Netflix has announced a release date for the conclusion to its two-part series, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, which served as a sequel by showrunner Kevin Smith to the original Masters of the Universe cartoon series from the 1980s.
The series will release its final five episodes on Nov. 23, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in the United States. It is unclear yet whether there will be more to the story after these final five episodes are released.
The series, which debuted to nearly universal acclaim from critics, was also involved in some controversy, with a number of angry He-Man followers review-bombing the series. Their ostensible criticism is that He-Man and Skeletor, while present in flashbacks in the series, seemingly die in the first episode, depriving Eternia of magic and forcing He-Man's old ally, Teela, to take a bigger role in the series (even as she is dealing with the sense of betrayal over never being trusted with the information that He-Man and Prince Adam were the same person). This, of course, is until the cliffhanger ending of Episode 5, which shows He-Man and Skeletor's return, but with Skeletor now wielding the Sword of Power.
Thus, the argument is that the promotion for the series did not properly prepare fans for He-Man not being a central figure in the series, with some viewers going as far as to call it a "bait and switch."
Smith harshly dismissed those criticisms at the time of Part 1's release, noting, "It’s been interesting, seeing who truly is a hardcore fan. Because anybody that’s like, ‘Oh, man, there’s not enough He-Man’ or something like that, doesn’t understand the show that we based it on. There were episodes where he lost the sword and he never became He-Man. It wasn’t like He-Man always saved the day. His friends helped him. That was the fucking point of the show."
Netflix released the following synopsis for Part 2 of Revelation:
The war for Eternia continues in the second part of “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” an innovative and action-packed animated series that picks up where the iconic characters left off. With Skeletor now wielding the Sword of Power, the weary heroes of Eternia must band together to fight back against the forces of evil in a thrilling and epic conclusion to the two-part series.
Source: Netflix