She-Ra Season Five: A Catra Analysis

A detailed look at Catra’s Character Development over the course of She-Ra Season Five.

BIG THANKS to Julian Tamers for his cover of Absolutely (Story of a Girl)

0:00 Introduction
2:01 I'll Never Say Sorry
4:19 New Friends
6:31 Shadow Weaver
8:38 True Feelings
11:00 Why CatrAdora Works
13:05 Conclusion
14:03 End Credits

Music Used:
We Are Magonia - Slaughterhouse (Feat. Day Dralleon)
Undertale OST - Another Medium
Hotline Miami OST - A New Morning
SelloRekt_LA Dreams - See It In Your Dreams
Magic Sword - The Way Home

[wolffianduck]

I love the fact that you addressed the "Catra redemption" misconception. I believe that's the crux of all the people saying that Catradora is "toxic" because Catra was not "redeemed" when they got together therefore she "doesn't deserve" Adora. When in fact it's this mentality that love has to be "deserved" that's ultimately toxic. It makes love seem like it's this commodity that needs to be earned like a finite resource and this was in fact addressed in the show too, in other character arcs as well as Catra.

When in reality, the people who truly love and care for us, do so without us having to "earn" or "deserve" any of it. As well, we don't love someone because they "deserve" love from us. Your love is yours to give freely as you please. If you have to decide that someone has to be deserving and worthy before you love them well, I'm not sure you actually know how to love.

[OtakuAnimeStyle]

"WhY lEsBiAnS" had me wheezing, not gonna lie. Aside from that, great video! I'm looking forward to your next works

[juliantamers]

Incredible conclusion to a great series. It was a pleasure making this song

[rockyshepard]

I think something that bears mentioning is when you mentioned at 4:10 that catra tried to restore herself by doing the "one good deed" she didn't think it would make up for all the hurt she did to people, and just did it to help the person she loves. This is a stark contrast to shadowweavers one good thing because she believed it would somehow let her repent for all the problems and trauma she caused, which is why she says you're welcome. Great video though!

[pixiequeen]

I loved this! I agree that Catra is just at the beginning of her recovery and redemption. That doesn’t mean she can’t heal alongside Adora, though.

[mt.]

She-ra and Catra in particular have such a special place in my heart. Your videos are so in depth and deserve more love. It’s evident that you spent lots of time developing them.

Some shows I always recommend are Avatar the Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and Attack on Titan. All three of them have complex and well developed characters. If you’ve already seen any of them, I would love to know about your opinion. Keep up the great work:)

[dragonstormx]

Catra is clearly not a well person. The show made that clear throughout its run and even after she joined the heroes, her mental health issues didn't just go away. Of course she still has more work ahead. Given that she is most likely mentally ill it's doubtful she will ever be completely well but can still strive to better than she was before.

[thegneech]

Sad to hear you're taking a break from She-Ra vids, but thanks for the ones you've done. :)

[tipsy]

What a wonderful video. Great analysis of Catra in season 5! How her methods of controlling others are all she's ever known of relationships. Also, of how she and Adora were pitched against each other by a higher powe, but ultimately helped each other defy their destiny - Catra freeing Adora from her burden as the ultimate weapon and protector.

Another thing I'd like to mention is how you say Catra controls her underlings with abuse the same way she gets controlled, in a vicious cycle.
The other day I was watching some livebloggers and they brought up how controlling and possessive she is of Adora, specifically in the snow ep, or Drunk Adora 2: Electric Boogaloo. These livebloggers suggested that Catra's controlling possessiveness is her incredibly messed up way of expressing love - that this is the kind of love she has learned from Shadow Weaver, and she's now using it on Adora.

Supported somewhat by other actions Catra takes in season 2/3 - how absolutely aggressive she gets on Entrapta when trying to protect her from offending Hordak, and how she pushes away Scorpia to protect her from punishment. Catra cared for these characters but hurt them to demonstrate that care.

Unfortunately this was still really damaging to them. Adora was obviously broken by Catra's cruelty, and had to stand up for herself finally during the portal drama. Everything went utterly sideways with Entrapta, who couldnt be controlled, got betrayed instead as Catra couldn't stand losing control, and who hopelessly blamed herself for Catra hurting her. And Scorpia, poor Scorpia even recognises that Catra shows aggression as a sign of protection, but decides that this means it's OK for Catra to abuse her, because that's how Catra shows friendship. It's not until Scorpia sees Catra abusing everyone around her that she starts to wake up.

Then there's her botched attempts to reconnect with the Horde Trio in season 4, after she's lost all other friendships. Oh Catra... you are messed up, girl.

[junisoldaccount]

Your analysis is so good, it made me so happy when I saw this notification, really made my day. I've loved all your she ra videos and I look forward to seeing what you do next cause this has been a stunning first impression.

[Druzica]

Such a good video! Also I love that you used "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" at the beginning--it's so perfect!

[PenntheDragon]

This is an excellence analysis video of a complex character like Catra! I agree with a lot of your assessments of Catra's development and you've even pointed out some things I haven't even considered. Thank you so much for this video! I can't wait to see what you have in store. And if you're looking for more suggestions, I have a few suggestions like Kipo and the age of the wonderbeast and Ducktales(2017).

[Yatukih_]

Perhaps the most useful feature of She - Ra and the Princess of Power is the show´s undeniable ability to inspire modern day painters to make brand new works of art showing landscapes not dissimilar to those which are frequent in the art of the Dutch and English masters. For the first time in the history of film, or tv anime for some, we have material which is scarier than The Exorcist. The show´s magic realism is rare among tv shows. People who want to become future leaders will use the show to create better, more realistic and sustainable policies. Poets and writers might learn from the dialogue. It has The Brutality of Fact. There is no doubt about this. Thanks for the video and thanks to the animators, creators and producers of the show. Kind regards from Ásgeir in Iceland.

[leamonty]

Thank you for this series of videos. I'm so much like Adora, so trying to understand Catra's perspective and why she is the way she is is hard. You explain it well and detail every part of her journey. It's hard for me to understand why she did not leave the Horde at the first opportunity (the other times make sense), but I'm starting to realize that, as you said in a previous video, it's because she had a lose-lose situation. She did not want to defined by Adora anymore, but she also didn't want to go back to Shadow Weaver. The reason I believe she chose to stay was because she knew the environment of the Horde. She knew what games Shadow Weaver would play and what hell awaited her, while leaving meant a loss of stability. And also that for Adora, it was a huge shock that she could not ignore, but Catra already knew what Adora just learnt, and it didn't matter to her as long as she had Adora. But that certainty was broken, and she was angry.
I didn't mean to write a whole paragraph, whoops. I'm trying to work this out, and your videos have helped me understand (and gave me something good to watch while I did art), so thank you!

[nour]

This is such a great analysis, i think Catra as a villain or even as a character in general is so interesting and well written, yes a lot of people hate her as a villain and find her annoying etc but that doesn't mean she's a bad character or a poor writing character, in fact it's the opposite, villains ARE MEANT TO BE HATED, she's a great example for a good great villain if that make sense? And her redemption arc was great even though i felt it was unrealistic or a bit rushed, i wanted her to go to prison and spend time there and after that she tries to make it right with everyone, ok not necessarily a prison lol but you know i wanted to see how she's gonna make up for her actions, i know her redemption isn't completed after the show's ending and she will probably try to be someone better but still i kinda need to see more of her facing the consequences as you said, yes she did in the last season but i didn't feel it was enough (it sound like i want her to suffer more lol sorry Catra) i just think people don't appreciate her enough as a villain like other villains in other shows or movies let alone as a character

[zoeprincessmix]

People can say this is just about a show but it’s more then that those who are struggling with abandonment issues depression toxic people etc can really benefit from things like this <3

[Kusanagikaiser]

I was waiting for this one, awesome work and analysis on Catra's final we still see more She-Ra content even is not in while (intrigue by you mention an Adora video XD). If you take suggestions for others shows, Hilda, Owl House, Amphibia come to my mind as recommendations XD...also Avatar :D

[neverver]

So happy, I’ve been waiting for your season 5 analysis, did not disappoint. Keep up the great work!

[samuelv]

I absolutely love these analysis’ and I can’t wait for future ones!! If you ever decide to come back to cover more She-Ra stuff, Adora’s side of the story would be absolutely brilliant to hear about. Again, these vids are criminally underrated and I hope they grow out to more people :, ). For now, keep up the amazing work!!

[yuriko_AH]

4:40 "now we don't have time to unpack *alll* of that!"