#catra analysis

Derailing: Why did she do it? Not because Adora made her. Catra can't use that excuse anymore. "Why did you do it?" Adora also asked Catra this as a child (s5ep3 Corridors) after she hit Lonnie. Back then, it was because Catra was terrified of losing Adora's friendship and thereby being "discarded" by Shadow Weaver. She was scared for her life. But now? Catra didn't activate the portal for safety; she did it to win. She did it to prove to the world she could be victorious, to Shadow Weaver, Hordak, Adora, to everyone who refused to believe in her. Yet after pulling that lever, Catra's true desires were revealed; she wanted to be relatively safe, surrounded by friends, allowed to love Adora, and recognized for her worth. She didn't need to dominate. When that false reality shattered, Catra's hope was shattered with it. She fell back on her sense of injustice, reduced to her own agony, inflicting it upon the world and herself. After the portal, Catra had to face that her goal of ascending through the Horde was hollow.

One could even argue Catra feels regret at the end of season 3 with this look she gives Adora of "ohhh I fucked up, I fucked up big time." Catra looks sickened, with herself and with how Adora now sees her.

From this point in the story, it was blatant to me that Catra was headed for redemption. Catra clearly knows that she went too far and may have completely burned every bridge and ruined all hope of redemption. But she can't yet confront that her ambitions will not fulfill her. So, she doubles down. In classic sunk-cost fallacy fashion, Catra seemingly strengthens her allegiance to the Horde, taking control and commanding operations. Despite herself, Catra's guilt creeps up on her, not only through the nightmare but also in her approach to Adora. Unlike in s1-3, throughout season 4 Catra avoids Adora almost entirely, only engaging from afar. Catra evades confronting the amount of pain she's caused Adora, the seemingly irreparable chasm she's clawed between them, focusing solely on strengthening the Horde. She still cares, but denies herself that regular interaction.

This suppression poisons Catra's fragile friendship with Scorpia as well. Catra continually lashes out at Scorpia, projecting her own insecurities and frustrations onto her. Her behavior pushes Scorpia away and causes her to leave the Horde, to leave Catra. This is the first time someone left because of her. It almost feels like self-sabotage, Catra pushing Scorpia more and more, becoming crueler, creating reason for her to defect. Catra doesn't feel worthy of Scorpia's friendship, of anyone's. And so Scorpia's kindness enrages her, reminds her of how far she's fallen, and how much lower she will go. Catra also lashes out at her former comrades, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle, further isolating herself from anyone who cares about her, pinning her entire existence on proving herself through Horde victory. She failed in the friendship department; the Horde is all she has left.

But Catra can't fool herself forever, and she certainly couldn't fool Double Trouble. After defeating Hordak, who does Catra have left to prove herself to? Horde Prime? Herself? Neither of those people care. For the first time, Catra is completely alone, and Double Trouble doesn't let Catra hide from how she got there. They read Catra to filth, summarizing what I wrote above: Catra pushed all her friends away in pursuit of a villainous role she didn't desire; her heart laid elsewhere. Now both goals are in ruins. Depleted, with nothing left to prove, Catra asks Glimmer to kill her. Catra's guilt permeated season 4, seeping into all her relationships and degrading her mental state. But guilt is meaningless without action. Which brings us to season 5.

I got soooo off track, so I'll try to wrap it up. So yes, Catra's redemption arc started in s3/4 when she first felt remorse for her actions - not in season 5. Even then, her change took time to develop. Initially, Catra still tried to align herself with Prime, but convinced him to spare Glimmer, indicating her shifting allegiance. The girls begin to empathize with each other and Catra sees how much Glimmer cares for Adora and the life Adora has built for herself. Fully expecting to die, Catra chooses to throw away the small amount of favor she earned with Prime and save Glimmer, therefore protecting Adora. Catra apologizes to Adora for everything. Her body is stolen from her and she dies as a consequence of her actions. She's revived and chooses to join the Rebellion. She slips up but genuinely tries to make amends, not for her own conscience but because it's right. She wants to do better. She accepts ire from the princesses without retaliation. She defends Adora from Shadow Weaver. She gives Adora the strength to choose to live and allow herself to desire, and together they save the world.

A lot of people have a problem with Catra. In my experience, the biggest issue they have is that she was forgiven ‘too fast’. In this essay I will analyze how that is not true.  

First, to lay a foundation, let’s discuss everything that Catra did (wrong). Because while I disagree with people who think this way, I also disagree with how some fans get rose tinted glasses about Catra’s actions and the harm she caused. It is worth noting there is a distinct difference between Catra and Lonnie, for example. Catra had the opportunity to not just leave, but to walk into a good situation. If Lonnie left the Horde (I am not saying she wanted to just as an example) she would have nowhere to go, and her survival would be uncertain. Catra knew she could go back with Adora up until the end of season 3, and choose not to anyways. This was not indentured servitude, Catra willingly participated as a member of the Horde and attempted to climb the ranks. She wanted (or thought she wanted) to be there. 

So what did Catra do? I am not going to talk about everything she did, just things I think are important for this discussion. In “Princess Prom” Catra attacked the Kingdom of Snows and everyone attending, kidnapping Bow and Glimmer in the process. Bow was kept in a typical Horde prisoner cell, and Glimmer seemed to take quite a beating (we do not know exactly what happened to her). She also took a lead role in the “Battle of Brightmoon”, nearly destroying Brightmoon in the process. Next, Catra pulled the lever to activate the portal. This was potentially world ending and resulted in the death of Angela, which Catra was indirectly responsible for. In “Mer-Mysteries” we find out Double Trouble disguising as Flutterina was a distraction so the Horde could attack and conquer Salineas, resulting in one of the more tragic scenes in the show as Glimmer, Bow, Adora, and most importantly, Mermista, see the devastation that has been caused. 

Finally, is her actions towards the people around her. Catra for a lot of the series acted with very little care or compassion. She emotionally manipulated Adora, mistreated Scorpia, and even sent Entrapta to almost certain death to “Beast Island” under false pretenses, even though they worked together for multiple seasons at that point. Catra consistently and callously acted with no regard for others to serve her own selfish goals. Of course, Catra was treated horribly as a child by Shadow Weaver, and that trauma passed onto her in her actions towards others. For the most part, this is only really a consideration for the audience. Only Adora and whoever she confided in with that information would know that about Catra, and thus it is irrelevant for determining forgiveness (unless you assume off-screen conversations that are really just fanfiction and not relevant for an analysis). 

So, back to the question, was Catra forgiven too fast? Well, to start, I almost reject the question. People who say this seem to imply that everyone forgave Catra for every thing she ever did. Catra did not interact with every character post redemption. Mermista for example, had no interaction with Catra and we cannot know what she would think about the situation. And many of the people she did interact with, didn’t really have much of a choice either way. The fate of Etheria and everyone living on it was on the line, Catra was there and that’s all there was to it. All the remaining members of the rebellion did was not treat her like trash. The people who actually forgave Catra are: Adora, Glimmer, Bow, and Entrapta.

Glimmer I would guess is the least controversial of these four. This is interesting because Catra did the most individual harm to Glimmer: kidnapping her, attacking Brightmoon, and indirectly killing her mother. However, as many people have pointed out at this point (and may be a future analysis), Glimmer and Catra have parallel arcs. Glimmer with her actions in season four did pretty much the same thing Catra did. She was directly responsible for a nearly world ending event, and is indirectly responsible for the only mother figure Catra had, Shadow Weaver (obviously she is a lot worse of one than Angela), being killed. The pair also spent plenty of time together on Horde Prime’s ship, being forced to communicate as there was no one else to talk to. This shared experience made them closer and understand each other more. Finally, Catra saved Glimmer’s life, sacrificing herself to be subject to whatever horrible things Horde Prime could do to her. Overall, it’s logical Glimmer would have forgiven Catra.

Bow is a little more tricky. His personality is warm and kind. He showed that to Adora when she was their captive all the way back in the first episode - it’s just who he is. What I would add to this is Bow (and Glimmer) saw firsthand how much Catra meant to Adora. He saw her reaction when Catra’s voice went out after she sent Glimmer back. And yeah - there’s that too, Bow loves Glimmer and Catra saved her. Bow’s forgiveness is in character and justified. 

Catra sent Entrapta to Beast Island. She ended up kind of thriving there, but she understood what that meant. It is arguably the most morally reprehensible thing Catra did. However, Entrapta herself was not innocent. She helped the Horde’s attempt to defeat the princesses and created the portal (I think Entrapta is more responsible for the portal situation than Catra is, but I know that is probably a hot take). She faced that head on in “Launch”, seeing how her actions affected her former friends. I think Entrapta not forgiving Catra would be the pot calling the kettle black - she fell in love with Hordak for Titan’s sake!

And finally, Adora…do I need to even talk about Adora? She witnessed every awful thing Catra went through growing up, has a heart of gold, and is in love with her. Obviously Adora would put aside the feelings of resentment. Not to mention the fact Adora probably blames herself for a lot of what happened. Obviously she forgave Catra. 

About villainism for dummies

Catra

is for a majority of the show the antagonist. However she doesn't start off as one, her descend into villainy is gradual. The show rather treats her as a deuteragonist.and that's interesting about this character there's a gray area to her. But because she's such a very complex character people will write off as inherently evil when the narrative doesn't treat her that but it doesn't absolve her of anything either. Catra in her descend starts off very young she's said to be around seventeen, eighteen in season 1 At the end of the show she's still a very young adolescent.

Shadow weaver is an antagonist along side (Catra, H*rdak)

Even during her days as a teacher in Mystacor. She displayed manipulative behavior over and over on Micah. The spell of obtaintment curses her but grants her a new power, the power of shadows. Which allows her to sap magic from all over the world would explain why she was able to gain power of the black garnet and drain Glimmer. She retains most of her personality as shown when she recognizes and spares Micah. Shadow weaver is the Horde's second in command she takes Adora in as a baby and takes Catra in as a child . Troughout the show we see the unfair treatment she puts them trough.Shadow weaver abuses Adora and Catra. And is responsible for their trauma. Note that the writers didn't write the episode light spinner as some kind of backstory to sympathize with ,it's to show that she has always been the same.

Shadow weaver pits Adora and Catra against themselves troughout their entire lives. Which not even the show is subtle about.

S1- Shadows of Mystacor.

Shadow spy impersonating Catra: What do you think, shadow weaver controls us both. She always has

Really puts the emphasis on how strong Shadow weaver's grip is over these two girls. Even Glimmer and Bow come to learn this and witness Adora's meltdown "seems like this shadow weaver person did a number on you"

Adora after defeating Shadow Blight G-I mean shadow weaver: "This is what Shadow weaver does, she manipulates people, she pushes them apart"

S3

Angella : No, you've put this girl trough enough already

Told from the good guy's perspective. The narrative is meant to tell you Adora good! Shadow weaver bad. And the narrative treats Catra with this same courtesy .So why don't we apply this to her? , the same victim of abuse sharing that same abuser for her whole life. Because Catra is a bad guy on paper and isn't a meak victim ? Therefore she isn't deserving of the same sympathy? Which is even more weird to me since Catra's abuse is shown trough text more often than Adora's I'm not comparing their abuse, Adora had it just as bad. but one thing is Adora leaves, gets a good support system while Catra remains behind in a toxic environment with Shadow weaver and we get to spend more time between those two. We see the hold shadow weaver has over Catra . i want to talk about the body languages in these interactions between them Catra's stiff shoulders, self hugging .When Shadow weaver asks her to come closer she scoots over with dread . Catra decides to show some vulnerability and it's exploited she helps shadow weaver and is deceived by her. i find it funny to say that Catra dubs Adora as naive,easy to manipulate when she perfectly plays into the hands of her abuser .

Catra isn't entirely selfish as people make her out to be, she is also loyal .

When Adora defects she's send to retrieve her back, to which Catra refuses. It isn't until Shadow weaver threatens her and paralyzes her that she complies. Catra after Adora's defection even considered her to be right in leaving and thought of doing the same, (she wasn't exactly safe in the Horde and was left alone with her abuser and without Adora there's not much for her.) Catra : Adora is gone, she defected, and I'm starting to think she had the right idea. Before she was presented with an opportunity, a sliver of recognition that got her reeled back in for validation. Which ended up with H*rdak pitting Catra against Adora. And even after Adora's defection Catra still got her back in the shadows.She refuses to give away her whereabouts her identity as She-Ra, refusing to sell her Ex-Bestfriend out despite being deeply hurt.

Shadow weaver: You are going to bring her back

Catra: I don't think so

Shadow weaver: For the last time ,where is Adora ?

Catra: For the last time i don't know

Shadow weaver : pathetic you're still trying to protect her.

Which then follows by a Catra, reluctantly going to seaworthy to bring her back. Under the command of Shadow weaver.

She even does this with Shadow weaver Catra doesn't owe her a single thing. Yet she still shows concern over her even when Shadow weaver was about to mentally screw her before she hunches over in pain. She tries to bargain with Hordak so she can stay longer before being transported she is empathetic of Shadow weaver and returns her old sorcerers badge only for that kindness to be exploited.

When Scorpia tries to bust her out of the cell she lashes out at her In a very Catra manner . But she does it for Scorpia's own sake, as she doesn't want to drag her into her own mess.

Motives and motivation

We all know Shadow weaver goes where Power is. Back in her days as light spinner she was a manipulative woman and knew exactly how to get around the gifted Micah and get him to perform the spell of obtaintment with her while framing it as a good cause. But the head master/sorcerer Norwyn stops her and outright says that's she's always been after power. This proves that even before light spinner becomes shadow weaver that she's always been power hungry. She kills? absorbs him with her new found power and it's like all her morals are off the table. With Micah as exception since some part did care for him. It's funny how it's followed with her swiftly taking out a horde soldier.

Catra is layered she has various motivations for her actions and often vocalizes these. We can tell her prime motives are survival, validation and a need to prove her self-worth.

Before she orcestates Princess prom she states that if she doesn't capture Adora shadow weaver will demote her. And if H*rdak finds about Shadow weaver disobeying him he will get rid of them both. .Her safety becomes endangered this way and this leads to her possibly endangering others for self preservation ,this is entirely selfish but motivated trough ensuring that safety. Not malice. "I'm after something bigger and no one will stop me" a.k.a ensure her spot as the new shadow weaver and get free of her clutches and abuse.

In Promise Light hope in order for Adora to "let go" and become a She-Ra free of attachments. She throws the two girls into simulations based of their memories and Catra gets reminded of her cause before she betrays Adora. She sees her younger self crying under a blanket, the child looks up to her and her gaze stays on the child her face hardens with a new resolve.As she stands over the cliff the tides have turned from this point on they're enemies and Catra is no longer acting out as one. Before that she did have moments of good as well she and Adora remain mostly civil. Catra doesn't attack her, she even catches her falling from the cliff and brushes her tail over her hand and the two share playful silly banter momentarily.

Moment of truth

It's a controversial thought maybe but I don't blame Catra fully for the portal activation actually ,from hindsight she definitely is complicit for Angella. Blaming her for something she was driven into a corner for doesn't feel ethical to me personally. Not with the way that whole scene was presented. And let me remind you what set of the chains of events

Who was it that deceived her by taking advantage of her vulnerability and desperate need for validation, which ended up with her being choked, publicly humiliated, before being send off to a mission which her survival wasn't guaranteed off and then who's name set her over the edge sending her into a panic attack leaving her with tunnel vision. She couldn't hear the cacophony of cheers or even hear Scorpia anymore. Shadow weaver according to her from what Adora tells her, has joined the good guys, she thinks their abuser joined the good guys. those same people infiltrate what she knows as her only home, tortures her with magic to the point I mask my emotions Catra breaks down crying in front of her enemies, and these particular lines always get me "So what? You're on the side of good now? You made me this way and you get to be the good guy? " Catra being rightfully angry spits back with just as much venom ofcourse which follows with anguish screams of her being tormented. It's so extremely hypocritical after the things she's done, ruining Adora and her, messing them up ? She out of all people has the audacity to mockingly ask Catra to join them?

Also what would've happened if Bow didn't step in and stop her. For taking too much instead of saying "That's taking it too far" Shadow weaver part of good guys now could've simply knocked her out but seemed to be taking her sweet time in hurting Catra as she stated before "Don't make me destroy you too" (she nearly drains Glimmer ,using up so much limited power just to hurt her or worse).The person who said this didn't care what would've overcome Catra after she escaped and left her for the wolves. The narrative stays sympathetic over Catra during these scenes it's clear who holds the power here and who's the victim, the victim in question an 18 years teenager, being abused by her abuser. who sides with the good guys that allow it to happen.

I think that's also, why she becomes so obsessed in beating the rebellion with no regard of her own health . While she experiences terrible guilt over pulling the switch. Because that's where she and shadow weaver again differentiate . Catra after zapping Entrapta looks at shock at her own hand, at what she did, Entrapta's face haunts her dreams,the mention of her name or the portal triggers her, because unlike Shadow weaver Catra shows remorse, and feels guilt over her actions. she does feel safe on the top with all the authority and power that comes with it.

But it doesn't bring her happiness because Catra did all of that in order for survival at first, to prove her worth, to prove someone else's narrative wrong the narrative bestowed on her by shadow weaver.She's reactive as ND describes but doesn't stop her to think about what she really wants.Just like with Adora it tells me she has a destiny complex just as much. Catra is instilled with the idea of being interior being told her entire life she won't amount to anything, due to the abuse, which is realistic.children that have trauma tend to feel this way,it leaves you with an inferiority complex. She fights these idea's imposed to her by shadow weaver who's called her an nuisance, insolent, worthless creature, who controlled and made her feel weak for her entire life .And the one enforcing this idea is to which not her fault is Adora. Adora is related to her trauma, she was the one she was pitted against since they were kids, which created this power Imbalance between and after gaining the power of She-Ra that gap of the power Imbalance gets bigger which is why she's someone that she needs to beat, to win against, her entire worth had been defined around her, by Shadow weaver , Catra fights to prove her independence , to prove herself . But this takes the blame off of the actual puppeteer who was responsible for this unhealthy dynamic .This is also why Adora calling finally Shadow weaver out in fail-safe was so cathartic "You ruin people, you take any chance they could ever be be happy" Adora seeing her best friend's, Glimmer's change under Shadow weaver's bad influence. Hears from Scorpia how Catra's been acting the way she has and finds out it's related to shadow weaver and seeing again how the sorceress causes a rift between them. She knows exactly who to turn against and she doesn't hold back.

Double trouble

The actor themselves completely exposes Catra and calls her out on her villainy act.

"You try so hard playing the big bad villain, but your heart's been never in it has it?" Catra's initial reaction to the horde squadrons being obliterated by the rebellion isn't her being upset by the loss she suffered but by the realization that she had been betrayed by whom she thought to be a friend, we've already seen that conquering Salineas didn't make her happy. Her being in the operation room and watching the horde gaining territory over over didn't make her happy, DT transforms into all of these people that hurt her then into the people she has hurt. "people have hurt you? Haven't they" "they didn't believe in you, didn't trust you"

"didn't need you, left you" "you drive them away wild cat"

Trough Scorpia leaving she could slowly come to terms that this time maybe she had been the problem she can't blame anyone but herself for Scorpia's defection. And so she learns about accountability for her own actions. And DT makes sure she gets the message.

It's for your own good darling, we both know this was never what you really wanted

Melog

YALL I-

also bonus:

Forgive me for any incoherent sentences, I'm literally typing as I think, hence the title.

This is coming out of nowhere but I've been thinking on and off about the criticism that catradora is actually toxic and as a person who relates to Adora, I don't know... A part of me is like, yes Catra was abusive, and we know why. But Adora didn't allow it to happen. She told Catra to her face that something has to give in if they're ever going to be friends again, and eventually Catra did fall into place. That aside, though... Every time someone says that Adora deserves better, or something along those lines, I just think about how cruel that is, I think. Catra may have done a lot of unforgivable things but Adora understands Catra and to say that Catra should be severely punished and not be rewarded with someone who can actually aid her just feels so disgusting to me.

I agree that actions are without consequences but when does it get appeased? Sure, Catra isn't 100% redeemed (see: her attitude towards princesses hasn't really changed in season 5) but she still set her lifelong torment aside to help fight against the Horde in the end. She eventually grasps what she did wrong and if she really wanted to find betterment, that she needed to change. And she does- even if it seems small. Were her actions inexcusable? Yes. But Catra learns that the hard way. So when does the punishment end? When does she get redeemed 100%? Why can't she find redemption with Adora's help? Adora- a person so sweet and understanding; a person who literally grew up with the same exact conditions as Catra, doesn't deserve Catra? Why?

It's clear that now that Catra is in an environment where people actually care, that she can start to maneuver her life into something healthier. That's what she was missing all along. And yet, I've seen people say that Catra doesn't deserve that? That Catra doesn't deserve to be Adora's lover, that Catra should be punished with harsher consequences. But, why? When does she get to be 100% redeemed?

Shadow Weaver is a serial abuser and manipulator of children. Adora, Catra, Micah, Glimmer, all of them were manipulated by Shadow Weaver. And for most of them, it was because she sought power. And she never really made amends for this. Yes, she wanted to save Micah and take down the horde but that was a personal vendetta and the realization that she was on the losing side. I don't think Sw was all bad, and I think having conflicting feelings about her is the point. But Adora was right, SW ruins people.

So,

Catra's redemption works on a different level than SW because 1. Catra apologized and had a genuine desire to do what was right and fix her mistakes, and 2. She never had the same ambition as SW. You can see it in the way that she talks about running the horde or the world in the early seasons because she has no real end game. All she wants from power is respect, attention, love, to be an agent in a world that has constantly been putting her down (sw of course being the main player here).

I think that as Double Trouble said when they did that fun psychoanalysis on Catra, her heart wasn't in it. Catra is loyal to a fault. And when Adora betrayed her, she threw herself into the one other thing she'd been taught to be loyal to, the one thing that's been loyal to HER, especially after her promotion, and that's the Horde. I think Noelle was right about Catra being a mean Hufflepuff that's trying to be a Slytherin. Her greatest values are loyalty and friendship. But that changes after she is left alone, and she lashes out. Catra's ambition doesn't come from some greater goal or desire to change the world (she doesn't care about the world) or herself (she doesn't care about herself), in fact, the only time she actually does start to care about either herself or the world is after she has her change of heart and gives up her ambition. Before that, she's just so caught up in the heart break and betrayal she does the only thing she knows how to do. Fight.

So when Catra DOES have a change of heart and DOES start to care about herself and Etheria it's so much more meaningful and cathartic because she fought for it. She suffered for it. Catra does the right thing and is punished. And she fights for the opportunity to redeem herself and to go home. She feels genuine remorse. And she finally is trying to understand herself and her real feelings and motivations and heal herself and her relationship with the one person she's ever really loved.

Shadow Weaver doesn't do that. Shadow Weaver's sacrifice at the end was perhaps the only selfless thing she's ever done. THAT'S why Catra gets to be redeemed and SW doesn't.

1)    It was the only home she’d ever known.

The only home she’d ever had. As messed up as it was under close inspection, this doesn’t change the fact that it was still familiar. Something she’d been used to by now and knew her way around.

This is a very common way of thinking for people who have grown up in a toxic household with controlling authoritarian parents who made you fear so much of the world outside. That you aren’t enough or will be weak without their protection and wing of safety and good advice and discernment.

That stuff gets to you, even if you don’t realize it at first. Especially if the abuse or control is not always present, the abused/controlled person becomes “used to it” and sees it as a sort of normality. It’s an odd but very real comfort zone to that person’s skewed perspective. As it’s all they’ve ever known. They’re almost afraid to get out there and try something new and different.

2)    It reminded her of Adora.

Adora was the only real family Catra had ever known. She was a person who protected and truly and genuinely cared for Catra unconditionally. The mere thought of leaving the Horde was too painful for her and thus she did not want to leave, even when having had the choice in the Crimson Waste episode which I believe was pivotal in showing this.

When Scorpia goes as far as to suggest they stay there, because it is honestly the first time she had ever seen Catra happy in general (given, she had never known Catra before being force captain, she also did not know Adora and their special relationship). The first thing after Scorpia says “So, why would we go back? Let’s stay here. Forget Hordak. Forget Adora. Forget all of them. We could rule the Crimson Waste together, just the two of us. We could, you know, be happy.” Catra says “I—I have to go check on the prisoner.” – Adora. Regardless of still wanting to rub it in, taking her sword and all, these are all signs of her wanting to keep Adora by her side. To bring her back to the Horde. She wouldn’t be happy without her by her side. And if she couldn’t have her by her side, at least she wanted to have a reminder of her. That reminder was the Horde.

It’s hurtful for Catra when Scorpia mentions to “forget” all of them. The Horde is all she knows, the only “family” she’s ever had. But ultimately, she really drops her head and gets sad when Scorpia says “Forget Adora.” This suggestion is not only painful for her—it’s simply unthinkable. She does not want to forget about the only family she’s ever had. No matter how tense or on opposite sides they seem to be at in the present moment.

The second she sees Adora and is able to be alone and in private with her, she relaxes and smiles, even if at times mischievously. She’s a person she’s known and cared for her whole life.

3)    To Prove Herself Worthy

Having been physically and emotionally abused and tortured by Shadow Weaver her whole life, she is constantly having a feeling of inferiority, abandonment, and unappreciation. She wants to be admired. Whether conscious of it or not, deep down Catra seeks approval, affirmation. And ultimately, she just needs a big hug. Thanks to Scorpia, she can get hugs, however unfortunately in this case they are unwelcome and therefore one-sided. She doesn’t want to be smothered. She just wants to be loved by someone she already loves. Or at least by someone who she wished or hoped loved her all along, Shadow Weaver.

4)    To not be forgotten by Adora

This kind of ties into my second point, but different. Catra felt betrayed by Adora from the beginning when she “left her” and the Horde for some random new people she just met at Bright Moon to fight for the opposite side. She wanted to rub it in by staying back at the Horde. She wanted to hit Adora where it hurt her the most so she would keep chasing her and coming back to find her. By climbing to the top of the ladder and having the goal to become the leader of the Horde, Catra could then be an equal to Adora, rather than just “second best” or an afterthought.

There was no way Catra would have left the Horde and joined the rebellion to be by Adora’s side, as much as she wanted to be with her. That’s a topic for a separate discussion already covered by other meta posts though. But my point is that Catra was heartbroken at Adora having left her and the Horde for some new random friends and She-Ra… in Catra’s mind then that meant Adora gave them and it more importance than her. And because of her already deeply instilled feelings of inferiority and unappreciation, she wouldn’t have switched sides, even if Adora wanted her to. At least not yet, and she had to hit rock bottom to realize that.

By being basically Adora’s nemesis (in her twisted logic) that would mean they could still be if not best friends then at least best enemies, with no one below or above her. And that would also mean that Adora would still keep coming back to her, even if only in a fight. Ones she would eagerly always look forward to, because at least she would get to see Adora.