The Dragon Prince - General Discussion

[Brn2bwild]

Interesting... this Hypable link initially promised new images of Season 3, but now it doesn't work.  https://www.hypable.com/the-dragon-prince-season-3-images-soren-rayla/

That said, I saw a brief mention that Soren now has a beard, and saw an image of Ezran wearing a crown.

ETA: Spoilers -- they're posted on Reddit.

Edited October 12, 2019 by Brn2bwild

[kathyk2]

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Netflix just released the trailer for Season 3 and it is awesome.

[swanpride]

Already binged Season 3...is it just me or does it feel kind of rushed?

[Brn2bwild]

8 hours ago, swanpride said:

Already binged Season 3...is it just me or does it feel kind of rushed?

Yeah, it could have done with a couple more episodes.  Overall it was great, but I'm glad it's not the last season, as it would have felt too neatly tied together.  Some thoughts (under Spoiler tags so as not to spoil for those who haven't seen or finished):

Spoiler

1. In the last episode, after it became so clear that people would pass out/die if they didn't cast a spell to get up to the Dragon Prince's lair, how did Viren just glide up there?  Come to think of it, how did he do it the first time?
2. I liked seeing more of the Sunfire elves, but that Skywing elf in the fourth and fifth episode was annoying.  I'm assuming she'll play some pivotal role later, though.
3. Soren's change of heart was very welcome (and also seems to have made him smarter), but that seemed a tad too fast. Then again, it could be argued he has been having doubts about his father's intentions since his paralysis last season.
4. That Rayla and Opeli are done by the same voice actress was more obvious, and more distracting, this season.
5. Did anyone else find it strange to see the dragons speaking English where before, they had always been silent?
6. The killing of "Thunder" seems to be portrayed differently this season than in previous seasons (Harrow alone versus Harrow leading an army).
7. Hopefully next season, we'll learn whether Rayla's parents were captured in the coins.
8. I was surprised that Ezran and Pip never met.  Has the opportunity for a King Harrow revelation passed?

[swanpride]

I think what bothered me the most was

Spoiler

how accepting the Elves were about humans in their lands. I mean...really? It also felt kind of odd that there were two seasons needed just to get there, but then they managed to reach their goal within one and with little trouble overall. I also kind of expected a bigger reaction to the fact that the dragon prince is alive.

It also felt like there was a huge chunk of story just skipped. Like, there was so much just happening in the background. "Oh, there were leaders attacked/killed", "oh, Amelia has been captured, but let's not show the majority of her imprisonment (I actually thought that she was blinded by the light, hence it was very noticeable that we didn't see her after the test until she was suddenly needed". And naturally we didn't see what Ezran's allies did. If I hadn't paid close attention to the title sequences, I would have been completely confused were all the people were suddenly coming from in the end.

And this might be a nitpick, but when the "broken Chain" scene happened, I though that perhaps ten soldiers decided to leave. And then there is suddenly a small army of them? A very small one, but still...(though I loved them using the broken chain symbol as a point of pride).

[Brn2bwild]

Good points.  

Spoiler

Right, like how would Anya and company have known that they needed to get to Xadia asap with an army?  When last we saw Anya, she didn't want to get Duren involved in human wars, no matter how seemingly justified.  Now it's like "King Ezran is on the throne trying to reunite the Dragon Prince with his mother and bring peace.  Be sure to bring a big army with lots of arrows to help protect the Dragon Prince (whose father killed your mothers) because... reasons!"  And her response is: Okay?

Also, how did Corvis and Opeli manage to connect with Gren, who was getting blown away at the Breach the last we saw him?

ETA: Also, how did Ezran come to the decision that his abdication was the right decision?  How could he think that allowing Viren to take the throne wouldn't endanger the same people he was afraid would die if Katolis went to war with the other kingdoms?  Ezran could have proposed letting the other armies pass through Katolis without resistance.  It wouldn't have been the best solution, but it might have been enough to satisfy Prince Kasef for the time being.

Edited November 24, 2019 by Brn2bwild
More points to make!

[swanpride]

I wasn't quite sure if he knew that

Spoiler

Viren would be the one who would take his place. I think him stepping down would have been more powerful though if more people had refused to follow Viren in reaction to it.

[Brn2bwild]

Another thought: is it me, or do elves not show their age?  Rayla's parents and Runaan look like they are just a few years older than she is.

[swanpride]

I guess it is pretty much fantasy lore that Elves age either very slowly or not at all....

[MissLucas]

Well, I liked it although I wish a bit more time had been given to aunt Amaya (my standard complaint for every season).

Spoiler

As for the pacing - yes, some parts were dragging on and other felt rushed but I think that was caused by the writers wanting to give equal time to the two main plots i.e. Callum and Rayla's voyage to the dragon queen and Ezran's rule and the coup.

I spent a good time wondering who was cuter - Zym or Baby Yoda*?

*I know, I know but since we have no real name yet that's what I'm going with.

[Maelstrom]

On 11/26/2019 at 12:37 AM, swanpride said:

I guess it is pretty much fantasy lore that Elves age either very slowly or not at all....

And they always have perfect hair, too. Always.

Had trouble getting quoted spoilers to stay spoilered, so responding to a few points individually:

Spoiler

Brn2bwild:

3. Soren's redemption was one of my favorite aspects of the season, and I found it pretty well-handled. I think both Claudia and Soren have had the urge for Viren's approval/love as their driving force in life, to the point that it sometimes blinds them to everything else (and in Claudia's case, she seems quite willing to delude herself and believe the best of her father... even when he clearly doesn't deserve it). Once Viren disavowed himself of his instructions to kill the princes and made it Soren's fault for being so dumb as to misunderstand, I think Soren finally realized that he would never be able to gain his father's approval. And once those blinders came off, so to speak, he was able to see the situation as it really stood. (Shades of Zuko and Ozai) Clearly Soren has a strong sense of honor and duty, and takes his job as a Crownguard very seriously. I loved how earnest he was in wanting to help Ezran and co. and do the right thing after he came around. Yay for the strapping young idiot, lol.

4. I agree, it was quite obvious that Paula Burrows voices both roles, and it wasn't helped by how her inflection and way of speaking is exactly the same for both characters, no matter which accent she's using.

5. I didn't mind the English so much, since the big deep voices of both Sol Regem and Avizandum seemed fitting for arch-dragons, but the voice of the Dragon Queen (forgotten her name) seemed entirely miscast to me, FWIW. Too high and normal-sounding.

7. That hadn't even occurred to me! But I bet you're right. I hope that all of the elves get de-coined soon, poor things.

I agree that Ezran's decision to abdicate was poorly handled. Even as I was watching I wondered how he could think that letting the soldiers be sent to die in Xadia was any better than sending them to die against Kasef's forces. It didn't make sense at all. I believe that they didn't originally intend to have Ezran go back to Katolis, and clearly had to do some reworking plotwise to get him back to Xadia for the second half of the season, but that seemed to me a sloppy way to do it.

Swanpride:

That is a good point, even if Ezran suspected that Viren would take control (and since Viren basically broke all the rules of their law to do so, it probably wasn't something Ezran expected) he had no real way of knowing the depths of Viren's corruption/sociopathy/powerlust/etc.

Other random thoughts:

The elves' various accents were... odd. I mean, they're recognizably Scottish/English/Aussie, and yet the characters are so completely divorced from those backgrounds that the overall effect is... strangely distracting.

Liked meeting Ethari and learning more about Moonshadow culture. And I especially loved the giant tree on the cliff, and Callum and Rayla riding down on a floaty tree thing. I can see so many influences in the art style of the show, and I just love it.

Boomerang, you finally came back!!

TL;DR - Overall I really loved this season and can't wait for more. Also, Xadia is beautiful and I want to live there.

[Meushell]

Binged watched the series, so here is my completely random thoughts.

 

• Given all the training we saw Soren do, I wish he had made it up the stairs without help, leaving everyone else completely baffled. 

• Is it me, or did they completely change Harrow’s responsibility in the egg-napping (even though he thought it was an egg smooshing)? The conversation from Season 1 doesn’t fit what we saw. If Viren lied about that bit, then they need to show it. Harrow slowly seems to have gone from “likable, but flawed” to complete asshole.

• Ezran and Zym having the same hair/feather-style is adorable.

• Claudia’s “It’s not the horse” bit was great. Too bad she seems to be falling for the dark side.

• Mr. Vengeful Dragon either failed at guarding the border, or he’s still stuck (or Viren and his army killed him, but that’s less funny to think about).

• When the phoenix died right next to Thunder, I admit, I thought the resurrecting flames would bring Thunder back to life. 

• Why was Ezran put in a cell for giving up the throne? Am I missing something? I thought he was surrendering himself at first. 

• When Callum was climbing a rock in the rain (I think in season 2), did anyone else think of Link from BotW?

• Why do the dragon king and queen look so much like each other? Do these dragons do the “keep it in the family / royal incest” thing?

Edited June 13, 2020 by Meushell

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Comic Con is going to be free online this year due to COVID-19 so everyone can see the Dragon Prince panel! It hasn't been assigned an official timeslot yet so be sure to check the Comic Con website in the next week or so!

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The Dragon Prince
Netflix's fantasy series will host a Q&A with creators Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond, as well as voice cast Jack Desena, Paula Burrows, Sasha Rojen, Erik Todd Dellums, Jason Simpson, Jesse Inocalla, and Racquel Belmonte.

 

[Brn2bwild]

On 7/9/2020 at 7:10 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Comic Con is going to be free online this year due to COVID-19 so everyone can see the Dragon Prince panel! It hasn't been assigned an official timeslot yet so be sure to check the Comic Con website in the next week or so!

 

I hope that the appearance includes an announcement for Season 4's premier date!

[Starfish35]

Have they officially confirmed a fourth season yet?

[Brn2bwild]

On 7/12/2020 at 1:13 PM, Starfish35 said:

Have they officially confirmed a fourth season yet?

Nope.

[kickingnames]

For those who are interested, I recommend checking out the Dragon Prince “panel” from this year‘s Comic Con — if for no other reason than to watch the last few minutes (skip to the 35:00 mark and go from there). 🤗🤗🤗

[Brn2bwild]

Renewed for four more seasons!

[swanpride]

Four? That would mean seven overall. That surprises me...I was expected six. One for each element in the show.

[Brn2bwild]

8 hours ago, swanpride said:

Four? That would mean seven overall. That surprises me...I was expected six. One for each element in the show.

I believe the creator presented a vision of seven seasons (each nine episodes) to tell the whole saga.

Really impressed.  I wasn't expecting the news to be that good, and in fact was bracing for the possibility the show could get cancelled.  Don't know when Season Four will premiere, but I'm just glad to hear we'll be getting more.

[Maelstrom]

On 7/25/2020 at 12:32 AM, swanpride said:

Four? That would mean seven overall. That surprises me...I was expected six. One for each element in the show.

Six primal elements + dark/human magic. At least, that’s my guess.

Either way, yay!

[swanpride]

Oh...that makes sense.

[Brn2bwild]

I'm doing another re-watch of the three seasons in anticipation of Season Four.  One thing that struck me about the two-part episode where the Queens were killed: it doesn't seem as though the Queens of Duren were very good rulers if they waited seven years into a famine to seek outside help.  True, they might have sought help from other kingdoms in previous years, but that stood out for some reason.  Also, why was it necessary for both of them to distract the Dragon King?  One of them could have sacrificed herself, while the other stayed behind to serve as Queen. 

[QuantumMechanic]

We got a teaser trailer back on June 8:

And a link to a short story yesterday:

[driver18]

I just binged all three seasons, and absolutely loved this show. Read through this forum, and am going to tackle some of the questions/comments on season 03.

@Brn2bwild

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In the last episode, after it became so clear that people would pass out/die if they didn't cast a spell to get up to the Dragon Prince's lair, how did Viren just glide up there?  Come to think of it, how did he do it the first time?

I just think we're supposed to get that he's possessed by the Dark Magic to an abundant degree. He's a dark archmage so he can figure out the spells needed to get up there, and they felt it wasn't necessary to show him doing the spells to get up there when we had seen him (with the "aid" of Aravos) already doing so much more complicated magic.

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I liked seeing more of the Sunfire elves, but that Skywing elf in the fourth and fifth episode was annoying.  I'm assuming she'll play some pivotal role later, though.

I liked her. I kinda figured the point of her was twofold: (1) To show a Skywing elf WITH wings so that Callum when introduced to Ibis, he could see the cool spell that can make the wings come from the arms, and (2) to give Rayla another opportunity to show she's not really an assassin at heart, but rather just a good person, a hero, as Callum said -- which then pushed along their relationship.

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Soren's change of heart was very welcome (and also seems to have made him smarter), but that seemed a tad too fast. Then again, it could be argued he has been having doubts about his father's intentions since his paralysis last season.

Maybe because I binge-watched it, but I don't think it was too fast at all. From pretty much the moment his father told him to kill the princes, Soren had an issue with it. Even when he was trying to complete his mission, he wasn't happy about it. He could have set up accidents that were a lot easier to manipulate, but he didn't. He also talked about it, talked around it quite a bit with Claudia. I actually expected it to come sooner, but wasn't surprised it took as long as it did considering his relationship with his father.

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That Rayla and Opeli are done by the same voice actress was more obvious, and more distracting, this season.

Maybe because you knew? It was obvious that the actress doing Rayla was faking that accent (and erm, not that well), but I had ZERO clue it was the same actress. Like at all. And I'm actually pretty durn good at picking up on accents generally.

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Did anyone else find it strange to see the dragons speaking English where before, they had always been silent?

I didn't. Why wouldn't they speak English? If the dragons can speak, it makes sense they would speak English since everyone else around them speaks English. I'm sure they have their own native tongue, but it makes sense they would know how to communicate with those around them.

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Hopefully next season, we'll learn whether Rayla's parents were captured in the coins.

Ooh! I hope so!! It sure seemed to hint at that!

@swanpride

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I think what bothered me the most was how accepting the Elves were about humans in their lands.

Well, we saw the elves OK with humans on their lands only AFTER the battle/fighting was done when the humans were fighting on THEIR side. So it'd be pretty awful if they weren't OK with them. And prior to that, the only humans we saw them interact with were Amaya and Viren and the elves were pretty not feeling them. Also, remember the season ended with JUST the battle human/elves together. We don't know what's going to happen when the wider Xadia-peeps see the humans.

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It also felt kind of odd that there were two seasons needed just to get there, but then they managed to reach their goal within one and with little trouble overall.

It took two seasons to get Xadia, yeah, but why is it odd that it took only one to reach the Dragon spire? They were in Xadia at the end of season 02. So, they made it. I don't really get this one, honestly.

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I also kind of expected a bigger reaction to the fact that the dragon prince is alive.

I agree with this. I mean, they all thought the Dragon Prince was dead... and he's here. He's ALIVE! Come on, man!

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re: background stuff -- "Oh, there were leaders attacked/killed"

We knew what that was about. Avaros and Viren sent the shadown moonelves (fake ones) to do that. And to go and show all of that happening would have been, I feel, just random scenes. We knew it was coming, and when Ezren got the news that was where we got the impact of it.

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"oh, Amelia has been captured, but let's not show the majority of her imprisonment (I actually thought that she was blinded by the light, hence it was very noticeable that we didn't see her after the test until she was suddenly needed".

But we did see her a couple of times imprisoned, anymore and it would have felt kinda unneccessary. I mean, she just would have been sitting there in that circle of firelight doing nothing. I thought it was pretty clear she wasn't blinded. The sun elf queen said clearly what the light was about ("a human with a pure heart"), and we saw Amaya look and react to the others around her.

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 And naturally we didn't see what Ezran's allies did.

Because it was supposed to be a surprise when Ezran showed up and saw them all there.

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 If I hadn't paid close attention to the title sequences, I would have been completely confused were all the people were suddenly coming from in the end.

I never watched the title sequences and I knew who the people were. OK, to be fair, I did just binge watch the entire series, but they're only 9 eps each. All of the pieces were there, and carefully laid out. Aanya had made it clear what her stance was -- it was pretty similar to Ezren's, so when she showed up, I was like YEAH!! Which leads to your next point.

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And this might be a nitpick, but when the "broken Chain" scene happened, I though that perhaps ten soldiers decided to leave. And then there is suddenly a small army of them? A very small one, but still...(though I loved them using the broken chain symbol as a point of pride).

Yes, the Broken Chain people, there were only about 10, the other were Aanya's army. Her kingdom, Duren. There are 5 kingdoms. Only 4 went to war because Aanya's kingdom didn't go to war. (Aanya is the little girl queen.) She came and battled on the side with Ezren, Callum, the elves and dragons. (Me too to the bolded point. I cheered when I saw that!)

@Brn2bwild

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Right, like how would Anya and company have known that they needed to get to Xadia asap with an army?

Because the Broken Chain soldiers were WITH the Duren army.

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Now it's like "King Ezran is on the throne trying to reunite the Dragon Prince with his mother and bring peace.

Aanya seemed to have the same mindset as Ezren. As a child ruler herself, it makes sense that she too would not want to fight the same battles of the adults and continue that vicious cycle. And knowing that Viren is in charge of this nastiness, she KNOWS it's a bad thing.

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how did Corvis and Opeli manage to connect with Gren, who was getting blown away at the Breach the last we saw him?

We last saw Gren way long time ago, he just traveled back to Kotalis.

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how did Ezran come to the decision that his abdication was the right decision?  How could he think that allowing Viren to take the throne wouldn't endanger the same people he was afraid would die if Katolis went to war with the other kingdoms?

Erm, Ezren is a 10-year old boy. He's awesome, wise beyond his years and I love him, but yeah, he's a 10-year old boy who was manipulated.

Anyway, I loved it like LOTS. I imagine when the announcement date of season 04 comes around, I will be watching this again. I loved all the characters, and just, yeah, pretty much everything about this show. I just checked it out one night on a whim because my sister said it's by the same people who did ATLA and I liked that.

[QuantumMechanic]

We finally have an actually release date! Nov 3, per their official Twitter today.

[Brn2bwild]

The Dragon Prince Season 4 is now airing!  I inhaled the whole thing late at night and this morning.  My basic thoughts: not the best season, but good for what it is, a season setting up a four-part arc. 

For those who don't want to read spoilers, don't look below.

SPOILERS

Things That I Liked:

• Yay, the show is back after three years!
• Rayla came back sooner than expected.
• Terry the Earthblood Efl was very well incorporated, and quickly grew on me.
• Amaya and Janai's relationship and the feud between the elves and humans.
• The somewhat darker tone, including murder.
• Ezran growing into a more confident king, and bigger (though still cute) Zym.
• Rayla finally knows what happened to her parents and Runaan, and has the coins, so she can hopefully work to bring them back next season.

Things That Needed Improvement:

• I liked most of the new character designs, but the facial animation seemed stiffer.  So much that when Rayla returned, I thought she was an illusion/Aaravos plant for 3/4ths of the season because her reactions seemed so stiff/passive.  I don't know if the writers intended for us to think that (she appeared right after Callum recited the words unlocking the mirror, and showed some un-Rayla-like tendencies, like not freeing the trapped dragon).
• The first episode was slow and the birthday song was eye-rolling.  But most first episodes of this show are slow.
• Soren sees that Viren is still alive, and they don't have a scene together?
• This felt Season One, where it took three episodes just to get up that mountain.  A lot of build up, but most of the payoff will be next season. 

[nomodrama]

So glad that this is back. My kids and I jumped right into watching. 

I liked the aged up version of all of the kid characters. Though they seemed to have toned down Rayla's accent a bit, she was a lot less Merida from Brave sounding this season. 

I liked this season but there were quite a few things that were just off. 

Spoiler

The plot barely inched forward.....three years waiting and there was hardly any progress made. The reason being that there was way too much cutting back and forth between the mountain quest and the Sunfire elves story (which felt entirely shoehorned in). Hopefully next season that will tie in with the actual plot with Aarovos, so that the story can stop moving at a snail's pace. 

All that build up around the cocoon and it just turned out to be some weird creature that would guide them to Aarovos' prison not Aarovos himself. 

I also had a major problem with the main group spending so much time working their way thru the levels of the mountain, yet Claudia's group (who spent quite a bit of time with Soren in the forest) somehow happened to end up in the dragon's lair at the same time. 

I really hope we don't have to wait years for next season. 

[swanpride]

Strangely I was very invested at the start and then just stopped watching...I will get to it, but it didn't draw me in enough to just have watch it through. 

[Brn2bwild]

I find it weird that the various elves live so remotely and don't seem to interact much.  For instance, why were no other races of elves helping to reconstruct the Sunfire Elves' capital?  Why were they relying on only humans - humans with no knowledge of or respect for their culture at that?

Also, I feel a bit sorry for Zym - in his early days, he had the loving guidance of Ezran, Rayla, and Callum, but his mother Zubeia seems so strict and stern.  If that's how she is all the time, he probably rebels because he wants to return to that more openly loving atmosphere.

Edited November 5, 2022 by Brn2bwild

[MissLucas]

That was a mixed bag. It's been a minute and maybe my memories of past seasons is a bit wonky but a lot of the cool and supposedly quirky dialogue felt over the top and OOC. Especially in the early episodes and when dealing with Claudia's plot. Girl just did a lot of dark magic to create zombie Dad yet talked as if she was on Tik Tok. Her infatuation with Terry (and vice-versa) provided some good comic relief but they overdid it to the detriment of scenes and plots that required more emotional depth like Terry coming to terms with what he did on the Dragon Spire. I also thought Rayla and Callum's relationship was under-cooked.

The one really good plot was Amaya and Janai's. It made some excellent points on various topics and we also had some nice character progression. Amaya came to a better understanding of the Sun Elves culture and did not interfere with the duel -  at the beginning of the season she would have. And Janai got better at sign language (maybe just driven by plot necessity).

Unexpected and fun was the Dragon Queen liking Soren and his awful stand-up routine.

Edited November 11, 2022 by MissLucas

[Xantar]

So wait, am I actually supposed to believe that:

- Human camps don’t have fire anywhere (how do they cook and what do they do in winter?)

- Over the course of two years, humans never learned that “sun elves” light fires to commemorate their dead?

- That little piddly flame is a threat to the entire camp?

- The professional architect is too dumb to figure out how to make a fire pit?

Really? I know this is a kids’ show so you have to make some allowances, but that is just piss poor writing for the scenario. And it’s really too bad because the concept of exploring racism and cultural differences through this storyline is a good one. It’s just that the execution in this case was so stupid .

[tennisgurl]

That was a weird season, it felt less like a season and more like a set up for the next season where all of the big stuff will actually happen. It felt like not very much actually happened, we were just turning out wheels going from one fetch quest to the next. I was also really confused by what went on between Callum and Rayla and what this break up was about, I thought that I had forgotten something that happened in the last season. Turns out they broke up in a comic book....who the hell breaks up their main couple in a TV show in a comic book between seasons? 

I also thought the tone was off this season, like they really wanted to remind us that this is a family show after so much action and drama in the last season so they added even more fart jokes and kid appeal humor, which is fine at times and this show has always mixed mature storytelling with childish humor, but the goofy kid jokes seemed really awkward this season. 

The older designs for everyone looked good and in general the character animation was very good. Some of the rest of the animation looked a bit off, but it was mostly good. There really was a lot that I liked about this season, but I wish that, after so much time between seasons, more actually happened. 

The story with the elf camp had potential, but not only did it not connect at all to the main plot, but the inciting incident was so awkward. I like the idea of exploring cultural differences between the different factions as they try to live together, but things escalated so quickly and for such silly reasons. The human architect thinks that one tiny flame will send the whole camp up? No one has started a fire for cooking or light once in any camp she's worked on, including this one? I think this is less about cultural misunderstandings and more about this lady being really bad at her job. Are the elves sure they want her building their shrine?

[Maelstrom]

Season 4 general impression: wow, that was disappointing. ☹️

Warning: this will be long. After three years of waiting and speculating, I’ve built up a lot of expectations and have undoubtedly put far too much thought into this.

I rewatched the first three seasons leading up to this, and this really felt like a different show in many ways. The tone was wildly different from the previous seasons, to its detriment. I found it very juvenile and shallow (as far as really delving into the story). Even though it's always been nominally a kids' show, it never treated its audience like kids before. Waaaay too much stupid pointless filler, too much dumb humor, too much silliness that really took away from the story.

Frankly, the force that drove the majority of the plot was stupidity, and I hate it when shows need stupidity to make the plot points happen.

I found the time jump was poorly handled. Too much was left unexplained in the aftermath of such a big, world-changing battle. What happened with the other kingdoms? Two rulers were dead, Neolandia's king was gravely injured and their prince was monsterified and killed. Their armies are largely wiped out. What’s going on with them? What’s Anya been up to in Durin? How did the Sunfire Elves end up living in a camp that is presumably in Xadia (a guess since they never confirmed it)? Obviously the Sunforge is still corrupted but did they try to purify it and reclaim the city? Is that an option? Is the city even still standing? Why didn’t they address any of this? Also, Janai and Amaya's romance would have meant more if we'd gotten to see it develop. Speaking of romances, what happened with Callum and Rayla? I'm not going to do homework for a show and track down a comic book, tell the story within the story, please. Presumably Rayla's been searching for Viren, but is that it? For two whole years? Did she try returning to the Silver Grove to get unghosted? Did her actions as Dragonguard to Zym, sacrificing herself to stop Viren, mean nothing to her people? Why is her skin a different color than before? It used to be kind of a lavender, but now it’s just kind of a generic pale.

I almost think it would have been better if the season had started mid-quest - have one of the boys narrating a letter/journal entry to Serai or Harrow explaining everything that had happened in the past two years, and how they came to be searching for Rex Igneous and why. It would have spared us a lot of the pointless filler of the earlier episodes and used that time to fill us in and better set up this new, changed world.

Ezran’s voice actress has done a fine job but now that the character has aged a little I honestly think they should have recast with a boy. I found the voice very incongruous and distracting at times. And I maintain that the actress for the dragon queen was miscast, but oh well.

Claudia’s side of the story was a big part of the problems I had with this season. First off, she won way too easily, every single time, and it got pretty frustrating to watch. We all know Aaravos is a force to be reckoned with, and I fully expect him to get the better of everyone without even batting his sparkly lashes (I’m almost looking forward to it, does that make me a bad person? 🤔) But it felt unearned for Claudia to come out on top so easily every time. Especially since, once again, we don’t know exactly what she got up to during the time jump. Terry and Claudia did not work for me, and I found them (and the excessive focus on bathroom humor) one of the worst parts of the season. My biggest problem being how can an elf, or any Xadian, condone a Dark Mage? How can he be with her? Why is he? It’s a weighty issue, one that the show itself set up to be a big deal - the divide between Xadians and Dark Mages is what spurred the central conflict within the world’s history. I can’t just overlook it or hand wave away, and it wasn’t addressed at all.

I liked Viren’s crisis of conscience, however short-lived - if dying can’t make you reflect on your choices in life, nothing can. Unfortunately, Claudia and Terry’s antics undercut a lot of the impact this storyline could have had. And what happened when he met Soren? How can we not get to see this scene? This should have been a big moment. They didn’t exactly part under the best terms.

Soren was undoubtedly my favorite character this season, and the only one that I felt any real emotional connection with - Callum and Rayla, despite being the main characters in the first three seasons, felt very flat and I didn’t connect emotionally to them as I did before. I liked that Soren seems to have learned from his past mistakes and grown from them, and figured out Claudia’s place in Aaravos’ scheme so quickly. He’s a good guy at heart, and it’s fun seeing him so unequivocally happy to be one the good guys now. And I thought it was in character that he would still try to get through to Claudia even though it’s pretty clearly a lost clause - however conflicted his feelings are about Viren, he and Claudia have always been close, and of course he wouldn’t be able to just give up on her. Soren’s flowered jammies made me smile, though I have to wonder - does he spend all of his waking hours in armor, and only takes the armor off to sleep? That’s dedication.

Bait has somehow become adorable this season. I liked that he comforted Soren after Aaravos' Speech of Evil, it was a nice little moment. And Bait’s face when he got to ring the harmonic crystal 🥺

Also, if Aaravos is powerful enough to control Callum through the mirror, how has he not already conquered the world? I suppose the magic mirror gave him a boost power-wise, and maaaaybe Callum having performed Dark Magic left a little opening for Aaravos to slip in. Still. And why was the show subtitled Mystery of Aaravos when we got the least Aaravos of any season since the first? Is the mystery why he’s not around in his own season, lol?

Random thoughts:

Am I the only one that found Rayla’s little monkey creepy?

I love the new opening sequence and theme music (I had to pause it and try to identify some of the constellations). And of course I loved the Avatar references (Yip yip! Aang’s glider and Sokka’s boomerang in Rex Igneous’ pile o’ treasure! Squee!)

Ivis (Ibis?) 😭 we hardly knew ye. Also, loved how Callum just swiped his staff and then later told Rex Igneous that it was "given to him" 🤨

For all the buildup we had around Gollum Sir Sparklepuff, he didn’t really do much other than gesture, spit goo, and point. Although he did spur one of my favorite lines of the season: “Even that goo-spitting homunculus deserves a better name than Sparklepuff.” 🤣 Viren's never more fun than when he's surrounded by idiots and at the end of his patience.

I think that's everything for now. Told you it’d be long 😉

[Maelstrom]

Season 5 - Ocean premieres July 27: https://thedragonprince.com/season-5-official-trailer/ 

Here's hoping it's better than 4.

[Maelstrom]

So season 5 is apparently available on Netflix as of today 🤷🏻‍♀️

(Also, look at me with the last three posts on this thread - I swear I’m not trying to take it over, lol)

Edited July 23, 2023 by Maelstrom

[Snapdragon]

Does anyone know why the show was rated as TV-14 for most of the day?  My daughter saw that there were new episodes up yesterday so wanted to watch it this morning but it had disappeared from the Kids profile.  I checked our main account profile and The Dragon Prince was there, just now rated TV-14 (for self-harm).  Figured the new season must have upped the maturity level, so I went to watch it tonight so that I could decide if it was appropriate for my daughter to watch, only to discover that now the rating is back to TV-Y7.  So now I'm trying to figure out if there was just some glitch that temporarily changed the rating or if there's something that happens in the 5th season that is calling the rating into question.  

[tennisgurl]

I might be biased because I love nautical themed stories, but I thought that this was a big improvement on the last season. It had some similar issues, especially how slowly the plot is moving, but it felt much more consistent and a lot more fun. 

A big problem I had with the last season was the uneven tone, going back and fourth from goofy fart jokes to serious subjects like racism and loss, leading to a season that couldn't decide on what it wanted to be. This season certainly had some silly jokes that felt off, especially with Terry and Claudia, but it seems like they toned back on the really kiddie jokes and kept up a more serious/adventurous tone. There were still lots of jokes, but they felt more clever and less dumb. Even Claudia and Terry's hijinks were a bit better as a lot of it was contrasting Claudia's goofiness to her increasing darkness. Its creepy that she's seemingly the same perky adorkable teen as she ever was, but she's already on the verge of unleashing a dark horror upon the world for selfish (if sympathetic) reasons and is going full on Ursula. I also thought that Viren got some interesting, if pretty weird, stuff to do, especially considering he was basically in a coma for half the season. It really hitting him in the face how much his choices, that seems reasonable at the time, has destroyed his family and made him a monster. 

Some nice characters bits from a lot of the main characters, thank God Callum and Rayla didn't break up offscreen again and were mostly actually dealing with their issues. Soren was the MVP of character growth, I really liked when he reached out to the tree guy and related to him as someone who was manipulated by bad guys who treated them like dumb muscle. In general everyone had some good moments, even if no ones arcs really stood out that much. I wish that Zym would get more to do besides being cute now that he's getting older. he's extremely good at being cute, don't get me wrong, but I would love for him to get his own story.

The elf drama was at least better than last season, but it still feels like its on a totally different show. Like with elf drama last season, I like the characters involved, I like the world building, I just wish that they were using this time in a plot that tied into what everyone else is doing more and that it was a bit more interesting. I would love to explore the other human and elf kingdoms and some of the other species, like some sort of counsel forming, and I think that accomplish all of the good things that this plot has going without its drawbacks. 

You can tell that the animators had a lot of fun with the oceans and sea creature designs, this is probably the best the show has ever looked. Overall this was a good, but flawed, season.

[MissLucas]

It was an improvement over last season especially in regards to cutting back the tik tok inspired dialogue. @tennisgurl has already listed a lot of good points so I'm just going to nod along with most of her post before adding some thoughts of my own.

I think Viren had the best character arc this season or rather the only significant one. Which is certainly a choice considering that at the end of the season it looks as if he's going to commit spiritual suicide. 

Ezran remained an incredibly naive and occasionally even annoying kid. Despite being king and about to hit puberty. Who's running the show when is off adventuring? And why did he keep wearing his useless crown? Callum's conflict about dark magic became only a plot point in the last two (?) episodes. There should have been more focus on that. For much of the season his character (and others) were just going through the motions. Callum's exploration of dark magic (or rather his struggle with the temptation) should have been set up as a counterpoint to Claudia. 

Soren did have a good plot on the ship but I was annoyed how everybody just shrugged off the Dragon Queen not showing up - especially Soren. He knew she had been injured and he had been worried about her - well, until he wasn't.

The sun elves were indeed caught up in a plot that felt like it was in a different show.

At least 'Blood of Child' did not refer to Claudia - I was halfway convinced she had to sacrifice herself in order to save Verin. I mean she already did that to a degree but I expected the show to go literal there.

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by MissLucas

[Maelstrom]

Finally got around to watching season 5, and I found it a disappointing mess. Though there were a few slight improvements from last season, it still has the same general problems with a few new ones thrown into the mix.

There is a lot going on but next to nothing happens; a lot of new story threads and plot points are revealed, then promptly forgotten or left unexplored. There is waaaay too much pointless filler that serves no purpose in developing any aspect of plot or character or world. Like last season, most of the plot was stupidity-dictated which is a surefire way to piss me off. Really, you could sum up this season in two or three sentences.

Soren continues to be the best developed and my favorite character this season, even if he doesn’t get much screen time. Callum and Rayla felt more like their old selves and less flat than last year, and Viren (what little we got of him) continues to be a fascinating study in morally grey characters. However, I still can’t stand Claudia and Terry, and sadly Ezran has become pretty useless. Amaya and Janai and the rest of the Sunfire storyline are off in their own little world, and I hate to say it but I couldn’t care less about any of it. (Though I did smile at Translator Elf nerding out over the library.)

Where be Aaravos? For yet another season with his name in the title, why was he in it even less than last season? Give me my sparkly magnificent bastard!

Callum’s quest to learn the Ocean arcanum felt completely unearned, considering we got barely a mention in the first ep and then him randomly understanding in at the end. And the Ocean theme was also disappointing - a brief glimpse of the arch-dragon, no exploration of the creatures and societies of the Ocean. Up until this season the Tidebound Elves have been the least discussed, so I was really curious to see what they would be like. And instead we get one generic weird old lady and a bunch of caricature pirates who serve absolutely no purpose? Gimme a break!

One of the things I loved so much about the first three seasons was how strongly the elements affected everything in Xadia, how all of the different beings of the different elements had their own unique cultures and views on the world. I loved the elemental magic and how interwoven it was throughout every aspect of Xadia. That is completely missing from the show IMO, and it’s incredibly disappointing to me. I was really hoping season 5 could be a return to that, but alas.

Also, the overall tone of the season was wildly uneven - very juvenile but with random bits of some pretty dark and/or violent stuff thrown in. Nightmare fuel, indeed! The first corrupted banther reminded me of the Red Bull (from the Last Unicorn) and would have for sure given me nightmares if I’d seen this as a kid. The beatings and torture of our heroes in the pirate ep, Claudia’s Ursula/evil squid witch vibe, the Blood Moon Elf lady (wtf was that? Why couldn’t she have just been a Moon Mage that turned evil? Why wasn’t another Moonshadow Elf like, oh, I don’t know Rayla our freaking heroine involved in this storyline to give it some context or connection to the rest of the show or Moonshadow society), all had me wondering just how the hell this was supposed to be aimed at kids. Overall I just found all of the darker aspects of this season very incongruous with the tone of the series, not to mention largely unnecessary. Like, sure we’ll spend even more time on more bathroom humor, but then add in a lengthy scene of someone getting tortured to prove how adult our story is! 😖🙄

I said it last season and I’ll say it again, they really need to recast Ezran’s voice actor. The young lady has done a fine job but Ezran is looking grown up enough now that it’s very jarring to hear him speaking with a young woman’s voice. And I maintain that the female dragons were miscast, as their high, breathy voices feel super out of place on powerful dragon queens, but YMMV.

The Baitlings were cute but at this point our band of heroes has become a traveling menagerie. Though I did find Rayla's little monkey thing less creepy this year (could he make portals and hide stuff in them last year? I don’t remember that, though maybe I’ve blocked it out along with most of s4. Though I gotta say I’m a little jealous, that would come in super handy. Infinite storage space!)

Still wishing we could have gotten some of what we missed in the time jump between s3 and s4 explained, like if Rayla’s been back to her home, what’s been happening with the other human kingdoms, and how the Sunfire Elves came to set up their human-shared refugee city and why they’ve been unable to reclaim Lux Aurea, etc.

The “Argonath” at the entrance to the Sea of the Castdown cracked me the hell up. Clearly the Xadian mage/architect/sculptor responsible for it wanted to make sure everyone knew how awesome he was with the giant sculptures of himself lording over defeated Aaravos kneeling at his feet. 😆

Overall, better than season 4 but not great. I’ll tune in next season, though at this point the thrill is gone and I’m mostly watching for more Aaravos.

[BetterButter]

 

[kickingnames]

So is the title just permanently “The Mystery of Aavaros” now? I didn't realize the Dragon Prince story was being completely taken over by the villain. I haven’t watched since season 4 because I was waiting for the focus to get back to the characters I cared about from the earlier seasons.

Has anyone watched season 6?

[MissLucas]

The story has not been taken over by the villain. There are several plot lines within season 6 dealing with stuff that has been lingering for quite a while now. I wasn't a big fan of seasons 4 and 5 - too much stalling, too many side plots - but this season really picked up the pace and focused on the main story lines and main characters again. 

[Maelstrom]

Finally, a decent season! The past two were massively disappointing to me, but this season felt like it actually was the same show I enjoyed so much at the beginning. There was less stupidity driving the story (it wasn’t completely absent, but still a big improvement) and a lot less time wasted on stupid humor and filler. We got some much-needed plot movement and character development, and finally learned some crucial backstories that put a lot of different aspects of the show in a new perspective.

Speaking of, we finally get Aaravos’ backstory after six seasons! It certainly casts his actions in a new light, and it’s impossible not to feel sympathy for him. I can’t help but feeling the other Startouch elves created this gigantic problem for themselves, by giving someone as powerful as Aaravos a reason to hate them. But Terry did make a good point, that what started as love became revenge and hatred. It’s a complex story for certain, refreshingly so.

Viren’s redemption arc was so well-handled, and I’ve been wanting scenes between him and Soren since the end of season 3, so I really enjoyed their storyline. It’s completely understandable Soren would hesitate to believe a word Viren says, considering how many years of emotional abuse he endured, and especially since even when Viren is being totally honest he still sounds like he’s trying to sell you something, lol. Hopefully in time Soren can realize that Viren’s regrets, however poorly expressed, were genuine.

The story thread about truth can give clarity or a burden was a fascinating one as well, and an interesting way to tie together Callum’s journey with Viren’s redemption. And thank goodness Viren had the self-awareness not to give that letter to Soren, who is, let’s face it, a teddy bear in human form.

Claudia’s reaction when Viren left definitely held shades of Azula, IMO, poor troubled young women that they are (though unlike Ozai, Viren at least seems to finally recognize he’s been a spectacularly shitty father, so points to him for that). Claudia and Terry as a pairing continue to hold zero interest for me, considering I still have no idea how a Xadian can love a dark mage who continually does some increasingly nasty dark magic. Yes, I've said this for the past three seasons, but it’s a huge sticking point for me. How did they even fall for each other in the first place? And why should I even care?

Yay, Runaan! I’m so happy to finally see him freed. Looking forward to more interactions between him and Rayla, and it will definitely be interesting to see how he handles the new world of Xadians and humans living side by side. Also loved seeing the Moon Nexus again, considering I really wish I could live there. (Seriously, I want to.)

Other things I enjoyed:

• Learning about Callum’s bio dad
• Soren and Corvus’ buddy road trip (there will be hugs, Corvus, just accept it)
• The oh-so-subtle frozen “Rayllum” ship giving me serious Firebender-ship-stuck-in-the-ice vibes

Ezran’s girlish voice continues to jar, although partway through the season it almost sounded like either the VA tried to deepen her voice or it was tweaked in post. Either way, it helped, but I still feel they should have recast after season 3.

Was I the only one who thought of Miyazaki's kodamas when the little mushroom spirits appeared?

Actually looking forward to season 7 now, which I saw premieres in December. Woo hoo!

Edited August 19 by Maelstrom

[RedRockRosie]

I agree with Maelstrom's post but have to comment too, about Ezran's too "young/girlish" sounding voice.

For some reason I can't really take the character too seriously as a king & ruler when his voice doesn't fit him anymore. I think it would also make sense with the time jump for Ezran to have a more mature voice.

[tennisgurl]

That was absolutely an improvement on the last few seasons, it felt so much more consistent and much more focused. I thought last season was already pretty good, but I think this one was even better. There were a lot of plots and characters all doing different things in different places, but they all had actual relevance to the main plot and they all came together by the end. I also thought the tone was much improved, there were certainly a lot of funny scenes and comedic beats, but the show seemed to remember when to keep things serious versus when to throw in a joke. Even Sora, who was downgraded to comedic relief last season, got some good dramatic material. 

I liked getting more backstory about various characters that added a lot more context to their actions, especially Viren and Aaravos. You can see how Viren was a good man who, through desperation, went down a dark path that led him to hurt the people closest to him, and its hard not to feel bad for Aaravos after seeing what happened to his daughter. The Startouch elves really screwed everyone over with their cruelty. 

I'm excited to see where things go next, I hope they keep this up.

Edited August 23 by tennisgurl