One last spin around the block. We recount the Secret Origin of this podcast, recall our favorite episodes of both our show and the show, and leave with a fun little surprise.

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE:
Scorpions - "Wind of Change" w/ the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5
a very special "Listen to Your Heart"

We're tired of talking. We want to hear from y'all -- the people who really made this iteration of She-Ra something special. About a dozen and a half really incredible, thoughtful, open listeners send us audio recordings that tell their own story about how She-Ra, the Princess of Power has better helped them find acceptance, create art, understand the world, or even understand themselves. Thanks to everyone who sent recordings in; we can't thank you enough for sharing your stories.

This episode, we hear from:

Avery
Aghata
Megan
Nathan
Aaron
Clara
Daniela
Emilia
Jacob
Hadas
Jared
Alex
Jennifer
Jem
Annaya
Paige
JB

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE:
Pretenders - Message of Love

As we near the end of our podcast, we wanted to put a nice bow on our time covering She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and fortunately, Dreamworks was down to help! In this, the first of two Twitch streams we're calling the "Exit Interviews," we've got a bevy of guests from SPOP ready to answer burning fan questions like "could Angella be alive?" and "does Catra shower?"

This interview features:

Jen Bennett (director)
Josie Campbell (story editor)
Phil Lomboy (editor)
Noelle Stevenson (executive producer)
Sharon Sun (board artist)
M. Willis (writer)

The second part of these streams is happening Wednesday, 8/26 at 5:30 PM PST! You can catch it over at twitch.tv/ericcgarneau.

Flashback Week ends with a very special episode (at least to one of us) -- Eric's favorite piece of Hemanimation, the 1984 classic "Into the Abyss," a super early look at what a character-driven story might look like for our favorite Twins of Power. Then we circle around to a wider discussion of nostalgia, criticism, and pushing cultural narratives forward, because of course we do.

You can watch "Into the Abyss" here.

Our tour through He-Men of the past continues with this stop in, uh, the future to check on the origins of Mara. In Dreamworks' She-Ra she was an unforgettable character -- were the '90s as kind? Probably not.

If anyone's curious, you can watch "Save Our City" here but, uh, that's your choice to make.

Our week of classic flashbacks starts with a look at the rarely discussed 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe reboot! We're discussing the episode "The Power of Grayskull," which contains that series' only look at the Horde (they sadly would never get their own season), as well as the first-ever appearance of Despondos! Plus lots of neat lore about what Grayskull could actually be!

We'll be back Wednesday with another throwback!

If you're curious, you can watch "The Power of Grayskull" on YouTube.

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE:
Duran Duran - Union of the Snake

The kiss. Redemption. The power of love. The future. Endings. Plus an interview with the one and only AJ Michalka! We talk Catra (of course), her forthcoming record, AND Celebrity Family Feud. What an episode.

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE:
R.E.M. - What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Heart - Alone
Dio - Rainbow in the Dark
Taylor Swift - All You Had to Do Was Stay

This week, the incredible Matt Young (Hello from the Magic Tavern, Improvised Star Trek) joins us for a deep chat about what basically becomes Adora's emotional climax for this series. We also talk about important ways the 2018 She-Ra improves on the classic (of which Matt is also an avowed fan), AND a hatchet gets buried...!

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE
Heart - Never