My mission is to help my friends.

This episode is mostly set-up (both for the impending season finale and Adora’s ongoing conflict about her “destiny”).

So Adora finally gets to talk to Light Hope, but it’s not quite what she expected.

Light Hope: I have been waiting for you since you were an infant, but I could not reach you, and I could not protect you from the Horde. I watched you grow up from afar.

Adora: Wow, that’s- that’s kind of creepy, honestly.

Light Hope: Creepy. Yes, I have been called this before.

On the one hand, it’s obvious to the viewer that Light Hope is some sort of AI program, but Adora might not have any concept of things like that.

Meanwhile at Bright Moon, Glimmer seems to be doing better now that she’s opened up to her mom (only really glitching when she’s stressed or instinctively tries to teleport). But Adora’s been gone long enough that she’s worried about her, and naturally she also feels guilty because Adora only left to help her.

Then SWIFT WIND comes to visit, and he is just the right amount of hammy for this show.

Bow: Our horse!

Swift Wind: I am my own horse. Call me Swift Wind!

Bow: Our horse can talk!

Swift Wind: Yeah, yeah, I can speak my mind now, pretty crazy. 

Once Bow and Glimmer finish freaking out about the existence of a talking horse (even Adora hadn’t heard him talk before), he gets to the point of his visit.

Swift Wind: I think Adora needs our help. Since Adora transformed me, I’ve been able to feel where she is at all times. It’s like instinct. But now I feel a pull, as if I’m being summoned to her side. As part of Adora’s herd, I need your help. Will you come?

Glimmer: Of course. Lead the way.

Naturally, Glimmer just plans to sneak away like usual, but Angella senses some sort of scheme brewing and intervenes.

She also manages to take the whole “talking horse” thing more or less in stride.

Angella: You should get going if you want to track down Adora.

Glimmer: You’re not gonna stop us?

Angella: Glimmer, I told you I regretted giving up after your father died. I will not consign you to the same regrets. Commander Glimmer, I order you to continue your mission to find Adora and bring her back home.

Glimmer: Right away, Your Majesty.

Honestly, if Glimmer’s gonna run off on dangerous missions anyway, her mom might as well make sure she at least knows about it.

Anyhow, in the Fright Zone, nobody’s even bothering to pretend Entrapta is a prisoner anymore.

Catra: Where did all of this come from?

Entrapta: Oh, you know, here and there. Rooms.

Catra: Were there people in these rooms?

Entrapta: Well, not when I went back to take the stuff…

Catra: Oh, you definitely belong here with us.

But when Entrapta tries to explain her discoveries, it just sounds like technobabble to Catra (and the audience, unless you’re weird like me and incidentally know what “thaumaturgy” means, in which case it’s only MOSTLY nonsense).

Catra: I’m going to need you to try again, but this time talk like a normal person.

Entrapta: Scorpia seems like she understands.

Catra: Scorpia is drawing stick figures holding hands.

Scorpia: I call it “Super Pal Trio.”

i love my horde scum

Catra: Yes or no: Did that crystal give you enough data to upgrade our weapons?

Entrapta: Weapons? Ha! This is so much bigger than weapons! This could change everything. Etheria’s not just a planet. Whatever the First Ones did to it, it went deep.

Catra: And what does that mean?

Entrapta: You’re asking me about my theories? I’ve waited years for someone to ask me about my theories! Hang on! I made a model.

If I had a nickel for every autistic-coded cartoon character who made an unnecessary model planet to help her with exposition…I’d have two nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?

Anyhow, on to the exposition dump!

Light Hope: I am Light Hope, Etheria’s facilitator. I was created by the “First Ones”, as you call them.

Adora: Okay, quick follow-up: Who are the First Ones?

Light Hope: The First Ones were explorers who journeyed from beyond the stars to settle Etheria. They built this place for you, the Crystal Castle. Adora, I have waited so long for you, and now, the time has come to show you your destiny. […] You are She-ra, Etheria’s champion, appointed by the First Ones to protect and unite our planet. There have been many before you, but the line was broken. You are the first She-ra in a thousand years.

This is as good a time as ever to point out the changes to Light Hope from the original series. The most obvious difference is that Light Hope had a male voice in the old show, but the main difference is her role. In the original, Light Hope was just someone you went to if you needed sage counsel, but of course, in this day and age, the wise old man trope has fallen out of style. So instead, she’s an artificial being who knows a lot about She-ra (or at least the intended functions of She-ra), but not much else. Of course, the fact that She-ra is a legacy character in this universe is a big change in and of itself, but it was foreshadowed by the many legends of She-ra that existed in Etheria.

Entrapta: Behold! Etheria. The First Ones didn’t just settle on the surface of Etheria, their technology runs throughout the planet’s core. This whole planet, it’s- it’s all First Ones tech!

Light Hope: Everything on Etheria is connected. The princesses are granted power over the elements through their runestones. As She-ra, it is your duty to bring the princesses together. Only then can balance be restored to Etheria.

By juxtaposing these two scenes, the audience gets a better picture, as well as the implication that Light Hope and She-ra have something to do with the First Ones tech throughout the planet…

Catra: And what are these supposed to be?

Entrapta: Runestones. From the data I’ve managed to extract, they regulate the planet through the princesses. They’re directly connected to each other and the planet’s power grid in a delicate balance.

Catra: Which means?

Entrapta: Which means they’re our best access point to hack the planet.

Light Hope: When the princesses and their elements are in balance, Etheria functions as it should. But the Horde is destroying us in their quest for power. There is no predicting what they will do next.

This shot shows a couple princesses that we never seem to meet (it’s possible the teal one is supposed to be Peekablue, which we do sort of meet in the last season, but that’s it). There also seems to be a cat-person princess, which might be alluding to the Magicats from the original series, or maybe just as a relic of a discarded backstory for Catra or something. There also seems to be a mistake, as Angella and Glimmer both draw power from the same runestone, so it should probably be one or the other and not both, but then again, it’s never explained what makes a “princess” except to have a corresponding runestone, so who knows?

But back to the Fright Zone, Entrapta is thrilled to learn that the Horde has its own runestone (technically Scorpia’s or her family’s, but still).

Entrapta: Where is it? Can I see it? Can I touch it?

Catra: Okay, calm down! What exactly are you planning on doing to the Black Garnet?

Entrapta: If we hack the runestone grid, we could boost the Garnet’s power and use it for, well, anything! As a power source, as…

Catra: A weapon?

Entrapta: Potentially. But if it’s like my other experiments, the results will be explosive!

Scorpia: I don’t think Shadow Weaver will like that.

Catra: Scorpia’s right. Shadow Weaver won’t like it. So, I will absolutely get you the Black Garnet. Leave it all to me.

But conveniently, this little imp can just record whatever it hears and play it back to Hordak, so that’s how the whole idea’s conveyed to him. If that sounds like a critter that could cause lots of trouble, it’s because it is. But not today.

Of course, Adora’s anxious to learn how to heal Glimmer, and she got a whole unrelated infodump for her trouble.

Light Hope: Is there something you do not understand? I can start again from the beginning, if you would like. I am Light Hope, Etheria’s facilitator.

Adora: No no! I got it.

Light Hope: Have I mentioned that you are chosen?

Adora: Can we skip to the part about my powers? I need to learn how to heal my friend.

Light Hope: Your…friend.

Adora: Yes! Shadow Weaver did something to Glimmer and took her powers away. I need to figure out how to heal her.

Light Hope: Her connection with her runestone was disrupted.

Adora: Can I fix it?

Light Hope: You will be able to do many incredible things, with training.

Adora: Great! So, uh, how long will this training take? Like, a day, or-

Light Hope: Years.

Adora: Years? Glimmer doesn’t have years! She’s hurt because of me, I messed up! I got Glimmer and Bow captured, and Entrapta…it’s my fault! I have to fix it.

Light Hope: Yes. Your mission is to fix the planet.

Adora: My mission is to help my friends. That’s why I came here!

Light Hope: You are She-ra. Your purpose is to protect all of Etheria. You cannot help only your friends.

Adora: Why can’t I do both?

Light Hope: Adora, you do not yet realize the power you have. You’re distracted by your attachments. There was one before you who could not let go. Her name was Mara.

And this is the same person that Madame Razz was talking about.

Light Hope: Mara was the last She-ra before you. She struggled with a power that she could not control, until it became too much for her mind.

Adora: She snapped?

Light Hope: She was compromised. She gave in to fear and faulty reasoning. Her desperate actions led to devastation. Mara stranded us in the empty dimension of Despondos. She broke the She-ra line. She nearly destroyed us. Adora, I have waited here for a thousand years, alone. I did not know if I would ever see another She-ra. You must stay here and train. Learn to be the She-ra that Mara could not be.

Adora: I will! I will do whatever you want. I’ll come back, and train, and learn about everything! But I have to heal Glimmer first. I can save the planet and save her!

Because, as established, Adora would do just about anything for her friends…but that’s not what Light Hope wants from her.

Light Hope displays times when she failed her friends (including Catra), culminating with Entrapta (because she still thinks she’s dead).

Light Hope: You feel guilt at these memories. It is as you said. Your friends are endangered by your presence. It is better to let go now.

Adora: But…I can’t just leave my friends.

Meanwhile in the Fright Zone, Catra is relishing her new officially-sanctioned power.

Shadow Weaver: Lord Hordak! I don’t understand.

Hordak: Catra and Entrapta have been working on a way to meld this strange First Ones tech with our machines, to weaponize it. I found out, and was intrigued. I gave Force Captain Catra and her team my blessing to go ahead. So understand, Shadow Weaver, I am displeased with your interruption.

Shadow Weaver: My lord, you’re really going to let this- this- this princess tinker with my runestone?

Hordak: Her “tinkering” has boosted the firepower of every weapon she’s touched, so yes, she gets to “tinker” with whatever she wants, including the Black Garnet, which is mine to give or take as I see fit.

Shadow Weaver: You can’t. You can’t do this! I alone have learned how to draw power from it, a feat no sorceress has done before! I have unlocked its potential!

Hordak: And you’ve wasted it on parlor tricks. Force Captain Catra, proceed. The Garnet is yours.

Catra: Yes, Lord Hordak.

But naturally, Shadow Weaver still objects. Violently.

Shadow Weaver: You will not take what is mine! That’s right, run away! It’s the only thing you’ve ever been good at! You’ve always been a disappointment. You’ve learned nothing from me!

Catra: Oh, no. I’ve learned everything from you. How to predict when you’ll strike, how to dodge, how to resist! You thought you were punishing me all these years? Wrong. You were training me for this day!

Then she ends the fight by cracking the gem in Shadow Weaver’s mask, which evidently connected her to the Black Garnet, effectively rendering her powerless.

The sad thing is, these two really are alike – they have far more in common with each other than either of them has with Adora. Catra is the ambitious, ruthless, cutthroat warrior. But because they’re both so proud (and allergic to vulnerability), they refuse to acknowledge that.

Elsewhere, Bow, Glimmer, and Swift Wind are approaching the Beacon. They seem to be going by Narnia rules for Talking Horses, as no matter how much of a hurry they’re in, nobody rides Swift Wind except in an emergency.

Swift Wind: And then I realized, I’m free, but the other horses aren’t, so I named myself Swift Wind, after the swift winds of revolution, and left to kick down stable doors! Freedom, equality, and hay for all!

Because he’s a communist horsie! And an anarchist!

But then a bunch of animals are fleeing the Woods, because Entrapta’s runestone experiment is having a massive effect on the atmosphere.

Swift Wind: I feel something. We should run. No, we have to get Adora. Adora, then run!

Bow: Swift Wind, what is it?

Swift Wind: A bad thing. Hurry!

It’s fun how they incorporate his horse instincts with his now-rational mind.

And now there’s lightning, and rapid climate change!

Glimmer: It’s…snowing?

Bow: That’s impossible. It never snows in the Whispering Woods.

Glimmer: What’s happening?

Swift Wind: The bad thing!

But Swift Wind hones in on Adora, and enters the beacon (which he conveniently has access to as well)…but there still be spiders.

Meanwhile, it seems that Light Hope short-circuited or something due to the Black Garnet’s interference, leaving Adora with a ton on her mind (and not even the possibility to learn how to heal Glimmer).

Basically, Light Hope wanted her to abandon her friends for the sake of her spiritual/moral clarity, because her attachments would allegedly distract her from saving the world. It’s more akin to the conflicts of Luke Skywalker (original trilogy) or Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender, which while it is a more classic conflict, is honestly kind of refreshing after my previous shows that were basically just riffing on Harry Potter.

And of course Swifty show up to talk some sense into her.

Adora: Light Hope disappeared and I- I don’t know if I should go back.

Swift Wind: What do you mean?

Adora: Light Hope said if I leave here, I’ll make things worse. She’s right! Everyone will be better off if I just stay far away from them. It’s- it’s for the greater good.

Swift Wind: Well that’s just stupid. […] Adora, I’ve had the ability to form complex thought for, like, a week, and even I know you can’t help anyone by hiding. Where would all the horses I freed from their barns be if I just sat in a pasture and moped?

Adora: Oh, uh, I’m not moping…I’m not! I hurt people! I ruined my friends’ lives!

Swift Wind: If that’s true, then why are Bow and Glimmer here trying to rescue you? Bow and Glimmer are risking their lives, not because you’re She-ra, but because you’re their friend! What good is all your power if you don’t use it to help the people that you love?

Adora: I’m not Mara. I’m not the She-ras of the past. I didn’t do this to fulfil some destiny. I became She-ra to help others. My attachments, my friends, are a part of who I am.

The very fact that she cares about the world stems from the way she cares about the people around her – her friends. She’ll never be a detached superhero, because if she stops caring what happens to her friends, she’ll stop caring about anything outside herself.

So they exit the hologram chamber and She-ra deals with the spiders, but as soon as they get outside, they realize Bright Moon might be in trouble…

Scorpia: What do you think it’s doing?

Catra: I don’t know. But I can work with this.

Until next time…