So.
rankings are a tough one for me because “best” is such a broad category.
Best pacing??
Best dialogue???
Made me cry the most???
Developed characters the best????
Also, everyone’s taste is different.
There might be an episode that is objectively “””GOOD”” but I just have more fun
with another one.
Given all this, I struggle to definitively say one episode is just better than another.
But people like rankings.
And I can tell you ten that I enjoy the most, and that I think are very good–by which
I mean, entertaining, and meaningful to the story.
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Before I get into the actual ranking, I’m going to let you know that Heart will not
be on this list, because including the finale seems like a bit of a cheat, and I want to
give some other episodes the love they deserve.
That said, as we all know, Heart is beautiful as a two part episode and as a culmination
to the show.
Everything is love?
Yea you bet I'm gonna eat that up yum yum yum.
Internal and external conflict being solved harmoniously?
Amazing.
It’s just a breakneck pace of scenes that make me cry and refuses to let up.
I could list all the scenes that are great but you KNOW them all.
I don’t think I ever recovered from what this did to me.
The last scene leaves me feeling like my whole soul got a deep cleanse.
Is there more to wrap up?
Yes!
A proper Catra Scorpia reconciliation would've been nice.
Glimmer Micah interactions beyond “iM YOUR DAD.”
etc.
But for a 13 episode final season, this does everything it needs to.
Okay, here’s the proper list.
Don’t think too hard about the order, they’re all great.
Light spinner [why…
did you treat me the way you did] 10.
[oprah i love bread] I LOVE parallels.
And this is some of the most explicit parallelism of catra and shadow weaver.
It’s very much the “Hehehe we’re alike you and i” but taken very seriously as we’re
shown how and why a victim might mimic their abuser.
So much of the messy complexity to Shadow Weaver and Catra’s dynamic is unearthed
here, and this does enormous legwork in helping us empathize with Catra at this juncture.
I especially like how this is emphasized through visual and dialogue transitions.
There’s also these neat interactions.
“What’s troubling my bestie?”
“I'm not your bestie” “oh, i don’t accept that” as they sit on the same lookout
she and Adora used to.
Catra’s later behavior towards Scorpia is nothing short of cruel, but this is a nice
reminder that their “friendship” was hardly ever reciprocal.
SCorpia pushes for intimacy and despite Catra not being interested, Scorpia pointedly steamrolls
her.
Also Scorpia breaking the railing is funny.
I just love how inquisitive this episode is about its central relationship.
“I kind of thought you hated shadow weaver” is SUUUUUCH a probing line, because that’s
what we wonder too, right.
Because I don’t think Catra knows, either–what she’s looking for in SW.
She DOES hate shadow weaver, and at the same time, wants her approval, and wants to believe
she can change.
It’s irrational and mostly, very very sad.
Catra opening up to affection and kindness only to be used is heartbreaking, and is a
blow to an already fragile state of mind.
The imagery with the spell of obtainment is some of the creepier in the series and has
me wishing we’d gotten more stuff like this.
Motif check: childhood theme as catra talks to SW
once upon a time in the waste 9.
A fun little character study buddy comedy that turns into devastation.
I’m a big fan of how this one expands the world.
It’s a very different look and feel than many of the locations we’ve seen.
What’s Etherian geography?
We may never know, but I also don’t care.
Speaking of not caring!
Catra is completely out of shits to give in this episode.
So much of Catra is informed by her environment–how can you heal in a place that’s hurting you?
So while Catra isn’t suddenly a good person in the Waste, she starts to exist in a different
context.
This is probably the warmest she ever is to Scorpia, unsurprisingly.
It’s really nice seeing them both more relaxed, and playful–even if it is, you know, bullying
others into submission.
The whole tung Lashor fight is great [catra laughing].
And the ending is a perfect, ominous cliffhanger.
‘shadow weaver left me.
For you’ Catra and adora have tons of cool symmetry.
Both come to some harsh realizations.
Adora has a LOT of anger, she just has a higher threshold at which she allows herself to release
it.
Wonder if that’ll ever come up again [failsafe] And finally some haunting Mara teases that
are incredibly effective 7.
Hero [She was brave, my mara] Speaking of mara.
Hero is a fantastic “stand alone” and adds enormous oomph to ongoing character conflict.
It’s a self contained tragedy, full of LORE and also foreshadows Adora’s arc this season.
The reference to Etheria’s innate magic is a lovely metaphor and is set up nicely
here for how it’ll evolve in season 5.
The Etherian lore we get here is something of a rarity in the series, so I really appreciate
it.
I also love that this episode is from Razz’s perspective, and elevates her from “crazy
old lady” to such a heartbreaking character..
In this episode, we finally experience this “doomed by the narrative” friendship,
and it WORKS for me.
This episode sells me so much on her friendships with Razz and with Light Hope [intruder not
detected].
Mara herself is so lovable.
She’s everything that will ultimately save Etheria: compassionate, forgiving, and recognizes
the humanity of those around her.
And Mara being overtaken by the heart’s energy is some of the spookier imagery in
the show.
[did anyone else think of that avatar scene].
And this version of Light Hope we see is truly terrifying, and great foreshadowing.
The cuts between past and present are beautiful, and Adora and Mara reaching out through time
is one of my favorite moments in the show The way the etherian wild is animated is always
GORGEOUS Destiny part 2 [Looks like we’re both alone,
sparkles] finales can often contend for top spots just
because they’re a culmination of DRAMA.
And there’s a ton going on here.
Catra being read for FILTH and left completely alone is cathartic as hell.
I love how we get cool and terrible things juxtaposed: Scorpia and Glimmer sick team
up, and the uh oh of what they’re teaming up for.
I also LOVE the visual parallels between catra and adora, each destroying a status quo and
ending up at square one [catra smashing hordak’s arm and Adora smashing the sword].
And we’re left with this sense of uncertainty going into season 5.
Nothing is ever going to be the same.
LOVE the framing of the last scene of adora staring out at a starry sky.
You get such a sense of the scale, the irreversibility of what’s happened.
Love her and Bow’s hug at the end.
This is a wonderful friendship with comparatively less conflict and I’m delighted every time
we get moments with them.
Everything happening in this episode is AWFUL but, much like the portal, it’s visually
gorgeous.
Lots of contrast, the neon on full display, it’s some of the most beautiful shots in
the show.
Motif check: 6.
the portal [You want to know a secret?]
This episode is the first real game changer on a serious scale.
Everything from the best friend squad in Dryl onward is this anxious ticking clock.
Seeing AU best friend squad coming together is beautiful and makes me cry.
The
world may be ripping apart, but I LOVE the aesthetics here.
The bright pinks and purples of everything coming undone.
It all has this true apocalyptic sense, this impending doom arguably even greater than
season 4.
We get one of the best wham lines “I am a coward.”
Angella’s act of love is SO transformative.
Adora and Catra’s final confrontation is so bittersweet.
It’s so vindicating and so tragic–how it’s finally come to this.
But Adora’s NO to catra and the hard line she draws is beautifully done, SHOWING us,
on the tail end of last episode, why things cannot be repaired here.
This marks a serious shift to the point that they won't interact for another season and
a quarter.
And finally.
There’s this moment my heart drops.
As spacetime is tearing apart, for a split second, Adora and Mara are actually face to
face for the first time.
That moment of recognition between them gives me chills.
Also Micah alive allegations?????
Bow clutching un-cropped-top in distress is a perfect gag.
The ending horde prime tease???
Wowie. 5.
Remember You KNOW I love Remember.
Enough that I made a whole video on it.
If you want my detailed explanation of why I love this episode, check that out.
But basically, “What if” episodes are just a delight, and this one in particular
questions any wish fulfillment we might have.
They couldn’t have just stayed together, because their problems would always have been
boiling under the surface.
We see the full gamut of the intimacy and love between Catra and Adora, and the deep
resentment, anger, and brokenness they still have to contend with.’
Motif check: we get the echoes of the childhood theme as Catra remembers the promise before
she goes maniacal villain mode 7.
save the cat This is trope-ing done right.
The whole episode holds its breath for so long.
We are waiting to see Catra–what’s happened to her–and we don’t get to until halfway
in.
This ep builds tension flawlessly.
And when it releases, it embraces the full drama of it all.
This is adora and catra’s first in person interaction since season 4, and it delivers.
Fighting brutally, but for the first time, neither of them want to.
This is SO much of the catharsis that the c/a story has been building towards, and my
GOD does that hug at the end feel good.
So much time has passed between them but we can FEEL the pain and the history “you’re
such an idiot” “i know”.
Bow and glimmer supporting Adora's rescue mission is extremely endearing.
This is also where we get wrong Hordak.
Nice!
We get some repair of Bow and Glimmer’s friendship here [“what, you worried about
me?”]
And fun dynamics w them and Entrapta Love what we get of Prime.
He’s a villain beyond even the recognizable cruelty of Shadow weaver.
It’s nice thematic continuity for a final villain, and one that the text doesn’t bother
trying to redeem.
THE ORIGINAL SCRIPT MAKES ME INSANE.
“petty, selfish love” , when Adora’s petty selfish love–the thing she actively
struggles with–saves everything.
“You wanted more.
But all she ever wanted was you.”
the devastating implication that he has combed through catra’s most intimate memories.
Also the BRUTALITY of the ending?
It feels so dire.
Catra within an inch of her life, adora pausing before jumping after her???
The intimacy as they’re surrounded.
The triumph of the new sword, the SICK new She Ra form.
Catra’s body flopping around like a sack of potatoes.
This is just excellent drama, excellent payoff.
Motif check: the soft, melancholy return of the promise theme.
8.
Failsafe The girls are FIGHTNINGGGGG.
Failsafe shakes up the comfortable rhythm catra and adora have built in season 5 that
we’ve gotten used to.
We get these painful bookends “i could really use your help.”
Then, compare with: “i need you.”
“No you don't” It’s rollercoaster of sweet highs and devastating lows.
The beginning is so SINCERE and SWEET.
“it’s not because I like you.”
DID YOU JUST JUMP INTO FIRE.
We get to see this playful dynamic that we only saw in flashbacks and very sparingly.
And then, the ending guts me.
In a twisted, sad inversion: adora begs her to stay, and catra can’t.
Good angst.
Also many many points for bow reaching for glimmer in his sleep.
Nice.
There’s some great continuity in terms of touch in this episode.
I appreciate how repeatedly Shadow Weaver’s touch is highlighted as something predatory.
Catra and Adora have been growing together away from her, but Shadow weaver can still
expertly push the buttons she installed.
Compare that with Catra and Adora’s touches throughout this episode, which are reassuring
and protective.
There’s also some great Entrapta stuff–risking herself to find tech to save her friends,
and her utter sincerity shaking Hordak for a moment.
But this sets up the stakes for the last act perfectly–giving us both internal and external
conflict to solve.
One last gut punch before the finale.
4.
promise Zero surprise here.
This is the first episode where you go, oh, this show takes psychological dynamics seriously.
It’s basically a pure character study and i eat every bit of it up.
A beautiful commentary on perspective, which is the entire root problem between these two.
It’s endearing, heartbreaking, it’s just everything I want to be emotionally affected
by.
This episode just makes me wish we got even a couple more Horde flashbacks of them.
We NEED to see the intimacy in their past and the dysfunction underneath it to understand
why this dynamic plays out the way it does.
Catra is still looking out for Adora at this juncture, and it’s this manipulation by
Light Hope that will push things over the edge.
It’s just so well structured.
Also, tons of hand grab imagery.
Catra looking at her younger self is such a simple, effective bit of storytelling.
This is where we first get introduced to the promise theme proper, the one that’s on
the official soundtrack, that will return in new, painful iterations
I absolutely adore every bit of the aesthetics of this episode.
It’s one of the most beautiful.
Leaning into the 80s neon with some SICK color palettes.
Excellent transitions.
Just a great composition in every way Everything comes back to this.
It’s like the translation key to their conflict 1.
Corridors I cannot overstate how good it is.
It’s simple, immaculately structured and paced.
It is a focused, contained story, that is also an enormous turning point.
I’ve said before: it kind of reminds me of a poem, with rhyming stanzas and cadence.
There’s the delightful light/dark motif subversion [link to video], tension, and the
build to one of the most touching, terrifying scenes in the show.
Catra and adora’s first time speaking to each other since [end season 3].
It’s gorgeous.
Catra and glimmer’s interactions here are wonderful.
Desperate, defensive, lonely.
Everything stripped back and we really just see two… kids.
Love how in sync they are when they fight.
I think they become very good friends in a post-Horde future.
I love that so much of this episode is just waiting more than action setpieces.
Conversations.
So much hinging just on a change of heart.
This is what I consider the final piece of the promise/remember/corridors trilogy on
memory and perspective.
Promise is manipulation, Remember is willful misunderstanding, and Corridors is actual,
honest reflection.
It doesn’t have the high drama of save the cat, or the high concept of the portal–but
what i love about corridors is its powerful simplicity.
It’s what we have wanted since the beginning, for catra to see things clearly.
The turning point of this episode occurs just in Catra’s head.
It’s enormously character focused and driven and i love every bit of it.
I think the b story is still entertaining.
“I LOVE thinking about the crushing void of space!”
Entrapta IS THIS A GOOD LAUGH OR A BAD LAUGH my favorite
scene The transition “there's no one in the universe
who cares about me” to adora’s face is simple and painful
Motif check: we finally hear the childhood theme in its entirety
Anyway, those are ten of my favorite she ra episodes.
I’ve got some other rankings that I’ll be working on in the meantime.
Let me know what your faves are!
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