Let's talk about one of the major themes within She-Ra: Redemption.

-- a thread

Now I know this subject has been beaten to death and more than likely, I'm not going to say anything that hasn't probably been said or at least considered but I'd still like to make an attempt at discussing this theme and how the show did it so well and not so well

With that being said, a major disclaimer is needed. This is 100% my opinion and interpretation. I'm not saying what I believe is accurate, right, etc. Feel free to disagree with me, these are just my observations and opinions on those.

The three characters I want to tackle in this thread are Catra, Hordak, and Shadow Weaver. These three are three completely different sides of the redemption story and each are incredibly fascinating. But we can't discuss redemption without mentioning Adora, Scorpia, & Entrapta

So let's begin with Adora. I know many don't think of Adora as having a "redemption" arc but she was apart of the Horde, the enemy, and has to go through a trial of proving herself not only to Bow and Glimmer but to Angella and the Rebellion as a whole.

At first they don't trust her and for good reason. Adora accepts that she isn't trusted and does whatever it takes to change their minds. Her behavior and the choices she makes, leads her on the path of redemption from her part in the Horde.

One of Adora's key redemption points was defying the woman who raised her, Shadow Weaver. Finding a voice for herself started Adora into her new life, with a new purpose and the growing trust of her new friends. Adora's second major part was letting go of Catra.

I know we all are devastated during Promise as Adora let's go of her attachments and the way she is pushed to do this is incredibly harmful but it was a needed step forward for Adora to finally break the tether to the Horde and truly become apart of the Rebellion.

When it comes to Entrapta, her redemption is a bit different. She isn't accepted by the rebellion right away. Everyone is deeply hurt and possibly traumatized by the tech she created under the Horde. It takes some time for her to understand this.

To Entrapta, she was never against the princesses nor against the Horde. She was on the side of science and technology because that's what mattered to her. Of course in the end, she understands the damage she did and works hard to repair the relationships through her love of tech

The princesses don't quite understand this, but Entrapta finds her voice and speaks up for herself. She explains how she shows appreciation for the people she cares about and explicitly says she is doing all of this now to help the rebellion.

She does apologize for her mistakes and accepts what she did with the Horde was wrong. It's after this moment that the tone within the rebellion changes and they begin to trust her. Entrapta continues to prove herself to them as she travels with Adora and Bow to rescue Glimmer

Now let's discuss Scorpia. This is one of my major criticisms with She-Ra because there wasn't much of an apology/redemption for Scorpia? She was attacked upon arriving to Bright Moon but once she mentions Entrapta, the rebellion softens to her and accepts her not as a prisoner

Perfuma heavily enables this because she senses that Scorpia is a good person despite being a force captain of the Horde and working alongside Catra to attack and defeat the princesses the past 3 1/2 seasons. Scorpia expresses she wants to be a better friend and Perfuma accepts

Scorpia was apart of some atrocities across Etheria and personally, I think should have had more responsibility towards those decisions. Yes she was brainwashed by the Horde (as were others) but to be so quickly accepted by the rebellion seemed... rushed and weird?

This could have been time constraints/budgeting for animation coming into play but overall this "redemption" was non-existent and just sticks out as a weirdly wrapped up lose end with no weight.

Now that we have the more minor redemptions out of the way, let's get to the good stuff. I'll start with Shadow Weaver since i've done a lot of exploration on her character and what redemption means to her previously

Shadow Weaver is the example of someone who doesn't want redemption. She didn't care how she was viewed by the rebellion so much as she had their protection and found herself useful to them just enough to not reveal her true power or be casted out.

Shadow Weaver says it herself "I won't apologize" and she never does. Even after joining the rebellion, she has no kind words for Adora. She just makes attempts to leech onto her mind again and reestablish her power over her. Which she never fully gains again.

Shadow Weaver in her final moments, accepts her failures, accepts who she is and her inability to change that, and accepts that her life and purpose on Etheria are over. She escapes full consequences for her actions in a swift motion to finally do one right thing by Catra.

This is not a redemption because she didn't intend it to be. This was the end of Shadow Weaver's story but truly just the beginning for Catra's story. Her final speech confirms that to us, that Catra is redeemed and has a chance to do better unlike she did.

Now before I jump more into Catra, we must discuss Hordak because well... it's a grey area. Hordak and redemption for him really comes down to who you talk to. Me? I don't believe he was redeemed and here's why...

Hordak (other than Horde Prime) committed some of the biggest crimes against Etheria out of our entire antagonist line up. He spent decades conquering lands, kidnapping children, killing and terrorizing innocent people, and who knows what else.

Hordak was never known to show kindness to anyone, he was reclusive to his lab as he desperately worked to open a portal to send a message to Horde Prime. He barked orders at Shadow Weaver and later Catra and did everything to belittle them in the process.

We only start to see a different side to him when he meets Entrapta. He lashes out on her, just as he did with everyone, but she doesn't back away and obey in fear. She stands her ground and tells him she fixed something for him. This is a change of pace for Hordak

We hear him admit she was right and begin to see a softer image of Hordak through his friendship with Entrapta. But this kindness is conditional, as are most relationships with Hordak. The moment you cross him or defy his will, you're cast out.

So long as Entrapta continued to create advanced tech for him and achieve not only conquering Etheria but getting a message to Horde Prime, she was useful to him and thus he respected her. We do even see him begin to trust her, something we never see with anyone else

When Hordak is lead to believe that Entrapta betrayed his trust, he falls deeply back into old aggressive patterns but also an internal battle going on about his attachment to Entrapta. He knew he couldn't win the war without her. So what was he to do now?

This is where we begin to see the major flaws within Hordaks redemption. At this point we are almost lead to believe that he cares for Entrapta and views her as an equal. His mind seems to be wrapped up thinking of her. But this is where his writing goes dry

We see nothing further of "redemption" or better yet change to Hordak until he is back on Prime's ship and is kneeling before his creator. We get a glimpse into his mind as Prime tells us "There was a time you wish I wouldn't come for you"

Prime does this while waving a hand over where the crystal Entrapta used to enhance his exoskeleton would have been. Hordak denies this but we know it to be true.... to a degree. Obviously if he truly didn't want Prime to come, he would have found a way to ensure that.

Hordak is then sent off to be reconditioned and we see, despite the advanced technology of Prime, Hordak's sense of self still breaks through... why? because of Entrapta. His attachment to her still remains. Which to me isn't strong enough reason to redeem him.

Now let's just get to the part where everyone is certain that Hordak is redeemed. He defies the orders of Horde Prime to take Entrapta out and instead raises the gun at Prime and announces that he is Hordak and defies his will. Kind of his darth vader moment if you will

Now remember when I mentioned Adora's defying moment towards SW? Yeah it's very similar to this moment. Hordak has found a voice for himself. This is an early step to a longer process of redemption. Hordak is by no means redeemed or even close to redemption by the time it happens

By the end of the show, the only comment we get in regards to Hordak is "So are we all just okay with this?" from Mermista and this is my major problem with Hordak's character, Entrapdak is confirmed canon but with no major redemption for the former Horde Lord

So now begs the question, why did Adora spare Hordak? She didn't have to restore his memories and give him a second chance... but why does she? Here is my personal take on that

Adora just not only saved the universe, but she found peace. She found love. She also witnessed her mother figure finally do the right thing. She hoped from the moment Shadow Weaver stepped into Bright Moon that there was some good in her deep DEEP down and she finally saw that.

With hope in her heart, she gives Hordak a second chance. A chance to right his wrong in time. He isn't redeemed, but he has a chance.

I think that summarizes my feelings about Hordak and his "redemption" or really, lack thereof. Now let's talk about Catra who I do believe traveled down the road to redemption and still very much is.

Catra's story is similar to Scorpia's in the sense that they were both brainwashed and raised in the Horde, but Catra's story is a bit different. Instead of being raised to believe the Horde is better, she witnessed and endured the harsher elements of them.

Catra woke up to the illusion of the Horde, probably from a young age, and we have Shadow Weaver to thank for that. Catra felt her life threatened on a daily basis and was in a state of fight most of her life because of SW's abuse. Despite knowing the Horde were bad, she stayed.

She stayed because she had nowhere to go, she didn't suddenly believe the princesses were great, and she had the one person in the world who believed in her, Adora. Adora was the only thing keeping Catra from running off. Adora reassured Catra through everything.

So when Adora left to join the rebellion, her sense of protection was gone. Catra knew the Horde were evil and manipulative but she wanted it to be their decision to leave. Not adora leaving, but both of them staying together no matter what and leaving together

Catra and Adora have known each other their entire lives and Catra felt Adora "threw it all away" in the matter of hours because of these new friends. After everything Catra endured by the hands of Shadow Weaver; she was hurt by the person she never expected to lose, Adora.

So what does Catra do now that Adora is gone? She fights to prove she can survive without her despite wanting her back. She shoves down the pain and retargets it towards Adora. She wanted Adora to feel what she had for years living in the Horde.

Catra is also still at the hands of her abuser which enables her behavior further. Without the reassurance and protection of Adora, there is nothing stopping SW from taking full advantage of Catra and inflicting her worse.

But Catra is smarter now and has learned how to avoid and defend herself against SW. She proves in minimal time that she is stronger, smarter, and more determined than SW. Adora's departure being the main motivator for this new drive in Catra. Catra stands up to her abuser.

This is the first moment we see an interesting comparison between Catra and Adora. Both of them find their voice against their abuser, attack her, and solidify their paths for the majority of the series. Both rising to power on opposite sides of the war.

So why didn't the departure of SW drive Catra to leave the Horde? Because it was only half the battle. Adora was still a main source of emotional turmoil for Catra and it became her obsessive driving force for the Hordes success. Hordak taking full advantage of it.

Throughout seasons 1-4, Catra's obsession with winning was never about the war, the princesses, or power. It was about what she had lost. What was taken from her. She was trying to prove she could live without Adora when really that was the only thing she ever needed.

Regardless of all that, Catra went to extremes to make it all happen. She ordered and partook in mass raids and attacks, kidnapped, set off a portal, and tried to kill members of the rebellion on several occasions. I would say maybe 4th in the lineup of crimes

So how does someone who committed such atrocities even gain redemption? Catra's downfall signifies it perfectly. Double Trouble provides the confirmation to us what it was all really for. She never wanted any of it to happen, her heart was never in the war, but instead on Adora

It doesn't excuse what Catra did, but it provides a different perspective than what we see with Horde Prime, Hordak, and even Shadow Weaver who wanted power and conquest. Catra didn't care about any of those things. She wanted Adora.

AGAIN, doesn't excuse the pain she caused and Catra knows that. We see her experience guilt and grief in season four through her nightmares and the slow breakdown of her mental state. She was already recognizing how far she had gone and was scared she could never recover.

Once Catra is on Prime's ship, we see the influence of Glimmer come into play. Glimmer is very obviously a foil of Catra (especially in s4). They both share a lot of guilt for the things they did/people they hurt and are encouraging to one another to do the right thing.

Catra's final push to truly walk down the path of redemption is when she's reminded of why this all happened, Adora. Corridors is such a beautiful episode because of it. Catra decides to do right by Adora and save Glimmer, knowing she may not survive herself.

She finally hit the bottom and is under the belief that there is nothing for her anymore. But still chooses to do one right thing before it's all over. This is where we see a slight similarity to SW's sacrifice later as there was truly nothing left on Etheria for SW.

But the biggest difference between SW and Catra's sacrifice? Catra wasn't done. After everything that had happened, Catra still had someone who was fighting for her, Adora. Catra didn't know it yet, which makes her saving of Glimmer that much more powerful.

Moving forward, Save the Cat happens and Catra feels unworthy of the rescue.

"I know you all hate me"
"I never hated you"

this is Catra's first moment of reassurance from Adora in years. This is the moment she decides, i'm gonna get it right this time. I'm gonna be good.

Now Catra can't answer for her major crimes at this point since the war is still happening around them. Catra is also still trapped between wanting to be a better person and being stuck in her learned behaviors and patterns.

We see Catra's old behaviors pop up because redemption and growth are not linear. It takes time and a few more impulsive mistakes along the way. But Catra still makes an effort to directly apologize to those she hurt most. Starting with Entrapta.

The moment with Entrapta is very crucial for Catra's redemption. You see her struggle to find the words but Entrapta understands and accepts her apology. Catra's face shows how shocked she is that more than just Adora is willing to forgive her. It gives her hope.

Even when Scorpia is chipped, Catra makes an effort to apologize. Catra is determined to right her wrongs, no matter how long it takes. She makes a series of right decisions in helping the rebellion. She shows growth.

Even after falling into old patterns brought on by SW's meddling, Catra still runs back to save Adora. Going as far to seek the help of the woman who hurt her most to make it happen. After all these years, she still wanted one thing, Adora.

Shadow Weaver's final speech gives us the last bit of clarification that Catra is truly on the path of redemption and good. "It's too late for me, but you, this is only the beginning for you. I am so proud of you Catra."

With their abuser gone, Catra finally finds the words she has wanted to tell Adora this whole time. I love you. I always have. Not knowing if Adora would still be alive or reciprocate the feelings. But Adora feels the same way and Catra found peace in knowing their love is shared

They kiss and for a moment the world stops. This love is shared. This love is home. They save Etheria. Even after all seems right, Catra makes the effort to apologize once again to Scorpia, which she accepts.

Then when it is suggested to bring magic back to the universe, Catra accepts. This shows us that she'll be working on a larger scale towards the good of the universe. Her path to redemption is clear and strong unlike that for Hordak's.

Now is Catra 100% redeemed at the end of the series? No, but she is further along than any of our main antagonist (Prime/Hordak/SW) and her path of redemption is clearly communicated. This is what makes Catra one of the best characters in animation.

Catra's journey is real, relatable, painful, beautiful, and articulated so well that we root for her the whole way. To discredit her redemption and overall growth as a character is an incredible disservice.

That sums up my thoughts on redemption and how it is highlighted in she-ra. This trope was demonstrated in various ways, each more complex and interesting than the last which is why it's so heavily debated in the fandom i'm sure. Have SW getting what she deserves as a closing