Angela isn't dead, she's trapped in between two dimensions until someone somehow gets her out of it. She's basically stuck inside a void, way worse than death...
She can't get the sweet release of death, nor resume living with her family. And she'll remain like that, because I believe she's an immortal being. Glimmer has a chance of being an immortal being also as physically, she takes after her mother more, if Queen Angela truly is immortal. Still, her sacrifice was completely altruistic for the rebellion. She's as good as dead, because the only way she'd get out is with the help of Entrapta and Hordak, potentially Glimmer's magic too.
Well said. I’ve couldn’t agree more especially in regards to Shadow Weaver’s death. I’ve seen a lot of people arguing over whether or not Shadow Weaver redeemed herself in the end. My view has always been that Shadow Weaver’s redemption isn’t the point. She even says as much when she tell’s Catra “It’s too late for me.....” she know she’s beyond saving. But if she can give Catra and Adora a bit more time, then her life will not have been pointless. It’s not about her. It’s about them. They’re the one’s who are going to save, and rebuild the world. She’s the one holding them back. That’s what I believe she meant when she says “You’re welcome......”. Like she’s practically saying “There, I’m finally gone, you don’t have to live looking over your shoulder anymore.....you’re free now......” that’s why I think her death makes so many of us sad. Not because we cared about Shadow Weaver, but because it was literally necessary for her to die in order for Catra and Adora to finally be happy.
This was amazing. I just wish Catra and Glimmer could talk about Angela’s death. Catra did kill her after all, and I feel like that’s a source of tension that was kinda painted over. Maybe in a movie? :)
While Catra’s actions DID lead 2 Angella’s entrapment between dimensions (it is never once stated that she actually DIED!) 2 say she outright killed her is a BIT harsh. There’s actually a fan comic that touches upon this beautifully & gives a GR8 conclusion 2 how Catra & Glimmer talk about & resolve this. It’s called ‘A She-Ra Comic Dub’ (on TH-cam). It essentially turned me in2 this - 😭
@@LanieMae They are no longer in Despondos, which was what made opening a Portal catastrophic. They are in the universe now, so opening portals to other dimensions to get Angela is safe. They wanted to make Angella return in the final episode but Noelle chose not to because the season as already too crammed. Remember, She Ra doesn't have the same number of episodes as ATLA or VLD or SU.
Ugh, I just love how Angella's sacrifice is a parallel to Shadow Weaver's "sacrifice". One being actually selfless, to save others and to stop Adora's martyr complex, while SW is a selfish asshole that uses that last moment to manipulate Catra and Adora to forgive her for all the things she did before so she could die like a hero.
Lmao i font think that she really did love them no evil person would sacrifice herself she is much more complex then anyone would care to think not surprised tho since a lot of the audience is young children
I love the parallel as well. I cried at Angella's death because of how loving her motherly gesture was. I cried during Shadow Weaver's death ONLY because I hurt for Adora and Catra, for the loss they're experiencing together. I originally felt happy for Catra when Shadow Weaver said "I'm so proud of you, Catra." I knew that's all Catra wanted from her adoptive mother figure. She wanted to be good enough in her eyes, and to a greater extent, to be loved by her. When Shadow Weaver negates that sentiment with her next words of "You're welcome" As if to say this action will make up for everything I've done to them, I don't have to apologize, and "You're welcome" for saving you both. This one last manipulation makes her entire scene a very bitter one for me. It fits her character, but makes me hate her more. The only thing Catra ever did to "deserve" the way Shadow Weaver treated her was: loving Adora. If Shadow Weaver is the only one who shows Adora her tainted form of love, then she can influence her, use her power. Catra stands in the way of that by showing Adora genuine love. Her entire death scene is just one last trauma gut punch to Adora and Catra. Noelle Stevenson has said that Adora and Catra never actually forgive Shadow Weaver, despite her sacrifice, if that's any comfort. Doing one good thing CAN earn forgiveness, but sometimes it doesn't. That parallel of forgiveness is shown throughout the show in a beautiful and artistic way ❤
2:24 To a degree, Adora DID subconsciously believe this somewhat & sadly I can’t say it wasn’t entirely warranted. When she 1st met Bow & Glimmer, was when she 1st transformed in2 She-Ra & even tho they grew 2 love Adora 4 herself pretty soon after, they DID factor in that it would b beneficial 2 have Adora as She-Ra 4 the Rebellion & used She-Ra - NOT Adora 2 convince Queen Angella & the Alliance 2 accept her. And every time they earned the respect of a Princess, Adora would do it thru She-Ra, not thru merits just as herself. In Adora’s eyes - she had 2 EARN these friendships, she never just asked 4 them 4 the sake of it 😞 And the more praise she received as She-Ra, the more she tied her self worth SOLELY 2 that role. And getting praised 4 her accomplishments ONLY as She-Ra by Etheria’s people made this mentality that much worse. The only close relationship she had built that had nothing 2 do with She-Ra.........was Catra. In the final season where Catra berates her several times 4 this mentality, I actually think this is EXACTLY what Adora needed most. 2 know that her true value is as herself, that She-Ra isn’t (nor should b) the reason she is special. And THAT is y Catra was the only 1 who could save Adora from herself. A quote that comes back 2 me is 1 from Attack on Titan where Eren’s mother Carla asks ‘Why does anyone have to be special?’ She doesn’t c her son as special bcuz of his accomplishments or gifts, but just by existing, by being important 2 her, by being himself. (Seriously, this message does not get discussed NEARLY enough!) In much the same way, Catra & Adora matter 2 each other just by being who they r. By being each other’s person. Loving each other just bcuz its what THEY want❣️🥰
Someone finally says it. Putting this amazing video aside, I want to talk about how Jonathan described Adora's struggles and pain. I've noticed a lot, and I mean a lot of people only see Catra is the one who went through anything bad (mentally speaking). Like, a lot of people see it as Catra went through the most and had the worst possible mental state. Not saying what she went through wasn't horrible, but I don't get that people say those things when what both Catra and Adora struggled with were different. With different situations, different backgrounds, different outcomes, different scenarios, and different thought processes, so you can't really say one is worse than the other. They both went through some pretty crappy stuff, but Catra's was more physically shown in the show, while Adora's you would have to look into a bit and think about to completely understand. I would guess that's where people's idea that Adora's life was 'good with some downs' while Catra's was complete crap, but it's not. Here Jonathan explains some of Adora's struggles really well, and it's not all you can list. Sorry for my rant, I just finally saw someone explain things correctly. (this is also because one time I heard someone say that 'Adora's scenario was perfect and Catra went through anything possibly bad while Adora got everything good' and it got on my nerves and I had no clue why.)
Hi! If you are looking for an analysis of Adora's character, let me recommend this video (she has a couple of others as well that are very interesting): th-cam.com/video/YynSgRoE-ZY/w-d-xo.html
@@carolinamoran8965 her channel is amazing, her she ra analysis have been the best I’ve seen to date. It really opened my eyes to why Catra acted the way she did (I saw myself in her, and I didn’t like her for it when I first saw the show), and it just completely changed the way I saw the show
No I feel you, I was one of those people too. It wasn’t until I watched five by five takes’ analysis on Adora’s character (the video a person linked below) that I realized how traumatized she was. It is so important to recognize her trauma. I really don’t like when the fandom says that she didn’t have it “as bad” trauma is not hierarchical, and just bc it’s invisible and selfless doesn’t mean that it is not toxic, and something that a person has to grow from to become self-actualized
10:00 A.G.R.E.E.D. In fact, I’ve always seen Catra as 1 of the most loyal characters in the show (FAR more than Adora) as once she realises someone matters 2 her 2 she goes ALL OUT 2 protect them & will not stop in ensuring that person’s wellbeing.
15:36 Catra wasn't just the key, she was the true source of Adora's magic because she was what motivated her to become She-Ra again as Adora finally had a personal reason for why she wanted to wield that power without duty being attached to that reason at all.
I really think that the episode where Glimmer has to deal with Bow not accepting her first apology really set this up well. Shadowweaver doing One thing wasn’t enough, and I think that episode really cemented “it is ok to not forgive her.” I think that Glimmer and Catra being parallels also really affected Catra’s feelings of being replaced. This was a really good analysis!
OMG Angella's sacrifice 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I repeat to myself before the final season: "She isn't dead! We'll see her on Eternia with Adam, Teela and the Sorceress!" Man, I was so sure!
something i never noticed was that adora and catra crying at shadow weaver's death was not just their complicated attachment to her, but the loving, sentimental aspects of their character that she failed to corrupt. I've seen lots of analyses about how victims still feel for their abusers, that's just the nature of the manipulation, but i really love that you emphasized shadow weaver's failure to mold them. idk, it just makes so much sense that her last "im proud of you" to catra is just her acknowledging that she failed, a last appeal to the humanity she failed to crush
I like the parallels you drawn! Yet I find it hard to discuss redemption. Everyone uses it as if there was a final judge at the end of it all. As if you get a cookie for doing good, it simplifies matters too much in my opinion. Often actions and choices are just that and we have to live with the without attributing such a grand narrative of a redemption arc to them. I always saw Shadow Weaver as a broken person, treating everyone like she was probably brought up too. Catra on the other hand managed to break that circle. Though SW taking off her mask and showing a glimpse of herself, felt like a last echo of a woman that gave up long ago. No Redemption just a sad ending.
5:36 This single mindedness is also what led to Glimmer's prejudice against anyone from the Horde, with Adora (& later Scorpia) being the only exceptions (although she still showed initial hostility to them both before eventually befriending them) as well as her black & white view of good & evil that carried over until Season 5.
I have just ended the series today in the morning and well, I wanted more videos on Shadow Weaver. I would like to say that I believe Shadow Weaver didn't die as Shadow Weaver, but as Light Spinner. She takes the mask off for the last time, a mask that becomes broken. When she says that "it's too late" for her, she is acknowledging that it is too late to redeem herself. She knows that nobody will ever remember her as anything good, even with her sacrifice. But at the end, she doesn't care about that. She does what is best for Etheria, but also what is best for Catra and Adora. When she tells Catra that she is proud of her and that this is just the beginning for Adora and her, Shadow Weaver is finally letting Catra off their past. Catra is finally able to get over her past and accept her feelings for Adora, which ultimately allows her to save Etheria. Also, talking about symbolism, I find remarkable the way Shadow Weaver dies. When she starts fighting against the monster, she is using dark magic. As she always had. But when it cames to sacrifice... She uses pure magic. Fire magic, like the one we saw Micah use so many times. And you can see that as she does that, there are no shadows surrounding her. She rejects the shadows with Micah's fire. Which, on one side, is an incredible paralelism with Horde Prime cleansing light (there are so many paralelisms and contrasts between Horde Prime and Shadow Weaver) and on the other side, is the proof that she is rejecting Shadow Weaver, choosing to die as the old Light Spinner who might have been good once. Something that is further symbolized by the mask breaking. Shadow Weaver's death had a very great impact on me. During the series, I genuinely hated her. I think I never hated a character more than her and I wanted her death even to be painful, I was salty any time she spoke. But her death was incredible. Like, I had to stop the episode for several minutes and talk with the friends who were watching it with me before being able to process what had happened. Even though I kinda wanted a horrible death for her because she deserved it, I don't think anything would have been better than this. It was really satisfactory from a narrative point of view, to a point I never expected to feel with this character.
About Shadoweaver, I read every one thinking she's dead, but... it's a bit hard to swallow for me. She just pick a big boost by draining a magical source that she reach when Adora go back. She disappear with a huge creature in blazes but left no trace of scortch nor cinder. Yes, there's the broken mask she thrown down before. Did it broke from the fall? But she can teleport herself and other, is a master of Illusion and you can never see what are her real intentions. Does she know it herself? I can't say neither... But for me, after a long battle against the creature out of the eyes of her two "daugthers", she still lurk in the underground, seeking power to leech on... I wonder what she will do with it. Good or evil things?
10:58 I would say Adora wanting to find out if Shadow Weaver changed or not was probably a remnant of her trauma bond to her, but unlike Catra's (much worse) trauma bond to Shadow Weaver, Adora has had time by this point to form healthy attachments with other parental figures like Glimmer's mum & aunt which would explain why she never pursued the possibility of Shadow Weaver being reformed after this, especially given her attitude towards her former guardian in Season 4.
@@blackdeath4782 That does NOT make up for a lifetime of shit & abuse! Nothing good came from their time with her & she knew this, since she realised the best thing to do for them was disappear from their lives forever. If she’d just gone on to somewhere else, there’d always be the fear of her 1 day coming back again & making them relive that trauma. It says a LOT about a person when the best thing they ever did for you was D.Y.I.N.G. 😑
A great retrospective analysis of how the mother figures of the series Angella and Shadow weaver influenced and/or were influenced by Adora, Glimmer, and Catra.
its so fascinating to look at how not only are Glimmer and Catra narrative parallels, but so are their maternal figures. Of course Catra and Glimmer are a lot more similar to each other than Shadow Weaver and Angella are but one can't deny that these are opposite characters with very similar arcs that end the same way for opposing reasons.
I don't know if it was supposed to be funny but the "so she died the way she lived traumatizing children line was hilarious. I Cracked up. Also great video.
This were a great analysis of these two women (Queen Angella and Shadow Weaver) of their motives in helping Adora, Glimmer and Catra. SW, sacrifice were of tactical measures and dammit she still traumatized Adora and Catra in the end by annihilating herself in front of them... Queen Angella, sacrifice herself through guilt, love, and borderline annihilating herself in front of Adora, which in this case poor Adora were traumatized once again, damn! Great job of this though 👍🏾💯
Jonathan, I realized that I had not thanked you for this beautiful and deep analysis. Your work is one of the most brilliant I have watched and I found myself noticing new things about motherhood and parental styles in the show that are so clear now; of course, you are totally right about Angela and Shadow Weaver being two very different modelying figures. Thank you again!
This made me break down the same way Catra did. I relate to Catra a lot, I am pretty much just a male version of Catra. The song at the end of this video is perfect for Catra
You know, it pains me just how irredeemable Shadow Weaver manages to be. Given the circumstances within She-ra's storyline there would have been no way her demise would have changed but that's not the reason I'm hurt by this. The main reason is that I can't understand how I can care for a character so selfish, abusive, and vile when there's no reason I should. Somehow the writers of the show managed to make a character with hardly any likeable qualities likeable and in doing that they made me care for a character who could never be who I wish they were.
We care because we're human, and we want to believe that there's good in people even when their behavior says otherwise. We mourn what could have been.
@@jonathanharrison4585 I guess that's just one thing that's kept me coming back to this show. Every time I rewatch the show I go on this lookout to find anything that could defend Shadow Weaver's case in even the slightest just to be met with more reasons she's a horrible person but I decided to watch this video to basically measure exactly how horrible she was and I was very surprised when you said that even her sacrifice, probably the closest she ever got to becoming a good person was still more selfish than selfless. In the end the only speck of good I could find in her was that she still seemingly cares about people, given a very select few but my point still stands. She was so desperate to get Adora back and even turned to her when she was on the verge of dying and part of me still believes she genuinely cared about Micah if in just the slightest. Unfortunately because of her character and her well known habit to do anything it takes to reach her goal, including manipulating, gaslighting, and pretending to care towards others it's never made very clear whether she genuinely cared about either Adora or Micah. Wow that was a lot (0.o) Props to you if you actually read all this
Amazing analysis! I have always focused so much on Catra and Adora’s relationship, I never realized the parallels between Angella and SW. You brought up some amazing points, thank you!
Angela literally was one my my favourite heroes when I first watched the show Everything was good except for the episode of people that was like mostly the main character. Despite Angela, Sw was like selfish. Though I felt bad For her I mean sure she did a lot of things, But still, I cannot forgive the things she did Whether she died or not She manipulated adoras mind, Back to Angela, She maybe a secondary character but all of us miss her due To her sacrificing her own life for adoras sake, It was so hard for me to stop my tears
@Tangerine Cutie 🍰 i mean. shes a terrible person. shes a good character but shes a bad person considering she spent the entire lives of both catra and adora traumatizing them and abusing them, literally right up until she died. but those feelings are also the point and the reason shes a good character. shes *supposed* to be someone you hate
basically SW is a universally hated character. Not because she's badly written, (she's written amazingly) but she's just a B. This whole show could sum up to "Frick Shadow Weaver"
Catra's worse than Shadow Weaver. At least Shadow Weaver wanted to use her power to help people in Light Spinner. At least she went out of her way to try and save Micah simply because "I owe him that much at least". And at least she didn't try to destroy the world out of spite. Shadow Weaver was a manipulative bitch but Catra was downright evil at the end of Season 3 and throughout Season 4. Frankly, Catra should have died on Horde Prime's ship or at least Adora should have refused to have any further interaction with her after the obligatory rescue.
"and atleast she didn't want to end the world out of spite" Nd Stevenson interview: "I think Shadow Weaver really does think she’s a good guy now. Like, as far as Shadow Weaver is concerned, she’s been thoroughly redeemed and everything that she’s doing is perfectly justified, which I think is what really caused Catra to snap."
The discussion was a lot, but playing a song I haven't heard since I was too young to recognize the true depth of is...wow. That was off the first album I ever owned
I'm watching this following native legends review on the show shera as a whole and it's such a gorgeous show characters and world not to mention world that build off each other and keep them grounded and let's them grow and find themselves
I know im going to get attacked for this, but whatever. I really do think SW tried to change, but somewhat failed in that task and couldn't bear it, so when she saw Catra trying to battle that monster or whatever it was an opportunity to commit and show that she really did love Catra, but failed at showing it and never knew untill later. (Next part is kinda my AU but i like to belive it has a possibility of being real) She maybe didnt know that it was abuse from her past, and was washed with a sea of guilt. Or she realized she turned into a bad person and wanted to prove she wasnt all bad. Im not afraid to defend myself, but please respect my opinion.
I do respect it but I hate just SW and just don’t see that being a reason of sacrifice or something like that. But we all have our opinions. I hope you don’t see this as me trying to be mean or anything if it does come off as that I’m sorry. I hope you have a great day/night.
@@cynicalbutterscotch6581 No that came off actually good! I kind of have a thing for liking villans, so its no reason i have this opinion😅 But i just want to find the reason for her sacrificing herself.
@@Anagapesis_ I like villains too but people like SW and AFO (All For One) + more I can’t think of are the ones I don’t like. It probably stems from how much I get reminded of a few people in my life.
@@cynicalbutterscotch6581 yeah some remind me from my life but i cope with it by just making fun of the character and i soon just dont think about the person😅
I am a male version of Catra, both my parents are cruel, uncaring, manipulative people. Neither of them wanted me around, they made that much clear when they kept throwing me in correctional facilities. They aren't people I want to be around but... I don't know
We will have to find out in the she ra movie if they make one🙊 I will help you! But I think she is not dead but maybe she is in hmm idk what do you think? Lol have a amazing day /night ❤️❤️
Great analysis, put a lot of my own thoughts into words, so thanks for that. If you don't mind some criticism, I think your background music is way too loud in relation to your voice. Most of the time it was fine but at times I couldn't make out what you were saying, and that's a shame!
this video is great for the actual analysis and talking portion, although i found the music very distracting and making it difficult to understand what you were actually saying. maybe that's just my sensory overload issues that come with being autistic, though. could you perhaps take that into consideration next time? it's your channel at the end of the day, so all due respect if my suggestion isn't taken regardless!
Nah I made this when I had no idea how to do audio mixing so it bothers me too. This was only the second video essay I released so I did gradually get better at it later on (which makes “taking it into consideration next time” a little moot).
You're the third person to comment this in a row so I'll just say the video is almost a year old and I didn't know how to mix audio back then. I'm not gonna go back and fix it because that would mean losing all the old views and comments because of how TH-cam works.
Bow: "You can't have mommy issues if you never have a mom."
*taps temple*
Please 😭✌️
to be fair, he's the one who has the healthiest family life...so...
@@Whosaskin
*taps temple*
@@Whosaskin I mean- you aren’t wrong.
hUh
@@Whosaskin Entrapta's robo parents would like to have a word with you
Angela isn't dead, she's trapped in between two dimensions until someone somehow gets her out of it. She's basically stuck inside a void, way worse than death...
She can't get the sweet release of death, nor resume living with her family. And she'll remain like that, because I believe she's an immortal being. Glimmer has a chance of being an immortal being also as physically, she takes after her mother more, if Queen Angela truly is immortal.
Still, her sacrifice was completely altruistic for the rebellion. She's as good as dead, because the only way she'd get out is with the help of Entrapta and Hordak, potentially Glimmer's magic too.
Well said. I’ve couldn’t agree more especially in regards to Shadow Weaver’s death. I’ve seen a lot of people arguing over whether or not Shadow Weaver redeemed herself in the end. My view has always been that Shadow Weaver’s redemption isn’t the point. She even says as much when she tell’s Catra “It’s too late for me.....” she know she’s beyond saving. But if she can give Catra and Adora a bit more time, then her life will not have been pointless. It’s not about her. It’s about them. They’re the one’s who are going to save, and rebuild the world. She’s the one holding them back. That’s what I believe she meant when she says “You’re welcome......”. Like she’s practically saying “There, I’m finally gone, you don’t have to live looking over your shoulder anymore.....you’re free now......” that’s why I think her death makes so many of us sad. Not because we cared about Shadow Weaver, but because it was literally necessary for her to die in order for Catra and Adora to finally be happy.
Ahhh great analysis I’m crying morreee 🥺🥺🥺
And that is also her giving a final emotionnal trauma to Adora and Catra...
"She died the way she lived: traumatizing children." Damn, son. XD No lie detected, tho!
This was amazing. I just wish Catra and Glimmer could talk about Angela’s death. Catra did kill her after all, and I feel like that’s a source of tension that was kinda painted over. Maybe in a movie? :)
While Catra’s actions DID lead 2 Angella’s entrapment between dimensions (it is never once stated that she actually DIED!) 2 say she outright killed her is a BIT harsh.
There’s actually a fan comic that touches upon this beautifully & gives a GR8 conclusion 2 how Catra & Glimmer talk about & resolve this. It’s called ‘A She-Ra Comic Dub’ (on TH-cam).
It essentially turned me in2 this - 😭
Angela never truly died, she’s a immortal being, and in the story it’s stated that the person pulling the sword out would be TRAPPED there. Not killed
@@rxmenqt eh, well even with that it’s a fate worse than death
@@LanieMae They are no longer in Despondos, which was what made opening a Portal catastrophic. They are in the universe now, so opening portals to other dimensions to get Angela is safe. They wanted to make Angella return in the final episode but Noelle chose not to because the season as already too crammed.
Remember, She Ra doesn't have the same number of episodes as ATLA or VLD or SU.
@@nenakarra2579 problem is being an immortal being stuck in a vortex not knowing if everyone’s safe is quite a horrible fate
Ugh, I just love how Angella's sacrifice is a parallel to Shadow Weaver's "sacrifice". One being actually selfless, to save others and to stop Adora's martyr complex, while SW is a selfish asshole that uses that last moment to manipulate Catra and Adora to forgive her for all the things she did before so she could die like a hero.
I still don’t think she died, doesn’t sound like her at all
Lmao i font think that she really did love them no evil person would sacrifice herself she is much more complex then anyone would care to think not surprised tho since a lot of the audience is young children
@@tajkiachoudhury6932 Good thing I didn’t state any of that.
Shadow weaver is my president
I love the parallel as well. I cried at Angella's death because of how loving her motherly gesture was. I cried during Shadow Weaver's death ONLY because I hurt for Adora and Catra, for the loss they're experiencing together.
I originally felt happy for Catra when Shadow Weaver said "I'm so proud of you, Catra." I knew that's all Catra wanted from her adoptive mother figure. She wanted to be good enough in her eyes, and to a greater extent, to be loved by her.
When Shadow Weaver negates that sentiment with her next words of "You're welcome" As if to say this action will make up for everything I've done to them, I don't have to apologize, and "You're welcome" for saving you both.
This one last manipulation makes her entire scene a very bitter one for me. It fits her character, but makes me hate her more. The only thing Catra ever did to "deserve" the way Shadow Weaver treated her was: loving Adora. If Shadow Weaver is the only one who shows Adora her tainted form of love, then she can influence her, use her power. Catra stands in the way of that by showing Adora genuine love. Her entire death scene is just one last trauma gut punch to Adora and Catra. Noelle Stevenson has said that Adora and Catra never actually forgive Shadow Weaver, despite her sacrifice, if that's any comfort. Doing one good thing CAN earn forgiveness, but sometimes it doesn't. That parallel of forgiveness is shown throughout the show in a beautiful and artistic way ❤
2:24 To a degree, Adora DID subconsciously believe this somewhat & sadly I can’t say it wasn’t entirely warranted.
When she 1st met Bow & Glimmer, was when she 1st transformed in2 She-Ra & even tho they grew 2 love Adora 4 herself pretty soon after, they DID factor in that it would b beneficial 2 have Adora as She-Ra 4 the Rebellion & used She-Ra - NOT Adora 2 convince Queen Angella & the Alliance 2 accept her.
And every time they earned the respect of a Princess, Adora would do it thru She-Ra, not thru merits just as herself.
In Adora’s eyes - she had 2 EARN these friendships, she never just asked 4 them 4 the sake of it 😞
And the more praise she received as She-Ra, the more she tied her self worth SOLELY 2 that role.
And getting praised 4 her accomplishments ONLY as She-Ra by Etheria’s people made this mentality that much worse.
The only close relationship she had built that had nothing 2 do with She-Ra.........was Catra.
In the final season where Catra berates her several times 4 this mentality, I actually think this is EXACTLY what Adora needed most. 2 know that her true value is as herself, that She-Ra isn’t (nor should b) the reason she is special.
And THAT is y Catra was the only 1 who could save Adora from herself.
A quote that comes back 2 me is 1 from Attack on Titan where Eren’s mother Carla asks ‘Why does anyone have to be special?’
She doesn’t c her son as special bcuz of his accomplishments or gifts, but just by existing, by being important 2 her, by being himself.
(Seriously, this message does not get discussed NEARLY enough!)
In much the same way, Catra & Adora matter 2 each other just by being who they r. By being each other’s person. Loving each other just bcuz its what THEY want❣️🥰
Someone finally says it.
Putting this amazing video aside, I want to talk about how Jonathan described Adora's struggles and pain. I've noticed a lot, and I mean a lot of people only see Catra is the one who went through anything bad (mentally speaking). Like, a lot of people see it as Catra went through the most and had the worst possible mental state. Not saying what she went through wasn't horrible, but I don't get that people say those things when what both Catra and Adora struggled with were different. With different situations, different backgrounds, different outcomes, different scenarios, and different thought processes, so you can't really say one is worse than the other. They both went through some pretty crappy stuff, but Catra's was more physically shown in the show, while Adora's you would have to look into a bit and think about to completely understand. I would guess that's where people's idea that Adora's life was 'good with some downs' while Catra's was complete crap, but it's not. Here Jonathan explains some of Adora's struggles really well, and it's not all you can list.
Sorry for my rant, I just finally saw someone explain things correctly.
(this is also because one time I heard someone say that 'Adora's scenario was perfect and Catra went through anything possibly bad while Adora got everything good' and it got on my nerves and I had no clue why.)
Hi! If you are looking for an analysis of Adora's character, let me recommend this video (she has a couple of others as well that are very interesting): th-cam.com/video/YynSgRoE-ZY/w-d-xo.html
@@carolinamoran8965 thank you!
@@carolinamoran8965 her channel is amazing, her she ra analysis have been the best I’ve seen to date. It really opened my eyes to why Catra acted the way she did (I saw myself in her, and I didn’t like her for it when I first saw the show), and it just completely changed the way I saw the show
No I feel you, I was one of those people too. It wasn’t until I watched five by five takes’ analysis on Adora’s character (the video a person linked below) that I realized how traumatized she was. It is so important to recognize her trauma. I really don’t like when the fandom says that she didn’t have it “as bad” trauma is not hierarchical, and just bc it’s invisible and selfless doesn’t mean that it is not toxic, and something that a person has to grow from to become self-actualized
@@BlueDandyLyon I get what you're saying! And I'm glad you agree, it is sort of aggravating when people say she doesn't have 'as bad' trauma :/.
10:00 A.G.R.E.E.D.
In fact, I’ve always seen Catra as 1 of the most loyal characters in the show (FAR more than Adora) as once she realises someone matters 2 her 2 she goes ALL OUT 2 protect them & will not stop in ensuring that person’s wellbeing.
"she died the way she lived, Traumatizing children"
15:36 Catra wasn't just the key, she was the true source of Adora's magic because she was what motivated her to become She-Ra again as Adora finally had a personal reason for why she wanted to wield that power without duty being attached to that reason at all.
"Shadow Weaver died the way she lived: Traumatizing Children."
Bloody hell!
I really think that the episode where Glimmer has to deal with Bow not accepting her first apology really set this up well. Shadowweaver doing One thing wasn’t enough, and I think that episode really cemented “it is ok to not forgive her.” I think that Glimmer and Catra being parallels also really affected Catra’s feelings of being replaced. This was a really good analysis!
Then why was Catra forgiven so easily by everybody except Perfuma?
14:38 "And so she died the way she lived, traumatizing children" with a shot of the kids crying, OMG lmao
OMG Angella's sacrifice 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I repeat to myself before the final season: "She isn't dead! We'll see her on Eternia with Adam, Teela and the Sorceress!" Man, I was so sure!
I am calling it right now i am going to cry while watching this because I am a baby!!!😓😢😢
Ya me to
Same 😭
This is going to be awesome!
And as I thought, it's BEAUTIFUL, great job, thanks c':
16:50 LOVE that u hinted at the (desperately wanted) She-Ra movie/epilogue season in this way❣️😁
something i never noticed was that adora and catra crying at shadow weaver's death was not just their complicated attachment to her, but the loving, sentimental aspects of their character that she failed to corrupt. I've seen lots of analyses about how victims still feel for their abusers, that's just the nature of the manipulation, but i really love that you emphasized shadow weaver's failure to mold them. idk, it just makes so much sense that her last "im proud of you" to catra is just her acknowledging that she failed, a last appeal to the humanity she failed to crush
I like the parallels you drawn!
Yet I find it hard to discuss redemption.
Everyone uses it as if there was a final judge at the end of it all.
As if you get a cookie for doing good, it simplifies matters too much in my opinion. Often actions and choices are just that and we have to live with the without attributing such a grand narrative of a redemption arc to them.
I always saw Shadow Weaver as a broken person, treating everyone like she was probably brought up too. Catra on the other hand managed to break that circle.
Though SW taking off her mask and showing a glimpse of herself, felt like a last echo of a woman that gave up long ago. No Redemption just a sad ending.
Amazing analysis and it focuses a lot on Glimmer, a character I've not seen analysed in video essays before!
5:36 This single mindedness is also what led to Glimmer's prejudice against anyone from the Horde, with Adora (& later Scorpia) being the only exceptions (although she still showed initial hostility to them both before eventually befriending them) as well as her black & white view of good & evil that carried over until Season 5.
this video was so good it brought me to tears and then you hit us with the most fitting use of a kelly clarkson song in the world AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Honestly half the reason I made the video was so I could use that song.
I have just ended the series today in the morning and well, I wanted more videos on Shadow Weaver. I would like to say that I believe Shadow Weaver didn't die as Shadow Weaver, but as Light Spinner. She takes the mask off for the last time, a mask that becomes broken. When she says that "it's too late" for her, she is acknowledging that it is too late to redeem herself. She knows that nobody will ever remember her as anything good, even with her sacrifice. But at the end, she doesn't care about that. She does what is best for Etheria, but also what is best for Catra and Adora. When she tells Catra that she is proud of her and that this is just the beginning for Adora and her, Shadow Weaver is finally letting Catra off their past. Catra is finally able to get over her past and accept her feelings for Adora, which ultimately allows her to save Etheria.
Also, talking about symbolism, I find remarkable the way Shadow Weaver dies. When she starts fighting against the monster, she is using dark magic. As she always had. But when it cames to sacrifice... She uses pure magic. Fire magic, like the one we saw Micah use so many times. And you can see that as she does that, there are no shadows surrounding her. She rejects the shadows with Micah's fire. Which, on one side, is an incredible paralelism with Horde Prime cleansing light (there are so many paralelisms and contrasts between Horde Prime and Shadow Weaver) and on the other side, is the proof that she is rejecting Shadow Weaver, choosing to die as the old Light Spinner who might have been good once. Something that is further symbolized by the mask breaking.
Shadow Weaver's death had a very great impact on me. During the series, I genuinely hated her. I think I never hated a character more than her and I wanted her death even to be painful, I was salty any time she spoke. But her death was incredible. Like, I had to stop the episode for several minutes and talk with the friends who were watching it with me before being able to process what had happened.
Even though I kinda wanted a horrible death for her because she deserved it, I don't think anything would have been better than this. It was really satisfactory from a narrative point of view, to a point I never expected to feel with this character.
About Shadoweaver, I read every one thinking she's dead, but... it's a bit hard to swallow for me.
She just pick a big boost by draining a magical source that she reach when Adora go back.
She disappear with a huge creature in blazes but left no trace of scortch nor cinder. Yes, there's the broken mask she thrown down before. Did it broke from the fall?
But she can teleport herself and other, is a master of Illusion and you can never see what are her real intentions. Does she know it herself? I can't say neither...
But for me, after a long battle against the creature out of the eyes of her two "daugthers", she still lurk in the underground, seeking power to leech on... I wonder what she will do with it. Good or evil things?
Oh I totally agree with you. Most people don’t really look into things in this fandom but I do and I’m sure that sw didn’t die, that it was faked
Movie😏
Yes I was thinking the same thing, she can’t have died from that, or it didn’t look like she had.. something’s off about that
Narratively speaking, her death is kind of a perfect conclusion.
10:58 I would say Adora wanting to find out if Shadow Weaver changed or not was probably a remnant of her trauma bond to her, but unlike Catra's (much worse) trauma bond to Shadow Weaver, Adora has had time by this point to form healthy attachments with other parental figures like Glimmer's mum & aunt which would explain why she never pursued the possibility of Shadow Weaver being reformed after this, especially given her attitude towards her former guardian in Season 4.
1:36 Shadow Weaver is essentially responsible 4 just about ALL the shit that went down between Catra & Adora 😑
She did save both of them tho
@@blackdeath4782 That does NOT make up for a lifetime of shit & abuse! Nothing good came from their time with her & she knew this, since she realised the best thing to do for them was disappear from their lives forever.
If she’d just gone on to somewhere else, there’d always be the fear of her 1 day coming back again & making them relive that trauma.
It says a LOT about a person when the best thing they ever did for you was D.Y.I.N.G. 😑
@@blackdeath4782 yeah if she hadn't traumatized two child soldiers I really doubt any of the plot would've happened at all
Catra had a choice remember
@@SugarMasochist so did Adora - look what ended up happening 😑
A great retrospective analysis of how the mother figures of the series Angella and Shadow weaver influenced and/or were influenced by Adora, Glimmer, and Catra.
its so fascinating to look at how not only are Glimmer and Catra narrative parallels, but so are their maternal figures. Of course Catra and Glimmer are a lot more similar to each other than Shadow Weaver and Angella are but one can't deny that these are opposite characters with very similar arcs that end the same way for opposing reasons.
This is beautiful Beef!
Thank you!
the ending song is so perfect 😭😭 ending the video with Kelly Clarkson singing about her own abuse is just a great way to end
I wasn't expecting this video to be as good as it was! I mean your amvs are incredible and this was too; definitely deserves a lot more views.
I don't know if it was supposed to be funny but the "so she died the way she lived traumatizing children line was hilarious. I Cracked up. Also great video.
This were a great analysis of these two women (Queen Angella and Shadow Weaver) of their motives in helping Adora, Glimmer and Catra.
SW, sacrifice were of tactical measures and dammit she still traumatized Adora and Catra in the end by annihilating herself in front of them...
Queen Angella, sacrifice herself through guilt, love, and borderline annihilating herself in front of Adora, which in this case poor Adora were traumatized once again, damn!
Great job of this though 👍🏾💯
Jonathan, I realized that I had not thanked you for this beautiful and deep analysis. Your work is one of the most brilliant I have watched and I found myself noticing new things about motherhood and parental styles in the show that are so clear now; of course, you are totally right about Angela and Shadow Weaver being two very different modelying figures. Thank you again!
Thank you for the kind words!
This made me break down the same way Catra did. I relate to Catra a lot, I am pretty much just a male version of Catra. The song at the end of this video is perfect for Catra
oh god i’m crying
You know, it pains me just how irredeemable Shadow Weaver manages to be. Given the circumstances within She-ra's storyline there would have been no way her demise would have changed but that's not the reason I'm hurt by this. The main reason is that I can't understand how I can care for a character so selfish, abusive, and vile when there's no reason I should. Somehow the writers of the show managed to make a character with hardly any likeable qualities likeable and in doing that they made me care for a character who could never be who I wish they were.
We care because we're human, and we want to believe that there's good in people even when their behavior says otherwise. We mourn what could have been.
@@jonathanharrison4585 I guess that's just one thing that's kept me coming back to this show. Every time I rewatch the show I go on this lookout to find anything that could defend Shadow Weaver's case in even the slightest just to be met with more reasons she's a horrible person but I decided to watch this video to basically measure exactly how horrible she was and I was very surprised when you said that even her sacrifice, probably the closest she ever got to becoming a good person was still more selfish than selfless. In the end the only speck of good I could find in her was that she still seemingly cares about people, given a very select few but my point still stands. She was so desperate to get Adora back and even turned to her when she was on the verge of dying and part of me still believes she genuinely cared about Micah if in just the slightest. Unfortunately because of her character and her well known habit to do anything it takes to reach her goal, including manipulating, gaslighting, and pretending to care towards others it's never made very clear whether she genuinely cared about either Adora or Micah.
Wow that was a lot (0.o)
Props to you if you actually read all this
Hey thanks, good analysis.
Amazing analysis! I have always focused so much on Catra and Adora’s relationship, I never realized the parallels between Angella and SW. You brought up some amazing points, thank you!
Angela literally was one my my favourite heroes when I first watched the show
Everything was good except for the episode of people that was like mostly the main character.
Despite Angela,
Sw was like selfish.
Though I felt bad For her
I mean sure she did a lot of things,
But still, I cannot forgive the things she did
Whether she died or not
She manipulated adoras mind,
Back to Angela,
She maybe a secondary character but all of us miss her due
To her sacrificing her own life for adoras sake,
It was so hard for me to stop my tears
Shadow Weaver is easily the best character in the show
"Those are daisies. I find them cheerful." One of the best lines ever!
@Tangerine Cutie 🍰 i mean. shes a terrible person. shes a good character but shes a bad person considering she spent the entire lives of both catra and adora traumatizing them and abusing them, literally right up until she died.
but those feelings are also the point and the reason shes a good character. shes *supposed* to be someone you hate
I like how the music changes to something crazy whenever he talks about Shadow Weaver. XD
That was a great analysis my dude
basically SW is a universally hated character. Not because she's badly written, (she's written amazingly) but she's just a B. This whole show could sum up to "Frick Shadow Weaver"
Catra's worse than Shadow Weaver. At least Shadow Weaver wanted to use her power to help people in Light Spinner. At least she went out of her way to try and save Micah simply because "I owe him that much at least". And at least she didn't try to destroy the world out of spite. Shadow Weaver was a manipulative bitch but Catra was downright evil at the end of Season 3 and throughout Season 4. Frankly, Catra should have died on Horde Prime's ship or at least Adora should have refused to have any further interaction with her after the obligatory rescue.
@@tomnorton4277 ok
"and atleast she didn't want to end the world out of spite"
Nd Stevenson interview: "I think Shadow Weaver really does think she’s a good guy now. Like, as far as Shadow Weaver is concerned, she’s been thoroughly redeemed and everything that she’s doing is perfectly justified, which I think is what really caused Catra to snap."
@@tomnorton4277 Catra is the worst person i have ever seen in media, she is more of a b than shadow weaver tbh
Thanks for this amazing video! You releaved another great part about the storyline to me.
You def deserve way more views!!!
I absolutely love your videos! Your analyzations and AMVs are amazing! I’m glad you make them they make me so happy.
Thank you!
can’t wait!
Oh god this is such a good essay I'm gonna be thinking about this for months
This is absolutely fantastic
The discussion was a lot, but playing a song I haven't heard since I was too young to recognize the true depth of is...wow. That was off the first album I ever owned
3:27 Promise playing there gave me chills.
You could play Promise over a video of someone eating a grilled cheese sandwich and it would still give me chills.
@@Veralos that is the biggest mood omg that’s accurate
I want to do something like this for an essay or prodject.
I'm watching this following native legends review on the show shera as a whole and it's such a gorgeous show characters and world not to mention world that build off each other and keep them grounded and let's them grow and find themselves
You are amazing! This was so on point! Great job!
Thanks!
I know im going to get attacked for this, but whatever. I really do think SW tried to change, but somewhat failed in that task and couldn't bear it, so when she saw Catra trying to battle that monster or whatever it was an opportunity to commit and show that she really did love Catra, but failed at showing it and never knew untill later. (Next part is kinda my AU but i like to belive it has a possibility of being real) She maybe didnt know that it was abuse from her past, and was washed with a sea of guilt. Or she realized she turned into a bad person and wanted to prove she wasnt all bad. Im not afraid to defend myself, but please respect my opinion.
I do respect it but I hate just SW and just don’t see that being a reason of sacrifice or something like that. But we all have our opinions. I hope you don’t see this as me trying to be mean or anything if it does come off as that I’m sorry. I hope you have a great day/night.
@@cynicalbutterscotch6581 No that came off actually good! I kind of have a thing for liking villans, so its no reason i have this opinion😅 But i just want to find the reason for her sacrificing herself.
@@Anagapesis_ I like villains too but people like SW and AFO (All For One) + more I can’t think of are the ones I don’t like. It probably stems from how much I get reminded of a few people in my life.
@@cynicalbutterscotch6581 yeah some remind me from my life but i cope with it by just making fun of the character and i soon just dont think about the person😅
@@Anagapesis_ I just wonder what entrapta is doing most of the time. Considering she’s the reason I even started watching She-Ra
8:51 “The kind of power Shadow Weaver *mumble mumble mumble*.”
yeah the audio editing sucks in this one bc I didn't have any idea what I was doing
ok but dude Kelly Clarkson at the end sounds a lot like Catra.... I'm crying
I am a male version of Catra, both my parents are cruel, uncaring, manipulative people. Neither of them wanted me around, they made that much clear when they kept throwing me in correctional facilities. They aren't people I want to be around but... I don't know
There are so many parallels in this show I don't notice until someone points them out
Amazing analysis.
This was amazing
Superb work. Thank you :)
I'm I the only one who felt like Shadow Weaver wasn't that bad and her sacrifice was genuine selflessness
AAAA ALMOST TIMEE
Shadow weaver was never a good.person. but that sacrifice was necessary for Catra and Adora to start healing.
Why this video suddenly hits me so hard...
Well I’m crying
She died how she lived traumatizing children
Ty for doing this it really made me happy to see shadow wever dead 👌 lol Amazing job tho Ship CatraAdora tho
Sorry I did not mean to disrespect everyone but I don't hate her but I don't love her as well but I respect your opinion have a amazing day/night ❤️
Did she really die tho 👀
We will have to find out in the she ra movie if they make one🙊 I will help you! But I think she is not dead but maybe she is in hmm idk what do you think? Lol have a amazing day /night ❤️❤️
Great analysis, put a lot of my own thoughts into words, so thanks for that. If you don't mind some criticism, I think your background music is way too loud in relation to your voice. Most of the time it was fine but at times I couldn't make out what you were saying, and that's a shame!
I didn't have the first clue about how to mix audio when I made this, it's something I've improved on in later videos.
@@jonathanharrison4585 Yeah I noticed, actually!
This video was amazing, but just wanted to say that the music makes the voiceover very inaudible
That's because I had absolutely zero idea of how to mix audio when I made this video. It was a learning experience.
@@jonathanharrison4585 oh ok, well it was a really good job anyways
14:38
"It'd be funny, if she wasn't such a terrible person..."
this video is great for the actual analysis and talking portion, although i found the music very distracting and making it difficult to understand what you were actually saying. maybe that's just my sensory overload issues that come with being autistic, though. could you perhaps take that into consideration next time? it's your channel at the end of the day, so all due respect if my suggestion isn't taken regardless!
Nah I made this when I had no idea how to do audio mixing so it bothers me too. This was only the second video essay I released so I did gradually get better at it later on (which makes “taking it into consideration next time” a little moot).
Anyone know the first song?
th-cam.com/video/NVGCP38UlSI/w-d-xo.html
@@jonathanharrison4585 thanks man
Just want to let you know you got all sorts of fans . I'm in the navy and I enjoy your content keep it up.
Why did queen angella die 😭😭😭😭
she did not die. she is stuck in between the portal or on the other side of it.
The music is WAY too loud I can almost not hear you
You're the third person to comment this in a row so I'll just say the video is almost a year old and I didn't know how to mix audio back then. I'm not gonna go back and fix it because that would mean losing all the old views and comments because of how TH-cam works.
@@jonathanharrison4585 I understand that. Still a good video. I really liked your analysis. Got a like from me