Those princesses have no idea who they’ve left behind.

Our heroes are all really depressed, to begin with, mainly due to the loss of Entrapta.

Mermista: This only happened because we were all together.

Perfuma: Mermista’s right. Being together makes us vulnerable.

Mermista: Maybe there’s a reason the Princess Alliance fell apart before. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea.

Glimmer: Mermista, no. You can’t say that!

Mermista: Whatever. I don’t want to be a part of it anymore. Sea Hawk, take me home.

And on top of losing Entrapta and the Princess Alliance falling apart, Glimmer still can’t use her powers.

Ironically, Perfuma’s the one who seems to take Entrapta’s loss the hardest, probably because she was the least forgiving towards her in their interactions, so she feels extra guilty.

And of course all the other princesses double down on defending their own realms.

Angella senses something off about Glimmer when she doesn’t teleport away from a hug (although Glimmer excuses it by saying she just needs to recharge).

Angella: I received word of Entrapta’s…loss. Well? Glimmer? Bow? Adora? Someone tell me what happened.

Adora: Commander, it’s my fault. I-

Bow: The thing is, Your Majesty-

Glimmer: Leave my friends alone! Give us a minute.

Angella: A minute? You were being held by the Horde! I have been going mad, telling myself awful stories about what could’ve happened to you!

Glimmer: Geez, Mom, relax! I’m fine. We’ll talk later.

On the one hand, it’s totally reasonable for Angella to worry about her daughter, but on the other, it was clearly traumatic for all three of them, and they haven’t even started to process their feelings.

And then there’s this.

Adora: It’s happening more often.

Bow: Does it hurt?

Glimmer: No…not much.

Bow: We need to tell your mom. She’ll know what to do. 

Glimmer: No!

Adora: Glimmer, Shadow Weaver did something to your powers. You can’t teleport, and whatever this is keeps happening.

Glimmer: I don’t want my mom freaking out any more than she already is, okay? Besides, I always feel better after I recharge, so…Then it’s agreed. I’ll recharge, stop glitching, and my mom never has to know.

Meanwhile in the Fright Zone, Shadow Weaver’s gotten herself into a precarious position.

Hordak: Not only did you lose the princess known as Glimmer, but I learn that you’ve known Adora was She-ra all along.

Shadow Weaver: Now you see why I felt it was so important to bring her back.

Hordak: All you did was invite attack from an enemy combatant with detailed knowledge of our operations. If I’d known, I never would’ve agreed to your foolish plan.

And Catra’s obviously pleased with this turn of events.

Catra: Serves her right. If she wants to take the credit for my plan, she can take the blame, too.

Then she discovers a princess! Because there are never any actual deaths outside of the season finales. No word on how Entrapta survived INCINERATION, but I’m glad she’s still around.

Glimmer recharged, but the glitching is worse than ever, so they brainstorm what to do about it. Glimmer’s never been sick before, too, so this is a totally new experience for her.

Adora: Look, you got sick because of whatever dark magic Shadow Weaver made with the Black Garnet. Maybe the sword can heal you! She-ra healed the trees in Plumeria!

Bow: Uh, sort of…not really.

Adora: Well, She-ra definitely fixed the Sea Gate.

Bow: Glimmer’s not a piece of machinery, and you don’t know how to fully control She-ra’s powers yet. No offense.

But Glimmer latches onto the idea of She-ra healing her, because she thinks it would be the quickest and easiest option (despite Adora’s sketchy track record in that department).

Catra’s supposed to be interrogating Entrapta, but intimidation tactics don’t really work on her. And it doesn’t help that Entrapta wasn’t deep in the Rebellion’s counsels in the first place.

Catra: I don’t care what it takes. I’m going to drag the Rebellion’s plans out of you.

Entrapta: Ooh, what’s that? Fascinating…[…] Oh, I like that thing. Can I have it?

Catra: No! And stop! I’m interrogating you!

Entrapta: Well, okay then. What do you want to know?

Catra: Why were you hiding out in the Fright Zone?

Entrapta: I was just waiting for my friends to get back. They had trouble finding me before, so I figured I’d make it easier for them and just stay put right here.

Catra: They left you.

Entrapta: No, no! They’re my friends. They’ll be back. Say, your tail secretes some kind of paralyzing agent, right? Do you think I could have a sample? To study?

Scorpia: Hey! You can’t just touch another woman’s tail without asking!

Catra: Some friends. They left you, and they’re not coming back. Isn’t that just like Adora? She left me behind, too, like I was nothing.

Catra seems to genuinely empathize with Entrapta’s situation, but she also senses that Entrapta’s ties to the Rebellion aren’t that strong.

Catra: Adora got her precious Bow and Glimmer back. All these princesses care about is people who are just like them. But you’re not like them, are you?

Entrapta: Fright Zone log, hour 45. Is that right? I don’t know if that’s right. It was hard to tell in the walls. Hour 45, that’s- that’s too many hours. This angry feline person seems to be correct. They’re not coming back for me.

Catra: You wouldn’t have to pretend to be something you’re not with the Horde. Think of what you could accomplish here! What we could accomplish, together.

Entrapta: I’ve made more progress on my work in secret here than I did in a whole non-secret life out there. They should see – Horde technology gives me so much to work with. Emily’s the most advanced bot I’ve ever built!

Catra: Wait, who’s Emily?

Then she summons Emily…who blasts through the wall in order to get to her.

Catra: Those princesses have no idea who they’ve left behind.

Meanwhile, Adora’s not getting anywhere with healing Glimmer (except for making Bow very worried that someone will get hurt from all the casual sword-swinging).

Bow: Who’s ready to stop messing around with sharp objects? Hey, look! I am!

Entrapta: Sorry again, about the wall.

Catra: Don’t worry about it.

Entrapta: You’re not mad? People usually get mad.

Catra: Uh, are you kidding? I’m impressed. You rebuilt that robot- I mean, Emily, all on your own? While living in the vents?

Entrapta: Sure did! Not only that, but she’s better than ever. Stronger, increased weapons capabilities, and affectionate, too. Who knows how much more powerful she could be if I just had access to a little First Ones tech. You don’t have any here, do you?

She proceeds to explain about First Ones tech, and mentions that if she was able to interpret their code, it might yield “unlimited power.”

Catra: And where would one find this tech?

Entrapta: It’s buried all over the planet, and it gives off a signal that can be traced. Lately, I’ve been tracking the strongest signal I’ve ever seen. It must be a massive stash.

So she hands the tracker pad to Catra, who is still suspicious of her, but willing to follow a lead that might give her the edge on Shadow Weaver.

Then we get back to the sparklier side of things.

Glimmer: Mom! We’re busy.

Angella: I won’t be long. You’re requested for dinner with me tonight, alone.

Glimmer: But, uh, Mom! I’m really tired. Can’t I just stay in my room and rest?

Angella: I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said “request.” It’s not a request. You are required to have dinner with me because I am your mother, and I’m also the queen, so I can make you. No need to answer. I’ll see you in an hour.

Glimmer is worse than ever, so she’s really stressed about the impending dinner, but Adora finally comes up with a plan.

She-ra: The Horde has a lot of things wrong- okay, pretty much everything. But one thing they are right about is training! And how can I train if I don’t know anything about She-ra? I’m going to go somewhere where I can learn, and then I’m gonna fix you, Glimmer!

Glimmer: How? And can you do it an hour?

She-ra: Probably not, since I’m not totally sure where I’m going. I need to find the place Madame Razz took me. It’s some sort of beacon. I can’t explain it, but I know I can get answers there.

Naturally, Shadow Weaver’s concerned about Catra’s whereabouts, but can’t summon the energy to stop her.

Catra: I’ve got a lead on something big, and I’m not about to let you take all the credit again. Not that it worked out so great for you last time…Don’t worry about that thing with Hordak. I’ve got loads of experience being yelled at. Mostly by you, actually. You get used to it.

Shadow Weaver: I will not get used to mediocrity like you! And I certainly don’t need your pity. I was hard on you, I won’t deny it, and I won’t apologize. I just wanted to prepare you for the world. I wanted you to be strong.

Catra: Yeah, well, congratulations. I’m plenty strong now, and I don’t need you.

It’s sad that after everything she’s put her through, Catra still cares about Shadow Weaver, because she’s the closest thing to a parent she has, but Shadow Weaver never prioritized Catra or put her above her own wellbeing, like a proper parent should. But we’ll get into that a bit more next episode.

And now, since Glimmer’s forced to confront her mom, she and Bow FINALLY talk about what’s been bothering them.

Bow: Listen, Glimmer, I appreciate you trying, but you can’t protect me anymore. We have to tell your mom.

Glimmer: We’re not telling anybody’s mom! And what do you mean, “protect you”?

Bow: Isn’t it obvious? This is all my fault! If I hadn’t gone to Princess Prom with Perfuma, then we wouldn’t have been separated, and then I wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped, and you wouldn’t be sick! See? All my fault!

Glimmer: That’s crazy! It’s obviously my fault. I let myself get distracted. I shouldn’t have been so weird about you hanging out with someone else. I’m sorry, Bow.

Bow: You can’t be sorry when I’m trying to be sorry.

Glimmer: Yeah, but your sorry is wrong and mine is right! You know what, let’s just hug.

This seems to be a bad habit for Bow, always finding a way to make a problem his fault, no matter how NOT his fault it actually is (particularly when it comes to Glimmer). It’s kind of cute in situations like this, but these excuses for her behavior will become more of a problem later in the series when they have to make more and more tough calls.

But Glimmer’s unable to postpone dinner, so she’s forced to face her mom.

Angella: We’ve hardly had a chance to talk since you’re returned.

Glimmer: Well, you know, not much to talk about.

Angella: Not much to talk about? You were kidnapped! And you lost a friend during the escape, and-

Glimmer: I get it, Mom! I failed!

Angella: That’s not what I-

These “glitches” remind me a lot of seizures, which can get worse when someone’s under a lot of stress.

Angella: Glimmer, what’s happening to you? What aren’t you telling me?

Glimmer: Don’t yell at me! I know I messed everything up, okay? I know I’m a big disappointment!

Angella: What are you talking about?

Glimmer: Entrapta died trying to rescue me and the Princess Alliance is over and Shadow Weaver did something to my powers! I’m sorry I couldn’t be perfect like you, you have no idea what it feels like to be such a screw-up!

Angella: I don’t know how you feel? I got your father killed! I ordered the battle your father perished in. I’ve never forgiven myself.

Glimmer: I- I didn’t know that.

Angella: Yes, well, you never talk to me. Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?

Glimmer: Because I was ashamed! I acted without thinking, the exact thing you’re always telling me not to do. I teleported right into their trap. The alliance is over, and I’m to blame.

Angella: Oh, Glimmer. I am the one who failed. If I hadn’t allowed the first alliance to fall apart after your father’s death, none of this would be happening.

Glimmer: You feel like a failure?

Angella: Don’t make the same mistake I did. I should have kept fighting, and you should, too.

It’s always nice when you have actually good parents. And communication!

Anyhow, Adora’s lost in the woods, because evidently the titular beacon is a magic place that you can only find if…? It’s not really clear WHAT the requirements are for finding it.

She-ra: I’m trying to help! Why are you stopping me? […] Just let me fix this, please! I- I can’t let anyone else get hurt. Fine. You win.

Adora: You want me to be weak? Well, I am. And afraid. Because I’m no good at any of this.

It’s not just Glimmer – she’s scared because she thinks she got Entrapta killed, and she fears that Glimmer might be next. Maybe the fact that she admits she needs help is what does it, though.

But of course Catra’s after the same thing, and she just so happens to spot Adora.

Catra: Hey Adora.

Until next time…