Glimmer ensnared by magical energy restraints

Picking up where The Princess Prom left off, Catra is shown in possession of the Sword of Protection and is giving herself a proverbially pat on the back as she feels that she has inflicted more damage on the Rebellion than anyone else. Feeling that she has succeeded where Shadow Weaver has failed, Catra is put in her place as Hordak commends Shadow Weaver for Glimmer’s capture while he goes on to explain that Queen Angella has been given until the morning to accept his terms. Proposing a prisoner swap, the Queen of Bright Moon reluctantly accepts Hordak’s exchange of Glimmer for herself. In a field of magical energy restraints, we see Glimmer being held against her will with a look of pain and terror on her face as Shadow Weaver proclaims, “Welcome to the Fright Zone.”

The Princess Alliance’s first mission: Free Glimmer and Bow!

Adora tries to console Queen Angella in the war room but she feels that hope is lost without the Sword of Protection, meaning that She-Ra will unable to lend her might for this mission. Adora tries to give the Queen hope as she tells her of a mission she could undertake to infiltrate the Fright Zone as she is intimately familiar with it. Unsure of exactly how she will accomplish the feat of bringing Glimmer and Bow home, Adora is discouraged and saddened as she breaks down crying as she leaves the war room. Feeling that a rescue attempt is too risky, Queen Angella surrenders to the fact that she will have to accept Hordak’s terms and give herself up.  As Adora wanders the halls of Castle Bright Moon frustrated and sad, flowers begin to fall from the sky, seemingly out of nowhere. As she looks up, she sees Mermista, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Entrapta ready and willing to take on their first mission as Mermista reassures Adora that they will bring back one of their own!

Bow pleads for information about Glimmer’s whereabouts

Like Glimmer, Bow is being held prisoner but in a separate cell. Being the kind and empathetic soul that Bow is, he strikes up a conversation with his Horde guard, Kyle, as he asks him for a favor to find out where Glimmer is being held. As Kyle is bewildered that Bow is even talking to him, Kyle becomes confused and flustered as Bow tries to get information from him. We can see the tension in Kyle’s face and hear the stammering in his voice as he struggles to inform Bow but still remain loyal to the Horde. Seeing if Kyle could relay a message to Glimmer, Bow pleads with his captor to try and get a message to her. Feeling conflicted and overcome with emotion, Kyle rushes out but lets Bow know that he likes his shirt as we see him disappear down the elevator he arrived in.

The Princess Alliance devise a plan to free Glimmer and Bow

Back at Castle Bright Moon, Adora, Mermista, Perfuma, Sea Hawk and Entrapta devise a plan for the rescue mission in the only way Adora knows how by using props to mock up the rescue attempt. In this wonderful bit of storytelling, we see Adora’s plan come together as she suggests the entry point to the mission commence in the Horde scrap yard where Entrapta and Perfuma access the Security Tower and wait for Adora’s signal to disable the search lights while Mermista swims through the Fright Zone sewer systems to gain entry into the building and open the door. As Mermista is the only Princess with the ability to breathe underwater, she reluctantly accepts her fate and dives into the gross waters. While Adora and Sea Hawk neutralize any guards on patrol, Perfuma and Entrapta will regroup with the team as Mermista opens the door to the Fright Zone. While Perfuma receives a signal from Adora to trip the search lights, Entrapta becomes infatuated with the Horde tech in the watch tower as she begins to rewire the tower to function better, forgetting to do her important task of shutting off the lights.

Scorpia discovers Sea Hawk

After Perfuma reminds Entrapa of the goal to disable the lights, we seem the go dark as Sea Hawk, in his excitement, makes his presence known with a huge cry of “Forward” thus killing the element of surprise. As Adora makes quick work of the guards, she taps on the door but finds Mermista has not reached her goal yet. Feeling uneasy, Adora secures the guards and drags them off. Meanwhile, Perfuma is having trouble keeping Entrapta focused as she remains fascinated with the tech that surrounds her in the Fright Zone. As Adora and Sea Hawk make their way into deeper into the Fright Zone, Scorpia discovers Sea Hawk who claims to be an inspector who is there to “inspect all the things.” Being the trusting and naive soul that she is, Scorpia falls for Sea Hawk’s deception proclaiming that she forgot he was coming and that they are overdue for an inspection. As Adora regroups with Perfuma and Entrapta, we discover that Perfuma as experienced even greater trouble keeping Entrapta on task. An alarm goes off as we find Mermista has finally navigated the treacherous sewers of the Fright Zone and finally opens the door so they can gain entry.

Entrapta Hacks into the Fright Zone’s database

As they make their way deeper into the Fright Zone, Adora, Mermista, Perfuma and Entrapta narrowly avoid being discovered as they duck into a open room as guards march by. Planning to hack into the database to access the cell block that Glimmer and Bow are being held in, Adora needs to access an information port. Entrapta is suddenly missing as another objective is added to find the Princess of tech as she has wandered off in search of tech goodies she discovers in the Fright Zone. Mermista does not seem enthusiastic about the plan as they now have to find Sea Hawk in addition to rescuing Glimmer and Bow. As Entrapta is logging her events in her recorder, she discovers the tiny scavenger bot she was enthralled with outside, leading her to delightfully come across a larger Horde Bot.

Shadow Weaver reveals she has the Sword of Protection

As Glimmer is being retrained by the magic energy, we see her start to glitch and a feeling of pain is painted across her face as she writhes in agony feeling the effects of Shadow Weaver’s hold over her. Shadow Weaver goes on to explain that any attempt Glimmer makes to teleport will cause her a great deal of pain as the power of the restraints will disrupt her abilities as we discover the Black Garnet is powering the device that holds Glimmer at bay. Shadow Weaver reveals Hordak’s ultimate plan where Queen Angella will replace Glimmer as a prisoner in the Fright Zone, Glimmer feels she is playing tricks on her but comes to understand that her mother will soon be in danger as the exchange has been arranged. As Glimmer holds out for She-Ra’s rescue, she discovers that Shadow Weaver in possession of the Sword of Protection, as we see the hope begin to disappear from Glimmer’s face as she discovers that the Queen’s capture will cause Bright Moon to fall under Horde control.

Entrapta Saves Sea Hawk from Scorpia

Meanwhile, Sea Hawk is still pretending to be a Horde inspector as Scorpia begins to catch on as she realizes that she has seen Sea Hawk before. She finally realizes that she met Sea Hawk at the Princess Prom as she starts to make the association that Sea Hawk is with the Rebellion. As it seems like Sea Hawk will be captured by Scorpia, he gets cryptic message telling him to duck as a large claw swings over his head, belting Scorpia far away from the duo. As Adora gains access to the data port, she discovers that Glimmer and Bow are being held in separate places within the compound. A Horde bot emerges as Adora, Mermista, and Perfuma prepare to fend it off, we learn that Entrapta has reprogrammed the machine and named her Emily.

Entrapta introduces the Princess Alliance to Emily

During the fight that ensued Adora sent the hero’s on their way and surrendered to the Horde soldiers. Shadow Weaver attempted to wipe Adora’s memory of She-Ra and her time with the princesses; but Glimmer, seeing Shadow Weaver torture Adora, broke free of her bonds and attacked the sorceress with a savage and vicious sparkle attack. Glimmer and Adora fled to join the others, but not before Entrapta was lost to an explosion while trying to save Emily. Finally, all of the member of the rescue mission squad are reunited in a control room as Entrapta is overcome with excitement as she is exposed to more Horde tech. The plan is to spring Bow from his cell and get him out first then figure out where Glimmer is being held. As Entrapta gains control of the systems within the control room, she is responsible for getting Adora and Perfuma up to Bow’s cell while Mermista keeps an eye on her.

The Horde discovers the Princess Alliance

Cutting to Bow’s cell as he tries to break the energy field door to freedom, Kyle rushes up to inform Bow that Glimmer is being held in the Black Garnet Chamber. Kyle spills the plan that Shadow Weaver will ransom the Queen in exchange for Glimmer as Bow is confused as to why Kyle is disclosing this to him. As Entrapta has gained access to control the elevators, she sends Adora, Sea Hawk, and Perfuma rocketing up an elevator past a small battalion of Horde soldiers that are under Catra’s command. A battle and struggle ensues as the battalion engages the trio in a fight as a series of elevators get activated, coming to the aid of both the trio and the assaulting Horde members. As Kyle is still talking with Bow, we see the trio cut across the screen as Bow has the bright idea to distract Kyle so he does not discover the rescue attempt. Longing for a connection, Kyle suggests that him and Bow become friends. As the battle ensues, the trio finally land on Bows platform where he is being held prisoner as Sea Hawk makes quick  work of Kyle as he throws in on to a rising elevator with his Horde brethren.

Adora surrenders to discover Glimmer in the Black Garnet Chamber

As everyone goes on a mission to find Glimmer, alarms ring throughout the corridors of the Fright Zone as Entrapta uses her mad skills to try and open a door so help the group evade certain capture. As Adora informs everyone how to navigate the doors and halls of the Fright Zone, she makes the decision to go alone in hopes of retrieving Glimmer and rescuing her. Disabling the door and preventing Bow from following her, Adora surrenders to a group of Horde soldiers as she is taken into custody. To Adora’s surprise, she is taken to the Black Garnet Chamber as she discovers that Glimmer is being held against her will. Reassuring Glimmer that everything will okay, Adora is strapped down like Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs movie as she confronts Catra to find out what they did to her best friend Glimmer. Believing that Shadow Weaver has finally captured Adora, she dismisses Catra in a rage. Feeling like she can bargain for Glimmer, Adora explains that she will stay in exchange for Glimmer’s release but Shadow Weaver ensures that Adora will remain regardless as Shadow Weaver threatens to wipe Adora’s mind so that everything will be as it once was.

Glimmer decks Shadow Weaver and saves Adora

As Glimmer witnesses Shadow Weaver attempting to wipe Adora’s mind, she is overcome with a sense of urgency and finally overpowers the Black Garnet’s stranglehold on her, knocking Shadow Weaver out and to the ground. Glimmer frees Adora and ensures her mind is not wiped as they flee from the Black Garnet chamber. As the remaining group fleas to the vehicle bay for a quick escape on a Skiff, Entrapta is distracted as Emily gets stuck trying to flea with the group. Feeling a need to save her new Horde robot friend, Entrapa goes back to attempt to free her but is cut off from the group as the a pair of double doors seal them both inside the Fright Zone as the rescue team looks in in horror.

Catra gives back the Sword of Protection to Adora in an act of defiance

As Adora and Glimmer try and find their way out of the Fright Zone, we discover that Glimmer is unable to teleport as she is glitching more severely as time goes on. As an escape route quickly vanishes before their eyes, we see Catra coming down the hall with the Sword of Protection in hand. Feeling betrayed by Shadow Weaver, Catra willingly hands the Sword of Protection over to Adora, giving her the ability to transform into She-Ra.

In despair over leaving Entrapta behind, She-Ra transforms back to Adora

Using the might of She-Ra, they quickly flea from inside of the Fright Zone to discover the rescue Skiff on a course to pick them up. As everyone is relieved by the reunion and rescue of Glimmer, they suddenly realize that Entrapta is missing as we see the Skiff quickly dart away. Bow tells the crew that Entrapta did not make it and presumed dead. As everyone is overcome with grief and sadness over the loss of Entrapta, She-Ra falls to her knees and transforms back into Adora as she is overcome with dread and despair.

My Take

This episode was full of ups and downs as the Princess Alliance (Mermista, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Entrapta) come to the aid of Adora in her time of need to free Glimmer and Bow from the clutches of the Horde. The series continues to build strong story lines among all of the Princesses (and Sea Hawk), Adora and Catra, Shadow Weaver and Catra, and Glimmer & Bow. I know of Entrapta’s character from the 1980’s Filmation cartoon but in that canon, Entrapta is a member of the Evil Horde so I was wondering how the reboot was going to handle her allegiance. For all we know, Entrapta is helping the Princess Alliance but we see that she is tempted by the gadgets and tech of the Horde. this episode did a great job introducing suspense as we have no idea what will come of Entrapta as she was left behind and is presumed dead. I was on a roller coaster of emotions during this entire episode as we saw Catra betray Shadow Weaver, Glimmer glitching, and the unknown of Entrapta’s fate as she is stuck in the Fright Zone.

Adora goes it alone, like Obi-Wan Kenobi

For me, this episode had some serious Star Wars feels as the interior of the Fright Zone reminded me a lot of the Death Star from the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope. More specifically, as Adora goes on her own to find Glimmer, she reminds me of when Obi-Wan Kenobi goes off on his own to hunt down Darth Vader so that he could keep Luke Skywalker and others safe as they rescue Princess Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader. Adora’s fate is much better than Obi-Wan’s as his character is ultimately struck down by one swift swipe of his lightsaber. Adora, on the other hand, is reunited with the Sword of Protection and regains the ability to transform into She-Ra, thus saving Glimmer.