“ | I won't give up! Not on Etheria. Not on my friends. Not on myself.
— Adora, proclaiming her determination before turning into She-Ra and breaking out of Beast Island's vines.
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Adora is the main protagonist of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and the current She-Ra. She is currently in a romantic relationship with Catra.
Description
Adora was raised from infancy as a member of Horde by the sorceress Shadow Weaver. On the day she was promoted to Force Captain, she was captured by members of the Rebellion. Adora learns that the Horde, rather than being a positive influence on their planet (as she had thought), has been a force of evil and destruction. Ultimately, she befriends her captors, Bow and Glimmer, and joins them in their fight with the other princesses against the Horde.
Adora discovers the Sword of Protection, by which she gains the ability to transform into the "Princess of Power"—She-Ra. She also discovers that she is not a native of Etheria, but actually belongs to a race called the First Ones, and that she was brought to Etheria through a portal by Light Hope. After shattering her original sword, she eventually learns to draw the power from within her and transform into She-Ra without it, as well as being able to summon into existence a new sword at will, with powers similar to that of her former sword.
At the end of the battle with the Horde and the defeat of Horde Prime, she recognizes that she is in love with Catra, her childhood friend (and former enemy). Together with Catra, she decides to explore and restore magic to the universe along with their friends Bow and Glimmer.
ND Stevenson intended Adora to be 17 or 18 years old at the beginning of the series,[3] and ND's headcanon is that 2 and a half to 3 years have passed since Season One.[4] However, in the short "Surprise Party For She-Ra" set in Season One, Bow and Glimmer prepare a surprise party for Adora's 16th birthday.
Appearance
Adora
Adora is a tall, pale tan-skinned teenage girl with a slender and athletic physique. She has blue-gray eyes, dark brown narrow eyebrows, and thick lashes. She has long dark blonde hair, usually kept in a high ponytail with a dark gray hair tie, and a poof at the front.
Adora wears a red, quarter-length-sleeved jacket with a popped pale-beige collar (along with a Force Captain badge, which she removes once she defects from the Horde). Under her jacket, she wears a white turtleneck with pointed cuffs, small red stripes on the sleeves and light gray accents (initially with the Horde symbol on the back, which is removed after she defects to the Rebellion). She also dons a set of plain gray leggings and calf-length red boots with white accents, complimenting the color scheme of her jacket and turtleneck. Adora completes the look with a dark greenish-brown belt with a Horde buckle, which is later replaced with a golden wing as symbol of her newfound Rebellion allegiance.
In her vision of the future, Adora wears a long white dress and cape with gold trim and gold headband. She appears to be taller and her hair has been let down and grown longer.
She never changes out of her Horde uniform throughout the series because she is not comfortable in other clothes. [5]
She-Ra
In her She-Ra form, Adora still maintains her slender physique, but she is more muscular, and has long, wavy/straight light blonde hair —which can also glow— and light blue eyes. She also has a thin golden crown with two wings on each side, and a red jewel in the center, and solid, golden arm cuffs. She wears a white dress with a golden, six-pointed flower embroidered on the chest, divided by a golden seam that splits the bodice from collar to belt. At the center of the flower sits an oval azure gemstone. Her sleeves are golden, pointed pauldrons that stand of their own accord. The aforementioned seam blends into the gold trim of her uniform collar and ends when it reaches the apex of her thick golden belt, creating a V-shaped belt at her waist. Her white ruffled skirt, which begins under the belt, is open at the front revealing a pair of white, skin-tight shorts striped with a thick golden line on the outside of each thigh. She-Ra also wears knee-high athletic white and aqua boots, with gold soles and accents. She completes her ensemble with a knee-length red cape. She is taller than many of the other characters, at allegedly 8 feet tall according to Mermista, albeit this could be an exaggeration.
During the events of "Save the Cat," Adora finally obtains the new She-Ra transformation. She is slightly more muscular than in her earlier form, and her hair is a slightly lighter blonde and in a style similar to her civilian one, but her ponytail is longer. She is now wearing long white pants and boots with gold wing decals (representing Glimmer), Her shirt more now looks more like a blouse with a long back and red inside, the shirt also sports a heart outlined in gold (representing Bow), her golden tiara is significantly changed to look more like Catra's former mask (representing Catra).
Personality
Adora is a brave, competitive, and noble warrior and is true to her own values and rather sympathetic. She's very strong as it's seen in an arm-wrestling match where she beats the well built and strong-arm wrestler, Sea Hawk. She is shown to be a leader in every group she joins. Realizing what the Horde has done to innocent Etherians, she makes a major life decision (to leave the Horde). Reluctantly, she is willing to lose her lifelong friend, Catra, in order to remain true to her values.
Despite making the decision to leave the Horde, Adora has been shown to be most comfortable following rules and sticking to plans. She is not entirely socially competent, having been raised in a military environment, and therefore is typically very blunt and always prefers to be prepared for battle. She is also shown to be unaware of certain familial terms such as "aunt." She has a huge appetite and whenever she is eating she seems to ignore her surroundings.
Adora's heroic deeds, power, and positivity begin to grow as she and her friends continue to battle the Evil Horde. She suffers from occasional clumsiness especially when trying to control her powers, weaponry, or when trying to bond with Swift Wind. Adora struggles with pressure when discussing the allies' strike plan in the war tent. Despite all this, Adora/She-Ra works to overcome her fear and become a powerful warrior to save Etheria from tyranny. Due to misinformation given by Light Hope, she becomes very stressed about ending up like Mara, but greatly respects the previous She-Ra after learning the truth about her. She is shown to admire and be attracted to powerful and muscular women, such as Huntara.
Due to Shadow Weaver's abuse, Adora believes that she alone is responsible for the well-being of others. She repeatedly talks about needing to fix things and things needing to be perfect. In fact, since becoming She-Ra, she has gained a notable martyr complex. She constantly puts her relationships aside even if they are healthy when it comes to battling the Horde. Notably, after destroying the Sword of Protection, Adora constantly threw herself into battle without regard for her own well-being. Even more notably, she is perfectly willing to sacrifice her own life when it seems necessary. Notable instances were in "The Portal" and "Heart Part 2." In the former, after being saved by Queen Angella, attempts to remove the sword from the portal, but Angella, feeling more remorse over her cowardly actions, sacrifices herself instead. In the latter, when she is prevented from transforming into She-Ra, which would allow her to survive using the Failsafe, Adora opts to use it anyway, even rebuking Catra's support at first, but she has been infected long enough that she cannot use the Failsafe at all. Her complex is further shown in the way she misremembers Angella's request to "take care of each other" as her needing to take care of others.
Due to her hero complex, she may occasionally act like she knows what's best for others and ignore their opinions and feelings over wanting to protect them, unintentionally taking away their agency. Both Catra and Glimmer have accused her of acting heroic for the sake of gaining admiration, not fully understanding the reasons behind her complex. When visiting Elberon, she temporarily began to act arrogant as a result of a huge party celebrating her, but felt guilty when her overconfidence put people in danger and realized she had failed to act like an actual hero.
According to ND Stevenson, Adora is not comfortable with herself and does not have full understanding of her own personal style nor likes as a result of her upbringing, and she wears the same uniform throughout the show because it is familiar to her and gives her a sense of purpose. She is uncomfortable with certain feminine traits of her former She-Ra form, with the current one fitting her more, and her future vision being more about allowing herself to be soft and vulnerable than femininity. Adora describes herself as a "punch your feelings out guy" and is surprised and a bit amused when Glimmer wants friendship advice from her. Furthermore, Stevenson has described her as very repressed due to how much she focuses on duty over her own wants, and that she would bury things she personally wants (such as being with Catra) deep inside her as if inside a box, but would also get very into those things once the box is broken open.
She has been shown to be a forgiving person, being willing to believe in a small possibility that Shadow Weaver may have changed after she escaped the Horde (albeit with reservations and being still suspicious of and eventually reaching her limit with her), quickly forgiving Glimmer after she is rescued from Horde Prime's ship, and being willing to forgive Catra as long as she is willing to try to be better. However, as seen when she vanquishes Horde Prime, she does not forgive evil that is completely unwilling to change.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Powers via the Sword of Protection (And later by herself):
- Transformation : Using the Sword of Protection, Adora can transform into the legendary warrior known as She-Ra, becoming taller and more muscular in the process. Her hair also becomes longer and a much lighter shade of blonde. Her eyes become lighter-blue and, when affected by the Runestone, turns white. Finally, Adora's clothes are transformed into She-Ra's costume. With the sword broken, she discovered the power within and can now transform without it, materializing a new sword in the process as well. Additionally, Adora can transform the sword into any form (from Season Two and onward), including a shield, a flute, a mop, a whip, and a cup.
- Superhuman strength: Adora is incredibly strong as She-Ra, being able to easily lift and punch dents into Horde tanks with little issue. Even without She-Ra powers Adora is very strong which can be seen when she wins an arm-wrestling match against well built, strong Sea Hawk (who himself is an excellent wrestler), and casually broke off the top of a rock.
- Superhuman durability : As She-Ra, Adora is capable of surviving all sorts of powerful attacks. She was able to endure an explosion from the self-destruction of an EKS and take attacks from powerful foes such as Catra and Scorpia. Her durability does have a limit, however, as she was knocked out by a point-blank energy shot from a Horde tank, with Madame Razz being forced to save her.
- Superhuman agility: Adora is shown to be able to make incredible leaps while transformed.
- Healing Powers: According to Perfuma, She-Ra is said to possess powerful healing abilities. The first time Adora successfully performed this ability as She-Ra was when she restored Plumeria using the very same machine the Horde used to poison the land as the conduit, reversing the damage. Later, Shadow Weaver guides Adora into being able to heal her using the runestone housed in She-Ra's sword.
- Animal Transformation: Energy from the sword's Runestone is shown to mutate animals. This is shown twice on the show. The second being a reptile in Plumeria that scurries away, the first resulted in the transformation of Horsey into Swift Wind. Swift Wind's transformation was physical and mental, giving the creature a horn, wings, new coloration, vocal chords that allowed him to speak, and intelligence. It also created a bond between Adora and Swift Wind that strengthens with teamwork.
- Energy Blast: Using the sword as a focus, Adora as She-Ra can unleash powerful rainbow-colored energy attacks capable of destroying spaceships of the Horde Armada.
- Aura Generation: When united with the other Princesses, Adora can generate an aura that greatly increases her power. Her aura manifests in white with some little pale yellow glowing.
- Animal Magic: She-Ra has the power to calm aggression in animals. This is first seen in "The Sword: Part 1" after she transforms when being attacked by a giant bug-like creature.
- Sword Summoning: In Season Five, with her new She-Ra form comes the ability to summon a new sword that seems to be just as powerful as her old one.
- Space Survival: In her She-Ra form she can travel trough the void of space without the assistance of a space suit.
- Transformation : Using the Sword of Protection, Adora can transform into the legendary warrior known as She-Ra, becoming taller and more muscular in the process. Her hair also becomes longer and a much lighter shade of blonde. Her eyes become lighter-blue and, when affected by the Runestone, turns white. Finally, Adora's clothes are transformed into She-Ra's costume. With the sword broken, she discovered the power within and can now transform without it, materializing a new sword in the process as well. Additionally, Adora can transform the sword into any form (from Season Two and onward), including a shield, a flute, a mop, a whip, and a cup.
Abilities
- Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Even before finding the Sword, Adora was an incredibly skilled combatant as a result of her cadet training with the Horde. She was able to complete her training in record time. She hasn't shown much skill after her initial appearance but seems to have reclaimed this skill in Season Five.
- Navigation and Survival: Using materials in the Crimson Waste, Adora was able to find the right way to go.
- Leadership: Adora has been shown to be a competent leader, capable of coordinating her allies and develop strategies.
- Indomitable Will: Adora is very determined to prove herself worthy of protecting those she cares about.
Weaknesses
- First One's Artifact/Corrupted Virus (briefly) : If the sword is directly infected with the Data Disk when she is She-Ra, she enters a violent berserker rage and becomes incapable of differentiating friend (Bow, Glimmer and Sea Hawk) or foe (Catra). Taking the Sword of Protection from Adora and destroying the Data Disc is the only way to stop its corruption. Once the Sword of Protection is taken from Adora, she falls into an inebriated state and loses her memory of what had just happened.
- Unclear Mind: If her mind is unfocused or full of doubt, she cannot transform into She-Ra.
- Extreme hair envy with She-Ra: As Netossa explained in Season Five, Adora has a couple insecurities, one of them being her hair.
Equipment
- Sword of Protection: As the current She-Ra, Adora wields the Sword of Protection which allows her to transform into She-Ra and access her powers. Adora is able to wrench her sword down and shatter the sword's blade in Destiny Part 2. In Season Five, she becomes able to transform once more, but this time without the sword, using now the "true" Sword of She-Ra, which consists of using her own energy to summon it.
- Staff: She uses a folding staff, like the one she trained with as a Horde Cadet, as her main weapon for the early part of Season Five, due to the destruction of the Sword of Protection in the episode Destiny Part 2. This is until she regains her powers as a new version of the She-Ra.
Relationships
Catra
Adora and Catra have been described as the "core relationship and the core conflict of the show." They grew up in the Horde together as orphans and became best friends. Catra had a close and intense relationship with Adora, tinged with a rivalry that was exacerbated when Shadow Weaver favored Adora over her. Adora for her part has always tried to be a good and loving friend to Catra, often going out of her way to find and comfort Catra when she was upset about something. Even if this sometimes resulted in Catra just being mean to her, Adora never seemed to care as long as in the end Catra was OK. As ND Stevenson put it, "As much as these two people really, really care about each other, there are also things that ... some of them are not their own choice."
In the first two seasons, Adora tried over and over again to convince Catra to leave the Horde and join her, but Catra was consumed by feelings of betrayal and anger towards Adora. In their subsequent encounters, she was bitter and cruel towards Adora, perceiving her defection to the Rebellion as a personal rejection. Adora, blind to Catra's pain, often referred to Catra's actions as just another game. When the two ended up alone together in Episode 11 Adora has a hard time treating Catra as an enemy and quickly tries to reestablish their old friendship.
Obsessed with proving her worth to the Horde and beating her former friend, Catra's various plans to defeat Adora become bolder, riskier, and more violent, and at times put the very existence of Etheria at risk. Adora blamed herself for Catra's actions, often feeling that she had somehow just failed to properly convince her. Its not until Catra almost destroys Etheria at the end of Season Three, that Adora formally severs her friendship with Catra. This is best showcased in the relatively minimal interactions between the two during Season Four.
In Season Five, she would see the two's relationship return in a big way after Catra aids Glimmer's escape from Horde Prime's ship. Believing she was performing her last act, Catra apologizes to Adora via a transmission, for everything that she had done. Adora becomes distraught and upset when the message goes quiet. After rescuing Glimmer Adora confirms that Catra had indeed saved the young Queen, and learns that Catra had done it to stop Adora from falling into Horde Prime's trap.
After spending time thinking about their past Adora decides she can't leave Catra with Horde Prime even after everything she's done. With her friend's blessing, Adora, Bow, Glimmer and Entrapta go to rescue Catra. Adora pretends to surrender to Horde Prime in the hopes that the others will find and rescue Catra while she plays decoy.
“ | Adora: Snap out of it, Catra! I don't want to hurt you!
Catra: But you have already hurt me. Prime has set me free of that pain. The pain that you caused. He will set us all free...forever. A world of peace, without end. — Catra under Mind Control
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When Horde Prime reveals that he had turned Catra into his puppet with a Horde Chip, Adora was left completely aghast. As they fight, and thanks to damaging the chip, Catra is able to come back to her senses and tells Adora she should have stayed away because Catra's life doesn't matter. Adora assures Catra it does matter to her. Horde Prime then tries to kill Catra via the chip and sends her tumbling off a balcony. Adora follows, and finds Catra near death on the ground with Horde Prime gloating via his Clones. Furious, Adora is able to transform onto She-Ra for the first time with out the sword and escapes from Horde Primes ship with Catra. Once away, Adora uses her last bit of power to heal Catra and they embrace each other.
Once healed though it doesn't take Catra long to back slide into her old self, much to Adora's annoyance, but once Adora tells her during an argument that she never hated Catra (probably not to discourage her even more), we see a much softer side to the Cat Girl. For the rest of the trip home, Catra tries to work on being a better friend, much to Adora's delight. This also begins to show itself with the two being much more flirtatious with each other. Adora and Catra become much more prone to blushing around each other as they also fall back into their friendly but competitive friendship. They also both begin to show an extreme protectiveness of each other, often throwing themselves into danger to save the other.
Back on Etheria, their relationship hits a few bumps again, thanks in no small part to Shadow Weaver's machinations. Adora's willingness to follow Shadow Weaver's plan despite the high risk of her own death leaves Catra furious and hurt. But eventually, Catra is able to see that Adora's desire to protect the world doesn't diminish her love for Catra.
“ | Adora: You... love me?
Catra: You're such an idiot. Adora: I love you too.— Adora and Catra declare their love
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During the final battle, they confess their love for each other and kiss. This purges Horde Prime's virus and allows Adora to transform into She-Ra so she can finally use the fail safe code. With Adora ending the threat of the Horde forever, and the two of them now a couple, they decide to go on a new adventure together with Bow and Glimmer.
Best Friend Squad
Promptly named 'Best Friend Squad' by Bow, their friendship and common goals make them the leads of the series. Adora, who is still aligned with the Horde, officially meets Bow and Glimmer in "The Sword: Part 1" in the Whispering Woods while they are both looking for the Sword of Protection. With Horde propaganda about the Princess Rebellion as an education, Adora is hostile, aggressive and insulting towards the pair, attempting to reclaim the sword. However, after the invasion of Thaymore, they become best friends and rebellion leaders together.
After learning of the Horde's true agenda, Adora defects from the organization, instead choosing to co-lead the Rebellion with Princess Glimmer, sharing the title of leader much like her parents had. Adora is shown to have anxiety about her new title, only voicing her concerns to Bow and Glimmer, who try their best to put her at ease. However, sometimes they too play into the idea of an overpowered, all-knowing She-Ra, such as in "Flowers for She-Ra", they are shown telling clearly fictional stories of She-Ra to an amazed crowd of Plumerians.
However, despite this, they are quick to defend her and not allow her to internalize her failures, such as Bow comforting a distraught Adora (who is in her She-Ra form) and informing her that it is okay that she failed, as long as she wasn't hurt. Likewise, in "In the Shadows of Mystacor", Glimmer is very caring of Adora, not holding the mistakes she makes over her head and instead she comforts her frequently.
Similarly, Adora is very protective over both Glimmer and Bow, putting them above herself more than once. In "Reunion", although she is initially not concerned with Bow's whereabouts like Glimmer is, she is horrified to see him in a full-length shirt and assumes that he is being tortured. In the same vein, after Glimmer's connection to the Moonstone was damaged by Shadow Weaver's magic and cannot stop glitching, Adora blames herself and goes out of her way to help Glimmer, who protests that it doesn't hurt. Likewise, when rescuing Bow and Glimmer, Lonnie recalls their former friendship, implying that Adora places her new Rebellion friends above her former ones.
- Adora: "I need to save my friends."
- Lonnie: "We were your friends."
- No Princess Left Behind", minute {{{minute}}} "
As of Season Five Catra is now a member, who was welcomed with open arms, despite past grudges, as all has been forgiven.
Their friendship isn't all serious, however, as they are shown to joke and tease each other. Specifically shown in "System Failure", as both Glimmer and Adora tease Bow over his ludicrous inventions, as well as not accepting the name 'Best Friend Squad' when he initially proposed it. Likewise, there are numerous scenes where Glimmer and Bow attempt to teach Adora proper social etiquette, only for her to relate it to her time in the Horde or military training and shenanigans ensue, such as in "Princess Prom", "Roll With It", and "Reunion".
Glimmer
Starting in "The Sword: Part 1", Glimmer and Adora initially have an antagonistic relationship, both girls not understanding why either would fight for the side they are on. As well, Adora is initially distrustful of Glimmer, ridiculing her need to charge her powers as well as referring to her as a 'princess' with disdain. Likewise, Glimmer did not trust Adora due to her seemingly willingness to align with the Horde despite their colonization of the planet. Their relationship, however, is completely changed after the Horde attacks Thaymor, and Glimmer begins to trust Adora as she learns that Adora was initially unaware of the Horde's true intentions or princess propaganda.
Following this change, they are shown to be much closer throughout the following seasons, as Glimmer is shown to make more of an effort to understand Adora's past trauma. Such as "In the Shadows of Mystacor", where Glimmer goes out of her way to help Adora relax, despite her increasing paranoia. As well, Glimmer is patient with Adora, never scolding her for miss stepping when it comes to social boundaries that Adora breaks. Specifically in "System Failure" and "In the Shadows of Mystacor", when Adora acts inebriated and foolish, Glimmer carries her to safety, and doesn't scold Adora when she breaks Mystacor's ancient crystals.
Glimmer and Adora are both shown to be protective over each other, exemplified by Adora in "Huntara" and "The Beacon", as she dives into quicksand without thought after Glimmer slips through, despite the princess being able to teleport out with ease, and when she is shown to worry about Glimmer and considers giving up her new friends and attachments under the condition that she can heal Glimmer immediately. Glimmer sheds tears for Adora in "Princess Prom" and is able to overcome her bondage to stop Shadow Weaver from erasing Adora's memory. They would collide again on Adora's behalf In "The Price of Power", when Glimmer threatens Shadow Weaver with her magic if she harms Adora in any way. She then smirks proudly when Adora begins defending herself from Shadow Weaver's manipulation. Glimmer's patience with Adora can border on protectiveness as in "System Failure", where she carries Adora around and threatens Entrapta on her behalf, and in "White Out", where she stops fighting in order to embrace an infected Adora. In "The Portal", Adora acknowledges Glimmer's strengths, and even goes as far as to say she had never met anyone like her.
Glimmer's words and presence are shown to be comforting to Adora. Demonstrated best with "In the Shadows of Mystacor". After finally defeating Shadow Weaver, Adora is still on edge and wakes up abruptly, and is only soothed as she reaches out for Glimmer, and calms in her touch. As well, in "Roll With It", Adora is anxious about taking on Catra, and only Glimmer's speech about "rolling with the punches" can ease her mind. It is flipped following the events of Season Three with the entrapment of Angella, as Adora is there to comfort Glimmer, pulling her into a protective hug and pushing their foreheads together as a sign of condolences.
They also seem to have a very enthusiastic relationship, as "In the Shadows of Mystacor", "Princess Prom" and "The Sword: Part 2," Glimmer is shown to gush about things she enjoys as she explains them in detail while Adora listens and learns social etiquette. Glimmer and Adora are similar when it comes to some activities, such as their love of fighting, weapons and violence. Specifically in "System Failure", when Glimmer remarks about a boulder that needs smashing and Adora is quick to oblige. And, as Catra puts it, they're both 'gullible and easy to manipulate', remarking that they're 'perfect' for each other. Although she was teasing them, they do have much in common. They are both reckless and headstrong, putting what they believe in above all else. They also lightheartedly tease Bow together, such as in "System Failure," when they ridicule his trick arrows and initially do not accept the name "Best Friend Squad."
Likewise, Angella compares her past relationship with Micah to Glimmer and Adora's current one, stating that she made a mistake in letting her father go and that Glimmer should not do the same to Adora.
In Season Four, their relationship goes through major tension because of their debate on how to defeat the Horde. It first started with Glimmer using Adora as bait in "Pulse", Adora was also both shocked and angry when she leaned that Glimmer was letting Shadow Weaver teach her magic. Their relationship became even more strained thanks to Double Trouble's meddling when they were posing as Flutterina. When Glimmer said if her best was good enough they wouldn't have lost her mother Adora began to cry (which Glimmer deeply regrets). After learning of the Heart of Etheria Adora wanted to disable it but Glimmer wanted to use it to defeat the Horde despite Adora's and Bow's warnings. During their rescue mission on Beast Island, Adora got rid of any doubts she had and renewed her promise to Angela to protect Glimmer. After hearing that Horde Prime had taken Glimmer prisoner she did not hesitate to say they were going to save her despite that her Sword was currently broken.
“ | Glimmer: Adora, I am so sorry for everything I said! You were right about everything. I should've just listened to you and I didn't know that I'd see you again and now I...
Adora: Hey, hey, it's okay, we're here now and nothing is going to pull us apart again. I really missed you too. — Glimmer's tearful apology
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When they were reunited in Season Five, Glimmer with tears in her eyes apologized to Adora and admitted she was wrong and should have listened to her. Adora forgave her without a second thought and their friendship is just as strong as it was before.
Bow
Meeting each other for the first time in "The Sword: Part 1," Bow is initially distrusting of Adora. However, he is still shown to be chivalrous and kind towards her and attempts to get to know her. His kindness to Adora doesn't stop at that, however, as he comically over reacts to learning that she doesn't know what 'parties' or 'aunts' are. He is quick to show and indulge her.
Bow can often be seen being 'the brain' of the pair, as he corrects Adora's missteps. Such as in "Huntara", when Adora uses her hands as a makeshift pair of binoculars, Bow puts a real set in her hands. In "Reunion," he is shown to be quick to fix Adora's story when she makes mistakes and adds to the lie.
Adora is shown to recognize his smarts and talents, as well as have a deeper understanding of him. Exemplified in "The Portal," she is momentarily shocked to learn that he is the Bright Moon Castle Royal Historian, and later, when confessing to her friends, she states that she's proud of him, and knows that his fathers are too. Likewise, even if she sometimes teases his interests, such as in "System Failure," she supports him wholeheartedly, shown when risking her life to help him get a scrambled signal in "Light Spinner" and "The Frozen Forest."
Queen Angella
Their relationship is initially rocky, with Angella not trusting the former Horde soldier after learning that she is She-Ra. Specifically, Angella confides in Adora that she only trusts her for Glimmer's sake, specifically warning, "Do not disappoint her." Their relationship is further strained when Adora accidentally sits in King Micah's chair during a meeting, which angers Angella greatly. However, even after her blunder, it is shown that Angella respects Adora's military background and prowess for combat, as she trusts her enough to make plans as well as protect her daughter from attacks.
Her trust was gained when helps Glimmer and Bow rescue Plumeria from a Horde invasion. Likewise, their relationship starts to better as Angella becomes protective and openly affectionate to Adora, wrapping her in a hug with her wings similar to how she had done Bow and Glimmer. After this, it is acknowledged that Angella takes great pride in Adora, as herself and as She-Ra. She is shown to see bits of herself and Micah in Glimmer and Adora, respectively.
In Season Three, it is shown that Angella and Adora's relationship has developed into a mother-daughter like bond, even with Angella being similarly over protective of Adora as she is of Glimmer. In " "The Price of Power," she forbade Adora from interacting with Shadow Weaver, and, in "The Portal," Angella sacrifices herself for Adora and has a personal conversation with her about her motives for doing so.
Hordak
Lord Hordak saw her as a great candidate to be Force Captain, and had originally intended for her to be at the head of her squadron. When she defected from the Horde, he wanted to move on from this and appoint another Force Captain, Catra, to take her place.
Shadow Weaver
Shadow Weaver took her as an orphaned child into the Horde. According to Adora, Shadow Weaver taught her how to read and how to tie her boots. She saw great promise in her and raised her to become a great soldier to fight against The Rebellion. When Adora defected, Shadow Weaver did everything within her power to try and get her back, even going against Lord Hordak's orders. She also turned to Adora to heal her when she escaped the Horde and on the verge of death. Adora still did not trust her; as she was visibly upset that Shadow Weaver was teaching Glimmer magic and even suspected her of being a spy. Despite their history she was willing to listen to her when she leaned of the failsafe to stop the super weapon at the planet's core, but still showed her disdain for her "Mother Figure", declaring furiously that she would never forgive Shadow Weaver after her words resulted in Catra running away in an attempt to stop "distracting" Adora. In the final battle she wept when Shadow Weaver died saving her and Catra from a security monster showing she truly cared for the sorceress in the end.
Swift Wind
Adora meets Swift Wind as Horsey, a regular brown horse in the town of Thaymor. She instantly took a liking toward him and took him back to Bright Moon. Adora was trying to impress Horsey (Swift Wind) by turning into She-Ra when a flash from the sword turned him into an alicorn with a rainbow mane and a horn. At first, he doesn't take too kindly to being transformed but later accepts it, even renaming himself from Horsey to the now known Swift Wind. He and Adora have a close connection to one another. He can sense when she is in distress.
Razz
Adora met Madame Razz shortly after she defected from the Horde. She seeks out Razz when the magic of Etheria is too much for her to understand. She relies heavily upon the crone's obscure wisdom.
Light Hope
Initially, Adora was sceptical of Light Hope but later came to trust the A.I. Light Hope trained and guided Adora to become She-Ra and instructed her to "balance the planet". Light Hope sent Adora and Swift Wind on a quest to fix the Watchtower, during this quest the pair formed a magical bond, which Light Hope also instructed them to do.
As Adora grew stronger and gained skill, Light Hope revealed her plan to re-activate the Heart of Etheria. This became a point of contention between the two. Light Hope insisting that Adora follow her destiny to balance the planet so the Heart of Etheria could be activated; Adora resisted, believing that her duty was to her friends and to protect Etheria. Adora continued to resist Light Hope's insistence that she must follow her fate; Adora chose to make her own way. Adora broke the blade of the Sword of Protection despite Light Hope's objections. This de-activated Light Hope, but not before the A.I. thanked the princess for being her friend and for saving planet from the Heart of Etheria Project.
Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio
They all had a tight bond with one another—despite Catra being her best friend —while in the Horde. Lonnie didn't take it very well when Adora defected and then came back to fight against them in a rescue mission to save Glimmer. Lonnie later states in Season Four that the loyalty they had been raised on in the Horde was a lie, citing Adora's leaving as a reason, showing how hard she took her leaving.
The Princess Alliance
All the princesses have joined under one team to fight against the Horde. They have all followed Adora into battles and rescue missions to save their homeland. The Princess Alliance (including Bow and Sea Hawk) have all worked together in order to defend Bright Moon from being destroyed.
Often, they are less serious than Adora, which tends to frustrate her, shown in "Roll With It." But, they still support each other, and they help her feel less stressed sometimes, as she also helps Mermista regain her energy after the Horde took over Salineas.
Sea Hawk
Sea Hawk and Adora are both very competitive by nature. The two of them often arm wrestle, and Adora always wins so it's clear she's stronger.
The Horde
She has become the Horde's number one enemy since she defected and joined the Rebellion. Numerous attempts have been made to capture and bring her back.
Huntara
Adora is fascinated by first seeing Huntara and asks her to be the squad's guide in the Crimson Waste. Huntara first betrayed The Squad, but then joined them and let them to Mara's ship. Adora and Huntara worked side by side in Bright Moon and the Crimson Waste in Season Four. They have matching competitive streaks, both racing to get to where Mara's ship was.
Huntara seemed to be physically more capable than Adora (when she is not She-Ra), as she was fine when Adora was panting for air after their sprint.
Horde Prime
Adora intended to end the threat of the Horde including their leader once and for all. When She met the intergalactic tyrant for the first time, he revealed that he is an ancient enemy of her people, the First Ones. She hates Horde Prime with a passion for implanting Horde chips into her friends and caused horrible suffering to the people of Etheria. After a lengthy battle, she was able to destroy Horde Prime and his empire, freeing the universe from his evil.
Star Siblings
Adora fought with the Star Siblings when they first met; however, when they realized they shared a common enemy, and were therefore on the same side, they stopped and helped each other instead.
Melog
Melog and Adora are friendly with each other.
Plot
Past
As Light Hope said in Season Three, Adora is not from Etheria but from another planet called Eternia. Light Hope brought Adora into Etheria by a portal from another place which the First Ones had come from. The First Ones created the Sword of Protection to activate the Heart of Etheria, which was built by the First Ones to turn Etheria into a giant weapon. Mara tried to hide the sword from anyone who could wield the sword, she did this to prevent another portal opening back to the First Ones.
After Adora came through the portal, Lord Hordak found her and took her away to become a Horde Soldier. Shadow Weaver, the second-in-command of The Horde, raised her after telling Hordak that she had power, raising her along with Catra and training her to become a child soldier.
Light Hope watched over Adora waiting for the time to present her with the Sword of Protection, which she does in episode 1 of Season One, which is where our story begins.
Season One
Adora starts as a prodigy Horde soldier, eventually becoming Force Captain, until one day on an excursion with Catra she locates an odd sword, and touching it she receives visions. Although she returns to the Fright Zone, she is drawn back to the sword where she encounters new friends, Glimmer and Bow. They introduce her to parties, and when the Horde attacks the village she is partying at, she makes the choice to take up the mantle of She-Ra and defend them from the Horde, defecting and becoming estranged from Catra.
Pledging herself to Queen Angella and the Rebellion, Adora then sets out to aid the besieged land of Plumeria, encouraging them to fight for themselves and successfully healing their poisoned land. Adora continues to the kingdom of Salineas and the aid of Mermista, repairing the Sea Gate while keeping Catra at bay, who continues to try and return Adora to the Fright Zone. Adora then moves on to Dryl and recruits Entrapta for the Princess Alliance as well, and finishes by recruiting Castaspella of Mystacor by saving them from Shadow Weaver's magic.
At Princess Prom, Adora encounters Catra on neutral ground, and fails to respect the neutrality of the space, enraging Frosta, the hostess Adora is attempting to recruit. Catra then kidnaps Glimmer and Bow, leaving Adora alone and without her sword, unable to transform into She-Ra.
Adora rallies other Princesses to mount a rescue mission, and although it is successful Entrapta is left behind, Adora and the rest leave thinking her dead. Glimmer, however, is sick with a curse, and Adora goes to The Beacon to get Light Hope's help to learn healing to save her. There, she encounters Catra and numerous illusions draw forth memories of their past together, always promising to watch out for each other, but their bond cannot be mended and Catra departs. Light Hope insists on Adora serving the entire planet first, however, so Adora refuses to stay and returns to Bright Moon with her friends.
At Bright Moon, the Horde arrives to assail the kingdom and Adora is nearly defeated until numerous Princesses arrive to help, and together they push back the Horde.
Season Two
Adora continues to train with Light Hope to enhance her martial prowess as She-Ra while staving off the Horde that continues to assail the woods. She along with Bow find themselves in a rut as they struggle to capture one of their robots, and when they do, they realize that Entrapta is alive as First Ones technology has been embedded into the machines, something only she could do.
While Glimmer and Bow handle that, Adora is sent to fix an outpost by Light Hope in order to bring her to full computational capacity. She then continues to Alwyn, where reports of hauntings turn out to be old First Ones communications that were never properly sent, which Adora resolves. Later, Adora struggles to formulate a plan to take a strategic Horde-occupied fortress, but none of her compatriots take her planning seriously. She eventually ends up assaulting the fortress with nothing but improvisation, and the operation is successful.
In the Northern Reach, Adora seeks out an anomalous Horde outpost to stop whatever they are attempting, and end up encountering Catra and Entrapta. Catra uses an old Data Disk of Entrapta's that infects First One's technology to infect the Sword of Protection, Adora's Sword is part First One's tech, the infection caused Adora to fly into an indiscriminate rampage until separated from her sword. After Scorpia separated Adora from her sword she became docile and incoherent. Scorpia eventually destroys the disk in order to save Catra from similarly infected First Ones' Snow Monsters, freeing Adora from her stupor as her adversaries flee the area.
It is later revealed, incorrectly, that Adora was brought into the Horde by Hordak when he opened a portal very briefly —it was Light Hope that opened the portal that brought Adora to Etheria. Adora meanwhile helps Bow with a transmission he found, thinking it a message about her past or past She-Ra's. Bow leaves to investigate, but Glimmer and Adora follow, discovering Bow's secret; he has two fathers who believe him to be a historian-in-training at a made up academy. Adora advises him to tell his fathers the truth while they quiz her on her knowledge of First Ones' language, until she accidentally activates another First Ones' elemental. She transforms into She-Ra and holds it off until Bow can deactivate it. Later, with his fathers, they discover that the message Bow found can only be properly heard at the center of the Crimson Waste.
Season Two ends with Shadow Weaver standing menacingly over Adora's bed.
Season Three
Adora draws her sword when she senses Shadow Weaver near, who collapses to the ground and is taken into custody. Adora desperately wants to interrogate her, but Angella forbids it and Bow and Glimmer agree, the latter two working together to prevent Adora from doing so until she convinces them otherwise. Now able to enter the room without resistance, Adora does begin to interrogate the ailing Shadow Weaver and eventually reaches a deal to heal her in exchange for knowledge without any lies. Shadow Weaver teachers her to heal and Adora successfully restores the sorceress to health, after which point Shadow Weaver reveals that Adora is not native to Etheria. Adora runs away in shock.
Flying on Swift Wind, Adora seeks out Light Hope, who confirms that Adora is a First One, stolen from beyond Etheria via portal by Light Hope, something she hid from Adora. Refusing to answer Adora's further questions, Adora sets out on her own to hunt down her lead on Mara in the Crimson Waste. There, Adora faces numerous setbacks, but eventually befriends an initially traitorous Huntara, who takes them to the center of the desert to discover Mara's ship.
Listening to a recording of Mara, she explains to Adora that she deliberately cut off Etheria from the rest of the universe, placing it in a completely empty dimension called Despondos with nothing else in it, hence the stars vanishing for Etherians. She begs the successor She-Ra not to use the Sword of Protection to open a portal, lest it destroy the planet, but Adora is captured and her sword is taken by Catra shortly after.
Struggling in vain to reach out to Catra, Catra has Adora gagged, bound, and brought before Hordak to have him use the Sword to open a portal to Horde Prime. Adora tries to dissuade Entrapta from opening the portal, mocking Hordak, but despite this and the efforts of other Princesses Catra ends up successfully opening a portal anyway, causing reality to become disjointed.
As a result, Adora suddenly wakes up in a "perfect" illusory reality, back with the Horde in the Fright Zone. Adora does not remember any of the events beyond "The Sword: Part 1", only in this reality she successfully completed the invasion of Thaymor and returned as a war hero. Adora is nonetheless ill at ease, as suppressed memories lurk beneath the surface, and the continuity of this reality is not sound (e.g. time passing without memory of it happening, traversing distances without remembering traveling the intervening space). Adora begins to panic despite the assurances of her peers that all is well, and seeks out Scorpia for help.
Although initially distrusting, Adora manages to convince Scorpia that something is amiss, and eventually they reach Hordak's lab in an attempt to close the reality-altering portal; but it isn't there. Adora loses Scorpia and Lonnie to flickering flashes of light and rifts in reality, but uses advice from Razz to try and set the world aright. Enraged, Adora knocks out Catra and takes her with her, attempting to save Catra, but Catra lets herself fall into a rift and become corrupted.
Crying, Adora presses on to Bright Moon and makes Glimmer and Bow realize that not all is as perfect as it seems, and together they go to Dryl for Entrapta's help to close the portal and fix reality. Adora learns that someone must be trapped between dimensions in order to do so and that the disruption in reality is following her, so she leaves the faded Entrapta for The Beacon. There, she sees Mara in the flesh, but she quickly vanishes, and then Bow and Glimmer fade as well. Distraught, Adora breaks down, fights with and defeats a corrupted Catra, and then finds herself falling into the rift in reality even as Catra disintegrates.
Miraculously, Adora is saved by Queen Angella, who had pieced together that this reality was false and recovered her memories. Angella then sacrifices herself to stabilize the portal and return the Sword of Protection to Adora, which she uses to finally resume her form as She-Ra. She emerges from the still-open but now stable portal into a restored reality, and closes it for good with a slash of her sword. Catra and Hordak flee before her, and Shadow Weaver and Glimmer work together to transport her and everyone else back to Bright Moon. There, Adora shares the news of her Mother's sacrifice with Glimmer, and they begin grieving.
Season Four
In the season premiere, Adora and fellow rebels gather for the coronation of Glimmer as the new Queen of Bright Moon. However, Glimmer is still grieving for her mother Angella, so Adora and Bow agree to cheer her up and try not to mention Angella. However, during the Quest of Queens in a magic cave under Bright Moon which is a key coronation ritual, Glimmer, Adora and Bow encounter a large slug, which attacks them. When they were cornered Adora finally talked to Glimmer abut her mother which helps her get herself together. After Glimmer completed the quest they returned to the castle to make Glimmer's ascension to the throne official.
Glimmer gives Adora, Bow Huntara and Perfuma a mission to retrieve Mara's ship from the Crimson Waste.
Adora begins to question Glimmer after she used her as bait during a Horde attack and started studying under Shadow Weaver in the ways of sorcery. Bow tries to get them to reconcile and briefly succeeds, but Double Trouble under the guise of Flutterina sabotaged all his efforts.
Adora and Glimmer temporarily put their arguing aside in order to lure and trap Double Trouble, only for the shapeshifter to reveal that they distracted the princesses so the Horde could take control of Salineas.
Glimmer keeps going out on her own without telling anyone, much to Adora's chagrin. Adora and Glimmer continue to fight, because of their inability to agree on how to deal with the Horde to the point were Glimmer angrily blames Adora for her mother's fate which breaks Adora's heart. But before Glimmer can apologize Mermista barges in to inform them that Bow, Sea Hawk and Swift Wind are in trouble. After the guys were rescued from Octavia, Adora decides to find out more about the weapon Mara mentioned in an effort to win the war.
Adora goes to Madame Razz and after much effort, she learns the truth about how Mara sacrificed herself to save the planet from the Heart of Etheria.
When she presents her discovery to the Princess Alliance, she and Bow declare their plan to disable the super weapon, but Glimmer wants to use its power to defeat the Horde. During the debate, Scorpia appears in front of everyone. The princesses attack Scorpia and Emily, but stop when Scorpia asks for their help to save Entrapta from Beast Island. Glimmer forbids Adora and Bow from going on a rescue mission, so they along with Swift Wind sneak out and use Mara's ship to locate and fly to Beast Island.
When they arrive at Beast Island they encounter Glimmer's father King Micah who is surprisingly still alive. But during their search for Entrapta, Adora discovers she can't transform into She-Ra. She thinks it's the island interfering with her powers but then finds out it was her own doubts about her ability to stop the Horde and her damaged friendship with Glimmer that prevented from transforming. After she renews her vows to protect Glimmer and everyone, she finally becomes She-Ra. After that Entrapta comes to rescue them from multiple monsters with a giant robot she built.
During the season finale, Entrapta takes Adora and her party to a First Ones' temple at the center of Beast Island were she discovered the First Ones' plan to use the Heart of Etheria against their enemies, and that She-Ra is the key to activating and firing the weapon. The group sees that the Black Garnet is still offline. It is then that they realize that they need to hurry back to Bright Moon to stop Glimmer from reactivating the Heart. Entrapta resists at first but changes her mind when Adora informed her of the First Ones ship they flew to get to the island. They make it back only to learn from Shadow Weaver that Glimmer has already gone to the Fright Zone with Scorpia.
Adora leaves Micah at Bright Moon to recuperate, calls the Sorcerers guild of Mystacor to protect the castle and tells Bow, Entrapta and Swift Wind to go after Glimmer. When Light Hope successfully reactivates the Heart, Adora feels it and hurries to the Crystal Castle in an effort to stop the weapon. Light Hope takes control of Adora's sword and body; preparing to fire the weapon. Adora tries to reason with Light Hope, saying that the First Ones' war is long over, only for the AI program to repudiate her by saying she will return the First Ones to glory. Adora reminds Light Hope that Mara stranded the planet in Despondos, but Light Hope is one step ahead of her as she uses the Heart and the power of She-Ra's Sword to bring them out of the shadow dimension and back to the wider universe. As Light Hope is switching between her true self and her reprogrammed self she tries to tell Adora that this is their destiny, but Adora shouts "This is not my destiny!" and with all her might turns the power of The Heart of Etheria back into the sword, shattering the Sword of Protection's blade. A remorseful Light Hope thanks her before fading away. Adora steps out of the Crystal Castle and sees the Horde Armada roaming the sky. She reunites with Bow; as they hug Bow informs her that Glimmer was captured and Adora informs him that her sword is broken. Bow then asks Adora what are they going to do; Adora even without She-Ra, answers that they were going to save Glimmer and then the Universe.
Season Five
At the beginning of the season, Adora struggles with her past as she cannot summon She-Ra and trains in order to be a better commander together with Bow in The Rebellion. Adora along with others evacuated villagers to safety, fought bots and created a hidden base. She then attacks three clones and has to be rescued by Scorpia, Bow and Swift Wind; Scorpia has to sting Adora unconscious because she refused to retreat. Later, she helps capture a clone and tries to question him, but leaves him behind to help their base which is under attack. After fending off the attackers, she leads the refugees to the deepest and safest part of the Whispering Woods.
Adora struggles with having a normal body that does not have super powers. Bow takes charge and demands that everyone leave Adora alone to sleep, which she does, reluctantly. While sleeping, Adora has a dream or vision of She-Ra. Adora chases her vision of She-Ra and talks with her about her doubts, regrets and whether or not she has a destiny; the She-Ra vision did not respond. Upon awakening she learns about Prime's reinforcements, and Mermista tells her to leave to rescue Glimmer quickly. With the Horde bearing down Micah uses magic to disguise himself as She-Ra and draws the bots away from Mara's ship while Bow, Adora and Entrapta leave in Mara's ship, leaving Mermista in charge.
On Mara's ship, Adora continues to train with her staff. When there is a malfunction in the computers, she attacks the problem using duct tape with predictably poor results. Entrapta does a space walk and fixes the ship, which totally freaked out Bow and Adora. Catra contacts Adora and tells her that she is going to send Glimmer to a nearby location and demands that Adora not go to Prime's ship, to leave her behind. She screams an apology at Adora before she is overcome by clones. Entrapta pilots Darla to Glimmer's coordinates while Adora and Bow do a space walk rescue of the Queen, who was shielded from space with some sort of force field.
Aboard Darla, Mara's ship, Adora is surprised that Catra saved Glimmer's life. Glimmer tells her that Catra wanted to do one good thing in her life. She tearfully apologizes to Adora for activating the Heart of Etheria and for being so cruel to Bow and Adora, but Bow couldn't hear because he left to check on Entrapta while the ship was malfunctioning due to the lack of fuel. Darla discovers the crystals needed for fuel on a nearby planet. Once on the planet, the ground collapses under Adora and she falls into a crystalline cavern replete with blue crystals. The Star Siblings then attack Adora without warning, but they finally figure out that they are all on the same side and stop hitting each other. Starla shares her food with Adora and introduces her sister, Tallstar, her brother, Jewelstar, and her pet owl, Glory. The Siblings reveal that they are after the same thulite crystals that Adora is looking for but the constant earthquakes have blocked the way. When Bow, Glimmer and Entrapta join up, the whole gang presses on to get the thulite. Everyone works together, learn to trust a bit more and get the thulite. During a tremor, Adora summons She-Ra to save them from a collapse, which Swift Wind feels though their sacred bond. Everyone shares the crystals and the Star Siblings vow to help fight Prime in any way they can.
Once back on Darla, Adora asks to go back and save Catra; Bow and Glimmer agree to save her "Best Friends Style". Adora pilots Darla, Mara's ship, to Prime's space station with Glimmer, Bow and Entrapta hidden outside the ship in space suits. She surrenders herself for capture upon touchdown. While the clones take Adora to Prime the other three split up, communicating with radio-enabled earpieces. In Prime's throne room Adora tries to bargain with Prime using the threat of the Heart of Etheria. Prime calls her bluff, saying that she would never do anything to harm Catra. He then reveals that he is centuries old, he crushed the First Ones and knows that Adora is a First One. Prime then reveals Catra, who is under his control thanks to a chip implanted in her neck. He left the two women and they begin to fight. Prime's connection to Catra begins to weaken thanks to Adora damaging her chip, but Prime still manages to make Catra critically injure herself. Surrounded by clones a grief-stricken Adora is able to summon her true She-Ra form and defeated them single-handedly. She-Ra rejoins the group with an unconscious Catra. They board Darla and escaped. She-Ra uses her powers to heal Catra's injuries.
On board the ship, Adora attempts to reconnect with Catra but is annoyed at how stubborn she still is. When they are attacked by Horde ships, Adora realizes that they were tracking them through Catra's chip, so she brings Entrapta to Catra's room to remove the chip. Catra is reluctant at first but finally agrees as she beg Adora to stay with her. Thanks to Catra's visions from her chip, Adora learns that Prime is chipping people on Etheria, which makes her more determined than ever to return home and save everyone. She transforms into She-Ra and destroys the Horde ships in a spectacular space battle. After the ship is repaired Adora and her friends are just astonished that She-Ra is back. As they are eating and impressed with Glimmer's cooking, Catra enters the bridge and they welcome her to join them, and Catra and Adora smile at each other.
Adora later practices transforming into She-Ra but keeps getting distracted by her friends. Later when they are in the transmission range of Etheria they contact Perfuma, who warns them it is not safe to come back because the Rebellion has been compromised and the Horde has a blockade surrounding the planet.
Adora and the others are trying to figure out how to bypass the blockade and if Horde Prime has a weakness to exploit, when Wrong Hordak accidentally reveals that Prime does have a weakness that can be found on Krytis. Arriving there, they find that the planet is in ruins. When Entrapta's scanners pick up a heat signature Adora decides they should start looking for the mystery life-form. While searching though an abandoned spire many strange things start happening, from a wall attacking the group to a door mysteriously appearing. Entrapta informs the group that she discovered that the First Ones and Horde Prime fought over Krytis and Horde Prime was victorious, but something drove him off the planet Then, the life-form makes itself known and separates Catra from the group. The walls begin attacking again, but Glimmer discovers it was just illusions. When they find Catra, Adora and the others find her petting the creature. After Catra explains the situation to Adora, she and her friends learn through Catra's translations that the creature's name is Melog, and it is the last of its kind. The First Ones were mining for Krytis' magic just like they did on Etheria, and that magic itself is Horde Prime's weakness. Adora invites Melog to come with them to Etheria, and, thanks to Catra's suggestion, has Melog use its magic to cloak the ship and go through the Horde blockade. As they land, Adora looks over the horizon; home at last.
Glimmer and crew return to Etheria and find the rebel base in ruins. They decide to gather intel, so Glimmer teleports everyone to Erelandia, which they find out is guarded by bots and clones. Entrapta, Bow, Glimmer, Catra and Adora follow Wrong Hordak into the village in disguise. The heroes try to question the village folk but the locals are too scared to answer questions, except for one shopkeeper who tells the heroes that the Rebellion has joined the Horde and that Princesses attacked the town. Just then, Spinnerella lands in the village and attacks the heroes. After trading blows and pleas to stop the attack, Netossa joins in and begins defending the town from Spinnerella. Rather than risking hurting their chipped friend, Glimmer teleports everyone away from the fight. Netossa sees Catra and instantly attacks her, trapping her in a net. She has the same reaction to Wrong Hordak. She then explains the amount of damage done, all the Princesses and friends who are now under Prime's control. Glimmer and the rest return to Erelandia, and use Wrong Hordak to draw out two clones, defeating them. Next they begin an assault on the enemies inside the village. She-Ra and Netossa attack Spinnerella while the rest handle the bots. While fighting her wife, the conflict becomes too great for Spinnerella and the chip grows in strength, hurting her, and she flees. With the Horde purged from the village, the citizens pledge themselves to the Rebellion. Angered, Netossa leads everyone to the hideout, where there iss a joyous reunion. Unfortunately Frosta sees Catra and downed her with an ice-haymaker before being told that she'd switched sided. Adora pledges to free all their friends and defeat Prime.
Inside the rebel base, Adora leads a planning session on how to stop the chipped Princesses. Netossa reveals everyone's weaknesses in an effort to do that. They have lost track of Spinnerella but found out that Scorpia returned to the Fright Zone. Catra points out the best way to save their friends is to first damage the chip. Adora makes a plan to sneak into Scorpia's home. Glimmer and Bow agree to check up on his dads as Bow was really worried about them. Netossa, Perfuma, Adora, and Catra sneak into the Fright Zone, cloaked by Melog. Perfuma walked in calling out to Scorpia, forgetting what stealth means. This got her attention and she attacked her friends.
As the Princesses fought in the Fright Zone, Scorpia forces Adora and Perfuma into Horak's throne room that Prime has taken over and remade in his image. Scorpia binds the two Princesses up while Prime explains that he had to come and see Etheria for himself. He reveals that he no longer needs She-Ra to activate the Heart of Etheria; building upon Hordak's research and his personal knowledge of the First Ones, he says that he can access the Heart on his own. Horde Prime orders Scorpia to end Adora and Perfuma, and she powers up her lightning and devastates the platform that Adora and Perfuma were on. But that only releases the Princesses and angers Prime. After escaping Prime, Adora and Perfuma find Glimmer, who teleports them back to their base.
Shadow Weaver and Castaspella join the rebels in their hidden base, and say that they have discovered that if they activate the failsafe at the Heart of Etheria all the magic that has been stored there will be set free. Glimmer teleports Shadow Weaver, Catra, Bow, Adora, Castaspella and Melog to Mystacor where they sneak inside using Melog's stealth. When they reach the Luminarium, Catra breaks stealth mode, alerting the sorcerers to their presence, and a brief fight ensues with one sorcerer. Shadow Weaver opens the secret entrance within Mystacor. After bickering with Shadow Weaver in the tunnel, Adora triggers a fire rune that erupts in fake flames around her. Catra jumps into the fire to save Adora. Shadow Weaver then tries and fails to drive a wedge between Adora and Catra by claiming that her friendship, her love was what was preventing her from being able to summon She-Ra. Upon reaching the failsafe, which was inside a giant crystal tower, Shadow Weaver instructs Adora to open it with the password "Friends of Mara". The instructions inside say, "Someone needs to go inside and accept the failsafe", which means that someone must take the failsafe and carry it bodily into the Heart. Since She-Ra is the only one who could absorb the full power of the Heart, only she can go, despite Catra's and everyone else's protestations. Knowing that she may not survive, she decides her sacrifice would be better than Prime getting access to the Heart. But a chipped Micah shows up with two other chipped sorcerers and a fight erupts. Using the fight as a distraction, Adora enters and accepts the failsafe. Seeing this, Micah uses dark magic to entrap the heroes and tries to interrupt Adora's accepting of the failsafe. Before the situation gets worse, Adora summons She-Ra, accepts the failsafe, and saves her friends by binding Micah and the two sorcerers. She then orders her group to flee Mystacor before collapsing the chamber's entrance by using her sword, leaving Micah and the two sorcerers behind. Catra is so upset at seeing Adora's willingness to sacrifice herself that she leaves with Melog rather than see Adora leave her again.
The remnants of the Rebellion are gathered and happily talking when Adora transforms into She-Ra and comes before them. She gives an assessment of the dangers should Horde Prime gain the Heart, and their situation, with most of their friends and allies chipped and under Horde Prime's strengthening control. However, Entrapta has an idea to broadcast a jamming frequency to block out Horde Prime's connection to the chips, deactivating them and freeing everyone from Horde Prime's control. She-Ra's plan is for everyone present to get Entrapta to the Horde's spire and keep Horde forces at bay while Entrapta works, with She-Ra herself going to the Heart of Etheria to use the failsafe.
She leaves the base just as the She-Ra form flickers and dies, turning her fully back into Adora. As this happens, Bow and Glimmer come after her and assure her that they will accompany her to the Heart, which cheers her enough to be able to recall the She-Ra form once again. Together, they all go to the Crystal Castle. After going to the spire a battle rages, the Best Friend Squad continues into the earth toward the Heart of Etheria, plagued by visions of Catra, created of She-Ra's own wants and desires. She-Ra resolves to not be distracted, even as her form flickers between She-Ra and Adora again. She fears that she will lose She-Ra and die in the process of activating the failsafe if she cannot control her emotions, and so forges on ahead alone, barely in control of her She-Ra form as it flickers and fades.
Catra and Shadow Weaver transport with the sorcerers magic to support Adora. She-Ra finds herself in yet another illusory landscape, looking out over a healthy, healed Etheria incongruent with the real world. Adora has a discussion with Mara while in this state. However, the conversation is interrupted by the holographic arrival of Horde Prime, the illusion fraying at the edges with bursts of static as he assumes command of the First Ones infrastructure around them. Angered, Prime commands a First Ones guardian to attack She-Ra, infecting her with the same virus he used to assume control of the other First Ones technology and forcing her back into her Adora form. Horde Prime then departs, bidding goodbye to his "oldest enemy" as a horrible monster appears.
With Horde Prime having turned the First Ones defense systems against Adora and severely wounding her, Catra holds off a First Ones' guardian while Shadow Weaver ushers Adora toward the Heart of Etheria to activate the failsafe. Shadow Weaver arrives with Adora at the Heart of Etheria, and begins to feel the pulsing magic there, magic that she could assume for herself and finally be restored to power. However, Adora hears Catra scream and turns back, leaving Shadow Weaver faced with a difficult choice—the magic, or Catra.
Just as Catra is about to be eaten, a blast of dark magic thunders out of the tunnel and knocks the guardian back, freeing Catra. Surrounded by the power of her own life magic, Shadow Weaver launches blast after devastating blast of dark power at the guardian, holding it at bay long enough for her to ensnare it in a rope of magic. However, Catra did not listen to her warning to take Adora and run, so Shadow Weaver blasts Catra back into the tunnel with Adora and raises a barrier to keep her there. Shadow Weaver begs Catra to leave and get Adora. Catra fears that the effort will kill her, but Shadow Weaver accepts that it is too late for her and tells Catra how proud she is of both Catra and Adora. As Adora arrives, Shadow Weaver removes her mask and looks on at the two women. Just before unleashing the last of her magic, she smiles and tells them "you're welcome", at which point she explodes in a blast of magic that kills her and the guardian. Sobbing, they leave behind Shadow Weaver's shattered mask and make for the Heart of Etheria.
Catra carries Adora to the Heart of Etheria. Adora prepares to become She-Ra to destroy it, but is unable to do so due to the infection setting into her wounds from Horde Prime's virus. Adora knows that the failsafe will work with or without She-Ra, however, she'll simply die in the process if she uses it in her normal form. She makes peace with it and prepares to sacrifice herself, but Catra refuses to leave, and stays with her as she goes to her death. Meanwhile, Adora passes out and has a daydream of what could be, she and Catra about to get married later in life, surrounded by old friends Glimmer and Bow. However, Horde Prime appears in the daydream and derides it as "a beautiful wish" that she will never have. However, Catra calls out to her and professes her love for her, so Adora wakes up and is suddenly able to summon a shield to protect them both from a surge of power from the Heart of Etheria. She dispels it, professes her own love for Catra in return, kisses her, and then transforms into She-Ra at last.
As she transforms, the failsafe is finally activated, destroying the Heart of Etheria the First Ones created sending the magic thundering back to the princesses. This halts the destructive wave of energy that was tearing up the planet's crust just before it reaches the princesses who were cowering before the previously chipped Etherians. She-Ra arrives, using the restored Etherian magic to heal the damage done to the planet's crust, covering it in greenery while also transforming Horde Prime's massive command ship into a tree floating in space. She-Ra then comes before Horde Prime who vows he will return, only for She-Ra to correct him saying his reign is over and banishes him from Hordak's body with a surge of magic, killing him, ending the threat of the Horde once and for all.
Adora and Catra embrace each other, glad that everything is finally over, and they along with Bow and Glimmer lay on the grass. Bow asks what are they going to to now, and Adora vows to bring magic back to the universe, proposing a "Best Friend Squad Road Trip," to which they all happily agree.
Sightings
Season 1 | ||||||||||||
1. "The Sword Part 1": | Appears | 7. "In the Shadows of Mystacor": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "The Sword Part 2": | Appears | 8. "Princess Prom": | Appears | |||||||||
3. "Razz": | Appears | 9. "No Princess Left Behind": | Appears | |||||||||
4. "Flowers for She-Ra": | Appears | 10. "The Beacon": | Appears | |||||||||
5. "The Sea Gate": | Appears | 11. "Promise": | Appears | |||||||||
6. "System Failure": | Appears | 12. "Light Hope": | Appears | |||||||||
13. "The Battle of Bright Moon": | Appears |
Season 2 | ||||||||||||
1. "The Frozen Forest": | Appears | 4. "Roll With It": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "Ties That Bind": | Appears | 5. "White Out": | Appears | |||||||||
3. "Signals": | Appears | 6. "Light Spinner": | Appears | |||||||||
7. "Reunion": | Appears |
Season 3 | ||||||||||||
1. "The Price of Power": | Appears | 4. "Moment of Truth": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "Huntara": | Appears | 5. "Remember": | Appears | |||||||||
3. "Once Upon a Time in the Waste": | Appears | 6. "The Portal": | Appears |
Season 4 | ||||||||||||
1. "The Coronation": | Appears | 7. "Mer-Mysteries": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "The Valley of the Lost": | Appears | 8. "Boys' Night Out": | Appears | |||||||||
3. " Flutterina": | Appears | 9. "Hero": | Appears | |||||||||
4. "Pulse": | Appears | 10. "Fractures": | Appears | |||||||||
5. "Protocol": | Appears | 11. "Beast Island": | Appears | |||||||||
6. "Princess Scorpia": | Appears | 12. "Destiny Part 1": | Appears | |||||||||
13. "Destiny Part 2": | Appears |
Season 5 | ||||||||||||
1. "Horde Prime": | Appears | 7. "Perils of Peekablue": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "Launch": | Appears | 8. "Shot in the Dark": | Appears | |||||||||
3. "Corridors": | Appears | 9. "An Ill Wind": | Appears | |||||||||
4. "Stranded": | Appears | 10. "Return to the Fright Zone": | Appears | |||||||||
5. "Save the Cat": | Appears | 11. "Failsafe": | Appears | |||||||||
6. "Taking Control": | Appears | 12. "Heart Part 1": | Appears | |||||||||
13. "Heart Part 2": | Appears |
Books | ||||||||||||
Origin of a Hero: | Appears | Island of Magical Creatures: | Appears | |||||||||
Song of the Sea Witch: | Appears | Legend of the Fire Princess: | Appears |
Swift Wind Adventures Shorts | ||||||||||||
1. "Unicorn Warrior Training!": | Appears | 3. "A Princess Birthday Party!": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "Arm Wrestling Revenge!": | Appears | 4. "Grounded Glimmer Jailbreak!": | Appears | |||||||||
5. "Horse Hero Transformation!": | Appears |
Princess Rebel Recruitment Shorts | ||||||||||||
1. "Bow Begins the Fight": | Appears | 4. "Meditation with Perfuma": | Appears | |||||||||
2. "Glimmer Wants YOU to Join": | Appears | 5. "Mermista is the Coolest": | Appears | |||||||||
3. "From Adora to She-Ra": | Appears | 6. "Entrapta Stole Bow's Tracker Pad": | Absent | |||||||||
7. "The Evil Horde is EVIL": | Appears |
Quotes
- Catra: "Hey, Adora. How's it hanging?"
- Adora: "Catra. Did you really show up late and let us do all the hard parts? That is low, even for you."
- The Sword: Part 1", minute 3:29 "
"I guess I liked knowing I had a destiny. But it wasn't my destiny to be She-Ra, was it? It was random. Light Hope brought me through the portal because she needed to use the weapon. That's the only reason I'm here. I don't know what my destiny is anymore. But I know my friends need my help. I guess I'll just figure it out from there."-"Destiny Part 1"
"Did you just wink at me?"-"An Ill Wind"
"Wow, you sure are a big bug."-"White Out"
"Catra will be leading the Horde when they attack. I have to face her. I can't let her hurt anyone else."-"The Battle of Bright Moon (episode)"
"I'm always going to be your friend!"-Simulated young Adora flashback from "Remember."
"That's not how winking works."-"An Ill Wind"
"Glimmer, there's two of you. That's nice!"-"System Failure"
"I don't want any of you risking yourselves. She-Ra can do this alone. This is what she's for."-"The Battle of Bright Moon"
"You're just like, good friends. And good people."-"White Out"
"Hey guys, I've found the bots!"-"System Failure"
"You guys are my best friends."-"White Out"
"Okay. This is different than the Fright Zone, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of this in no time. [Grunts] Help."-"Flowers for She-Ra"
[random noises as she presses buttons] "I put in Catra's favorite number!"-"White Out"
"Catra, it's okay, it's just me. [sits next to her as Young Catra wipes away tears] It doesn't matter what they do to us, you know? You look out for me, and I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other."-Flashback in "Promise"
"I just-- I wanna figure out what's happening to me, and if I go back to the Fright Zone, then I'll never know. I never knew where I came from or who my family was. Shadow Weaver said it didn't matter who I was before, that-- that I was nothing before Hordak took me in. There's always been a part of me that I don't know anything about an-- and all of this, it feels familiar somehow. I don't know how else to explain it."-"The Sword: Part 2"
"Catra? She's mean."-"White Out"
"Advance prep will be key to success."-"Princess Prom"
"I'll get it this time."-"Flowers for She-Ra", before transforming lizard.
"I’m saying, this is wrong. They've been lying to us, manipulating us. Hordak, Shadow Weaver, all of them. [...] How could you possibly be okay with that? [...] I'm not going home. Not after everything I've seen. Come with me. You don't have to go back there. We can fix this."-"The Sword: Part 2"
"Yeah, it's a girl's night in!"-"White Out"
"But it doesn't matter. I will fix this...no matter what Glimmer thinks of me."-"Boys' Night Out"
"[seriously] Except that you're not taking the biggest variable into account: Catra. She's been behind every Horde plan, she led the attack on Bright Moon, she's devious--"-"Roll With It"
"Oooh, you're so pointy."-"White Out"
"[Shrieks] [Normal voice] Ma'am! I mean, Your Majesty. Sir! [Coughs] So, what are you doing up?"-To Queen Angella, "Flowers for She-Ra"
"Better? I'm fine. I'm She-Ra!"-"White Out"
"You want me to-you want me to heal your land?"-"Flowers for She-Ra"
"[quietly, seriously] You wanna know the worst that could happen? Fine. I'm the heaviest hitter, so Catra will separate me right away. Trap me, take my sword, do something so I'm helpless when she turns on you. She knows everything about me, exactly what I'll do, exactly how to take me out. [tosses her She-Ra figure face down onto the table; her voice grows in volume and emotional distress as she continues] They'll overwhelm Frosta and Mermista with bots [knocks over Mermista and Frosta's figures], they'll fire on Perfuma [knocks over Perfuma's plant] and use her to draw Bow out into the open, pinning him down between the bots and the Horde soldiers. Glimmer will teleport in to save him, but she won't have enough magic left to get out, trapping them both. [knocks over Bow's and Glimmer's figures] Catra will make me watch all of it before she finishes me off, and then everyone is gone, and the Horde wins the war, and Etheria crumbles, and it's all my fault! [knocks all the figures off the table, Adora puts her hands to her head] The Horde nearly destroyed Etheria. We were barely able to stop it. If this plan isn't perfect...[breathes out in exasperation] if I'm not perfect...everyone will--[Adora pauses, then sighs]."-"Roll With It"
"Yay, there's a rainbow!"-"System Failure"
"If there's some kind of First Ones weapon out there, you need to tell me! We could use it to defeat the Horde, and free Etheria, and then Glimmer would finally see that she was wrong about-"-"Hero"
"Soon isn't good enough! These people expect me to save their land. I thought I was better as She-Ra, but I'm useless no matter what form I take."-"Flowers for She-Ra"
"Oh, trust me, that information's NEVER going to load for you."-"Protocol"
"I won't stand by and watch people get hurt. And I won't run away."-"Huntara"
"I didn't do anything. All I did was pick up the sword, and then, woosh, I'm in a tiara!"-"The Sword: Part 2"
"Hey, princess, you looking at me?"-"The Sword: Part 1", the first words of the show's chronological line, mocking a Horde training simulation in belief that the princesses were evil.
"Let's do this. Together."-"Heart Part 2," the last words of the show's chronological line.
Gallery
See: Adora/Gallery
Trivia
- In the 1985 TV original series, Adora was the twin sister of Prince Adam (He-Man) of the house of Grayskull on Eternia. While both Eternia and Grayskull are referenced in this series, there's no hint to confirm that Adam even exists. The "female-equivalent" to Adam in this continuity is Mara.
- Promotional images released in the lead up to the Season One premiere caused a massive stir on the Internet. The images in question were of Adora transformed as She-Ra. The accusation was that the crew were attempting to de-feminize Adora by giving her a more modest costume with shorts and overall reducing the design from the 80's sex appeal.
- Adora doesn't even try to hide the fact that she and She-Ra are the same person and everyone, including her enemies, knows this. When transformed, She-Ra's personality is the same as Adora's. This is unlike in the '80s show, where Adora kept this a secret.
- In the original pitch bible for the series, Adora is also described as keeping her She-Ra identity a secret. However, she was going to comically terrible at it, and the only reason no one sees through her lies is that the sword’s magic weaves a spell so everyone accepts her flimsy excuses at face value.[6]
- Adora's astrological sign is Capricorn, also known as the horned goat.
- Adora's first act as Force Captain was to steal/"borrow" a skiff.
- Adora was seen to sleep with a knife under her pillow. Furthermore, she dislikes having her weapons taken away from her as seen in "Princess Prom".
- Adora is the only character to appear every episode of the series.
- Adora is only one of two people on Etheria who are not from Etheria, the other is Hordak.
- Adora is the second She-Ra to use the Sword of Protection, since Mara was the first.
- ND Stevenson believes that after the war Adora and the other child soldiers will get hobbies for the first time, and that (based on an idea by Adora's VA Aimee Carrero) Adora will get a hobby as a cartographer to create maps of Etheria, and then ND added that she will move on to celestial cartography to map out the stars.[7]
- ND Stevenson created two playlists called "Adora" and also "She-Ra" on Spotify, along with a few other of the main characters. These playlists seem to have songs that Stevenson identifies with the characters, or about their feelings throughout the show. The "She-Ra" playlist may include themes for a lot of the characters, or for the show's themes itself instead of just a playlist centered around the character She-Ra (seeing as Adora already has a playlist).
- Stevenson also tweeted that in terms of Hogwarts houses, Adora is a "Slytherin trying to be a Gryffindor."
- "Adora's original (and first) She-Ra form was like this uncomfortable suit she has to wear. She never really feels at home in the original She-Ra form," Stevenson tells EW. "It combined the militaristic aspect of Adora's upbringing in the Horde with the role She-Ra has with the First Ones. There's the top that's buttoned up, the large pointy shoulder blades, and then these elements of femininity that Adora is very uncomfortable with: The skirt, the tiara, the long flowing hair. She's really trying to fit this version of She-Ra, but it's not her. She's never comfortable in that form"[8].
- Adora is not one to sleep in. Catra mentions this in the episode, "Remember."
- In Dreamworks' and Mattel's "Surprise Birthday For She-Ra" short, Adora reveals before her 16th birthday to Glimmer and Bow that she spent her 13th, 14th and 15th birthdays doing completely mundane things with Catra.
- According to character designer Ray Geiger, Adora and Catra are supposed to be a couple in the "beautiful wish" Adora sees in "Heart Part 2," as it is apparently in their headcanon an Etherian custom for couples to have matching items. This is further implied by She-Ra's tiara bearing a resemblance to Catra's old mask and her wing pin being worn by Catra.
- During his BLM live stream, ND Stevenson created Finn, Adora and Catra's unofficial nonbinary child. Despite being unofficial, Finn has been featured in many fan works and is depicted as having Double Trouble as a godparent.
- When asked if Adora showers, Stevenson said that "She’s always up to hygiene code but she definitely doesn’t use conditioner".[9]
- Xanthe Bouma, Keiko Murayama, and Jisoo Kim developed Adora's visual design, as well as the design for her debut She-Ra form.[10]
- According to ND Stevenson, there was a joke cut from an earlier script where Adora got a new outfit after transferring to Bright Moon, but managed to pick a jacket identical to the one she'd been wearing out of a pile of possible new clothes.[11]
- Adora's short description in the series pitch bible is "Feral lost princess". She is also established as being directly descended from the royal Eternian line.[6]
- ND Stevenson once liked a tweet calling Adora a lesbian.[12]
References
- ↑ She-Ra: Rebel Princess Guide
- ↑ https://x.com/DreamWorksSheRa/status/1080494021066272768
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/15/18097423/she-ra-netflix-interview-reboot-noelle-stevenson-showrunner-nimona-lumberjanes
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/she-ra-the-exit-interviews-panel-two (approximately 56 minutes in)
- ↑ https://twitter.com/gingerhazing/status/1279264741945294850?lang=en
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 New She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power Story Bible, pages 7-8
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTu9k25-vlI&t=10015s
- ↑ https://ew.com/tv/she-ra-interview-adora-new-look/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Gingerhazing/status/1274532859357741056
- ↑ https://raygeigrr.tumblr.com/post/178761037116/some-of-my-character-designs-finally-released
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Gingerhazing/status/1195782477790375936
- ↑ File:ND Stevenson likes tweet calling Adora a lesbian.webp
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power's Characters | ||
---|---|---|
Best Friends Squad | Adora/She-Ra • Glimmer • Bow • Catra | |
Princesses and Rebellion | Perfuma • Mermista • Frosta • Netossa • Spinnerella • Queen Angella • Sea Hawk • King Micah • Entrapta • Scorpia | |
The Evil Horde | Horde Prime • Horde Prime's Clone Army • Lord Hordak • Lonnie • Kyle • Rogelio • Grizzlor • Octavia • Scorpia's mothers | |
Others | Castaspella • Swift Wind • Razz • Mara • Light Hope • Tung Lashor • Double Trouble • Shadow Weaver • Melog • Huntara | |