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Adora was nervous.
Of course she was, who wouldn't be? Leaving her home behind, everything she knew, and helped by the townspeople, she disembarked in New York.
A new world, a new chance.
Just a backpack thrown over her shoulder and the little money she had, she looked for a place to sleep. But she was lost in the middle of the sea of people walking through the port. So much that she barely had time to dodge the woman in front of her.
The woman screamed at her, Adora apologized. Adora explained her situation, she said she wanted to join the revolution. The stranger looked her up and down and introduced herself.
“Catra” was her name.
She asks if she can buy Adora a drink.
Adora accepts.
Catra is noisy, she enters the bar announcing her arrival, in the corner of the bar a group recognizes her and calls her, Catra pulls Adora along.
There, Adora meets Bow, Lonnie and Rogelio.
Together they drink and debate the revolution. Adora speaks with passion, she explains where she came from, where she wants to go and how she is willing to do anything to achieve it. Catra shares the same feelings. Both came from poor places and are trying their luck in New York through the revolution. Adora and Catra found in each other, a person to cover their backs. In a few years, someone will tell the story of that night.
One day the five go out into the city and find a skinny blond farmer on top of an improvised stage in the square. He talks about how the revolution will only bring tragedy, he says about how good the King is, but Adora could see that he himself did not believe it. Catra on the other hand was more explosive, she takes the stage and refutes the farmer. Adora just watches with her heart bursting with admiration. Until Catra is pushed off the stage by the royal guards.
They bring a message from the King.
King Prime declares that he will not stop his attack on the revolution.
A few days later, Adora and Catra meet at the battalion. General Weaver is in need of help, a right-hand man. Catra and Adora are the best in the battalion, they know it and it is impossible for Weaver not to know it. But only Adora receives the credits. Catra tells herself that she doesn't care. Adora becomes Weaver's right-hand man and spends most of her time writing, she hates it.
Adora has joined the rebellion to help people and she wants to believe that she is doing this while writing non-stop for General Weaver.
When she has time, Catra likes to steal that time for herself. Catra and Adora spend hours thinking about strategies, anything that gives the revolution a small advantage. The idea of infiltrating Rogelio into the British army is Catra's. Hours become days, days become months and friendship becomes something more. They feel it, they know it, but none of them take the first step and yet the feeling just grows.
Whenever Catra is sent to the battlefield, Adora curses herself for not being able to be there to protect her.
Weaver presents Adora to General Micah at the Winter Ball. He is impressed with her skills and rents her for hours to chat.
At the same Ball, Glimmer, Micah's daughter, has her eyes fixed on one of Adora's friends. Bow. They talk and dance. She falls for him.
Weeks later Adora has news for Catra.
Micah wants her to marry his daughter, Glimmer. Catra laughs, it must be some joke, but Adora is not laughing.
Catra feels a twinge of panic. She asks what Adora answered.
“I can't say "no", Catra” is all that Adora says.
Catra is devastated. She laughs wryly.
Adora tries to comfort her, but Catra doesn't want to hear it.
How could she? After everything they went through, after everything Catra went through. Adora was abandoning her, leaving her for someone else.
Adora didn't want that, Catra needs to understand. She needs to understand that she has to do this. Micah is dying, Glimmer will be sent away if Adora doesn't accept it. Adora met Glimmer on one of her visits to their home, they became friends thanks to her friendship with Bow. Micah didn't know about Bow, Glimmer wanted to tell him, but she wanted him to get better first. Little did she know it wouldn't happen. Micah didn't want Glimmer to be alone in NY, so if she didn't marry Adora, Glimmer would be sent to a convent in France. He had a few days at most, a decision would have to be made now.
But Catra hears nothing.
In her fury and sadness, she punches Adora. The fight escalated quickly, someone sees the fight and calls for the General. Weaver favored Adora and Catra was sent home.
Adora sends a letter to Micah, she accepts.
Micah dies the night he receives the letter. Glimmer never told him about Bow. Adora is the one who tells her the condition for her to stay in New York. Glimmer cries right in front of her. Every night exchanging letters with Bow, all the vows of love she received, were now in vain because she waited too long.
The wedding happens.
Bow shows up, Catra doesn't. Once Glimmer explains the situation to Bow, Adora offers him to move in with them. He does. Adora is in the guest room. Publicly she and Glimmer are married, so every time they leave, they get into their married roles. Once they are at home, Bow and Glimmer are married and Adora wonders where Catra is.
But the married days do not last and Adora returns to the battalion, along with Bow. Catra avoids her as much as she can, eventually Adora stops trying to reach her.
One day, Weaver gives in to Adora's requests and lets her lead alongside Lonnie. Catra is there as well, they have the same military rank, Lieutenant Colonel. One night, Bow goes to Adora, he says that Glimmer is pregnant. They celebrate and Adora now has more reason to be careful.
The battle of Yorktown. Adora has a plan. It's a good plan, Catra thinks. Attack the British by surprise at night and use the information that Rogelio sends from within the enemy battalion. Catra leaves the tent as soon as the meeting ends, but Adora has other plans. She corners Catra and tries to explain the situation one last time, hoping Catra will forgive her.
But she doesn't.
Catra explains that in the beginning, she was angry to think that Adora was leaving her for Glimmer, but then she realized that she was never a priority in Adora's life. She felt trapped in her shadow, always something inferior, even in the same rank as her. Adora never bothered to correct Weaver when she received all the credits for a good strategy, she didn't care. So why did Catra have to care?
Adora starts seeing Catra less and less after that day.
The battle happens, they win. Bow runs home to meet his daughter. Adora celebrates with Rogelio in a bar with other soldiers, Catra appears, their eyes meet, but Catra looks sad, tired. She walks over to them and delivers a letter. Adora reads it.
Lonnie is dead. Killed during a duel.
Catra leaves without Adora noticing.
Months later, Adora leaves Bow and Glimmer and moves back to New York. She majored in law. And as if the world wanted to make fun of Catra, they have to work together. They don't talk when the job is done. And unfortunately, Weaver’s favoritism helps Adora reach higher places, while Catra fights tooth and claw to achieve the same. Adora recognizes her privileges, and one day she offers help to Catra, which only hurts her ego even more. Catra refuses to work with Adora.
Adora starts working non-stop to mentally escape her situation with Catra.
Glimmer and Bow are concerned, but Adora refuses to listen to them. She starts sleeping in the office. When the president is elected, Weaver recommends Adora to be the right-hand man. She accepts the position.
Catra begins to reach her maximum potential when Mermista comes back from Paris. Mermista sees what Catra is capable of and helps her financially. Her name is famous throughout the city, some even say she is better than Adora, and Adora herself never denies it.
But Catra was wrong to think that her opponent was Adora, since Weaver is the one in her path. Using her contacts, Weaver begins to make Catra's life more and more complicated. Soon there was too much work for Catra to handle and Weaver was sure that no one else would help Catra. She tried, but she couldn't be like Adora.
Slowly Catra's fame turns against her when she fails to live up to her commitments and Weaver watches it all, with a smile on her face.
One night, Catra is drinking at a bar. Weaver sits down with her and pays her a whiskey. Weaver warns her never to compete against Adora again or it won't just be her reputation that Weaver would end.
Catra begins to frequent other bars.
Mermista stops helping Catra financially, but does her one last favor and, against Catra's wishes, tells Adora about what Weaver did.
Adora confronts Weaver and tells her to stay away from Catra.
With that, Adora opens her own office.
She finds Catra drunk at a bar. The moment they see each other, Catra thinks about saying to Adora to get away, but she doesn't.
Adora sits down with her and they drink. They talk and laugh all night, and Catra wakes up in Adora's bed the next morning. Adora kisses Catra and asks her to be her partner in business. Catra accepts.
Months go by and they are unstoppable. Catra is happier than ever and Adora shares that feeling. They look out for each other.
A big case falls to the Secretary, Adora and Catra try everything they can, but none of them can solve it. Catra promises Adora that it is only a matter of time before they succeed, but Adora is desperate and turns to the only person with the power to help her — Weaver.
Hearing Weaver's proposal, Adora is unable to say no and accepts her help. In return, she would work with Weaver.
The news flies, Adora is now working with Weaver.
Catra's hurt. Adora made a deal with the person who turned her life and mind in a living hell. Even standing side by side, Catra was still not a priority in Adora's life. She should have known better. It was only a matter of time before she was not enough for Adora. She would do anything to stay on top, even if she had to hurt Catra.
Catra sets the office on fire one night. She watches the flames consume all the moments she and Adora had in the past few months.
Catra disappears after that, Adora goes back to work nonstop.
Years later, the president asks Adora to handle a sensitive issue in the South. She has to talk to Hordak, who is responsible for much of the southern capital gain.
She talks to him, but the man's ideals are completely opposed to Adora's so she contradicts him. A letter arrives to Adora, Hordak says that he was extremely offended by the way he was treated and that he asks for an explanation. Adora responds by saying that she doesn't regret anything she said, she says that Hordak's ideas were not only wild but hypocritical.
"Men of color have the same rights as you and I" It was for these ideas that Lonnie gave her blood and life and Adora agreed. She would not apologize for doing what's right.
The next letter marked the time and place, a duel. Hordak suggests sending his right arm to pick her up at dawn.
Adora is not afraid to pull the trigger for what she believes, she accepts.
She leaves letters ready for Glimmer and Bow, which must be delivered in case something happens to her. She writes a letter to Catra and prays that Glimmer can find her in case she's not around anymore.
Someone knocks on the door as soon as Adora finishes putting on her boots. Their gaze meets again, it's Catra.
Catra is so surprised that she doesn't move when Adora hugs her. When the initial shock passes, she begs Adora not to go, asks her to attack and run away, but Adora refuses. They both ride their respective horses and, halfway through, Adora tells Catra that Glimmer, Bow and their first-born child, Starfire, moved uptown. She tells her about how the family has grown since then, talks about little Micah II, about how adventurous Angella is, but most of all, she apologizes. Adora apologizes for how she treated Catra in the past, says that Catra was right, that she always was. She tells her how much she admired her, says how much Adora didn't deserve Catra in her life and Catra is thankful for riding ahead of Adora, so she can let the tears fall down her face.
"I love you, Catra. I always had." She says.
Catra doesn't respond, but Adora doesn't expect her to.
They arrive at the place, Catra is not nervous. Adora was good with guns, one of the best for what she heard, but as soon as she saw her opponent, she felt the heat leave her body.
He was a child, as old as Starfire, maybe nineteen years, but his eyes did not lie, he was terrified.
Hordak smiled from inside his carriage, he said he broke his leg in an accident and that his son had offered to go in his place. All of this had been planned, and by Catra's gaze, Adora could see that she didn't know.
Catra tries to follow the rules, but any chance of ending the duel is ruled out by Adora. The man who was supposed to be her second is not there. The doctor appears, Catra pays him. Adora confesses her sins and she can hear the boy asking Hordak to let him go home. Hordak refuses to.
For the last time, Catra tries to convince Adora to apologize and get it over with. Adora says that Catra would do the same thing if she were there holding the gun, Catra knows it is true. Lonnie's death affected both. Catra asks Adora to not throw away her shot.
Adora tells Catra that she loves her once again.
Catra is silent.
Adora turns around, the sad smile she gives Catra tells the truth...
1, 2, 3
Catra thinks about the moment they met. Think about that immigrant girl who landed in New York…
The story of the nights they could tell future generations...
4, 5, 6
Adora thinks of Catra, her eyes shining in the morning, her warmth against her chest as they slept together…
Glimmer and Bow’s children growing up, she wishes she had a child with Catra.
But this boy is innocent, she can't…
I'm sorry, Catra...
7, 8, 9
10 paces!
Catra panics, Adora was aiming for the sky.
WAIT!
Fire!
…..
Adora opens her eyes….
"No"
She should be feeling the pain of the shot….
"NO!"
But what she sees...
"Catra!"
It's worse than any pain she can imagine...
"Catra, please! "
Catra falls against Adora, she drops the gun to hold Catra. She can see Hordak fleeing in his carriage out of the corner of her eye.
The doctor approaches, but Adora does not take her eyes off Catra.
Catra smiles at Adora. The wound on her abdomen keeps bleeding.
"I love you too, idiot" Catra says, tears fall from her eyes "I love you so much".
Adora keeps calling Catra's name, trying to prevent her from closing her eyes, she needs to go to a hospital, but...
Someone knocks on Adora's door, she takes off her reading glasses and opens the door for her child, Finn. They say that Adora is late. Adora takes the little one on her lap and runs with them through the house to the front door. She puts them in the carriage and they go across town together.
A crowd meets in front of a new building. Adora meets Glimmer, Bow and their children, and, although she wants to talk to them, Finn is impatient and they pull Adora through the crowd to the front of the building.
A red stripe is on the door handles on the building. Above the doors is a golden plaque written "Lonnie Windham Orphanage".
Little Finn breaks free from Adora and runs over to a woman. Catra picks up her child and they laugh. Adora smiles at them and approaches, giving a kiss on the forehead of her wife and child.
The family watches as the red stripe is cut, finally opening the doors of the orphanage.
The crowd explodes in celebration.
Adora thanks in silence for everything her wife gave her, and, when Catra looks at her, she knows she is thinking the same thing.