Sunday, February 21, 2021

Netflix Retrospective - The Dragon Prince Book 1 Chapters 4-6

 Let’s continue our look at The Dragon Prince, and see how things progress.


Bloodthirsty

Wow, that’s an ominous title.

Whilst Callum and Ezran sleep, Rayla tries to remove the binding on her other wrist, the one vowing to kill Ezran but to no avail. The bells toll as a precession brings the body of King Harrow for others to pay their respects. It’s a bit soon, as usually a full week would pass before this funeral would take place but Viren believes they’re at war, and they have no choice but to rush.

Viren leads the funeral speech but when the question is raised as to where the princes are, he tells the crowd that they’re dead in the usual fear-mongering speech to prepare for war with Xadia. He tells the populace to mourn seven-fold today as a coronation will take tonight.

Rayla gives Callum a quick lesson in primal energy sources, it’s basically the same stuff we got in the opening exposition dump. But the lesson has a plot-forwarding purpose. Rayla draws the symbols of the 6 sources and strikes a chord with Callum, he saw them at the Banther Lodge, he believes something there may be magical and thus helpful.

Rayla is uneasy about going for various, mostly understandable reasons but Callum explains that magic is the first thing (I guess aside from artwork) he’s ever really been good at. Rayla eventually acquiesces and you can probably tell this is going to turn out to a bad idea. Rayla sneaks into the lodge through a conveniently open window, whilst Callum notices how odd it is that no-one’s around given that they were to be sent here.

We’re introduced to General Amaya, the boy’s aunt. She’s mute and uses sign language, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a major recurring character, live action or animated. Her Lieutenant Gren serves as her interpreter for those who don’t understand sign language. Amaya notices the open window and proceeds into the lodge, despite Callum’s attempts to stall her. Callum does manage to shout a warning loud enough for Rayla to hear, she’s up in the rafters.

King Harrow summoned Amaya to the lodge, wanting her to protect the boys. Ezran wants to try explaining the truth but Callum is more cynical, believing they shouldn’t have come here. Rayla enters the lodge and sneaks into the games room where Callum says he found the cube. Quick question, Rayla knows the boys are in the house, why not just let them get it? Amaya finds her and the two fight, Amaya wins the fight but is interrupted by Gren who says the boys have disappeared. She knocks Rayla out and ties her up in the basement. She has two guards keep an eye on her whilst she goes looking for the princes.

Speaking of, they’re lowering Bait through a dumb waiter, Ezran’s plan to help Rayla escape. Bait uses the same flash bang he used against Rayla before to stun the guards who attack wildly and cut the ropes, allowing her to escape. Unfortunately, upon escaping the trio attract the attention of the guards. And soon they’re surrounded. Yeah, now’s the time for the truth to come out, it’s your only hope now.

Instead, Callum uses their preconceptions about Elves against them, Rayla eventually catches on and pretends to use them as a hostage. They get away by boat and not wanting to attract all the attention, Amaya sends a tracker, Corvus to pursue them quietly and free them if there’s an opportunity.

Rayla is understandably a bit hurt with what Callum did to aid their escape. She believes the cube is only a children’s toy but the sky symbol glows when next to the Primal Stone. Back in Katolis, with no living heirs, Viren is ready to be crowned king of Katolis because that’s totally how that works. This decision is controversial among the people but even more so when Amaya arrives and tells everyone that the princes are still alive.

The show is taking a slow-burn approach with Viren as an antagonist, that’s supposed to grow over many seasons, I know the show would’ve been ordered for more than one season, because the animation cycle would make it a length process but it’s a little jarring with such a short season.

Rating 8/10

An Empty Throne

We see a shadowy lord Viren doing something using the magic of a butterfly. Lord Viren enters the thrown room and finds Amaya and Gren waiting for him, wanting a word. Rayla attempts to use her swords to remove the bind on her wrist to no avail. Callum calls for help, he tried to create a lightning spell, he knows the symbol to create it but not the word to release it, so his hand is just a lightning rod.

It resolves itself with minimal effort but demonstrates that Callum still has a fair bit to learn. Rayla wants to take the next stretch on foot, but Callum argues the boat is faster and heading in the right direction. Callum believes it’s because she’s scared of water, and he’s right but not wanting to let on, she agrees to take the boat.

Back in Katolis, Amaya and Viren clash. Viren suspects he wants the crown for his own reasons, and doesn’t want to find the children. Meanwhile, Viren argues that if they’re in the grasp of a Moonshadow elf, they’re most likely dead anyway. Both legitimate sides to the battle and I do like how they’re developing Viren. He isn’t just another evil villain, though don’t worry, one of those is coming, but his motivations are nuanced.

Amaya insists the throne stays empty until they find the children, which Viren is none-to-pleased about as he believes an empty throne represents weakness in a time of impending war. We get a cute little bit of origin for Bait that I’ll bring up when it’s important. Amaya goes to the funeral site to pay her respects to her sister, Sarai, the former Queen, Viren later joins him.

The boat heads into white water whilst the kids are taken along for a ride. Rayla finally admits she hates the water. Viren appears to have a change of heart, though Amaya is sceptical. Amaya is going to depart at sundown with a search part but Viren argues that her forces are necessary to protect the border. He insists that she return whilst he sends a search party, lead by Claudia and Soren. Amaya agrees in principle, but insists that Gren stay behind and the lead the search himself.

Bait is called Bait because fisherman use his species as bait for giant fish, which is why him being in the water is a bad idea. And unfortunately, that’s exactly where he ends up after their white-water trip. They get him out but they notice the ocean rune on the cube glow as a giant sea monster attacks them. Rayla is knocked onto land but Callum, Ezran and Bait are in the water.

Bait is in danger from the monster but as Callum and Ezran can’t hear her warnings, she has to go it alone. She does so and as the others reach land, Callum uses the lightning spell and conducts it through the water to kill the monster, and likely every fish for several miles around but what can you do.

Rayla warns some of her guards not to trust Lord Viren, or let him know about Corvus. But just as she leaves, he tells Gren he’s off the mission and to meet him at 9 in private if he wants to challenge him on that. Gren is dumb enough to fall for that. As for Rayla’s parentage, she said they were dead but as we find out that’s not true at all. They were in fact guards of the dragon egg, that Viren managed to steal, they deserted their post and she views them as cowards, a great insult to her lineage. By doing this he seeks redemption.

Gren Is now chained up in the dungeon and we see the other elf from before, with a sizable bruise on his arm where his wristband is.

I keep harping on about pace. And it’s really the length of the season that’s working against it. Avatar: The Last Airbender did more standalone adventures to build the world, but had the time to carefully craft it’s story over 20 episodes. Over 9, this show feels slow-going, even if the episode itself is not in and of itself bad.

Rating 8/10

Through the Ice

We open with a crew sleeping, with Rayla grasping her wrist, now showing notable bruising. She sees something, but it seems like it was just a deer. Turns out though that Corvus had set a trap, though Rayla easily escapes and the two fight. Callum knows that she isn’t telling them everything, though frankly I’d be surprised if he didn’t know what had happened and wasn’t keeping quiet to protect Ezran at this point.

Rayla wins the fight, and insists the trio get moving. Soren goes to sees his father. Viren tells him that he is to return with the news that the princes have perished. Rayla isn’t happy with the idea of travelling well-trodden ground, especially with the risk of bumping into people. She guides the others toward harder terrain, which is especially hard on Ezran, who is carrying the dragon egg, which is pretty heavy for the kid.

Viren believes that they need a forceful leader to lead their forces against Xadia and reclaim their land, with a child kind, choice that he consider weak might be lead, leading to the reverse happening. Couldn’t he just play regent, the king’s under-age? Anyway, he tells Soren to arrange for an ‘accident’ to befall them should the kids be found alive. This mission is for him alone.

Thanks to the rush, Callum doesn’t have their food and Bait has taken all of Rayla’s. Back at Katolis, Claudia tries to use a spell against a magic mirror Soren took from the Dragon King’s Lair. It doesn’t work. Claudia is tasked with recovering the dragon egg at all costs, even if the cost is Soren’s life

Back with the Princes, they get caught in an avalanche that leads them right down the mountain towards a frozen lake. Thanks to Callum’s wind spell they survive but they egg is swept out of its carry bag onto the lake. Ezran grabs but the ice begins to crack.

Soren is drowning his sorrows in jelly-tarts. Claudia tries to console him but neither want to tell the other what Viren said to them. Callum heads onto the ice to fetch the egg, ignoring the fact that Rayla is lighter on her feet and would be less likely to break the ice. He eventually admits that he does trust he, and prepares to hand over the egg to her but she backs off, saying she doesn’t deserve that trust without the truth.

She tells them about being attacked this morning, and about the binding which will get tighter and tighter so long as Prince Ezran stays alive. Eventually, she’s lose her hand, which is price she’s willing to pay for peace. Before she can reveal Harrow’s death, the ice becomes further destabilised and time becomes of the essence. When Callum gives her the egg, she can’t hold onto it and drops it into the lake. Ezran dives in after it, Rayla stopping Callum from coming so he can pull him out (since she can’t) it’s a tense moment but worse is yet to come, though they make it out, the egg doesn’t come out unscathed, something is wrong.

I harp about the same point, but it’s the only glaring issue (frame-rate notwithstanding) the main story is decent, the characters are all getting development and there’s some tense action

Rating 8/10

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