I practice at home!

This episode is something of a breather, as we indulge in some goofy shenanigans while the heroes finally sniff out the spy.

The inciting incident is a disastrous failed attempt to retake Dryl.

Glimmer: Mermista, it’s very unlikely that there’s a spy-

Mermista: We need to investigate. Obviously, I’ll be the lead detective, since I’ve read every single Mer-Mystery book.

Adora: Mer-what?

Mermista: Mer-Mystery! It’s only the best undersea mystery novel series ever. There’s eighteen of them, it taught me everything I need to know about solving mysteries. Murder mysteries!

Perfuma: Um, but no one’s been murdered?

Mermista: Yet! First, we need to question the suspects.

Frosta: Who are the suspects?

Mermista: Everyone is a suspect!

Bow: Everyone? Is anyone else sweating? I’m sweating!

Glimmer: This is a waste of time. We know that the Horde is pulling their troops back to prepare for something big. That’s what we should be investigating.

Adora: No, Mermista’s right. And we know it can’t be me the Horde’s tracking, since once again, you used me as a distraction today. A spy is really the only thing that makes sense.

because we can’t do anything this season without adora and glimmer butting heads

Glimmer: Maybe they didn’t fall for the distraction because you’re a bad actress. And who would the spy even be, anyway?

Adora: How about the Horde officer who’s living at- I’m sorry, “being held prisoner” at Bright Moon. Shadow Weaver has actual shadow spies. We met them! 

Mermista: Shadow Weaver does seem like the obvious suspect. Which means it definitely isn’t her. It’s never the obvious one, like in Mer-Mystery: The Pearl Who Knew Too Much. You think it’s the pearl, but it’s not.

Perfuma: Spoilers!

Mermista: It’s time to interrogate the castle!

Frosta: How are you doing that [lightning]?

Mermista: I practice at home!

Because evidently Mermista controls all water, which includes clouds.

Then Double Trouble checks in with Catra, and they seem unconcerned about the investigation, while Catra stresses that they need to keep the princesses distracted long enough for the Horde to actually complete their big mission.

Mermista: Where were you when the murders happened?

General: The what?

Perfuma: Don’t think you can get away with it! Although there still aren’t any murders, Mermista.

Mermista: Yet!

General: I sincerely do not have time for this.

Mermista: Uh, according to a bunch of other people-

Perfuma: Witnesses!

Mermista: You weren’t where you were supposed to be at the battle for Dryl.

General: I followed the plan exactly.

Perfuma: […] A likely story!

Mermista: Admit it. You were slipping away to warn the Horde of our plan. Just like in Mer-Mystery: Secret of the Abalone! That one’s really good, you should read it.

General: Look, this is what happened. On approach to Dryl, Glimmer filled me in. She-ra would lure away the Horde. Team A, Frosta, Bow, and Flutterina, would scout ahead, Team B, Sea Hawk and Mermista, would guard the exits. Team A indicated the coast was clear, and we converged on their signal. That’s when Frosta ran into us and said they hadn’t finished scouting. Team A sent the all-clear. If you wanna know what went wrong, ask Bow.

As the audience already knows Double Trouble was behind the whole fiasco, the main point of interest is in seeing what all actually went down.

Bow: Okay, I confess! It was me!

Frosta: Bow, we’re not even interrogating you.

Bow: I mean, if I am the spy, it’s an accident, I think. Can you be an accidental spy? Do I have an evil alter-ego, or was I secretly brainwashed and I’m just realizing it now? […] It all goes back to what happened in Dryl. Everyone was in position, and I was using my new tech to look for remaining Horde soldiers. Then my goggles glitched, and I don’t know what happened! I started to see double. That’s when the other team came in way too early! I tried to signal everyone to fall back, but my tracker pad was missing. Don’t you see what this means? Either I lost my tracker pad at Dryl, and that gave the Horde vital information, or I did it on purpose because I am the spy and I gave the signal, and I didn’t even know!

[…]

Frosta: Bow! You aren’t the spy.

Bow: You don’t know that! It all makes sense. Who else could it be?

Then they interrogate Shadow Weaver, probably just to appease Adora.

Adora: So you’re telling us you really didn’t know anything about the plan to retake Dryl? Really?

Shadow Weaver: Not a bit. I’ve been busy with my garden. She’s always been paranoid like this, you know.

I mean, it’s true that Adora tends to be paranoid, but that’s real rich coming from the person who raised her…

But Adora happened to see her without her guards in the morning and demands an explanation.

Shadow Weaver: I was engaging in a ritual. […] My daily morning ritual.

Adora: Okay, you expect us to believe you were just having tea? She’s the spy. You’re the spy! Who else could it be?

Shadow Weaver: I am not the villain of this story. As to your question, Glimmer saw fit to grant me free rein of the castle. My guards have been dismissed.

Adora: No guards? Seriously?

Glimmer: Yes, seriously! What has she done other than help us?

Adora: Do you really want me to answer that?

I mean, Glimmer’s right in that Shadow Weaver has been very helpful to the Rebellion since she came to Bright Moon, but she doesn’t seem to understand the nature of her relationship with Adora, and overall, it just shows a troubling lack of concern about Adora’s feelings.

Shadow Weaver: Girls, every moment you waste here, the Horde gets that much further ahead. In order to catch a rat, you need to spring a trap.

Adora: Well, in order to catch the spy- we need you to admit that you’re the spy!

Glimmer: Let it go, Adora! There’s lots of other people it could be.

Adora: Like who?

Then they “interrogate” Sea Hawk, because Perfuma took Mermista at her word when she said that everyone was a suspect, and despite his exaggeration, his account together with Mermista’s supplies the final piece of the puzzle (at least for the audience).

Sea Hawk: I was supposed to be guarding the door, but Perfuma relieved me of duty so I could join the fight. […] That’s when the clouds parted, and the moonlight illuminated my dearest Mermista in the distance.

Mermista: Moonlight? The battle happened this morning.

Sea Hawk: I made my way over to her, when we were ambushed! My sole aim was to protect Mermista from the Horde! Thinking quick, I took on the forty to fifty Horde soldiers surrounding us, and saved Dryl!

Mermista: We lost Dryl, and you punched like, one guy before Glimmer got us out.

Sea Hawk: Exactly! One hundred guys!

Perfuma: Wait, wait! I was with the general the whole time! And why weren’t you with Sea Hawk, Mermista?

Mermista: Uh, because Frosta waved me over, but like, disappeared before I could reach her.

Perfuma: But that doesn’t make any sense. She was with Bow, and Glimmer, and then the others were-

Then they kick Sea Hawk out because he’s clearly told everything he had to contribute.

And of course, Flutterina’s last, but Adora and Glimmer are too busy being mad at each other to properly interrogate “her.”

Glimmer: Okay, Flutterina, where were you at the start of the battle?

Flutterina: With Bow and Frosta, of course, like we planned. Is- is everything okay?

Glimmer: Everything is fine. Now-

Flutterina: It’s just that everyone’s so on edge after what happened in Dryl. Have you tried interviewing Shadow Weaver about it? She seems kinda untrustworthy.

Adora: Oh, no! According to Glimmer, she’s totally trustworthy, and it’s fine to let her just walk around the castle whenever she wants.

Glimmer: Can you please not start this up again?

Adora: I’m just saying it would’ve been nice if you told me.

Glimmer: I don’t have to tell you about every decision I make!

Adora: Oh, but you tell Shadow Weaver?

Glimmer: Maybe it’s because Shadow Weaver actually listened when you and Bow kept leaving without me!

Once again, it all comes down to a failure to communicate. Glimmer missed Bow and Adora, but didn’t want to “get in their way” – she knew they were actually needed on the field. Shadow Weaver was right there, so she ended up forming a relationship with her. It does make sense for Glimmer to seek a new mentor figure after the loss of her mother, and the fact that Shadow Weaver counselled her to do what she’d been itching to do for a while (go out and do stuff) sure didn’t hurt.

Basically, they both have legitimate grievances here, but because they fail to articulate them properly, they won’t be resolved anytime soon.

Anyhow, Flutterina ducks out at this point.

Glimmer: I don’t know why I’m going along with this. The Horde is obviously planning something! We should be out there looking for them, not stuck here playing around!

Adora: No one’s playing around, Glimmer. There is a reason we’ve been losing.

Glimmer: And we’re going to keep losing if we don’t act soon!

Mermista: There you are! Why are you just standing around? This isn’t Mer-Mystery: The Case of People Who Just Stood Around, the sequel I wrote right now about all of you.

Glimmer: Who is even left to question?

Once again, both Adora and Glimmer have a point (and there really isn’t anyone else to question). They bring pretty much all the rebels for questioning, but as no one else was involved with the Dryl mission, they get nowhere.

Adora: Glimmer, where are you going?

Glimmer: This isn’t working. Nothing we do is working. The Horde is always one step ahead, and I can’t just sit here and wait for the next bad thing to happen!

Adora: So, what? You’re gonna teleport into the Fright Zone and try to solve this all by yourself?

Glimmer: Someone’s gotta do something.

Adora: Glimmer, please. You can’t leave in the middle of the night without backup.

Glimmer: The less people involved, the better. We don’t know who to trust.

Adora: And what about me? Were you gonna tell me, or Bow?

Glimmer: Adora, I-

Adora: Stay. Please. I know we can figure this out if we work together. No more secrets and doing things without us. We need you here. I need you here.

Glimmer: Okay. I’m here.

Then the others show up to inform them that communications were somehow cut off.

Glimmer: This wasn’t an accident. This was sabotage.

So now they’re seemingly back to square one, but more frustrated than ever!

Glimmer: The general is working on restoring communications. In the meantime, there’s a backup device in the dining room, should we need it.

Mermista: All of us here knew we were trying to unmask the spy, and we were the ones who made the plan to take back Dryl. We’ve ruled out all other suspects. Which means the only person the spy could be is one of us.

Frosta: Perfuma was the one who let the Horde take the doors!

Perfuma: I wasn’t there! Wait! Your team was the one who told us to come in, and you led Mermista away!

Frosta: I did not!

Mermista: Trying to throw the blame on someone else, huh, Frosta?

Frosta: If Mermista knows so much about mysteries, she’d probably know how to plan the perfect crime!

Perfuma: And there was water by the tracker pad!

Mermista: Water that could have been melted ice!

Bow: It’s probably me!

Frosta: It’s not you, Bow!

Mermista: Or maybe it is, like in Mer-Mystery: Salter Ego!

Sea Hawk: It couldn’t be me, I was busy fighting at least 200 soldiers!

Adora: This is a waste of time, Glimmer. Shouldn’t we be-

Glimmer: Stop! Stop questioning my choices, stop whining about being a decoy, just stop! Okay?

Adora: I’m not whining!

Glimmer: All you do is question me, question my authority. It’s exhausting!

Sea Hawk: Okay, I lied! I didn’t fight 300 soldiers! Mermista, will you ever forgive me?

Mermista: Sea Hawk, we all knew that.

Adora: Look at what she’s doing to you! Shadow Weaver just wants power, and you are listening to her!

Glimmer: So what? Are you jealous because you’re not Shadow Weaver’s favorite anymore? Or are you just mad that I’m queen and in charge and you’re not?

Adora: That’s ridiculous!

Glimmer: You just run around playing the perfect hero. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me!

Adora: Because you stopped including me in your decisions! We used to be a team, and now, I don’t know what we are!

Glimmer is spouting a lot of the same things Catra used to say to Adora (back when they actually interacted…).

Then they finally corner Flutterina.

Glimmer: Hey, Flutterina. Looking for something?

Flutterina: Glimmer? Adora? Hi, hi, uh, just looking for the bathroom. Okay, okay, this looks bad, but I assure you it isn’t what it looks like, so just-

It appears that they suspected Flutterina, and were just looking for an opportunity to set a trap.

Adora: In order to catch a rat, you need to spring a trap, so we set one up of our own.

Mermista: Classic murder mystery move.

Perfuma: There’s no murder- never mind.

Glimmer: We knew a backup communication device would be irresistible to whoever destroyed the original.

Adora: We wanted the spy to feel safe enough to make a move, so we created a diversion.

Glimmer: Adora managed to be a really good actress, for once.

Adora: It was really hard do not ask me to do that again.

So, it appears as if the only way that they can actually be honest with each other is when Adora is trying to act like her life depends on it!

So Double Trouble finally drops the act, shuffling through all the heroes before settling on their natural form.

Double Trouble: Please, call me Double Trouble.

Adora: You’re a shapeshifter.

Bow: It wasn’t my goggles glitching. It was you, pretending to be Frosta at Dryl!

Double Trouble: And Perfuma! Don’t shortchange my credits, darling. May I say, as one actor to another, that was truly a masterful performance. I really bought that you two were furious with each other. If you would indulge me, were you inspired by any real emotion or experience?

Glimmer: Enough! It’s over, Double Trouble. Now tell us what the Horde is planning.

Double Trouble: Over? Oh, love, it’s just beginning. The Horde has been planning a massive attack for some time now. I let Catra know that you were going to Dryl. After that, all I needed to do was plant seeds of doubt, sowing chaos where I could. It wasn’t hard. I just had to keep you isolated and at each other’s throats until the plan was under way. Salineas. If the Horde controls the seas, they control Etheria.

Glimmer: That will never happen. We won’t let it. Now that we know their plan, we can stop it.

Double Trouble: Oh, stop it? Oh, this was a ruse, darling. A distraction. The Battle of Salineas is over. It happened earlier this very evening. It’s too late. Salineas is gone.

Mermista: No.

Glimmer: No! It’s not too late, it can’t be!

Adora: We can fix this. We have to be able to fix this, right?

Glimmer: This won’t happen again. I won’t let it! We won’t give up. We will take back Salineas, take back all of Etheria! No matter what it costs. No matter what the Horde throws at us next.

But apparently the Horde fleet is on its way!

I feel like this episode might have been better if there were an ACTUAL mystery to be solved…but then again, they tried mystery before, with lackluster results. The ending is still pretty effective, though.

Until next time…