Catra and Scorpia arrive in the Waste and have no trouble fitting in. Meanwhile, Huntara and the squad enter Mara's ship to try and view her message.
Tropes
- Apocalyptic Log: Mara's last message. She begs anyone who finds She-Ra's sword to leave Etheria hidden in the empty dimension of Despondos, to keep it out of the hands of an unknown enemy who would somehow use it to bring destruction to the rest of the universe.
- Bat Scare: Bat-like creatures fly out of Mara's ship. Everyone but Adora freaks out at them.
- Berserker Tears: While telling Scorpia they're going back to the Fright Zone, Catra tears up after learning Shadow Weaver abandoned her to see Adora and is hurt from the revelation. Scorpia was shocked to see tears in her eyes.
- Break the Haughty: After Catra captures Adora and takes her sword, she starts acting cocky and mocking towards Adora. However, her cocky attitude turns into anger and frustration when Adora tells her that Shadow Weaver is with them now, and she's mad that Shadow Weaver would choose to aid Adora rather than help her.
- Butt-Monkey: Kyle, even when he's not present. Catra decides to call one of her captives "Kyle".
- The nameless lizard lady doesn’t have a great time either— after being knocked over in a rockslide last episode, she’s kicked off her chair by Catra, paralyzed by Scorpia’s tail, and then once she’s able to walk again, Scorpia back-pats her right into a paralyzing plant.
- Call-Back: Catra, also being raised in the Horde, doesn't know what a party is any more than Adora.
- Circling Vultures: The establishing shot of the Crimson Waste features vulture-like birds.
- Conveniently Interrupted Document: Mara's transmission just happens to be degraded around the descriptions of the weapon and Light Hope, leaving how those two topics fit together ambiguous at best.
- Cowboy Episode: The previous episode, "Huntara", had shades of this but mostly stuck to Desert Punk. This one goes a lot further into it, from the stereotypically Spaghetti Western-like music and ambiances, to the focus on bandits and gang warfare, and a definitely western-inspired saloon scene. Tung Lashor also carries his whip on a thigh holster, and several shots of his encounter with Catra borrow from how duels are usually filmed.
- Crush Blush: A couple times Scorpia blushes because of Catra, who she's in love with.
- Eviler than Thou: The denizens of the Crimson Waste live by their #1 rule, which is that the strong make the rules. Catra spends the whole episode effortlessly bullying them around.
- Evil Laugh: Catra mocks Tung Lashor's.
- Furry Reminder: Catra hisses, growls, and raises her hackles at the denizens of the Bad Guy Bar.
- A Handful for an Eye: Being the Combat Pragmatist she is, Catra breaks free from Tung Lashor via throwing sand in his peepers.
- Hope Spot: Scorpia suggests she and Catra never return to the Horde and remain in the Crimson Waste, but Catra finds out Shadow Weaver escaped to see Adora...
- Laughing Mad: Upon thinking her efforts to find answers about herself were for naught, Adora laughs out of stress.
- Never My Fault: After learning from Adora that Shadow Weaver escaped to see her, Catra blames Adora for her current predicament despite the fact it was her lies to Hordak that put her there.Catra: Shadow Weaver left me... for you. All of this happened because of you.
- Ribcage Ridge: Catra gets ambushed inside a giant one.
- Running Gag: Scorpia mentions the Force Captain Orientation again.
- Seinfeldian Conversation: Catra and Scorpia get sidetracked into a discussion about whips and Calling Your Attacks, to Tung Lashor's irritation.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is only a few letters away from Once Upon a Time in the West.
- Catra being unable to stop laughing at Tung Lashor's ridiculous name while talking about how ridiculous it is echoes Rocket Raccoon's similar opinions about the name "Taserface."
- Unfortunate Names: Catra finds "Tung Lashor" hilarious.Catra: It sounds even stupider the second time. Seriously, "Tung Lashor"? Which one of you came up with that?
- We Can Rule Together: A flip of the usual dynamics, but Scorpia's attempt to convince Catra that letting the Horde write them off and remaining gang leaders in the Crimson Wastes would be for the best hint at this very strongly.
