Much like He-Man’s Power Sword in the sequel to Revelation of the Lords of the Universe. The series is divided into two, with the first half airing in July 2021 and the second half in November. Netflix was lucky enough to strike an organic balance for Kevin Smith’s animated return.
Even though the show was written as a season. The first half ended with two big cliffhangers. And the last five episodes only achieved half of the original promise of the middle. But the second half of the series is instrumental. It didn’t go as smoothly as Part 1 and missed some vital emotional shocks. But Part 2 is so full of great ideas. That bump in the episode seem less like a bug and more like an inevitable feature.
Even though the revelation is packaged as a nostalgic act for Gen-X:
It’s still mostly a kids show. (Though not as much as Netflix’s other He-Man 2021 series. The complete reboot is aimed at a much younger audience.) However, the second half of Revelations matures in exciting ways. Especially in Evil-Lyn (Lena Hedy). MVP Part 2. At the same time, it continues to deliver crazy thrills. That you’d expect from a series based on toys.
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Part 1 ends with the murder of Prince Adam (Chris Wood), leaving Eternal Heaven to help his friends. Only to be stabbed to death by a returning skeleton (Mark Hamill). Mid-season, the show creates the possibility and consequence that Adam will die a second time. By knowing that he can only come back from the dead once.
But Part 2 finds a convenient way to get around the mystery. While quick resolutions border on fakes, Revelation answers another long-standing question with flying colours. What if the giggling megalomaniac skeleton had access to the legendary powers of He-Man of the Gray Skull?
The resulting power design is sort of a great iteration aimed at selling hardcore fans a new action figure. The skeleton grows bigger, grows a pair of ram horns, and has a neck made entirely of fire. The reinforcement is one of the few “what if” fantasies to which the show responds. Not as fan service (well, not just fan service) but in a way. That usually presents some sort of character-centred dilemma.
For example, what would happen to Prince Adam if he summoned “Power” without using his sword as a conductor. As he had always done in the past? The answer lives on with dynamic, anime-inspired action. Still, this lingering power fantasy paves the way for a profoundly personal father-daughter story.
While also informing one of the main themes of the second half of Revelation: the nature of power and more narrowly. There’s a fine line between surviving and surrendering voluntarily.
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Like other He-Man reboots in 2021, Revelation struggles with the basic premise of its 1980s predecessor:
Where only a select soldier has “power”. The show places significant narrative focus on the more Prince Adam transforms into He-Man. The more often he reverts to his human form rather than remaining in his all-powerful He-Man form.
When he ends up being brainless and angry (partly based on the Wun-Darr or “Savage He-Man”) toys. It’s a clever storyline as both prevent him from making that graceful sacrifice again. As well as accidentally aligning him with villains like Skeleton. Who are never willing to give up their power.
But while He-Man and Skeletor had more screen time in Part 2. Than they did in Part 1, most of the story still belongs to the women who were their assistants in the original show. He-Man ally Tila (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is finally permitted to confront the secrets of her upbringing, a story that never revealed in the 80s. Unfortunately, her rainbow isn’t given the same time and attention as in Part 1. She often runs from rhythm to rhythm without struggling as hard as she used to. Even when faced with complicated ideas like abandoning her mother.
In the course of Revelation, it undergoes a significant shift in the status quo and. Despite being visually spectacular, it’s also a lot easier than the setup suggests. This may be Part 2’s biggest weakness.
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However, the narrative sacrifices seem almost worth it, as this time. The focus is more on Evil-Lyn, who is second in Skeleton’s Command and a hero who is central to the show. Thematic reflection on power.