Theory For Scorpia’s Backstory (And Why I’m Heckin’ Worried For Her)

Despite her getting a fair share of screen time, we haven’t really gotten very deep into Scorpia and her unusual status of royalty within The Horde. We’re only 20 episodes in, yes, but I can’t stand not knowing, so here’s my thoughts based on what I can put together. The first explanation we’re given is through Scorpia: The Horde crashed into her family’s kingdom kingdom, an entente was established, and as a symbol of trust Hordak was given the family runestone.

To me, this seemed a little fishy from the get-go. I’m willing to believe there might have been a brief alliance, but Hordak doesn’t seem like the kind to share his throne with anyone. In fact, he seems to have a habit of suddenly turning against anyone who bears the slightest risk of challenging his authority.

Sure enough, in a flashback episode in season two we are given a little broader picture, and it’s implied that the powerful runestone was not exactly “handed over” like Scorpia may have thought.

So what is the truth? If the alliance between Scorpia’s family and Lord Hordak (if there ever was one) fell apart why is Scorpia allowed to keep her princess title? Why is she even around at all?

The details are fuzzy as to how it happened, but I think a lot of it comes down to Shadow Weaver.

When the garnet is threatened, Shadow Weaver insists that she alone has learned to draw power from a runestone…. a feat no other sorceress has ever achieved. Why? Because runestones, in their natural state, are only wielded by princesses:

So what happened with Scorpia? She was included in Light Hope’s examples of princesses who have power over their respective elements, so what went wrong?

I think the timing of Shadow Weaver’s alliance with The Horde was no coincidence. The capture of the Black Garnet was what first alerted her attentions to Hordak, and it wasn’t long after that she was right there at his side, so how is Scorpia involved in the entire mess?

Hard to say, but I’m guessing she was the victim of brainwashing at best, and experimentation at worst. It’s not clear how Shadow Weaver achieved her goal of taking control of the runestone, but three things are immediately clear:

It’s been said that messing with minds is Shadow Weaver’s specialty, and Scorpia was likely young enough to accept a lie wholeheartedly when it came to what happened between her family and Hordak. On that note, whenever the creators of SPOP talk about Scorpia, one descriptor always comes up:

she’s fixated on loyalty

And frankly, I can’t blame her. She was raised in a world where all her peers were taught to demonize princesses, described as monstrous untrustworthy boogeymen. There is a lot of pressure for someone like Scorpia to prove their dedication at every turn, to the point where she seems to have made loyalty to The Horde a central part of her character.

That would also explain why Shadow Weaver chose Scorpia as a fellow force captain for Catra; someone who’s had authority problems from day one. She probably expected Scorpia’s dedication to The Horde to keep the problem child in line, but when Catra’s unflinching personality created a long-absent sense of acceptance and affirmation, Scorpia’s loyalty latched on to Catra and the plan backfired.

But while that answers the “how” of Scorpia being strung along by The Horde, it doesn’t explain why. The why is what has me worried.

It’s only a theory, but I think Scorpia is insurance; A way to regain control of the black garnet if something ever happened to Shadow Weaver… or a way for Shadow Weaver to regain control of the crystal if something went wrong. Now the Horde has Entrapta, who proves perfectly capable of wielding the runestone’s energy with technology alone, but if they lose her… or, more likely, if Shadow Weaver gains enough power to try and take back the black garnet by force… Scorpia might find herself at the center of something she doesn’t quite understand.

In the end, it might not even come to that. If the princess alliance is ever going to be reformed and bring balance to Etheria, Scorpia is inevitably going to have to both find a way to reconnect to her runestone, and reject an entire life tailored around appeasing the force that stole her heritage and rebuilt her whole world around a familial pact that never existed.

That’s going to be rough, let me tell you.