How did this happen? We had a plan!

This is a somewhat frustrating episode, as there are plenty of interesting story elements at play, but the dialogue rarely does them justice.

Hordak: I commend you on the capture of the princess of Bright Moon. Queen Angella has been given until the morning’s moonrise to surrender herself to our forces.

Shadow Weaver: Thank you, Lord Hordak. I thought you would be pleased with my work.

Hordak: You have proven your worth to me. Today.

Catra: Your worth? I’m the one who brought back the princess of Bright Moon, not you! 

Shadow Weaver: You’re under my command, Force Captain, therefore anything you manage to do right is credited to me.

The two biggest blows to the Rebellion is the capture of Glimmer (because Queen Angella would do just about anything to get her back, and seriously considers yielding to the Horde’s demands), and stealing the sword, which obviously prevents She-ra from rescuing the captives herself (sorry, Bow, you’re just not that important in the grand scheme of things).

Naturally, Adora plans on rescuing them anyway, She-ra or no She-ra. She is intimately familiar with the Fright Zone, after all, which counts for quite a bit.

And the Princess Alliance makes it all seem a lot less hopeless.

But the very fact that Bow’s unimportant turns out to his advantage.

Bow: Hey, what’s your name?

Kyle: Uh, me? You’re talking to me?

Bow: Sure. Is that alright?

Kyle: Uh, I guess, but no one ever talks to me. I’m Kyle.

Because even in a Horde prison, Bow’s still Bow, and he’ll befriend anyone! But he does (understandably) have an ulterior motive this time.

Bow: Hey, Kyle. I’m Bow. Can you do me a favor? Can you tell me where they’re holding the princess? […] She’s my best friend. No one will let me talk to her, or even tell me if she’s okay.

Kyle: Ah, I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe. Or she’s not. I don’t know.

Bow: Do you know where she is?

Kyle: No! That kind of information is classified. They wouldn’t tell me.

Bow: You have to help me get a message to her.

Kyle: Ah, uh, I better be leaving now. […] I like your shirt!

Because chatting with a prisoner might not be against the rules, but delivering messages between prisoners certainly is.

Adora turns out to be a surprisingly good strategist when she needs to be – it really shouldn’t be surprising, considering the Horde made her a Force Captain, but she rarely has to stop and think before she acts.

Basically, they plan to break in through a scrapyard that’s near the prison, mainly by Mermista swimming in through the sewers (she’s not happy, but recognizes it’s probably their best bet).

And Entrapta also plays a key role, being essentially the hacker.

But Sea Hawk is pretty much just a liability on a STEALTH mission.

Sea Hawk: I’m…the…inspector! I’m here to inspect…all the things.

Scorpia: Inspector…inspector! Of course! I must have forgotten you were coming! We’re long overdue for an inspection, I do have to admit it, but I can assure you, we are up to code.

Fortunately, Scorpia isn’t nearly as suspicious as she ought to be around here, but that doesn’t stop her from remembering him (eventually).

And Entrapta’s running off by herself because all the robots are like catnip to her.

Mermista: Hey, where’s the geeky princess?

Perfuma: Okay, she is really putting a crimp in my harmony!

Adora: Don’t worry, we’ll find Entrapta. And Sea Hawk. And we’ll rescue Glimmer and Bow.

Mermista: I don’t know, that sounds like a lot. But you know me, I’m totally up for anything.

In this episode where everyone else is acting so serious, Mermista and her sarcasm are a breath of fresh air.

Not like this whole situation isn’t serious, but I still generally prefer the show when it’s a little lighter.

Shadow Weaver: I should warn you, Princess, any attempt to teleport through these restraints will only cause you pain. It seems my Black Garnet and your powers don’t mix. Besides, your mother will be here soon.

It feels like they were trying for an Empire Strikes Back kind of tone, but it really doesn’t work halfway through the first season (they execute it much more successfully later on in the series).

Anyhow, Entrapta rescues Sea Hawk with the help of her new robot friend and finally rejoins the others.

Entrapta: It’s okay! This is my new friend, Emily. I reprogrammed her.

Perfuma: Where have you been?

Entrapta: Where have you been?

Adora: It doesn’t matter. We’re all together. Let’s finish this.

Entrapta’s joy is the highlight of the episode.

Adora: Entrapta, can you get us up there?

Entrapta: Yes! I can! I mean, maybe! I don’t know, but I’m definitely gonna try! This is gonna be fun!

Then, surprisingly, Kyle actually comes through for Bow, letting him know that Glimmer’s in the Black Garnet chamber, and without this intel, the rescue party might never have learned where she was being held.

But stealth becomes impossible in the jailbreak.

Lonnie: You think you can just come back here?

Adora: I need to save my friends.

Lonnie: We were your friends.

This is one element the show doesn’t explore much more – it’s not just Catra that Adora abandoned when she defected, but her other squadmates that she presumably knew almost as well.

Anyhow, they deal with the guards and rescue Bow, but not before they sound the alarm.

Adora orders them into a (emergency?) passage where they can steal a skiff, but for some reason there are extra security precautions in this passage. It’s never properly explained why rooms have to be sealed and purged as they go, it’s just there for dramatic convenience.

But of course Adora isn’t going home without Glimmer.

Adora: I surrender. Take me to see Shadow Weaver.

And this is where it starts to get interesting.

Shadow Weaver: Leave us. Report to the Force Captain barracks and pack your things. Now that Adora is back, there’s no need for you there.

Catra: Seriously? After everything I’ve done for you, it’s still her you want?

It’s not just about status for Catra (although it’s not not about that, either). It’s the way in which Adora so easily obtains what she herself had to fight so hard to get – and she doesn’t even want it!

Adora: Shadow Weaver, I’ll stay here with you willingly, but you have to let Glimmer go first.

[…]

Shadow Weaver: You are correct, Adora. You shall stay willingly, because I am going to wipe your mind. You’ll have no memory of She-ra, or the time you spent with the Rebellion. Everything will be as it once was. As for the princess, once I’m done, you’ll be happy to have her as your prisoner.

In the original show, Shadow Weaver does this to Adora when she first starts questioning the Horde in the beginning (but her estranged brother manages to cut through the brainwashing).

In this show, it’s more a case of fist-to-face sparkles.

Or the power of friendship, whichever way you want to read it.

And just when the rest of the team gets to the vehicle bay…

Entrapta goes back for her robot friend, seemingly getting incinerated.

Meanwhile, Glimmer’s been rendered unable to teleport, just when it would be very useful.

And Catra’s zeroed in on them, with the sword in hand…which she offers to Adora

Adora: What are you doing?

Catra: Take it. This is not because I like you.

Adora: Catra, I-

Catra: Just…get out of here.

Honestly, this is the best scene in the entire episode, mainly because there’s so little dialogue. It relies almost entirely on the animation and the performances.

At this point, she just wants Adora gone. Partly because she’s standing in the way of Catra’s career, but mostly because the damage is already done. Even if Adora could go back to the way she was, Catra (and everyone else) still experienced her betrayal, and that trauma won’t be fixed by pretending it never happened.

So all the heroes get out of there…except for Entrapta, of course.

It’s a pyrrhic victory, as they retake the sword and the captives, but lose Entrapta, and also Glimmer can’t seem to use her powers anymore.

Until next time…