She-ra and the Princesses of Power is a Netflix show that ran from 2018 to 2020, producing five seasons. It is a children’s animated show that follow a group of magical princesses as they rebel against the evil Horde that is vying for control of their universe. That may sound lighthearted, but the show is at turns incredibly dark, exploring heavy concepts under the veil of a kid’s show about friendship. One of these concepts is doubling identities, and that is what we will discuss today.
Double Trouble is a character introduced in the fourth season of She-re and the Princesses of Power (disregarding a cameo in season one). They are a shapeshifter who uses their powers to wreak havoc and usually do so to make money. Double Trouble appears as the green reptilian creature you see here, but they change their form at will over the course of the series.
Double Trouble quickly allies themself with the Horde and disguises themself as a girl named Flutterina to win the princesses over. This works immediately, and Double Trouble acts as a spy for the Horde, delivering information to them.
After being found out, Double Trouble spends a brief time on the rebel camp before deciding to help out. They cause trouble at the Horde by shapeshifting into various people before defecting to the Rebellion.
THE DOUBLE
Double Trouble plays both hero and villain with ease. Their love for drama and their desire for wealth intertwine wonderfully to allow them to trick nearly everyone around them. Double Trouble never expresses anything but enjoyment for this life, but one has to wonder how they manage to keep a secure sense of identity through it all. We don’t learn much about Double Trouble over the course of the series, but let’s unpack the things we do know.
- Double Trouble is Non-binary
Double Trouble is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. They are the only character in this series to do so.
2. Double Trouble is a Shapeshifter
Double Trouble can mimic anyone’s appearance at will. Most of their screen-time centers around shapeshifting, whether they are disguised as someone else for a purpose or simply messing with people’s heads.
3. Double Trouble’s Past Revolves around Shapeshifting
Before they were on screen, Double Trouble was a mercenary, disguising themself as people to make money. They then work as a shapeshifter for the Horde, and ultimately do the same for the Rebellion. This is their entire identity.
THE TROUBLE
Shapeshifting is a tricky business. If you spend all your time as other people, how can you ever truly know yourself? Don’t you get lost in other identities? Double Trouble themself implies this. Upon meeting Catra, one of the main antagonists of the series, for the first time, they admit “Sometimes I just get so lost in my character”. When asked if this (the form above) is their real appearance, they reply “More or less. Of course, we all wear costumes.” They no longer look like themself, and they rarely do. Is there anything more uncanny than that?
Double Trouble relies on setting aside their identity to play different parts. They double as a dozen characters during the series, gaining trust and power, betraying it when they choose. They sacrifice their own identity to do so, pretending to be a girl for most of the show despite being non-binary. (They occasionally shapeshift into men as well, but more of the characters in this show are women.) Their value and way of life is in pretending to be someone else, giving their own identity almost no value at all.
Double Trouble is a fascinating example of a double, doubling for many different characters in the series, and leaving us with the question, is there a real personality inside, or are they simply a double of themself?
