One Of My Favorite Catra Scenes Is This Quick Moment In Shot In The Dark In Which Melog Appears Threateningly

One of my favorite Catra scenes is this quick moment in Shot in the Dark in which Melog appears threateningly behind the group, and Catra's immediate reaction is to push Glimmer and Bow out of the way and jump at Melog.

I wish we've seen more of this Catra. Rather than showing her being rude to everyone around her - including people she severely hurted - I wish we could have seen more of her actively caring about and protecting the people that surrounds her, close allies or randoms civilians ; it would have shown a real development of her chaotic personality and would have made it easier to accept her redemption.

Hi! I wish we could have seen more of this Catra as well.

I'd like to point out that my personal understanding of Melog as a "character" (bear with me here) is that she is a reflection of whatever is going through Catra's head... So, this "character" is essentially... Catra. Almost... talking to herself? Naturally, I could be missing the mark with Melog (who has never stood out to me in my first watch of the show, nor any of other time). I'm sure there's something to analyze there with, at least, this interpretation of Melog... What does it say about Catra...? Is she protecting the group... from herself?

Either way... What did stand to me about Melog was that she's introduced entirely too late have any lasting impact on Catra (and the narrative). Which is also to say that this moment of Catra being, uh, protective of her, um, friends? Also comes... entirely too late to have made any lasting impact.

But, yes, I wish we would have more of this. Earlier. Much earlier.

“I’m sorry.”

I love the way Janai deliberately goes out of her way to ‘catch’ Callum and Rayla sneaking away to go to Lux Aurea with the whole “It’s exactly what it looks like! Defiance!” routine, only for Amaya to go “don’t worry she already knows she’s just messing with you Callum chill” and it’s literally just that Janai wanted to go out of her way just to prank her nephew. It’s cute and I just love the way we get to see the little flashes of Janai’s humour and playfulness coming out the more we get to know her

agh he’s brash but he’s sweet at heart man

Are we gonna talk about how Catra watched Glimmer have to make the exact same choice she made herself at the end of Season 3—whether or not to risk destroying the world for a chance to “win”—and she watched Glimmer instantly decide to try and fix her mistake and prevent anyone else from getting hurt by it, a.k.a. the complete opposite of what Catra did when faced with the same dilemma.

Catra saw this person who she used to think was perfect—a pampered princess with magic to make everything in her life so easy—fuck up just as badly as she herself did but then immediately try to repair the damage. She saw that Glimmer is just a flawed person capable of going down the wrong path the same as everyone else, but she also saw Glimmer be stronger than her.

She saw Glimmer take another option other than to continue self-destructing.

And that’s why Catra and Glimmer being forced to work together to escape from Horde Prime will be so excellent for both of them. Because Glimmer is the walking proof Catra needs that she doesn’t have to keep going digging herself deeper—that she can start to climb out instead—and Catra will be the walking proof for Glimmer that if even Catra can work her way back from that place then there’s no way that Glimmer can’t do it too.

A little, a lot. 

(Catra getting started on her apology train for a ko-fi request. Baby steps.)