She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 5 Review

May 19, 2020 at 3:34am
By Jason Stettner

The battle for Etheria concludes with this final season of She-Ra and Princesses of Power. I’m actually shocked that the end is already here as I’m not sure what actually got me into the series in the first place. That aside, it’s been a remarkable journey and this final season is the best one yet.

There’s something magical about nailing a set narrative arc, and they perfectly do so with this one. You really do get to enjoy a cohesive story the whole way through where motivations and paths feel natural.

They all reach the point you expected them to, with some nice surprises sprinkled throughout. With that, you also get a strong sense of character growth. You understand where they’ve been, and can see how they’ve changed across the set quantity of seasons that make up this whole series.

There were some big changes here, and a high level of maturity within the cast. On top of that, this is an incredibly varied roster of characters where none of them feel token, or out of place. I also believe from some research I did that they added some extra little moments with characters from the original series we hadn’t seen yet, but in a new presentation as is tradition here. I was expecting something a bit flashier towards the end, but it was a perfect conclusion for the structuring of this show.

I was particularly shocked at how I responded to the epic moments of when things did take a triumphant turn during certain spots that I don’t want to spoil. In this season we find the world of Etheria being invaded by the collection that is led by Horde Prime. Adora (Aimee Carrero) is struggling having lost the power of She-Ra. We have a captured Glimmer (Karen Fukuhara) and Catra (AJ Michalka) dealing with being onboard the prize ship of their enemies. The latter of which sees some insane changes throughout the season, ones that make complete sense in comparison to what’s happened over the entirety of the series.

Then there’s the rest of the princesses, and of course Bow (Marcus Scribner) that are trying to resist a growing threat on the planet. It’s a dark starting point, and an interesting one to build from. It doesn’t even jump into a warmer spot early on, taking its time to showcase just how bad things are. It creates a greater sense of scale, and helps develop each individual of the large roster of characters to where they’re meant to be.

It really is incredible to witness, and it was so satisfying to see in action. They covered a ton of ground, and made use of every single episode of the thirteen that make up this season to do so. I really don’t have any lingering questions, and was more than happy with the directions set for each of the characters. They even gave closure to some of the mode side characters that don’t necessarily have the most hardcore of impact on the overall narrative.

This is of course an animated Netflix Original series and that style from the other seasons has been carried over here. It looks generally great, they use a bright range of colors and really lean into that even further this time around. The style has continued to mature and I really do feel it’s at its best here. Every frame is filled to the brim with detail, quality and a deeper sense of maturity. You see that from the more grim scenes, to the further matured costumes that the characters wear.

It’s also neat to see the wide range of costumes that are used throughout, many noticeable changes for sure. There’s a grand sense of scale in this season, and this continues to get crazier as events progress. There ventured to some brand new locations, some off into the reaches of space. There are some minor new roster additions, but they don’t go too wild in that regard.

The pacing was excellent, and I really did just want to get to the next episode as quickly as possible. They all flowed so well, and felt connected. There weren’t any points that felt like filler, and every single moment did matter into the overall scheme of what was going on. The voice work was on point, and they have such a diverse selection of unique characters present here. Again, none of them feel like token characters and each have their own important dynamics at play throughout the final season.

The Conclusion

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 5 is a near perfect conclusion to this epic and deep story. The pay-off, the structuring and design of this final season come together in such a satisfying way. They made this finale feel dark, and kept the struggle present the whole way through. With that darkness, they also had many moments of hope and that shined through when it mattered the most.

This is such a well balanced and diverse cast of characters that each gets their own sense of growth throughout the season. Everything comes together so well here, and I was very pleased with how it wrapped up. The events made sense, the growth was shown clearly throughout the past seasons and you get to see some great changes within the various characters that are present.

I still can’t believe that I’ve enjoyed these seasons so much, or even that it’s already the end of it. I remember just giving it a whirl to cover, and now we’re here after five well laid out seasons. I was shocked by how well they nailed this final selection of episodes. It’s a lengthy selection, and a collection that fit together with excellent pacing. This was a mighty way to finish the series. Remember; as always, for the honor of Grayskull!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Season 5 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Content Access was Provided by Netflix

Rating Overall: 9.5