Just to answer the first questions: the Portal is both Catra and Adora's manifestation: Stevenson: "It’s not an accident that the first false reality that they get thrown back into sort of centers around them [Catra and Adora]. For Adora, she’s looking for some kind of solution, like, at what point could I have fixed things in the past? Because that’s how she sees things. For Catra, it’s hiding. It’s sort of an escape to the last time things made sense to her, the last time things were simple and the last time she was happy. She’s sort of hiding from what she did. I don’t think she’s ready to face that yet. She hasn’t come to terms with it yet. She’s dug her hole and she has keeps taking it deeper."

I always found it fascinating that Catra wasn’t force captain in this universe. I understand that this portal world isn’t ONLY taking in her mindset, but it’s interesting to me that she just wanted Adora back and to have a world where SW was kind to her. Obviously it wasn’t a good reality, but it makes her sympathetic to me.

One really interesting theory I've heard is that "Remember" is based off a world where everyone has their greatest desire, as long as it doesn't conflict with anyone else's. Catra has Adora, Angella and Glimmer have Mica, and Bow is the kid his dads always wanted. The only two who don't have this are Adora and Scorpia because they're greatest desires conflict with Catra's.

I look at this kind of like the end of season 2 for Zuko. It would have been amazing if Catra had joined Adora here and helped fix the world and leave the Horde, but as painful as S4 of the show is, it really makes Catra's decision in S5 so much more powerful. Catra gets everything she wants, the Horde is winning, just like Zuko gets to go home and gets his father's respect, but it doesn't feel the way they thought it would.

It will never NOT astound me just HOW WELL-WRITTEN this show is. "Remember" being the thematic halfway point between "Promise" and Corridors, two immensely important episodes for Adora and Catra's individual and mutual development? I . . . I can't even begin to describe how well that works. Bravo, Noelle Stevenson! 👏👏👏 And bravo to you, Five for Five Takes, for another KILLER analysis. Keep em comin!

Seriously, the work the people behind She-Ra put into the writing of the show is just incredible, and your analysis just point out how much brilliant the show was and we many barely realize how many deeper meanings many episodes have, again another fantastic analysis.....I think will be nice a take on this videos for Glimmer and Bow, those are another characters that developed amazingly and there are not many essays on them....also Entrapta, Shadow Weaver, Angelica and Horde Prime will be excellent subjects for explorations to see in analysis like these. BTW please tell me there will be an Arcane video, if you haven't seen that show defined need to do it now.

12:03 Lol I’d say this was a MASSIVE piece. Stevenson said in an interview that 1 of the key reasons Adora leaving affected Catra the way it did was bcuz she realised that her & Adora’s number 1 priorities were different. Now from start to finish, we all know Catra’s one true priority was always Adora. But the thing is, from Day 1 Adora had been told what to prioritise by all her superiors, so she never really thought to herself what HER actual priority was & we know her Duty mentality was the reason she was able to leave without Catra in the 1st place. When Adora promises not to leave Catra again, it isn’t just so she can get her to go with her but the alternate portal reality made her realised just much she missed being with Catra. It was the 1st time she was confronted with what she really wanted. And when Catra puts herself on the line for Adora in ‘Corridors’ she’s once again left to contemplate what she wants to prioritise for herself rather than what’s deemed best for everyone else. Catra was always the one who pushed Adora to face what she wanted, not what she was told to want. And ‘Save the Cat’ was PROOF that both their true priorities were always one & the same 💞

13:04 "If they're going to be brought back together, it has to be through choices in this universe, not rewriting another one." This hit me so hard

This came out at a perfect time after seeing Negative Legend’s She-Ra video

This episode always gets me because even in this world, this "perfect reality", Catra doesn't want to be on top, she just wants to be with Adora

3:50 SO glad to hear Catra’s empathetic abilities recognised & how that lead to her finding her own magical connection, which in turn lead to the BEST magic creature bond in the series❣️✨

As well delivered & insightful as always. I hadn't even realized that "Promise", "Remember" & "Corridors" make up a trilogy. Perhaps a video detailing that?

I just wanted to point out two things in case ppl don't know: 1. Stevenson said the Portal reality is a manifestation of Catra and Adora's wishes, they were the ones staying closest to it before it was set off, on purpose 2. Stevenson can't rewatch the episode happily because he was depressed during that time and couldn't do the concept "justice". It makes me wish he'd share what he'd change about it!

I love the idea that Catra has a connection to empathetic magic. She has always been very driven by her emotions and tends to feel things on a deeper level than most characters, to the point where her emotion consumes her. It makes sense that Melog would trust her and bond with her because of this. Melog understands her, and she understands him. The crimson waste and the portal incident are perfect examples of this. Like she said in the video, Catras thoughts/emotions are so strong and loud that she doesn’t even hear scorpia speak to her. She’s completely overwhelmed and in a highly emotional state. This only increases when she gets back to the horde and has her run in with shadow weaver and her hurting Entrapta. Catra is practically screaming for help, for something to change, to fix all this pain. And the sword gave her what she wanted through the portal.

Goddamn, this analysis whips. Picking apart the parallels between the episodes really exemplifies how much attention to detail the writers had and just drives home how much this series is about Catra's personal growth

What a lot of “what if” situations get wrong is the idea of its either “lets just do a fun wacky situations” or “this is what would have happened and why this would be bad for the main protagonists” This deals with why it would be bad, for both sides of the same coin. In essence it says “you cannot see what could have been, only what is, and so that’s what you have got to work with” and its frankly beautiful. The story telling in She-Ra deserves so much credit for its maturity in understanding relationships, and being able to represent realistic relationships of all types.

I find Catra a very therapeutic character because I heavily relate to her, but I think this video finally makes me understand why Catra didn’t just leave with Adora. Leaving means changing how the relationship is. It means they can never go back, and to Catra that’s terrifying because it means that their relationship could fall apart either way.

One of the thing i love most about she-ra isn't just catradora. It's the fact that catradora is *the* most important relationship in the show and it's Catradora which *saves the world*

At the end I was thinking of a quote bow said "...I get it's hard to be friends sometimes, you got to work for it..." Idk why but I felt that it was a good way to describe what catra and adora where going through at that time

another great she-ra analysis video!!! i never realized how many scenes from the sword were directly paralleled in remember. it just really makes me appreciate this episode more from a writing standpoint to have such clear subtle rewrites of those opening scenes to show what each of them thought should have happened so they would stay together. this episode just made it clear that even in a universe where everything went as planned, it couldn't exist because both of them have had this rift of miscommunication and different points of view that has been brewing for years. what i like about this episode is also the fact that even though the universe was not real, it had consequences for the characters and also furthered understanding of their dynamic for the audience. for shows with an overarching plot, i really hate to see what-if episodes not further the characters POV or the audience's POV because its such a great excuse to really look into character motivations and relationships.

Once again another fantastic analysis of Catra and Adora's psyche.

I've always seen this and Moment of Truth as the crown jewels of pre-season-4 She-ra. Nowhere else have I seen such a tonal shift that overthrows any preconceived notions about a show's message or plot. Promise was an amazing prelude to this, but the story really takes full form here and it's a wonder to see unfold. Also terrifying. When I did my tier list this episode was a clear shot to the highest tier. I'd love to hear your opinions on Destiny, Fractures, or late season 4 in general since I think that's really the strongest point in She-Ra.

This show either makes me incredibly happy or incredibly depressed, there is nothing in between.

I'm always at awe at the many things you are able to bring and connect together it makes these scenes and the characters arcs so much more significant and understandable seriously amazing.

Hey so this is a tad bit off topic but bear with me please. I wanted to take a minute and say thank you to you guys. Remember the video about Adora being a great protagonist you made a while back? Thing is, I have a friend who's really dear to my heart and she struggles a lot with always wanting to fix things and taking responsibility for everything and anything. I watched your Adora vid back then just cause I like listening to people's fan theories and left there having learned some good advice on how I could try helping my friend. Well. Fast forward like half a year and she's getting there. 🙂She's finally learning to ease off a bit, relax now and then and take time to take care of herself, too. It's baby steps and she still got a good chunk of path to walk ahead of her, but I don't think she'd have made even those first steps by now if your video hadn't helped me find the words to give her the push she needed. So yeah. Thank you again for helping me help my friend. I know this likely wasn't your intention, but it's how it turned out anyway so I thought you deserved a word of gratitude. Stay safe and have a great weekend! 😊

The more I sit with this show, and the more I see people complain about it being toxic, the more I think: Yes. This show is ABOUT people dealing with toxicity. It's the whole point. Catra's toxic behavior is the most obvious, because she puts herself ahead of everyone else. But Adora's behavior, putting herself last, is just as toxic. It's just that it's a socially acceptable form of toxic behavior. Catra only takes, Adora only gives. And the show's about them both unlearning that. If Adora had stayed, their relationship would've been textbook codependency. They had to take the long road to become people who could have an actual healthy relationship.

This is such a good video. I always imagined that the au was everyone's perception of what a perfect day would look like and for Adora and Catra that ment being together knowing that the only place this could happen was in the fright zone. Maybe Adora could see the world falling apart cus being in the fright zone was not part of her perception of perfect, just being with Catra

1:03 I’m not sure Catra & Adora’s relationship imploding would’ve been the case with every possible situation of the events that could’ve happened in the Premiere ep but I think it could possibly be a way of reflecting that, no matter how much you may wish to rewrite how you handled the situation that 1st time, the fact is that’s what you did & what ended up happening & you need to deal with it. And this applies to both Catra & Adora in how neither of them handled their fatal exchange in Thaymor that day in the best way - far from it 💔 The point is, neither could take back the actions they took or what they said & could only hope to learn from what they did.

Aaaaaaand now I’m going on another She-Ra rewatch 😂🤣😂😭 Amazing video! I found your analysis fascinating, as always. Remember is one of my favorite (and one of the most heartbreaking) episodes in She-Ra’s run! Catra and Adora’s struggle is one of the, if not the most integral emotional centers of the She-Ra show. I’m glad there are people like you to break it down and to dive deeper into the dynamic! Well done! Now, I’m off to rewatch the first season and bawl my eyes out at Promise again.

"You can't have peace without doing the work to get there" just, CHILLS. Especially laid across "Promise" as a score and those fantastic flashbacks the show does. Bravo, just bravo.

it is interesting that you consider the chapters "promise", "remember" and "corridors" as a trilogy taking into account that the same soundtrack sounds in the most important scenes of the chapters (also adding the confession of catra to adora, finally giving an end to this trilogy that you have talked about in your video)

Not to sound weird but you have a very soothing voice also I love your She-ra analysis videos they are so good. Thank you for the content. Tbh this show is just so amazing and your videos really highlight that.😁

The writing at the core of your videos and your delivery combine to make some of the most satisfying media analysis I've consumed. Great job all the way around.

Didn't Stevenson say on that one scene on remember where catra was talking and hanging out with a bunch of cadets (that in reality were not friends w catra as seen in s1) that some way some how catra only wanted to belong and be accepted, so really most of the fake universe was really formulated by catra. I love what you said about things cannot be fixed with rewriting, like some sort of shortcuts but things need to happen, and happen gradually they should, made up of choices and decisions. Damn. On the last part I got flashbacks on Adler, a personality theorist, that believes the interpretation of past events is what makes up the person you are today And also, I wonder what shadow weaver's morning was like in that universe

wake up babe new five by five she-ra video just dropped

gives me the shivers

Another BRILLIANT analysis from a beautiful series. You pointed out some things I didn't realize were significant, like Adora driving the skiff and being in control in the Remember episode. Also, the fact that Catra's way of 'fixing' things is reading Adora's emotions and trying to self correct to 'fit in' so Adora would see things as 'perfect.'

This is exactly why your channel is my favorite. Making the connection between Promise, Remember, and Corridors makes SO much sense, but I had never thought of it that way before. Your analysis is inspired.

As always, this is excellent analysis. I absolutely love every video you make about Shera, you put things into words that I somewhat noticed or couldn't properly articulate. Your work is incredible, keep it up ❤️

THE PROMISE MUSIC AT THE END

Every one of these videos gives such new insight into the show it makes me want to watch the whole thing again to thread it all together, this is incredible.

Well done as usual, your analysis gave me a perspective I hadn't thought of before. She Ra is such a deep show, that endless videos can be made to examine it.

Why are you so good at these videos!!! Your amazing and I love listening to and watching your analysis videos! Can you do one on the likeness off catra and glimmer though out the series and how it turned them into friends? And maybe a scorpion one, just a general character analysis. But I would really love to see the catra and glimmer one. 😄

BABE WAKE UP NEW FIVE BY FIVE TAKES VIDEO JUST DROPPED

11:52 i just notised that catra being very invested in things happening on her terms, which is shown both in the way Five mentions in the vid and in how she displays physical affection, happly jumping on adora and nussleing into her embrace while also being extremely adverse to touch from others when it wasent on her terms (scorpia in general and bow & glimmer both on the ship and on crytis) is another aspect of catra's cat-like qualities being woven into the very core of her roll in the show. as one of the personality traits cats are known for is always wanting things on their terms, i would have been so easy for them to just have catra's cat-girls status just be purely visual and not work to tie it into her personality, but it adds a really nice sense of authenticity to her.

I've watched the show twice, and while I noticed they go back to memories a lot, I hadn't noticed that the trio of memory episodes all go back to rehash the same event. I... just finished my second watch today, so I probably shouldn't rewatch it immediately, but there's the lead for doing it a third time: there's more patterns to notice, more to unpack, and plenty more laughter and tears of course.

She Ra has god tier character writing part ????

I honestly thought this was going to be about the ultimate turning point what-if. the first time Adora actually reached her hand out to Catra to stay with her, the section at 4:50. Not as a character study but a, what-if, Catra actually followed Adora rather than running away. somewhat in a sense that i havnt quite seen anyone really nail down the reason for other than that Catra was beyond confused of the situation. If Catra followed Adora into the rebellion. Then, how much would that have actually effected the story? From simply matching up each of the major occurances: we wouldnt have had the princess alliance form, Entrapta wouldnt have been... Entrapted. im not sure if Adora would have stopped training with LightHope to activate the super weapon. and Prime wouldnt have been a thing as the portal wouldnt have been made without Catra. But, as we have seen Catra's mental state of other people around Adora. even their own in the Hord. Im not sure how Catra would get along with others at this early stage. The mental psycological abuse is there. Catra isnt a 'Yes Man' kind of person, so indipendent thought could lead her to alot more of 'doing things on her own' jealousy and even the similar figure of high power is shown via Angela to Shadow Weaver, could stain the relationship. We might ultimatly see Adora and Catra's relation get closer but stretching thinner and fraile. To maybe turn into the classic assumption, run away, jelous, cleche. Due to power, possition, or simply the 'best friend squad'. As much as i hate to watch the downward spiral of Catra. it seems to be the better path in the end for everyone. And if she went with Adora, we might be seeing the more long-winded displaced relationship feeling, that might not end well. The Rebellion most likely would have won against the hord, yes. But we most likely wouldnt have had the ending that was fit for everyone. It could have even turned more violant due to a cornered Shadow Weaver and Hordak. Or... even an end-all if Adora continued down with LightHope. Constructing situations like thing is something that is a specialty of mine. my brother thinks im crazy when i do this with WW2, and what ifs in other real life scenarios. But, in the end, like as he says; we will never actually know that other path, how it will play out, or how it would actually conclude.

this video literally came at the perfect time omg. i’ve been rewatching she ra and your videos about it so seeing this pop up was awesome!!

Just finished the series and I wanted to congratulate you on this video. It was very well written, paced, and helped highlight narrative parallels between some of the most important episodes in the show. The breakdown of the character’s psychology really helps to understand their actions and internal conflicts. It really helped highlight details that I may not have picked up on in my watch through. All in all, this was an excellent video, great work!

I'm not going to lie, this season finale (both this episode and the next) really messed with my head. Without going into too much detail, I was in a position where someone kept telling me everything was fine when everything else was proof to the contrary. I felt very much like Adora for a second, knowing that something was wrong but not being able to figure out exactly what it was until literally the world starts falling apart around her. I was originally planning on dropping the show, but decided that because season 2-3 were two halves of a season, I would at least see if it could keep my interest. Anyway as I said, the episode hit way too close to home and I'm somewhat happy about that as the next two season were very enjoyable.

i was so confused when i saw so little comments and likes, then remembered this came out 10 minutes ago

As always, I love your She-Ra analyses. I love how you laid out and unpacked the narrative parallels between the intro episodes' scenes, the S3 finale's, and Corridors', showing each as a turning point of the broader arc. You brilliantly described how our interpretation of memories can shape our current feelings/behaviors. But I am not totally convinced of your argument that the sword mostly manifested Catra's desires. Since I love critiquing things and quibbling about fictional metaphysics, I want to offer a critique. IIRC, we have never seen the sword react to anyone's innermost feelings _except_ She-Ra's. So, without knowing whose feelings the sword manifested in _Remember,_ it seems most reasonable to infer that the feelings were Adora's. Yes, Catra was closest to the sword and pulled the lever of the machine the sword was hooked up to, but none of this appeared to connect Catra's mind to the sword. Any example of the sword reacting to someone else's emotions would undermine my objection here, but I do think the sword only connected to She-Ra's mind. Glimmer wanted to use the sword in S1, but only Adora could use it because the sword connected to her. We already know that the sword was connected to Adora's mind, and that it was capable of manifesting Adora's desires, but not that it was capable of manifesting Catra's. Melog's empathetic connection to Catra struck me more as Melog's powers, not Catra's. Melog showed off his powerful magic in his introductory episode, after all. Melog reacted to Catra's emotions just like the sword reacted to Adora's, and the sword communicates with Adora alone (through visions) like how Melog communicates with Catra alone (through cat-language). So, I suspect that Melog connects to Catra's mind and the sword connects to Adora's, but not vice versa. Although I criticized your argument that Catra's mind shaped the fantasy-world more than Adora's, I do think both of their desires contributed to it. I have interpreted the fantasy-world as equally shaped by every main character's desires -- that is why Glimmer's family is reunited, for example. (Although, then again, it's interesting that Bow is a librarian like his dads wanted instead of an archer. I do not know how to fit that into my interpretation.) And then again, maybe my interpretation is incoherent because the sword would presumably have to connect to everyone's mind in order to shape the fantasy-world according to their desires? I dunno lol

Love it! Thank you again!! These videos always hit so well 💜🌈

I love She-Ra so much. This show is amazingly well crafted and might just be my favorite show ever. The character developments and how their arcs are symbolized in the narrative is perfect. “Everything is perfect.” These “what if” scenarios are always fun to look at, and I really love what She-Ra did with its “what if” story. There’s always been another what if idea that I’ve wondered about. What if Adora had let Catra go with her when she went to look for the Sword in episode one? How would that have turned out? Would Bow and Glimmer have even been able to capture Adora if Catra had been with her? Would Adora still have turned to the rebellion and would Catra have gone with her? Granted, the answer to some of these questions is probably “no” since a lot of what happened had to happen for just Adora in order for the events to happen they way that they were supposed to, but I still can’t help but wonder just what would have happened if Catra had gone with Adora to find the Sword. But, when all is said and done, you can’t beat the original. The best shall always be She-Ra And The Princesses of Power.

GOD THIS SHOW IS PERFECT. THIS VIDEO IS PERFECT. THIS SPECIFIC EPISODES IS WRITING AT ITS PEAK I LITERALLY CANNOT RECOVER FROM THIS EPISODE IT HAS PERMANENTLY CHANGED ME AS A PERSON. THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL ANALYSIS

Whelp. Looks like I am watching She-Ra again. Another amazing video. Thank you.

to me - or atleast since I watched She-ra when it came out, it’s probably unanswered. I feel like whenever the alliance comes to the horde, cat-ra and adora stay together without saying any words. (just a prediction)

yeeeesss. i always see people asking why catra didn't go with adora cause they'd still be together, but catra going with adora and adora staying with catra aren't the same. and i love how you explained that.

It's interesting how much Adora and Catra love each other and yet don't understand each other.

So glad to see another She-Ra vid from you. Your analysis is always perfectly on-point.

@Five by Five Takes Please continue to make character analysis videos from Shera. I really enjoy your in depth videos. I would love to see Shadow Weaver covered in the future.

Goddammit I love this show 😭💕 She-ra has so many layers, unpacking this show is a true delight. Thanks you for exploring these characters/themes!

"what do you feel? what do you fear? what do you want?" - the power of those 3 questions together cannot be understated

Excelent video, you got me thinking a lot about that remembering what really happened vs how you interpret what happened.

Oh boy, your making me miss this show again

Amazing video as always!

Once again, your videos really get me thinking. You put them together so well and they're so thought out and accurate

I'm happy beyond words that you've made another video. Your analysis of Catra and Adora are so deeply personal, and well researched,. And the editing? Hits you right in the chest- where the feelings are stored. You help my partner and I find words to describe the thoughts and opinions on these characters and their incredibly well written relationship. That, in turn, is putting pins in important points we had laid out previously but had no idea what to do with. Thank you so very much for sharing this!!

You make my favorite She Ra video essays! Love it!

Your analysis vids are always just SO incredible and so emotion- and thought-provoking. I loved this one so much!!!

Always dig these analysis vids, thank you for making them!

I was absolutely ecstatic to check in on your page and see that this video had been posted. I love She-Ra and your analyses give me the opportunity to relive what I love about this show while walking away with additional things to consider in the shows’ character building and themes. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO MAKE THESE VIDEOS.

SOBBING SHAKING CRYING BEFORE I EVEN PRESS PLAY THANK YOU FOR GIVING US SO MUCH SHE RA CONTENT!!

I love every one of these videos so much. So thought-out, such good writing, strong editing, and also I just really enjoy listening to your voice

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for continuing your video essays on She-Ra. These are always such a treat. And offer way more insight into the show than I ever gleamed.

You have no idea how happy I was to see another one of your She-Ra videos on my recommend I have missed these. I really hope you do more they’re some of my favourite videos on KZfaq

I love this channel so much! The work you put into explaining the themes behind SPOP is amazing.

First of all thanks subtitles. I know very little English and subtitles save me. Secondly, it's just brilliant. Such a seemingly small detail is of great importance in the whole show. Thank you for continuing to make videos. It's very interesting and great to listen to.

I get excited everytime I see you upload a video

This is a FANTASTIC breakdown and comparison. Your videos have always given me something I didn't know I was looking for. Thank you and I hope you keep this up.

This was so so good! Loved the analysis! Really hit on the head what I love about this show

I love these analysis videos!!

I'm always astounded by how good your videos are! You find the words to explain things so perfectly. 👏👏👏👏👏

your analysis' are so awesome to listen to. It's so cathartic.

Wow wow wow you’re my fave she ra channel! So many insightful videos!

These kind of reviews and Analysis is why I’m proudly subscribed.

This upload came at the perfect time because I was binging Your She-Ra series

Well well well, Five by Five Takes just uploaded a She-ra video so it's time for my regular dose of self reflection and crying.

Omg how do you keep returning and returning to them and finding more ways to understand and dissect the relationships

Great new video! I always enjoy your stuff!

Brilliantly done! Keep up the good work!

Why do I watch this channel when it just makes me cry everytime?

I love your videos on Catra and Adora and Catradora. You’re always so insightful and your takes are great 😊

It's crazy how deep this show really is. This was a great video and totally worth the wait

Your videos are always so good 🥺💖

Your videos really do enrich, explain and unpack, what is already an unbelievably good show, thanks.

Very mean of you to play Promise like that at the end when I wasn't ready for all the feelings. Great video, as always!

i think you explained this absolutely beautifully, this show is so amazing

Such great stuff...thanks for this really appreciated!