I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about She-Ra after the season 5 finale. But I know that everybody and their mother has been making complex posts about the significance of scenes like the Catradora kiss, so I wanna rant about something that’s been getting a little less traction, and that’s Catra and Glimmer. Aside from Wrong Hordak (the one thing keeping me sane during the more tense scenes) and Catradora (duh), their interactions were my favourite thing to see this season.
In one of the earlier episodes, Catra flinches away from the prime clones and immediately comes to stand closer to Glimmer. And man, I couldn’t tell you why this scene stuck with me so much, but it really got me thinking.
Catra just spent the last 10 minutes or so monologuing to Glimmer about how the Horde is the Horde no matter where it is, how she’s content being a part with it, how she’s happy with the decisions she’s currently making. She’s okay with being bad. Glimmer of course calls immediate bullshit, but Catra being Catra is incredibly stubborn.
But these two frames say so much more about her true character than any of the nonsense she’s telling Glimmer. Her actions speak louder than words. Because despite what she says, how she claims to be loyal to the Horde and actively insists this is what she wants, she still somehow feels more comfortable around Glimmer than them. Immediately when she’s caught off guard, she rushes to stand next to Glimmer, which suggests to me that she feels a lot safer around her than the Horde.
I might also be pulling at straws here, but the second shot also makes it seem as though they’re literally standing next to each other (despite the literal and metaphorical barrier between them), which could suggest that Catra sees Glimmer as her equal.
Once the clones leave, Catra turns to look at Glimmer in confusion. She quits the intimidating act and stops being an asshole. She looks to her for help and clarification because despite the fact that she and Glimmer have always been sworn enemies, she still somehow feels safer around her.
She does it again here. Catra is very clearly scared and uncomfortable, and she looks to Glimmer for help. And it’s so obvious that despite her claims of hating her and the rebellion, in this situation, right now she trusts her more than anybody else.
What Glimmer is saying is true. Catra knows this. She has no friends in the Horde anymore. No safety, no reassurance. Glimmer is the only person Catra can relate to in this situation.
Aside from the obvious fact that they’re both on an alien ship, stranded in the middle of space, Glimmer and Catra are both alone due to their broken relationships. In the last season, Glimmer was feeling left out because her duties as queen were keeping her separated from her friends. She felt like Bow and Adora were leaving without her. Not to mention, she lost her mother and for years was convinced that her father was dead. Similarly, Catra realised just how alone she was after Adora and Scorpia left her, she was confronted by Double Trouble, and Hordak and Shadow Weaver essentially disowned her.
“The other side of the force field” can be seen as a metaphor for the Horde and the rebellion, if you squint hard enough. Though they are wildly different characters who found themselves on two opposing forces, and their experiences are not identical, they can certainly relate to each other.
When Glimmer asks her this, Catra doesn’t even hesitate to answer because she knows all too well what it’s like to feel abandoned. There’s no snarky remark here, no sarcastic comment. Catra just quietly agrees. I think it’s in this moment that Catra realises their similarities and finally stops being so defensive. She lets her guard down and even very briefly opens up about Adora and their time in the Horde, which is really groundbreaking for someone like her.
Throughout the entire show, she’s been incredibly secluded and prone to lashing out at others. But now that she’s at her lowest and finally realised it, her walls are starting to crumble. Catra’s leached rock bottom. She can only go up from here.
It’s interesting how despite their similarities, they deal with their grief in completely different ways and have ended up in two wildly different positions. But I think this is the sort of closure that both of them desperately needed. To get the chance to spend time with someone who can not only understand, but relate to their problems.
At the end of the day, Glimmer and Catra are two traumatised teenagers just trying to get by.
Two halves of the same coin, if you will.
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