The Horde’s the Horde, even in space.

As last season’s finale shook things up considerably, this episode seems mainly intended to introduce us to the new normal, while the characters themselves come to terms with it.

Naturally, one of the biggest changes is that Adora can’t turn into She-ra anymore, which she frequently forgets, especially due to the other big change: the Galactic Horde has taken over Etheria basically overnight, so the rebels were forced into hiding.

Horde Prime: Well, who are you?

And since Horde Prime has eyes everywhere on the planet (in the form of bots, drones, and clones), he soon realizes that Adora is the Rebellion’s figurehead (even without She-ra).

And of course, Adora appears as herself (as opposed to She-ra) on the title card, along with the other people who are clearly with the rebels. Interestingly, now she’s reverted to using a battle staff, which seems to be what she was accustomed to use in the Horde.

But whether or not she’s still She-ra, Adora still gets mystical dreams and important flashbacks (including a vision of Horde Prime, whom she has yet to actually meet, and although giant holograms of him appear on Etheria in later episodes, this seems to imply that she just knows because of some sort of residual She-ra mojo). This particular image of She-ra is notably not herself – the silhouette indicates that it’s instead Mara’s She-ra. Because the hero ALWAYS has psychic dreams, right?

Anyhow, the sorcerers who were sent to protect Bright Moon in the last episode are currently hiding the rebel camp with an illusion spell, so that’s at least one thing they don’t have to worry about.

Bow: Adora, did you get any sleep?

Adora: Have you guys finished the update to Mara’s ship yet? How soon can we take off to rescue Glimmer?

Bow: It’s a little more complicated, since-

Entrapta: Space! Sorry, I’m just so excited! In order to achieve maximum velocity for liftoff, the necessary repairs and upgrades to the shields, the engine, and the life support should take approximately…oh, a very long time.

Adora: We don’t have time! Glimmer’s up there, somewhere, waiting for us. We just have to figure out where.

Bow: We’ll find her, I know we will.

Entrapta: This isn’t just a little update! Space has a lot more dangers and variables. Crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, vaporization, all it takes is just one little hull breach and then whoosh! That’s it! Besides, there’s no telling where Glimmer could be. Space is always expanding, always getting bigger and bigger! But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll determine her precise location, soon.

It’s fun to see Entrapta actually integrating with the rebels, because she only really joined the Rebellion nominally before Catra nabbed her.

Then Adora’s drawn into some sort of strategy meeting.

Shadow Weaver: The sorcerers’ spells will only keep us hidden for so long. Then what? This is the only way! Your daughter understood well enough-

Micah: You don’t get to talk to me about my daughter!

Shadow Weaver: She would’ve never had us abandon Bright Moon.

Micah: We couldn’t hold Bright Moon with the Galactic Horde attacking us from overhead, we need cover!

Shadow Weaver: Which is precisely why we should use the Heart of Etheria!

Frosta: Come on!

Perfuma: I can’t, I just can’t.

Mermista: Okay, so we’re not doing that, because A) without Glimmer, and more importantly, without She-ra, the Heart of Etheria won’t work. And B), when it did “work”, it nearly destroyed everyone. So, no thanks.

Frosta: Oh, and also, C), we don’t like you and we don’t want your help!

Perfuma: Also, D), are you still our prisoner? Could we get a rundown of who is or who is not our prisoner anymore?

Adora: Arguing is not going to help us. We need information on Horde Prime if we’re going to find Glimmer, and we won’t get any of that sitting around here.

Micah: Adora’s right. The best thing we can do now is focus on evacuations, scouting missions, and keeping everyone safe until we can learn more of Horde Prime’s plans.

In Glimmer’s absence, Adora’s become the de facto leader, at least of the Princess Alliance, even if Micah might technically be the leader now. Because the princesses all know and trust her, and while Micah might have experience leading an organized rebellion, he’s still basically a stranger to them.

And when she hears that they need to evacuate another town, Adora jumps at the chance to do something.

Adora: I’ll do it! I’ll bring them back here.

Perfuma: Alone? Oh, Adora, you really oughta bring backup, you’re not…you-know-who anymore.

Adora: Fine. I’ll take a team.

Micah: I still believe in you, Adora. You saved me, and I know, you’re gonna save my little girl.

Adora: I promise I’ll find Glimmer, Your Majesty, wherever she is. We’ll get her back.

Meanwhile, Glimmer’s alone with her trauma, and it’s only made worse because it’s kinda her own fault. And the show makes sure to remind us that she can’t use her magic in space.

Glimmer: Hey! Is anyone there? Someone answer me! Hello?

Of course, Catra IS there, because she’s got nothing better to do, but she’s not quite so desperate for company that she’d strike up a conversation with an “enemy”…yet.

Scorpia, on the other hand, is fitting right in with the rebels.

Swift Wind: No bots in sight! I don’t wanna jinx it or anything, but this is a pretty great first mission together.

Scorpia: I am so happy you said that, cause I feel the same way! We’re kind of a great team, between your hooves-

Swift Wind: And your pincers!

Scorpia: And our positive attitude, nothing can get in our way!

Swift Wind: Oh! Just so you know, I have been known to sing from time to time.

Scorpia: What? I love singing! Catra always said it was annoying. Man, you guys are the best!

i’m so happy scorpia found her people

Then they run into some clones, evidently for the first time (all their previous encounters had been with bots or drones).

Bow: We need to get out of here.

Adora: I’ve got a better idea.

Bow: Wait! Adora!

And she just runs out to fight them, because apparently being She-ra for so long made her a poor judge of her non-She-ra capabilities.

Meanwhile, back with the Horde, Catra is giving off plenty of cat vibes in her new environment.

Catra: Excuse me, Lord Prime. You wanted to see me? Huh.

Horde Prime: Catra. That is your name, is it not? I have been reviewing the memories of my defective brother. It seems he had very little love towards you at the end. The question is, what do we do with you now?

Catra: Remember that big planet-sized Etheria weapon? Well, I’m the only one who can tell you how it works. You need me.

Horde Prime: You would pledge your loyalty to me, Catra? What do you say?

Catra: I’m ready.

This is clearly a higher-stakes game than Catra reckoned. She doesn’t actually know all that much about the Heart of Etheria, just as much as Glimmer told her in their brief conversation, but it was the one shot she had at saving her skin after Horde Prime demonstrated just what he was capable of with Hordak. Hordak only wanted to rule Etheria, but she doesn’t quite seem to realize what Horde Prime wants – it’s obviously not just to rule the universe.

Meanwhile, back on Etheria…

Adora: Ah, what happened? Where are those clones? Did we get ’em?

Scorpia: Okay, don’t get mad, but I may have had to sting you, just a little.

Adora: What?

Scorpia: Well, you were refusing to retreat, and we really, really needed to run away.

Swift Wind: Space clones!

Adora: You stung me?

Scorpia: I’m sorry, so sorry. I don’t regret it, and will do it again if needed. Sorry, again.

Bow: Adora, you can’t run into battle like that, not anymore. You have to stop acting like you’re invincible, you aren’t-

Adora: You don’t need to say it. I know. I made that choice, I’m living with the consequences.

Bow: What were you even trying to do?

Adora: I thought maybe, I could get those clones to tell us where Glimmer is being held, then at least I’d be one step closer to saving her.

Bow: That’s…not a bad idea.

Adora: Wait, what?

Bow: Trying to fight a troop of clones by yourself is reckless. Catching and questioning one clone is…also reckless, but this time, we do it together.

And now, Catra’s finally bored of what little company the clones provide.

Glimmer: Oh, great. You.

Catra: Pretty fancy accommodations, huh? Well, for a prisoner, that is. How’s it going, princess?

Glimmer: Don’t pretend like you’re any better off than I am right now. You may be on the other side of this forcefield, but you’re as alone as I am.

Catra: The Horde’s the Horde, even in space. As long as I’m of value to Horde Prime, I’ve got a place in this world. I can work my way up here, just like I did before.

Glimmer: Is that really what you want? We both saw what happened to Hordak! Do you really think you can come out on top?

Clones: Horde Prime requests your presence as his guests for dinner this evening. Both of you.

They’re both in roughly the same boat (in more than just a literal sense), but Catra’s still denying it because she thinks she still has her freedom – or at least she pretends, because the demarcation between the rebels and the Horde is the one constant that she can cling to.

Back on Etheria, Adora interrogates their clone.

Adora: Horde Prime took my friend Glimmer, and I want her back. Where is she?

Clone: Fear not. Your friend is an honored guest of Horde Prime, Emperor of the Galactic Horde, ruler of the known universe, regent of the seven skies-

Adora: I said, where?

Clone: She is with Prime on his flagship, safe at the heart of his empire, far from your paltry world. She is chosen, basking in the light of Prime’s favor, he who brings the day, and the night-

Bow: Okay, we get it-

Clone: Glory be to Horde Prime, revered one of the shining galaxies, promised one of a thousand suns-

Swift Wind: Ugh, did Hordak talk this much?

Scorpia: Nah, he mainly growled and yelled “Get out!” a lot.

Clone: Your Queen is safe, unlike your rebel friends.

Adora: What do you mean?

Clone: Horde Prime sees all. Horde Prime knows all. You can abandon Bright Moon, cloak your rebel camp in illusions, but we will find you.

Then Micah essentially sends up a flare, so they rush back to camp.

and of course entrapta wants to inspect the alien robots

Micah saves Entrapta (because you have to wait until AFTER the battle to take apart the robots!), and then Shadow Weaver saves Micah, because she seems to be genuinely fond of him, for whatever that’s worth.

And then Adora tries charging into a group of bots, again.

Meanwhile, Catra is clearly uncomfortable with the whole formal dinner thing, not least because she doesn’t know how to treat the servers.

Horde Prime: Are you comfortable, Your Majesty? I strive to treat my guests well. I believe we can learn a great deal from one another. Ah, enjoyable, yes? It’s a delicacy from a distant world, lightyears away from here. It was very much like Etheria. This dish is incredibly rare, as that world no longer exists. Seconds?

Glimmer: No, thank you.

Horde Prime: Speaking of Etheria, you must miss it terribly. Would you like to see your homeworld now?

Amidst the general chaos of the raid on the rebel camp, they’re shown images of the princesses and Bow, and even Catra seems to be caught off guard by seeing Scorpia again.

Glimmer: No…why are you doing this?

Horde Prime: Every rebellion forms around a leader, a beacon of hope, that little note of discord.

And Catra’s definitely caught off her guard when Adora shows up.

Horde Prime: Here she is, your beacon of hope, Adora, She-ra. A nuisance that must be purged in order to bring peace to Etheria.

Glimmer: No! Stop! Don’t hurt her! You wanna use the weapon, right? You need all the princesses, and that includes She-ra! Without her, the Heart of Etheria is useless. You can’t hurt her.

Horde Prime: Very well. This has been illuminating. Thank you, Glimmer. I do look forward to more of our conversations. But for now, eat up.

And now all of a sudden Catra’s left with no cards to play (she might not have even known that She-ra had anything to do with the Heart of Etheria, and she certainly wasn’t sure of it).

And back on Etheria, Adora’s finally got to face the facts.

Bow: Adora! Are you okay?

Adora: No! You were right, Bow. I can’t fight them all, I’m not strong enough, I’m not She-ra, I’m not a hero anymore, I’m just me, and I can’t do this alone.

Bow: But Adora, you aren’t alone. You’ve never been. We’ve got this, together.

Adora: Together.

And it turns out that Adora’s a pretty good field commander, delegating when she has to and working together on other things.

But there’s still the issue of finding a new place to hide now that the Horde’s discovered the camp.

Adora: We can’t stay here, it isn’t safe anymore.

Bow: We’re kinda running out of places to hide.

Adora: I think I know where we can go.

Catra: Neat trick, with all the footage of her friends in danger. These princesses are so predictable with their feelings.

Horde Prime: As were you.

Catra: What?

Horde Prime: Elevated heartrate, dilated pupils. Adora means something to you.

Catra: No, she doesn’t. She chose her side, I chose mine. She means nothing to me.

Horde Prime: You Etherians are all alike. Such strong connections to one another. It’s what makes you weak.

Catra: What are you going to do with me?

Horde Prime: Now that I know about She-ra and the weapon, what purpose do I have for you? Your little ploy of parsing out information like a bargaining chip was never going to last long out here. I see all. I know all. But fear not. I have great plans for you. Every part of the machine is of value, even you, Little Sister.

This episode presents a clear picture of what our heroes are up against. The Gregorian-esqe chanting and pipe organ for Horde Prime’s theme music was very intentional, as is his habit of referring to members of the Horde as family members. The clones regard him as a god, and serve him with fanatical fervor. Horde Prime heads a cult-like religion, and that’s far scarier than any one person.

Bow: Adora, where are we going?

Adora: It’s around here somewhere, a place where we’ll be safe. Madame Razz brought me there, and I saw it again in my dreams. I just have to hope it lets us in.

[…]

Micah: Where are we?

Adora: The deepest part of the Whispering Woods. Horde Prime won’t find us here. We’re safe. Now we just need to set up camp, and-

Bow: Adora!

Then she promptly collapses!

I used a bit more images than dialogue for this episode, partly because a lot of the dialogue (especially early on) is just restating what we already know (but they feel the need to remind the audience, despite the fact that the last season had a very memorable finale and a lot of fans were eager to see the final season for that exact reason), and partly because the landscape has just changed so dramatically.

Until next time…