I’m going to take you home.

This is an episode that’s been four full seasons (and change) in the making, and it is beautiful.

(it’s probably also gonna be image-heavy, as per the norm with Catradora)

Adora: You won’t find anything, I came alone. I hear Horde Prime’s been looking for me. Figured it was time we met.

Clone: Yes, you will be brought before Prime, and there you will receive your judgement.

But of course, surrendering herself to Horde Prime is only the beginning of the plan, because she knows better than to trust him to deal fairly.

Entrapta: Spacesuit testing officially a success! All suits stood up to ship’s velocity with zero loss of life.

Glimmer: Wait, what? That was a possibility?

Bow: We’re in. They didn’t find us.

Adora: Good. Be quick, and don’t get caught.

The actual plan is to hack the Horde’s server, hopefully get some intel about Horde Prime’s weaknesses, and Glimmer will go over to the cell block to free Catra.

Bow: You’ve got this, Adora. Keep him talking.

Glimmer: Ugh, knowing him, that is not going to be a problem.

Adora: Prime.

Horde Prime: Welcome, Adora.

Meanwhile, the others are having trouble navigating the ship (even Glimmer, who spent a fair amount of time there, but was mostly contained to a few blocks).

Bow: Hey, you okay?

Glimmer: What? You worried about me?

Bow: Maybe. Just, be careful, okay?

Glimmer: Yeah, you too.

Entrapta: Still no sign of the server room. This place is so big, and empty! Where are the vents? How does anyone get around in this place?

Then they spot a glowy room (which seems to fit Glimmer’s description of the server room), so they run in.

But evidently, there are LOTS of glowy rooms on this ship.

Bow: Uh, hello. Would you believe that we’re the inspectors?

They do not, but they only lock the door in response, as opposed to sounding the alarm.

Horde Prime: Forgive my unseemly state. It is a tedious task, but a necessary one to maintain this vessel.

Adora: This is how it’s going to go. We’re gonna make a deal. You’re gonna give me Catra, and then you’re gonna let me leave again, free and clear. I have something you want, a weapon that only She-ra can activate, the Heart of Etheria. And if you don’t do as I say, then I’ll use it, and destroy you and your empire for good. Is- is something funny?

Horde Prime: You are not going to use the weapon, or you would’ve already done so! You would never risk the safety of your Catra.

Adora: You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable of.

Horde Prime: Oh, but I do. I am old, far older than you can imagine. My brothers lend me their life force, and when one vessel fails me, I simply elect another. Thus Prime has reigned eternal through the centuries. There is something so familiar about you, Adora. A face I have not seen in a thousand years. Not since I faced your ancestors, and crushed their once-mighty empire beneath my heel. You call them the First Ones, and you are one of them, are you not, Adora?

Elsewhere, while Bow fights the clones, Entrapta takes a different approach.

Entrapta: Hordak?

Bow: Entrapta, no! What are you doing?

Entrapta: Hordak. That’s you, isn’t it? I brought it for you. I thought you might need it, do you recognize it? Do you recognize me?

But of course, it couldn’t be that easy to find Hordak in a ship full of clones, and when this one attacks Entrapta, Bow fires some sort of shock arrow at him.

Entrapta: Well, that’s definitely not Hordak, so we can cross that one off our list!

Bow: I wasn’t aware we had a list!

Clone: Where am I? I cannot connect to the hive mind. I am…alone? I am alone!

Entrapta: Uh-oh. We broke him.

Clone: Horde Prime. How will he see my thoughts? How will he know that I am faithful?

Bow: It’s all right. We’ll, uh, we’ll tell him. Okay, buddy?

Clone: Y-you will tell him?

Bow: Uh, sure?

Clone: You know Horde Prime? Please, let me accompany you and prove myself worthy to Horde Prime.

Bow: No, that’s- that’s really okay, uh-

Entrapta: Can you open this door?

Bow: We’re not keeping him.

Entrapta: But we broke him! We’re responsible for him now! Plus, he can open doors.

Bow: Can you take us to the server room?

Clone: I would be honored to serve one who is a beloved of Horde Prime.

Bow: Alright, then, Wrong Hordak. Lead the way. Or point, and I’ll just keep dragging you. That’s fine, too.

Meanwhile, Glimmer found her old cell, but of course Catra’s not there because it wouldn’t be that easy. And she suddenly can’t hear the others through her earpiece…

Horde Prime: I thought the First Ones were all gone, but clearly, some faction remains. That race of tyrants abandoned you on a forgotten planet in a shadow dimension. They made you their weapon, their She-ra.

Adora: I don’t fight for the First Ones. I fight for my home, for myself, and for my friends. Now, for the last time, where is Catra?

Catra: Adora?

Adora: Catra? Where are you?

Horde Prime: Of course. Your Catra. She hoped you would come for her, poor thing. So all I had to do was wait. As she would’ve said, you are so very predictable. Come here, child.

Catra: Hello, Adora.

Meanwhile in a less soul-crushing part of the ship…

Bow: Any clue where the server room is yet?

Wrong Hordak: Forgive me, brother. This ship is designed so that it may only be navigated by one who has access to the hive mind, and I have been cut off!

But fortunately, Entrapta’s sensors pick up some energy readings, thus leading them in the right direction anyway…and shortly thereafter, they discover the same thing that Glimmer had: Their radios aren’t working.

Adora: What did you do to her?

Horde Prime: I have made her anew. I saw her mind, so ensnared in rage and grief and pain, and I brought her to the light. Isn’t that right, Little Sister?

Adora: Catra! You have to fight it!

Catra: My place is with Horde Prime, Adora. I don’t want to leave.

Horde Prime: Tell her what I have done for you.

Catra: Prime has given me peace, something you could never do. You broke my heart, but he has made it whole again. Don’t you see? This is for the best. I’m happy here. You could be happy, too.

Adora: Let her go!

Horde Prime: Shall we make a deal, Adora? I will give her to you, if you want her, but first, you must do something for me. You will give me She-ra.

Adora: Never!

Horde Prime: Very well.

Then all their earpieces go on the fritz and give them feedback. And clones storm into the server room.

Horde Prime: You miscalculated. I see all. I know all. You thought yourself worthy to challenge me, but you are nothing but a false hero, the last of the First Ones to fall at my hands. You have led your friends to destruction. 

Then she sees the real Catra for a moment (when Prime is putting pressure on the back of her neck), but that’s enough hope for Adora.

Horde Prime: Go on. Fulfil your purpose. Bring out She-ra, and strike me down. Ah, but you two must have a lot of catching up to do. I will leave you to it. Let me know when you’re ready to make a deal.

This episode is where the Wrinkle in Time influences really come to the fore…and honestly, I prefer this version of the brainwashing plot. In A Wrinkle in Time, the main shock is having a normally kind and caring child suddenly become uncharacteristically rude and mean, and to be fair, it works within the context of that story. But it’s far scarier when a character more like Meg, with all her faults and foibles, suddenly becomes biddable and submissive.

Of course, Prime makes her fight Catra, but Adora does her best not to hurt her.

Adora: Catra, listen to me! I know you’re still in there. I’m not leaving without you. It’s gonna be okay.

but prime has no such reservations about hurting catra, so he makes her contort painfully in order to gain the upper hand

Catra: Everything is already okay. We are with Prime now. There is no need for you to suffer, Adora. Come into the light with me.

Adora: Snap out of it, Catra! I don’t want to hurt you.

Catra: But you have already hurt me. Prime has set me free of that pain, the pain that you caused. He will set us all free, forever. A world of peace without end.

And that’s the other reason why I prefer this rendition: With Catra acting as the mouthpiece for Prime’s ideology, she spells out to Adora what she never would in her right mind, that she was hurting, even heartbroken.

Then Catra seems to be losing her balance on the edge of the platform, so Adora grabs her.

Prime!Catra: Oh, Adora, how long will you drag this out? You will destroy the ones you love in the process.

and then she holds adora off the edge of the platform

Meanwhile, in the server room.

Entrapta: Horde Prime’s server is infinitely more complex than anything I’ve ever encountered. It’s like a neural network, branching off in every possible direction in a three-dimensional configuration!

Bow: What does that mean?

Entrapta: It means it’s gonna take a lot longer to decipher than I thought! 

Then Glimmer shows up, wielding a staff she swiped from among Horde Prime’s “mementos”.

Glimmer: I always hated that guy in particular. And also, all the other guys I hit on the way in. […] We have to get out of here!

Entrapta: But I haven’t finished yet!

Glimmer: There’s no time! We might not be able to hack him, but we can still make him hurt!

Then she just stabs the control panel, which does indeed seem to have an effect.

Prime!Catra: She was afraid in the end. And she suffered. Perhaps I will make her my new vessel, though, she would not last me long. What do you think,

Catra: Adora?

And as soon as Prime leaves her, Adora slams her into a wall, leading her to discover that damaging the chip on Catra’s neck helps to release Prime’s hold on her…if only for a moment.

Adora: I am not giving up on you, Catra!

Catra: Then you’re a fool. You cannot stop Horde Prime. He will reign triumphant over all the universe. It is destiny-

Then the full effect of the hit to the server seems to come through…

Catra: Adora, you should’ve stayed away. Why did you come back? We both know I don’t matter!

Adora: You matter to me! Come on, Catra! You’ve never listened to anyone in your life! Are you really going to start now?

Catra: You’re such an idiot.

Adora: Yeah, I know! I’m going to take you home.

Catra: Promise?

Adora: I promise!

im seriously crying right now because it’s just too perfect

this show

Catra: Adora-

Prime!Catra: Disappointing. Some creatures are destined only for destruction.

and then he makes her fall off the platform, and of course stupid adora follows

Adora: Catra? Catra, it’s okay. I’m here.

this show

Prime!Clone: I am sorry for the needless waste, Adora. It did not have to be like this. Are you ready to cooperate?

Adora: For the honor of Grayskull!

THIS SHOW

Then she beats up all the clones in the room, and the She-ra theme is back and more retro than ever.

She-ra: You miscalculated.

But of course, the others are still trapped in the middle of the ship.

Bow: What do we do?

Entrapta: I’ve got an idea, but you have to promise you won’t be mad that I maybe, possibly, 100% disregarded all those times you told me not to tinker with the ship.

Bow: Entrapta, if you get us out of here, you can tinker with the ship as much as you want!

Entrapta: Ha! Great! Hey, Darla! Good girl!

And the ship just comes on command now!

Bow: We need to find Adora and get out of here, now!

Then she takes out her sword that she can just sort of manifest now, waves it around, and takes out all the clones in the vicinity.

Darla: Administrator detected. Hello, She-ra.

She-ra: Hey, Darla. Get us out of here.

Darla: Affirmative.

She-ra: And Darla? Make it quick.

Then she can finally consider Catra, who’s been struggling to breathe for the last two scenes.

She-ra: Come on, Catra. You’re not done. Not yet. We’re going home.

Catra: Hey, Adora.

THESE TWO!!!!!

But there’s one more loose end to be teased…

Hordak: Entrapta.

Until next time…