I saw an essay once that argued that shows like She-Ra allow for the redemption of villains by not actually showing that much villainy. We see Hordak’s followers destroying buildings civilians live in, but we don’t see them directly murdering civilians, so Hordak doesn’t have to face audience judgment for it.

On the one hand, this makes it sound like Steven Universe really dug its own grave by showing onscreen medical experimentation on POWs. On the other hand, I never got the impression that She-Ra fandom was any less of a screaming mess than Steven Universe fandom. So maybe the mess in both fandoms is unrelated to war crimes or lack thereof.