If you frequent fandom circles on social media you probably noticed the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power community having a long-awaited meltdown yesterday evening. Don’t worry we’re all okay, but it will take us a while to recover from a recent interview with ND Stevenson, AJ Michalka and Aimee Carrero.
To the untrained eye it seems like a normal interview looking back on the show’s final season almost two years since its release, but to me, it’s a focused strike designed to obliterate sapphics into oblivion from the showrunner and voice talents behind Catra and Adora.
Entertainment Weekly decided to delve into the relationship between our two lead heroines specifically, exploring how the animated show sought to bring a lesbian romance to our screens right from the very beginning. Stevenson describes it as a closely guarded secret that had seeds being planted slowly but surely throughout each season, resulting in a declaration of love that felt natural, beautiful, and so, so queer. He and the crew nailed it.
Michalka and Carrero echo this sentiment, showering love upon a fandom that has remained passionate and engaged like few others have since the show’s final season arrived on Netflix. They aren’t wrong, when this interview dropped me and a handful of friends were immediately fawning over any potential Catradora nuggets we could unearth - and we weren’t disappointed. Yes, we are gay disasters with little parallel, but there’s something to be said about a show like She-Ra and how it is able to maintain such staying power.
It has been a constant in my life each and every day since its conclusion because the community is so eternally engaged. New art, merch, theories, fan campaigns, and so much more surface on a regular basis and are always received warmly. It’s a pairing that was so groundbreaking in what it managed to achieve that thousands have committed it to memory, arguably allowing it to outgrow the show in which it materialised. That’s no small feat, and my two She-Ra tattoos are a declaration of what it means to me and so many others.
So it’s a shame that Netflix and DreamWorks seem content for the show to fade into obscurity. I mean a certain lack of attention following its conclusion makes perfect sense, but whenever Catradora or She-Ra are mentioned on social media the engagement they receive dwarfs everything else out there. The gays are hungry, ready for more content in this universe that builds upon everything Stevenson helped create. I’m of the opinion that we don’t need a movie or additional season, as much as I’d love to see them, since I think Stevenson’s interpretation of this world was so integral that he’d need to be involved. If he doesn’t want to be, it’s unfair for us as a fandom to force those expectations onto him.
They have either moved onto something new, or perhaps Netflix or DreamWorks isn’t interested in bringing this universe back to life. Some stories are designed to end, even if an opportunity for an expansion of Catradora’s relationship, the origins of the Magicats, or countless other directions remain ripe for exploration. That’s what fanfiction is for. But regardless of what I think, the fandom’s frustration with the powers that be and their fundamental ignorance of the show’s continued viral popularity is easy to understand. Amphibia, The Owl House, and Arcane are the only animated contemporaries I can think of that command a similar presence.
Two of those are also very gay - I’m starting to see a bit of a theme here with how ravenous queer fans are once concrete representation finally rears its head. LGBTQ+ people are so used to projecting subtext onto media in order to see representation, but She-Ra was an example of a show being unapologetically queer in every facet of its being. You don’t forget experiences like that which feel like they’ve been built to speak both to you and for you, making themselves heard regardless of what bigots might have to say. Netflix was able to do that with She-Ra, and it would be foolish not to make such a landmark achievement a consistent part of its legacy.
As a trans woman with only one foot out of the closet when the first season aired, it was a formative piece of media that wasn’t afraid to bring my insecurities to the forefront while encouraging me to embrace who I really was. I’ve seen similar stories throughout the fandom, often enough that it can’t be a coincidence. Briefly referencing Catradora on social media whenever you’re trying to big up romance or stanning them on Valentine’s Day is all well and good, but it’s a small admission of the show’s continued relevance that could be so much more. This outlook probably won’t change, and that’s such a massive shame.
Netflix has a habit of cancelling shows after a couple of seasons, almost infamously so. But She-Ra was different, it was seemingly pitched as a 52-episode series and was free to play out a lengthy storyline with enough relative freedom to see its central romance and myriad queer themes right through to the end. It was a lightning in a bottle situation that - much like Steven Universe before it - paved a way forward for other shows and companies to learn from. I’m not sure if will ever see something like this again, and that’s testament to everything ND Stevenson, AJ Michalka, Aimee Carrero, and everyone involved was able to achieve.
I’ll delve into the interview a little more next week and how it shines a light on Catra and Adora’s relationship. Seriously, some comments have me ready to jump into the sea. If any of the folks behind She-Ra are reading this, please hit me up so we can geek out together.