The Dragon Prince
The Dragon Prince is an American fantasy computer-animated streaming television series created for Netflix by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond,[1][2] produced by Wonderstorm and animated by Bardel Entertainment. The series follows the story of the prince half-brothers Callum and Ezran and the elf Rayla, who, as they take care of the infant dragon prince Azymondias, must end the thousand-year-old conflict between the human kingdoms and the magical creatures of the land of Xadia.
| The Dragon Prince | |
|---|---|
 Season 1 promotional teaser poster | |
| Genre | |
| Created by |
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| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Composer | Frederik Wiedmann |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 24–33 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Distributor | Netflix (North America) PGS Entertainment (International) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080p |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | September 14, 2018 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
The first season premiered on September 14, 2018. Two more seasons have since been released. The series has been renewed for four additional seasons,[3] each with nine episodes.[4] A video game set in the same world as the series is in development.[5]
Setting and synopsis
The series is set in a fantasy world on the continent of Xadia, which is rich in magic derived from six primal elements: the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the Sky, and the Ocean. Centuries ago, the dragons, elves, and humans of Xadia lived in peace. However, the humans, being unable to utilize magic naturally, began to use dark magic, which is fueled by the life essence of magical creatures.[6] As a consequence, they were driven away to the west, and the continent was split in two by a massive river of lava.
1000 years later, the human King Harrow of Katolis and his advisor, the dark mage Viren, have killed the dragon king, Avizandum, and supposedly destroyed his heir's egg. In retaliation, elf assassins attempt to kill Harrow and his son, Ezran. Ezran, his half-brother Callum, and the young elf assassin Rayla discover that the egg was not destroyed; they undertake a dangerous mission to return the egg to Xadia. Viren seizes power after Harrow's assassination and sends his children Claudia and Soren to kill the princes and recover the egg. At the end of the first season, the egg hatches into the Dragon Prince, Azymondias, nicknamed Zym.
In the second season, Viren attempts to rally the other human kingdoms to war against Xadia; he also makes a secret alliance with the mysterious, imprisoned elf mage Aaravos, with whom he communicates through a magic mirror and a caterpillar-like creature. Meanwhile, Callum becomes the first human to directly access primal magic, connecting with the Sky Arcanum. By the end of Season 2, Viren is imprisoned for treason for having illicitly used Harrow's seal, and for abusing his powers of dark magic. Ezran learns of his father's death and returns to Katolis to claim the throne.
In the third season, Ezran is manipulated into abdicating the throne amid pressure for war and rejoins Callum and Rayla to return Zym to his dying mother at her home, the Storm Spire. Viren, restored to power, leads the human armies against Xadia, amassing even more dark magic with the help of Aaravos. Soren defects to resist his father's evil goals. Viren's army is defeated by the elves and their allies. Rayla throws herself and Viren from the summit of the Spire, and Callum uses Sky magic to save Rayla. Zym is returned to his mother. Claudia revives Viren using dark magic, and Aaravos's caterpillar enters metamorphosis.
Voice cast and characters
Main characters
- Callum (Jack DeSena), Ezran's 14-year-old elder half-brother[7] and King Harrow's stepson. In the course of the series, he becomes the first human ever to wield primal magic on his own and begins a relationship with Rayla.
- Rayla (Paula Burrows), a prodigy 15-year-old Moonshadow Elf assassin who sides with Callum and Ezran in order to deliver the Dragon Prince back to his mother. In time, she and Callum begin a romantic relationship.
- Ezran (Sasha Rojen), the 10-year-old son of King Harrow and Callum's younger half-brother who has the ability to speak with animals. Ezran starts as the crown prince but becomes king of Katolis by the start of the third season.
Humans
- Viren (Jason Simpson), King Harrow's advisor, and one of the series' primary antagonists. A practitioner of dark magic, he seeks the advancement of the human race by any means necessary.
- Claudia (Racquel Belmonte), 16-year-old daughter of Viren, a talented dark mage.
- Soren (Jesse Inocalla), 18-year-old son of Viren, a boastful and immature, but skillful and good-hearted soldier.
- King Harrow of Katolis (Luc Roderique), Ezran's father and Callum's stepfather.
- Queen Sarai of Katolis (Kazumi Evans), Ezran and Callum's mother who was killed by Avizandum nine years before the series' beginning.
- General Amaya, the deaf maternal aunt of Callum and Ezran who communicates in sign language,[8] and commander of a Katolian outpost at the Breach.
- Commander Gren (Adrian Petriw), Amaya's deputy and interpreter.
- Corvus (Omari Newton), one of Amaya's scouts and Ezran's bodyguard.
- Ellis (Nahanni Mitchell), a young mountain girl.
- Opeli (Paula Burrows[9]), High Cleric of Katolis[10]:57 and a prominent member of the High Council who opposes Viren.
- Queen Aanya (Zelda Ehasz), the juvenile ruler of Duren who is wise beyond her years.
- Captain Villads (Peter Kelamis), a blind and eccentric ex-pirate.
- Prince Kasef of Neolandia (Vincent Tong), who took the throne after his father was gravely injured by Viren's shadow assassins, and who calls for war against Xadia.
- Saleer (Jonathan Holmes), a Katolian councilman who turns against Ezran.
- Barius[10]:47 (Jason Simpson), the baker of Katolis' royal court, who is very fond of Ezran despite the young prince having stolen a lot of his jelly tarts in the past.
- Crow Master (Cole Howard), the deputy of the ever-absent Crow Lord, the chief caretaker of the Katolian court's messenger crows.
- Ziard (Brian Drummond), the first human to use dark magic before humankind's exile to the western parts of Xadia. He was killed in battle with Sol Regem when he refused to relinquish his new-found power.[11]
Elves
- Aaravos (Erik Todd Dellums), a Startouch Elf[6] and one of the primary antagonists of the series. He is a master of both primal and dark magic who is using Viren to accomplish his own goals.
- Runaan (Jonathan Holmes), the leader of the Moonshadow Elf assassins sent to kill King Harrow, and Rayla's surrogate father.
- Ethari (Vincent Gale), Runaan's husband and Raylas guardian.
- Lujanne (Ellie King), a Moonshadow Elf illusionist who lives in the human realms near a focal area for primal moon magic and created a collar for Ava to make it seem like she had four leggs.
- Janai (Rena Anakwe), a Sunfire Elf warrior and the younger sister of their Queen Khessa (Brenda Crichlow). Also known as the Golden Knight of Lux Aurea, the capital of the Sunfire Elves.
- Nyx (Rhona Rees), full name being "Naimi-Selari-Nykantia", is an avaricious Skywing Elf, one of the few of her kind gifted with functional wings. She wishes to profit from any chance she gets, including stealing Zym from Callum and Rayla for a reward from his mother.[12]
- Ibis (Ian James Corlett), a Skywing Elf mage.
- Lain and Tiadrin[13] (Tyrone Savage and Ely Jackson), Rayla's parents, were the Moonshadow elf part of the Elven Dragonguard to Avizandum and Zubeia. For a long time, Rayla believed that they abandoned their duty when Avizandum was killed by Viren, making her feel ashamed of them, until Callum discovers the truth that they aided in saving the egg from being destroyed by Viren.
Animals and magical beasts
- Azymondias ("Zym") (vocalized by Jack De Sena[9]), an infant sky dragon and the titular Dragon Prince.
- Bait (vocalized by Jack De Sena[9]), Ezran's grumpy pet Glow Toad.
- Avizandum (Chris Metzen), the late King of the Dragons, archdragon of the sky, and Azymondias' father. He was referred to by the humans as "Thunder".
- Zubeia (Nicole Oliver), the Queen of the Dragons, archdragon of the sky, and Azymondias' mother.
- Sol Regem (Adrian Hough), the former King of the Dragons, archdragon of the sun, who hates humans and was blinded by Ziard. He is the guardian of the Breach since Avizandum's demise.
- Ava, Ellis' three-legged wolf friend.
- Pip, King Harrow's pet bird of prey.
- Phoe-Phoe, Lujanne's Moon Phoenix companion.
- Berto (Paula Burrows[9]), Villads' parrot first mate.
- Pyrrah, a female red-scaled Sun Dragon.
Production
Development
The series was first announced on July 10, 2018.[14] It was co-created by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond.[14] Ehasz was the head writer and co-executive producer of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and a longtime writer and story editor for Futurama, while Richmond co-directed the video game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.[15] Giancarlo Volpe, a former director for Avatar, is an executive producer.[15]
The Dragon Prince is produced by Wonderstorm, a multimedia production studio co-founded in 2017, by Ehasz, Richmond, and Justin Santistevan to work both on The Dragon Prince and a related video game,[15][16] and animated by Canadian studio Bardel Entertainment. In November 2019, several female former employees of Riot Games and Wonderstorm accused Ehasz of asking his female employees to take care of his children without permission and not taking women's creative ideas seriously.[17] Although one anonymous accuser speculated that this could affect the show's continuation,[18] Netflix renewed the show and all 7 seasons of the saga will be produced.[19]
Style
The Dragon Prince is created using three-dimensional computer animation. A reduced frame rate was applied to the first season to offset "floatiness";[20] the frame rate was adjusted for the second season in response to fan feedback.[21] Backgrounds are done by a mix of 3D-modeling and hand-painting.[22]
Writing
The ending of season 2 was changed from the original plan in order to stay true to what the characters would choose.[23] According to Ehasz, one of the creative team's fundamental goals regarding The Dragon Prince is "to portray a fantasy world that feels more diverse and representative than fantasy worlds and stories we’ve seen in the past."[23]
Release
The Dragon Prince is available on the streaming service Netflix, in all territories where the streaming service is available.[24] The first season was released on September 14, 2018.[2] Episodes were released simultaneously, as opposed to a serialized format, to encourage binge-watching, a format which has been successful for other Netflix original series.[25]
A trailer was released in July 2018 at the San Diego Comic-Con.[2] The first season premiered in September 2018. A second season, announced in October 2018,[26] was released on February 15, 2019.[27] The third season was released on November 22, 2019. At the virtual ComicCon@Home 2020 panel "Zoom into Xadia", the continuation of the show over four more seasons was announced.[28]
LGBTQ representation
The Dragon Prince was another Netflix show that pushed forward representation. In late November 2019, the official Twitter account for The Dragon Prince revealed that Kazi was genderqueer and used they/them pronouns.[29][30] Later that month, the third season began streaming on Netflix. In that season it is revealed that Runaan, the leader of the assassins and father figure to Rayla,[31] is married to a male elf named Ethari.[32]
Episodes
| Book | Name | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moon | 9 | September 14, 2018 | |||
| 2 | Sky | 9 | February 15, 2019 | |||
| 3 | Sun | 9 | November 22, 2019 | |||
Book One: Moon (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Echoes of Thunder" | Giancarlo Volpe | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | September 14, 2018 | |
| A prologue explains the setting: Long ago, humans used dark magic and were driven off by dragons and elves. Now, humans have killed the dragon king and his egg, and war is imminent. Elven assassins assemble to kill the human king Harrow and his heir Ezran. The youngest among them, Rayla, is disavowed after she shows mercy to a guard. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "What Is Done" | Giancarlo Volpe | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | September 14, 2018 | |
| Harrow rejects his advisor Viren's plan to foil the assassins by swapping the king's soul into another body. Rayla infiltrates the castle on her own, intent on killing Harrow and Ezran, but relents after Ezran shows her the dragon king's egg, which was believed to be destroyed. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Moonrise" | Giancarlo Volpe | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | September 14, 2018 | |
| Rayla, Ezran and his half-brother Callum decide to return the egg to the dragons to prevent war, but they can convince neither Viren's daughter, the mage Claudia, nor the leader of the assassins, Runaan, of their plan. They are forced to flee with the egg as the other assassins begin their assault. The assassins are defeated, and Runaan is captured, but not before they kill King Harrow. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Bloodthirsty" | Villads Spangsberg | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | September 14, 2018 | |
| King Harrow is cremated and Viren, appointing himself Lord Protector, declares war on the elves. Callum develops his magic talents, using a rare primal stone of sky magic that he stole from Claudia. The three fugitives arrive at the royal winter lodge, where General Amaya, Ezran and Callum's aunt, catches up with them. Rayla's presence incites conflict, and the three flee again. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "An Empty Throne" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | September 14, 2018 | |
| The fugitives continue their journey to the elven lands. Beset by a river monster, Callum electrocutes it with magic. Rayla admits she's trying to redeem her parents, who fled instead of protecting the dragon king. Amaya refuses to let Viren assume the throne, but after she leaves for the border garrison, Viren imprisons her deputy Gren. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Through the Ice" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | September 14, 2018 | |
| Rayla fights off Corvus, one of Amaya's trackers searching for the boys. As the fugitives cross the mountains, she reveals that her ritual assassin's armband will eventually cut off her hand if Ezran doesn't die. The egg falls into icy water and loses its luster. Viren orders his son Soren to find and kill the princes, so that Viren can seize the throne. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Dagger and the Wolf" | Villads Spangsberg | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | September 14, 2018 | |
| Disguised as a human, Rayla tries to cut off her armband with a human's magic blade, but fails. The boys seek help for the egg, and the young girl Ellis tells them of a healer who saved Ellis's wolf companion Ava. Soren and Claudia set out to find the princes. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Cursed Caldera" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | September 14, 2018 | |
| Chased out of town, the fugitives and Ellis seek out the healer atop the Cursed Caldera. A monster leech chases them up a rock, but working together, they manage to defeat it. Viren fails to extract information about his magic mirror from the captive Runaan, and traps him in a coin with dark magic. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Wonderstorm" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | September 14, 2018 | |
| The fugitives are set upon by a giant spider, but Ezran recognizes it as an illusion. The "healer" is revealed as Lujanne, an elven illusionist. Callum sacrifices his primal stone to save the egg by hatching it. The baby dragon Azymondias ("Zym") emerges, chewing off Rayla's constricting armband. Using magic, Claudia and Soren locate the fugitives' position. | ||||||
Book Two: Sky (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "A Secret and a Spark" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | February 15, 2019 | |
| The High Council opposes Viren's intention to call on the Pentarchy, a summit of all five human kingdoms. He steals the king's seal in order to be able to do so. Rayla, Callum, Ezran and Ellis recuperate with Lujanne. She shows Callum the place of power of the Moonshadow elves, the Moon Nexus, and tells him that, as a human, he can't do magic without a primal stone. Zym tries and fails to fly. On patrol, Rayla is ambushed by Claudia and Soren. | ||||||
| 11 | 2 | "Half Moon Lies" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | February 15, 2019 | |
| Viren interrogates his magic mirror but learns nothing. Callum stops the fight between Rayla and Soren. Claudia and Soren attempt to persuade the princes to return with them. On Viren's orders, Soren attempts to engineer an "accident" for Ezran but fails because of Rayla. Callum, though seized by his crush on Claudia, rejects her offer to learn dark magic. On a moonlit date, they almost kiss until Claudia reveals that Harrow has died. | ||||||
| 12 | 3 | "Smoke and Mirrors" | Villads Spangsberg | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | February 15, 2019 | |
| Viren views a mysterious elf's room through his mirror. Callum can't bring himself to tell Ezran that his father is dead. Claudia gives Callum a sealed letter from Harrow. She and Soren join the fugitives on their mission, but turn on them and attack. An intervention by Amaya's scout Corvus allows them to escape on Lujanne's phoenix Phoe-Phoe, albeit without Ellis. | ||||||
| 13 | 4 | "Voyage of the Ruthless" | Villads Spangsberg | Neil Mukhopadbyay | February 15, 2019 | |
| Amaya leads a patrol across the border, barely escaping a trap set by Sunfire Elves. The mysterious elf in the mirror notices Viren, and shows him a magical ritual; With their phoenix out of magic, the fugitives embark on an ocean crossing on the blind Captain Villads's ship. Viren does not finish the ritual, saying he needs time to think; Callum attempts to reconnect to sky magic, and Zym is struck by lightning. | ||||||
| 14 | 5 | "Breaking the Seal" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | February 15, 2019 | |
| At the summit, Viren asks for a military alliance against the elves. To convince young Queen Aanya of Duren to agree and convince the other, half-undecided kingdoms, Viren recounts how Harrow strove to be a just king. He helped Duren in a famine, even though his own people had no food to spare. To allow Viren's dark magic to feed both kingdoms, Harrow undertook a quest to slay a Xadian magma titan. | ||||||
| 15 | 6 | "Heart of a Titan" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | February 15, 2019 | |
| Viren continues to recount how he, Harrow, Harrow's wife Sarai, Amaya, and Duren's queens – Aanya's mothers – defeated the Titan. But the Dragon King caught up with them, and the three queens and mothers sacrificed themselves to cover the retreat and save Viren. Nonetheless, Aanya rejects Viren's request for military help. Callum reads Harrow's last letter, in which he implores Callum to read history as a narrative of love instead of strength, and informs him about the magical relic he carries: the Key of Aaravos, ancient elven grandmaster of all magic. | ||||||
| 16 | 7 | "Fire and Fury" | Villads Spangsberg | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | February 15, 2019 | |
| Claudia, Soren and the captive Corvus arrive at a town. Soren provokes a dragon into attacking the settlement, but Claudia's magic drives her off. Nearby, Ezran, Callum and Rayla watch the humans chaining up the wounded dragon. Rayla intervenes and, aided by Callum using dark magic, helps the dragon escape. | ||||||
| 17 | 8 | "The Book of Destiny" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | February 15, 2019 | |
| Corvus catches up to the fugitives, hailing Ezran as king who realizes Harrow is dead. Traumatized from his use of dark magic, Callum is seized by fever dreams. The elf in the mirror reveals himself to Viren as Aaravos. | ||||||
| 18 | 9 | "Breathe" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | February 15, 2019 | |
| Ezran joins Claudia in town, revealing that he can talk to animals, helps her get a cure for Soren, and decides to assume his responsibility as king in Katolis. A vision of his mother helps Callum connect to the sky arcanum, one of the six sources of primal magic. The council has Viren arrested, but not before – with Aaravos's help – he creates shadow creatures to scare the other kingdoms into an alliance. Rayla, Callum and Zym continue their trek into Xadia, but encounter an obstacle in the ancient dragon Sol Regem. | ||||||
Book Three: Sun (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 1 | "Sol Regem" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | November 22, 2019 | |
| Long ago, Sol Regem, ex-King of the Dragons, killed Ziard, the first human to use dark magic, when the latter refused to abandon the practice; Sol Regem was blinded in the fight. In the present, unable to persuade Sol Regem to let them pass, Callum and Rayla manage to outwit him. While destroying the only accessway across the Breach, Amaya is captured by the Sunfire Elves after saving the life of Janai, their leader. Ezran returns home and assumes the throne of Katolis. | ||||||
| 20 | 2 | "The Crown" | Villads Spangsberg | Neil Mukhopadbyay | November 22, 2019 | |
| Ezran faces the first challenges of his new reign as the other kingdoms, led by Prince Kasef of Neolandia, call for war against Xadia after the attacks of Viren's shadow assassins have resulted in deaths and injuries of important people. Claudia and Soren are arrested as traitors upon arriving home. Despite his youth and inexperience, Ezran decides to bear the burden of kingship, refuses to go to war, and pardons Claudia and Soren. | ||||||
| 21 | 3 | "Ghost" | Villads Spangsberg | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | November 22, 2019 | |
| Rayla takes Callum to her home village, only to discover that she has been made a "ghost", a magically cursed outcast, for abandoning her mission of assassination. They manage to make contact with Ethari, Runaan's husband, who aids them in their efforts to reach Zubeia, Zym's mother. After Ezran reveals to his court that Zym has survived, Councilman Saleer conspires with Prince Kasef. Claudia and Soren confront their father about his order for Soren to kill the princes (which Viren denies having given, at Aaravos's advice). Janai persuades her sister, Queen Khessa of the Sunfire Elves, not to execute Amaya. | ||||||
| 22 | 4 | "The Midnight Desert" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | November 22, 2019 | |
| Ethari's message to Zubeia is intercepted by the roguish Skywing Elf Nyx, who then offers to guide Rayla and Callum through the Midnight Desert, only to steal Zym when the two have an intimate moment. Aaravos enables Viren to make visual contact with him. Kasef and Saleer manipulate Ezran into abdicating and surrendering himself in order to spare his subjects from a war with Neolandia, and Viren is released. | ||||||
| 23 | 5 | "Heroes and Masterminds" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | November 22, 2019 | |
| Viren crowns himself King of Katolis, but Opeli, Corvus, Barius and part of the army desert rather than participate in his war against Xadia. Soren helps Ezran and other loyalists escape the castle, and with Lujanne's assistance they send Ezran back to Xadia. Callum and Rayla catch up with Nyx, retrieve Zym from her, and finally confess their growing feelings for each other. | ||||||
| 24 | 6 | "Thunderfall" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | November 22, 2019 | |
| Viren leads the human kingdoms to war against Xadia. During the march, Viren tells Aaravos how he and King Harrow slew the dragon king Avizandum, in revenge for Sarai's death, by turning him to stone with a cursed spear; in turn, Aaravos reveals that he was imprisoned by Avizandum. Ezran rejoins Callum and Rayla at the foot of the Storm Spire, the Dragon King's lair and the Sky nexus. | ||||||
| 25 | 7 | "Hearts of Cinder" | Villads Spangsberg | Neil Mukhopadbyay | November 22, 2019 | |
| Aaravos persuades Viren to infiltrate the Sunfire Elf court as a prisoner, allowing him to drain their power focus, the Sunforge, and kill the Sunfire Queen. Viren then infuses the human armies with that power, turning them into inhuman hulks; frightened by the changes in his father, Soren abandons him. Ezran's group reaches the peak of the Storm Spire, where they meet Zubeia's guardian, the Skywing Elf Ibis. | ||||||
| 26 | 8 | "Dragonguard" | Villads Spangsberg | Devon Giehl & Iain Hendry | November 22, 2019 | |
| Zubeia has gone comatose in her grief over losing her mate and her son. Soren travels to the Storm Spire and warns Callum's group about Viren's invasion. Ibis urges Callum to leave and keep Zym safe, but Rayla decides to stay and protect the Dragon Queen as an act of redemption for her parents. Using moon magic, Callum learns that Rayla's parents actually stayed and fought until overpowered, and convinced Viren not to destroy Zym's egg, thus saving the Dragon Prince. Joined by Amaya, Janai and the remnants of the Sunfire Elves' army, the friends prepare to make their stand against Viren. | ||||||
| 27 | 9 | "The Final Battle" | Villads Spangsberg | Aaron Ehasz & Justin Richmond | November 22, 2019 | |
| Viren's army arrives at the Storm Spire, where elves, humans and dragons unite to oppose him. The army of Duren arrives and joins on Xadia's side, turning the tide of the battle. Viren uses the distraction to slip into the Dragon King's lair and drain Zym's essence; to save him, Rayla throws herself and Viren off the pinnacle. Callum leaps after them, developing the ability to fly and saving Rayla, while Viren falls to his death. Zubeia reawakens and rejoices in seeing her son alive and elves and humans united in friendship. However, Viren is resurrected by Claudia, and Aaravos has built a cocoon to metamorphose into something else. | ||||||
Reception
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of 11 critics gave the first season a positive review; the average rating is 8.2 out of 10.[33] 100% of six critics gave the second season a positive review; the average rating is 8.57 out of 10.[34] 100% of five critics gave the third season a positive review; the average rating is 9 out of 10.[35]
In an advance review of the first episode, IGN's Aaron Prune praised the series for "comfortably exploring dark story elements while giving audiences an assortment of lovable characters to engage with" and described it as a "worthwhile animated series for audiences of all ages."[36] Reviewing the first three episodes, Alex Barasch of Slate was also positive towards the series, saying that despite the "slightly shaky animation and some markedly shakier accents", fans of fantasy or Avatar: The Last Airbender will like it. Barasch especially praised the show's inclusivity—such as King Harrow and Ezran, who are both black—and Harrow's relationship with Viren, which he described as "most compelling aspects of the show".[37] Also reviewing the first three episodes, Gavia Baker-Whitelaw of The Daily Dot similarly reacted positively to the show's racial inclusion, writing that it "combines goofy humor with a solid basis for longterm storytelling and character development, the character designs show a deep affection for the genre". However, she criticized Rayla's accent as "the worst part of the show", along with the scarcity of female characters.[38]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Animated Series | Delna Bhesania, Tina Chow, Aaron Ehasz, Richard Grieve, Clint Kisker, Justin Richmond, Justin Santistevan, Giancarlo Volpe | Won[39] |
| Outstanding Music Direction and Composition | Frederik Wiedmann | Nominated[39] |
In other media
Video game
Concurrently with the series, Wonderstorm is developing a video game based on the series and expanding on its plot. The game will be a combat-based multiplayer game, but not an MMO. Players will be able to play as characters from the series. No information about supported platforms or release dates has been made available.[5]
Printed media
- A trade paperback book by Tracey West, titled Callum's Spellbook, was published by Scholastic on March 3, 2020.[40]
- A novelization of the first season, written by Aaron and Melanie McGanney Ehasz, was published on June 2, 2020.[40]
- The publication of a graphic novel following up on the end of the third season, titled The Dragon Prince: Through the Moon, was released on October 6, 2020.[40] It deals with a plot in which Rayla descends into the spirit world in order to find out what happened to Runaan and her parents.
- A tabletop role-playing game has been announced, and will be titled Tales of Xadia. It will feature story information bridging the gap between seasons 3 and 4.[41]
References
- "Justin Richmond". IMDB. 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- Patches, Matt; Haasch, Palmer (July 21, 2018). "Avatar: The Last Airbender team's new Netflix show The Dragon Prince drops first trailer". Polygon. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- The Dragon Prince Renewed for Four More Seasons, Will Finish Saga on Netflix - IGN, retrieved July 24, 2020
- Freeman, Molly (July 25, 2020). "Dragon Prince Renewed For FOUR More Seasons At Netflix". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- Clark, Nicole; Zaragoza, Alex (January 17, 2019). "Get Hyped for the Upcoming 'Dragon Prince' Game". Vice. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- Radulovic, Petrana (February 15, 2019). "The end of The Dragon Prince season 2 forces everyone to grow up for season 3". Polygon. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
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Runaan is the leader of a deadly group of elite Moonshadow elf assassins. He has seen his share of hardship and war and isn’t sentimental about spilling blood when necessary. But while Runaan has learned to put his mission above all else, he cares deeply for his people — especially the youngest of his assassins, Rayla, who in his heart is like a daughter to him.
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Once Rayla has gone to bed, Runaan’s birthday celebration continues with Ethari and two glasses of moonberry moscato. Ethari has a little tradition: he crafts a tiny metal trinket for Runaan every year. He made the first long before they were married...Later, a songbird, for affection. After they’d married, a tiny silver heartbloom flower.
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