Netflix: She-Ra’s focus on friendship is its superpower

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is one of Netflix’s most talked about shows right now but no one seems to mention the role friendship plays in the show.

Friendship, it’s something we all crave and need. In life, it’s incredibly rare and something to be treasured. On TV, it’s every bit as important but one genre that neglects it is cartoons since it doesn’t have continuity. Most notably, it’s missing in action cartoons but not Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

If you haven’t watched She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, there will be spoilers from this point on so be warned if you plan on reading ahead!

The series features a multitude of different friendships. From traditional friendships to more unconventional ones, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power have it all. The examples are endless but we’ll get to those in a minute. What makes the series unique in its portrayal of friendships is how large a role it plays in the series.

The title itself is an ode to friendship. Instead of keeping the old title of She-Ra Princess of Power, the reboot includes the other princesses. Throughout Season 1, we’ve been introduced to a lot of the princesses and if there’s a Season 2, there could even more.

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That’s a question for another day though but let’s break down some of the most important friendships and the role they play in the series. 

The core friendship of the series is between Adora, Glimmer, and Bow. Glimmer and Bow were friends who stumbled upon Adora. Eventually, they came to realize who she truly was and integrated her into their friendship group. Of all the friendships on the show, this one is the most loving and the most realistic.

Bow, Glimmer, and Adora support each other and are loyal. Regardless of what situation they end up in, they’re there to lift each other up. A key example of this came in “No Princess Left Behind” when Adora brought everyone together to rescue Bow and Glimmer or when Bow and Glimmer rescued Adora in “Light Hope.”

There’s also the friendship between Bow and Glimmer. Even though there are no romance moments, it’s highly implied. Nevertheless, these two love each other unconditionally as platonic friends and protect each other. There’s no shortage of moments with these two but “Princess Prom” showed us how much Glimmer treasures Bow as a friend.

I’d be remiss to not include the friendship between all of the princesses. There were only three episodes where they worked together. Each princess brings something unique to the group but they appreciate each other. No one is belittled for what they can’t do and is instead celebrate for what they can do. It’s refreshing to see this featured in a cartoon aimed towards young kids.

Obviously, the friendship most people have been talking about is between Adora and Catra. Of all the friendships, it’s the one we get the most backstory on.

At the beginning of the series, the two are best friends eventually turned enemies. The gradual decline of their friendship is incredibly realistic as the two want completely different things. For Catra, she wants to get out of Adora’s shadow no matter what it costs her. For Adora, she wants to renounce her former ways and overthrow Horde.

Catra and Adora’s friendship plays such as key role in both of their development. It’s actually what pushes them away from each other. There would be no She-Ra without Catra as weird as it might be to say. She-Ra only existed for Adora because of Catra’s actions and vice versus.

Overall, the show wouldn’t be the same without friendship. That’s truly how big of a role it plays in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Recently, cartoons aimed at kids have shifted their focus to friendship.

The fan response alone should be enough for Netflix. Hopefully, the success of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power will show creators why friendship is such an important topic to explore in cartoons.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is now available on Netflix.