Reaction Shot: She-Ra S02E01 (or, Glimmer finally understands her mother and hates it)

[spindizzy]

Aaaaand we're back for series two! Yay! I apparently managed to time
watching the first series really well, because I only had to wait a week
between finishing series one and the second series dropping, so yay! splend set up an impromptu marathon, so assume
that MUCH CAPSLOCK WAS HAD and I may have missed some things because I was
sitting at right angles to the TV!

• Emily! It's lots of Emilys! I know this isn't good for the
  protagonists, but it might be good for Emily!


• AW, THE BEST FRIEND SQUAD IS DOING THEIR BESTS! Fighting side-by-side!
  Yay!


• Look at Perfuma throwing robots around! Frosta punching bots in the
  face! Mermista stepping in when it looks like a bot's going to hit her!


• ORBITAL BOT STRIKE! This is my favourite offensive use of
  teleportation, I'm so glad to see Glimmer using it!


• Frosta cackling like a witch over "Dropping in" is great. She's such a
  KID when she's relaxed and got friends! That's really nice!


• Oh heck, the sword changes into stuff! I thought it just had the two
  forms! ... Why is it a mug?


• CATRA! Hey Adora!


• I love Catra, and the way that the "Hey Adora" turns into booting
  She-Ra across the world.


• Ohhhhhhhhhh, Frosta wants senpai to notice her!


• "I knew you couldn't do it." Catra. My god.


• OH! This is the first point that I realised that they weren't in the
  same scene! I am a media critic who is capable of paying attention and
  noticing that backgrounds are different.


• "Is the one you call Catra not mean?" ... Light Hope has a point. It's
  not a NICE point, but it's accurate.


• "There. There." How is Light Hope so bad at people, oh my – "My human
  encouragement program is still in beta." ... That explains everything.


• "I can relate. I also have buttons." Man, it's been a while since I saw
  someone doing an AI that was BAD at being a person, this is
  interesting.


• FROSTA IS HAVING THE TIME OF HER LIFE. I LOVE THIS RIDICULOUS CHILD
  TRYING TO BE HELPFUL EVEN IF SHE MISSES THE MARK.


• I am still not sold on the previous She-Ra being a bad guy, btw.


• Awwww, everyone's doing training montages! Catra is not the best
  teacher in any way, but she is honestly better than I expected. Like, she's
  very much "Ugh, why can't you just backflip twenty feet into the air and
  tear apart robots with your bare hands?" but she not actively throwing down
  with them. And it must be weird to be trying to coach a squad of people who
  were your classmates and hated you. (I want to be like "She's trying!" but
  that's just because I love her as a character. She is not trying to be
  nice, and I am gonna have to live with that.)


• (Did you notice that everyone else is in uniform, but Adora and Catra
  never were? Like, I assume Catra doesn't because she doesn't care and not a
  power in the verse can MAKE her care, but I'm kinda surprised at Adora!
  Either the jacket's a part of the uniform that none of the others wear
  (like a winter uniform, maybe?) or she's got permission, because I can't
  imagine episode one Adora not giving a fuck.


• Entrapta's stuff arrived! Including the kitten portrait! I'm happy for
  her, but also... How must her castle people feel, packing everything up for
  the Horde? Or being evicted, because the castle is Horde territory now?


• She has a robot hamster. Of COURSE she has a robot hamster.


• OH, they're using fighting the Best Friends Squad as research! See how
  the Princesses smash them and make them better! ... That makes a surprising
  amount of sense.


• Scorpia and Entrapta and having cupcakes while watching a life or
  death battle between princesses and robots is very on brand for both of
  them. ... Wait, does this mean that Entrapta's servants moved to the Fright
  Zone as well?


• ... Catra, when did you suddenly get sold on the taking over the world
  idea?


• Bow is the only character with sense and concern about tactics, good
  work Bow. I support you in being the only person who's not stuck in the
  reacting stage.


• Oh god they're all catty at each other, why. I guess it's more
  believable that they're as catty to each other as they were outside of a
  life and death situation, just uggggggh, you guuuuuuuys. And Bow wants to
  adopt Frosta!


• LOOK, FROSTA IS JUST EXCITED. STOP BEING MEAN.


• Of COURSE Angella and Casta hate each other. Of course.


• Aw man, why don't we get to see Netossa and Spinnerella being cool?
  SPIN-OFF COMIC, COME ON.


• Swift Wind is VERY Just Discovered Equality, isn't he.


• YOU NEED TO DO BOTH, PERFUMA. YOU NEED TO FIGHT AND HEAL. And
  even Bow doesn't look thrilled.


• Look at Catra getting the validation she wanted from Shadow Weaver
  from Hordak.


• Entrapta is the most true neutral, oh god. She doesn't care about the
  Horde or the Princesses, just making her tech! And Bow's right, there's so
  much of a skill gap between him and Entrapta, not for lack of trying, but
  losing her is a SERIOUS BLOW in terms of dealing with the Horde and their
  bots.


• WERE YOU GUYS LISTENING TO THE PART WHERE YOU NEED THE BOTS
  INTACT.


• SURE IS HOW FRUSTRATING WHEN SOMEONE DISOBEYS ORDERS TO GO AND FIGHT
  IN A BATTLE WHERE THEY SHOULDN'T BE, ISN'T IT, GLIMMER.


• (Like I know that the whole point of this is that Frosta and Glimmer
  are the same and Glimmer needs to recognise her own enthusiasm and reckless
  eagerness in Frosta's, but I am old and the lightbulb moment is so far
  away.)


• These teams are not balanced btw, especially as one of these teams has
  MORE PEOPLE on it, and one of those people can become She-Ra!


• Bow's FACE during every part of this fight is A+.


• TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAAAAIN!


• "It's learning!"
  "Yeah? Well I'm about to teach it something."


• FIRST TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE OF THE NEW SERIES!


• ... Wow, Entrapta made a bot that can step to She-Ra! I AM
  IMPRESSED.


• It works on the Robot Wars principle of, TRUE POWER IS BEING ABLE TO
  WORK EVEN WHEN YOU'RE UPSIDE DOWN.


• She-Ra: Yeesh, I'm sorry I destroyed it.
  Bot: *powers up menacingly*


• Man, these bots are creepily great at fixing themselves.


• MORE ROBOTS, YAY. Wait, no, where are the bots going?!


• I'm glad Glimmer saved Frosta, but WOW, please tell me you developed
  some self-awareness.


• Yeah, judging by the look on her face, I'd say she just realised that
  she sounds like Angella yelling at her, so she knows exactly what the
  problem is from BOTH SIDES.


• "Well, that means attacking us wasn't their mission." Listen, you don't
  understand how much I love it when the kids get to be smart together as
  well as destroying things. I mean, seriously, is Angella literally the only
  adult in the Whispering Woods, but look at these kids applying tactics and
  logic!


• Aw, they're both so lonely and trying so hard. I support them being
  friends and mentor/mentee! Especially because "I guess you remind me of me,
  and I can do some really dangerous stuff sometimes." That is the beautiful
  moment of self-awareness I've been waiting for! Somewhere, Angella is
  probably having a brief moment where it feels like the world's upside down,
  but that's fine. And look at how Frosta just starts sparkling when she
  realises that she's been compared to Glimmer!


• THEY'RE FRIENDS NOW! Glimmer regrets her life choices.


• Entrapta: I WANT THAT!


• THEY'RE TEAMING UP TO TAKE DOWN THE BOTS. Look at them using their
  powers creatively! Frosta freezing the ground beneath them! Mermista and
  Perfuma hitting them at once so the bots can't react to both! Glimmer
  moving them all around to where they need to be!


• ... I think the only time I would play a support character is if I
  could play someone like Glimmer, GOOD TO KNOW.


• "Ooh, I can't look! Tell me what's hapenning. No, don't!" Entrapta and
  I have very similar horror watching styles.


• "Why can't you be what I want you to be!" sounds very metaphorical, to
  be honest. Like, hello thesis statement for a surprising number of
  character relationships.


• "Hey Catra." OH. OH I LIKED THAT.


• Entrapta's tiny little "Do you have to?" Awwwww.


• LOOK, THEY SYNCED UP AND SOLVED PROBLEMS TOGETHER. MERMISTA AND FROSTA
  FREEZING IT IN ICE BRINGS ME SUCH JOY.


• Also: BOW is SO GOOD, look at him pulling out the right thing to stop
  it going boom with no prep time!


• ... Wait, they can just sync up whenever?! It doesn't have to be an
  end of the world level event?! IS THAT ALLOWED?


• Wow, Catra going to brag over ShadowWeaver. ... OH, she goes to vent
  her emotions by screaming at her abuser. OH.


• I am genuinely shook up by how when Catra feels shaken in herself and
  her plans, she goes to Shadow Weaver. Shadow Weaver undermines and insults
  her, and Catra simultaneously gets to have her fears externalised –
  embodied in Shadow Weaver's mockery if you will – and reaffirm her new
  reality as a valued, competent member of the Horde. Wow. *stares into the
  void as I process that*


• Look, I'm not saying that Catra is one of those people who can't trust
  things that are going well and affection that hasn't been earned, and I
  just. I die. Help.


• Bless these kids looking after each other!


• NO PRINCESS LEFT BEHIND YOU SAY, AFTER A) ENTRAPTA, AND B) CONSTANTLY
  LEAVING NETOSSA AND SPINNERELLA BEHIND.


• BOW HAS SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT ENTRAPTA BEING GONE! ;____;"The best
  scientist I ever knew" omg, I cry. He doesn't understand the purpose of the
  recorder, but Entrapta did it and he wants to honour her memory!


• BOW FIGURED OUT ENTRAPTA'S ALIVE AND THEY LEFT HER BEHIND, OMG OMG OMG
  I DIE

(She-Ra master
post) (Reaction
shot master post)