She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Rewatch 4.3, "Flutterina"

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Machinations recommence as what appears to be Act 2 of the season begins.

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4.3, "Flutterina"

Written by Noelle Stevenson, M. Willis, Josie Campbell, Katherine Nolfi, and Laura Sreebny
Directed by Jen Bennett

Synopsis

She does seem to have a better bed, though.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Catra dreams uneasily of her treatment of Entrapta and of Adora. She wakes angrily, lashing out at the robot nearby.

In his lab, Hordak puzzles over the remains of his machines. Catra inquires after it and presses on Hordak--until it is revealed that Double Trouble is impersonating Catra. Hordak recognizes the use of such an operative and makes to retake lost territory; Catra offers alterations to his plans.

It is lonely at the round table, there...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Bright Moon, Queen Glimmer receives a report of successful action from Adora and Bow. While she is happy for their success, it is clear she feels the isolation of her position. She suggests that they should accept the accolades of those they have aided--which are exuberant and exceedingly pleasant, having gotten out of hand.

Confidence is good. This ain't it.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Among the celebrants is one Flutterina, who makes much of Adora's exploits. It makes her uncomfortable, but the lauds convince her and Bow to remain longer than they had anticipated--and they enjoy themselves mightily. Until the Horde attacks again. Adora moves to intercept the new attack, arrogantly leaving Bow with the village. It is a distraction for the real attack, though, and Bow and the villagers are taken captive; Flutterina is the only one left, and she reports events to Adora.

Bow wakes to find himself and the villagers imprisoned and himself disarmed. He works to calm his fellow captives and to effect their escape. Catra and Scorpia oversee the captives, Catra waiting for Adora's imminent attack and dismissive of Scorpia's efforts and friendship.

That's not a good sign.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Flutterina provides a distraction for that attack to begin, and Adora penetrates the Horde facility. She is soon assailed, and while she is able to effect some defense, it is only a holding action. Bow effects his own escape from captivity and moves to assist Adora, whom Catra has captured. They escape, taking Flutterina with them. It is not to their benefit; Flutterina is a spy for the Horde, posted by Catra amid a show of despair...

Discussion

The alignment of Glimmer to Arthur continues from the previous episode into the present, the image of the Queen sitting alone at the head of a round table while others, at least one of whom is of greater personal power, act in her name reinforcing it substantially. (Notably, the chairs at that table are not themselves equal; aside from Glimmer's and that reserved for her father by Angella, there appear to be others for four unequal luminaries elevated above the others. Adora and Bow would appear to be two of them, by the imagery, but that still leaves two others. Castaspella would be an obvious third. As to the fourth, which of the Alliance members is next in eminence is not necessarily clear.) She was once a focus of action; now she is the center, and she cannot be at the edges where the action happens as a result of it. Not and remain the leader to whom others look.

Adora also continues her Arthurian amalgamation in her cockiness. No few times, in Malory as in other Arthurian works, one or another of Arthur's knights (or Arthur, himself) will ride out to battle, thinking that it will be an easy victory; Kay is perhaps most notable for such conduct, for reasons I have noted elsewhere, but he is hardly unique in being arrogant--and in finding that arrogance rebuked, sometimes quite decisively. In the present episode, Adora sets aside the understandable and correct caution of a village leader, as well as Bow's own worries, trusting to her own strength and skill to carry the day. While she does win her own fight, she fails to recognize that the fight is itself a distraction--something of a problem for her, as Catra notes in the episode as she works through a second layer of deception.

Indeed, it is a problem for Adora throughout the series, that she does not understand evil. There are correspondences to earlier medievalist works in her noncomprehension, of course; Tolkien's Manwë notably fails to comprehend the nature of evil, for example. (This is the Tales after Tolkien blog; he has to come up every now and again.) Whether the lack of understanding is to be taken as a sign of Adora's fundamental "goodness," as is the case with Manwë, or if it is to be regarded as a sign of a youthful naivete that will falter and fall away as the character matures is debatable; any continuing series that focuses on young protagonists that develop--and the characters in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power do seem to be developing, as noted here and here, if not also elsewhere--will necessarily partake of the Bildungsroman, and one of the markers of adulthood is the recognition that evil exists.

May we all find the insight to recognize evil and the strength to fight it.