Any Other Critical Role Fans Been Thinking This ?? #AimeeCarerro #she-ra #CriticalRole #Dungeons&Dragons

Any other Critical Role fans been thinking this ?? ☺️ 😜 #AimeeCarerro #she-ra #CriticalRole #Dungeons&Dragons

free to share 👍 or w/e idk yur life 😜

~EtheriaDearie p.s check out my blog if you like She-ra meta's 🙂

“Promise”

Why can’t you just… Promise ?

Today’s goal is an in-depth look at one of the most beautiful and breathtaking episodes of She-ra: “Promise”

Storywise, it’s incredibly important to the series, and focuses entirely on Catradora. It’s the first time since Adora left Catra behind to seek out the sword that the girls really have an opportunity to talk, and things are not going well. Both of them are royally pissed off at the other, with good reason.

For Adora, we’re gonna deflate that proud hair poof of hers a bit, as we’ll take an honest look at her as a person at this point in her life. And Catra… she’s really guarding her feelings closely, as she’s already deeply angry with Adora. But we will use the combination of Catra’s younger self in the memories they see, plus looking at other times in the series that relate to this episode, where she was less guarded, in order to understand her as a person at this time. Also: warning: tl;dr, best enjoyed while cozy with a drink..

To get started, we skip to when they end up stuck together…

After Adora takes drastic measures to ward off the security spiders by collapsing the tunnel, the girls are now stuck together, and so… they talk…

We immediately see how incredibly irritated they are with each other as Adora chides Catra for being in the Crystal Castle, since the monsters will continue to attack them as long as she’s protecting Catra… only to have Catra retort that she didn’t ask for protection. Some snippy bickering back and forth happens, then…

Adora asks: “Does Shadow Weaver know you’re here?” Very deadpan assertion from Adora. She knows Catra must be disobeying orders, she just doesn’t know why.

“I’d say Shadow Weaver has bigger problems right now”. Catra is already starting her move against SW back at the Horde. With SW abusively blocking her every move within the Horde, and now that Catra knows that SW was going to mind wipe Adora, Catra has decided she must deal with her abuser.

Adora puts on her telltale sideways grin, and Catra chafes at Adora’s flirtation, saying “I told you it’s not because I like you” downplaying Adora’s suggestion that this was the reason she let her go. Catra freely admits here that she does like Adora, but it’s not the real reason she did it. Still, Catra doesn’t explain further, and we see later that Catra often lets Adora explain away her actions this way… but that Adora constantly misses the deeper truths.

"Where are your new best friends? I thought you did everything together”. She’s very snarky and dismissive of Adora and her flirting. She’s mad about Adora leaving her for her new life.

“The ones you let SW imprison and curse?” Adora is angry at Catra for what she did, which was a sudden escalation of things by Catra.

“Yeah obviously, what other friends would I be talking about?” An obvious dig at Adora for leaving her, everything behind. She deadpans this, staring back plainly. Catra is obviously really angry at Adora… while Adora is legitimately mad at Catra for doing something so nasty to Bow and Glimmer…

::Let’s take a moment to talk about Catra’s feelings about Adora’s new friends: Catra feels horribly betrayed by this. Adora completely tossed her aside, and replaced her with Bow and Glimmer. What comes to mind is at the end of Sea Gate, Catra is thrown in the water and then looks up at Adora, who is celebrating and cuddling with Bow and Glimmer. Catra is emotionally forlorn watching this, as Scorpia comes to drag her off to safety, Adora doesn’t even look back towards her.

She’s forgotten, Adora showed no love towards her at all in that scene (and then hardly any at Princess Prom, either). Adora ignored her plea for her to return, she didn’t reach out to Catra at all. And now she watches her cuddle with her new friends: everything Catra thought she had with Adora meant nothing, and she’s been replaced with these feel goodie goods who are fawning all over Adora.

Suffice to say, Catra couldn’t do this, she’s got way too many issues with emotional intimacy and touch aversion. So she watches Adora, seeing that what she offered her wasn’t good enough, knowing because of it she’s forgotten. Catra was trying really hard to be a close friend to Adora in spite of her issues, but as we will see, Adora wasn’t trying to understand what was going on with Catra. And because of this, Catra was too afraid to express her affection openly, and yet here’s Adora… accepting all of Bow and Glimmer’s love, for which Adora really did nothing to earn. Adora took Catra’s friendship for granted while ignoring her deeper needs, as will be explained, then completely abandons her, not even seeming to miss her. Catra is deeply hurt by the unfairness of this.

>Catra stares back at Adora, frustrated when she doesn’t even acknowledge their lost friendship.

“Well, we don’t need to go together. You do your weird little magic quest thing I’ll find my own way out”. Catra looks resentfully at the sword on Adora’s back as she says this. Catra is laying down boundaries, except it’s useless since they are trapped together. But, boundaries are important to Catra and as the episode progresses, Adora shows that she doesn’t really understand Catra’s.

>As they walk along, both girls’ shadows loom equally tall. The symbolism is that in this story, both are equally important… it’s also a shockingly beautiful sequence. (pic above)

After entering the room of infinite darkness, Catra tries to separate from Adora but the door is gone, they are stuck together. Weird things start happening. As the Fright Zone appears, both of them are confused. Adora decides to suspect Catra, after all, she attacked her friends. But as Adora grabs Catra, Catra is surprised and confused… Catra doesn’t like being touched unexpectedly, Adora knows this but is ignoring that and attacking her. She gets treated as an enemy when she clearly hasn’t done anything wrong, and it sets the tone for the two of them: Adora has constantly treated Catra as an enemy since the very moment she defected, not even trying to understand Catra’s point of view. And so Catra increasingly emotionally distances herself from Adora. Catra angrily casts Adora’s arm aside, not liking being vilified by her, and Adora doesn’t understand why Catra is so upset. Catra slips away to explore, needing space from her.

The way Adora immediately suspects and then attacks Catra is symbolic to the whole episode: by defecting to the Rebellion, Adora chose to start treating Catra, and her entire unit, as enemies, backing it up with hostility. But Catra doesn’t really agree that the horde is evil… in her experience, it’s just how life is.

>The two girls, now separated, call out to each other. Adora hears Catra’s call, then another: young Catra is behind her, looking lost and insecure. Catra joins Adora as their first memory has just begun…

Keep reading

I'm still reading you latest awesome essay but I wanna point out before I forget in the process: Shadow Weaver as you said used Adora as a puppet against Catra, and then almost immediately Light Hope does the same by using fighting simulations that are designed to make She-Ra comfortable into killing Catra and "letting go"

:: Adora and the darkness within-

Hey! Thanks so much for the kind review! And thanks for bringing this up, because you're exactly right. It not so cute like it seems- (Adora is completely useless in s2ep1 the second Catra shows up ☺️- turning her sword into a coffee mug and a flute!? lol!!) We are, indeed, actually seeing something that is very scary-

But it couldn't possibly be that, right? After all, Adora wouldn't really do it, because when she puts her sword to Catra's throat in White Out, Catra then flirtatiously teases her...

.. Sadly, that's not the end of this, Adora does internalize to this brutal conditioning after all. (spoiler warn ⚠️) Adora does continue drilling hard on the idea of killing Catra. And, she almost does so- if you don't know to what I'm referring, it has to do with the one other 100% canon SPOP source material- I'll cover it below in the spoiler section.

Just... know that Adora really does internalize this concept-that she must kill her best friend for 'destiny'... (more later.)

It's this belief in 'destiny' by which Light Hope is still able to continue to manipulate Adora, even after she refuses to leave her friends behind, to "let go". Destiny is a concept that's so important to Adora's perception of self value that Light Hope uses it against her, towards the goal of her evil purposes, and of getting Adora to "let go." If Light Hope can get Adora to kill Catra, that's a whole lot of 'letting go' all at once. It would have broken Adora, she never would have recovered. It's so terrifying.

Where does this belief that Adora must do anything to fulfill 'destiny' come from, why is she so concerned with it that she stops thinking any further? Why must it be Adora's burden to do this ?

We know Adora does show wisdom, by refusing to leave her friends behind- she's not willing to give in to Light Hope's idea that she should seclude herself in the woods. Yet, isn't Catra also Adora's friend- one which she hurtfully turned against for what is a false destiny, and whom she is now plotting to kill ?

What's really going on is super ugly- despite the cute undertones to lighten the mood. Light Hope is using Adora's sense of duty against her to get her to potentially do something that's very hurtful to herself, and to the person who loves her most. What's so wrong with Adora's 'destiny', that she's got to kill someone she loves? How can that be right, is the war even what we think it is, and is killing Catra for it the right choice ?

Why- that's the big question. Why is it Adora's, or She-ra's, job to save the princesses from the Horde? Why does Angella feel the need to make this Adora's burden? Could the Rebellion really not have done it themselves, or did they just give up out of grief? As Catra says in s5ep9: "Why does it have to be Adora?"

Like Catra says in s5- this is exactly right: all throughout SPOP, nothing about Adora's situation is right, or fair. Everyone is just forcing their burdens on her... and she ends up a desperately anxious person because of it.

And it's all a lie, a set up to make Adora fail- just like Mara did.

Like Mara, Adora was "never meant to succeed. They made a plan for (..her)"- it's history, all over again, and everything Adora thinks she's doing for 'destiny' and to end the war is part of this lie. That includes the 'destiny' as Angella describes it for her: it's just another likely set up: "I know the legend of warrior of the one the First Ones called She-ra, they said she would return to us in the hour of our greatest need to bring balance to Etheria". How, exactly ? By winning the war at any cost ?

This is also almost certainly a myth started by the First Ones to prepare the next She-ra for failure, as part of their plan to use the weapon. A deception implanted within cultural beliefs, meant to further enable their betrayal- Light Hope and the First Ones never had any intention of bringing balance to Etheria, they only wish to use the weapon. And again, why is it Adora's job to save the rebellion from the horde???

Angella and the rebellion gave up on that all on their own, back when Adora was just a small child. Also... keep in mind that Shadow Weaver was allowed to run to the horde, and consequently left with no accountability and complete control over little Adora and Catra, which she used to abuse the heck out of them. So why is this supposedly Adora's burden?? There's nothing fair about it.

We see that Adora feels legitimate anger, desperation, and sorrow from how she's been forced into her position- everyone is hurting her with their burdens. It puts Adora in a constant state of anxiety, and her feelings of frustration and anger at this is well deserved.

But... what's so interesting about Adora's situation is that her anger towards Catra is perhaps the least deserved, even though Catra is fighting against her in a war which is wrong. Adora might feel mad at Catra for refusing to go along as she enacts her beliefs and this 'destiny', instead making it harder by fighting back against her, and yet, Adora's not even doing the right thing in the first place as her entire destiny is a lie to use her as a weapon. Catra simply refuses to just accept her friend as this person who just turns on people who mean something to her, supposing evil upon them all. Adora really is doing the wrong thing by enabling Light Hope's evil... and she can't even see it...

Well... what Angella told Adora about her 'destiny' seemed to make sense- and so she went with it. She's there to "bring balance" through 'destiny' by saving them from the Horde. So, for 'destiny', she assumes that she needs to be willing to do whatever she has to win that war- she has to hurt Catra...

Deception, and more deception- what even is the war on Etheria ? Where does Hordak even come from, other than Light Hope purposely crashing him on Etheria to set a conflict? It's not Adora's fault that the rebellion couldn't deal with Hordak, she was a small child when the rebellion fell apart. And Adora's agreeing to win this war at any cost is a bridge too far... if she were to kill Catra, the damage to herself... it would be beyond comprehension. When we see her talking to Light Hope in s2ep1, we finally get to see how Adora is all kinds of hurt by Catra's refusal of her, she's all broken up inside: "she's in my head". Catra wasn't supposed to be Adora's enemy: Adora couldn't realize this, and she made her one by essentially giving in to the prejudicial views of the rebellion.

Long story short, the war isn't quite what we think it is. Instead- who, really, are She-ra's greatest enemies? Next to Horde Prime and the First Ones, Hordak hardly even measures...

Adora's biggest enemy, as She-ra, is, in fact, the First Ones: and we know that because of Mara. We know Horde Prime must have existed in Mara's time, yet Mara considered her own people, and the weapon which they created, to be so much greater an enemy that she gave up everything to stop them. And just like Mara, what the First Ones want to do to Adora is so evil it outweighs anything having to do with the war on Etheria- the entire planet is at stake if Adora doesn't wake up to the reality of how the First Ones wish to use her for their evil...

What the First Ones did was always the original betrayal..

But, Adora is a soldier, and so she has a really hard time realizing this. Light Hope uses her belief in 'destiny' and duty to manipulate her- as a soldier, Adora does what she told (within reason) because what Light Hope tells her is what she expects to hear. Light Hope tells her that killing Catra will end this war, so she drills the moment of killing Catra to do it. What act is too much, what price is too high, what cost to her own morality is too dark? How terrifying it would be if Adora actually did kill Catra...

So, here's the warn for LotFP spoilers 🚨🚨 -more good discussion is yet to come- and I promise not to spoil anything more than necessary for you folks-

💞🏳️‍🌈🌹

(If you really don't want spoilers, now's your chance)

So... Adora does actually make the decision to try to kill Catra.

In LotFP, it's obvious that Adora had continued drilling the idea of killing Catra, over and over, with Light Hope following White Out. Because- like in White Out- Adora gets a chance to hit Catra- and this time she doesn't hesitate.

Adora consciously attempts to kill Catra. Keep in mind that Adora still had no idea how to heal at that point. Why does Adora try to do that, and what makes her believe she has to do it?

*(p.s- I won't go over how LotFP happens after s2ep5, but if you've been wondering when it took place- yup)

The rebellion may talk a cute game around being more humane with war... but, that's mostly Bow. When it comes to it, both Glimmer and Adora at times take actions that cross the line into the downright sinister to end the war- no act is too dark for them. Adora comes terrifyingly close to killing Catra because of it...

Luckily for Catra, in the moment of Adora's brutal confusion and attempt to take her life, Catra finally has someone in her life that will take care of her, and Scorpia steps in to protect Catra.

Scorpia then rightly tells Adora off for her continued, out of control, bloodlust towards Catra, willing to murder her friend for what turns out to be an evil destiny, anyways. Catra was never planning to take things that far- she only tries to bring Adora low, or capture her... and to make her see how she's naive. Why should Adora bear such a burden of the war, at such potential emotional cost to herself and to Catra's life?

... Adora ends up suitably chastised for her actions in LotFP, and you can start to see a change in her behavior following it in s3ep3-ep6: she's realized she can't just kill Catra. She also begins to realize that Light Hope has been manipulating her, and that she's been living a lie.

Unfortunately, Adora's actions before this point comes at a cost: SPOP is very clear about consequences: it leaves Catra desperately afraid after seeing the love of her life constantly trying to kill her. Each time Adora sees Catra following Promise, 3 times in total, she ends up trying to kill her- unwittingly during the Battle of Brightmoon, possessed during White Out, and then as a conscious decision in LotFP. Is that acceptable behavior?

This cruel behavior Adora so hurtfully has towards Catra for false destiny sets up Catra's biggest mistake and her following mental break down:

Catra desperately looks elsewhere for any kind of support- the person she loves wants to kill her... Hordak is being hurtful and threatening her: So, Catra decides to try to trust Shadow Weaver. After all, why not- nobody can be THAT evil, right??? She must have SOME humanity...

That's a mistake, as Shadow Weaver is all bad, and all that Catra gets for trusting her is more horrible emotional wounds and so much more damage that by the time Adora sees Catra in s3ep3, she's one bad hit from totally losing her mind. And the hit comes... and she does... and Adora simply cannot reach Catra through her grief and her anger.

Even though Adora changes her behavior towards Catra in s3ep3-ep6- showing deference for her past mistakes, love for Catra, humility, Catra is too far gone to hear it- she only sees protecting herself from further harm at any cost- that includes pulling the switch and winning the war. It was how she was going to finally be safe...

Everything proceeds to fall apart, so much chaos ensues. One thing that's so scary about Adora's behavior is that it shows she was fighting while having no idea where her line was: what action was too much, too sinister, for her 'destiny'? She didn't really understand her own feelings, her own darkness.... and if Adora had taken Catra's life... it's real scary to think about. Fighting without understanding your own convictions is always scary, which it was for both Adora and Catra.

And so, by the time Portal happens... there's not much Adora can do for Catra. She's too hurt to hear Adora's pleas of love. All she can really do is ask Catra to be better, to heal herself. As Adora says:

"You made your choice, now live with it!*

*WOMP*

She's right, Catra can't live with it, and we see this in s4 as her anger begins to breaks down into something else.

Catra is stuck in a downward spiral, and at least Adora is always trying to be better. Can we say the same about Catra? No not really.

One last thought-

Scorpia is a good, smart, interpersonal person, she realizes Catra's needs, she protects her like no one else ever has, including Adora. Yeah, Catra doesn't really deserve her, (also, Scorpia was always Catra's best option for support, something Catra should have worked harder at accepting), but it's really good for people like Catra to see someone show care for them, besides. And, Scorpia also stops Adora from doing something she herself never would have recovered from.

Hooray for Scorpia! Hooray!! Without her, no kiss, no saving the universe. Hooray for Scorpia!! She's the best- 🖤♥️🤍

Happy 1 year anniversary to Catradora canon!! 🎉🏳️‍🌈 💞🎉🥰

Everything in SPOP is always a team effort. Scorpia deserves Adora's gratitude, after all, Scorpia saved Catra from Adora's own hurtful confusion. How scary it is that Adora came so close to taking the life of her future lover... 😥

Thanks as always for a like or a ✨✨✨rebloggg✨✨✨ and let me know if you have questions or concerns! I will gladly answer them-

With Love,

~EtheriaDearie

::Here's a link to the original post to which this refers- all links are on tumblr

🥰 Got time for one more fast and fun read about Catradora love to help the author out? Check on this quick read-💞🏳️‍🌈

LotFP = Legend of the Fire Princess

Here's the total list of more reading if you'd like-

Etheria Dearie ::blog

Etheria Dearie ::blog

Hey! I just found your blog and I've gotta say, your analysis for the characters and episodes are incredible! They're so engaging and intere

How Corrupted Catra knows ALL of the Princesses dirty little secrets..(and so does Catra)

Corrupted Catra is one of the most visually stunning sequences in She-ra. Her look is iconic, her anger has been seared into our minds... it's as though everything about her is just... pure... magic.

That's right, because Corrupted Catra is magic. She's Catra, and yet she's more... She has magical knowledge and power. Supernatural powers, you might say.

This makes her Catra... extra. Because Corrupted Catra... knows all.

That she knows all is made immediately clear::

She accuses Adora of being a portal baby, something Catra simply did not know at the time (explanations below) and then goes on to suggest that Adora is fantastically guilty of all that has happened. And the sneaky truth is that Corrupted Catra is exactly right: Adora really is the source of all that has happened. Because Adora... is She-ra...

Explanations can wait a bit, but the fact that Corrupted Catra knows Adora's She-ra history means Corrupted Catra is unique, different, than Catra herself. And this is what makes her so important. Once we hold this insight while considering all of Corrupted Catra's words, together, in relation to each other and to the story, it becomes clear that Corrupted Catra is talking to Adora about the totality of the She-ra story, even parts of Adora's own story she herself hasn't yet uncovered, and also weren't even revealed to us, the viewers, by the end of season 3. And Catra, too, has this knowledge, because Corrupted Catra is magic.

Now, the goal of this post is to establish theory, unlike my other posts which could be described as character studies. The intent here is to lay out how Corrupted Catra is unique, and because of it, she has importance to Catra’s arc as well as the story's overall arc. Understanding Corrupted Catra is important to further character analysis of Catra post portal episodes, hence the discussion. This certainly isn't the last you’ll hear of this, so for now, I hope you enjoy!! 📝

To start, we'll look at what is proven that Corrupted Catra knows, then we'll discuss how the butterfly effect is part of Adora's story, and finally I'll share a possible origin story for Corrupted Catra.

Let's get right to it ~

So here are Corrupted Catra's words, along with their simplified meanings: (*extended explanations to follow)

"It's always the same with you Adora. I have to do this, or-r we have to do that. Let's be honest: all of this... is your fault."

::This is Corrupted Catra's thesis, her divine message intended for Adora… and for Catra. Corrupted Catra is, in fact, revealing that Adora has caused a butterfly effect.

"If you hadn't gotten captured, your sword wouldn't have opened the portal."

::Adora was incredibly naive when she accepted the sword, she was foolish to give in to Light Hope's false narrative that she was destined to be a hero... Consequentially, Adora is now caught up in a dangerous sequence of events, for which she is woefully unprepared.

“If you hadn't found the sword, and been the world’s worst She-ra, none of this would have happened.”

::This statement is actually having to do with Adora's own fears: that she will fail at being She-ra, that she's been failing in her duty, and is about Adora's recent revalations that she is, like Mara, caught up in a dark First Ones plot.

“Admit it: the world would still be standing if you'd never come through that portal in the first place."

::Catra knows that Adora is a portal baby, that she's a First One, and that she's being used as their weapon. Also, once Adora was portaled into Despondos, becoming She-ra was inevitable.

“You… made me this! You took… everything from me!”

::The abuse Catra suffered by Shadow Weaver's hand was because of Adora being She-ra, which SW must have figured out back when they were only children. Young Catra loved Adora, which SW hated because it threatened her plan to sacrifice Adora for power, and so SW tried to break Catra's spirit.

“You broke the world… and it is all… your… fault.”

::Everything that’s happened… even what is yet to happen, including the activation of the portal by Catra... is part of a chain reaction of events which started when Adora was pulled through the portal as an infant: Adora's existence changed the timeline of Etheria, and is the origin of all of the conflict that's occurring… in the past, the present, and even the future. Because Adora was pulled through the portal to make her She-ra, the conflict which Mara put on hold by sacrificing herself has been restarted, with various forces now scrambling for control over She-ra.

… And Corrupted Catra knows ALL of this, including possible implications for the future. She therefore knows about the super weapon.. and likely it's intended use. (*explanations to follow)

Now, let's go over the proof that Catra does indeed know what she knows, as it is revealed within the story:

Firstly: Catra knows what Corrupted Catra knew because everyone retained their full memories of the portal dimension, as proven by Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio:

Next, Catra's emotions and reactions immediately after she returns to reality further confirm she remembers being Corrupted Catra, including Adora punching her out:

But most importantly... Catra's knowledge is confirmed later on in season 5 through Horde Prime:

Notice the similarities of how Adora reacts to Corrupted Catra's accusal, and then to Horde Prime's: she's as surprised as we are about their knowledge... (in pic1, Horde Prime calls Adora a First One, in pic2 Corrupted Catra tells Adora she's a bad She-ra >>because she's a First One)

Horde Prime might have been able to predict that Adora was a First One because of his past lives, but as their conversation continues it proves he knows her story. This is because Horde Prime didn't know Adora's She-ra story until Catra is chipped, as before this, he was still playing Glimmer and Catra against each other in order to gain information.

His chipping Catra is the how of his 'I see all, I know all', and that he gains such intimate knowledge about Adora, we then know Catra knew all of Adora's She-ra history. But since Catra never interacted with Adora in any way during season 4 where she would have learned Adora's She-ra story, Catra must have learned it somewhere we're not shown. Except, that we were... she knows it because of Corrupted Catra...

Also consider that he's telling Adora all this as he stands next to Catra, with his hand on her shoulder. Creepy in the least, it indicates where he gained this knowledge. Furthermore, the way he taunts Adora shows he has an outdated knowledge of She-ra, just like Catra would have had. He doesn't know that Adora broke the sword, and will instead tap into her primal She-ra powers as the true champion of Etheria...

Lastly, that surprising bit: Catra knows about the super weapon, as confirmed by what she says as well as her actions at the end of season 4 and beginning of season 5:

Catra knows- she isn't bluffing when she tells Horde Prime she can help him understand the weapon. This is because she already knows how it works. During her time as Corrupted Catra, she must have been given the big picture of everything to do with the First Ones and She-ra: and so she knows She-ra and the princesses are part of this weapon...

Ok, but Corrupted Catra doesn't talk about the weapon directly, right? What she says is vague, so how can we know? Well, because that part of the story was yet to be revealed: her omission was necessary from a storytelling perspective... and yet, later evidence indicates that Catra knew all along.

That's the basics of the theory, for now let's call it the Corrupted Catra theory: It is that Catra gained inside knowledge, by way of Etheria's magic, through Corrupted Catra, during the conclusion of season 3, having to do with the First Ones corruption of Etheria and of She-ra... and Catra knows all of this, even as Adora is yet to uncover the dark plots and manipulations herself, during season 4.

The implications of Catra knowing all of this is complicated, and as this isn't a character study, I won't get into them. But to briefly explain: Catra doesn't understand all of it immediately... she processes what she learned in a way that's very similar or even mirrors how she's processing her emotions and trauma throughout seasons 4 and 5. That Catra is so emotionally confused post portal contributes to her understanding of things also being confused, and so it takes her time to really understand the total implications of all that she knows...

But, I degress...

Hey, thanks so much for reading this far!! To let you know, what's up next is a descriptive readalong of Corrupted Catra's conversation with Adora, and how it's all one BIG discussion about the butterfly effect. If you want more information, feel free to keep reading… if not, you've got the gist of it. Thanks again!

Also, a bonus level: a possible origin story as to how Catra comes to be Corrupted Catra...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We take up the story in s3ep6... just as Corrupted Catra is going to encounter Adora... (obligatory CW: despair/death-)

::Adora kneels, crying... Bow and Glimmer have just faded away… they've given Adora all the love they could, telling her that they believe in her... and so Adora cries... fearful at the magnitude of what she now faces: a universe collapsing in on itself, a world she helped create through her careless treatment of her friendship with Catra. Despite Bow and Glimmer's encouragement, Adora is still fearful that she won't overcome, to be able to fix things. As we see later when she meets Angella at the sword, even then, Adora is still convinced she must pay for her mistakes with her life.

But Catra is about to return... her beautiful, lovesome friend, who before throwing herself into the fires of the collapsing reality, finally told Adora why it hurt her so deeply that Adora didn't stay. Not with words, but instead with an authentic display of emotional need and vulnerability that Adora could see and begin to understand. And yet Catra, in the end, rejected her, not willing to say those words, to confess her love to Adora... instead lashing out and cruely throwing Adora to the side. Catra was unable to overcome her hurt and fear of abandonment in that moment… seemingly choosing death instead... not willing to trust in Adora to fix their love…

And so... Catra returns... her voice corrupted, her features being consumed by darkness. She is Corrupted Catra, and she is the personification of Catra's anger and disappointment at Adora for breaking her heart. And yet, so very much more... she is a being of divine purpose, created by Etheria’s deep magic, who is meant to challenge Adora's entire world view... and make both girls see Adora in a new light…

>Adora is thrown back by Corrupted Catra, snapping to the bar in the Crimson Waste. It's not a place the two of them met, no, this place is meaningful to Catra. It is the point of Catra's deepest low after Hordak ‘kills’ her, rending her down to her very soul... and is the place of her epic speech about losing it all, being unwanted and persecuted.

Corrupted Catra straddles Adora, deep flirtation in her voice. Her desire is evident, Adora is a thing she wants but lashes out at, viciously protecting herself from her feelings of love for Adora...

She coos at Adora, asking her where her friends are, reminding her of the fact that Adora left her forsaken, and that the people which Catra believes don't care for her as much as Catra cared for Adora before she broke their promise, are gone... it's just the two of them now. She finally has Adora alone... and so she lashes out, wanting Adora to see her pain...

Adora dodges it, pulling Catra close, looking her in her eyes, trying to explain again the seriousness of the danger they face...

Catra pushes at her face, rejecting her plea: "It's always the same with you Adora. I have to do this, or-r we have to do that." Catra pulls her up by the hair, Adora at her mercy. "Let's be honest: all of this... is your fault." Adora looks at Catra, confused and yet... deeply ashamed...

What we are witnessing is an incredibly perceptive take down of Adora as a person. One that isn't really fair to her, but is based in the undeniable truths Corrupted Catra knows about Adora, knowledge that is entirely beyond what the present Catra knew, and reflects hard truths about the nature of their relationship that the present Catra had only seen glimpses of...

::Let's pause here to take a quick aside regarding the season 2 and 3 story arc~~

::In case there's any confusion: both of the portal episodes are about Adora's broken promise to Catra. That's what they represent in the narrative of the story: that once Catra decides she should separate herself from Adora at the end of "Promise", bad, traumatic things happen to Catra. Catra thought she could be strong on her own, strong for herself, without needing the Promise which Adora broke, but the universe, fate, whatever... doesn't let her, and she gets hurt very badly.

First by Shadow Weaver's manipulation and abandonment, then by Hordak handing her a death sentence because she tried to trust SW, and finally when SW reappeared in the fright zone, channeling Glimmer's power and nearly killing Catra yet again. She's reeling from a cruel world which keeps trying to kill her, while also feeling a deep sadness of loneliness in her heart from missing Adora which saps her will to live. And Adora knows that she's let Catra down... that something has gone very wrong with Catra, leaving her frightened for her friend... she is just beginning to understand the consequences of her having left Catra.

[pic cation: Catra as Hordak suffocates her, Catra feeling powerless to SW's abuse, Adora's realization]

The portal happening is a reflection of this broken promise: Adora isn't there, and so she can't look out for Catra… and really terrible things happen to Catra after Adora left her brokenhearted. And so, Catra pulls the switch, in desperation to change her life, no matter the cost, and also heartbrokenly sad and wanting to die from all of her loneliness and pain. She's in a terrible state, and Adora needs to see this, to understand the truth of her heartbreak, because they were once all that each other ever had...

Right from that moment when Adora tells Catra that Shadow Weaver is in Bright Moon, Adora sees the change in Catra... something broke inside Catra then, and now Adora must try to recover her friend, and the universe, before it all falls apart from her betrayal of Catra... all that is happening... is because of that broken promise, and the seemingly unending hurt that her friend is feeling...

>>>Again, all of this is important, as its part of the butterfly effect we have yet to discuss. Hopefully that all made sense... let me know if you'd like to see a s2-s3 summary along these lines. For now, moving on.<<

>Back to Corrupted Catra, who is holding Adora at her mercy...

Corrupted Catra has just accused Adora of being the source of all the misery that has occurred, and she is right. But it's a narrow minded view which ignores the bigger truths, and it's horribly unfair to Adora. We'll explain this more as we go along.

>Adora is thrown, landing at the scene of the ice base where they had their second fight.

"If you hadn't gotten captured, your sword wouldn't have opened the portal."

I'll just say this: when Catra comes after Adora in the Crimson Waste, she is uninhibited, whereas before she was fighting with a code (ie, fighting She-ra 1vs1), this time she didn't. As she says post dying to Hordak "It doesn't matter what I do, I don't get to win". Catra beats Adora so fast because she's done playing by rules, and she's done with the rules because of the trauma that happened after Adora left her. In that moment when Catra captures Adora, all of Adora’s shortcomings as She-ra and as a friend to Catra caught up to her.

>C.Catra brings Adora low, throws snow in her face, pins her to the guard rail... "If you hadn't gotten the sword and been the world's worst She-ra, none of this would have happened."

We see Adora's face show intense shame and internal realization at the mention of her failure as She-ra. Something interesting is happening: this judgement of Adora being She-ra isn't Catra's, although she probably doesn't think Adora is very good at being She-ra. These are the very doubts and fears Adora herself has been struggling with: about being the new She-ra, and needing to meet Light Hope's austere expectations of her, of her inability to understand Mara's 'failure', of her recent revelations about Mara's sacrifice to stop the weapon and what this means for her as the next She-ra. And so somehow, Corrupted Catra is intimately knowledgable of Adora’s ongoing stuggles...

>Adora is thrown, landing in the ocean near Salineas where they met be soon after her defection, only to be pulled up out of the water by the hair by Corrupted Catra, who sneers at her:

"Admit it: the world would still be standing if you never came through that portal in the first place."

Ok, wait, so we know Catra probably overheard Adora complain about being taken from her family, but at no point does she say she came through a portal. Could this have been general knowledge from their childhood? No. We know for certain that Adora has no knowledge of being a portal baby (s3ep1). Shadow Weaver took in baby Adora with the intention of using her for her own gain, likely predicting she was She-ra. For that reason alone SW would have made sure that Adora coming through the portal wasn't common knowledge, and as 2nd in command, SW had the influence to do it. Furthermore, when Adora attempts to confront Hordak on taking her from her family by opening the portal, he sneers at it, saying she's of so little consequence that he doesn't even remember her. Once again, Corrupted Catra shows us that she knows far too much, is too perceptive of Adora even when we take into consideration how intelligent Catra is.

>Adora is thrown again, snapping to Princess Prom. Now C.Catra says something VERY interesting, full of furious hurt and sorrow: "You... made me this!" Adora tries to run, is caught: "You took... everything from me!" This statement she’s making isn't some darkly warped manifestation of C.Catra's anger, no… it's the actual truth.

And so Catra’s object of desire isn't allowed to run from this, as Adora must come to understand this truth. Once again, C.Catra is saying something which shows supernatural perception: To really understand what that is, we need to understand the two other points in the story when Catra says remarkably similar things about Adora being the source of her pain…

::One is at the end of s3ep3: When captured Adora tells Catra that SW is in Bright Moon, Catra responds: "Shadow Weaver... left me... for you. All of this... happened... because of you..." There are many similarities in what she says here to what C.Catra has just said. All the pain of SW abandoning Catra to die and then Hordak 'killing' her for it, and then again when SW returns to the Fright Zone and nearly kills Catra yet again, all of that trauma happening is, in Catra's mind, because of SW abandoning her to go be with Adora.

But really, SW went to Bright Moon because Adora is She-ra and She-ra could heal her, and because SW knew she had to avoid the death sentence that Hordak was handing down to her. Yes, SW still has her goal of using Adora as a sacrifice, but the story doesn't prove out that Catra is right: SW mostly just switches prisons, and Adora gains not a whole lot from her presence other than her healing ability (which SW needed her to learn for her own benefit), knowledge of her origin as a portal baby (which SW wouldn't want to give up, but needed to), and some limited knowledge of the Horde's portal plan. But Catra, instead, only sees this as Adora receiving privilege from her abuser, again... Catra fails to see the bigger picture.

::Then, in s3ep4, Catra comes face to face with SW again: after trying to fight both her and Glimmer, Catra lies bound and at the mercy of SW, so she accuses SW: "You made me this way... and you get to be the good guy...?" And then: "You couldn't WAIT to get away from here, from me... but you came back... for Adora..." This statement is even closer to the truth, and the meaning of C.Catra's words.

Catra is blaming SW's abuse for her compromised mental state... the anger she's lashing out with in defense of herself, which has her unable to stop hurting herself and others while wanting to avenge herself against SW with no care of the collateral damage. Catra knows that somehow, Adora has always been the reason why SW hurts her... she just cannot see why. Yes, this angry vindictive person Catra is devolving into is the result of SW's abuse, but it doesn't get to the real truth of why she was abused, and ended up as this fearful, angry person who feels as though she can never trust anyone ever again...

>Back to the present: Corrupted Catra stands over her object of desire, telling Adora she is the source of all of the pain that makes her so hurtful... telling her that she took everything from her...

... And Corrupted Catra is telling the full truth of why Catra was abused as a child: it was because of SW trying to emotionally destroy Catra, when she saw that Catra's love for Adora was too strong… because SW was grooming Adora to make her weak so she could control and then sacrifice her, and SW didn't want Adora to have such a devoted source of love in Adora's life. (If you need more information, feel free to check out part 1 of my Shadow Weaver Death discussion post.)

Corrupted Catra’s choice of words are all about the real truth behind SW’s abuse, and it is now revealed that Adora really is the source of all of Catra's pain: If Adora hadn't been She-ra, Catra wouldn't have faced SW 's wrath and cruelty like she did, because SW has only ever cared about using Adora for her own selfish and depraved reasons...

... And so, when Adora then leaves Catra, breaking her promise to her, Catra stops believing that there is good in the world... her inner self panics as it's being consumed by heartbreak, and her outer, survivor self becomes more and more defensive of her own life, causing her to stoops to depraved levels like her abusers, SW and Hordak, in order to defend herself.

And ALL of this hurt originated because of Adora... in one... single... event...

> Adora is thrown again, ending up in the chair of Mara's ship, where Catra captured her, as Corrupted Catra cruelly accuses her: "You broke the world... and it is all... your... fault..."

So, let's combine these words with Corrupted Catra’s statement to Adora about her coming through the portal as being the cause of the world teetering on the edge of oblivion...

... And we a ‘beat of the butterfly's wing’ scenario. One where Catra's childhood was cruelly torn apart, as the consequence of Adora being She-ra… the events of which have lead up to the tragic creation of the collapsing portal, all because, as a child, Catra fell in love with the wrong little girl-

… A little girl... who was pulled through a portal from another dimension… to fulfill a dark purpose of wielding a super weapon capable of annihilating the First One's enemies or even the universe itself… who was then taken in by a abusive unfeeling monster in SW… who planned to weaken Adora and then corrupt She-ra, to use her for SW's own dark purpose… who then, recognizing Catra's incredible love and devotion towards her intended victim… abused and nearly destroyed Catra's spirit as punishment...

Everything bad that's happened to Catra happened as part of a series of events which began when Adora was pulled into Catra's plane of existence: Adora is the beat of the butterfly's wing which unleashed a hurricane of bad consequences, resulting in Catra being abused so cruelly...

… And that pain has continued right up to the present moment... where a emotionally lost and desperate Catra opened a portal… destabilizing reality… leaving Adora in the desperate position of trying to save reality… which will cost the life of her friend's mother… all while Adora faces down this angry, hurt, betrayed, confused, and heartbroken Catra who she left behind... hurting her so deeply.

::Now... is it personally Adora’s fault that this butterfly effect occurred? Of course not, I do not mean to suggest that!! (Also, even though it's not Adora's fault, she still accepts the burden of generational trauma and wants to help fix it..) But that's the point: Adora never had a choice in becoming She-ra, just like Catra never had a choice with the childhood trauma that happened to her. Adora played no part in SW’s decisions, and she has always tried to do the right thing all along… and Catra nee- WAIT NO jkbdbejbksjkb ahhhh ok I'm not going to get into it here! It would take too long…

👏🌺🙂 Let's shift gears instead~

In closing , I'd like to share one possible reason that Catra may have been able to become Corrupted Catra, instead of just disappearing like everyone else did... after she seemingly chose to end it all the episode before by falling into the fires of the collapsing reality:

This theory has to do with Madam Razz.

... So, when Catra falls into the light the episode before, Adora then runs, crying, and shortly finds Madame Razz, who tells her to "go back to the beginning". After her little inspirational speech to Adora, Razz then leaves Adora and purposefully walks into the burning light of the collapsing reality... only to have Corrupted Catra emerge moments later, who then tails Adora until the moment where she catches Adora and begins her monologue... Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not...

In season 4, episode 10 we see Razz lament the fact that she wasn't able to help Mara overcome and survive the nefarious plan the First Ones made for her. The episode then ends with Razz leaving the pie for Mara, in remembrance of her sacrifice... Razz's struggle with her failure to Mara is very emotionally depicted...

... But, now Razz has a chance to help Adora succeed where Mara failed. So, how does she do that, when the First Ones plan for Adora, and the unstable power of the Heart, is so insidious?

Well… how about by making sure Adora has the one person who truly loves her and who she truly loves back there to help her ? Is it therefore possible, since it is apparent that Razz can travel through the portal realities as she wishes, that she might have encountered Catra, and then sent her back on her way to Adora, as Corrupted Catra, as a way of helping to heal the divide between the two girls ?

... Because the truth is that both girls are in sore need of a new understanding of their situations:

Adora needs to understand that she has to keep fighting, because she's She-ra and there's no going back, now. Dark plots and Catra’s broken heart can't stop her, she has to succeed now, or all is lost.

And Catra must come to understand how all of her anger is wrong: that it's corrupt, and is the product of malicious peoples attacks on both her and Adora, all of their entire lives, and so her anger, and the defensiveness she feels because of it, is a mistake. Catra also needs to break free of the trauma cycle and to figure out how to help Adora succeed in saving the universe, and Corrupted Catra's knowledge helps Catra do both of these things.

So, Corrupted Catra is the push in the right direction... that both girls need, in order to stop the Heart and defeat Horde Prime…

So this is my belief as to how Catra returns as this representative of the deep magic of Etheria: Catra is not allowed to die, like she wanted, and perhaps by Madame Razz’s intervention, she returns as Corrupted Catra, who then gives both girls guidance as to where their paths must now go so they can correct things...

Anyways, so, so hard prove, and I won't call it a theory... perhaps, it'll only ever be a dream... 🕊

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this..!

As always, feedback is always welcome! And if you have questions, I will be happy to answer them!

Peace and Love 💫

~EtheriaDearie

P.S. :: as I am new to tumblr, if you enjoyed reading this, please consider giving me a reblogg! Thanks!! 🙇💛

New content!! Check it out now!! 💜😃💜✌️ ty all for the rebloggs and likes!!

https://etheriadearie.tumblr.com/post/650662903840653312/hello-absolutely-love-your-analyses-id-spend

Etheria Dearie ::blog

:: ... Reflections on the emotional healthiness of Catradora, on Adora's arc, and on SPOP as a morally complex story-

Hello! Absolutely love your analyses! I'd spend breaks during work reading through a piece and I appreciate all the evidence (data as Entrap

Hey! I just found your blog and I've gotta say, your analysis for the characters and episodes are incredible! They're so engaging and interesting to read through-- the one about the promise episode hit close to home since I identify myself a lot with Catra. Is there a list of all the analysis posts you've done for She-Ra? I'd absolutely love to read anything else you have looking more in depth into the show!!!

Hi, thank you for your kind words of encouragement!! ... And for reading my blog!!! Also, thanks for asking this question... I've been meaning to make a proper list, I just keep forgetting to do it.. 💜🤔💜🚨

Here's an impromptu list for the meantime:

Shadow Weaver's Death, Her True Abusiveness, and Her Final, Beautiful Gift to Catra (A look at Shadow Weaver as the main villain of SPOP)

Promise... Why Can't You Just... Promise? (Discussing s1e11 as an extremely important episode of SPOP)

How Corrupted Catra Knows ALL of the Princesses Dirty Little Secrets (how Catra returning as Corrupted Catra gave her deep knowledge about She-ra's past, her present, and possibly, the future war with Horde Prime.)

The Catradora dream theory 1 & 2: (How Catra is able to appear in Adora's dream to ask her to dance again, and to save their love):: Short: Visual Parallels:: and How the Dream is Canon Catradora Romance 💞 (quick guide)

Long: What if it's Adora's... and Catra's, Dream? (Understanding Adora and Catra's shared dream simulation as a part of their epic love story!!! ❤️🏳️‍🌈💞).

AMA: emotional healthiness of Catradora, Adora's arc-

All links are on Tumblr. Happy reading!! 😊🤞

That's about it for now, but I should have more analysis up soon!! Please feel free to keep sending me questions everyone! As always, keep it real, and Data Never Lies!!! 💜😁💜✌️

~EtheriaDearie

Hey! I just found your blog and I've gotta say, your analysis for the characters and episodes are incredible! They're so engaging and interesting to read through-- the one about the promise episode hit close to home since I identify myself a lot with Catra. Is there a list of all the analysis posts you've done for She-Ra? I'd absolutely love to read anything else you have looking more in depth into the show!!!

Hi, thank you for your kind words of encouragement!! ... And for reading my blog!!! Also, thanks for asking this question... I've been meaning to make a proper list, I just keep forgetting to do it.. 💜🤔💜🚨

Here's an impromptu list for the meantime:

Shadow Weaver's Death, Her True Abusiveness, and Her Final, Beautiful Gift to Catra (A look at Shadow Weaver as the main villain of SPOP)

Promise... Why Can't You Just... Promise? (Discussing s1e11 as an extremely important episode of SPOP)

How Corrupted Catra Knows ALL of the Princesses Dirty Little Secrets (how Catra returning as Corrupted Catra gave her deep knowledge about She-ra's past, her present, and possibly, the future war with Horde Prime.)

The Catradora dream theory 1 & 2: (How Catra is able to appear in Adora's dream to ask her to dance again, and to save their love):: Short: Visual Parallels:: and How the Dream is Canon Catradora Romance 💞 (quick guide)

Long: What if it's Adora's... and Catra's, Dream? (Understanding Adora and Catra's shared dream simulation as a part of their epic love story!!! ❤️🏳️‍🌈💞).

All links are on Tumblr. Happy reading!! 😊🤞

That's about it for now, but I should have more analysis up soon!! Please feel free to keep sending me questions everyone! As always, keep it real, and Data Never Lies!!! 💜😁💜✌️

~EtheriaDearie