The Dragon Prince Rewatch 3.4, "The Midnight Desert"

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

If there's a theme in this episode, it's the danger of infighting.

---

3.4, "The Midnight Desert"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

This message contains information intended only for the
use of the above-named company / party...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ethari's message to the Queen of the Dragons speeds along until it is intercepted by a winged figure over a black-sand desert.

Meanwhile, Rayla, Callum, and Zym proceed through the forest, Callum finding difficulty with his mount as he tries to comfort Rayla. It does not work well; she resists the idea of talking about her emotional state.

This kind of thing never works out well.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In Katolis, Ezran receives Kasef once again. The prince offers an ultimatum, demanding the military support of Katolis under threat of military invasion. Ezran refuses the demand and is told that Katolis will be besieged. And in the dungeons, Viren receives a strange gift from Aaravos, one for which he had not asked.

It ain't Honeycomb, but it's still big...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

As Callum, Rayla, and Zym proceed, they encounter Nyx, who claims to be an emissary of the Dragon Queen. Rayla is not pleased, while Callum takes the opportunity to perform foolishly. Nyx purposes to take Zym; Rayla refuses, and Nyx offers to conduct the lot of them across the titular Midnight Desert. Nyx lays out the problems of the Desert, its daytime heat and nighttime terror, and offers the solution of an "ambler," a large beast that can insulate the group from the hot sand as it crosses the hostile waste. They reluctantly accept.

He really is young, isn't he?
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran watches the Neolandian delegation depart, and he confers with Opeli about next steps. She notes that the Katolis army is superior in training and support, but Ezran rails against the expectation of tens of thousands of casualties. He contemplates the cost of so many lives spent, and one of his courtiers proposes a solution.

As the ambler proceeds, Rayla contemplates events. Callum again offers some comfort, only to have it refused as the ambler encounters a problem. Nyx makes to clear the issue, something like a pothole occasioned by burrowing serpents (and a callback to earlier work from the writers and Callum's voice actor attracts attention). That done, the ambler proceeds to a magically shielded oasis where the group makes camp for the night. Callum explores as Rayla sees to the beasts and their own disposition as they settle in. It is an uneasy night, full of revelations--and the abduction of the Dragon Prince.

All according to plan...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran stealthily enters the castle kitchens, where he confers with the cook over jelly tarts. He asks the cook to see to Bait; the cook agrees, of course, and takes the beast in hand. Sadly, he departs. That evening, Viren receives the awareness of his gift--magically enhanced vision. Ezran sets aside the crown, refusing to lead his people to war or to let them be destroyed by the other kingdoms, allowing himself to be imprisoned as Viren is released and takes power.

Discussion

While the conflict between the Pentarchy and Xadia has deep causes that are hinted at--the use of dark magic and long-time oppression--and the immediate conflict is based in (an inaccurate and soon to be addressed) blood feud and false flag attacks, there is something of a Crusader mentality among the human kingdoms that emerges in the episode. Given the Orientalism already established as present in the series (note here, here, here, and here), the overwhelming thirst for war against the eastern Others rings of "Deus vult"--all the more problematically so against the broader backdrop of white supremacist deployment of Crusader imagery to bolster their execrable positions. Since the Crusades often epitomize "the medieval" in popular conception, even their tacit invocation--because it is not called a crusade, as such, and the parallels are not entirely exact--does much to further the medievalism of the series--not that it was or has been in any doubt.

Another Update for #Kzoo2021

ℭontinuing on from earlier posts regarding the 2021 International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Society notes the publication of the Congress program online and calls attention to the following from it:

 

The session is the only one the Society has on the program, and it is hoped that people will be able to "attend" the session.

It will be noted that there is no business meeting on the schedule. The Society's business--election of a new Society President and determination of conference offerings moving forward--still needs to be discussed, however. The virtual meeting that took place in 2020 offered a good model, so...

• If you would like to participate in the meeting, please fill out the form linked here: https://forms.gle/mXxbQcqDe2q6V9Gx8.
• If you would like to stand for election as Society President (2021-2024), please email talesaftertolkien@gmail.com with your name, affiliation, and candidate statement. That information will be published to the membership in advance of the meeting time that gets worked out.

As an offshoot of the latter, please make sure your information is up to date; email talesaftertolkien@gmail.com with updated contact information if you are not sure about it--or even if you would like to join! Please remember that Society membership is open to all, by request.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 3.3, "Ghost"

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

Punishment looms large as the third season presses ahead.

---

3.3, "Ghost"

Written by Devon Giehl, Iain Hendry, Aaron Ehasz, and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

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

Callum, Rayla, and Azymondias continue towards Rayla's home village, the elf growing concerned about her return. Callum tries to comfort her, and she brings up the issue of his human presence among the elves; he adopts a disguise, much as Rayla previously had. It is unconvincing, though it amuses.

In Katolis, King Ezran summons the Neolandian price, Kasef. Ezran tries to persuade Kasef to leave off war in favor of the survival of Azymondias; not all are pleased at the news, and Kasef refuses the call for peace, storming out--and finding sympathy among Ezran's courtiers.

Looks like a hot time.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Among the Sunfire Elves, in the city of Lux Aurea, Amaya is held captive; her captor, Janai, begins to question her, employing an interpreter to translate between speech and sign language. Her replies are decidedly impolite, and she is dragged before the local queen--Janai's sister, Khessa. There, she is examined and, after being found pure-hearted, allowed to remain in Janai's custody.

Steel never lies, some say...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

When Callum, Rayla, and Azymondias arrive at Rayla's home, she leads them through a ritual dance that dispels for them the illusion under which Rayla's home village is hidden. Callum is taken by the revelation, and Rayla makes to show him about; he notes the lack of faces on the others present in the village, and Rayla realizes that she has been made a "ghost"--magically outcast for her failure to complete her assassin's mission. They try to work around the issue by going to Rayla's adoptive father, Ethari, who had been Runaan's husband. Callum works to pierce the spell with regards to Ethari, and there is some success. Rayla realizes she is the only survivor of her mission, a magical indicator denoting it, as Rayla explains. Ethari works a brief pause in the ghosting ritual to confer with Rayla; she explains the change in mission, introducing Callum and Azymondias. Ethari notes the new urgency of their mission, remarking that the Queen of Dragons is ill, and offers logistical support before the pause ends. The mission to return the Dragon Prince to his mother resumes in earnest.

It's an interesting cage...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Viren languishes in the dungeons of Katolis, advised by Aaravos, and is visited by his children. They press him regarding his imprisonment, and he rails against them when he learns of Azymondias's survival. He attempts to reinforce to them the dire circumstances under which they operate, and Claudia challenges him regarding the ordered deaths of the princes. Viren, prompted by Aaravos, deflects the question, claiming to have been misunderstood; it works, and Soren and Claudia depart. They are replaced by a courtier and Kasef.

Discussion

Concerns of differing ability are prominent in the episode, and my own understanding of how what is currently called disability was addressed in the Middle Ages is limited. At present, the best thing I can think to do is to point to such resources as Prof. Kisha Tracy's work (including her commentary here) and some others readily available. I am sure I am missing some excellent work; I would welcome additions (and corrections!) in comments.

Something else that emerges in the episode is the porousness of Katolis's dungeon, which might also strike the mind oddly. Yet it is quite medieval in its thrust. My own dissertation research treats the issue as applicable to Malory; not only does incarceration factor heavily into Le Morte d'Arthur, Malory was himself a prisoner (69n11 and elsewhere), and his composition "is thus dependent for its existence upon the passage of materials from outside prison into it--it is indelibly marked by the permeability of prison confines" (72). At the end of the English-language medieval, things and people pass into and out of prison remarkably easily, something that continues into the neomedievalist early modern English period (Elizabethan and Jacobean, for reference); that the prison in Katolis is as open as it is is therefore in accord with the medievalism of which the series makes much.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 3.2, "The Crown"

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

Heavy is the head that wears it, and all the more so when it is a young head...

---

3.2, "The Crown"

Written by Neil Mukhopadbyay
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

It's good to be the king.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran wakes in the king's bed at Katolis. He takes a few moments to ascertain his situation, contemplating its significance as he takes up the crown his father had worn and looks out over his kingdom. He confers with Bait about Callum, Rayla, and Zym, and he muses on his unreadiness.

Callum, Rayla, and Zym proceed through Xadia, Callum marveling at all he sees. Rayla teases him about it good-naturedly and notes that she is bringing them to her home. Callum continues to marvel at the beauty of Xadia as they proceed, however, and Rayla indulges some of his delight.

Well, maybe not so good...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Ezran begins to test the limits of his governance, delighting in some things and despising others. The burden of rule quickly becomes evident to him, reinforced by the news that the monarchs of other human nations have been attacked. When Soren and Claudia are brought before him for judgment, Ezran balks; they confer in captivity, with Soren despairing of their situation. The arrival of another kingdom's representative complicates matters further; the representative, Prince Kasef of Neolandia, requests the martial assistance of Katolis. Ezran is confused by events, having not been advised about them, but he rejects calls for war. Opeli suggests that he name a regent to govern until he is ready to rule in his own right; he refuses the suggestion, orders Claudia and Soren released, and refuses again the call for war.

Discussion

Lean a little bit closer, see / Roses really smell like...

Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

I note with some amusement one of the ways in which Rayla teases the enthusiastic Callum: providing him with a flatulilly. It is a puerile thing, to be sure, but I readily admit to having a sense of humor that has not lost its juvenile thrust. I also note that the kind of joke on which the scene relies, the fart joke, is amply attested even in the "high" literature of the medieval period, including in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as Valerie Allen explains in On Farting, and something of it comes up in medieval lyric (a popular topic, indeed). Certainly, the fart-joke is not original to the medieval; I recall reading something that the oldest attested joke, dating back some 3900 years from this writing, is, in fact, a fart joke, and I would not be surprised. But the fart-joke is a current one in medieval art and culture; emphasis on it within a medievalist property still serves to reaffirm that property's connection to the medieval from which it borrows.

I note, too, that the episode begins to deal with matters handled by another Netflix series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. My comments about Glimmer's assumption of rule (beginning here) would seem to apply to Ezran, at least in part; I will not rehash them here, but will simply note that I am pleased to see the series grapple with the concerns of something so often idealized. More such could be meaningfully treated, and by many; perhaps if they were, the medieval would not be such a resource for the execrable who seek to employ it.

The Dragon Prince Rewatch 3.1, "Sol Regem"

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

The third season of the series begins with a new set of challenges.

---

3.1, "Sol Regem"

Written by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond
Directed by Villads Spangsberg

Synopsis

That's a lot of dragon.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

In an expository scene from long before the main events of the series, the dragon Sol Regem flies to where a single human stands. The dragon confronts the human regarding dark magic; the human refuses to relinquish the power it offers, noting that surrendering the "gift" it provides would be rude. Sol Regem moves to waste the nearby city from which the human comes to compel his compliance, and the human works a ritual against him, blinding him even as he himself is slain in fire. The dragon flees.

The result of the meeting, long after...
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla, Callum, and Zym consider the maimed Sol Regem as they plot how to proceed into Xadia. Rayla relates the dragon's history and advances the idea of sneaking past him. Zym is fearful, and initial attempts to pass Sol Regem fail as the young dragon flees in panic.

Looks like she'll be having a blast.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Elsewhere, Amaya takes stock of her strategic situation; it is not good, as her position is understaffed and an attack from nearby Sunfire Elves is expected. A visitor arrives: Amaya's adjutant, Gren, whom she had left at the castle of Katolis and whom Viren had imprisoned. He reports on the lack of reinforcements and Viren's perfidy; Amaya proposes destroying the nearby access to Xadia and leads a party to place blasting charges to that end. The initial blasting attempt fails, interdicted by the Sunfire Elves, and Amaya personally ensures its success. After, she helps her defeated opponent, her mission completed.

Sol Regem is a bit caught up in the moment.
Image taken from the episode, used for commentary.

Rayla, Callum, and Zym consider how to make another attempt to penetrate into Xadia. Rayla approaches openly and pleads for passage; Sol Regem, after questioning the elf, allows her and Zym into Xadia, but he demands the death of Callum. They flee as the dragon rages and take stock of how they might proceed. Callum stumbles onto a plan to misdirect Sol Regem; Rayla adjusts it somewhat, and they proceed. Although done at great peril, their ingress into Xadia is successful.

Back at the castle of Katolis, Viren languishes, imprisoned. Aaravos offers him some small comfort and counsels patience. The council of Katolis considers executing Viren, their conference interrupted by the return of Ezran. The young king returns to what had been his father's throne.

Discussion

It is of interest at the beginning of the episode that the staff wielded by the human Sol Regem confronts is implied to be the focus of dark magical power--and the same staff wielded by Viren. There is a long-standing trope in medievalist fantasy of objects wrought by power of old having strange endurance and great might, one echoing the comments about "the work of giants" in early English verse (such as here). As with several other things, it is hardly unique, but it does help to reaffirm the medievalism of the series.

Someone else having a blast.
Gif of a scene from The Two Tower from Tenor.com, used for commentary

It is also of interest that the Katolis military appears to have access to gunpowder. Normally, such things are excluded from medievalist works; the introduction of explosives is generally seen as removing a work from the medievalist and placing it into mimicking the early modern, despite the existence of gunpowder in medieval Europe (note here and here, among others). Of course, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, which are a medievalist touchstone for a great many, do make use of the substance, although it admittedly takes a Wizard to get it started, and it is regarded as an unnatural evil. That Katolis uses it, then, is somewhat fraught within the contexts of the medievalism likely to be perceived by the presumed primary and secondary audiences of the series--pre-teen children and their parents who grew up with Jackson's films, as this rewatch series has asserted previously--but it still helps link the series to at least some understandings of the medieval.

Some Further Notes about the Kerrville Renaissance Festival

𝔗his past weekend, I once again attended the Kerrville Renaissance Festival--about which I've written before, here and here. (It can still be found on Twitter and Facebook, as well as elsewhere.) This year, I did not win free tickets; instead, the event was opened for all for free, so long as they came in wearing masks; as might be expected, there was some negative comment about the mask requirement, with at least one person I saw writing that "If I have to wear a mask, I'm not coming," but most of the people I saw on site were masked unless they were eating or performing, and the performers made a point of keeping their distance from the audience.

Coming to the entry on 30 January 2021.
The photo, like all of them in this post, is mine.

When we arrived--once again, my wife and daughter went with me--the weather was a bit chilly and quite overcast, with drizzle falling; it's a welcome thing in the Texas Hill Country in most any season, and it might have contributed to the relatively sparse attendance that had preceded us into the event. Soon enough, though, the clouds began clearing off, the drizzle stopped, and the sun came out to warm the area--something that received some comment in one of the performances we watched.

The Bedouin Dancers taking the stage.

The camp at some distance.

Some tabled discussion.

There were a couple of those, as might well be expected. Once again, we watched the Bedouin Dancers of San Antonio perform, with several of the faces familiar when they peaked out from behind their masks and the dances still commanding attention. We also looked at the mock-up Viking encampment that stood not far away from where the dancers performed, something with which my daughter found herself fascinated. It was, as most such things are, partial, with some things that would be expected of an encampment, even one meant to be up only for a few days, absent (some might say happily for some things, admittedly, and I doubt that the reenactors stayed overnight in their tents). Such events, as I have commented in the past, do not capture the "real," although they celebrate things and allow for release and enjoyment that are welcome in all times--but perhaps especially in times of strain. And I will note, too, that there seemed to be an effort made by the reenactors to be more inclusive in their company--as well as less of the overt racism I saw and heard last year, which I have to count to the good. The coded / covert / dog-whistly stuff seemed less in evidence, as well, though whether that was out of the increasing recognition that populations of earlier times were not so homogenous as has been traditionally believed or out of some other concern (perhaps worry about blowback) is unclear to me; admittedly, I'll take either explanation, if not both.

Berds! I lurve berds!

Sumer is icumen in...

The show that really caught my attention, however, was that of Ermagerd Bard, whom we got to watch when we stopped for a bit to eat (teriyaki jerky and popcorn served for a snack, both of which are so authentically early modern--almost as much as the smoked turkey legs available not far off). The performer, who polled the audience before beginning and tailored her show to suit, seemed to me to have done her homework, working not only to get the seeming of medievalism, but to ground her performance in what is known--and in both amateur and professional work--of the medieval; the scholar that remains in me appreciated her showing her work in even so casual a manner as noting some scholarly disagreement...which she did after leading the audience in a round over "Sumer Is Icumen In." (I even sang along, and I managed not to get pelted with...anything, really.) It was a fit choice, given the aforementioned shift in weather, and the performer commented upon it as she explained for the lay audience what the lyrics of the song mean, both denotatively and connotatively. The audience seemed quite interested in the lewd overtones of the work, with several I overheard noting their surprise that such things would have been in a song several centuries old. (Indeed, one or two, young children in tow, got up fairly quickly. I doubt it was in response to a sudden need for a diaper change, although I suppose it could have been.) And although I already knew about it, I was pleased to hear it explained well; I was happy to have a bit of thought go into things, more than I usually get to see when I attend such festivals.

We did a few other things at the festival, mostly walking around and looking about. We took a carriage ride that was pretty nice, and I was tickled that several of the folks manning show and craft booths noted "Oi! Must be rich people, getting to ride in a carriage and all!" It seemed to me that several more of the folks working--and there were fewer; the event was spare in both attendance and staffing, although it was still quite fun--were in on the joke than in past years. I hope that that part of it is a tendency that continues; I'll look for it next year, I hope, when there might be a bit more "normal" an event to attend.

No, I wasn't in a contest...though I'd've won...