She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Rewatch 5.11, "Failsafe"

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As the end approaches, the approach of an earlier end is called forward, with no few messianic overtones.

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5.11, "Failsafe"

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

Synopsis

Good kitties. Nice kitties.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In their camp, the remaining resistance fighters query Castaspella and Shadow Weaver upon their return. The magicians report on the failsafe they have found, and Glimmer rails against the plan. Catra and Melog begin to rise against Shadow Weaver, but Adora calms them and presses for more information. The information is forthcoming, and the group agrees to pursue the failsafe, though there are misgivings about doing so.

Adora makes to talk to Catra, working to reassure her about the plan and asking for her help, specifically. It mollifies Catra. Meanwhile, Entrapta reports that there is a limited time to save those enthralled by Horde Prime via control chip--and that she has a plan to address the issue.

This is never a good sign.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The group infiltrates Mystacor via teleportation and Melog's cloaking ability. They encounter Micah along the way, only narrowly avoiding detection as they press ahead. A fracas ensues when strife reemerges among the infiltration group.

Back at the resistance camp, Entrapa proposes to search out a group of Horde clones to analyze signals. Swift Wind reluctantly agrees to assist her. They find that the Horde is forcing a connection to the Heart of Etheria--but Entrapta gets the data she needs before a Horde clone comes across her. In the event, the clone is Hordak. Swift Wind takes her away before more can emerge.

There's enough looming here to get a tapestry out of it.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The infiltration group presses on through Mystacor, finding the ingress to the failsafe for the Heart of Etheria. As they continue, Adora tries to calm Catra again, finding some success. The group finds confirmation that they are on the correct path--as well as more strife occasioned by Shadow Weaver's commentary. Magical traps beset them, and Adora frets while Shadow Weaver preys upon her mind.

Oh, that iconogrpahy's not evocative at all.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary

At length, the infiltration group arrives at the failsafe. Adora is obliged to take it into herself, at great risk and with the certainty of doom; her companions, especially Catra, are displeased at Shadow Weaver's omission that has led to it. Micah emerges again, and melee ensues; the infiltration group is hard-put to it, but they cover Adora as she takes the failsafe into herself. The mission accomplished, the group withdraws.

Back at the encampment, the group rests. Catra considers Adora's impending sacrifice and makes to leave. Once again, Adora chases after her; Catra questions her self-sacrifice and leaves despite Adora's pleas. And Adora rails against Shadow Weaver after.

Discussion

Two things come to mind for me as I rewatched the episode: the achievement of the Grail in Malory, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As to the first, in Malory as in other sources, the Grail is something of a plot-driver, a powerful relic in itself and one eagerly sought by the bulk of the Round Table. The parallel to the failsafe for the Heart of Etheria is fairly obvious. It was something held in trust by a figure of legend (Joseph of Arimathea) and reclaimed by a descendant thereof (Galahad), while the Heart was secreted away by Mara and reclaimed by her successor, Adora. The reclamation is self-sacrificial in both cases, if deferred in the latter; Galahad is translated to Heaven as a reward for his service, giving up himself against the greater glory of it, while Adora yet has a labor to accomplish before her own end comes. And, in both cases, the quest to achieve the item in question marks the beginning of the end; Arthur recognizes the Grail Quest as the dissolution of the Round Table, and the series is left on a two-part final episode after the present one ends.

Yes, we see it.
Image taken from Britannica.com and used for commentary.

As to the second, the Sacred Heart of Jesus (devotion to which is noted as early as in the 1200s, and which therefore likely got going earlier than that), the iconography is clearer than the parallel to the Grail narrative. The shining emblem that is put into Adora is more-than-vaguely heart-shaped, sitting in the center of her chest amid its own radiance (and golden rays when Adora is She-Ra), which parallels no few depictions of the Catholic devotional focus. (That no few images of Jesus figure him as light-haired, light-skinned, and pale-eyed--much as Adora is--doesn't hurt the association, either.) Adora's series-long association with Arthur makes her something of a messianic figure moving into the episode; that she willingly accepts pain and the expectation of death in the service of her friends--indeed, to save the very world if not all of the worlds that remain--only furthers the figuration. After all, greater love have none than she who lays her life down for her friends. And if she is not yet willing to admit to some of the loves that she feels, that she feels them and still acts upon a greater love does not diminish Adora.