Entrapta

Entrapta is a fictional character who first appeared in the animated television series She-Ra: Princess of Power.^[2][3] She later reappeared in the reboot series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, with a bigger role and more character development than her original depiction.^[4][5]

Entrapta
Masters of the Universe character
Entrapta in the 2018 series
First appearance	A Born Champion (Princess of Power minicomics; 1986)
Created by	Tina Harris (writer)
Voiced by	Linda Gary (1985) Christine Woods (2018)
In-universe information
Species	Etherian
Gender	female
Title	Princess of Dryl
Occupation	Scientist
Family	unknown
Significant other	Hordak (partner, 2018 series)[1]

Media

Television

She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)

In She-Ra: Princess of Power, Entrapta is the Horde's technician and a sidekick of Catra.^[6][5][4] Entrapta is a skilled inventor and is credited with designing advanced equipment for the Horde to employ in their battle against the Great Rebellion.^[7] Her specialty is devising traps and weaponry.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020)

In She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Entrapta is given an updated-origin storyline.^[4][8][7] Her hair is also purple, unlike in the original show where it was pink, and she is able to mentally control it at will as if it were another appendage, to manipuate it to fight enemies or to control her various machines.

Showrunner ND Stevenson later confirmed that Entrapta was written as autistic.^[9] Entrapta is portrayed in the series as a skilled but reckless inventor and princess of Dryl. She has great interest in studies of robotics, and despite many failed experiments, she became one of the most knowledgeable people on First Ones' tech in Etheria.

Entrapta quickly joins the Rebellion, though after a partially-botched rescue mission to the Fright Zone, she is nearly incinerated and left for dead by the other princesses. Convinced by Catra that she was abandoned by her friends on purpose, Entrapta is recruited into the Horde and she creates highly effective weaponry for them. Entrapta bonds with Hordak, the leader of the Horde, over their shared interest in technology while helping him build a portal to summon the rest of the Horde. Hordak reveals his nature as a defective clone to her, and due to Entrapta's love for imperfection, they form a genuine friendship that blossoms into romantic love.^[1][10][11] However, when Entrapta refuses to activate the portal upon learning it could destroy Etheria, she is knocked out by Catra and sent off to Beast Island while Hordak is made to believe that Entrapta betrayed him. Nonetheless, Entrapta is delighted by the ancient technology left on Beast Island. When Adora and Bow arrive to rescue Entrapta, she is reluctant to leave, due to both the island's resources and her feelings of abandonment. With that despondency in mind, Entrapta almost allows herself to be consumed by the aggressive vegetation of the island. However, when She-Ra tells Entrapta that leaving with them would allow her to examine their aircraft, an item of ancient technology, Entrapta agrees to help them escape and ends up rejoining the Rebellion. When the galactic Horde, led by Hordak's creator Horde Prime, arrives at Etheria, Entrapta proves to be instrumental in foiling his plan to use the planet's inner superweapon to destroy the universe. Hordak's love for Entrapta is shown to be strong enough that it inspires him to rebel against Horde Prime, and the two happily reunite after She-Ra disables the weapon and defeats Horde Prime.

According to Stevenson, Entrapta "sees humanity in everything"^[12] and had "lots of robot boyfriends and girlfriends", along with her relationship with the ship, Darla, in "some capacity".^[1]

In other media

Entrapta appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Slaughterhouse on the Prairie", voiced by Robin Tunney. She accompanies Catra and Scorpia into attacking Castle Bright Moon.^[13]

Reception

Entrapta in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power received generally positive reception from critics. Erin Wilhelm of Bleeding Cool was critical of Entrapta, calling her a "dangerous villain", saying that her actions are not "consistent with science" and that she uses discovery and science "to justify her own selfish motivations."^[14] Tracy Brown contrasted this, arguing that Entrapta's "affinity for science separates her from most of the other characters on the show", and said that Entrapta sees a "kindred spirit" in Hordak, and stays with the Horde because they have "accepted and nurtured her scientific drive." She also quoted her voice actress as calling Entrapta an "insatiable workaholic" who has more than "genius level intelligence" but is not very "socially savvy" and Stevenson describes Entrapta as a character which has a "very deep need to be loved and accepted" but she wants people to "love her for who she is", and does not see the Horde and the Rebellion as on "opposite sides".^[15]

Brandon Zachary of CBR describes Entrapta as having a "surprisingly sweet relationship" with Hordak, her lab partner, and says that Entrapta is a "brilliant inventor" who brings out the humanity within Hordak.^[16] Vivian Kane of The Mary Sue says that unlike She-Ra: Princess of Power where Entrapta was "a full-on bad guy", she gets more character development in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, serving as positive "representation for girls and women in STEM fields", while arguing that her story raises "issues of scientific ethics".^[6] Beth Elderkin of Gizmodo described Entrapta as a chaotic neutral character, more developed than in She-Ra: Princess of Power or later versions, who only cares "about the pursuit of knowledge" and often makes morally ambiguous choices. Elderkin also argued that Entrapta is "adorable...frustrating, and...so naive it's dangerous" as a villain who doesn't think she is a villain.^[5] Caitlin Chappell of CBR praised the series for "better represent[ing] the autistic community" and argued that Entrapta sees her imperfections, and those that others have, as "beautiful." She also said that Entrapta is a "wonderful role model" and a "strong character" who stays true to herself throughout the show.^[9]

References

1. Ostertag, Molly; Stevenson, ND (June 9, 2020). "We're doing a charity stream for BLM on 6/9 at 5pm PST - send donations and requests here!". Twitch. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020. Alt URL From 3:55:40 to 3:57:26 in the video, ND says, "Entrapta has a lot of robot boyfriends and girlfriends...Entrapdak is canon...The robots learn to love because of her, and that's like Hordak", while making a number of other comments about Entrapta and Hordak.
2. Staples, Val; Eatock, James; DeLioncourt, Josh; Gelehrter, Danielle (September 14, 2017). He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 9781506701424 – via Google Books.
3. Mitchell, Claudia; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline (December 30, 2007). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia [2 Volumes]: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313084447 – via Google Books.
4. Thomas, Leah Marilla (April 26, 2019). "Here's How Netflix Changed Entrapta's Origin Story For Its 'She-Ra' Reboot". Bustle. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
5. Elderkin, Beth (November 29, 2018). "The Curious Case of Entrapta on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021.
6. Kane, Vivian (April 16, 2019). "She-Ra Season Two Shines by Focusing on the Baddies". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
7. August, Alexandra (November 15, 2018). "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Ending Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2021. page 1 here
8. Maleh, Linda (August 2, 2019). "Review: 'She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power' Makes A Comeback With Season 3". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
9. Chappell, Caitlin (May 31, 2020). "Why She-Ra's Entrapta Means So Much for Autistic Representation". CBR. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
10. Geiger, Rae (May 18, 2020). "I don't know if this counts as spoilers but was Entrapdak and Catradora always planned or was it more of a random thought while working on the different seasons?". Tumblr. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
11. Geiger, Rae (May 2020). "i loooooved all of the outfits in s5!! what was the process for choosing adora's "wish" outfit and hair?". Tumblr. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.She clarified that "I've never intended for every character who swaps items as described above to be married."
12. Zachary, Brandon (May 18, 2020). "She-Ra: Noelle Stevenson on Horde Prime, Entrapta & the Heart of the Series". CBR. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
13. "She-Ra's Aunt Flo". Adult Swim. Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
14. Wilhelm, Erin (May 22, 2019). "'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power': Entrapta is The Worst [Opinion]". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
15. Brown, Tracy (August 3, 2019). "In 'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,' the villains are as beloved as the heroes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
16. Zachary, Brandon (August 3, 2019). "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Sets Up a Weird Power Couple". CBR. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2022.