She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Rewatch 1.2, "The Sword: Part 2"

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The series begins to establish patterns, and some medieval parallels become evident.

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1.2, "The Sword: Part 2"

Written by Noelle Stevenson and James Krieg
Directed by Jen Bennett

Synopsis

It makes sense to be surprised at such a thing.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary

Proceeding directly from the previous episode, She-Ra quiets the aggressive megafauna to the astonishment of Glimmer and Bow--and herself. Adora falls out of the She-Ra state, and a brief fracas ensues until the megafauna resumes its attack. Bow returns the sword to Adora, and the three flee, arriving at a site that seems to correspond to the sword and that Adora is able to open in time for them to escape the megafauna.

Within the structure, Glimmer and Bow continue to grill Adora about her surprising knowledge. Adora retaliates, and Bow tries to make peace for the moment. They proceed towards finding an exit and heading to Bright Moon, and strange gaps in Adora's knowledge are noted; Bow offers exposition to fill them.

The red lighting is a clear indication of trouble.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary

Exploration continues, if with some complaint, and the connection to She-Ra becomes more evident. Systems in the structure activate, which soon becomes a problem, as Adora, Glimmer, and Bow are ignorant of their operation and trigger security protocols they must then avoid.

They do so only at great risk, but they manage to extricate themselves. Adora's continued presence with them occasions comment from Glimmer; she notes that Adora could easily have left at most any time, and Adora asserts a need for information to correct the deficiencies of her prior education. Bow notes that Angela will have answers, and Adora continues along with him and Glimmer towards Bright Moon.

The lighting seems backwards here, yes?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary

In the Fright Zone, Shadow Weaver interrogates Catra about Adora. Catra's answers are unsatisfactory, and Shadow Weaver tasks her with retrieving Adora.

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow happen upon a village in the midst of a festival. Upon realizing that Adora has no real concept of such things, Bow takes her into the celebration, to Glimmer's chagrin. Their revelry is interrupted by an attack by the Horde--led by Catra amid her assigned search for Adora. Adora tries to convince Catra to leave off the attack; Catra tries to persuade Adora to return to the Fright Zone with her. Neither can bring the other over, and a melee breaks out, with Adora resuming her She-Ra persona and defeating the Horde contingent. Catra withdraws in anger and disgust.

In the wake of the battle, Adora realizes she has committed treason against the Horde and turns to the putative rebellion.

Discussion

As noted above, several patterns for the series emerge in the present episode. The title theme and sequence is one. The transformation sequence through which Adora becomes She-Ra is another--and it, though echoing tropes from anime, is reminiscent of and parallel to a trope in medieval literature: the heraldic blazon. As is suggested elsewhere in this blog and as is attested in no shortage of other sources, a heraldic blazon is a detailed description of an identifying emblem, one often used in medieval chivalric literature to 1) buy time for the narrator and 2) impart a more detailed understanding both of the described object or character's appearance and inner state, given the strong symbolic overtones (or outright statements) usually identified in such works.

While visual media such as streaming service cartoons might not need to use such devices to convey appearance to the audience, transformation sequences such as She-Ra's can carry similar information about the inner statuses of those who transform; they accentuate particulars of the characters' physical appearances and accoutrements, and the details presented and attended to can be read no less fully for their overtones and implications than can the descriptions of panoply and escutcheon that pervade such works as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or those of Chrétien de Troyes. In effect, the transformation sequence serves the same function as the heraldic blazon in the different medium (while also linking the series to specific genres for reference, though that likely exceeds the scope of what the Society is apt to treat; comments about it would be welcome).

Applying the idea to the present episode, then, positions Adora as beginning with aggression; her sword is raised to begin the sequence, then turned to be edge-on to the viewer, a formal salute that portends violence. Her eyes remain clear, even if details of her form do not, calling attention to both (and responding to prevailing decency standards surrounding the release of the series; the show is aimed at younger audience, for whom nudity is generally seen as taboo, and Adora's evident age is such that rendering her nude would be potentially problematic). Her swelling in size makes sense; such heroes as She-Ra and her medieval(ist) parallels are larger-than-life figures (note, for example, the comments about the height of "historical" figures in Tolkien). The shorts--rather than the swimsuit-like attire of the 1980s She-Ra--tend to desexualize the character; her physical beauty is not emphasized, but rather what she can do is. The focus on long, flowing hair that follows would seem to belie that, however, even as the sequence ending with vambraces summoned by a fist striking into a palm and a return to the upraised-sword position reasserts the martial nature of the heroine. Or so a reading might assert.