I do think Catra should be “held responsible*” for her actions in the S3 finale—she did try to destroy the entire world and all, but I feel like some of y'all are forgetting that she was in the middle of a huge mental breakdown.

Like, she got severely triggered (and I mean that in the actual definition of the term) when she saw Shadow Weaver, her abuser, and realized that (A) not only did she use and betray her (B) she left her behind in order to seek Adora and © Shadow Weaver was being “good” now. All of that was severely triggering for her as someone who has felt that she has to be this way and that she cannot escape her fate, as being Adora’s “lesser” or as being the “scapegoat.”

It was the solidification of the fact (in her mind) that Adora will always win and that’s she destined to be left behind in the garbage. Which is why she was trying to hard for Adora to lose, because she was attempting to regain control, not by winning but just by having Adora not win.

She is still responsible for her actions, but there is a difference between coldly trying to destroy the world when you are completely calm and logical, and being triggered and having a major breakdown.

I think it’s important that we keep that in mind when analyzing and discussing her character.

*I put “held responsible” in quotations because the phrase seemed too serious and ridiculous to be applied to a fictional cartoon character. Basically I mean we shouldn’t ignore or discount it, but we should consider the full factors—including her mental instability—that led her to attempting to destroy the world.

I noticed this tragic parallel in Season 3 and was gonna write something about how Catra has been unable to differentiate Adora’s betrayal from what Shadow Weaver did to her, but then I thought of something more interesting.. I’ve been saying that Catra and Adora had parallel arcs in Season 4 right? Well I couldn’t quite pin point where the connection was.. until now. It’s about destiny.

In these screencaps we see that Catra only thinks of herself as the product of abuse and betrayal from the people she loves. So I think, in a way, Catra has been dealing with the same central conflict as Adora, just more subtle–feeling like her whole life has been controlled by outside forces. While Adora found freedom from the burden of her She-Ra destiny, Catra’s breakdown caused her to have a similar realization, that she doesn’t have to be bound to her trauma as if it’s her fate. She has the power to choose her own path, make her own choices. Be her own person.

She got close to it in Season 3 when she was tempted to build a new life for herself in the Crimson Waste. But she was still tied to her trauma, unable to let go of her obsession with defeating Adora. Then in Season 4 that tie was broken and we saw at the end that she found the strength in herself to make a big decision and change her future. I think this is evidence that destiny is an intentional theme for Catra and its been developing slowly over the series, right along with Adora’s conflict. 

At this point in the story, they’re both trying to look beyond the Horde vs. Princess fight, beyond their trauma and assigned roles in a war-torn universe, and figure out who they truly are.

Not golden child vs. reject. Not princess vs. force captain. Not good vs. evil, just… Adora and Catra. And once they do, their love for each other will transcend everything else.

aimee and noelle analyzing adora and catra’s current dynamic (source.)  the question is next to impossible to hear, but based on their answer, it’s just about where the two are at. a must watch in my opinion  

she-ra and the princesses of power (2018)  |  hercules (1997)

Catra: "I'm not going to force Adora to come back for you."

Shadow Weaver: "If you dont ill torture you more and maybe kill you. Also i just demonstrated that you cant run away because i will literally know where you are no matter what so dont even think about rebelling "

Catra, terrified: "okay" (still gonna secretly cover for her tho)

Catra antis: "She was mean to adora for no reason, everything she did was out of evil evil malice not fear."

Adora: "come with me"

Catra: *considering it*

Light Hope: "Heres a series of memories that im going to make you relive specifically selected to make you mad at each other and i will kill both of you if adora keeps protecting you, so skedaddle because i want to groom this girl to do genocide just like the horde before me"

Catra: "welp im not sticking around otherwise we are both gonna die and im also severely traumatized from having to literally relive my worst memories so im kinda antsy and dont want to be tethered to the person who was forced to be responsible for me i want to prove im capable myself, so im not going to help you up the weird castle lady will probably save you anyway so i dont actually think im leaving you in danger."

Catra antis:" Shes so horrible she tried to murder adora and there was absolutely nothing but murdering adora for no reason on her mind, Light hope really cared about adora here and saved her from the horrible abusive catra. "

Scorpia: "Hey lets get out of the horde together because you could be happy "

Catra: "Hmm maybe youre right, well gotta go take care of this other situation."

Adora: "hey remember our mutual abuser who always made you feel like second best and tortured you and you know can track you anywhere on the planet and who just abandoned you like a week ago and who has literally told you multiple times shed kill you given the first opportunity? Well shes at my place now."

Catra: incredibly triggered and traumatized "Scorpia we are going to carry out revenge on my abuser i am solely focused on this because my rage at being abused has consumed my thoughts

Shadow Weaver: "Hi catra, nice to torture you again, ill likely kill you as well."

Catra: "okay now we're DEFINITELY opening that portal"

Catra antis: "everything bad she did was solely to spite Adora there are no sympathetic or understandable things that could possibly explain this downward spiral except that shes an evil evil abuser."

Catra: has literal amnesia and cannot see what adoras seeing "You are concerning me because it seems like you are suddenly developing psychosis"

Catra antis: shes gaslighting adora!

Catra: has nightmares,emotional breakdowns, and depressive episodes from the guilt of what shes doing.

Catra antis: "she wasnt even sorry she only acts good for adora because shes manipulating her"

Catra: "literally apologizes multiple times"

Catra antis: "she never apologized even once"

Catra: shows actual metered progress and takes in outside input to improve her behaviour and outlook

Catra antis:"she didnt even put in any work to redeen herself"

Catra: "defends herself from assault and restraint and protests to adora commiting suicide"

Catra antis "look at this abusive behavior persisting into their reconciliation"

Catra: Literally tries saying anything she thinks might keep adora alive and actively contradicts adoras negative self image.

Catra antis: "Manipulation! Guilt Tripping! Abuse!"

Catra antis reading comprehension: 0

Catra: "I'm not going to force Adora to come back for you."

Shadow Weaver: "If you dont ill torture you more and maybe kill you. Also i just demonstrated that you cant run away because i will literally know where you are no matter what so dont even think about rebelling "

Catra, terrified: "okay" (still gonna secretly cover for her tho)

Catra antis: "She was mean to adora for no reason, everything she did was out of evil evil malice not fear."

Adora: "come with me"

Catra: *considering it*

Light Hope: "Heres a series of memories that im going to make you relive specifically selected to make you mad at each other and i will kill both of you if adora keeps protecting you, so skedaddle because i want to groom this girl to do genocide just like the horde before me"

Catra: "welp im not sticking around otherwise we are both gonna die and im also severely traumatized from having to literally relive my worst memories so im kinda antsy and dont want to be tethered to the person who was forced to be responsible for me i want to prove im capable myself, so im not going to help you up the weird castle lady will probably save you anyway so i dont actually think im leaving you in danger."

Catra antis:" Shes so horrible she tried to murder adora and there was absolutely nothing but murdering adora for no reason on her mind, Light hope really cared about adora here and saved her from the horrible abusive catra. "

Scorpia: "Hey lets get out of the horde together because you could be happy "

Catra: "Hmm maybe youre right, well gotta go take care of this other situation."

Adora: "hey remember our mutual abuser who always made you feel like second best and tortured you and you know can track you anywhere on the planet and who just abandoned you like a week ago and who has literally told you multiple times shed kill you given the first opportunity? Well shes at my place now."

Catra: incredibly triggered and traumatized "Scorpia we are going to carry out revenge on my abuser i am solely focused on this because my rage at being abused has consumed my thoughts

Shadow Weaver: "Hi catra, nice to torture you again, ill likely kill you as well."

Catra: "okay now we're DEFINITELY opening that portal"

Catra antis: "everything bad she did was solely to spite Adora there are no sympathetic or understandable things that could possibly explain this downward spiral except that shes an evil evil abuser."

Catra: has literal amnesia and cannot see what adoras seeing "You are concerning me because it seems like you are suddenly developing psychosis"

Catra antis: shes gaslighting adora!

Catra: has nightmares,emotional breakdowns, and depressive episodes from the guilt of what shes doing.

Catra antis: "she wasnt even sorry she only acts good for adora because shes manipulating her"

Catra: "literally apologizes multiple times"

Catra antis: "she never apologized even once"

Catra: shows actual metered progress and takes in outside input to improve her behaviour and outlook

Catra antis:"she didnt even put in any work to redeen herself"

Catra: "defends herself from assault and restraint and protests to adora commiting suicide"

Catra antis "look at this abusive behavior persisting into their reconciliation"

Catra: Literally tries saying anything she thinks might keep adora alive and actively contradicts adoras negative self image.

Catra antis: "Manipulation! Guilt Tripping! Abuse!"

Catra antis reading comprehension: 0

ok im gnna say it. if my abuser was suddenly accepted by my former best friend (aka the love of my life) and the people she left me for (and the people she claims are good) i would absolutely snap and destroy time and space. i wouldnt give a shit. id pull that lever like its nothing. hey adora? more like bye adora 

Catra: Is not nice to someone who at the time is her enemy and in other cases shows clear signs of developing toxic behavious as survival tools in an abusive environment or signs of having her perception of reality warped by her abuser and in turn, internalizes toxic thinking patterns and this results in her lashing out at people shes supposed to love.

Most Catradora shippers: wow, what a raw complex story, so much tension, its not right for Catra to treat Adora like that, but there's clearly deep-seeded feelings here and it would be nice if one day they were able to reconcile.

Catradora antis: Oh my god this is just like a current romantic partner abusing you how could anyone support them being together.

Glimmer: While FRIENDS with Adora, blames her moms death on Adora, gaslights her, works with her abuser without her knowledge or blessing, gives said abuser free range of Adoras home, sends Adora alone on missions as bait despite her many protests, tries to imprison bow and adora after failing to manipulate them into destroying the planet. Then goes and sets off the planet-destroying weapon anyway because she trusts Adoras abuser and an AI more than she trusts Adora, all of this because her mom got trapped in a portal by CHOOSING to save Adora all on her lonesome and despite Adoras protests.

Most Catradora shippers: wow thats a really raw portrayal of grief and how it can drive someone to do awful things. Its not right for her to treat adora that way but I hope they're able to reconcile because their friendship means so much to the both of them!

Catradora antis: This season was so romantic 🥰 they held hands one time and Adora thought about Glimmer when she was dying (we're ignoring the part that what brought her down in the first place was Glimmers constant mistreatment of her which made her feel like a failure.) Clearly this ship is pure and wholesome 😍

Why is it that Catra or Adora are always depicted as overly-masculine in your shitty G/A content quick . They're literally child soldiers who haven't had the freedom or chance to explore their wardrobes properly yet they're strictly assigned these roles because of what ? Adora wore a dress thrice, There are clearly femme aspects to Catra's S5 fit,advise.

I love that the other fans are usually able to balance it out between them they're able to pull of both femme/masc themes there is a plethora of works of them both depicted as the princess or knight for example.

🤧

I remember when Ms captain-obvious-salt, ridiculed catradora fans for their harmless hc that Catra's freckles reminds Adora of the stars, I mean sure the overt answer would be Glimmer right? All sparkly with her sparkly hair,cape and eyes (even if it's inconsistent)

But how much significance does it really hold if fans are able to see this in the smaller things like in the freckles dusted on top of Catra's nose, her blue and yellow eyes eminating a glow in the dark. how the stars and sky have been used as a metaphor at one point for Catra. At the end of S5 Ep4 Adora stares out into the starry sky thinking of Catra .There was this fantastic analysis of catradora and their respective skies depicting both Adora and Catra with each.

Moment of truth

Remember when Glimmer conspired against her mom with Shadow weaver and made a deal with the devil plan which took a very ominous turn as she steps into the shadows with Bow in the back shaking his head implying it's a bad idea

And don't try to paint that scene as her selflessly wanting to save Adora when her eyes sparkle at the word power and suggestion. Her decision empowered Shadow weaver it's ultimately what helped Shadow weaver to torture Catra, which is basically co-torturing her as shadow weaver sapped Glimmer's magic to electrocute and strangle Catra until she was out of cold even worse. someone on the crew described it as "crunching" her. That scene always makes me cringe.

Hard to swallow pills Catra is still more of a Zuko than Azula This is also why her redemption felt earned and genuine Catra isn't entirely good but she isn't an entirely bad person either she's depicted as morally grey.unlike Azula who's nature was established from pretty early on when she laughed at Ba sing Se being burned down, burning the doll she got from Iroh, used Mai as target practice, teasing Zuko about him being executed by their father while they were children or grinned at the branding of her brother ,setting Tylee's safety net ablaze, killing Aang. Catra has shown numerous moments to have empathy over characters ,including her abusers for example when Shadow weaver was hunched over after the black garnet sacked her, covering for Adora multiple times,trying to help shadow weaver ,sharing her blanket with Scorpia, trying to keep Entrapta from what she views as harms way, Catra is highly emotional, everything she does comes from an strong emotional place as opposed to the somewhat cruel and unsympathetic Azula .Catra is pretty much driven by her emotions which makes her go out of control her anger gets the better of her and she starts as an underdog and claws her way to the top to prove her worth (similar to Zuko restoring his honor) Her connection with melog was possible in the first place due to this empathy she held within her.Her connection and relationship with Adora ,Adora knows Catra has known her for years and knew all along that Catra wasn't a bad person she eventually had to give up but when Catra decided to do the right thing she was granted a second chance. Catra's redemption was narratively necesarry she becomes a good influence on Adora and eventuall is the key to unlocking she-ra's true potential similar to Zuko helping Aang with his firebending in order to become a fully realized avatar both had pivotal roles in the hero's journey and conclusion

Adora looks at Glimmer so fondly ! You can't tell me it's one-sided!! They're in loveee

Adora looking at her friend Perfuma :

Because someone got mad at me I’ll say it again. Adora got adopted by Angella and she and Glimmer saw each other as sisters

no but if you are an adult fan for shows primarily aimed at kids you need to behave. this isn’t just about nsfw stuff but also about clogging tags with your shit takes. some queer kid just wants to see catradora stuff without being accused of being an abuse excuser or whatever the hell yalls sick minds spew

y’all grownass adults whose entire online personalities are revolved around hating a cartoon ship for 12 months straight. if I grow up to be like this feel free to kick me in the face 👌🏾

Glimmadora fans stop being toxic challenge