My opinion on the character Shadow Weaver and what I think about her. (If anyone is interested, of course. 👉👈🤔)
——————————
Before I continue, I want to say that this is my first post about Shi-ra, and I never thought that I would enter the fandom with a post about Shadow Weaver, but I find it difficult to keep silent about it due to the accumulated emotions. :D
Disclaimer: I don't want to offend anyone or anyone in particular, and the author of the post may not be subjective or controversial. If you disagree with me, that's okay. Everyone has their own opinions, and if people post about their favorite shows or fandoms, I'll support them as well. :)
Attention!: there may be non-objective criticism of certain characters, and whether you like them or not, it doesn't mean that they are sinless or that they are so terrible. I don't justify the characters and I see their flaws, but I want to show that not everyone deserves forgiveness, and not everyone doesn't deserve forgiveness unless they have committed something truly terrible. (I also use a translator, so please forgive me if something is unclear or there are errors in the text. English is not my native language, and I apologize if I forget or omit character names.)
So, the Shadow Weaver is the most controversial character in the fandom, and I didn't like him either at first, but I didn't pay much attention to him, so when I rewatched She-Ra and the Princesses of Power a couple of days ago, I noticed a pattern: no matter how terrible the character was or how many mistakes they made, they were always forgiven and given a second chance.
What about Shadow Weaver? She is a very controversial character, she is the one who was the right-hand of Khordok, the guardian of the kidnapped children, whom she raised in a toxic and difficult environment, and not only around her but in the entire Horde: she is a cold and almost emotionless person, and if she shows any emotion it is either anger or intimidation... But is she really that terrible? (Okay, she might be a terrible person, but she does have some good qualities...)
Let me remind you that Hordak abducted children, making them orphans and, possibly, destroying/killing (although this is not accurate) their settlements and families, he wanted to make an invincible army out of them, and everything the Shadow Weaver did was perhaps even better that they were raised by her, not Khordak (although okay, maybe this is exaggerated, after all, she raised them in difficult conditions, but this is not an excuse for her Actions) and at the same time she raised them harshly, because there is no place for weakness, entertainment and joy in the Horde, but at the same time she can show care and sincere affection... And this attachment turned into Adora.
Shadow Weaver is the kind of strict teacher who, if she sees a capable student, invests in them, even if it's not fair to others. Throughout the series, she has mentioned that she raised Adora because she saw potential in her, a strength that she could help her develop. However, she also instilled in her an unhealthy sense of perfectionism and over-responsibility, which could potentially lead to negative consequences in the future.
But at the same time, I sincerely believe that she saw Adora not only as an opportunity, but also as a child to whom she could give, albeit not in the right way, maternal love: according to Adora in Season 1, Shadow Weaver raised her, taught her to read, write, walk, tie shoelaces, etc. This is what a parent or, in her case, a guardian does.
When Adora goes missing, the only one who really wants to bring her back and find her is Shadow Weaver, and not just because Adora has powers, no, before she knew that she was the chosen one of Shi-ra, Shadow Weaver assured Hordak that they should bring Adora back, that she was the best among all in the Horde, what did Hordak say? He didn't care about Adora, and I will mention this moment when I talk about Hordak himself. (This is an important difference from the original 1985 animated series, where it was Hordak who wanted Adora back in the Horde.)
So, the reason why the fandom doesn't like or has conflicting feelings about Shadow Weaver is because: of Katra. (But actually, it's justified that the fandom doesn't like Shadow Weaver)
I want to say right away that I didn't justify Shadow Weaver's cruelty or the fact that she traumatized Katra, but there's a huge but.
As I said, there's no room for mercy, weakness, or love in the Horde. Shadow Weaver raised her children as if they had spent their entire lives in the army, because Hordok doesn't want a flawed or weak army. He wants cold-blooded soldiers, and that's exactly what Shadow Weaver raised her children to be.
But why didn't she raise Adora as harshly as she raised Katra? The answer is actually quite simple: when Shadow Weaver was in prison, she reminisced about her past before betraying everyone and joining Hordak, and she recalled teaching children, and she taught them well. At first glance, it may not be noticeable, but every time she taught or mentored someone (Micah/Glimmer), She always explained things calmly, without shouting or raising her voice. She spoke in a calm tone to focus the student's attention. (Although, this still doesn't justify her.)
And the point is that when the Horde just invaded the lands of Etheria, but was already very dangerous, Shadow Weaver (or the former Light Spinner) offered the only solution at that time to stop the Horde: namely, to use black magic, she was the only one who offered at least something to stop the growing army of the enemy, but what was she told? Right "it's not our business, the princesses will deal with everything" that is, a community of some of the most powerful wizards refused to help their world, while Shadow Weaver wanted to do at least something.
This is where we start to understand why Micah and Adora saw the potential in her that she wanted to develop: This is because she grew up using black magic herself, but she eventually mastered it. She told Norvin, "I was an idiot for seeking your approval and significance," or something similar. Perhaps Norvin was her mentor, and she always tried to impress him and prove her worth. So, she put in the work and studied diligently, believing that only strong and reliable students who truly want to improve themselves can achieve their goals.
Therefore, she saw Katra as a hindrance, as Katra never showed the same level of interest as Adora, and Shadow Weaver believed that Katra was pulling Adora down because they were very close. She was like a strict parent who forbids their child from associating with certain groups if they believe that their child has fallen into an untrustworthy or bad company. (However, this did not stop her from treating Katra this way.)
I want to reiterate, I don't condone her treatment of Katra, Katra didn't deserve that treatment, so Katra has every right to be angry with her, but still, I don't understand why Katra was so angry with Adora for being favored by Shadow Weaver. But I can't recall Weaver raising her hand (although I don't know... Does an electric shock to Katra count?) or anything similar throughout the series. The most she could do was push her, or like at the end of Season 5, when the group was sneaking around Mistakor, and to avoid detection, she covered Katra's mouth. But what happened? Katra's emotions led to their discovery. (Katra might not have fully appreciated it, but her emotions ultimately led to their discovery.)
And yet, despite all my cruelty and coldness towards Katra, I truly believe that she was telling the truth in prison when she said, "I see you in myself, and it was hard for me too." And what do we often feel for characters when we see our own flaws in them? That's right, we don't like them, and the fact that Katra was being disobedient, disloyal, and questioning all of her orders, it's possible that it reminded her of her biggest mistake in life: using black magic and involving Micah, who was still a child at the time, in her misadventures. (BUT THIS DOES NOT EXPLAIN HER ATTITUDE TOWARDS KATRA)
The main problem with Shadow Weaver is that she doesn't always think about the consequences of her actions. She believed that Micah was the greatest mage, even stronger and more capable than her, but she forgot that he was a child. As a result, she blamed him for not being focused enough, and she took the full brunt of the curse on herself. However, I don't believe that she was angry with him. I think she felt guilt and remorse when she was in prison, as we saw snippets of her memories.
And like she said, everyone thought Micah was dead, but she wasn't there when Glimmer, Adora, and Bow brought Micah and Entrapta home, and she was surprised to see that he was alive, and when they were attacked by Prime's Horde drones, she protected Micah and Entrapta (if I'm not mistaken).
Similarly, she acted impulsively when she tried to take Adora back, which caused harm to both Adora and her friends (Glimmer and Bow).
So, we're finally getting to my question, which I asked at the beginning: "No matter how terrible a character was, or how many mistakes they made, they were always forgiven and given a second chance."
Katra was forgiven because she saved Glimmer, did not look at all that she had done, she betrayed their friendship with Adora, instilled in her feelings of guilt, blaming her for all her sins and mistakes that Katra had made, she humiliated and captured cities, kingdoms and settlements, because of this they suffered and PERHAPS even civilians were dying, she wanted to subjugate Etherea, she tried to kill Adora's friends several times, and it was because of her actions, her selfishness and vanity, that she eventually led to their planet almost disappearing into the portal that she activated, she sent Etnrapta to certain death when she wanted to tell Khordok in the end, what devalued the sacrifice of Mara, who, with such difficulty and sacrifice of herself, sealed their planet in Dispandes, in the end, who saved them all? That's right, Angela, she sacrificed herself to close the portal, but because of Katra, she died, but in the end, Hord Prime still attacked them because it was Katra who gave him the location of Aetheria.
(By the way, Glimmer never once mentioned her mother to Katra during the entire 5th season, even though she was the one who killed her. However, she accused Adora of not being the best Shi-ra.)
You say she had a hard childhood in the horde? A hard childhood is not an excuse for all her actions, she was perfectly aware and conscious of everything, but instead of going with Adora, she chose her own path.
Hordak, he was forgiven because he stopped Hord Prime and wanted to free Entrapta, despite everything he had done.
He destroyed cities and settlements, stole children, making them orphans, to use them as his army and destroy Aetheria, and for whom was he doing it? That's right, he did it, according to the same scheme that operates throughout the series "something to prove to someone" and he wanted to prove to "big brother" Horde Prime that he was capable of something, harming the inhabitants of the planet, he considered them inferior, considered them garbage and a primitive civilization It was he who wanted to take over Ethereum, it was he (along with Entrapta, of course, but it seems to me that she didn't really realize that she was doing something bad) who built the portal, despite all the consequences, and he also caused the invasion of Horde Prime on the planet.
So when I think about it, it doesn't make sense at all... I've already seen some part of the fandom that attributes Hordok as Adora's father... Like, just because of one moment at the end of the series when he regained his memory of finding Adora? And, let me remind you, what did he end up doing when he brought her to the horde? That's right, he gave her to Shadow Weaver because he was annoyed by her crying, and he would have given her to regular orphans if Shadow Weaver hadn't vouched for her.
This can be seen in the same memories of Shadow Weaver, when she was in prison, she remembered the first time she saw Adora and felt something in her, a power, she considered Adora to be special, you could say that she predicted the entire plot in the future, when Adora finds out that she is She-ra.
So, why did the Shadow Weaver escape from prison knowing that she would die anyway, even though she had no strength left? Why did she deceive Katra? I think that Adora was the only thing she had left, and she was willing to take the risk of seeing her one last time. (She also said that she wanted to take revenge on Katra and Hordok, but in the end, she didn't, and perhaps she wanted to be left alone so that she could talk to Adora) she tricked Katra so she wouldn't get to the monster island, which further confirms that she didn't know what happened to Micah, otherwise she might have escaped the island with him. (But this is certainly not accurate, although it still doesn't justify her betraying Katra)
Now, let's move on to why I wanted to make this post in the first place: Season 5, which I finished watching last night, has become a headache for me, especially Katra.
As I mentioned above, Katra was only forgiven because she saved Glimmer, and the entire fifth season seemed to forget about all the horrors Katra had committed. Do I need to remind you that she destroyed the portal and activated it? I don't think so, but at the same time, Shadow Weaver was made the main villain and scapegoat, reminding us of how terrible she was, how she traumatized Katra without even giving her a chance to genuinely want to help, at least Adora, Micah, and Glimmer, how terrible she was, how she wanted to use Adora's power (again, not Adora herself, but her power) to save everyone because NO ONE ELSE OFFERED AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO DEFEAT PRIME.
Moreover, Adora has always been portrayed as a sacrificial heroine, willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of her friends... So, why wouldn't she do it when it's the only chance to defeat Prime? Moreover, Shadow Weaver said that only Shi-ra can absorb the power of Epheria's heart, as she is the key to it. (In fact, it was Weaver's mistake not to mention this, but they were in a hurry and didn't have much time for detailed explanations)
Shadow Weaver is so terrible that she helped the rebellion and the princesses when they had a spy, when she taught Glimmer magic, and she occasionally helped them if the plot didn't ignore her, and she always cosplayed Eclipse when she was freed from the crystal and grew flowers in the garden. :D
But noooo, let's remind her of all her sins, how terrible she is, and how she has once again traumatized Katra, who, let me remind you, was quickly forgiven, although if we recall Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta, they were not trusted from the very beginning. In fact, when the locals saw the Horde symbol on Adora, they almost threw stones at her in Season 1.
When Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Entrapta, and Katra returned from space, the first thing Katra did was start blaming Shadow Weaver for everything, saying how terrible she was and how she had treated her badly, forgetting her own words from Season 1 or 2: "It's because of you that I'm like this, I'm stronger, and I can predict your every move." That's right, they were in the Horde, where Hordak could dispose of them at any moment. (In fact, she might have been angry with Shadow Weaver, but not at the time when she needed to correct her mistake that led to Hord Prime finding out about their location. Katra was only angry with her for not treating herself the same way she treated Adora.)
When Shadow Weaver told Adora that she couldn't transform into Shi-ra because of her emotions and feelings for Katra, she wasn't entirely wrong. Adora couldn't focus because of Katra's presence and their renewed closeness. Katra then accused Shadow Weaver of being an evil and terrible villain who only wanted Adora's power. Really? And I remind you, fleabitten ball of fur, who wanted to use the infected Adora to harm her friends and all of Ephyria? I remind you how you made Adora feel guilty?
And then, when they got the key to the heart of Aetheria, what did Katra do? Yes, she ran away, accusing Adora of not needing her and telling her to go to the Shadow Weaver "because she was distracting her" (another manipulation to make Adora feel guilty). No matter how much they tried to whitewash Katra and turn a blind eye to her actions in the fifth season, she remained the same hypocritical, selfish person who caused pain, destruction, and loss of life with her own hands. Sure, she saved Glimmer, but do you really think that makes up for all the terrible things she's done? No, the people of Ethereum will never truly forgive her or Hordak, because they suffered because of them, and, again, season five would not have given us such a happy film, but which is contradictory for me personally, where everyone forgives two dictators, and they all live happily, but a woman who, despite all the few good things she has done, will be hated and blamed for her past actions, not giving her the opportunity for redemption, because no matter how terrible Shadow Weaver makes the series, no matter how offended poor, poor innocent lamb Katra is, she is NOT a MONSTER, she is credited with all the sins of the world, even more than the same Khord Prime, who is an invader of planets, he humiliated and staged genocides of entire worlds, who considered himself superior and stronger than everyone else, and the series really wants to tell me that Katra and Hordak deserve to be redeemed, but Shadow Weaver does not?
In fact, I personally think that Hord Prime is even worse than Shadow Weaver, because at least Shadow Weaver didn't brainwash Katra into worshipping her as a god, and Shadow Weaver certainly didn't destroy entire planets. Let me remind you that her original goal was to stop the Horde and Hordok.
Once again, for the hundredth time, I DO NOT JUSTIFY the Shadow Weaver for her actions, and she is indeed a terrible person, but why the hell should I sympathize with Katra and Hordak (okay, I may sympathize with Katra when she was a child, but that still doesn't justify her terrible actions), who have done much worse? Why should I sympathize with them and forgive the two tyrants when they have committed terrible acts, even worse than the Shadow Weaver? They wanted to destroy everything, and because of them, innocent people were hurt and maybe even killed (when Katra became the captain of the Horde, it was thanks to her that the Horde became stronger) so, if some dictator in history suddenly apologized for starting a war, should we forgive them too? As history has shown, the answer is no...
This is just my personal opinion, so I believe that Season 5 should not have ended with a happy ending for Katra and Hordok. If everyone keeps saying that Shadow Weaver should be punished and held accountable, then why didn't these two characters receive the same punishment? Why did Hord Prime receive punishment if he is "so terrible"?
Hordak, in order to atone for his sins, had to sacrifice himself so that, symbolically, he would be the one to destroy Hord Prime... Alternatively, if he did not sacrifice himself, he could become the new Hord Prime, but not take over the planet.
Katra, even if she did save Glimmer, I don't believe they would have become friends, I don't believe she would have befriended Adora's friends, she tried to kill them all 4 seasons, so why would she befriend them and forgive her? Okay, let's say they did become friends, but what would the people of Epheria say when their heroes, princesses, and queen befriended their main enemy who repeatedly tried to take over? That's right, no one would want to see her among them, and everyone says that the Shadow Weaver hurt Katra, but Katra not only hurt the people of the Aetherim, but also caused irreparable damage to their history, so the only right thing for Katra to do would be to either spend the rest of her life in prison... Or be exiled.
I think you might have thought from my post that I hate Katra and Hordak? Well, no, I like them... But only as villains, Katra's entire growth as a villain occurred in Season 4, when she fell into madness and despair after Scorpia left, realizing that she was truly alone and had no choice but to continue conquering and destroying... Alternatively, things could have been different if they had started correcting her and her mistakes either at the end of Season 3 or at the beginning of Season 4, so that by Season 5, I really believed that she had grown from a villain to a positive character.
I still like Katradora's ship, but I don't think their relationship would be healthy. In the original ending, their relationship would be healthy, but if they didn't have a happy ending, their relationship would be toxic because people like Katra don't change quickly and maintain their habits and attitudes towards others. (Although, if I drew cute fan art of them, you would easily point it out to me. :D) but I still like their dynamic, not quite... A healthy relationship, or rather, an unhealthy obsession with Adora, but I don't condone unhealthy relationships, as in real life, people can spend years trying to get out of them... However, Adora reentered this relationship when Katra accused her of abandoning her and not needing her (although in reality, it was Katra who abandoned Adora and all her "newfound friends" at a crucial moment for Adora, when she needed support in Season 5).
I still like the EntraptaDuck couple, but as I said, whether Hodak survived or not, no one would have truly forgiven him, not Adora and her friends, not all the people of Ephyria.
So even though I personally don't think Shadow Weaver deserves a happy ending either, I think her death wasn't the right thing to do. Her past actions and the way other characters treated her would have shown that she might not have been forgiven by everyone, but at least she could have proven that she wasn't the same terrible person she used to be.
And I like the fact that some of the characters joke with her in very rare moments, or how I actually liked the moment when she told me how I made my tea. :D (or how they took turns telling Kasta about their plan when they arrived at the camp, and I was amused by their little exchange: "But you let me finish telling you about the plan!" "You were telling me too slowly" :DDD)
In general, as I said at the very beginning, I do not pretend that only my opinion is correct, and you have the right to disagree with it, but let's face it: Katra and Hordak should not have received their happy ending, and in fact, no matter how I I wanted to, but Shadow Weaver doesn't really deserve it either, but if you choose between two evils, then she shouldn't have died, life has already punished her for her mistakes, which she would pay for her whole life, and here's another problem, namely the relationship between Adora and her guardian.
Adora had every reason to be angry or distrustful of Shadow Weaver, but it really bothers me that they didn't give them any development, I just needed a series where they could have a one-on-one conversation, spend time together, but instead they focused on Glimmer and Shadow Weaver (although it's actually quite symbolic, I think Shadow Weaver saw it as if she was teaching Glimmer... only already, without using dark magic) because I don't believe that Adora communicates and talks to her as if she were a complete stranger, because despite the fact that Shadow Weaver instilled unhealthy perfectionism in Adora, Adora became stronger because of it, and even Rapunzel still loved Gothel as a mother, despite the fact that she had stolen her... Of course, before the scene where she hurts the Owl... So I want to believe that when Adora healed Shadow Weaver, she did it because, even if only in her heart, She saw her as a mother figure, even if she wasn't the kind of mother a real mother would be. (Because, despite my sincere feelings about all of the above, Shadow Weaver also traumatized Adora... But in her case, she didn't realize she was traumatizing her, as she was trying her best to bring her "home" to the Horde... In her own way.)
Also, let's admit that if Shadow Weaver had treated Katra like a daughter, or if Katra had treated her like a mother, it would have been strange, and Adora and Katra would have been like sisters...
To sum up my post, I want to say that I may have been biased, and I may have used profanity in the heat of the moment (so I apologize if I used profanity and didn't check the text for it), or I may have been too harsh or justified Shadow Weaver, or I may have hurt someone's feelings or treated your favorite characters unfairly, but I was filled with anger and frustration from season 5, which I had forgotten about when I watched the show for the second time and before I finished season 5.
I still like this show, and I was inspired to get back into it when I found out about the Netflex situation. I still like Katra, Hordak, and their designs, and maybe once my anger subsides, I'll start to overlook some of their mistakes. However, it's important to remember that they were once tyrants, and I can't justify them anymore. I'm trying to look at the positive and negative aspects of their characters, understand why they became the way they are, but not condone their actions.
So, yes, after watching Shi-ra for the second time, the Shadow Weaver has become one of my favorite characters (although, to be more precise, I like her past as a "Light Spinner" and her character in the middle of Season 4 and the end of Season 5.) and I might even like her as much as I like Katra, but I don't forget about their actions. I just like her contradictions, and she reminds me a bit of Severus Snape. :)
Please also remind me if I forgot to mention anything.