She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Rewatch 5.8, "Shot in the Dark"

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A new ally joins the group, and a new plan begins to emerge.

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5.8, "Shot in the Dark"

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

Synopsis

That's a lot to get through.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Aboard the Darla, Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Entrapta, and Catra confer regarding their progress and expected course. They fret about running a Horde blockade, and Catra warns against charging in. Bow presses for information about weaknesses, and Wrong Hordak inadvertently lets some of that information slip; Catra confirms some of it, and the group proceeds to the location identified as anathema to Horde Prime.

Catra's is the face of confidence.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

On the identified planet, the group finds evidence of a thwarted Horde presence, and Catra shows clear signs of apprehension. Investigation reveals a presence near them, though Wrong Hordak avers that all life was eliminated. Catra voices concerns regarding the group's eagerness to press ahead.

On Etheria, the diminished resistance takes stock of its increasingly perilous situation. Castaspella appears and is investigated; options for relocation are few. Shadow Weaver voices an idea to Castaspella; she reluctantly listens.

The search for Horde Prime's weakness continues, the surroundings proving eerie and shifting. Wrong Hordak continues in his devotions to Horde Prime, and Catra provides ingress. The environment continues to unsettle the group as they press on; its mutability manifests more strongly, attacking the group.

Shadow Weaver and Castaspella confer about the threat Micah poses. She notes that they will need more power to defeat Micah.

Not a good face to see suddenly, this.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Adora and her group press ahead, trying to find the life form Entrapta had indicated. Entrapta notes that their location is a First Ones colony that, while conquered, offered some strange threat--as well as that their communications are being interfered with, and that they are not alone. Catra attacks, and she and the other find themselves elsewhere as the fight continues. Adora attempts to rush to Catra's aid, but she, Glimmer, and Bow are blocked--until Glimmer finds the hindrance is illusion. She realizes there is magic available, and the group proceeds to Catra's aid.

Who's a pretty kitty? You are! You are!
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

As they do, Catra is able to make some connection to her erstwhile assailant. She recognizes that her own emotional state influences the being, which reveals its name to her--and her alone--as Melog. Melog relays a history, with the First Ones having tried to mine the magic from the planet and Horde Prime trying without success to take that magic. Magic is noted as the weakness of Horde Prime, and Adora offers to take Melog with them to Etheria--where magic remains.

Castaspella follows Shadow Weaver in anger until Shadow Weaver reveals the restraint imposed upon Etheria by the First Ones. They agree to work against the old mistake, with Castaspella in position to stop Shadow Weaver if she goes too far. And as they do, Adora's group returns to Etheria under Melog's power, successfully passing the blockade.

Discussion

The magical being Melog is a clear invocation or evocation of the golem of legend. The name is an inversion of the word, and the character is a malleable being not quite capable of speech. Admittedly, the golem-story most commonly known is not strictly medieval, connecting back to Rabbi Loew in the sixteenth century in Prague, though it may well extend back further (as in the case of Solomon ben Judah or ibn Gabirol). Too, in the typical legend, as in the present episode, the golem is inextricably linked with magic, depending for its very existence on the presence of such energies as might in other media be expressed as syllables from the name of a god. Melog may not be strictly medievalist, but they certainly move in such a direction, underscoring the coming of a new thing in evoking a later period, perhaps.

Perhaps more overtly medievalist (as distinct from medieval) is the continued insistence upon consistent imagery with the character; each of the members of Adora's group remains clearly identifiable even with their spacesuits on, and clearly in line with their prevailing iconography. It seems to relate to the insistence in medievalist depictions of those figures who sport heraldry favoring a single display across uses and appearances (as opposed to such depictions as Malory's, in which knights routinely change and exchange shields, as well as to what might be expected shifts upon taking a new office or role, as in Glimmer's case). Too, while spacesuits might benefit from the kind of easy recognition heraldic devices ostensibly promote, there is little need for--and, indeed, some danger in--an ab-window such as Bow sports. So it seems a bit of a stretch, even if an accustomed one.