horde-princessSo there’s been this idea going around that Catra is turning into Shadow Weaver, right? I was planning on doing a whole meta about it, but this post accidentally turned into an analysis of the parallels that exist between Adora’s relationships with Catra and Shadow Weaver lol. it is not a fun time, i’m sorry in advance
So. Shadow Weaver was both Catra’s abuser and mentor. She trained Catra, instilled personal values into her, taught her how to gain power, how to manipulate others to get what she wants. They might’ve hated one another, but one thing they had in common is that they loved Adora more than anyone else in the world. And there are some eerie similarities to how each of them reacted to Adora leaving.
Parallel #1: Both of them felt betrayed when Adora chose the princesses over them. They referred to her new friends as “these people” and mocked/dehumanized them in an effort to make Adora doubt her relationships.
For Catra, at first, this was coming from a place of jealousy… but later it did turn into manipulation, even to the point of teaming up with Shadow Weaver to hurt them.
Parallel #2 (my personal favorite): Like Shadow Weaver, Catra tried to appeal to Adora’s ambition to bring her home. Neither of them could understand why she was choosing peace/love over power… especially when it meant abandoning her family.
Parallel #3: They both tried to manipulate Adora by breaking down her faith in herself. Adora’s whole identity is wrapped up in being a strong soldier/leader–so imagine hearing these words from the woman who raised you, your best friend.
Parallel #4: When they knew they’d lost her, they started attacking Adora’s heroism, her sense of responsibility to the kingdoms. They tried to blame her for the destruction they were causing. Kind of like, “well, if I can’t win her back, then I’ll beat her and make her regret rejecting me.”
Parallel #5 (!!!): Catra picked up on Shadow Weaver’s use of physical touch as a kind of manipulation, a demonstration of control. She knows Adora loves and misses her, so it’s 1000x more brutal coming from her.
And really, isn’t that the worst part of all this? Catra knows Adora so much more intimately than Shadow Weaver ever did. She knows every one of Adora’s insecurities and is not afraid to exploit them, making her an exponentially more dangerous threat. Example:
One more kind of interesting thing… Hordak taking the Black Garnet away from Shadow Weaver and giving it to Catra symbolizes the exchange of power between them, from the mentor to the student. The runestone, in Shadow Weaver’s hands, had been the source of misery for Catra and Adora when they were kids. But now, Catra is in charge of it–and she plans to use it to make Adora’s life a living hell, just like Shadow Weaver did. Except it is more dangerous now in Catra’s hands (because she’s using the power of science instead of magic–a major advantage over the Rebellion).
Soo yeah. Catra taking Shadow Weaver’s place as Hordak’s right hand is not just a promotion, but it’s a reflection of how Catra is actually becoming like Shadow Weaver. Using her tactics and, in the words of Castaspella, “seeking power and control above all else.”
It’s interesting how Catra decries Shadow Weaver’s manipulation, then proceeds to follow in her footsteps. It makes me think Catra doesn’t really realize what she’s doing, or who she’s turning into…. and if/when it dawns on her, it will really shake her up. Catra is her own person with her own motivations–and she genuinely loves Adora (whereas Shadow Weaver had a terrible, twisted view of maternal love). I absolutely do not expect that she’ll end up like Shadow Weaver; however, the extent to which her behavior mirrors her abuser’s right now is alarming to say the least. also Catra has proven herself to be a lot smarter, stronger, and more charismatic than Shadow Weaver, and, uh…. basically…… tl;dr i am afraid
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