The Dragon Prince Rewatch 2.5, "Breaking the Seal"

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As the rewatch closes out a year, and what a year, the series itself conducts some retrospection and introspection.

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2.5, "Breaking the Seal"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Gracious, indeed.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Viren, accompanied by an honor guard, arrives at the summit of the Pentarchy he summoned. Upon entering, he confers with the already-arrived rulers of the other humans nations; the young Queen Aanya of Duren joins them shortly after. Following a brief, awkward interlude, Viren presents his case for war against the elves in Xadia.

The facepalm transcends time and media.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The summit of the Pentarchy continues, with most of the rules dither. Aanya rejects the call to war, occasioning anger from Viren. He centers himself and renews his attempts to persuade the summit to his cause of levying war; he recounts to her a story from several years past. Her kingdom, Duren, had suffered famine and her predecessors, Queens Annika and Neha, had pled for help from Katolis. Harrow proclaims that Katolis will aid them, but the only way for that help to arrive is via the machinations of dark magic. Harrow initially balks at the idea--and his wife, Sarai, does so more vehemently--but given the needs of the kingdoms, he accedes. The plan to retrieve materials to enact the necessary dark magic ritual proceeds reasonably well for a time, but only for a time.

Poor little guy...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

All the while, Ezran, Rayla, Callum, Azymondias, and Bait continue their voyage towards Xadia aboard the Ruthless. The continued trip proceeds smoothly enough, occasioning boredom in several of the passengers. Callum sadly considers Harrow's final message to him, and Ezran and Azymondias grow closer, to Bait's jealousy. Bait joins Callum, and Callum finally brings himself to open the last letter Harrow left him.

Discussion

In addition to focusing on the already-noted correspondence between the Pentarchy and the early English Heptarchy, the episode reinforces the series' medievalism by presenting imagery from a variety of "medieval" venues. One of the kings of the Pentarchy evokes Viking imagery, for example, and one of the queens evokes traditional depictions of the Celts. The King of Neolandia, Ahling, visually evokes the Middle Eastern sultans that often figure into medievalist narratives as exoticized Others (including the involved problems of Orientalism associated therewith). The gestures are perhaps more subtle than others the series makes, but they are present, and they do serve to enhance (sometimes unfortunately) the medievalist grounding of the series as a whole.

Notably, too, the episode features an extended (for the genre; it is a serial children's cartoon) rumination by Harrow about the natures of kingship and justice. Interestingly, he relates being told that "justice was more than fair decisions and fair consequences; true justice was a fair system" before musing on many of the ways in which he might be in a position to suffer due to the circumstances of his birth, rather than any of his own deeds. While the specific rumination is one very much in line with the likely inclinations of the series's presumed secondary audience (noted in previous episodes' discussions), the fact of the rumination itself is one very much in line with the medieval from which the series borrows. There are many, many works of medieval literature that purport to treat upright and correct governance, ranging from Malory (as presented in Caxton's preface) to Hoccleve and his Regiment of Princes and even to Machiavelli--as well as many others that do not necessarily spring quickly to my mind. Even in the medieval mind, insofar as such a thing can be said to exist as a single unit, there was question as to what made a ruler good, and the series does well to highlight that particular burden of governance.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 2.4, "Voyage of the Ruthless"

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Intrigues deepen, both political and mystical.

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2.4, "Voyage of the Ruthless"

Written by Neil Mukhopadbyay
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Honestly, I'm impressed by the bird.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Following their escape from Soren and Claudia, Ezran, Callum, and Rayla continue eastward, carried by a phoenix. Callum attempts to commune with nature en route; Rayla chides him for it. The phoenix begins to falter from flying for so long with such weight, and it falls to earth.

Elsewhere, Amaya surveils the separation of Xadia from the western, human lands. She suspects that a forward position has been compromised, and she orders a sortie to determine the truth of it.

Ginsu, it ain't.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Katolis, Viren continues to investigate the mirror. The figure within communicates with him via pantomime. Viren follows along with what seems to be a magical ritual, although not without his suspicions.

"Hello, again, fellow humans, human fellas!"
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran, Callum, and Rayla send the phoenix back to Lujanne and continue their journey. They purpose to take a boat across the bay that lies in their path, and they enter a port town to secure passage. Rayla resumes her "human disguise," entertaining Ezran immensely; Callum leaves Rayla behind as he and Ezran seek a captain. They find one in the blind Villads, and they arrange passage aboard his ship, the Ruthless. Despite the oncoming heavy weather, they proceed across the bay.

Villads proves an adept sailor, explaining seacraft to Callum in a way that suggests the possibility of his own connection to the skies and their magic. The coming storm approaches, and the Ruthless is obliged to put in on the lee side of an island by the wind and rain.

Viren follows the mirror-figure through the beginning of the ritual, mimicking its motions and channeling power between the pair of them. He hesitates at bloodletting, however, disappointing the mirror figure, whose identity remains unclear to him.

Quite the entrance.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Amaya leads her sortie to the forward outpost. She finds that it has been compromised, and a fracas ensues. Her forces are beset, and her earlier opponent returns. Amaya acquits herself well and secures her troops' escape, retreating with them back to a more fortified location.

Aboard the Ruthless, Callum purposes to connect to the skies. He remains out in the storm in an attempt to activate his message; Azymondias accompanies him, and the two leave the ship for the shore. Callum's efforts do not go well for him; his folly in enacting them does not help matters, though he does recognize his error.

Message for you, sir!
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Viren considers the ritual as he sees messages return. He finds that they are from the other human kingdoms, agreeing to a summit. The news pleases him. When he returns to his sanctum, he covers the mirror.

Callum returns to the Ruthless, abashed. Rayla welcomes him back.

Discussion

The episode engages in some anachronism (in addition to the repeated reference to Martin via crow-messenging), which is not uncommon in medievalist works. For one, the Ruthless and her captain partake greatly of stereotypical pirate trappings, common enough in otherwise medieval-styled milieux (as noted here and here, among others). For another, Callum makes note of lightning rods, using the term, and while it might well be thought that a medieval person would see lightning striking tall objects more frequently than short ones, it is not until the eighteenth century that the term and the device came into use; the lightning rod is at least as post-medieval as the "typical" pirate. As in other examples, though, the anachronism serves to make the episode more accessible to audiences that typically compress all but the most recent past into a single, monolithic concept, as well as to allow for some narrative motions that would otherwise be difficult to carry out.

Too, the anachronism serves a useful purpose in reinforcing the fiction of the series. Because things are not in it as they were in the audience's world, although they are similar in many ways, the series is insulated from a number of concerns with which its presumed secondary audience--parents of the children likely to be watching, that is, or people like me--would be familiar. I am not alone in remembering the Satanic panic of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the protestations of Pat Pulling and those who heeded her; among the "concerns" was that "the things in fantasy are too real." While such things are erroneous, clearly, worries about similar reactions persist--and they are, in some senses, allayed by introducing eminently inaccurate elements into the narrative. Such elements provide some cover--an unfortunately still-needed thing.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 2.3, "Smoke and Mirrors"

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Magic done with mirrors is more real than that done without as the season progresses.

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2.3, "Smoke and Mirrors"

Written by Devon Giehl and Iain Hendry
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Not a bad view.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Viren scries through the mirror whose magic he has begun to unravel, seeing a well-appointed study therein. He settles in to observe more intently.

At Cursed Caldera, Callum and Rayla confer regarding the death of Harrow. She tries to apologize to him, and he frets about how to break the news to Ezran; Callum cannot bring himself to do so swiftly. Claudia returns to her accommodations, weeping; Soren moves to comfort her, ineptly, and reminds her of their mission.

Try as he might, it doesn't work yet.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The next day sees Callum still trying to muster the courage to tell Ezran of their father. He still cannot do so, and their conversation wanders strangely instead of moving to its initial goal. At length, Callum returns to Rayla, commiserating with her about their common inability to broach the topic of Harrow's death. Callum allows himself to begin to grieve.

In Katolis, Viren falters in his vigil, only to be awakened by action within the mirror-shown chamber. He sees a strange figure stalk through it, one spangled with stars; it selects a book and withdraws whence Viren cannot see.

And the seal seems intact, too!
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla and Callum confer about their path forward. Soren and Claudia join them, and they announce their intent to continue into Xadia. Claudia returns to Callum the letter from Harrow he had dropped in his escape from Katolis. Callum demurs opening it and thanks Claudia for returning the letter to him. She conveys an offer to assist them that Rayla perceives as a trap; Callum considers the matter, and Rayla consults with Lujanne regarding how to determine Soren and Claudia's intent.

Admittedly, escape takes some doing.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The group makes to set out, departing Cursed Caldera and heading east. Soren and Claudia trail behind, the two conferring about their plans to take the princes by force. As they act upon it, melee ensues, with Soren assailing Rayla and Claudia seeking to capture Azymondias. The deception enacted by the group on Soren and Claudia is revealed, and Ezran, Callum, and Rayla effect escape on the back of a phoenix--aided by the hunter General Amaya had sent after the boys, Corvis. Soren and Claudia restrain him.

Meanwhile, Viren's observations continue. The figure in the mirror-shown chamber becomes aware of Viren, to the latter's surprise.

Discussion

There is less new medievalism in the present episode than in previous ones, which is to be expected; as has been noted before (here and here, for example), a series cannot always be bringing in new things, but has to spend some time with what it has already introduced if it is going to do well. Something might be made of the figure Viren observes in the mirror, perhaps; a seeming captive associated with stars brings to mind the kind of devils upon which other evocations of the medieval have frequently fixated, but I am not up enough on visual culture (anymore, if I ever was) to be able to follow those implications further at present. Too, the perspective of rewatching may be affecting how I am parsing the image, which is not necessarily fair...

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 2.2, "Half Moon Lies"

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It is an episode of revelations, things showing up under the pale moonlight...

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2.2, "Half Moon Lies"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

The best part of waking up...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Soren makes to attacks the seemingly ensorcelled Rayla, though he hesitates to assail a sleeping opponent. She is not as entranced as might be thought, however, and defends herself ably. Callum intercedes, halting hostilities and explaining some of the situation and ushering everyone off to rest.

Who's the fairest?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Katolis, Viren again considers the plundered mirror. He plies his magical skills, at some risk and pain to himself, and only in his extravagance does he uncover information; there is a chamber on the other side of the mirror.

The next morning, Callum and Ezran confer about Claudia, while Soren and Claudia confer about the princes and Rayla. They purpose to persuade them back to Katolis, and the princes reveal that the egg has hatched into Azymondias. Claudia is immediately enamored, although she is still held in suspicion; Soren's lie about Harrow does not help matters.

The two groups--Soren and Claudia; Ezran, Callum, and Rayla--confer internally about how to proceed until Claudia intervenes and takes Callum on a walk. He reveals more than he ought, and Claudia offers him a tome of dark magic, which he refuses. Soren watches the younger ones play and purposes to set up an "accident" to eliminate Ezran; Rayla interdicts his plans.

Such nuggets of insight...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla consults with Lujanne about the current situation. What she offers is not of much help to Rayla, and the erstwhile assassin makes to confess to Callum and Ezran. She happens upon Callum after he is with Claudia and learns of Harrow's death.

Discussion

Soren's complaint early in the episode that attacking a sleeping opponent "doesn't seem...sporting" may appear to be a caricature of chivalry as commonly understood to apply to medieval knighthood; the parsing that follows certainly pushes it in that direction. That said, there is a decided sense in such chivalric romances as Malory's or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that chivalry is a game, or at least a gamification of combat. Indeed, a number of scholars have attested to such ideas already--JJ Anderson's 1990 "The Three Judgments and the Ethos of Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," Victoria L. Weiss's 1993 "The Play World and the Real World: Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," René Moelker and Gerhard Kümmel's 2007 "Chivalry and Codes of Conduct: Can the Virtue of Chivalry Epitomize Guidelines for Interpersonal Conduct?" and Joshua David Maldonado's 2020 "The Game at the Green Chapel: A Game-Oriented Perspective on Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," among many others, speak thereto. (Some are even outside paywalls.) Even a causal reading of such works shows the knights commonly approaching fighting as much akin to a sport, both in tournaments (where such might be expected) and in open conflict (where it generally should not). There are rules, don't you know, and concepts of parity between combatants--which are sometimes abusive and sometimes abused; Lancelot's fight with Maleagant in Malory comes to mind as a prominent example. If it is a caricature, it is a knowing one, and more accurate than many such pieces are, even if perhaps unintentionally.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 2.1, "A Secret and a Spark"

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As the second season of the series starts, it becomes clear that war is coming.

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2.1, "A Secret and a Spark"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Hospitable, yes?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

General Amaya scouts across the Breach, a dangerous passage through the boundary between Xadia and the human kingdoms. She encounters a small party of Sunfire Elves, and a melee ensues; she repels them at some material cost, making an enemy of their leader and withdrawing.

Callum briefly recapitulates the events of the first season, as if in a letter to Harrow. He, Ezran, Rayla, Bait, Ellis, and Ava are at the magical nexus at the top of Cursed Caldera with Lujanne.

Fancy people saying fancy things.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In council at the castle of Katolis, Viren warns of draconic encroachments as presaging war. He presses for a retaliatory strike, one involving all the human kingdoms; the council resists the idea, partly on procedural grounds, calling for retrieval of Ezran and Callum.

There are worse things, though the time is not opportune.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The group at the magical nexus confers regarding next steps to take. Rayla exults in her restored dexterity before pressing to depart in haste; Lujanne confirms that they are pursued. Some delay is approved, and Rayla makes to reconnoiter the area. Lujanne takes the opportunity to teasingly instruct Callum in some arcane information--although not practice, given his disconnectedness from prevailing magical forces. Ezran works with Azymondias to develop the latter's ability to fly; it does not go well.

Viren muses over the death of Harrow as he returns to the royal suite. It remains in disarray, and Viren retrieves the royal seal, illicitly. He uses it to forge messages which he sends to the other kingdoms.

Danger, Will Robinson...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla frets as she patrols. She encounters one of Lujanne's illusions on her first patrol; on her second, she runs into Soren and Claudia.

Discussion

For example...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The Orientalism identified earlier as at work in the series's depictions of elves remains at work in the present episode; the exoticized Sunfire Elf leader whom Amaya fights wears armor and bears weapons with markings reminiscent of Arabic and Chinese styles and ideograms. As in earlier instances, there seem to be some essentialization and reduction at work, even as the motion to be more inclusive is more commendable. (That it speaks to concerns eloquently addressed in a piece on The Public Medievalist, Christina Warmbrunn's "Dear Tolkien Fans: Black People Exist," also helps.) At present, though, the issue is and remains problematic, particularly given the orientation of the series at children--for reasons Paul Sturtevant discusses (attested here and here, among others)--even as there is overt movement towards the idea of stereotypes being wrong.

Such Orientalism is not wholly out of keeping with ideas typically attributed to the people of the European Middle Ages, however. Nor is the reference to the Pentarchy Viren makes, the explicit naming of the construct foreshadowed in the second episode of the series. As before, the name evokes the Early English Heptarchy, calling back once again to the medieval/ist underpinnings of the series. And the Pentarchy seems quite concerned with matters of precedence and protocol--quite in line with common medievalist understandings, although perhaps less so in practice.

A river doesn't run through it, though...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

And, as is perhaps unavoidable, there is a fairly open visual reference to Peter Jackson's Middle-earth movies. The warding statues at the magical nexus clearly call to mind Tolkien's Argonath. Given the prevalence of Tolkienian reference in fantasy fiction and medieval/ist work, more generally, it is not to be wondered at--nor yet because of the series's presumed primary audience of children whose parents grew up around Jackson's films and reading their literary antecedents. But it does mark the series, once again, as being more medievalist than medieval, as does the crow-messaging introduced in the episode, which rings of Martin. The series's underpinnings are more in what is built upon the medieval than in the medieval itself, as such, though the foundations remain in place.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.9, "Wonderstorm"

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As the first season of the series closes, some problems are solved--but others emerge to take their place.

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1.9, "Wonderstorm"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Look closely, and you can just see them,
small creatures against the size of the world.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

On the mountainside approach to the cursed caldera, Ezran reiterates that there is no miracle healer to be found. Callum presses for an explanation that stretches credulity. Ezran notes an ability to speak with animals, and Callum reacts badly. The group presses on, beginning to encounter strange sounds and sights.

Claudia and Soren press on, as well, approaching the tallest mountain of the kingdom so that Claudia can cast a spell to track Rayla and the princes. Their trip appears to go reasonably easily and well.

Spooky.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Along the way, Rayla is persuaded to scout for people in need. She goes alone, leaving the rest to defend the egg, and finds what appears to be a spiderwebbed body. Investigation reveals that the form is but dust, despite it having moved and spoken; Rayla returns uneasy to the group and reports on her disturbing findings. Ezran begins to wander off on his own and encounters a spectral face no others see; Ellis notes a feeling of being watched, but Callum demands they press on in the interest of the egg. The group is hindered by spiderwebs stretching across their path, and they soon find themselves beset by monstrous spiders. They flee to little effect.

That, there, is quite the apology.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran realizes, however, that something else is amiss. Citing a mismatch between the spiders' utterances and what he knows from other spiders, he reports that the spider facing them is not real and presses ahead. Callum realizes that Ezran is correct in his assertion, and he apologizes for his earlier bad behavior; the form attracts no small attention, allowing the group to pass easily, continuing its ascent to the tree Ellis notes was the site of the healing miracle.

Cue up Manfred Mann...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

They are soon joined by a luminous presence that descends to them upon the back of a large bird. Said presence is another Moonshadow Elf, whom Rayla recognizes as an illusionist. She introduces herself as Lujanne, guardian of a magical nexus. Ellis voices confusion about Ava's healing; Lujanne explains. When Ezran presents the egg to her, and Rayla explains its presence, Lujanne notes that the only way to save the egg is to hatch it--which will take a storm, although the night is clear.

After a short period of despair, Callum realizes that a magical object he carries will avail, and he smashes it. A storm swells overhead, and the egg is hatched, if with some peril and after some doubt. The young dragon, Azymondias, releases Rayla from her bonds and gives hope to the group.

An ill omen, indeed.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Atop the highest peak in Katolis, Claudia casts the spell to locate Rayla and the princes. The manifestation of the spell appears to the group around Azymondias, and Lujanne recognizes it as an ill omen. Back at the castle of Katolis, Viren also recognizes what is happening, and he is far happier to see it than she.

Discussion

It is of some interest that the (illusory) creatures that bar Ezran, Cayla, Callum, Bait, Ellis, and Ava's path are monstrous spiders. It seems to be a nod to the expected secondary audience of the series, one that watched Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies and / or read Tolkien's books from which they are adapted; it is, as might have been mentioned before, not a stretch to think that parents who number among that group (myself included) would recommend the present series to their own children. Others, of course, have written at great length and with great eloquence about Tolkien's relationship with and literary depiction of spiders; I need not rehearse the work here, though the Society's own Luke Shelton would be an excellent point of contact about such things.

I am put in mind, also, of the recent guest post from Kristine Larsen, discussing comets and their manifestations in medieval and medievalist work. And I find it interesting that the comet-like manifestation of the Claudia's spell at the end of the present episode occasions delight in beauty from Azymondias, Ezran, Callum, Rayla, Ellis, and Ava--who, being young and inexperienced, can be assumed not to know better; fear and apprehension from Lujanne; and a smirking satisfaction from Viren. Lujanne alone holds to the typical reaction to comets--although Viren's enjoyment of the manifestation connotes his approval of tumult and upheaval, the "death of princes" to which Larsen, following Shakespeare, attests. It is an effective use and reappropriation of the medieval, deliberate or not, and another point that makes the continuation of the series more happily anticipated.

Please note that next Thursday, 26 November 2020, is Thanksgiving in the US. I live in the US, and I will be taking the time to spend with the people in my home. Be safe, be well, and be back in two weeks as I get into the second season of The Dragon Prince on 3 December 2020!

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.8, "Cursed Caldera"

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Matters are made to look all the poorer in the penultimate episode of the season.

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1.8, "Cursed Caldera"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Not the homiest view, no.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla, Ezran, and Callum race up the side of the mountain, fleeing pursuit and seeking the healer whose skills have been reported to them. It is a treacherous path, to be sure, though they soon find guides in Ellis and Ava and proceed up the mountain after awkward introductions.

At the castle of Katolis, Viren returns to interrogating the captive Runaan. The Elf is loathe to talk, and Viren promises horrors to come.

As night falls, Ezran, Ellis, Rayla, Callum, and Ava begin to be beset by monsters and apparitions. A fracas ensues, with the group taking refuge on high after becoming separated. They confer in their smaller groups, various members admitting weaknesses to one another and finding some adjustments to their ideas in the wake of the discussions.

Pragmatic, yes.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Viren presents the mirror to Runaan, who remains taciturn. Viren also presents strange coins to Runaan, to Runaan's dismay. The Elf continues to resist, only to be subjected to an unholy ritual that imprisons him more fully than any chains.

Ezran, Ellis, Rayla, Callum, and Ava reconvene after a time, thinking themselves safe. They are wrong and are attacked again; a fracas ensues, but the group handles it better on the second occasion, defeating the monster attacking them, as well as the young that creep from its corpse. After, they find that there is, in fact, no healer to be found.

Discussion

There are once again shades of Orientalism to be found in the episode. The description of Xadian fruits as "exotic" is one such; the descriptor is a commonplace in Orientalist figurations, not least in Victorian works from which much lingering inaccuracy in ideas of the medieval descend (as the inimitable Kavita Mudan Finn attests). So, too, is the assumption that peoples in the east are able to set aside fear of death readily and adroitly, which assumption tends to dehumanize them. ("If they don't care whether they die, why should we?" might be one way to put it.) While Elves and humans are more distinct than groups of humans--though the extent of the distinctness is not entirely clear--the figuration does not excuse the matter in the series any more than in its medievalist antecedents, about which Christina Warmbrunn and others write eloquently and at great length. The only potentially mitigating factor is that the attitudes are linked solidly to Viren, who is decidedly not a figure to be emulated--but that is not much of a mitigation, if any.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.7, "The Dagger and the Wolf"

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Sad news spurs more action, and an ongoing hunt intensifies.

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1.7, "The Dagger and the Wolf"

Written by Devon Giehl and Iain Hendry
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Seems cool.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran, Callum, and Rayla make camp in a mountain cave, trying to recover from their exertions in the cold and wet. The princes confer, and Rayla provides supplies; talk turns to concern about the egg, and they purpose to find help.

Soren and Claudia lead a search for the princes. Tracking is somewhat complicated, but it is frustrated by the princes' earlier recourse to water travel.

Ta daa!
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The princes and Rayla continue, finding a town. They make to recruit assistance there, Rayla giving a terrible impersonation of a human to to disguise herself among them. It somehow holds up under casual scrutiny, and Rayla spies an item she hopes to be able to use to free her hand from its still tightening bond. A melee ensues around the item, occasioning no small degree of gambling; Rayla explains the significance of the item, a sun-forged weapon able to cut most anything. She purposes to retrieve it while the princes seek help for the egg.

Soren and Claudia ponder their next actions. The complications of their mission tell on Soren until he finds a lost braid of Rayla's; Claudia purposes to use it to cast a spell to track Rayla.

This does look like a helper, yeah.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The princes find a veterinarian and ask if he can help them. They learn a bit about the local area and get a dire prognosis about the egg--although a slim hope emerges in a local girl and her dog, Ellis and Ava. Ellis reports that a healer lives high up on the mountain overlooking the town, noting that the healer might be able to help the egg.

Can you smell what's cooking?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Meanwhile, Rayla seeks out the blade, sneaking after its owner and confronting him. He is persuaded to help her, but the attempt reveals her as an elf, and a fracas ensues. It does not relieve her of the bond, however.

The party reunites and exchanges information, laying out their next steps. They are interrupted by an attack from the townsfolk, and they flee towards the nearby mountain to evade their pursuers.

Soren and Claudia proceed to acquire the remaining components for her spell. It is a struggle, but they get what they need.

Discussion

Early in the episode, Rayla provides supplies to the princes. Among them are "boogie-berries," a cold remedy to be taken nasally. While Ezran does not balk at the presentation or explanation, though, a member of the audience might well do so; sticking berries up the nose does not seem as doable as Ezran asserts, nor as likely to be effective as Rayla does. That said, there is ample attestation regarding the effectiveness of plant-based remedies for various symptoms of numerous illnesses, and of the conditions themselves. Aspirin, after all, is based on willow-bark, and is still used to treat no few things. Too, medicine in the medieval Europe the series evokes did make use of nasally-administered remedies, as Munday follows Wallis in reporting, and, as delighted medievalists, medieval remedies have been (at least on occasion) demonstrated to be efficacious. So, perhaps inadvertently, the present episode gets a bit of the medieval right on the nose.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.6, "Through the Ice"

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Several complications present themselves as Ezran, Callum, and Rayla take the egg further east.

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1.6, "Through the Ice"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

Ominous.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla struggles with the tightening band on her wrist as she, Ezran, and Callum sleep. Another figure approaches stealthily through the forest. Rayla wakes at a sudden sound and investigates, and melee soon ensues between her and the figure, Corvus. Ezran and Callum wake to find Rayla gone, and they confer about her as she extricates herself from the combat. When she returns, she bids them flee, to the confusion of the others.

At least he's not skipping leg day.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Katolis, Soren calls athletically on his father, Viren. Viren tasks him with an amended mission; he and Claudia are to find the vanished princes, with the heavy implication that they are to be killed. Soren tries to puzzle out what he is to do, finding it difficult, to Viren's annoyance.

Rayla leads Ezran and Callum away from the traveled roads in the interest of keeping themselves hidden. Issues of trust and confession are broached and deflected as the group proceeds. When, at length, they pause to rest, they find themselves without supplies. Rayla offers her supplies, only to find that they have been taken by Bait.

Nothing good will come of this.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Claudia investigates the mirror, applying dark magic to the task of doing so. It avails her nothing, and Viren confers with her about his own efforts and his certainty that there is something of import about the mirror. Viren then details Claudia's specific part of the mission to retrieve the princes; she is to be certain the egg is returned to Katolis, even at the cost of Soren's life.

As Rayla leads Callum and Ezran up a mountainside, the princes begin to feel the fatigue of effort and thin air. Callum confronts her, overly loudly, triggering an avalanche with Bait's prodigious belch. The party tries to flee, not entirely successfully, despite Callum's magical efforts. Ezran and the egg end up atop a frozen river, ice cracking under the boy's feet.

Clearly, something sees amiss. It is a hopeful sign.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Soren mulls over his mission as he gorges on tarts. Claudia makes to comfort him, and he asks her after her conversation with their father. She responds in kind, and it is clear that both are markedly uncomfortable, as both deflect the topic oddly.

Callum and Rayla try to rescue Ezran and the egg. The ice fractures under them as they make the attempt, Rayla's sudden doubt prompting an untimely confession of her perfidy. Egg and Ezran go into the water; both emerge, but the egg is harmed badly by the experience of the cold.

Discussion

I find myself at something of a loss to trace additional medievalisms in the present episode; those already in place continue, of course, but it does not seem that much new is added. Unless, and this is admittedly tenuous, Corvus can be read as a sort of refiguring of the Arthurian Tristan. No love-story appears to attach itself to him, to be sure, and there is no Mark-figure for him to be playing upon--only the demonstrably adept woodcraft and admirable but far from supreme fighting ability make the connection possible. Again, though, it is a tenuous connection, the more so given that Corvus's evident weapon of choice is more reminiscent of a kusarigama than of even the flail often erroneously associated with medieval combat. Whether this is supposed to make a more inclusive idea of the medieval available or to serve as a reminder that the series takes place in a world not Earth is uncertain; so is whether or not it matters.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.5, "An Empty Throne"

Read the previous entry here.
Read the next entry here.

Viren's plans solidify and advance, and the Dragon Prince's egg moves east.

---

1.5, "An Empty Throne"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

That's not ominous at all, is it?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the castle of Katolis, Viren surveys some of the magical creatures he keeps for use in his sorcery. He also works that sorcery in his chambers, empowering himself.

Callum considers the magical cube he had asked Rayla to retrieve from the royal lodgings as she and Ezran sleep. He begins to puzzle out some of its attributes, if clumsily, and wakes Rayla. She makes to retrieve food, her still-bound hand paining her. As she walks off, she finds a place alone to consider her situation and try to remove the binding--without success. Cries of alarm from Callum call her back to them; he is amid a spell he cannot complete. With some assistance from Rayla, he discharges the energy.

One hand gesture, fit to the situation, is missing.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Amaya confronts Viren in the throne room of Katolis. She rebukes him for events, and he tries to excuse himself; she continues to press, and he continues to argue the need for him to take control. He offers to crown Amaya as Queen Regent; she demurs in favor of finding her nephews, to Viren's chagrin.

As Rayla, Callum, and Ezran proceed, Rayla reveals problems with travel by water. Despite her protestations, Callum is able to convince the group to continue on a boat downstream towards Xadia. Bait's name is explained along the way, and Rayla suffers from something like seasickness. Callum tries to distract her, not entirely successfully, before they run into rapids and go over a waterfall.

There is a resemblance.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Amaya visits her sister's memorial, seeking solace and counsel. Her adjutant, Gren, stands by silently as she prays; Viren joins them shortly after, paying his own respects to the late queen. They reminisce together and reach what seems to be some accord regarding governance. She makes to lead a search party but is convinced to return to her regular post, leaving Gren at the capital to lead it in her stead. She warns Gren against Viren--with good reason, as becomes clear as soon as she leaves for her post.

They're going to need a bigger boat.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

After Ezran, Rayla, and Callum find calmer water, they realize Bait has gone overboard. The truth of his name becomes clear as a lake-monster tries to eat him, necessitating rescue by Rayla. The rescue is forthcoming, despite Rayla's difficulties with water and trouble with her hand--and Callum helps. After, she relates some of her unfortunate family history.

Discussion

Early in the episode, Rayla comments to Callum that the exercise of magical power is accomplished in part by a word or phrase spoken "in Old Draconic." It may be a simple translation convention, but the English-language audio of the episode and previous episodes tends to present such speech as not-always-apt Latin. The practice is hardly unique to The Dragon Prince, of course; the Harry Dresden works feature it, as do those centering around Hogwarts. And it hearkens back to medieval Europe, certainly, which tended to use Latin as a language of power and authority--both in terms of human institutions and in attempts to reach and engage with the supernatural. Too, it is something distant from daily life, as noted; the Latin of medieval Europe was hardly common speech, and it cannot be thought that a "magic" language among non-magic-users is an everyday thing.

Notably also, while the language of "good" magic is knock-off Latin, that of dark magic is reversed and remixed English (again, in the English-audio version of the series; I am not conversant enough in other languages to watch the series in them). It would seem to reflect tensions between "correct" usage and emerging vernaculars present in medieval Europe (with Latin and with English, the latter of which receives comment from Caxton in his preface to the Recueil des Histoires de Troye) and in later times; those who have had occasion to teach English, I know run into the issue of changing usage being seen as "wrong," even by people who use the changed forms, as do many people besides. The series appears to come down on the conservative side of that argument, which has implications that might well be traced out.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.4, "Bloodthirsty"

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There's a lot going on, and not all of it good.

---

1.4, "Bloodthirsty"

Written by Devon Giehl and Iain Hendry
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

You have to hand it to her...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

As Callum and Ezran sleep, Rayla sits in the moonlight and contemplates her situation. She remains bound to the sworn vengeance of her cohort, even as she has turned away from enacting it, even as she struggles against the bond.

They have not gone far from the castle of Katolis, where funeral proceedings for the fallen King Harrow have begun. Not all are pleased with the speed with which proceedings have moved forward, but Viren presses ahead despite others' misgivings. There is some resistance to igniting the king's pyre, but, again, Viren presses ahead with his intent to wage war on Xadia and crown himself, claiming that Ezran and Callum are dead.

It pays to sketch out the basics.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary

In the morning, Rayla and Callum confer regarding the the magical item he has purloined. Rayla explicates basic magical theory to him. Callum realizes that some of the material is familiar to him; he purposes to return to the royal winter lodgings to retrieve some relevant equipment. Rayla objects, but Callum prevails upon her as Ezran wakes.

This one knows what she's about, to be sure.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Arriving at the lodgings, Rayla proceeds ahead of Ezran and Callum to retrieve the noted equipment. They find the lodging unattended--until an armed company arrives, in turn. Callum and Ezran present themselves and try to stall for time with the company--which is commanded by their aunt, General Amaya. After greeting the boys enthusiastically and warmly, she takes charge of the area, noting the likelihood of infiltration and setting up so secure the location. After the boys successfully distract her, Amaya relates the reason for her presence: royal orders.

See the above comment.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Amaya's troops take up residence at the lodging. Rayla's infiltration proceeds as the boys confer about how to proceed. She achieves her objective, albeit with difficulty occasioned in large part by the formidable Amaya. The boys contrive to extricate her from captivity; their methods are not entirely upright, for which they earn rebuke from Rayla as they make their escape together on a boat going downriver. Amaya sends the hunter Corvus to pursue and retrieve the boys; she and her company depart for the capital as Viren prepares to be elevated. Her arrival--with the news that the princes live--thwarts his aims.

Discussion

It is not to be wondered at that the episode visually references Tolkien, given the series genre and the status Tolkien has within that genre--along with adaptations of his work. The funeral procession for King Harrow winds along a path that recalls Peter Jackson's take on the Argonath and Rath Dínen. Nor is it to be wondered at that the episode makes use of some of the same kinds of anachronism at work in Middle-earth. In Tolkien's corpus, the hobbits seem further forward than the people of Rivendell, Gondor, and Rohan, despite being nestled out of the way away from "civilization," at least sartorially. Similarly, the present episode appears to make use of coffee, and while there was some use of the basic plant, the hot version familiar to modern audiences is a later invention and popular beverage, as attested.

In both cases, though, the inclusion serves--intentionally or not--to make the setting more accessible to the audiences likely to watch the series as it premiered. (I am likely part of the presumed secondary audience, having watched the show-creator's earlier projects and having a daughter who is part of the presumed primary audience.) Many who would be thought to watch the series would also have watched Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, and many more of them would be likely to drink "hot brown morning potion"; including such things makes the setting more familiar, helping to create the "inner consistency of reality" upon which Coleridge's willing suspension of disbelief depends. So there is that to consider.

Less helpful is the oblique reference to blood libel; as Ezran, Rayla, and Callum proceed, Rayla offers Ezran a bottle of a red fluid. Callum demurs, explaining that they don't drink blood; Rayla, offended, replies that the bottle is full of berry juice. The casual assumption, however, that an elf would drink blood does call to mind the repeated anti-Semitic assertions that blood, particularly taken from ritual killing, was a commonplace in Jewish communities (discussed here and elsewhere). While the assertion is authentically medieval, and it is repudiated swiftly and apologized for, it is not the most apt reference to make in a period when anti-Semitic violence and rhetoric were growing unacceptably prominent. At the same time, however, it would be disingenuous or dishonest to note the things that the medieval world, broadly conceived, got wrong--the more so when their pernicious influence continued far longer than should ever have been the case.

Happier far is the treatment Amaya receives. Although she does show her own prejudices in the episode, her deafness is accommodated smoothly and her capabilities as a commander and as a combatant are made clear. She also avoids the "boob-plate" problem all too common to depictions of women warriors in fantasy fiction (such as discussed here); her armor is of a kind with the other fighters in her company. As such, she is presented as being another warrior--exceptional, yes, but another--who simply is a woman, who simply is deaf, rather than her gender or condition of ability being the overriding focus of her character. And that, we need more of.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 1.3, "Moonrise"

Read the previous entry here.
Read the next entry here.

Vengeance is served; justice is not.

---

1.3, "Moonrise"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Giancarlo Volpe, Villads Spangsberg, and Lih Liau

Synopsis

Seems ominous, this foreshadowing.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

As the sun sets on the castle of Katolis, its inhabitants prepare for the attack of the Moonshadow Elves. The mood is somber, as might be expected, with King Harrow and his defenders resigned to their fates. Guards take up their stations as Harrow retires to his chambers, and their vigil begins against the encroaching nightfall. Claudia asks Viren why Harrow would refuse the aid of magic; he voices doubts about his king as they discuss his history with Harrow. Viren moves forward with a terrible purpose, and Claudia stumbles onto the signs of the princes' movements and begins to follow them.

Ooh. Shiny.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

The princes and Rayla look upon the egg of the Dragon Prince and realize the implications of its presence. Ezran avers that there is life within the egg, and Callum asks why it survived--with Claudia, arriving suddenly, answering as she braces to defend them against Rayla. The princes side with Rayla in favor of returning the egg to its mother; Ezran leads the princes away, and Callum restrains Claudia to secure their escape, taking a magical artifact from her. She sends magical pursuit, and the chase begins. Callum begins working magic of his own to assist them--to his surprise and delight.

The face of a happy man, this ain't.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Viren returns to Harrow to propose his plan again. The king once again refuses, more vehemently.

Atop the castle, Rayla confronts her fellows, trying to explain that the need for their mission is moot. The explanation is refused, despite the presence of the egg of the Dragon Prince, but the magical binding is absolute. The attack of the Moonshadow Elves ensues, Rayla standing against her kin as it does.

Callum and Ezran strive to escape, with Callum detouring to see his king one last time. He is not admitted, and he is caught up in the onslaught of the assassins as he confronts Viren for the theft of the egg. It does not go well for him, though he manages to flee--one of few survivors, as he sees in detail. He purposes to return the egg to its mother in Xadia along with Ezran, Rayla, and Bait, their sentient pet.

No, it's not a good sign.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In the end, Harrow falls. His killer survives to send off the message of his fall--and to be captured at Claudia's insistence.

Discussion

There is, I think, a conception of such justice as existed in "the medieval" as being decidedly retributive, following the "eye for an eye" model. There is some sense to that, admittedly. The orientation of medieval society, broadly conceived, around Christian teaching, and such teachings include such passages as Exodus 21. Too, lasting feuds were not uncommon, and they tend/ed to be framed in terms of answering one injury with another--retributive justice in brief. Certainly, such a model is that which seems to be at work in the present episode, in which Runaan reiterates the assertion that, because Harrow killed the Dragon King and Prince, he and his own son must both die. And, lest it be argued that the idea is one-sided (following essentialized Orientalism carried over from the previous episode), Harrow appears to accept that the attempt on his life will be made, even that it should be made; that is, he appears to accede to the idea that his life is forfeit for the life he took. He accepts the justice of retribution, even at the cost of his life.

That said, there is no small amount of attestation that such medieval justice as existed worked at least as much on a restorative model as a retributive one. That is, it was more concerned with returning people to normal order and repairing wrongs done than with avenging them--or, in terms of the present episode, it was more concerned with getting the egg home than with punishing who took it. The concept of weregild, in which fines could be paid as atonement for transgressions against people, is a restorative notion (if problematic in commodifying people's lives). Confession and penance served a similar function (if problematic because of the tendency toward corruption). Even such "barbaric" practices as putting people in stocks and subjecting them to public shame comes off as less retributive, the civic humbling being a reassertion of order and one often met with civic charity rather than ongoing censure or deprivation of goods or limbs or lives, per Helen Mary Carrel.

That the present episode focuses far more on retribution than restoration may well be in line with prevailing notions of the medieval. But that 1) the retribution is not wholly successful (Ezran lives, after all) and 2) the episode sets efforts at restoration on their way seems to suggest that the latter model, one far from discordant with the medieval from which the series borrows heavily, is one to be followed. And that is a message worth attention.