Catra And Adora - The Importance Of TheCliff Scenes

Catra and Adora - the Importance of the “Cliff” Scenes

What have now been dubbed the cliff scenes are all very important to Catra and Adora’s relationship development. And I want to talk about four of them in particular. The one in “Promise”, the one in “Remember”, the one in “Save the Cat”, and the one in “Heart Part 2″. All of these are perfect examples of Adora and Catra both as individual characters and their relationship.

 In the first cliff scene Catra returns and cuts Adora loose. She lets Adora fall. Deciding to stop oscillating between wanting Adora back and hating Adora for “leaving” and commit fully to her role as Adora’s opposition. She’s giving into the anger symbolized by her walking away from the cliff and into the black nothingness of the virtual world disappearing, like their friendship. Adora is left hanging onto the thin ledge of the cliff with everything crashing down around her. This is Adora trying desperately to hang onto her friendship with Catra even when it’s all crashing down. Despite the fact that Catra is trying to sever their friendship, when Catra cuts the web.

 In the second cliff scene Adora reaches out to Catra trying desperately to save Catra from herself, but Catra once again denies Adora’s help and lets go of the ledge herself. She’s gotten to the point where her jealousy has become so all consuming that she would rather fall to her destruction than accept Adora’s help. Adora can't save Catra from herself. She’s done all she can. If Catra wants to get off the metaphorical ledge she has to decide to help herself. 

It’s important to mention that in both situations Adora feels bad about how everything turned out. In “Promise” Adora apologizes to Catra for things that were out of her control such as the other cadets and shadow weaver showing her preferential treatment in comparison to Catra. In the one from “Remember” Adora tells Catra she won’t leave her again. But Catra also decided not to go with Adora. It was a two way street. It’s not just Adora’s fault for the crumbling of their relationship despite that Adora herself believes this to be the case. On Catra’s end her responses in these scenes come from a place of pain and hurt. Catra will not be able to reach out or grab Adora’s hand until she admits acknowledges the real source of her pain instead of blaming Adora alone. With the final two the necessary shift happen on both sides. 

In “Save the Cat” the “cliff” scene is when Catra, controlled by horde prime, jumps from the ledge and Adora quickly follows and jumps as well. There is no reaching out for one another but there is a marked difference in that when one falls the other follows. There’s still a gap, as symbolized by them falling at different times and not being able to grab each other’s hand, but they are making an attempt to bridge that gap. This is the closest they have come to an understanding and it’s a start to being able to fully reconnect and be honest with themselves and each other. Right before the fall Catra tries to reach out to Adora, she is done pushing her away, but she still has things to resolve before she can reach Adora. 

Then there is this fourth and final one. Catra is now the one reaching out for Adora who is in a helpless situation. Catra is the one asking for Adora to stay and for the first time since the start of the series one saves the other from the cliff. They finally come to an understanding. Neither is lying to themselves anymore and they’ve decided to stop lying to each other. The most important difference between this time and the past three is that Catra is the one reaching out. In the past three scenes it is Adora trying to reach out to Catra (or is the first to reach out) and Catra is the one to refrain from doing so. This is why Noelle said the bravest thing Catra does this season is ask Adora to stay because until this point Catra has been too afraid to actually reach out to Adora and decide to stay herself. Catra in this scene has already decided to stay with Adora this time no matter the outcome. She’s decided that she won’t leave whereas the past few times she was the one who left. This is Catra’s most emotionally vulnerable moment. She’s laying herself bare despite the fact that there may be rejection. That Adora will leave before Catra. That Adora may, like Catra did before, refuse to take her hand. And Adora is, for the first time in the series, reaching out her hand to allow someone to stay with her in a dangerous situation. Adora up until this point has pushed people away and tried to shoulder the dangerous burdens all on her own. Right here she is accepting that she can’t do this alone. That it’s okay that she can’t. And that wanting to not be alone when everything is crashing down is okay. That wanting a future, which she has just decided to reach for, is okay. Adora is more than what she can do for others and Catra is more than what others think of her. It’s a very beautiful resolution to their arcs.

Dororo (2019) The Tale of the Nue- Conflict of the Want and Need

The Tale of Nue is actually a great episode to watch for an example of character writing and the conflict of want and need they go through in an arc. This is a great example of a setback in a character’s arc. They do this by making it seem like the need necessitates the want. We see Hyakkimaru start to get and realize what he needs, connection and an understanding of others through his interaction with Dororo at the beginning of the episode. The lack that he has seems to have eased because of Dororo. The conflict of the episode creates a clash between the want and the need by having Dororo be in trouble and Hyakkimaru be unable to save her because of the limits of his prosthetics. If he had his real arms he would have been able to save Dororo. This makes him lean even more into his lie that to fill the lack he needs his real body. This pushes him even further into his descent than before despite being so close to discovering what he really needs. 

Destiny - Conflict of Feelings through Juxtaposition

Adora breaking the sword is a perfect example of showing conflicting feelings through juxtaposition in scenes. This moment of victory and triumph is followed quickly by sadness.

 It starts out with loud, intense music that sounds similar to the music that plays during the revelation that Adora doesn’t get to refuse firing the heart of Etheria in Destiny part 1, which usually conveys a sense of inevitability or lack of control. The main difference between the two is the end in the original one the music fades to a quiet, somber note, but in the one used during this scene the music cuts off completely when Adora breaks the sword. Adora has stopped the heart. She has broken free of her destiny symbolized through the music breaking off. The scene is also brightly colored matching the triumphant tone, but is quickly followed by a sad, quiet, empty scene where Adora is left alone with the broken shards of the sword.

The stark juxtaposition this scene has from the loud, epic, colorful scene just prior puts the conflicting feelings Adora must be feeling on full display. Yes she just broke free from her destiny, yes she just stopped a universe destroying weapon, but she also lost everything that she felt gave her worth in this war. She just lost she-ra and her power and it happens just when Horde Prime has discovered them and set etheria in his sights. The lack of music in this scene is for a very different reason than in the previous one. This is a deeply personal moment for Adora. Adora has effectively “killed” she-ra (as far as she knows). This is her moment to grieve before she has to face the hardships to come.

Ford v Ferrari Review

I went into Ford v Ferrari with very little knowledge about the real world events it was meant to depict within the film. It managed to get me invested in the story and characters during its 2 and a half hour runtime. When I left the theater I wanted to go right back in to rewatch the film. I was blown away by everything from the production to the performances. There didn’t seem to be any weak links.

Matt Damon and Christian Bale do a phenomenal job. These are some of my favorite performances that the two have given in recent memory. The scene near the end where Shelby goes by the Miles’ house and talks to Ken’s son Pete while trying his best not to break down was acted incredibly by Damon. These two had great on screen chemistry and I believed their friendship despite the arguments and fights they got into. The Miles family were all well cast. I was especially impressed with Noah Jupe. He is a talented young actor that I’m happy to see gaining recognition. This whole film is full of A+ casting.

The cinematography and directing were both incredible. It did a good job of making you feel the speed, adrenaline, and tension of each race. The perspective of the driver that both Shelby and Ken talk about in the film was shown by having the sound around the driver mute and the camera angle would open up and slow down. This gives the viewer the same, or a similar, feeling the driver must have felt. 

The real strength of this film is that it manages to capture your attention not just in the loud moments of competition, but in the quiet moments for the characters as well. My favorite shot of the film is actually the wide shot of Ken and his wife Mollie dancing in the empty hangar after Ken has been left behind and told he can’t drive. So much emotion is conveyed in that short yet tender shot. Ken is clearly torn up about being unable to race and his wife knows that. They don’t talk about it, but you know they both understand each other and support/comfort one another. This is the case with just about every scene concerning the Miles family. The movie makes sure you know how much they care about each other and it makes it hit all the harder when Ken doesn’t make it out of the car at the end during the test run.

I highly recommend this film be seen in theaters. I believe it is worth the price of admission and then some. I had a blast with this movie and I hope anyone reading this did as well.

The Symbolism and Motifs Behind Adora and Catra’s Designs/Looks

Adora 

(Hair down)

The biggest visual motif that is used for Adora is her hair. When she is Adora her hair being up symbolizes her being constrained by her destiny, obligations, responsibilities, past abuse, etc and every time she has a breakthrough or is freed from one of these her hair is let down. This first happens in Destiny part 2 when Adora breaks the sword and for the first time in 4 seasons Adora’s hair is down and she has “freed” herself from her horrible destiny. In season 5 this happens more frequently. In Save the Cat Adora’s hair comes out of her ponytail when she is saving Catra, when she has resolved herself to mend their relationship and reconnect. She has once again “freed” herself from the guilt and emotional pain that came from having to believe that Catra was lost, of being able to reconnect and keep childhood promises and make new ones. And another big one in Heart part 2 after Catra and Adora confess to each other her hair once again falls out of the ponytail symbolizing Adora finally being able to reach for a future that she wants and being “freed” from the obligations that she thought she had to neglect her needs and sacrifice herself for others. Adora’s hair coming loose is (clearly through the examples mentioned) meant to symbolize emotional breakthroughs that Adora has. Adora is a character that isn’t that in touch with her emotions and struggles to comprehend things beyond what she was raised for, battle and war, so each breakthrough is her gradually breaking free of her upbringing.

(She-ra’s look season 1-4)

(She-ra’s look in season 5)

It’s interesting to note that She-ra’s redesign follows the exact opposite motif with her hair, but symbolizes something similar. She-ra’s redesign looks a lot more like Adora does than her original design and this is meant to show how Adora has made she-ra her own. She-ra is no longer what the first ones intended, she is not the sword, she-ra is Adora. Another detail is how the new design incorporates certain aspects of each of the most important people in her life: the heart on her chest for Bow, the wings on her shoes for Glimmer, and her new mask for Catra. She-ra and her meaning have been altered by Adora and her experiences and I really love that fact. This is Adora taking back control over something that was supposed to be used to manipulate her. Which is a core part of her character because of the struggles she has with her abuse at shadow weaver’s hands. This is a part of the culmination of Adora’s arc of discovering she is more than what she can do for others. That her destiny, the destiny of she-ra, is in her own hands. That the manipulations of people trying to use her isn’t what has made Adora the person and hero she is today, but the personal connections she forged and her own personal drive to do what she believes is right.

Catra 

Season 1-3 look

season 4 (and beginning of season 5) look

Season 5 look

(under prime’s control)

(once she joins the rebellion)

One of my favorite recurring motifs with Catra is the literal mask that she wears and that in this season after she decides to save Glimmer the mask is gone from her design completely. The dark exterior that Catra uses to hide her feelings and pain is gone and she has finally decided to be true to herself. Same with her eyes. Catra has heterochromia which is used to outwardly display her dual nature and warring inner conflict between her love and hatred of Adora and in the 5th season it’s used to portray her struggle between self betterment and sliding into old habits and self destruction. This is shown very clearly in the episode “Taking Control”. Whenever Catra is lashing out at Adora she’s turned so that her blue eye is the only one in frame and when Catra is being vulnerable or showing regret her yellow eye is the one that’s in frame. When she decides to use the chip to discover Horde Prime’s plan and protect Adora her yellow eye is the one in frame further emphasizing her decision to change. I really liked this detail in the episode. There is also the very obvious one in the season 3 finale where the blue eye is the one covered by the corruption in season 3 symbolizing Catra’s decision to commit to her villain role. Her darkness had won over her light. And it comes full circle once again in the series finale. Once Catra makes the decision to go back for Adora and stands up to shadow weaver her blue eye is the one shown in side views. Showing that she has overcome what had been her biggest shortcoming in this series, pushing others away to protect herself.

I just really loved how they used Catra’s character design to its fullest and didn’t waste details. It’s really easy to just be like “wow this looks cool” and then do nothing with it, but the she-ra crew was like “wow this looks cool now let’s do something with it”. For example when Catra gets her redesign in season 4 her hair is a lot less poofy and her ear tufts are gone and it’s tied into her character progression. Catra got rid of her ear tufts because shadow weaver had used caressing them as a way to manipulate Catra and her feelings. Catra now associates them with negative emotions and weakness and wants to “cut off” any possibility of feeling that kind of emotional pain again. The darker colors of her clothes also reflect her decision in the previous season. Catra’s main colors before this season were much lighter reds, but now it’s a deep, dark red showing her descent into the darkness when she opened the portal and her denial. Her color scheme changes once again in season 5. Her shoulders have maintained the darker red, but the dark sleeves that she had are now gone making it so that the lighter reds overcome or overshadow the darker red symbolizing how the light inside of her has overcome the dark. Yet it’s still keeps the colors darker than season 1 because Catra has done things since then that have made it so that she can’t go back to being that same person before she committed her mistakes. She’s a much healthier person though and has come to accept her mistakes and try to move forward in a better healthier direction (again symbolized by the color of her clothes).

I also want to point out Catra’s design in save the cat. In Save the Cat Catra is in all white and grey with her hair slicked back perfectly in place. The more Catra comes to her senses and is freed from primes control the messier her hair gets. It is similar to Adora’s hair motif, but with Catra’s hair becoming messier it can also symbolize her embracing/remembering her mistakes and the messiness that comes from trying to move forward in a more positive direction. When brainwashed and under primes control she doesn’t even remember her mistakes because Prime has “washed” away the pain along with the memory. Also white is typically used to symbolize purity but in this context it feels very out of place. This isn’t who Catra is. The reason she goes back to the red is that once again it symbolizes her decisions and choices. Catra can’t undo the mistakes so she “wears” them and acknowledges them after this episode. This is why in the transition episode Catra is wearing grey undergarments. Catra isn’t at the point where she can face her mistakes even though she has admitted them, symbolized by the transfer from white to grey. Her clothing being undergarments alone shows how vulnerable and insecure Catra is feeling about these mistakes. The very next episode after she resolves to face her mistakes she goes back to her red color scheme, again with less of the dark red than in season 4 showing her decision to change and go down a “lighter” path.

The Last of Us Part II Review (minor spoilers)

I just finished the last of us part 2 and I want to start off by saying I think everyone should give this game a shot. A lot of the spoilers are taken really out of context and I think you should play the game through and decide for yourself how you feel about the finished product.

Now to the review (there will be minor spoilers, but no big story beats will be revealed)

This game managed to take all my expectations and flip them on their head. It's a deeply moving tale about guilt, grief, revenge, and redemption and none of those came in the form that I came in expecting. I saw a lot of people upset after the leaks surfaced and deciding they didn't want to play the game, but I strongly encourage you to play this and see how it plays out in its entirety. The story hit me in a way I wasn't expecting and it is my favorite first play through experience. 

I came into this game expecting a rather straightforward revenge story, but of course that wasn’t all I got. The biggest strength is that you get to play as both Ellie and Abby. You see both of their perspectives and everything that led them to this point. I can honestly say that I wanted both of them to break free of the cycle of violence and find peace. The expansion of our viewpoint is what elevates the story from very good to great. It was a bit jarring to have the viewpoint change because unlike in the Last of Us I wasn’t expecting to play a level as someone other than our main protagonist, let alone the character I initially thought of as the villain. I have never been so happy to be wrong. This shift in perspective really made me rethink everything I had done in the game as Ellie. It made it so that when Ellie and Abby fought or were close to confrontation I was worried for both of them. I didn't want either to lose or win over the other. And, without getting into anything, it made it so that the ending was so much more impactful. I don’t know if I’ve been that invested in the final section of gameplay in any game I’ve played before except for maybe the first game. The Last of Us Part II is a game I won’t forget.