through my entire she-ra journey i was waiting for catra to have the “zuko redemption arc” so the parallels and expectations were always there for me, as i feel it is for anyone who watches atla & then watches something w another damaged antagonist

so much so that I was sure catra would get her redemption arc in s3 like zuko...but no of course it follows the pattern of “last season redemption” fjcndnc so that’s on me

but actually watching atla for the first time in 7 years with she-ra so fresh in my mind, there were so many zuko moments that reminded me of catra yes, especially him joining the team (like his 1st meal with the gaang/catra’s 1st meal w the best friend squad)

(Zuko making a joke about the days when he would chase the gaang/Catra making a joke about the princesses), and his redemption will always be THE blueprint! but damn i realized, for me, watching catra’s story was really watching azula get the redemption storyline she never got

now obvisouly there’s differences b/w the two of them that are important but just....the abusive upbringings they had, the way they were raised to believe everything is a competition and must be the best, the fucking mommy issues!!!

the way s4 catra and s3 azula get what they’ve wanted, absolute power, and it is their undoing. they both reach this goal and in the process alienate absolutely everyone around them. they look around and realize they have no one anymore. no one they love, no one they trust.

but catra got to take it that step further & heal & realize she is still capable of doing good, of BEING good, of BEING loved, of loving!! & that’s on the benefits of the protagonist being in love w/ you & also having experienced the same trauma. thank u for coming to my ted talk

exactly https://twitter.com/catralegend/status/1283775797388509184?s=21 https://twitter.com/catralegend/status/1283775797388509184