glamourweaver:

prokopetz:

On a second viewing of She-ra and the Princesses of Power, it strikes me that it’s very easy to read the Shadow Weaver business as an explicit criticism of the whole idea of redemption arcs.

Like, you think Shadow Weaver should have had a redemption arc?

As far as she’s concerned, she did.

Basically everything she does after defecting to Brightmoon is just her methodically ticking off every box on the “redemption arc” checklist in the most awful, cynical way imaginable.

Like, she even manages to turn heroically sacrificing herself into a passive-aggressive guilt trip, in the process denying the audience the simple catharsis of seeing a bad guy go down – leaving us stuck with the knowledge that she went out smugly confident that she’d completed her redemption arc and was officially on the side of the angels, and nobody’s ever going to be able to challenge that narrative because she immediately blew herself up.

I can’t imagine it’s accidental that the show gives us a character who technically does everything the genre’s formulas demand in order to earn her redemption, and thereby makes a travesty of it.

YUP!

Among other aspects, the show specifically rejects redemption by sacrificial death.

2 characters pull off what they think is a redemptive death (or at least a narrative death).

Angella, who does not actually have anything she needs to be redeemed for, but she thinks she does because of survivor’s guilt.

And Shadoweaver, who’s self sacrifice was an act of manipulation to put a guilt trip on Adora and Catra.  She doesn’t go out saying she’s sorry, she goes out smirking “you’re welcome”.  Pure narcissism.

And of course Adora’s self destructive impulse (which is an abuse reaction) has her careening on the same path toward martyrdom - and the emotional climax of the series isn’t her deciding she’s willing to die (but then getting to live anyway, ala Harry Potter).  It’s her deciding she wants to live - that she wants to be happy for herself, not just martyr herself for others.

And then of course there is Catra who more or less attempts suicide by Prime by getting Glimmer off the ship, only to end up having the do the actual hard work of living a better life that Shadoweaver dodged.