The Final Season of She-Ra Is Upon Us

The fourth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ended on a massive cliffhanger with Adora rejecting the destiny of "the She-Ra" and destroying her enchanted blade that had been the source of her powers since the show began. Glimmer's shocking betrayal of her friends threw the magical world of Etheria into harm's way as Horde Prime made preparations to invade. The show has veered so far from its '80s predecessor that it's now anyone's game what might happen next. Today, DreamWorks released a new trailer depicting the epic scale of the fifth and final season, which will drop on Netflix on May 15th. Over the course of its roughly year-and-a-half-long run, this inspired reboot has struggled with some unnecessary filler seasons scattered throughout its otherwise brilliant on-going plot. If this trailer is any indication of what we are going to expect in two weeks, the new season will have little to no filler and focus entirely on the ramifications of these beloved characters' decisions and how it effects their mental and emotional state, something we can all relate to during these difficult times.

The trailer starts out with a sense of hopelessness, depicting imagery of Adora staring at her broken sword and wondering about her new destiny now that she can no longer be She-Ra. We hear a beautiful ballad-like remix of the series' theme song, "Warriors." The slower emotional pace of this formerly energetic song sets the tone for the season, which is far more somber than the ones we've seen in the past. Characters who were once full of energy now watch the destruction of their world with teary-eyed expressions as Horde Prime invades to take everything they once held dear. This is the biggest challenge they have ever faced. The fate of the entire world of Etheria now rests solely on the show's legion of princesses. A clip of Bow telling Adora she isn't alone is juxtaposed by images of Catra and Glimmer brooding in solitude as they come to terms with the horrible consequences of their mistakes from previous seasons.

There is also a clip that appears to show Adora attempting to save Catra from an unseen danger, meaning that long-time Catradora shippers may finally get the happy reunion between the two frenemies that they have been hoping for. In earlier seasons, Catra let her obsession and jealousy of Adora define her and motivate many of her questionable decisions. She cheated, lied, and betrayed the people she was closest to in the name of getting revenge on Adora for taking her dreams of glory. Now, her actions have affected not only her, but all life on Etheria, and that might finally be the turning point for her to seek redemption and finally do something good for a change. At the end of the last season, Glimmer made a rash decision as a result of not feeling respected enough as the new queen of Bright Moon and must now take responsibility for Horde Prime attacking her home. In the trailer, we see a clip in which Catra appears to rescue Glimmer from an energy prison, revealing that Glimmer and Catra's shared experiences might bring them together in this final season.

The most intriguing clip of the trailer is one in which Adora faces a portal with a white ghost-like She-Ra silhouette looking back at her from the other side. To me, this could mean one of two things. The silhouette could be the ghost of Mara, the previous She-Ra, who sacrificed herself to save Etheria. It is possible she accessed some sort of time travel magic to advise Adora and help her save her home world now that their goals are aligned. The other possibility is that the faceless image represents the spirit of all She-Ras and presents the possibility that the purpose of "the She-Ra" was not as clear-cut as Light Hope claimed. Now that Adora has given up her power, she must make amends with the spirit of She-Ra to get it back. This may explain how she will be able to face off against Horde Prime without the power of the sword. Either way, it looks like we're in for a real emotional roller coaster!

Overall, the final season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has a decisive shift in tone from the comedic and energetic episodes we had in the beginning. This is definitely the right direction now that the characters are about to enter the final battle. I love how much the characters and story have grown since the show began. They are no longer innocent one-dimensional teenagers trying to do what they think is right. Each one has seen what the light and darkness are capable of. They have learned that the world is not black and white as they once thought and that there is not always an obvious solution to every problem. Considering the twists and turns that the show has taken thus far, I am not expecting a perfect happy ending. As Catra and Glimmer have demonstrated, there are both positive and negative consequences for every big decision. I'm excited to see how everything plays out on May 15th when the new season drops on Netflix.