She-ra And The Princesses Of PowerShe-Ra And The Princesses Of Power is an animated fantasy series that is chock full of fabulous characters, lesbian pining and a sword wielding heroine.

When we start the series Adora is 18 years old. She and a her best friend, Catra are trainees for the Horde. Both grew up as orphans knowing nothing but the Horde and one another. As a result they are best friends and fierce competitors.

Adora is the quintessential girl next door. She is unwaveringly sweet and kind and the perfect foil for the dark and troubled Catra.

The Horde teaches their soldiers that the Princess Rebellion are evil killers and need to be stopped. So, when Adora is promoted to Force Captain she is determined to once and for all put an end to these evil doers. That evening Catra persuades Adora to celebrate her promotion by stealing one of the skiffs from the Horde and making their way into the forbidden Whispering Woods.

When the girls crash the skiff into a tree Adora falls off and has a vision of a sword. This pull drives her to find out what the vision means and she stumbles through the woods in search of the weapon.

When Adora comes across a Princess Glimmer and her friend, Bow they fight. As fate would have it a giant bug starts to attach the trio forcing them to work together. In the commotion Adora comes across the sword and when she touches it she transforms into a being of pure magic in the form of She-Ra. She-Ra is an 8 foot tall warrior who is not to be messed with and who easily manages to battle the monster and save the day.

But being She-Ra doesn’t last and when Adora transforms back she has no idea how she did it. Through a series of events involving Glimmer and Bow, Adora begins to realise that perhaps the Princess Alliance are not the bad guys here. Maybe the bad guys in this story have been the Horde all along.

Catra in the meantime is desperate to find Adora and when the two finally cross paths again she realises that Adora has betrayed the Horde. Even though Adora asks Catra to come with her, they are now on different sides of this war. Catra refuses and leaves with complicated feelings of betrayal and loss.

Through five epic seasons Catra and Adora showdown (and pine) for one another and in the last episode of the series they finally, finally become a couple making many gay hearts around the world stand still for a moment as they have their first kiss.

The Technical Side

Produced by Dreamworks animation for Netflix, this is a great quality production with a host of excellent voice over actors and superb directing.

My Favourite Parts

Right at the beginning of the series we meet Shadow Weaver and Hordak. Shadow Weaver is a surrogate mother figure to Adora and Catra and Hordak is the leader of the Horde. Both these characters will become villains for the rest of the series.

It becomes super clear early on that Shadow Weaver thinks the world of Adora and dislikes Catra. Apart from the obvious relationship between Adora and Catra, the dynamic between Catra and Shadow Weaver was one of my favourite elements of the show. Catra longs to have Shadow Weaver’s approval and yet she resents the power that Shadow Weaver has over her.

In fact, now that I am thinking about it, I found the complexity and deft with which Catra was portrayed as a whole to be a spectacular element of the show. She is dangerous and dark and yet you cannot help but feel for her. Her character was so nuanced and duel sided that I tip my hat to everyone involved in bringing her to life.

Also – “Hey, Adora.” Watch the show and you will totally get this.

Heads Up

There are moments in the show where Shadow Weaver is obviously being emotionally manipulative to both Adora and Catra. I know that for many in the fandom this registered as abuse.

The Conclusion

Sheenas Favourite Movies and TVThe story is superbly done and just for kids. If you love fantasy, have always wanted a sword wielding lesbian heroine then this is a must-watch.

The production quality is excellent and the music for the show is spot on.

I highly recommend you give this one a watch and keep going because every season gets better than the one before and every moment between Catra and Adora makes my heart swell to bursting, especially when I rewatched it for the second, third and forth times.

Watch the Trailer

Where To Watch She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power

You can watch all 5 seasons on Netflix

Bits and Bobs

  • Developed by: Noelle Stevenson
  • Executive Producers: Noelle Stevenson and Chuck Austin
  • Production Companies: DreamWorks Animation Television, Mattel Creations
  • Voices of: Aimee Carrero, AJ Michalka, Karen Fukuhara, Marcus Scribner, Reshma Shetty, Lorraine Toussaint, Lauren Ash, Christine Woods, Genesis Rodriguez, Vella Lovell, Jordan Fisher, Merit Leighton, Keston John, Daniel Dae Kim, Gina Davis
  • Number Of Seasons: 5

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