"Miss Softbroom" seems like such a dumdumb episode, but in reality it is so so introspective, cause it's the episode that shows you Miss Hardbroom is not really mean, she's something else entirely.
On one side, we have Miss Doomstone, or Doomstone the Destroyer, as they call her: she is actually mean. We don't know that much about her character, but what we do know is that the moment she swallows the personality changing potion (which reverses your main personality traits), she becomes nice, kind and compassionate.
And then we have Miss Hardbroom, who takes that same potion and becomes Miss Softbroom. But if you watch carefully, she doesn't become nice, or kind, or compassionate: she becomes carefree.
Despite being severe, uptight, and sometimes downright nasty, Miss Hardbroom always has the school's and the students' best interests at heart. But after taking the potion, she loses all her control, and becomes a nuisance for the good of the school and because of her behaviour, the inspection takes a turn for the worst.
Miss Hardbroom is always very much in control of the situation, and she hates it when things don't go her way. I think that's why she's so nervous every time Miss Pentangle is visiting: she has feelings for her, and those kind of feelings are a thing Miss Hardbroom can't control. Like, did you see her reaction when Miss Pentangle kissed her cheeks and then booped her nose?
Cause there is one thing she severely lacks, and it's confidence. There's this other episode which draws a more subtle, but very much there comparison, and this time it was between her and Ethel Hallow: it was 1x05 "The Great Wizard's Visit", during which Agatha pretended to be Ada Cackle. Throughout this episode, no one, staff or pupil, knows who she really is, and there are two instances where she lies and manipulates, one time with Ethel and the other with Miss Hardbroom, and both times it causes problems, but for opposite reasons: Agatha appeals to Ethel's overconfident nature to have her ruin the broomstick flying display, and then to Miss Hardbroom's lack of confidence to get her out of the way. Neither of them realize she is really Agatha, even though Ada would NEVER speak to them like that or give them such orders, because of their respective degree of confidence.
And if there's one thing Hecate Hardbroom lacks confidence for more than anything else, it's love.
Whereas when she took the potion, she became DOWNRIGHT FLIRTY towards Miss Drill IMMEDIATELY. While the rest of the time, Miss Drill is possibly the staff member she is the most antagonistic towards. Weird, right?
So yeah, in conclusion, what Clarice said at the end of the episode:
Beatrice: I think some of the Softbroom potion must have rubbed off on HB; she almost smiled just then! Clarice: Or maybe, compared to someone like Miss Doomstone, she's really not that bad, after all?
