Every story starts somewhere. It sounds sophomoric to say, but the truth is that we often don't think about where something really began, especially if the story we're watching or living is exciting and tangled in its own right. That's more or less the case with the Cures in their fight against the Undergu Empire – they don't really question why the dark group has such a grudge against Skyland. While they do their best for Battamonda when he leaves the Empire, there isn't much digging into why the Undergu Empire is so keen on evil. But the final set of episodes in this series shows that there's a lot more to the story than they're aware of, and it's through understanding that the final battle is won.

Each season of the greater Pretty Cure franchise handles the question and character of the "legendary Pretty Cure" differently. Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure takes the route of having her show up and giving us her history. (In terms of licensed seasons, the closest to take this approach is Healin' Good Pretty Cure, although both Kira Kira Pretty Cure a la Mode and Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure also look at past Cures' stories.) Cure Noble, however, stands out by actually interacting with the current Cures, and without her, it is doubtful that Cure Sky would even exist. Cure Noble was the princess of Skyland three hundred years ago, and she first encountered the Undergu Empire. Rather than simply fighting them, she sought to forge a relationship with them, seeking a friendship with Empress Undergu, the emperor's daughter. Despite their bond, it appeared that she betrayed them, killing the emperor and proving herself a false friend. This set the two nations on a collision course, and the current fight in the show is the culmination of centuries of misunderstanding-fueled anger.

That it is a misunderstanding isn't all that surprising, but the more significant takeaway is not that misunderstandings breed conflict, but that nothing is black and white. Cure Noble did make mistakes because she was human, and sending her powers into the future with Ellee is the closest she can come to rectifying them. Her hope for the new generation of Cures, including her descendant Ellee, is that past problems can be overcome. Did she know Ellee would find four others to fight alongside her, forming a team where as Cure Noble fought alone? It's hard to say, but as the final battle makes clear, the Cures are stronger together than alone. Ageha and Tsubasa can combine their powers to great effect, and Mashiro and Sora are a nigh unstoppable force when they work together. Sora can swallow Skearhead's Undergu energy and transform into Dark Sky because she knows that Cure Prism's light will always burn away the darkness and bring her back to herself.

Although Sora/Cure Sky is the main heroine of this story and the leader of the Pretty Cures, this final set of episodes shows that Mashiro/Cure Prism is just as important. Like many magical girl shows, most notably Sailor Moon and the underrated Tarot-based Day Break Illusion, the coexistence of light and shadow is an important theme in Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure. Cure Prism's powers exemplify that: she is the shining light that pushes back the dark to save Dark Sky and Empress Undergu, and her gentle nature sets Battamonda on the path to redemption, even if he can't bring himself to admit it. That she can maintain this strength in the face of her genuine anxieties about being left behind tells us that she's stronger than even she realizes. The final scenes of episode fifty, when she feels like everyone always leaves her, from her parents to Sora, show her breaking down, but then waking up the next morning determined to shine. She'll keep moving forward, keeping track of her adventures and journeys in her picture books, much like Sora keeps her journal. She can be her own hero, because Sora helped to show her how. That's not undercut by the return from Skyland of Sora, Tsubasa, and Ellee, because it happens after Mashiro has realized that she really can do it on her own; instead, it's a reassurance that she doesn't have to. Empress Undergu and Cure Noble/Princess Elleelaine faltered because they lost each other before they could learn to stand on their own. Mashiro can stand up for herself because she knows that she'll always have the others, even if she doesn't see them all the time.

There's not much point in being a hero if there's no one to save. That could be Cure Sky and Captain Shalala, charging in to save the day and inspiring others to rise to the occasion. It could also be Mashiro learning that she's not always going to be abandoned, or Empress Undergu internalizing the mistakes of the past and making a change as the quiet hero her people need. It could be Tsubasa telling Ageha that he enjoyed working with her (a scene I think we could also read as him admitting a crush; he may not have liked being called "boy" because it emphasized their age difference) and that he wants to be a cool adult in the same way she is. Every one of the Cures in this season is a hero by the end, saving the worlds, each other, and themselves. The series may have ended, but the message we can carry with us is that it's always hero time, as long as you believe in yourself.