She-Ra and the Princesses of Power recently concluded its acclaimed fifth and final season on Netflix, and no surprise, all of the highest-ranked episodes on IMDB from the entire series stem from the final season. Long-running plot threads finally resolve, epic battles decide the fate of Etheria, and enemies become lovers.
While the show rates very well overall, fans rewarded the final episodes with great reviews for their animation, voice acting, and storytelling. Here are the ten best episodes of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ranked by their IMDB score.
10 Horde Prime - 8.6
The first episode of the fifth season leads off the list, so fans know things only got better from there. At the end of the fourth season, Adora and the Princesses of Power are trying to rescue Queen Glimmer from the spaceship of Horde Prime. Turns out that Hordark, Adora's former commander in the Evil Horde, is actually a clone of this original villain from Eternia. Voice actor Keston John pulls double duty as the emperor Horde Prime and his slightly less scary clone, Hordak.
9 Taking Control - 8.7
The sixth episode and halfway point of season five find the Princesses of Power still lost in space aboard Horde Prime's ship, but starting to gain an upper hand. Marked by a great asteroid field chase ala The Empire Strikes Back (but with the added bonus of She-Ra leaping from asteroid to asteroid destroying enemy bot ships), this episode marks a turning point in the season and series. Catra provides critical intelligence on the Horde's plan and takes another step in her relationship with Adora.
8 An Ill Wind - 8.7
The ninth episode of the fifth season sees the team finally make it back to Etheria after their long ordeal in outer space. There's not a lot of time for celebration though. Things have changed since they've been gone, especially with the Rebellion. The rebel base has been destroyed and the team has to find out where everyone has gone. Horde Prime closes his iron grip around Etheria, and that downhill feeling people get on rollercoasters right before the big plunge is easily felt in this episode.
7 Return to the Fright Zone - 8.8
Episode ten sees the team split up to try and bring everything back together. Lovebirds Bow and Glimmer check on Bow's dads while Adora, Catra, Perfuma, and Netossa enter the strange dimension of the Fright Zone in order to rescue Scorpia, who's been trapped there.
A cool tidbit about this episode is the way it echoes a classic Justice League concept. Princess Neotossa lets the others know she's developed strategies to defeat all her friends in the event they go evil, as Batman did his colleagues in the JL.
6 Shot In The Dark - 8.9
Things back up a bit to episode eight. The team is still aboard the spaceship, headed back to Etheria to try and save it from Horde Prime. The episode is notable for the cautious, rewarding way that the previously evil - but still catty - Catra integrates with the heroes. She bristles a bit at being called 'cute' but in the end, after she helps the team escape their pursuers and get another step back to Etheria, she earns a friendly kiss on the cheek from Queen Glimmer.
5 Failsafe - 9.0
The penultimate episode before the two-part finale, "Failsafe" finds the heroes on the brink of disaster. A Strikeforce tries to reach the Heart of Etheria to unleash the planet's suppressed magic - long assumed dormant but just drained by the First Ones, who came to the planet from Eternia (a strong connection to the He-Man mythology but uncertain if it will extend any further into new He-Man stories). Harnessing the magical potential of the entire planet is really the only shot the Rebellion has against the Horde.
4 Corridors - 9.1
The third episode of the series ranks a bit higher due to the huge stakes involved. This is the moment when Catra makes her fateful decision to leave behind the only life she's known - the Horde - to protect the lives of Adora and her friends. After Horde Prime gives Catra an ultimatum - kill Queen Glimmer or lose her memory - Catra betrays him and allows Glimmer to escape. She's overwhelmed by Horde Troopers, but the stage is set for her dramatic evolution as a character.
3 Save The Cat - 9.3
Not surprisingly, the mission to save Catra from Horde Prime ranks very high. Adora surrenders herself to Horde Prime to get close to Catra and tries to elbow him into release Catra by threatening to use the Heart of Etheria.
Horde Prime isn't having any of it, but She-Ra has a trick up her sleeve. A thrilling heist-like plot unfolds in the episode as Entrapta, Bow, and Glimmer hack the serves on Prime's space station and find an opening to allow Adora to rescue Catra.
2 Heart, Part 1 - 9.3
The first part of the final episode, "Heart," sees both sides make their ultimate moves. Adora leads the mission to the Heart while Entrapta tries to hack the chip network that Horde Prime has implanted in Etherians to control them. The episode does everything classic finales should - move all the players into place, puts everything on the hero's shoulders, and puts her behind the eightball. Adora struggles to maintain her She-Ra form against Prime, who then infects her with the virus he has the planet.
1 Heart, Part 2 - 9.4
It all comes together in the final episode. The payoff was fantastic and fans loved it, resulting in the highest IMDB rating for the entire series. Much of the credit goes to the fantastic storytelling by executive producer and showrunner Noelle Stevenson (creator of Lumberjanes) and her outstanding crew for pulling off the rare feat of the perfect finale. The best part for fans likely was the romantic realization of Adora and Catra's relationship many looked forward to.