Oh, it’s fun, it’s fun to be friends with friends!

This episode provides one last bit of levity before we dive into the more or less constant darkness that is Season 5 (because the season finale for Season 4 is basically just setup for Season 5).

And even this episode is pretty serious for the majority of its runtime! The last episode ended with the fall of Salineas, after all.

Glimmer: I’ll be back for you [Hordak].

Bow: I know it’s been tough going with losing Salineas, but we’re picking up the pieces! I’m sure we can turn this around. I mean, we captured Double Trouble! They’re refusing to talk to us, but still! So, uh, Swift Wind! You just got back from scouting the southern coast! What does it look like?

Swift Wind: On fire!

Bow: Anything more specific?

Swift Wind: On lots of fire!

Bow: Okay! Adora, you came from Plumeria, what’s their status? Any good news?

Adora: Perfuma is securing the Whispering Woods, and Frosta reports her kingdom has not been breached.

Bow: Great!

Adora: Yet. But the Horde’s working on it, day and night, nonstop.

Bow: Well, that is okay! Because Sea Hawk, Spinnerella, and Netossa just saved everyone in Sea Elf Village! With, ah, Glimmer, who didn’t tell us she was going, but just kinda showed up.

Adora: Again? Glimmer, you can’t just keep going off on your own!

Glimmer: Hm. Where have I heard that before? Oh, right. When I stayed here to find the Horde spy and Salineas fell.

Adora: That’s not fair. We didn’t know!

Glimmer: Tell that to Mermista!

Swift Wind: Hey, where is Mermista?

Evidently Mermista’s mermaid tail works on Splash rules.

Mermista: Oh, look. More ice cream. Because I’m the princess of ice cream now.

As always, Mermista’s presence is a breath of fresh air, especially since Adora and Glimmer have been at each other’s throats.

Sea Hawk: She’s, uh, taking some me-time.

Bow: Me-time! Great! We all could use some of that, so let’s check in with each other more often, and Glimmer, if you could-

Glimmer: I’m not going to hide inside the castle while our people are in danger. I’m the Queen. You don’t give me orders.

Bow: Okay, I get that you’re upset, but-

Adora: Don’t talk to Bow like that!

Bow: Adora, it’s fine! Glimmer’s just-

Glimmer: I need to stop the Horde, any way I can. We’re done for today.

Adora: Fine. Clearly, we’re not gonna get anything done right now.

i feel you, buddy

This is essentially Adora and Glimmer’s first fight, but it’s greatly extenuated because they still have to work together on a number of things, and further complicated by Glimmer technically being in charge, while Adora feels an obligation to protect her. And speaking of, it’s rather telling that Angella never actually asked her to protect Glimmer – she just said, “take care of each other.”

Sea Hawk: All in all, not the worst meeting we’ve had.

Bow: I’ve never seen Glimmer like this. Or Adora. I just wish I knew how to help them.

Sea Hawk: Ah, don’t blame yourself, lad. Hey, you know, I just had an idea, not pre-planned at all. Let’s take a break and have a boys’ night out on the town!

Swift Wind: Can I come, too?

Bow: I should really stay here in case Glimmer and Adora need me.

Sea Hawk: One night off won’t hurt. What do you say?

Swift Wind: Boys’ night out, boys’ night out, boys’ night out! Boys’ night out! Why am I the only one doing this?

Bow: You know what? Why not.

Sea Hawk: Grand! And then my brilliant secret plan can begin.

Bow: What’s that?

Sea Hawk: Nothing! Forward, to a friendship adventure!

Meanwhile, Catra’s stuck with Hordak for company.

Catra: Lord Hordak. Sounds like congratulations are in order.

Hordak: Yes. The princesses are in utter disarray, abandoning territory, scattering before us like the cowards they are.

Catra: We’re crushing them. Once you return to the Fright Zone, I’ll march our troops on the rest of the coastal towns.

Hordak: No. Now that Horde Prime’s arrival is imminent, I shall remain in the field to ensure victory. Besides, out of all the princesses, Entrapta has yet to face me on the field.

Catra: And what exactly am I supposed to do while you “remain in the field”?

Hordak: Whatever I deem necessary to win. Return to your post in the Fright Zone and await my orders. Soon all of Etheria will be at my feet.

Then, after she finishes her business, Catra naturally calls up Scorpia (and fails to notice that she’s not talking).

Catra: Force Captain Scorpia, come in. Aw, man! Even when he’s winning, Hordak is annoying. Now, he suddenly loves fighting, and I’m getting stuck with whatever he “deems necessary”. Never thought I’d miss Shut-in Hordak. Meet me at the Sea Gate, I want to take a break anyway.

Bow: Sea Hawk, I thought you said, “Boys’ night out.” It’s the middle of day!

Sea Hawk: New experiences! Huzzah! Day, night, it matters not! You’re overdue for some levity.

Bow: Last time I was here it was with Adora and Glimmer, and things were great. Not like now. 

Sea Hawk: Tis true. Things are looking dour. This drink is extra sour. Could be the Rebellion’s darkest hour. Nonsense! You know why? Hit it!

When the seas are rough and dire 
We turn to friends and we conspire 
To relight the sacred fire of rebellion!
When the Horde tightens the noose 
Around our daring sea rescues
We take some time to cut loose from the Rebellion!
Sure, friends aren't seeing eye to eye
Tis no reason to curl up and die!
Friendship just needs a resupply
Oh, it's fun, it's fun to be friends with friends!
Oh, it's fun, it's fun to be friends with friends!

Sometimes we'll fight but that's okay
We'll work it out another day.
I know things will work out in the end
Cause it's fun to be friends with friends
Oh it's fun to be friends with friends
Oh it's fun to be friends with friends
Friends with friends!

This is what I’ve been missing: ham and cheese. And a good old fashioned musical number.

Then they walk right into an ambush!

Bow: It’s an ambush!

Sea Hawk: Oo, better! It’s a kidnapping!

Bow: Sea Hawk, what are you doing?

Sea Hawk: Don’t worry! It’s all a part of my brilliant secret plan!

Swift Wind: What plan?

Sea Hawk: To unite the princesses and cheer up my dearest Mermista. They love rescuing people. So I paid my friend Bill to kidnap us! The ladies will put aside their problems to rescue us, go on a mission of fun, and then it’s a happy ending for all!

Bow: Wait, you paid them to-

The princesses will stop their fight
When they save us it'll be alright
We'll hang with Bill the rest of the night!
It's fun to be friends with friends!
Shiboom-dadee-boom bam boo!
Hey, Bill, did you get taller?
And when did you get that scar?
You, uh, didn't have a scar.
This might not be Bill.
No, this isn't Bill!

Bow: What?

Swift Wind: What do we do?

Bow: We have to get a message to our friends. Swift Wind, try to contact Adora through your sacred bond.

Sea Hawk: Ye- yeah, yes! Yes, my plan can still work. They’ll just unite to rescue us for real this time! Nothing’s spun out of control…Do your thing, noble steed.

Swift Wind: Come on, Adora, pick up!

Meanwhile, back at Bright Moon…

Glimmer: Mermista, are you alone?

Mermista: Totally.

Glimmer: I thought you said you were alone.

Mermista: I am, deep down inside. So alone. Ugh, are you two gonna fight again? Whatever.

And then she just ducks down beneath the bathwater. One of the perks of being able to breath underwater!

Glimmer: I was just checking up on Mermista, but clearly, you have it covered.

Adora: Glimmer, what is going on with you? I know things are bad right now, but we can fix it-

Glimmer: Why is that always your answer to everything?

Adora: Because it’s the only thing we can do!

Glimmer: Things are worse than ever. The Horde has Salineas, the coast is falling, we haven’t fixed anything!

Adora: That’s why we need to work together, instead of you pushing us away! And if you just listened to us you’d know that and why can I hear the ocean right now?

Yeah, it’s not exactly the sort of moment when Adora can very well consider people outside of her immediate vicinity.

Swift Wind: She hung up on me! But I can tell that she’s in distress. I should be at her side right now!

Bow: Swift Wind, calm down. It’ll be okay. We’ll figure something out.

Sea Hawk: Fear not. I know how to get a message to my sweet Mermista. After all, she taught me how to speak seagull!

But all the “speaking seagull” garners the attention of their captors, and their motives are entirely unsurprising.

Scurvy: What’s all this yammering about?

Sea Hawk: Admiral- Admiral Scurvy, my old friend! It’s just like you to, ah, take over someone else’s jovial prank. Isn’t it fun being friends? Oh-

Scurvy: Absolutely not. Friends? We were friends, but I’ve had to rebuild my last three ships because you set them on fire. Honestly, who does that?

Sea Hawk: Come on, now, Scurvy, isn’t this all just a bit extreme?

Bow: Admiral Scurvy, sir! Whatever Sea Hawk has done in the past, can’t you put that aside for the sake of your friendship?

Scurvy: Friendship? Ooh, boy! Listen up, kid. Friendship is overrated. There’s only one thing in this world that matters: Money. And lucky for you, the three of you have some value to me yet.

Sea Hawk: This was all a terrible idea. Why didn’t anyone stop me?

Swift Wind: Because you didn’t tell us! Why didn’t you tell us?

Sea Hawk: If I told you, you would have stopped me!

Bow: It’s okay! Cause it’s fun to be friends with friends! Remember?

Sea Hawk: This is no time for songs.

Swift Wind: Yeah, read the room, Bow!

Bow: Look, as soon as they realize we’re gone, Adora and Glimmer will stop fighting and come for us. I know they will.

Admiral Scurvy was naturally in the original series…as an actual admiral, with the Horde. As such, he merely appears to be an evil counterpart and have no prior relationship with Sea Hawk (even though, you know, Sea Hawk used to work for the Horde in that series).

And speaking of the Horde…

Catra: Hey, Scorpia, where are you? It’s not like you to be late. Listen, I’ll kill you if you tell anyone this, but I thought winning would be…different. Or at least more, I don’t know, fun? Come on! You’re not still mad about before, are you? Stop being so sensitive! Get over it and talk to me, Scorpia! Scorpia? Scorpia?

This is where the episode really shines, in my opinion: Drawing parallels between the Best Friend Squad and what was once the Super Pal Trio. Catra’s taken days (and over two episodes) to even start to worry about Scorpia, the Bow analogue of the group (being the most invested in friendship, as well as in the idea of the group). The main difference between Scorpia and Bow is that Bow is well aware of the tension between his friends, while Scorpia was oblivious until it was too late.

Honestly, this Admiral Scurvy looks more like he might’ve been in the Salinean navy.

Scurvy: Good news, boys. Someone cared enough about you three to pay a hefty ransom!

Sea Hawk: The princesses, of course! Just like I planned.

Scurvy: All that very loud, very public singing about the Rebellion, and you think your ransom was paid by the princesses? The Horde controls the seas now, and they’re paying top dollar for high-ranking rebel prisoners.

[…]

Sea Hawk: Scurvy, don’t do this. You and I lived by a sacred code, the Law of the Sea. We are like brothers! If our friendship ever meant anything to you-

Scurvy: It didn’t. Your friends aren’t coming, kid. I don’t think they’ve even noticed you’re gone.

And from what we see when we return to Bright Moon, Scurvy’s right!

Glimmer: You think you can just transform into She-ra and hit things with your sword and it will fix everything! Well, guess what? It’s not working!

Adora: Why are you blaming this all on me? It is not my fault that Salineas fell! The Horde manipulated all of us!

Glimmer: She-ra was supposed to save us. But the Rebellion’s in a worse place than ever since you showed up!

Adora: I’m trying my best. Why can’t you see that?

Glimmer: Well, maybe your best isn’t good enough. If it was, my mother would still be here!

Glimmer clearly realizes this was out of line, but that’s the moment when Mermista hears about the boys (from a seagull), so she doesn’t get the chance to even try to apologize.

This is devastating to Adora, because she knows that it was down to her or Angella, and she seems to interpret this as Glimmer saying that she wished Adora had died instead.

Back with the boys, Bow is feeling real low.

Sea Hawk: So…what happened to the eye?

Octavia: Oh, this? Catra scratched it out when she was six. And now, I bet she’s gonna do the exact same thing to all of you!

Bow: I don’t care.

Octavia: Hey! I’m threatening you.

Bow: I don’t care! You know what, it’s not easy being the friendly and upbeat guy all the time. And I get that it’s hard to be friends sometimes. You gotta work at it. So why am I always the only one who’s willing to work at it? I mean, they didn’t even notice I’m gone! Do whatever you want. I don’t care. It’s terrible being friends with friends.

Octavia: Aw, yeesh! Ready at the rendezvous point. You guys gotta get this kid off my ship, he’s bringing me down!

And that’s about when the princesses show up.

Sea Hawk: Mermista! You’re back in the game!

Mermista: Never felt better. Rescuing people is my jam.

Sea Hawk: I knew it! Never doubted my brilliant plan for a moment. Oh, how fun-

Mermista: No shanties! Hit it.

Sea Hawk: I thought you said no shanties?

Mermista: This isn’t a shanty, it’s like a rock remix, so it’s cool.

You can't keep me down
Can't throw this princess around
Cause you know how this all ends.
With punches and kicks,
And magical tricks,
On each other we all depend.
I'll blast you away
And fight another day
For Salineas! 
Yeah, it's fun to fight hard with friends!
Fight with friends, fight with friends
It's hard to fight with friends.
Yeah, it's fun to fight hard with friends!
It's hard to fight with friends.

this is what i live for

Honestly, the score for this whole episode is great, and the rock remix is fabulous.

And although Adora and Glimmer manage to work together towards a common goal, that doesn’t fix their relationship.

and catra finds a note from scorpia

Anyhow, back to the fun side of things!

Sea Hawk: And that is the tale of how I united everyone with my brilliant plan!

Mermista: Whatever, you goober. Your plan was terrible. But I’m done moping in a bathtub. I’m ready to fight, to destroy the Horde and get my kingdom back!

Sea Hawk: That’s my girl!

Mermista: Also, Bright Moon ran out of ice cream.

Sea Hawk: That’s also my girl!

Glimmer tries to make up with Adora, but is rejected.

Bow: Adora, you and Glimmer-

Adora: I know what I have to do, Bow. I’m going to look for Mara’s weapon, the one she mentioned in the message. Maybe it can turn the tide of the war for us. It has to.

Bow: What are you talking about? Glimmer doesn’t need a weapon, she needs her friends.

Adora: No, she doesn’t. But it doesn’t matter. I will fix this. No matter what Glimmer thinks of me.

Their friendship is hanging on by a thread – and that thread is Bow.

It’s not power that changed Glimmer – it’s responsibility. When she became Queen, she became responsible for the Rebellion. And when faced with hardship, she defaulted to a more utilitarian attitude, viewing her friends with an eye to what they could do for her rather than as people.

Bow: We’re best friends, we are we are.

Overall, this was a great episode! They managed to balance the darkness with silliness, rather than making it feel tone-deaf.

Until next time…