Episode summary and screen captures courtesy of Robert Labandeira.
Plot Summary: Picking up from the last episode, Adora, Glimmer, and Bow manage to flee from the spider-like monster and come across the ancient ruins of a First Ones temple. Astonishingly, Adora is able to read the ancient reading on the stone door, allowing a voice-activated password to be recognized and opening the temple to them. Inside, Glimmer and Bow explain that the First Ones were the original colonizers of Etheria who first arrived on the planet thousands of years ago. They were vital in turning Etheria into a more advanced civilization, but sometime way back in the past they disappeared, leaving behind their monuments, cities, outposts, and technology behind for the planet’s future population.
Venturing further into the temple, the three discover ancient artwork detailing a warrior known as “She-Ra” which in turn leads to an emergency lock down from First Ones emergency systems now reactivated. Refusing to give Adora the sword and risk a betrayal, Glimmer manages to teleport all of them out. Adora then announces how she wants to know more about the sword and the First Ones to she if she can find any answers of where she came from.
Meanwhile, observing Adora’s actions from far away in the Fright Zone with a magical pool, Shadow Weaver informs Catra that she will either bring Adora back to the Fright Zone, or be punished in Adora’s place for her abandonment.
After starting their journey back to Bright Moon, Adora, Glimmer, and Bow come across the peaceful village of Thaymor. With a quick disguise, and realizing Adora has never enjoyed a party, Bow insists on treating Adora to a fun time during the village’s celebration. Enjoying a day of food, music, games, stories, and a friendly horse, Adora realizes what happiness is, but it is all soon cut short with a surprise Horde invasion of Thaymor. Realizing Thaymor is the village she was supposed to invade during her first force captain mission, and not a heavily guarded compound like the Horde told her, Adora decides to take drastic action.
Catra arrives on the scene, and finding Adora gets ready to take her home. Adora tells Catra that everybody in the Fright Zone, especially Shadow Weaver, have been manipulating all of them from the beginning, but Catra shrugs it off saying that fact has been obvious since the beginning. After rejecting Catra’s insistence to come back to the Fright Zone, Adora instead decides to leave the Horde to join the rebellion and asks Catra to come with her instead. Catra is enraged at the idea Adora would leave her to instead join some people and a rebellion she has only known for one day, and rejects her now former friend’s offer.
After some encouraging words from Bow Glimmer admits she should have trusted Adora and gives her the sword. Adora transforms into She-Ra once more and defeats the Horde invasion. After seeing Catra join the rest of the Horde in the march back to the Fright Zone, Adora and her new “Best Friend Squad” make their own way back to Bright Moon.
