REVIEW: ‘She-Ra and The Princesses Of Power’ Season 3 Is The Best Yet

When Netflix usually issues out a short season for one of their animated adventure shows, they tend to feel like incomplete but that is not the case for She-Ra and The Princesses of Power Season 3. In many ways, it feels like a complete television movie that’s separated out into six parts. In just six episodes, the season tells a thrilling story that comes with revelations and promises of more revelations to come.

Adora, voiced by Aimee Carrero, and her friends Glimmer (Karen Fukuhara) and Bow (Marcus Scribner) continue to battle the Horde, while both they and the audience learn more about the origins of the conflict while dealing with their most daunting challenge yet. This new challenge ties into the origin of the entire conflict with the Horde, and what the She-Ra before Adora, Mara, did at the end of her life. I can’t delve into it more without giving away spoilers, and watching the mystery unfold is incredibly rewarding. There are multiple moving pieces on both the hero and villain’s sides that come together in a great way.

As Adora continues her journey, she also gains insight into her past, which again, has promises of more revelations to come in the following seasons.  Aimee Carrero brings her A-game this season, showcasing Adora’s distress, frustration, and heartfelt determination in her heroic journey. We also learn more about Mara, the She-Ra before Adora, and more about her mystery that was previously set up in previous seasons.

The animation, voice work, and story pacing are all top-notch. The fight choreography, use of colors, sound design, and dialogue are strong and tight. Noelle Stevenson and her team have an increased focus on the narrative structure and action more than usual.

It all comes together to great and exciting effect. The shorter season length is used very effectively. It has been a longtime complaint of superhero and fantasy shows that their seasons are too long with too much filler. There is no need to worry about that here as the exciting and thrilling storyline is tight and clear.

The only critiques I can give are that I wish we had more of the princesses and time to explore both the rich character dynamics and worlds. But that’s a very good critique to have. The show has established a rich universe with various storytelling avenues, and it could use that to great effect in later seasons.

Huntara (Geena Davis), is an awesome addition to the cast this season. She’s badass and takes no crap while having a great backstory of her own. She and Adora form a strong bond that hopefully will carry on into the following seasons. She’s also a great addition in terms of body diversity for the show as she is a tall and very muscular woman. Women should be shown in all shapes and sizes and this is a good step.

She-Ra has consistently built up its various characters and made us invested in all their individual journeys, hero and villain alike. Almost all the main characters shine this season, and the writing feels relatively balanced between them. The main conflict involves virtually all the characters with barely anyone feeling like a bystander.

Glimmer and Bow are still involved in helping Adora in substantive ways without feeling like sidekicks. While we could have used more development for the other Princesses, they were still pivotal in the battles against the Horde.  Entrapta and Scorpia are both more involved than they have been previously in Catra and Hordak’s storylines and rise up from being sidekicks or pawns. The character growth is rich and wonderful to watch.

Catra, a fan favorite, particularly continues to be one of the series most compelling characters. She may, in fact, be their best one, especially after this season. When we left Catra at the end of season two, Hordak and the Horde betrayed and imprisoned her. But she doesn’t let that deter her in pursuing her goals.

When given a seemingly impossible task at the start of the season, and essentially being sent off to die, she perseveres instead. She also continues to carry the hurt from Shadow Weaver and Adora to motivate her actions throughout the season, leading her to an almost unthinkable decision towards the end. The writing and story direction continue to highlight strongly how her justifiable anguish feeds into her unjustifiable actions.

She-Ra and The Princesses of Power continues to do a good job of balancing sympathy for Catra with the recognition that she is culpable in making her bad decisions. Additionally, her trauma does not, at least from my personal point of view, define her entire arc.

She is allowed ample room to talk through and reflect on the anguish of her past while having various other motivations and her trademark humor. Voice actor AJ Michalka continues to shine in this role. She is one of the series’ most well-rounded and complex characters. Her past is just one part of what drives this complicated and fascinating character, along with her sense of fun, intrigue, and adventure that parallels Adora. At the end of the season, you’re left with eager anticipation for where her journey might go next.

She-Ra and The Princesses of Power Season 3 is a thrilling and emotionally satisfying delight. The rich character-driven story fires on all cylinders and leaves you both satisfied and excited for more.

She-Ra and The Princesses of Power Season 3 is streaming exclusively on Netflix.