spoilers ahead
don’t read unless you’ve seen it
or want to be spoiled!
I think. Honestly, I’m not sure what spoiler level this very long post actually is so I’m going with the highest just to be safe.
Why am I confused? Well, right after we watched the beginning episodes, I jotted down my initial thoughts and then kind of walked away from doing the post. Just let my thoughts sit there. Some people would call that ripening an idea. I call it flat-out dithering on whether to even post about this one or not. Like I said, I ended up very long winded but I don’t see anything I want to cut either. So, keep in mind that this isn’t a review but some observations about my reaction to the new series.
Anyway, we watched the first part of this new series (the first 5 episodes) the weekend they dropped on Netflix. Up front, I honestly enjoyed it. Really more than I expected to. Were there some odd notes? Yeah, there were. But the story was engaging.
And I can honestly say I’m curious where they go from where they left things.
Definitely not a kids cartoon, though.
So don’t go into it thinking it is. This is a cartoon for adults who grew up on the original series. I think it’s labeled TV-PG in the US but I have no idea what that means. I do know that there is violence. There is blood. There are actually a couple of deaths.
Quite moving ones, too, for a cartoon. There is a surprising amount of depth in this one.
Also there are some people who are upset that He-Man isn’t the primary focus of the series. Even though he’s on the promo covers. They don’t like that the showrunners apparently more or less got rid of the beefy male hero in favor of a female protagonist. And, yeah, they kind of did. But I’m also seeing them simply telling a story about Teela. I expected that and I am okay with it.
At least, so far.
Let me explain.
When the original He-Man cartoon came out my daughter was in the 3-5 age range. So she grew up with He-Man and his support cast. By comparison, my son wasn’t born until after the first He-Man series went off the air. I’m pretty sure his first childhood TV fan obsession was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not He-Man. My point is that my very first viewing of this series was with my daughter. As a result I judged it from a little girl’s viewpoint.
But back to He-Man and company, in the original series it was always obvious that Teela had a story hanging out there, waiting to be told.
And we never got Teela’s story.
Now not telling Teela’s story wasn’t all that surprising . . . then . . . considering the original He-Man cartoon was basically an advertisement to sell a toy set that already existed. A toy set targeting very young boys. Not a lot of depth. Instead of character development, they went the route of creating another character to be the female counterpart of He-Man called She-Ra/Adora, Adam’s twin sister. Which was not a bad thing because my daughter loved the She-Ra cartoons, too. She-Ra and company were really just another set of toys to be sold, this time to girls, when you get right down to it, though.
But that was then. This is now.
So why does Teela need her own story?
Maybe I should back up and talk about who she is first. Teela is the foster daughter of Duncan, AKA Man-At-Arms, chief advisor to the King and weapons master. She’s Captain of the Palace Guard and the one in the old series who usually ended up “protecting” Prince Adam. You know, the Prince Adam who turns into He-Man. As a result, she’s one of Prince Adam’s best friends but also his only best friend who doesn’t know his secret.
Yeah, this is the Lois Lane syndrome on body-building steroids. Heh. And, ya know, there is “revelation” in the title. Noticed that right off.
Oh and let’s not forget that Teela is the secret daughter of the Sorceress, the Guardian of Castle Greyskull, the primary magical fortress in their universe. He-Man exists to be the Protector of Castle Greyskull. The implication always was that eventually Teela would inherit her mother’s position. Or at least some of her powers. But whether she ultimately knows the Sorceress is her mother was and is left uncertain. Vague. Very vague. Memory wipe level vague. Yet more revelation fodder.
So, I repeat, Teela has always had a story that needed to be told and never was. The one thing both my daughter and I wanted out of the original He-Man cartoon was more of Teela’s story. Therefore, I don’t believe it’s surprising that I have absolutely no problem with Teela finally getting her own story.
Are some of the choses they are making in telling the story a little questionable? Eh, maybe. But it does depend on how they end up pulling off the rest of this season, doesn’t it?
What could be the deal-breaker for me?
Well, just as long as they eventually get around to bringing He-Man back I’m probably going to keep watching. Although, it’s not even like you don’t ever see him. He’s there . . . but let’s just say not so much in person or in the present. And by bring back, I mean, quite literally, that He-Man is back and, hopefully, Prince Adam is his alter-ego. (There is some precedent in the original mini-comics for Prince Adam not to exist and there only be He-Man. I actually think I could live with that.) Or they could simply tweak the He-Man costume a bit. (Again, precedent in previous series.) He better still be the He-Man we know and love, though. To not do that might be the ultimate deal-breaker for me.
Final thoughts . . . for now
It remains to be seen just how good (or bad) this series will ultimately be. But so far I’m enjoying the story they are telling.
As for missing He-Man, I can’t say I did. To be honest, from a storytelling perspective, the show runners had to take both He-Man and Skeletor out of play. At least temporarily. It can’t really be someone else’s story if they’re there. They are both simply too powerful in universe. Put it this way, He-Man has actually taken on Superman in a DC Comics crossover. In canon, I think. Yeah, he’s that powerful and so is his nemesis, Skeletor. So, if He-Man and Skeletor are there, then everything revolves around them butting heads. One way or another.
To be honest, does anyone really think that He-Man is gone for good?
Well, let me put it this way, I’m a superhero fan in general and a Superman fan in particular. Superheroes get knocked out of action all the time. Sometimes by death. Doesn’t mean they don’t or won’t come back.
More importantly, would Mattel let them completely do away with He-Man, one of the most iconic toys in toymaking history? I mean, we are still talking about a line of money-making toys here, people. The Masters of the Universe line of toys may not make the mega-bucks with kids it did in its heyday but adult collectors are rabid about them still.
So, for now, I’m enjoying Teela’s moment in the sun.