Last Key Media: Redemption and Circumstance: The Issue with Catra

Very gentle spoilers for characters in Season 3 and Season 4. Plot descriptions kept vague. The surprises contained in both seasons will likely not be ruined for you if you haven't seen them.

Let's make the exposition brief, get the scene-setting out of the way. Catra is one of the primary antagonists from Netflix's promising-but-rushed She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - and yes, she's called that because she's a cat. Why? Don't actually matter. Catra was the best friend of Adora (the main protagonist and the true identity of the titular She-Ra; lot of Ra's here), and the two of them grew up together serving as child soldiers for the Horde, a bunch of techno-industrial evil douchebags led by professional bastard Hordak and his wicked vizier Shadow Weaver, the mother figure to both Catra and Adora. True to the staples of the "Prodigal Sons" trope, Adora and Catra were separated by fate - Catra remained with the Horde, and Adora went on to fight for the freedom of the planet that the Horde was trying to conquer.

Up to speed? Cool. That's Catra in a nutshell - the dark side of the same coin that Adora belongs to. The literal Tails to her Heads. Now the important question - what's wrong with Catra as a character? What happened?? Catra started off so well - Season 1 and Season 2 Catra was a fantastic antagonist. She made strong, dynamic choices, and was full of enough ambition and insecurity that we really got to see a glimpse of the person underneath her smug, embittered shell. She wasn't anywhere near 'forgivable' or even 'redeemable', but she was sympathetic at least. It felt like she had good reason to act the way she did.

But then, at some point, the showrunners decided that Catra needed to have a redemption arc... even though Season 3 and 4 Catra (which is where we left off with her, no less) has shown signs of getting progressively nastier, crazier, and somehow far more unlikable and isolated.

And this is the problem with Catra. The showrunners are attempting to redeem a character that has done nothing to deserve a redemption arc.

What makes a redemption arc really click is if you feel that the redeemed character in question... is worthy of the narrative's grace or not. If you want a strong example of a tried-and-true redemption arc... well, look no further than what many people consider to be the best of the best: Avatar's Prince Zuko. Zuko needs no introduction. He's the GOAT - that's all there is to it. The neat thing is, there are many similarities between Prince Zuko and Catra - they both start off as evil-oriented characters with abusive caretakers, a lack of friends beyond a single, reliable and positive-minded confidant (Uncle Iroh for Zuko, and Scorpia for Catra), and an incredible drive to prove themselves and live up to the overwhelming expectations placed on them by their shitty superiors.

But what separates Zuko from Catra is Zuko's gradual rise from villainy. Zuko absolutely did not start out as a character worthy of redemption - he was tragic, misunderstood, and sympathetic, sure, but none of that wiped the blood off of his hands. He was a selfish and impulsive murderer hell-bent on chasing something that practically everyone around him agreed wasn't worth it. Even with his moments of genuine kindness beneath his veil of wounded arrogance, Zuko would often relapse and fall back on his goal, because it was all he had beyond his Uncle Iroh. As the show neared its middle section, however, the kindness of the series protagonists (in particular Aaag) and the wisdom of Iroh slowly started to reach Zuko. Even when Zuko achieved exactly what he wanted... he wasn't happy. And it was only then that the road to redemption started - right in the middle of the show, and right when Zuko was starting to grow into a better and more mature person. There isn't a soul on Planet Earth that denies the inherent 10/10 writing of Zuko's arc. He's magnificent - and a big reason Zuko's arc worked was because of pacing and focus. Zuko had ample time to be set up a villain, had ample time to realize his shortcomings, and had plenty of time to work past his flaws and turn into the lovable badass he is today. Godspeed, Zuko.

Compare Catra. After Season 2, it feels like Catra begins to descend further into villainy. Catra becomes a lot more selfish and underhanded than before, the already-enormous gap between her and Adora deepening even further as Adora desperately tries to sway Catra from doing something irreversibly bad (much like an actual cat). Catra begins working against and betraying her superiors to get what she wants. She practically turns into an omnicidal maniac by Season 3, ranting that murdering everyone would be just fine if it meant that her better-written rival wouldn't win. And the further that Catra descends into hedonism and villainy, the further she alienates her boss (Hordak), her childhood friends (Lonnie), and the only people that even give her the time of day anymore (Entrapta and especially Scorpia), all because of her vacuous, toxic, ritualistic habits that stem from cycles of abuse (institutionalized and personal) and self-inflicted loneliness.

Good qualities for a rising villain? Absolutely.
Good qualities for a character the showrunners clearly want to redeem? Not a fucking chance.

And therein lies the problem. Catra has done practically nothing to deserve forgiveness, and yet the showrunners desperately want her to have it. Even the moments of levity that Catra has are always seen under the pretense of her doing something terrible and self-serving, like conquering a desert nation just to fuel her ego. She still does terrible things, still orders her troops to do terrible things, still consistently refuses the call to goodness, and still abuses those closest to her - especially Scorpia. And while the showrunners were wise enough to realize that Scorpia would, realistically, get fed up and hurt by Catra's personality... they weren't wise enough to have Catra make up for her behavior even though they want us to believe she's worthy of salvation (they also weren't wise enough to realize that Glimmer is absolutely using Scorpia even though Scorpia dislikes Catra for the very same reasons... it makes me concerned for the state of She-Ra's initially-good themes about abuse, but that's another essay for another time). By the end of Season 4 (which is exactly where we are now), Catra is at an all-time low... and there hasn't been a single, noticeable all-time high outside of what flashes we've seen of Catra when she was a happier child. And that's not the Catra they want to change. That's not the Catra they want us to see.

I'm sorry, but a "Reason You Suck" speech should not be delivered from one piece of shit to another piece of shit of equal value, lmao. Double Trouble (bad name) is also a hedonistic, selfish diva who's even more shallow and directionless than Catra... and much like Catra, the showrunners never bothered to give them a chance for redemption. So using Double Trouble as the means to try and force an atoner's clarity out of Catra... yeah, bad move. It's like Stalin telling Hitler "dude, you are bad for killing people." A much better eye-opener character would have been Hordak, who is actually a decent example of a villain that's been given humanity and understanding in spite of his malicious, snarling demeanor, unlike Catra, who... hasn't.

Catra's backstory and harsh circumstances also aren't enough to redeem her. It makes her easier to understand, yes - it's undeniable that the Horde and Shadow Weaver's emotional abuse fucked her up, and was partially responsible for putting Catra in the broken mindset that leads her to make bad decisions. But she'll get no sympathy from me. Why? Because of Adora. Adora was in the exact same boat as Catra - sure, Adora was favored by Shadow Weaver, but Shadow Weaver still definitely abused her, albeit in a far subtler, more manipulative way. Adora was just as indoctrinated by the Horde as Catra... but Adora made a conscious decision to join the Princesses and fight for what is objectively good (because at least the Princesses don't conquer planets). This implies that the same thing happened to Catra... Catra is making a conscious decision to stick with the plainly-evil Horde and making a conscious choice to continue making bad decisions. Adora even points this out in Season 3, stating that Catra made her choice... so she has to live with the consequences.

And Adora's right. Catra's making the choice to be an asshole, and that's that. Assholes are, typically, unforgivable, unless they make a point to not be an asshole. Like Zuko. Sure, it's fucking sad that Catra was abused and mistreated and groomed to only be a killing machine, but it doesn't excuse anything she's done up until this point. Like, it's possible to relate to the loneliness and anger that often drives school shooters or terrorists... but they don't deserve forgiveness for murdering children. They never do. And neither does Catra. The showrunners need to realize that, too.

With Season 5 on the horizon (and it's looking to be the finale), we're running out of time... and Catra, as of this point, has not met the requirements of a character that deserves a redemption arc. She isn't worthy of our grace. She's become nastier and altogether more grim and chaotic than before, snarling and slinking around the Horde's headquarters and sulking in her growing loneliness. Truly a character worthy of being forgiven. It really sucks because there have been plenty of moments before this that the showrunners could have used to develop Catra and possibly steer her in the direction of a person that wants to improve themselves... but that didn't happen. Instead, they doubled down on making her a slimy, smug snake with an inferiority complex and a massive temper. That's not to say that any of these traits are bad for a villain/anti-hero (not at all), or bad for a redemptive character per se... but if you want to make someone terrible make a noticeable transition into someone good, at some point you have to make them not want to murder kids, kick puppies, and abuse their closest friend. We're in the endgame now, and Catra's morally (and narratively) worse than where she started.

"I don't care what happens to this character." The eight deadly words to hear if you're a writer/creator. And it's true. Given the intended direction Catra's going down... I don't care what happens to her. For all the screentime Catra's allotted, it feels like she's heading nowhere satisfying very quickly (unless they wind up not giving her a redemption arc after all... in which case, this'll all just feel like a cocktease). It's a shame to see such a promising character wasted on deteriorating writing quality and ruined by the all-too-pressing need to make 'something special'.

Let this be a lesson - if you want a devil to look like an angel, at some point or another... they need to start making a strong step towards the road to heaven.

For Zuko, that was standing against his father.

For Catra...

Well. She had her chance to stand up.