She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Rewatch 4.5, "Protocol"

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New sinister overtones begin to sound as the movement of the current season progresses.

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4.5, "Protocol"

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

Synopsis

It does seem an upgrade.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Lonnie drives Rogelio and Kyle through a forest amid strange lights while Adora trains as She-Ra in Light Hope's tower. Light Hope rebukes Adora for her flippancy and intensifies the training. Adora claims a need for answers rather than additional skills, and she rattles off answers. Light Hope tries to deflect the questions before glitching.

The Horde soldiers begin to suffer from the glowing lights, their vehicle breaking down amid a corrosive onslaught. The onslaught, a spore cloud, also affects Light Hope's tower, forcing a system reboot.

That does look painful.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle investigate their surroundings, finding the spores painfully corrosive. They take shelter in their immobilized vehicle and confer about what to do. Catra calls in and orders repairs, winning herself no regard in the process.

Adora attempts to puzzle out what has happened to Light Hope. The rebooting system is almost childish in its enthusiasm and clumsiness, and Adora is obliged to assist it as the storm worsens. Her initial attempt goes poorly.

Kyle seems to have proven himself at last.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

"This record should have been purged" is not a good thing to hear.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The Horde soldiers attempt to determine who will effect repairs. It does not go smoothly, and Lonnie rants against Catra and the Horde. Kyle ends up going out into the storm to make the repairs, suffering as he does so. Lonnie and Rogelio retrieve him at some risk and complete the repairs he began, proceeding back to the Horde.

Meanwhile, Adora stumbles across older records, seeing some of Mara's interactions with Light Hope. They show a happier, more accessible hologram, and Adora makes another attempt to repair the tower's systems. The repeated attempt succeeds, and Light Hope is restored. And that includes her reticence--as well as hidden imperatives.

Discussion

If it is the case that the series makes itself something of an Arthurian pastiche, as I have commented before, then Light Hope is something of an amalgamation of the Lady of the Lake and Merlin, being otherworldy guiding figures somewhat detached from "normal" concerns and invested in the propping-up and arming of their putative proteges--to particular purposes. While many popular conceptions of Arthurian legend present Merlin as being largely benevolent, they tend to elide or minimize earlier accounts that liken him to forces of evil--and, even in more commonly accessible works, Merlin operates out of particular political desires (chiefly for stability) rather than out of any specific regard for Arthur, himself. The machinations that lead to Arthur's conception, fostering, and accession to kingship are not so much a desire to see a good person put into power as a reaffirmation of a particular political order--one that ultimately fails, as casual readers of Arthuriana may not always remember.

Similarly, the present episode makes clear that Light Hope is proceeding according to a specific program--which is not unexpected from a hyped-up user interface. It also makes clear that Light Hope's program is not necessarily kind towards its subject; that is, it may not be friendly towards Adora as it clearly had been, once, towards Mara. But Mara is described repeatedly in the series as having faltered; it is not unreasonable to suppose that Light Hope's systems would not benefit from repetition of events that led to Mara's actions, and that the current iteration of the program would be somewhat more distant, less informative, and therefore more manipulative in making sure what it is set to see happen happens.

Arthur never finds the Grail, after all, nor does his mightiest warrior, who turns against him. And Lancelot comes to no good end, either...