busybee fluffy rambles

Prior seasons

I haven’t gone through all of the intros to see what changes, but a spot-check finds a few over the course of the series. There’s probably something I’ve missed.

Season 1

We first get a proper intro starting with the second episode of season 1, The Sword (Part 2).

Some points of comparison:

The Horde montage shows Lonnie, Kyle, Scorpia, and Rogelio in front, with Catra, Shadow Weaver, and Hordak in the background.

Then we see She-Ra fighting Catra, and falling back to her friends, looking defeated but determined.

Finally, the friend ensemble shows She-Ra in the foreground, flanked by Spinarella, Netossa, Frosta, Queen Angella, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Glimmer, Bow, Perfuma, Entrapta, and Swift Wind.

Season 4

A couple of changes happen in season 4:

After the Catra fight, Glimmer’s wearing her new outfit (despite still wearing her old one in the first half of the intro).

The Horde montage gains Double Trouble, loses Shadow Weaver, and gains Horde Prime. Scorpia doesn’t look so sure anymore, and Hordak’s clearly seen better days. Entrapta’s barely visible in the background.

The ensemble replaces Queen Angella with the ghostly visage of Mara, and Entrapta gets replaced by that weird fairy girl who was actually Double Trouble all along (so they get to double-dip on this one). Also, Glimmer is in her new outfit, and Perfuma is dressed differently for some reason. Everyone’s also lit more dynamically than before.

Season 5, Episode 1: Horde Prime

This is mostly the same as season 4, except the following:

The Horde montage has been replaced with Horde Prime, Catra surrounded by the brotherhood of Horde clones, and an extremely tattered Hordak facing away from the camera.

And, the friend ensemble shows the state of affairs at the end of season 4: Adora (not She-Ra) stands in the foreground, flanked by Netossa, Spinarella, Entrapta, Mermista, Frosta, Sea Hawk, King Micah, Queen Glimmer, Bow, Scorpia, Perfuma, and Swift Wind.

Surprisingly, Shadow Weaver does not appear in the intro whatsoever, despite her having joined the rebellion. Sort of.

Episode 6: Taking Control

Nothing changes until episode 6, where the montage has a tiny addition:

Wrong Hordak has joined the team.

Episode 7: Perils of Peekablue

Three huge changes happen in this one:

The Horde montage now shows the Heart of Etheria instead of Catra, because…

Catra, having been rescued by Adora, now has a playful sparring match with She-Ra (both in their cute new designs), and She-Ra rejoins Glimmer and Bow with a smile on her face.

And, now that she’s gotten She-Ra back, that’s how she appears in the friend ensemble, along with Catra hanging out in the corner.

As an aside, it’s worth noting that Catra has lost her helmet, but She-Ra has incorporated it into her own headgear. Form your own interpretations of what that’s all about! (Personally I choose to believe that She-Ra re-emerged purely out of Adora’s love for Catra.)

Episode 8: Shot in the Dark

Two big changes in this one.

The horde is now joined by Micah, Spinarella, Scorpia, and Mermista, who have been “chipped,” so they do not appear in the friend ensemble. Perfuma looks worried, and Sea Hawk has decided to stop singing.

Episode 11: Failsafe

Spinarella, having been rescued and de-chipped, has moved from the Horde to the friend ensemble. She and Netossa are making up for lost time.

That’s all that I’ve noticed but it’s quite likely I’ve missed something! Feel free to let me know of anything I overlooked so I can add it here.