Mermista

“

I wanna help fight them. Plus your friend over there can transform into a, like, eight-foot-tall lady with a sword and I want her on my side. — Mermista, about joining the Rebellion in “The Sea Gate”

”

Mermista is the princess of Salineas and a member of the Princess Alliance in the Rebellion. She is one of the Elemental Princesses.

Appearance[]

Mermista is a dark-skinned woman with a thicker, rounder body type, black-painted nails, brown eyes, and dark eyebrows. She has deep teal hair with a pattern that resembles a wave, referencing her powers and kingdom, which she wears in a plait or puffy ponytail that rests on her shoulder. She wears a tracksuit with a teal and turquoise scale design and a gold collar, turquoise pauldrons with a gold outline, golden bracelets that cover both wrists completely and golden ear cuffs. She wears high-top sneakers that consist of turquoise and blue tongues, gold vamps, white soles and a lighter blue decorating the backs.

When chipped, her eyes glow green, and green veins branch out from the edges of her eyes.

Personality[]

Sarcastic and blunt, Mermista keeps a stony face and a cool head most of the time, usually finding it hard to express her true feelings and masking them behind a relaxed exterior. This side of her leads her to come off as arrogant, impatient, and quick to judge, as shown by her initial response to Adora’s arrival, Scorpia's speech and her attitude towards Entrapta. She is stoic and has no problem speaking her mind, but often shies away from verbally expressing her feelings, particularly the ones she holds towards Sea Hawk.

Taking charge is something Mermista is willing to do if the role necessitates, as it is she and not her father who initially greets She-Ra as diplomat of the kingdom. Once willing to, Mermista does not back away from inconvenient or difficult work, though requesting her to do undesirable jobs typically comes with some complaint. She bravely traveled the sewers of the Fright Zone to free Glimmer and Bow, albeit reluctantly. When asked to do this during the plan, she responded "Mermista will do what?” Mermista is also one for theatrics. She can be very dramatic when she gets into the role. ^[5]

Despite this, Mermista has begun to develop a more proactive role, including leading the Rebellion in Adora's absence. She cares deeply about her people and was visibly affected upon losing her kingdom, lamenting and stress-eating in solitude. Although a first impression might cast her as superficial, it’s made clear throughout the course of the plot that she is willing to do a lot when she puts her heart into something.

When chipped by Horde Prime, she displayed personality changes common to all chipped individuals. (See Horde Chip)

Powers and abilities[]

Powers[]

• Pearl connection: Mermista is connected to the Pearl, one of the five Runestones, making her one of the Elemental Princesses. Her connection grants her a variety of abilities, many revolving around water.
  • Hydrokinesis: Mermista is able to manipulate and control water. She is seen multiple times controlling vast quantities of water, a notable example is her arrival to the the Battle of Bright Moon. She manipulates a giant wave of water with enough force to lift her boat and enough precision to shield Adora, Bow, Spinnerella and Netossa from the wave. In Season Two she uses her power to help overwhelm a Horde castle near a river.
  • Mermaid Transformation: Mermista is able to switch between two forms, one with legs and one with a mermaid's scaly tail. While it isn't made explicitly clear if this power derives from The Pearl or not, in all likelihood, it does.
  • Aura Generation: When united with the other princesses, Mermista can generate an aura that greatly amplifies her powers. Her aura manifests in the color cyan.

Abilities[]

• Trident proficiency: Mermista is shown to be proficient in using her trident during battle.

• Thunder Speaking: In the episode "Mer-Mysteries", she was shown to have been able to yell a word during the exact time when thunder was striking. She says this ability is obtained from "practicing at home".

• Seagull Communication: In "Boys' Night Out", she was shown to speak and listen to a seagull, while understanding it.

Weaknesses[]

• Deserts: Mermista needs water for her magic, and is powerless in the desert. Adora points this out in "The Valley of the Lost" when Glimmer almost sends Mermista on a mission to the Crimson Waste, and it is shown again in "Launch," in which Mermista also comments that she hates the desert.
• Fire: Netossa lists fire as Mermista's weakness.^[6]

Relationships[]

Sea Hawk[]

Mermista has been implied to have a romantic history with Sea Hawk and it is referenced that the two were quite close. While she claims to dislike him and often behaves apathetically or annoyed by his presence, she invites him to the Princess Prom, showing that she does carry affection for him despite her constant remarks claiming otherwise, as "just her ride." It is also mentioned that they've gone on dates in the past, but Sea Hawk often messed them up, such as challenging the doorman to a duel at the Dolphin Social and setting their gondola on fire in a Tunnel of Love. Often when claiming that he's not her "plus one" but simply "her ride", she is seen blushing and looking off, as if she doesn't believe what she's saying.

Their friendship remains strong, but mostly with Sea Hawk trying to hang out with her and her friends. They also team up from time to time with the rest of the Heroes.

At the end of Season Five, Sea Hawk proposed his love for Mermista during their battle. Mermista seems to imply these feelings as well.

Adora[]

Mermista respects Adora and joined the Rebellion because of her. She follows Adora's strategies even to the point of swimming in the sewers to rescue Glimmer and Bow. She named herself Sea-Ra because of Adora. While she leaves the Princess Alliance to protect herself and her kingdom in Season One, she returned during the Battle of Bright Moon and has since become unquestioningly loyal to Adora and the rest of her friends. She also participates in attacks on Horde targets where she is essential to several Alliance wins. In Season Two, Mermista comments that She-Ra's hair is "messy, but ... really super-beautiful".

Queen Glimmer[]

Mermista starts off by rebuffing Glimmer's call for aid but pledges her support after She-Ra and the team defeated the Horde at the Sea Gate. They work well together except for that time that Glimmer teleported Mermista out of the war council and back to her lookout post. After Mermista rejoined the planning session, the heroes teamed up and defeated the Horde multiple times. When The Horde devastated Salineas, Glimmer welcomed Mermista to Bright Moon.

Perfuma[]

Usually they get along, although Mermista's acerbic wit sometimes puts a harsh on Perfuma's mellow. They've got each other's back even when they were in disagreement as to whom would be the best flower arranger for Glimmer's coronation.

Entrapta[]

“

You’re still a weirdo, but you did good today. We’ve got your back anytime. — Mermista, to Entrapta

”

Mermista and Entrapta never really bonded, until the rescue mission where they worked as a team to get rid of Rogelio. They carried out a triumphant high-five after their victory. Mermista made sure that she stayed on track when the Horde spotted them and began to attack. When she revealed that Entrapta was likely dead, she turned her head away in sorrow. She temporally split from the Alliance, saying it was being together that caused Entrapta's supposed death. When they were reunited Mermista showed resentment for her betrayal, but was willing to give Entrapta a second chance, and after a successful mission, she welcomed her back to the rebellion. Mermista is also the first princess from the Rebellion to question Entrapta's relationship with Hordak after witnessing the two together and ask if everyone is okay with their relationship, for which there is no reply from any of the others.

Frosta[]

Mermista works well with the youngest princess. Though it is unclear if they met prior to the Princess Prom. As their friendship grew over the first few seasons, they began to work hand-in-glove as Mermista would bring the water to a battle which allowed Frosta to freeze and propel the ice as weapons.

Bow[]

Bow, along with Adora and Queen Glimmer (Princess Glimmer, at the time) saved Mermista and her kingdom of Salineas from The Horde in episode five of Season One (The Sea Gate). They work compatibly together, though occasionally Mermista will tease Bow about his craftsmanship; in “Roll With It,” Bow said he was not sure he obtained a Mermista "war-table battle figure" for her, and after searching for one, he remarked that he did not have one, however, he did have "a seashell and a happy otter" to use in replacement. Mermista chose to pass up on the offer, which offended Bow.

Star Sisters[]

According to Adora's research in Princess Prom, Mermista is friends with the Star Sisters.

Plot[]

Past[]

Mermista is the princess of the kingdom of Salineas. Her father retired and left her to rule the kingdom, which is crumbling.

Season One[]

First seen ruling over an empty kingdom with only one subject, her initial reaction to the arrival of Adora and friends is one of resignation. Glimmer, Bow, Adora, and Sea Hawk arrive in Salineas to find that the kingdom is woefully understaffed and in jeopardy of falling to the Horde, and that many residents have fled because The Sea Gate is falling apart. Glimmer offers to help if Salineas joins the Alliance. Mermista and Sea Hawk trade jabs over him getting her kicked out of the Dolphin Social for challenging the doorman to a duel and him setting their gondola on fire in the Tunnel of Love, presumably on a date gone horribly wrong. Adora finds out that the Sea Gate gets its power from The Pearl, Salineas' Runestone. She deduces that the connection between the gate and Runestone must be damaged. Mermista agrees to let She-Ra fix the broken Sea Gate, and after they fend off a Horde attack and She-Ra fixes the gate, she joins the alliance. She also gives Sea Hawk a new ship to replace the one he set on fire in the battle, telling him not to set on this one fire, to which he replies that he won't promise anything.

At the Princess Prom, Adora notices how Sea Hawk is there, singing about his date ― Mermista. She denies that he's anything but her ride, but her face turns red with embarrassment. Infuriated, Mermista then leaves to find a kelp bar and Sea Hawk follows just as Bow and Perfuma arrive.

After Bow and Glimmer are abducted by the Horde, Mermista, Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Entrapta volunteer to rescue Glimmer and Bow with Adora and mount a daring escape. Mermista endures more than anyone should to get inside the Horde compound and let the others inside the Fright Zone ― she has to swim through the Fright Zone's sewers. After the heroes free Glimmer and Bow and think that Entrapta has died, Mermista insists on going home and leaves the Princess Alliance. Mermista summarizes everyone's concerns when she says that she can't risk her kingdom or anyone else's life by staying with The Rebellion.

Later, Mermista re-joins the Alliance to defend Bright Moon from the Horde attack in The Battle of Bright Moon.

Season Two[]

Mermista joins the rest of the princesses to destroy bots and eventually capture one for Bow to study. She helps plan an attack on a Horde held tower, where she accidentally destroys the Horde's spy-bot. She then harnesses the power of water to help take the tower from the Horde soldiers.

Season Three[]

In Bright Moon, Bow, Perfuma, Frosta, and Mermista spy on Angella and Glimmer's argument. Glimmer argues for decisive action to save the planet which is imminently in danger. Later, beneath the Moonstone, Shadow Weaver prepares to draw power from it even as Frosta, Perfuma, and Mermista arrive. They insist on going as well and tell Shadow Weaver to "make that thing bigger", referring to her sorcerers glyphs. After teleporting to The Fright Zone and engaging with several Horde soldiers Mermista and Frosta hold them off while Shadow Weaver, Bow, and Glimmer move on.

Season Four[]

At the coronation, Mermista gets the job of flower decorator, much to Perfuma's envy. Later, she opened the waterfall that allowed Glimmer, Bow and Adora into the caves and hall hidden beneath Bright Moon.

After suffering several defeats at the hands of the Horde, the heroes suspect a Horde spy in their midst. Mermista attempts to sleuth them out, using tactics from "Mer-Mystery" novels to question nearly everyone in Bright Moon. As Mermista's "investigation" continues, they uncover contradictory testimonials from officers and Princesses about receiving orders from different Princesses when they were ostensibly somewhere else, who had no recollection of giving such orders, but Mermista promptly discards this. At the same time, Bow becomes convinced that he is actually the spy, to everyone's consternation.

Double Trouble, after being caught as the spy, outright gloats about how the entire exercise was merely to stall the Princesses until the battle for Salineas was over. Distraught over the loss of Salineas, Glimmer quickly teleports directly there, where Mermista breaks down at the sight of her fallen and ruined kingdom.

During the aftermath of the loss of Salineas, Sea Hawk decides to take Bow and Swift Wind out to have a night out, where they get captured by pirates who turn them over to the Horde. Sea Hawk then sends a seagull to Mermista to call for help. After receiving the seagull's message she barges into the hallway yelling to announce this news. Moments later, Glimmer teleports onto the ship with Mermista and Adora in tow. Adora transforms into She-Ra, bowling the Horde sailors over, and everyone works together to fight off the outpouring Horde sailors, singing together in glee-styled rock anthem. Mermista is glad to be back in the fight now that her depression has past and Bright Moon's ice cream stores are empty.

However, when she wanted to fight for her kingdom, she wanted it too much. In "Fractures," Glimmer suggests to the Princess Alliance that they should use the Heart of Etheria to fight the Horde. Mermista is willing to do whatever it took to get her kingdom back. Although the Heart of Etheria could destroy everything, it could also be used as an immensely powerful weapon for the Horde. Mermista agrees that it is worth the risk.

After the Heart of Etheria is activated, the Princesses all surge with newfound power. Mermista easily batters entire fleets with tidal waves while Frosta and Perfuma lay waste to legions of Horde robots around themselves with blasts of ice and vegetation. As princesses all across Etheria came under the Heart of Etheria's control. First Ones' writing appeared on each princess and Runestone. Mermista falls from her vortex that she was using to destroy a Horde ship, and collapses, as do the other princesses. While this happens, light and power surges up from the planet into the skies. She-Ra shatters the Sword of Protection, releasing her and all the princesses from its control, only to see the stars and Horde Prime's Fleet surround Etheria.

Season Five[]

Mermista helps evacuate refugees while defending them from bot attacks. She has to rescue Adora, who recklessly attacked way too many bots on her own. Later, she defends their base when it falls under attack and helps repel the bots. Then after the rebels abandon the base she helps guide the refugees to the deepest part of the Whispering Woods.

While Adora takes her much needed rest, the Princesses hold a planning session to save Glimmer. Most of the Princesses are hesitant to welcome Entrapta back into the group but Scorpia vouches for her, saying that she has a good heart. Mermista offers to let Entrapta go to space if she helps save Glimmer, which Entrapta enthusiastically accepts. With Mermista in charge, Entrapta leads several other Princesses to one of Prime's spires where she believes that they can discover Glimmer's location by hacking into the spire's computer. The Princesses sneak past many of the bots but Entrapta wanders off and walks into a bot, which activates the spire's defenses. This creates a heated exchange where Entrapta realizes that Mermista is angry at her for hurting her while she was with the Horde. Entrapta apologizes and with reckless abandon rushes toward the spire to get the signal and find Glimmer's location. Mermista blesses her plan and sends Scorpia and Frosta as Entrapta's back-up while she and Perfuma distract the rest of the bots. Entrapta hacks the spire, discovers Glimmer's whereabouts, and finds out that Prime is sending reinforcements to Etheria. Then, via video link Mermista tells Adora and her team to leave to rescue Glimmer quickly.

Sea Hawk formulates a plan to contact Prince Peekablue by sneaking into the Enchanted Grotto's underwater soiree. He is hoping to get Peekablue to use his farsight to help the Rebellion. Mermista gives everyone secret aliases: Scorpia is Lynda D'Ream, Perfuma is Tara. Sea Hawk and his company bluff their way into the soiree, where they find out that most of the guests have a grudge against him, so he has to keep hiding and binding up his enemies with Mermista. Still hiding behind the bar with Sea Hawk, Mermista reluctantly tells the sailor that she may have set a boat on fire once, to see what it felt like. Mermista gets chipped offscreen by the Etherians that Horde Prime had control over. She then joins the gang questioning Double Trouble and breaks the glass that kept the sea out of the Enchanted Grotto, and fights with Scorpia as the place collapses. Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Double Trouble escape while Scorpia stays behind.

While the heroes try to rescue Scorpia, Mermista attacks them, separates Catra from the group and tries to drown her. Catra escapes by calling Bow on the communications pad and asking for help. Glimmer teleports in and rescues Catra.

During the battle outside the spire, a wave of clones from Horde Prime's ship beam down to the surface to engage the princesses in combat. However, they hold back and do nothing, their arrival distracting them long enough for Mermista to flood the battlefield and Scorpia to electrocute the princesses through it. With the battle briefly halted, a massive hologram of Horde Prime coalesces over the spire, who gloats over them all and reveals Entrapta in captivity, assuring them that eternal night awaits them before disappearing again. On the battlefield, the princesses are beleaguered by Mermista, Scorpia, and the rest of Horde Prime's forces. Perfuma suggests retreat, but they are totally surrounded by clones powering up their ray guns. Before they can fire and end the battle, however, Glimmer arrives with a sorcerous pulse that knocks the clones aside. Mermista takes the opportunity to flood the field with a tidal wave, but Glimmer uses a sigil to keep the waters at bay. Castaspella then joins her, and together they reshape the magic to completely encapsulate the rushing waters in a sorcerous bubble, which they launch at Mermista and the clones, briefly halting the fight once more.

Seizing the opportunity, Sea Hawk stands before Mermista and begins to talk to her, and although she sends blasts of water in return, he is able to deftly dodge them all. He charmingly compares the attempts to when she tried to kill him at their first meeting, and although she eventually manages to grab hold of his ankle and overbalance him, he suavely turns the fall into a lounge. His irritations finally get through to the real Mermista, who complains, "why are you like this?" Sea Hawk says it's because he loves her, briefly bringing Mermista's old, brown-colored eyes back, but the entire episode was ultimately just a distraction to allow Perfuma to incapacitate her. One of her vines strikes the chip on Mermista's neck, leaving her to fall floppily into Sea Hawk's arms, who asks her to forgive him when she returns to her normal self.

While under the cloak of Melog's invisibility, Bow continues the deployment Entrapta's program to deactivate all the chips on Etheria. Light surges from the Horde outpost, and all around the planet the chips fail and detach from the necks of their hosts. Mermista is freed in Sea Hawk's arms. She is happy to be reunited with Sea Hawk, but questions Entrapta and Hordak's relationship.

Quotes[]

"I'm sorry, Mermista will WHAT?"-“No Princess Left Behind”

"The boys are in trouble! A seagull told me."-“Boys' Night Out”

"I practice at HOME!"-“Mer-Mysteries,” in response to Frosta's "How do you keep doing that?" about shouting at the exact strike of thunder.

"[A dolphin whinnies and passes by to transition out of Mermista's view of the plan, Mermista makes hand motions; deadpans] Then it's like sparkle, sparkle, dolphin, sparkle. [...] [continues deadpanning] I get shoes that are slightly better than my normal shoes, there's probably another dolphin. [...] Then, like, I twirl and my hair does this thing [brushes her ponytail] where it looks all messy, but it's actually, like, really super-beautiful..."-“Roll With It,” about "Sea-Ra"

"If there's one thing I know in the Fright Zone, it's the sewer system."

"There's a Horde Spy in Bright Moon, and no one is going anywhere until we figure out who it is."-“Mer-Mysteries”

"WHY did you bring him here? He is SO annoying!"

"You can... probably do it. Ra, ra."-[Sarcastically], “Arm Wrestling Revenge!”

"Ugh, please get to the point."-“Arm Wrestling Revenge”

"Ugh, say things that make sense!"-“Fractures”

"Oh look, more ice cream. Because I'm the princess of ice cream now."-Mermista after losing her kingdom in “Boys' Night Out”

"Uhh, wow! Rude much?"-“Roll With It”

"I'm done moping in a bathtub. I'm ready to fight, to destroy the Horde and get my kingdom back!"-“Boys' Night Out”

"Why are you playing with dolls?"-Roll With It

Appearances[]

Season 1
1. "The Sword Part 1":	Absent	7. "In the Shadows of Mystacor":	Absent
2. "The Sword Part 2":	Absent	8. "Princess Prom":	Appears
3. "Razz":	Absent	9. "No Princess Left Behind":	Appears
4. "Flowers for She-Ra":	Absent	10. "The Beacon":	Appears
5. "The Sea Gate":	Appears	11. "Promise":	Absent
6. "System Failure":	Absent	12. "Light Hope":	Absent
13. "The Battle of Bright Moon":	Appears

Season 2
1. "The Frozen Forest":	Appears	4. "Roll With It":	Appears
2. "Ties That Bind":	Absent	5. "White Out":	Mentioned
3. "Signals":	Absent	6. "Light Spinner":	Absent
7. "Reunion":	Absent

Season 3
1. "The Price of Power":	Absent	4. "Moment of Truth":	Appears
2. "Huntara":	Absent	5. "Remember":	Absent
3. "Once Upon a Time in the Waste":	Absent	6. "The Portal":	Absent

Season 4
1. "The Coronation":	Appears	7. "Mer-Mysteries":	Appears
2. "The Valley of the Lost":	Appears	8. "Boys' Night Out":	Appears
3. " Flutterina":	Absent	9. "Hero":	Absent
4. "Pulse":	Absent	10. "Fractures":	Appears
5. "Protocol":	Absent	11. "Beast Island":	Absent
6. "Princess Scorpia":	Absent	12. "Destiny Part 1":	Absent
13. "Destiny Part 2":	Appears

Season 5
1. "Horde Prime":	Appears	7. "Perils of Peekablue":	Appears
2. "Launch":	Appears	8. "Shot in the Dark":	Absent
3. "Corridors":	Absent	9. "An Ill Wind":	Mentioned
4. "Stranded":	Absent	10. "Return to the Fright Zone":	Appears
5. "Save the Cat":	Absent	11. "Failsafe":	Absent
6. "Taking Control":	Absent	12. "Heart Part 1":	Appears
13. "Heart Part 2":	Appears

Books
Origin of a Hero:	Absent	Island of Magical Creatures:	Appears
Song of the Sea Witch:	Appears	Legend of the Fire Princess:	Appears

Swift Wind Adventures Shorts
1. "Unicorn Warrior Training!":	Absent	3. "A Princess Birthday Party!":	Absent
2. "Arm Wrestling Revenge!":	Appears	4. "Grounded Glimmer Jailbreak!":	Absent
5. "Horse Hero Transformation!":	Absent

Princess Rebel Recruitment Shorts
1. "Bow Begins the Fight":	Absent	4. "Meditation with Perfuma":	Absent
2. "Glimmer Wants YOU to Join":	Absent	5. "Mermista is the Coolest":	Appears
3. "From Adora to She-Ra":	Absent	6. "Entrapta Stole Bow's Tracker Pad":	Absent
7. "The Evil Horde is EVIL":	Appears

Gallery[]

See: Mermista/Gallery

Trivia[]

• Mermista's astrological sign is a Libra/Scorpio cusp.
• She is shown to possibly have a crush on She-Ra.
• Mermista revealed she once set a boat on fire to see what it felt like when Sea Hawk does it.
• She seems to be the only member of The Rebellion to question Entrapta and Hordak's relationship whereas Sea Hawk seemed rather stunned by it.
• As "Sea-Ra", Mermista quotes the 1985 TV Series' Adora's opening lines of the original series.
• When recording lines for Mermista, her voice actress Vella Lovell didn't know what Mermista’s final design looked like. She was delighted when she saw how Mermista was a curvy woman of colour like herself.^[7]
• Vella Lovell played a similar blunt and sarcastic character, Heather Davis, on the show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. This was part of how she got the role of Mermista.^[8]
• In the Portuguese dub, Mermista has the same voice actor as Wendy Corduroy from Gravity Falls, Star Butterfly from Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Amity Blight from The Owl House, and Cassandra from Tangled: The Series.
  • Entrapta, Younger Catra, and Spinnerella also have the same voice actor as Mermista.
• Keiko Murayama and Ray Geiger developed her visual design.^[9]
• The series pitch bible summarizes Mermista as Non-sucky Aquaman. ^[10]
• The pitch bible also notes that Mermista “Enjoys making Adora very uncomfortable”, and says that “She and Sea Hawk get along very well and like to gossip about everyone else.”^[10]

Reference[]

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power's Characters
Best Friends Squad	Adora/She-Ra • Glimmer • Bow • Catra
Princesses and Rebellion	Perfuma • Mermista • Frosta • Netossa • Spinnerella • Queen Angella • Sea Hawk • King Micah • Entrapta • Scorpia
The Evil Horde	Horde Prime • Horde Prime's Clone Army • Lord Hordak • Lonnie • Kyle • Rogelio • Grizzlor • Octavia • Scorpia's mothers
Others	Castaspella • Swift Wind • Razz • Mara • Light Hope • Tung Lashor • Double Trouble • Shadow Weaver • Melog • Huntara
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