'Masters of the Universe: Revelation' Part 2 web series review: No power without character

Cast: Chris Wood, Mark Hamill, Sarah Michelle Gellar

Score: 3.5 stars

As the first season of Masters of The Universe: Revelation closes, indeed with a great many revelations, it does so on a high point for the series, thought not without its questions. And what gets the series there is not merely He-Man and his friends beating the snot out of Skeletor, but rather nearly every character finally coming to terms with who they are.

The show also delves a little into the familiar order vs chaos trope to drive forward its plot, primarily through the eyes of an empowered Skeletor, who has to, despite taking the Sword of Power from Adam, contend with the fact that he alone does not wield Grayskull's strength. The episode serves to further his mad obsession with He-Man, which ultimately ends up circling around into another classic plot trope, though in a form that is akin to a welcome change of pace for the skeleton power-mad maniac.

Yet the ones who are the most conflicted for the duration of the second half are those who are by Adam's and Skeletor's sides -- Teela and Evil-Lyn. While the first half of the show dealt with Teela's sense of betrayal and grief at losing Adam, while hinting at Lyn's redemption, the second half goes deep into the series mythos -- the nature of the Sorceress of Grayskull, the potential end of the universe itself, and a chance meeting with lost friends who inspired them -- to give impetus to both the women to grow and face their shortcomings.

Of course, the series would not be without its fair share of high-stakes battle, and this time the universe typically hangs in the balance as the balance of Grayskull's power quite literally changes hands over and over again before culminating in a war that is second nature to the series' characters by now. By here, everyone has had their own little mini-arcs to free themselves from their shackles, allowing the fights to be truly spectacular as the sides are finally cemented, perhaps once and for all.

To close, Masters of the Universe: Revelation is not just a sequel brought up to modern animation standards. It takes the characters, fans have known and loved for years, and gives them new dimensions, and new roads to walk on.