i was talking with an irl friend about my brightmoon head canons and mentioned to them how odd it was that the boats in spop don't seem to sit in the water, as can be seen from this screenshot of sea worthy:

they also float in the air sometimes i guess.

example of them in the water:

my friend noted that the fins look like hydrofoils , something i hadn't known about. theyre basically fins that go on the bottom of a boat and, qutoe from the wiki--

"As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds."

real hydrofoils look like this:

the resemblance is even better with hydrofoil boards.

real hydrofoils have structures that go under the water in order to give the boat/board the lift to be able to rise up like this

but what if the same effect could be achieved a different way?

we know that there's a stark difference in technology between the horde and the rest of etheria, but Horde navel vessels also appear to float just over the surface of the water despite looking much heavier than the other etherian ships we see.

we also know they have other floating land vehicles like the skiffs.

much of their other vehicle technology has a scorpion aesthetic, as it was adopted or stolen from scorpias former kingdom. examples:

we also know that first one's technology combined magic with regular technology, and entrapta seems to be the first person to have been able to reinvent this kind of tech during the events of the show.

We also know that the galactic horde doesn't use magic in its technology at all, as its a major plot point in season 5.

other people have made theories that i agree with, (but don't feel like trying to dig up their posts) that when hordak arrived on etheria, he did so at a time when anti-princess sentiment was already high and was adopted into an existing conflict because he brought with him stronger technology that could even the playing field with people with magical powers. he then would joined with the scorpion nation in this effort in some way-- whether it was mutually beneficial or not.

this is the image of the scorpion nation being taken over by the horde that light spinner showed micah as a child to convince him to help her grow her own magical abilities

it should be noted that light spinner/shadow weaver was at this time a powerful sorceress in illusory magics and is a villian well known for manipulating children in her care (adora, catra, micah). The scorpion kingdom take over could have happened like this or been more of a mutual endeavor and this is just what she chose to show micah because she knew it would compel him to action. Evidence could point either way. Scorpia is the only living scorpion person we ever see in the show, but she's also been treated well (has her own room with a picture of her parents with her on display and a closet full of dresses) and been given status beyond her abilities in the horde. she's supposed to be a force captain in season one, before even catra is made one, and yet when she is left in charge of a crew of soldiers its played for laughs, as if she's never had to do that before in a meaningful way. at least to me, speaks to there having been an alliance between the growing Horde and the scorpion kingdom at least at some point, and maybe a promise to take care of a young princess that was honored.

the textual evidence in support of hordak bringing advanced tech to an old conflict is scorpia mentioning before the prom that the other princesses didn't like her kingdom even before the war, the face that the horde cadets grew up being fed anti-princess propaganda despite the horde harboring a known princess in a position of authority, and the tech that the horde has. As i said before some of it has a scorpion motif like it came from the scorpion kingdom, but some of it does look like what we see of galactic horde tech, notably hordaks lasers and the green forcefield prison cells present in both hordes.

we also know that hordak himself is an engineer, having made many technologies presumably by himself-- such armor to hide and manage his medical condition, something he did not want other people to know about. So its my opinion that all of the tech we seen in the etherian horde is an amalgamation of scorpion tech, galactic horde tech adapted by hordak as well as new designs he invented. none of which use magic before entrapta joins the horde.

so what is my point? well, the other etherian kingdoms other than dryl dont seem to use any modern tech at all, at least at the structural level. like bow and his parents have a data pads they can call each other with, but much of the way people are living in etheria looks almost medieval. the princesses dont seem to have any ground vehicles at all for example.

and yet both sides have floating boats.

one could say the princesses boats are magical while the horde boats use some kind of magnets or some other floating technology we don't have.

OR

you know what they do both have?

FLOATING ROCKS

so all of this to say...

what if they put rocks in the boat and it make it go up instead of down????

[candyskiez]

a thing about she ra that I think is *criminally* underrated is scorpia and entrapta's friendship.

why? simple. they're some of the only people who actually try to understand and accommodate each other.

when scorpia rambles on about something she already told her, entrapta doesn't get upset. if she's annoyed, she doesn't lash out or demean her. she just checks if she told her with the recorder, and gently remind her she already said that. no yelling at her for being so annoying or loud. just politely telling her she already said that and scorpia responds to it immediately. when scorpia gets insecure in moment of truth thinking she's just bothering her, entrapta is quick to reassure her and tell her she can stay. no getting upset at her for being clingy. just reassuring her she can stay and explaining what was going on. entrapta never gets cross with scorpia for making mistakes.

this goes both ways. when catra shuts down entrapta wanting to drink hot cocoa in the north, scorpia is quick to go get it instead and make jokes about it. she is the FIRST one to defend her when people are too harsh on her, she vouches for her character with no hesitation. hell, she was able to think like entrapta surprisingly well. in my mind, they're very close.

neither of them are "normal" and they get each other. they don't expect the other to understand everything immediately. they just explain and are patient with each other even when they struggle.

(don't tag as ship.)

[anghraine]

My housemates and I are watching S5 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, which my bff J and I love, and Ash had never seen. She's been having a blast with it and it's been really cool to watch through her eyes.

I've seen some condemnations of how Entrapta is handled in S5 that I found, let's say, unpersuasive. Re-watching now, I'm not just fine with how she's handled, but have realized how much I really love it. It's still refreshing for me to see a narrative where an obviously autistic person—an adult, which is extra refreshing!—is treated as a moral agent without ignoring her actual handicaps.

Entrapta is capable of moral failure and has failed morally in the past, despite her basic good nature and personal kindness. She has lines she won't cross and where she'll stand her ground, and she hits that line before most everyone in the Horde but Adora, but her priorities were still very wrong. She's not just an avatar of Autism, and by S5 we see that she's grown and changed without any indication that she's less autistic now or more authentically Entrapta than she ever was. AND at the same time, it's clear that there is something rather cruel when other characters evaluate and judge her behavior without making any allowances for how Entrapta perceives and processes things around her. Sometimes they don't seem to even slightly consider how differently Entrapta experiences and understands the world.

The scene (in S5!) where she belatedly figures out that the others in the scene are angry at her, and everyone except Scorpia acts like she's stupid for not already realizing it, is incredibly familiar, honestly. It's one of those moments where I felt like it could seem forced or artificial in a "teaching moment for the kids" way, and yet it's one of the most relatable moments in the show for me.

[that-ari-blogger]

Efficient Writing At Its Best

Is it me, or is there a noticeable jump in quality in No Princess Left Behind? As in, the animation budget seems to double between episodes, the cinematography is stellar, the humour is incredible. And the writing itself becomes so much more enthralling.

What gets me about this jump is that She Ra and the Princesses of Power was already a fantastic show. Each element I mentioned above is already firing on all cylinders. You would think that this show cannot improve any further, but in this episode it does.

Promise is lauded as some of the best She-Ra has to offer. And don't worry, I will get there. But No Princess Left Behind is my favourite episode of the show by far and one of my favourite episodes of television. This is the episode She Ra stops being merely an incredibly well-made show, and starts to become art.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

First up, format. This episode is a prison break and both a condensed monomyth and a miniaturised tragedy. None of these things make it great on their own, that's not how writing works. But they are written with incredible nuance derived from character, setting, and the intersections of those tropes.

A prison break is a self-explanatory story structure. A character is imprisoned and either doesn't want to be or has allies who don't want them to be. In the case of the external help variation, as with this episode, the plot functions as a medicine journey with the object of significance being the ally on the inside. (A medicine journey is just a journey to a place to retrieve a thing).

Monomyth is another term for the Hero's Journey. And there are two things about this that need to be understood: The Hero's journey is a set of guidelines, and the Hero's Journey is fluid. By which I mean, the format of the monomyth isn't set in stone, and if a story doesn't follow the specific set of rules you have found, that's not a fault.

In essence, the Monomyth is a set of common events that link multiple stories. Originally proposed in Joseph Campbell's A Hero With A Thousand Faces, the format has been changed over time through interpretation and through people leaving out Campbell's... biases (Misogynistic is an understatement for this guy). The form I am most aware of includes elements such as crossing the threshold, the darkest hour, and the metaphorical death and rebirth, all of which this episode hits in quick succession. If you want more details about the monomyth, I advise reading Campbell's book, or this article by Owlcation. TedEd also has a neat video on the subject.

A tragedy is the most well-known story type. Or rather, you say tragedy, and people generally get what you are talking about. It's a story with a sad ending. But there is more complication than that. Beginning in Ancient Greece, a tragedy is a way of experiencing powerful emotions in a safe environment. Loss, pain, hope, joy. A tragedy is a rollercoaster and is an incredibly good way of achieving that effect. To the point where stories that aren't tragedies (Like She-Ra) are frequently written as them and subverted at the last possible moment. OSP has a video going into detail, but in the interest of this analysis being shorter than a Tolstoy book, the words to understand are these:

Hamartia - Fatal flaw

Peripetea - Reversal of fortune

Catharsis - Emotional release

Bear these in mind because these are situational, and I will be talking about how in a moment. The point is this episode is incredibly efficient at showing each character's strengths and weaknesses and having them affect the plot. Each character has some moments to shine, and that final gut punch is caused by the characters' mistakes. Thats why it hurts, because it was both unlucky and inevitable.

Mermista and Sea Hawk steal the show for me, for completely opposite reasons.

I have always believed, somewhat falsely, that the most well written scenes are those with less dialogue, because the rest of the acting can speak for itself. The minour acting and surroundings can shine if there is less dialogue to distract. Mermista is an example of this, but also an example of why this belief is wrong.

Mermista is the queen of subtlety, with so much emotion and meaning being portrayed by so little. She is exaggerated, sure, but she is a lot more subdued than the entire rest of the cast. What she does have, is expression. In the sewer scene, her head is the only thing visible, and she has more character on display in twenty-two seconds than Swiftwind has in the whole series. She doesn't even speak.

But when Mermista does speak, there is something fascinating happening here. Mermista's lines are saying a completely different thing to her animation, actions, and even the inflection of how those lines are delivered. Mermista goes out of her way to put up a facade of not caring, but she is remarkably affected by her surroundings and the people around her.

For example, despite herself, she grows attached to Entrapta, and gets excited when they work as a team. But I find this gesture so much more revealing. She tears up. But instead of crying, she quietly turns away and dries them. Mermista's Hamartia is also her greatest strength, her distance. She is pragmatic, but she pushes herself too far away to help.

Meanwhile Sea Hawk is a TTRPG bard. This isn't even subtle.

For those who don't know, in DnD and Pathfinder, a bard is a charisma-based class that plays support most of the time (although you can build it in whatever way you want, this is how the class is designed). This means that they often end up as the party face and the glue of the group. There is a prominent live show in which a Bard leaves the party, and it shows off my point exactly.

Sea Hawk is easily the most charismatic character on the group, a fact he uses in a really interesting way. For one, he's distracting. His fast talking keeps Scorpia from being a problem for the group, and in every fight he is in in this episode, his primary role is to distract or annoy his opponents. He doesn't deal much damage, but he keeps himself as a piece on the board that gets on people's nerves and gets them to make mistakes.

Sea Hawk's constant babble is doing another thing for the group. He's reassuring and comforting. His number one priority at all times (successfully or not), is to keep everyone's spirits up. Sea Hawk is a master of inspiring. And would you look at that, DnD and Pathfinder have that as a core ability (Bardic Inspiration and Inspiring Performance respectively).

So, what is Sea Hawk's weakness? His optimism. I don't mean this as "optimism is foolish", I mean that Sea Hawk's hamartia is, much like Mermista, his greatest strength. Sea Hawk is always looking forwards, always keeping the group moving. When someone stops, it doesn't occur to him to look back until it is too late.

Glimmer and Bow are similar characters to each other, and it is in how they react to stress that that is shown. Both are resilient, but where one is resourceful, the other is relentless.

Bow is a simple character, in comparison to everyone else. Psychologically and physically. He doesn't have powers that can be restricted or that can get him out of trouble. What he does have, is his mind. Bow is clever and resourceful, and he works out a way of getting the right information while imprisoned so that the group doesn't have to work on that later.

Bow thinks big picture, once again his greatest strength and greatest weakness. He can strategize really well, but he doesn't expect the little things. Like Adora's surrender, or like the tiny detail that he overlooks: Entrapta likes robots. It's so small and so natural to him that he takes it for granted.

Glimmer's fatal flaw is obvious already. It's her stubbornness that got everyone into this situation, and that directly causes the end result. This is Glimmer's fault. But Glimmer's stubbornness isn't always a bad thing.

"It's a shame the toll this rebellion has taken on your family. First you loose your father and now..."

"She-Ra will stop you."

"There is no She-Ra!"

Shadow Weaver is a character who specialises in messing with people's minds. She enjoys control, and routinely underestimates the power of determination. To her all those around her are weak willed. But say what you want about Glimmer, the one thing she is not, is weak willed.

I love the line above because it is the first time anyone has managed to actually annoy Shadow Weaver. By this, I don't mean the same type of annoyance as Catra is to her, because I don't think Shadow Weaver cares about her enough to be truly angry. What Glimmer does here is win on Shadow Weaver's home turf.

Shadow Weaver tries to demoralise, and Glimmer blinks away tears, looks her square in the face, and remains stalwart. That's why I think Shadow Weaver shouts here, she's furious, and she can keep posturing, but Glimmer has won this little exchange.

Even with the reveal of the sword, I think its clear just how much Shadow Weaver is rattled, and I think this little exchange is the reason for her actions later on in the series.

This is also on display here, as once again, Glimmer's raw determination and stubbornness blindsides Shadow Weaver, and it's telling what provoked this. Glimmer is protective of her friends first and foremost. And here, Shadow Weaver pushes too far, and the power of friendship prevails.

It's a minour moment of the theme for the rest of the series. Love, whether romantic or platonic, will overpower anything.

And finally, there is Entrapta. I don't think I need to explain what her strengths and weaknesses are. She's not hiding either.

What's important to note about Entrapta is that she is the convergence of the plot threads I mentioned earlier. The tragedy is her story, and this episode focuses in on that.

Her death scene is so powerful because it is so unfair, and so inevitable. It's quick, and unavoidable in the moment. Thie is the moment when the cost of this war finally sinks in. Yes, things happen later on, but it cannot undermine the gut punch that is this scene, and the final few moments of this episode.

Peripetia is the reversal of fortune, it is the moment when all of the Hamartia comes crashing down and everything thereafter, and the tone changes. In Romeo and Juliet, this is the death of Tybalt (Spoilers).

Here, the Peripetia is the moment when Emily gets stuck, and those flames. It's the look in everyone's face as they realise what has happened and that brief shot of Entrapta's expression before. And it is that infernal siren.

Catharsis meanwhile is the moment of relief, or setting out those emotions. Catharsis is technically not a part of the story, it happens when you stop watching and reflect.

But this episode offers you time to wind down. That brief shot of She-Ra turning back into Adora is powerful not just because of the music, but also because of how empty it is. There is no closure here, and the audience doesn't get it either. The episode ends on this:

Final Thoughts

I didn't even have time to talk about Catra. She doesn't really do much here, but that scene with the sword is a nice bait and switch. Shadow Weaver is evil, all the characters are at their best and their worst simultaneously and I think that is quite cool.

Oh, and Perfuma. She has an extremely restricted worldview of what teamwork should look like, and Entrapta doesn't fit into that, hence the conflict. I think Perfuma learns to change slightly but doesn't get much time to do so in this episode.

Next week I'll be taking a look at The Beacon, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[kristalkitsunedesigns]

Here's the results of my Color Wheel Challenge from Twitter. Had such a blast with this one!

[autismswagtournament]

Behold, curated by @nostalgic-soda and @sirtoybox , an autism swag tournament!

Our contestants are:

Fluttershy

Asa

Ghoulia Yelps

Shigeo Kageyama

Luigi

Jin bushi

Sam

Marie

Scout

Big Man

Papyrus

Max

Dib Membrane

The Entire Pines Family

Akira Fudo

Twyla

Futaba

Hunter

Meta Knight

Boyfriend

Shadow The Hedgehog

2D

Marina

Kris

Twilight Sparkle

Spongebob

Dendy

Kirby

Peridot

Hank J Wimbleton

Entrapta

Tails

Brackets are still yet to be decided! Stay tuned!

[syaamethyst213]

hmmm. what about entrapta and scorpia

Hi @coolmiddlename! Thanks for the ask!

This post talks about Scorpia and sums it up super well. I think she was so used to following others, she forgot how to make her own choices and define herself.

Entrapta’s arc with choice is… whew. She is a very opinionated character and knows exactly what she wants. Unlike characters like Adora who had expectations forced on her since childhood, Entrapta is already an adult by the time she joins the princesses, and she is capable and already has herself figured out. But that doesn’t stop the princesses from forcing their opinions and expectations on her. Another facet of choice is bodily autonomy which Perfuma frequently violates by “leashing” Entrapta with vines.

When she joins the Horde she has choice again, and I do believe that she knew what the Horde was doing and that’s on her. (A topic for another time). But when she got sent to beast island, that place is, like horde prime, the epitome of no choice. Everyone had told her that she only cares about tech, so now she seemed to feel like it was the only thing she could care about, despite how she actually did want friendship.

After that, in “Launch”, the princesses once again try to shove her into an “only cares about tech” box and restrict her choice and again Perfuma attempts to leash her. But now Entrapta is more secure about her identity and wants, and is able to communicate to the princesses that she cares about her friends. (Something that should have been obvious but ableism I guess)

She ends her arc by helping Hordak to make his choice. Compared to others, I think she’s the character that has consciously thought the most about choice and what she wants, and she’s able to help Hordak do the same and not be defined by his history/programming the same we she wasn’t defined by stereotypes.

TL;DR Entrapta started out as someone with a lot of choice and agency, but when she left her lab others tried to take it away and force her to conform to stereotypes. In the end she understands herself and the concept of choice very deeply and is able to help Hordak make his choice. (And she’s a badass the whole time).

[tippenfunkaport]

Bow's Character Arc

There was a discussion on Twitter from people who were confused about Bow’s character arc and whether he had one (he very much does, and it’s actually one of the clearest / most spelled out in the entire show!). To help anyone experiencing that confusion and because it’s never a bad idea to understand how character arcs work if you want to be a writer/storyteller, I might as well break Bow’s character arc down for anyone who might find it helpful.

Buckle in, it's nerd time!

At the most basic, a character arc is a change (usually growth) a character goes through over the course of a story. Usually good (positive change arc) but sometimes bad (negative change arc). It’s very often a reversal aka the character is often in the exact opposite state by the end of the story than how they start it out. It can be trickier to follow in an ensemble story like SPOP because there are a lot of characters with parallel story lines going on and multiple arcs colliding in different ways, but She-Ra does a really good job of giving each of the four leads arcs (with Catradora as the main leads, Glimbow as the secondary) near equal time.

Yes, including Bow.

What I think throws people about Bow’s arc is it’s based on hypocrisy.

Meaning…

He encourages his friends to talk it out and share their feelings… while hiding his own feelings from his dads and repressing his frustrations with having to be the middle man between Adora and Glimmer (Season 4)

He declares that average people (such as the kitchen staff at Dryl) don’t need the princesses and are just as capable of fighting the Horde themselves… while he believes himself and his abilities inferior to Princess Entrapta’s

He reminds the others (esp Adora) about the need to accept help… while refusing any help for himself (think about “Don't worry about me. I'm the one who worries about you. Can we go back to that? Please?” in Pulse through to that moment when he agrees to let Glimmer take him to check on his dads in Return to the Fright Zone and literally leans on her)

I think a funny way to sum up his character issue is: Not me, though.

This arc progresses across all five season as he gradually changes. He starts the series out repressing his feelings from both his family and friends while doubting his abilities and refusing to ask for help (he IS Adora’s mirror, after all!). Over the course of the series he learns to express his feelings instead of bottling them up (The Beacon > Reunion > really all of Season 4 but it comes to head starting with Boys Night Out through Beast Island > Stranded), gains more confidence in his tech skills (The Frozen Forest > Signals > Flutterina > Mer-Mysteries > Corridors), and starts to learn to ask for help (The Beacon > Pulse > Return to the Fright Zone).

Which of course all culminates in The Heart Parts 1 and 2 where he finally wraps up all threads at once by

a) asking Scorpia to trust him (putting faith in someone else to help)

b) completing Entrapta’s program to unchip everyone (proving he IS as good a scientist as she is)

c) giving the speech to everyone on Etheria rousing the common people to fight Prime (average people can make a difference… which he now fully believes that includes him).

And while you can make the argument that confessing to Glimmer is part of his arc to share his feelings, the fact is that he completes a full character arc without ever behind reduced to just someone’s love interest because none of his character growth is tied to his romantic relationship at all (which was what the original tweet claimed). It's all his inner journey to have faith in himself and his abilities and how they relate to his friends and loved ones.

And thus the guy who starts the series as “only one around here who’s not a princess” with doubt in his tech abilities ends the series as confident Tech Master and future King of the regular people he sought to inspire, which is about as textbook a reversal as you can get.

Does it come out of nowhere?

His character arc progresses and takes significant focus in the following episodes….

S1:E6 System Failure

S1:E10 The Beacon

S2:E1 The Frozen Forest

S2:E3 Signals

S2:E7 Reunion

S4:E3 Flutterina

S4:E4 Pulse

S4:E7 Mer-Mysteries

S4:E8 Boys Night Out

S4:E10 Fractures

S4:E11 Beast Island

S5:E3 Corridors

S5:E4 Stranded

S5:E9 An Ill Wind

S5:E10 Return to the Fright Zone

S5:E12 Heart Part 1

S5:E13 Heart Part 2

That’s 17 episodes out of 52 which means his character development gets approximately 32% of the focus of the entire show… which for an ensemble cast like this where he’s one of four leads is just about dead on as it's over a quarter of the episodes.

That's a significant chunk of screentime with multiple episodes devoted specifically to his character journey.

Is his journey as flashy and action sequence-y as what Adora, Catra and Glimmer get? No, but it's a) a show marketed to girls so it makes sense they get the more cinematic scenes and b) his arc is more emotional and thus didn't need to hinge on big action like theirs did. Though considering the culmination of his arc is him as a 100 foot tall hologram speaking to the entire planet, I personally feel like that was pretty hard to miss.

If you look at all of this and still want to say that Bow did nothing or had no character arc, I think the thing to ask yourself is: why is it so important to you to discount the accomplishments and character growth of this character specifically?

In conclusion, this is the face Bow makes when he spent five season growing, changing and kicking butt as Tech Master and Voice of Reason and you say he did "literally nothing"...

[edge-lorde]

Entrapta and Hordak are in a b4b (barbie 4 barbie) relationship, sold separately as the Lab Partners Horde Sanctum Playset™. Each of them come with half of the portal as well as a workbench with a few tools and a special plastic companion creature (Entrapta comes with Emily and Hordak with Imp).

when both sets are together they can be fitted to form the whole portal but it cant light up without the Sword™ (sold separately either by itself or with a special bonus Catra line.)

Entrapta's hair is brushable and you can clip her tools to it like barrettes. She doesnt have multiple outfits but part of her overalls can be flipped up, and separate figures of her are sold with different removable masks. The whole set is marketed as inspiring future women in STEM despite the only actual sciency thing about it being the general aesthetic and maybe some numbers and fake blueprints on a sticker computer screen. its never explained why hordak is a part of this. (David S. Pumpkins voice: "He's Part of it!")

Entrapta also gets her own Crypto Castle Playset™ that is more polly pocket sized and has lots of trap doors and hiding places and comes with a few robot figures. her hair is hard and you can clip tools to both her pigtails and hands.

Hordak never gets his own set, he's always either a part of an Entrapta or Catra line, but he is sometimes sold separately with different armor. maybe a polly pocket sized figure has removable armor, but the barbie versions are just sold separately with only either a removable cape or arm cannon.

@hasbro @mattel @staff @god

[babyspacebatclone]

Storywriters that want to set up Entrapdak.

I am forever grateful for them.

(I definitely agree with all the in-universe stuff though; Entrapta does best when removed from the front lines.)

(Source in Trivia section here, as original Tumblr post has been deleted for I presume Rae Geiger’s sanity and I respect that.)

(Anyone knowing of existing reblogs I can reference would be appreciated!!!)

The Rebellion never would've lost Entrapta if they'd understood how to include her properly.

She never should've gone on the rescue mission to save Bow & Glimmer, in person.

She should've been remote controlling a bot from Brightmoon. Then Angella would've had eyes on the ground too, so she'd know what was going on.

And she would've helped keep Entrapta focused on the task, instead of getting distracted. And there's nothing Entrapta couldn't've programmed the bots to do.

Then, even if she still got stuck in the chamber they only would've lost a bot, not the most brilliant scientist on the entire planet.

But no, the rebellion brings their fuckin' technomage directly into a dungeon built for rogues and warriors and really, who does that?

[cirusthecitrus]

Can I ask Entrapta and Hordak for the character ask meme?

First impression: with Entrapta, she caught my eye even before the show premiered, when I saw the promo art. I fell in love with her design right away, though i didn't care much for her character at first, just didn't get the hype. It is only after she showed her vulnerable side, when she thought her friends abandoned her (but we knew it was not true!), thats when I got invested. Tuned in for the drama, stayed for the purble mad scientist

Same with Hordak. Didn't care for the character, loved the design. And I loved it specifically because he looked similar to the demon characters from my original story I was working on with a friend at the time. The long pointy ears, the nose, the glowing eyes, the clawed hands and sharp teeth, they also have wings just like Imp!

Oh and I always loved his relationship with Imp, it was so fun to watch these two interact :3

Impression now: to me personally Entrapta and Hordak are the real heart of the show. They are both integral to the story, they're interesting and fun in their own ways and their relationship is simply the best thing the show has to offer. Plus their personal journeys are so exquisitly tragic, love me some good angst

They're both my lil scrunklies, my beloved chew toys, one of my fave evil power couples. Though I gravitate more towards Hordak, he got that melancholic sad doe eyes rizz. And older brother issues (hes just like me fr🤝)

Favorite moment: oof but there are so many. 'Imperfection is beautiful' and 'I am Hordak' are obviously in my top 5, but I also want to mention some other ones

From entrapdak scenes - the one where they chat while sitting on Hordak's throne, the one where Hordak protects Entrapta from the portal explosion and the iconic "What have you done to me?" scene

As for their personal moments, I still giggle at Entrapta's "Do I need to explain math to you?🤨", also I can't get over her soft hum and lil smile when she remembers her lab partner in the portal reality

And with Hordak, again, love all the scenes where he's so casually adorable with Imp, also s4 moments when he's being obsessed with Entrapta (can't deside between the blushing scene and the 'crying over her' scene)

Idea for a story: For Entrapta I've been thinking about an au where she gets consumed by the Island before her friends find her, turning into this scary powerful monster who still has some of her free will. And she either escapes the island herself, becoming a threat to both the Horde and the rebellion (but eventually she and Hordak save each other with the power of love~), or she stays on BI and has this emotional fight with Adora and Bow where she gets to voice all her fears and grievances, but in the end gets defeated and comforted

For Hordak I have this idea about him meeting another clone with the same defect as him. Maybe he was just fresh out of a pod, and his condition only took a toll on him after the fall of Prime. I imagine Hordak being so gentle and protective of him, giving him all the love and understanding + recourses he was deprived of. I also imagine him finally not feeling so alinated when he's around his own kind, like a black sheep among his "perfect" able bodied brothers, because now he knows he's not the only one

Unpopular opinion: Entrapta's trauma should've been treated more seriously and not forgotten right after the Beast Island episode. S5 felt like s4 events were erased from everyone's memory. Also, it should've affected Entrapta more. Again, where are the conflicted feelings towards Hordak? It was never established that she found out the truth about her exile, that Hordak was lied to and had no idea about it. And where are the conflicted feelings towards Catra? The more I think about it, the more I hate that dumb apology and the fact that it was enough for Entrapta to forgive her, after everything Catra did to her and her loved ones

With Hordak... those are not quite common, but it is still tiring to see some fandom opinions where ppl critique this version of Hordak by calling him a loser and a lame villain/character, because he's not "badass" and "threatening" enough and is bad at his job as the leader of the Horde. Cause like... that's the point. Hordak was bad at this because he was not suited for this role, he is not a leader and thats not bad/contradicting writing, thats just his character trait. He was only trying to mimic the only role model he ever had in his life, trying to fit into Prime's shoes and obviously failing at it, because he's not Prime. He was also programmed to be an obedient slave with no wants or ambitions, not a dominant power hungry ruler, and I can only imagine what it took him to become as powerful and threatening as he is in the show. He did not belong on that throne, not because he's incompetent/useless or stupid or a bad warlord, but because choosing to become Lord Hordak, choosing to go all this way to try and prove himself worthy to his uncaring god was,on itself, his biggest mistake, not the right path for him. The Etherian Horde is like that because it's existence was a mistake

Favorite relationship: romantic? with each other. Platonic? Also with each other, but also -

For Entrapta - her friendship with Adora and Wrongie (also Scorpia, but only pre s5 Scorpia, like girl what happened...)

For Hordak - his bond with Imp and his relationship with Horde Prime (i just love how tragic and messed up it is okay?)

Favorite headcanon: idk if a have a favorite, there are all sorts of hcs, so i'll just focus on a random one I like

I do find the idea of Hordak being creeped out and lowkey haunted by Entrapta's cat painting hilarious, but I also like to think that the cat was her real pet, maybe a childhood pet even, and by keeping the painting she honors the memory of her old friend

[that-ari-blogger]

Are We the Baddies?

I have stated before that She-Ra thrives on realism and morality, and stand by this view. But in terms of morality, apart from the first two episodes and Catra's entire deal, this hasn't been explored explicitly. The story has heavily implied some moral complexity, but not developed the princess alliance in any depth.

Ties That Bind changes this, and the way it does that is fascinating.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Before I begin, I feel the need to get on my soap box and explain something: Morally complex does not mean evil. This is a lesson that a fair few TTRPG players need to learn, as well as the people writing The Boys. You can have nuanced morality and still be a good guy, or a bad guy, or something in between.

The overarching plot of this episode is essentially a bottle episode, characters get trapped together and have to work out their differences. Usually in live action media, this is the episode for with the crew realised they had no budget left over, so they use actors that are on hand and the set they last filmed in to make something interesting.

I say this, but these episodes have a habit of being some of my favourites in the series. Heaven Sent and Blink for example are often praised as the best Doctor Who has to offer, and they follow this rule, and Wild Blue Yonder is my favourite of the 60th anniversary specials despite the set being the Tardis, a greenscreen and two treadmills and some corridors.

Characters being trapped in one place is also the foundation of a fair amount of horror and detective fiction, and its the premise of my favourite play ever written: Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Becket.

However, you may have noticed that She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power is not, in fact, live action. If you haven't noticed, I'm not sure what to tell you at this point. So why does it have a bottle episode? What are the benefits of this style?

The answer is complicated, but it mostly pertains to character drama. Characters stuck in a room together with a mutual need to get out of that situation are forced to work together. Even enemies will work together if they have a common goal. Star Wars: The Clone Wars did this in Dooku Captured and The Gungan General.

But here's the thing, Ties That Bind subverts this in one simple way, the two parties in this story have opposing goals. If they get to Brightmoon, Catra will be imprisoned. So she works to stall the journey. The story isn't three people who don't want to be in a situation, it's two people who are trapped with a third.

Catra is a gremlin in this episode. She leans fully into the idea of power that Shadow Weaver taught her, manipulation, and it gets her pretty far. Although there are a few cracks, my favourite of which being how easily Bow pushes her buttons in return, and he's doing it accidentally.

"Come on. I bet even the Horde has friends. What about Adora? You two grew up together, right? What was she like as a kid?"

Bow's love of friendship is scoffed at. Catra doesn't have friends, so she thinks she is immune to this line of question. But then Bow brings up Adora, and touches a nerve, so he keeps pushing until Catra responds with a snarl. She's trying to keep up a bulletproof exterior, but that armour still has a weakness, that being Adora.

Catra also gets outmaneuvered by Glimmer, who has learned from previous adventures enough for an escape plan. So, her manipulation skills aren't as good as she thinks they are.

Bow isn't a particularly morally gray character; I don't think that is a hot take. He's the heart of the group, and usually holds everyone else to account. That isn't to say he is morally uncomplicated; the nuance of Bow's character gets shown when he interacts with complicated problems, like the guilt of having left Entrapta behind, and the question of what to do with Catra.

"We took a hostage! We're supposed to be the good guys."

And so, a question is raised, in times of war, do your ethics change? Is this a good thing or not? Just, please don't argue about it in the replies.

Bow's ethics don't change, he is kind and empathetic, and will remain these things, even towards a prisoner, and like Shadow Weaver before her, Catra uses this as a weapon.

Glimmer, on the other hand, is much more complex, and as perfectly moral strategies begin to fail, she is the one who is more likely to actually step into the more dubious territory. This gets displayed multiple times in the episode. For example, when falling, Glimmer plays a game of chicken with Bow's life, and I'm not actually sure what her goal is with it. Maybe she's just trying to scare Catra.

But there's also the scene towards the end when Catra calls Glimmer's bluff again. But this time, Bow isn't directly in the way, so she very nearly does outright kill Catra. Once again, however, it is Bow that keeps her sane.

"We can't take that chance, we're not them."

That's all it takes. All Glimmer needs to hear is that she has becoming her enemy. Bow's line draws attention to what he perceives as the difference between the Horde and the Princesses. The Horde gambles with people's lives, the Princess Alliance doesn't, in his eyes. But throughout this episode, Glimmer has done just that multiple times.

Glimmer's complexity comes from her strength of will. She is the person who will take that extra step when everyone else stops. She has the loosest moral code, and despite still being a good guy, she can react to situations in a completely different manner to others on her side.

The reveal of Entrapta's loyalty also brings up something interesting. People in this story can have goals beyond "good" and "bad", most of them do, in fact. Entrapta's switch from Team Princess to Team Horde shakes Glimmer and Bow's preconceived notions about binary morality. The best way of explaining that is actually this:

"You're on the side of the Horde?"

"I'm on the side of science!"

Don't get me wrong, the Horde is evil as an organisation, and people who are a part of it get up to some pretty heinous acts, this episode just complicates that. It gives a bit of wiggle room within the two sides of this war. But it makes something abundantly clear with Entrapta:

"At least we know for sure that Entrapta's alive, and working for the Horde, making weapons to wipe us out."

Being morally grey does not obfuscate the actions taken. Entrapta isn't villainous, but her actions do further a destructive end, and she is very clearly accountable for that. Being neutral is possible, but Entrapta is very much not neutral, she has chosen a side, and is aware of the consequences of that. It's a stretch to say Entrapta is evil, but she isn't good either, and she is complicit in the Horde's destruction.

Final Thoughts

This episode is ok. I'm not overly impressed by it, but there is some neat storytelling on display, and the animation is cool. Adora's storyline does raise a few more questions about the first ones, most notably: Why did Mara break the watchtower? There's more to this story and Light Hope isn't telling Adora what that is.

Next week, I'll be looking at Signals, so stick around if that interests you.

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[flickynightdarkness]

✨️Welcome✨️

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About Me

My name is FlickyNight but you can call me Flicky

I am aged 18, female, autistic and aroace bisexual

I go by she/her

I am pretty curious around to see and know all kinds of pop culture and interact with others. I mostly reblog stuff on my blogs but i'll post once on here. I post artwork, animations and stories about fandoms I love a lot and my ocs

I have a YouTube channel where I post a lot of fandoms, reactions and art

Asks and requests are open on here and on my other blogs

Special interests!!!

baking

drawing digital art

making OCs

chatting with my friends

films, cartoons and video games

comfort characters

self shipping and f/os

friday night funkin

ena

Welcome Home

Pizza Tower

mario

sonic

dc

marvel

dhmis

half-life

undertale and deltarune

mha

demon slayer

moomin

wii deleted you

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F?tish

BYF — My content contains triggering and unsettling themes. Such as blood, gore, violence, death, bugs and... many others. This includes my stories which many of mine contain themes like that. In my selfship blog, I am OK with sharing my f/os out

DNI🚫: P#do/z0o/n€cr0, Pr0/c0mshippers, Inc#st, Bigots, Bullying, Anti furries, Anti-agere/anti-kin, Terfs, NSFW accounts, K#nks, R?cism/S€xism, R34, NSFW blogs, ones who support Ad0lf H!tler,

My Comfort Characters💖

Oggy and Olivia (Oggy and the Cockroaches)

Little Miss Sunshine, Little Miss Shy, Little Miss Dotty, Little Miss Splendid, Little Miss Tiny and Little Miss Hug (Little Misses)

Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, Keroppi, Chococat, Gudetama, Mimmy White, Mama White, Papa White, Grandma White, Grandpa White, Julianna Scott and Fifi (Sanrio)

My Melody, Kuromi and My Sweet Piano (Sanrio and Onegai My Melody)

Mario and Yoshi (Mario and DIC Cartoon)

Luigi (Mario, DIC Cartoon and Super Mario Movie)

Rayman (Rayman and Animated Series)

Globox, Grand Minimus and Ales Mansay (Rayman)

Scarecrow (Batman The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Nolanverse, Fear State, Arkhamverse, Injustice 2, Brave and The Bold, Harley Quinn Series, Happy Halloween Scooby Doo, Tomorrow-Verse)

Ragdoll, Catwoman, Penguin and Riddler (The Batman 2004 Series)

Kins

SpongeBob SquarePants (SpongeBob)

Luigi (Mario)

Pearl (Steven Universe)

Marceline (Adventure Time)

Entrapta (She-Ra)

Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Snorkmaiden and Snork (Moomin)

Tom Lucitor (Star Vs The Forces of Evil)

Soft Boyfriend and Soft Mouse (Friday Night Funkin - Soft)

ENA (ENA)

Bubble and Ruby (Battle For Dream Island)

Pomni (The Amazing Digital Circus)

Matt (Eddsworld)

My F/Os💗

Romantic❤️

Scarecrow (Batman The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Brave and The Bold, Arkhamverse, Nolanverse, Audio Adventures, Harley Quinn Series, Happy Halloween Scooby Doo, Tomorrow-Verse, Fear State and Injustice 2)

Luigi, Bowser and Daisy (Mario)

Meta Knight (Kirby)

Jafar (Disney's Aladdin)

Mr Puzzles (SMG4)

Mad Hatter (Batman The Animated Series)

Alastor, Zestial and Velvette (Hazbin Hotel)

Blitzø, Paimon, Sallie May, Striker and Asmodeus (Helluva Boss)

Riddler, Ragdoll and Penguin (The Batman 2004 Series)

ENA (ENA Season 1 and Dream BBQ)

Platonic💛

Kuromi and Cinnamoroll (Sanrio)

Rayman (Rayman and Animated Series)

Globox, Grand Minimus and Teensies (Rayman)

Familial💙

[Parental🍁]

Bandit Heeler, Chilli Heeler, Chris Heeler, Stripe Heeler, Trixie Heeler, Brandy Heeler, Calypso and Pat (Bluey)

Lucifer Morningstar, Rosie, Carmilla Carmine and Husk (Hazbin Hotel)

Eda Clawthorne, Lilith Clawthorne, Camila Noceda and Darius Deamone (Owl House)

King Andrias, Lady Olivia and Hop Pop Plantar (Amphibia)

[Siblings🦋]

Marcy Wu, Polly Plantar and Sprig Plantar (Amphibia)

Bluey Heeler, Bingo Heeler and Rusty (Bluey)

Orbulon (Warioware)

Tiana and Charlotte La Bouff (Disney's Princess and The Frog)

[Children🍰]

Ashley, 9-Volt, Penny, Kat and Ana (Warioware)

Pom Pom, Lila, Muffin and Socks (Bluey)

Pets🐑

Courage and Le Quack (Courage The Cowardly Dog)

Fat Nuggets and Keekee (Hazbin Hotel)

Favourite Celebrities🎵

Robert Englund

Charles Martinet

Tom Kenny

Tara Strong

Greg Eagles

Mel Winkler

Jeffrey Combs

Grey DeLisle

Richard Horvitz

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Harry Hill

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atsuover

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RRcherrypie

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jacknjellify

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DAGAMES

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CK9C

Ashley Nichols Art

VanossGaming

My Friends✨️

RME Music Channel

Kristers Viļums

Janet HQ

FrozenPhantom

Blaze

Marciplier

That1fnffan

Sonrio the Hedgehog

King of creepypasta

Fandoms I'm In

Friday Night Funkin

ENA (Season 1 and Dream BBQ)

Pizza Tower

Disney's Hercules

Disney's Aladdin (1992)

DC

Marvel

Moomin

Disney's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

Disney's Cinderella (1950)

Puss In Boots

The Bad Guys

The Grinch

How To Train Your Dragon

The Lorax

Toy Story

Lilo & Stitch and Stitch Series

[tallysgreatestfan]

Yes right? You know, I loved their friendship, and I shipped them, but that both died the second Scorpia decided to completely refuse to protect Entrapta for an entitled anti-vaxer she just met.

The sad thing is, its not even that unrealistic, I had "friends" who were as pathetic spineless and careless as soon as they met their oh so perfect partners, even if the stood up for them before. It even makes sense that Scorpia, being a people pleaser and abused by Catra for several seasons, would be like that. But it would have been needed to be called out as an huge character flaw and betraying Entrapta.

If you date someones abuser, you are not their friend anymore.

it still bothers me that scorpia and entrapta were close friends but scorpia is shipped with the same person who grossly mistreated entrapta and was blatantly ableist to her. scorpia left the horde because she realized how toxic catra was towards entrapta, you think she's just gonna fall in love with perfuma while knowing that she was also toxic towards entrapta?

scorpia may not have known about the first time that happened but she was literally present the second time. she was there when they were trying to find glimmer's coordinates, she saw perfuma leash entrapta and she said nothing!

i know that scorpia isn't the type to get into an argument or anything, but s1-4 scorpia would NOT idly stand by while her friend is being dragged around and yelled at for no reason. remember how she got mad at corrupted adora for trying to attack catra (and catra was 100% in the wrong there). and furthermore, she would absolutely not fall in love with someone who dehumanized and infantilized her friend.

another character who was ruined by s5's shit writing.

[darklight572]

"Are we just gonna ignore that?"

Mermista is, of course, referring to Hordak and Entrapta together at the end of the Finale. I think its an interesting question, and represents far more than a meta look at the ship of Entrapta and Hordak.

Fundamentally, She-Ra Princess of Powers (2018) has a drastically different view of what it means to be "moral" and what "punishing villains" mean. It does not necessarily hold every individual who does something evil responsible for their actions, instead, investigating the system that prompts this evil. I want to explore that concept primarily through the characters of Entrapta and Hordak.

Hordak (The Derivative of Pure Evil) Starting with Hordak because he's frankly a bit less nuanced than Entrapta, not unnunaced, just less. He's introduced as the leader of the Horde, passive himself, but frustrated with Shadow Weaver's lack of progress. As the leader of the Horde, all-commanding, responsible for the (at least) decades of devastation and death.

However, despite that, he is- at least later on -given sympathy by proxy of standing next to Prime. Sure, Hordak has tried to dominate a world for decades, Prime has ruled the Universe for hundreds of years-maybe even a milenia. Further, while Hordak rules from afar, delegating his violence to Shadow Weaver and Catra, Prime manipulates directly- robbing will and mocking any form of attempted dignity in his presence.

Note that when Hordak does attempt to be charismatic he mimics Prime, most likely intentionally. It is clear that the evil Hordak has shown is fundamentally deritive, and that creates some amount of distance between Hordak and his actions. Further, there is the-slight as it is- possibility that Hordak had-fundamentally- no choice but to do as Prime programmed him. I find this interpretation doubtful due to the existence of Wrong Hordak, but, in fairness- he was severely physically damaged immediately.

Regardless of your take on that, Hordak is shown sympathy by Entrapta. This is interesting, not because Entrapta "doesn't care about her friends" as some people try to argue, but because it clearly displays how Entrapta cares about her friends. Sidelining that for a moment, Hordak is a great example of systemic oppression at work- not just as a leader, but as a victim of it. He was created "flawed" and was cast out, having only known one thing- Prime and his conquest- he attempts to emulate it but can't, not totally.

In his mission he recruits people like Shadow Weaver, and encourages her when she creates people like Catra and Adora- no doubt- even ordering the creation of the program which creates child soldiers. Stripping them of their indviduality through uniform and loyalty, twisting collectivism to benefit one individual through the gathering and hording of resources. When we see Hordak interact with his empire its strictly toward his end or delegated to another party. He expects his soldiers to be an extension of himself in totality, obviously, as a result of him being a clone of Prime.

The fact that most of the antagonism for at least the earlier seasons is a result of Shadow Weaver should not be ignored. Despite explicitly ordering Shadow Weaver to stop focusing on Adora she continues to do so, she has the capability to summon Force Captains and order them against his wishes- even one he promoted himself! By his own creation, Shadow Weaver is able to push a system where she wants to go, thats because at this point SW is who controls it, not Hordak. Once Catra defeats and imprisons Shadow Weaver, she attempts to take her place- and then the focus switches from SW to Catra as the primary antagonist.

Hordak is, never really the "true" narrative antagonist of She-Ra, not really, instead he represents the impersonal ambitious and destructive system of oppression.

So why the hell does he let a short, genius, probably neurodivergent woman invade his sanctum and aid him with something he hasn't confided in his closest generals with?

Entrapta (Schrodinger's Scientist) Lets talk about Entrapta.

Entrapta begins fairly simply, as the typical "mad genius" archetype, even introduced in a stereotypically villainous way cinnematically- a silhouette on a canvas of forboding colors. Then, revealed to be, fairly short, and asymetrical design wise- with top heavy hair that supports her. Immediately cutting most of the threat from the introduction. Entrapta seems to embody that contradiction as we move forward. Simultanously focused on doing whatever she can to learn and experiment and still being so anchored to others.

Over and over, we see Entrapta convinced not necessarily by helping friends or stopping enemies, but by studying more and more technology. Ot at least, thats what seems to happen, I want to posit another explanation. Mostly, I want to focus on her decision to stay in the Horde, and I do think its a decision. While Catra does indeed manipulate Entrapta at least to an extent, is isn't using false information or to lure her to some forboding place. Catra feels- imo -empathetic toward Entrapta. Her friends who had claimed to care for her had left her, used her as a tool to accomplish their goals, thats something Catra can relate to.

While this perception isn't true, Entrapta seems to believe it, and is visibly disturbed by the relation. Quickly, Scorpia befriends Entrapta, and even Catra seems somewhat fond of Entrapta's company. Entrapta explores all sorts of situations, helps the Horde quite a bit, and even begins to befriend(?) Hordak? Why? Is it because she feels betrayed and whats vengeance? Is it because she doesn't care about whats right and whats wrong? I don't think so- I think Entrapta fails to see the system behind an individual, or maybe doesn't care for it. She's almost a mirror to Catra in that way.

However, where Catra thinks herself immune to the propaganda of the system just by knowing it, Entrapta seems unaware or unconcerned by the logical ends of her actions. In a way that seems to both contradict her focus on scientific rigidity and completely fit with how she was introduced: in the throws of experiment, and completely unprepared when the logical end of it backfired. It is both a strength and a weakness of the character- something I have to agree with user Gythyanki (https://www.tumblr.com/gythyanki) that She-Ra 2018 does quite well.

Humanizing Hordak (And Destroying the System) It is precisely due to Entrapta's unique perception of systems that she is able to befriend Hordak. Keep in mind, for his entire life, Hordak has only known conquest and using people as a means to their ends. Thats how Prime sees him, thats how Shadow Weaver sees him, thats even how Catra sees him. So- when this woman- who should be an enemy, who should be a prisoner- not provides aid to him when he thought no one else could, but doesn't just use him it makes perfect sense that he becomes fond of her.

And while Entrapta's decision to help a tyrannical dictator build a portal that could have ended the world was.... not good, in the end, if Hordak hadn't been turned at least to Entrapta's side, there's a chance Prime could have won. And really, thats sorta the point right? Its not that Hordak didn't do horrible things. Its not that Entrapta was right to build robots for Catra or help Hordak build a portal, but that, it was not wrong for Entrapta to extend compassion toward him. That the evil being done is not ultimately caused by the individual, not really, but by the larger system at play.

Once you elminate Hordak from his context as ruler of the Horde, what do you have? You have a "defective" clone who'll do anything to return to his "brother's" good graces, but has fundamentally failed him by becoming an individual. Hordak learns to have his own values and chooses the one that showed him kindness over the one that used him. So "Are we just gonna ignore that?" has an answer, no, we aren't. Because we've already dealt with the problem. Hordak's means of doing harm has been taken from him, and his motivation to do it similarly.

Fundamentally, what would killing Hordak accomplish here? I might even ask, what would punishig him accomplish? She-Ra Princess of Powers seems to refuse the traditional concept of punitive punishment, and instead focus on how people are actually effected. How was Catra and Adora affected by Shadow Weaver? How was Shadow Weaver affected by Hordak? How was Hordak affected by Prime? What sort of system perpetuated the harm these individuals did? And how do we stop it?

I can't claim to know what the objectively best moral framework is, but I do know, that I can agree with the idea that maybe people matter a bit more than vague notions of "justice" which harm more people than they actually help.

End Note I: I am NOT saying Entrapta and Hordak are justified in their actions, and I am also not saying that Hordak shouldn't probably have to do a lot of rebuilding. One more note: individualism isn't inherently a "bad" thing, but it can be weaponized to attack geniune collectivism used to aid people in securing resources, be wary of that sort of thinking.

End Note II: Just in case you were busy reading and didn't wanna open a new tab GO READ GYTHYANKI'S STUFF, I WILL FIND AND RANT ABOUT HOW GOOD IT IS IF YOU DON'T