A Well Written Cartoon Episode: She-Ra Episode 11

Major Spoiler Warnings.
She-Ra Princess of Power Season 1: Episode 11
I couldn’t identify what it was that kept pulling me back into this Netflix series. I mean, it certainly wasn’t bad, but it didn’t strike me as phenomenal either. Now, I can say with certainty it’s Adora and Catra’s relationship. This episode forces the two friends-turned-enemies into technological ruins that they have to work together to escape from. The episode spends its entire twenty minutes on these two, no side characters, or anything just these two trying to understand each other.
Up until this point, I disliked how Catra seemed to be regressing into some stereotypical “oh, I’m just so nasty villain” while losing the amicable nature we saw from her in the first two episodes, which made me think she could be redeemable. The best I saw of her breaking out of this mold was two episodes prior where Catra gave Adora her magical sword so she could escape the fright zone. This episode really jumps off from that point, exploring the reasons for Catra to show such mercy. It also gives Adora a better reason to be willing to work with Catra to escape the ruins and a reason to protect her from the machines.
But the real power of the episode comes from its flashback sequences, where the two have to relive some of their happiest and most painful childhood memories. We see Adora standing up to the person who bullied Catra, and the two of them laughing together. But then, we see them sparring with the other students, trying to outdo the other. When Adora wins, the teacher praises her. Catra pretends she doesn’t care about winning (because meh, too much effort), but then we see her walk away and cry with jealousy. I love this scene because it plants the seeds for Catra to dislike Adora to some extent. This is furthered when the two children broke into Shadow Weaver’s room and the angered mage scolds and threatens Catra while leaving Adora off the hook. The way Shadow Weaver completely humiliates Catra and treats her like dirt next to Adora helps me understand why Catra feels so envious of Adora. At the same time, all of their happy memories together makes her deeply care for Adora. I want to believe that Catra can overcome her jealousy and she can just be friends with Adora. For a moment, the episode suggests they can.
Near the end, Catra comes back to save Adora from spider robots, and you think that maybe this is where the two will finally join forces, but the episode doesn’t do this. Catra says she’s glad Adora’s out of the Fright Zone because it meant Catra could become a force captain. She then cuts the webs and lets Adora fall. It’s important to note that in this scene Catra contradicts her earlier statement, saying she didn’t want Shadow Weaver to erase Adora’s mind. It’s also significant that instead of taking the magic sword, she dumps it into the pit with Adora. You could argue that if she really wanted to kill Adora and the rebellion, she would’ve just taken the sword. Honestly, there’s a lot you can take from her actions. I think this shows just how psychologically torn she is, pulled between her friendship and her jealousy. This episode just does an incredible job showing how and why Catra simultaneously loves and hates Adora, how Adora’s idealism and Catra’s jealousy keeps them from being friends again. And the final scene, of Catra turned away from the audience after a fellow captain calls her a great friend, and walked away, speaks volumes about how she’s torn apart over this. I feel that this episode sets the scene for something more, more development opportunities between the two, and left me wanting to see them rekindle their friendship. It’s a fantastic episode that left me emotional.
I think that's the mark of an excellent antagonist and a great character. Even if I don't agree with everything they do, I want to understand why they're doing what they're doing, and all the events that led them to make their choices. And this episode achieves this incredibly well.