Adora, Catra, and Loci of Control
Okay, let’s talk psychology here, specifically loci of control. The concept of locus of control is defined as the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to external forces beyond their control. This is one of the ways in which Adora and Catra are diametrically opposed.
Adora has an extreme internal locus of control and Catra has an extreme external locus of control. That is, Adora believes she can control events and outcomes in her life (or that she should be able to, at least), and therefore she believes she deserves all the good and bad things that happen to her (and the world). Meanwhile, Catra believes she has no control over the events and outcomes in her life, and therefore she believes she doesn’t deserve the good or bad things that happen to her. They just happen, no matter what she does.
While an internal locus of control is generally considered more healthy, the extreme to which Adora tries to assume control of everything and take the blame for every failure is not healthy. We see this as a recurring theme in Plumeria, at the Battle of Bright Moon, and in the strategy tent at the pass. Adora constantly takes on responsibility for everything, believing one misstep or failure on her part will lead to disaster for the entire planet. She also carries a lot of guilt for the way Catra has spiralled since her departure from the Horde, despite not understanding why it upset Catra and why she refused to leave with her. Since Catra’s spiral has caused so many issues for the Princess Aliiance, this has compounded into a huge guilt complex.
Not only does Adora’s extreme internal locus of control cause her massive amounts of guilt, it messes with her view of the world. When Light Hope tells her she has no choice, that being She-Ra is her destiny, it’s earth-shattering for her because she’s used to having the illusion of self-determination. Shadow Weaver manipulated her into wanting to be powerful so she could exert influence through her. Basically, this kind of thing could only upset someone who believes they have a choice in the first place. Having to grapple with the idea that there are things she can’t control was very difficult for Adora - and in a sense, that was her biggest development in season 3. Her finally standing up for herself and saying that the world ending was not her fault and Catra’s actions are not her responsibility was a huge fucking deal.
Adora was raised to believe that she was responsible for Catra and everyone else in her sphere of influence, that if she couldn’t control people and situations there would be dire consequences. She could only begin to move forward once she accepted that she isn’t in control of what other people do, only what she herself does.
Now, as for Catra, it’s important to note that people who have external loci of control usually think this way because that is what they have experienced. It has been proven, for instance, that children from abusive home situations are more likely to have external loci of control, which relates perfectly to Catra. Additionally, while Shadow Weaver obviously abused her, it appears that how badly she treated her was not consistent, that it was dependent on external forces such as Shadow Weaver’s mood and whether or not Adora was present. That is, what happened to Catra was not strongly correlated with how she behaved. That further explains why she believes her actions have no effect on the outcomes in her life.
With all this in mind, it’s understandable why Catra blames all the bad things that happen to her on other people. The problem is that now that she’s in a position where she actually has some agency, she hasn’t been able to adjust her mindset accordingly. She has power now and boy does she love it, but she doesn’t believe herself responsible for her own choices because, in her mind, it’s not her fault she ended up in this situation.
Catra made some very powerful remarks in season 3 about the audacity of Shadow Weaver to play the good guy after everything she put her through, after she predisposed Catra to going down this villainous, spiteful path. And this was actually a very good point, but there’s an implication there that Catra did not choose to go down this path. But she did. Leaving her abusive situation and evil faction when it was all she knew would have been a difficult choice, but not leaving and in fact actively participating in the evils of the Horde was also a choice. She doesn’t seem to comprehend that.
Despite seeming to think herself incapable of it, Catra longs for self-determination, so much so that she was willing to destroy the world and herself with it as a final fuck you to a life that never let her have a say in anything. She chose to pull that lever not only to triumph over Adora, but because it was a choice she could make for herself that others were trying to hold her back from. Interestingly, even after Catra made that choice she continued to blame Adora for it, and for her descent into villainy in general. She can’t take responsibility for her own choices because she doesn’t believe she ever really had a choice, about anything.
Catra was raised to believe that she was weak and dependant on Adora, that her feelings and actions had no worth or value, and that she had no say in what happened to her. She will only begin to move forward once she accepts that her actions are her own, have meaning, and have real effects on others.
As you can see, it is critical for both of them to come to understand that they are responsible for their own actions and their own actions only. Shadow Weaver really did a number on them, fostering this imbalanced relationship in hopes of controlling them and turning them against each other.
…wouldn’t the best revenge on Shadow Weaver be for them to take her down together, resisting her attempts at manipulation and trusting in each other? Just saying.
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