The Duality of Redemption

Comments · 104

• MC

  @mchia9699 · 4 days ago

  Zuko and Catra were truly coughing baby and hydrogen bomb. Zuko was banished for being too kind meanwhile Catra genuinely gets close to conquering the the whole planet. She kills people. She destroys villages. She's a mess!!!! She's evil!!!! And yet the show lets her get to the lowest of lows before letting her make up for her mistakes

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• KE

  @Keziacaton2013 · 4 days ago

  I'm a simple girl, I see ATLA and She-Ra I click

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• SP

  @sparxstreak02 · 3 days ago (edited)

  For me, Catra’s arc was more one of Transformation rather than Redemption. &nbsp;She does strive to do the latter but it always felt more about her finding &amp; letting all sides of her true self show &amp; shine, as there are so many things that make up who she is: Charismatic, Cynical, Witty, Snarky, Funny, Sarcastic, Playful, Brilliant, Beautiful, Brave, Fierce, Intense, Loyal, Loving &amp; most of all Empathic ❤️‍🔥<br><br>And she still has a lot of work to do after the finale finishes (as does Adora since BOTH had issues) but they are willing to face them together.<br><br>Growth is never ending &amp; only stops when you cease to try. &nbsp;Which is why I loved the ambiguity of the state of Catra’s journey. &nbsp;Because as you said so eloquently - it’s really none of our damn business 😝 &amp; is up to our own conclusions rather than spelling it out.

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• TH

  @thegneech · 3 days ago

  At the end of season two of SPoP, I wrote a blog post called &quot;Catra: A Cinnamon Roll Who Wants to Kill You&quot; along these general lines. Catra doesn&apos;t care about good and evil per se, she cares about wanting (and wanting to be wanted by) Adora. In a healthy and loving environment, she can flourish, but in a toxic and cruel environment... she turns into the worst version of herself.

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• SP

  @sparxstreak02 · 3 days ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ee2bMSYd78&amp;t=480">8:00</a> Catra didn’t believe she deserved forgiveness. &nbsp;Yes she is still VERY much a mess at this stage but her feelings of guilt &amp; shame haven’t gone away just because Adora saved &amp; forgave her (while still holding her accountable - though I do have some reservations on how she goes about this, but I digress), it’s the whole reason Catra didn’t bother saving herself when rescuing Glimmer, as when she asks Catra “What about you?” Catra just brushes it off, saying “All I do is hurt people.” meaning she believes she deserves punishment instead of grace &amp; willingly stays behind to face it.<br><br>But she can’t comprehend why Adora came back for her after all she did &amp; especially after that glare in the season 3 finale that made it clear Adora was done with Catra’s shit - who at that point pretty much took it as having burned the bridge between them, with Adora now hating her (hence her shock when Adora states the opposite to be true in ‘Taking Control’.<br><br>But when faced with arguing/fighting Adora again when confronted about the chip &amp; being offered the chance to leave, things are suddenly put into clarity for both of them in their own way.<br><br>Catra may still be a mess, but she knows what she wants now &amp; can’t bring herself to go back to the misery she was in before, even if she doesn’t think she deserves happiness at this point.<br>So she does the only thing left to do &amp; reaches out - to which Adora, finally letting go of trying to control Catra’s actions, lets her decide &amp; takes Catra’s hand in return 🤝

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• BL

  @Blazingstoke · 1 day ago

  To me the most important thing both characters have in common is that they both get what they <i>think</i> they&apos;ve always wanted, and find that it makes them more miserable than ever. Zuko, by the start of Book 3, is restored to his rightful place in the Fire Nation, has his father&apos;s approval, and is credited with eliminating the Avatar, yet he&apos;s angrier than ever, and finally admits it&apos;s all at himself. Catra, by season 4, is basically running the Horde, and with tremendous success, yet she&apos;s absolutely spiraling into paranoia and self loathing. I really think both of them needed to reach this point of realizing they didn&apos;t truly want what they thought they wanted, before they could choose a new direction. And I think that&apos;s what makes both their arcs so compelling

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• FI

  @FiggyG11 · 4 days ago

  I was a Catra fan from the very beginning and that is one of the most rewarding experiences ever (in my opinion)

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• TU

  @tutunepan492 · 3 days ago

  Catra cares for the acceptance of one person and one person only...Adora.<br>That&apos;s why her redemption is ambiguous. At the end, she stopped running away and went back to understand Adora and her mission

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• SA

  @saran3546 · 15 hours ago

  Loved this! Yes their arcs are very different and I&apos;m glad you pointed out what makes them both thrive. Super underrated!

• SP

  @sparxstreak02 · 3 days ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ee2bMSYd78&amp;t=552">9:12</a> &nbsp;I don’t watch Dr Who much at all, but not gonna lie…that speech resonated so damn hard 💞<br><br>How Adora forgives Catra without hesition reminded me so much of Iroh’s forgiveness of Zuko 🥹<br><br>Though to be honest, since both hurt the other at the start of their story, I saw it as them both forgiving each other in their own ways (just at different points in their respective arcs) with Catra finding it harder to accept the forgiveness offered to her due to how far she spirals, combined with her own self loathing, guilt &amp; shame.<br><br>Having said all that, there is another thing I’d like to point out:<br><br>Unlike Zuko who had yet to prove himself trustworthy when asking for Team Avatar’s forgiveness, Catra had already shown this by saving Glimmer (&amp; the rest of the group by extension) &amp; apologising for the first time since this all started. &nbsp;Her actions matched her words, all while never once expecting forgiveness - which ironically showcased her change even further.<br><br>And sometimes it can also be easier to forgive someone when you know they regret their actions, especially if they don’t believe they deserve forgiveness or a chance for redemption.<br><br>That’s not to say offering that forgiveness unconditionally isn’t still powerful - it IS.<br>But compare that to Katara’s mother’s killer, who showed no remorse &amp; only wanted to save his own hide &amp; it’s pretty clear which one would be easier to forgive.<br><br>Nonetheless, it is still a PHENOMENAL thing for those who can look beyond someone’s past at the person they can be after, if given the chance ❤️‍🩹

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• SP

  @sparxstreak02 · 3 days ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ee2bMSYd78&amp;t=210">3:30</a> While Catra was definitely suicidal here &amp; despite her insisting on trying to ‘win’, I don’t believe that she pulled the portal lever to spite Adora.<br>Yes she gives her a smug looking smirk before doing so, but when she’s turned back to face the portal, you may only see the lower half of her face but her smirk’s gone &amp; she just looks done with everything &amp; that’s when she finally pulls that lever.<br><br>She just wanted her suffering to end &amp; to leave the world that was constantly throwing it her way. &nbsp;Which is why the altered portal reality was everything she believed would make her happy &amp; fought so hard against remembering the actual reality before finally snapping.<br><br>Misery &amp; pain make you capable of anything &amp; Catra just hit her breaking point.

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• IH

  @IHMnotuseless2204 · 5 days ago

  OH MY GOD A CATRA THUMBNAIL YAY

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