She-Ra and The Princesses of Power premiered on November 13 on Netflix as a 13-episode series. The series is a reboot of the 1980’s show, She-Ra: Princess of Power, a spinoff of He-Man and The Masters of The Universe. In the series, Adora is a teenager who grew up in the Horde, mentored by Shadow Weaver to be older for Hordak. On an adventure with her best friend Catra, Adora is knocked out of the ship and finds a sword that transforms her into She-Ra, Princess of Power.
Adora was raised in the Fright Zone, it’s cyberpunk setting portraying what it’s like to be mentored by Shadow Weaver with the main goal on conquering Etheria. In contrast, the rest of Etheria is animated with bright colors and had distinctive terrains to accommodate the power of the princesses of the allying kingdoms.
Adora recovers the sword of protection, which leads her on a journey with two locals of the kingdom of Blue Moon, Bow and Princess Glimmer, with the purpose of bringing all of the princesses together to form the Princess Alliance and defeating her former allies, the Horde.
The show mainly focuses on friendships, Adora’s and her now ex-best friend’s Catra’s being the shows complex one. Adora’s absence from the Horde could be seen as impulsive as she made her decision to leave rather quickly. Catra felt rightfully betrayed due to Adora’s impulsive actions which blossoms their love/hate relationship. Adora’s leaving the Horde was rushed, leaving the viewers with wanting to see her struggles as she left everything she knew behind to become a princess, the thing the Horde despises.
Fortunately for the other princesses, they get the development they deserved, all of them having an episode dedicated to them. A few of them are: Mermista, princess of Salineas with the power to control water; Entrapta, princess of Dryl with a love for technology and robots; and Frosts, princess of Kingdom of Snow and the youngest princess at only 11 years old with the power to control ice and snow. No princess is like the other, which shows the diversity and amazing writing of Noelle Stevenson and her team.
Every episode lasts 30 minutes, yet they’re all packed with an adventure leading up to more plot and story lines to unfold in further seasons.
What is also captivating about the show is the way Adora/She-Ra is written. She can be outsmarted by the enemy but she can make up for it later on. It was a little disappointing that She-Ra doesn’t have an equal match on the battlefield when it come to one-on-one combat as her strength is unparalleled. However, the diversity in the princesses and characters make up for these small bumps in the road.
The writers also told the viewers to be expecting LGBT+ representation and they did not disappoint. Two of the princesses, Netossa and Spinerella, are in a relationship that is confirmed in the show and not left for interpretation by the viewers.
The final verdict is that She-Ra and The Princesses of Power has successfully rebooted the 80’s show for a new generation with a more diverse group of heroine for everyone to enjoy.