it’s so weird to me when ppl try to say that catra was complicit in genocide or whatever bc this is a TV Y7 show & whenever there’s an attack on a kingdom/village they’re v clear to show civilians evacuating so like rly all catra did was intense property damage

the civilians for mermista’s kingdom were all rescued by the rebellion no one died there i think the only person catra killed was tung lashor & by domino effect angella

idk how else to explain to u all that the war is a backdrop to the interpersonal drama of the characters in this show & while there are criticisms to be had abt that, catra’s actions should be viewed thru the lens of “how does this affect her & the ppl that love her”

pulling the lever to open a portal=a literal metaphor for the rage&grief catra was experiencing while ppl told her there would be consequences for doing so she didn’t believe them she thought she would just manage to get a signal to horde prime she didn’t believe adora & entrapta

noelle himself said it best in an interview when he described catra’s arc as “what happens when you’re the toxic friend? can you become better?” we have all been toxic to someone before. that doesn’t inherently mean u were abusive. toxic=/=abusive

catra’s arc was abt being consumed by anger as a mask for v real pain—an arc female characters Never get— & then ultimately becoming a better person once she learned to accept other people’s love & support

her big heroic moment was asking the girl she loved to stay! it was allowing herself to be vulnerable to possible rejection but ultimately doing so out of love after an entire series trying to make herself closed off to others

s5 showed catra apologizing for her actions & then actively trying to change her behavior. the thing abt redemption arcs is that not EVERY character has to or will forgive that character, but they themselves are actively doing good & are sympathetic to the audience

from episode one catra is presented as someone to root for despite her allegiance to the horde. we as the audience are witness to all her breakdowns, the fact that she is not the ultime bad guy, the fact that she has been abused

also she’s a teenager at the start of the show? she’s still a kid? regardless of your headcanons for s4/5, in s3 catra referred to herself +the rebellion as a bunch of teens so for half the show she’s still young & we’re shown that she’s hurt by those older than her (sw + hordak)

this is so long anyways you don’t have to like her & you can have your criticisms for the way the show handled certain topics but catra is Meant to be a sympathetic & redeemable character literally from ep1