When the Dragon Prince debuted on Netflix last year, it was a pleasant surprise. Equal parts Avatar the Last Airbender and Game of Thrones, the first nine episodes laid a strong foundation and introduced the central cast and the core conflict.
This time around, the story slows down to focus on worldbuilding and lay the building blocks for future seasons. While it’s not quite as spectacular as the first season, important story threads are furthered and new characters are also introduced.
New Characters are Plentiful, as is a Focus on Character Development
Chief amongst these new characters is the Dragon Prince himself, Zym (short for Azymondias), who makes an adorable companion, showering Ezran with lighting tinged pecks. Like Claudia says when she sees Zym for the first time, he’s the cutest baby dragon ever. Ezran tries to teach Zym to fly, and by the end of the season has to deal with new responsibilities when he learns of unfortunate news.
Callum goes through a journey of his own, learning more about Primal Magic while also dabbling in Dark Magic. Claudia, whom Callum long has harbored feelings for, also gets an important arc, as she wrestles to choose between her friendship with the princes and her loyalty to the kingdom.
Her father, Viren, slides further towards the dark side, encountering a mysterious (and sinister) elf named Aaravos through a magic mirror and descending into madness after he fails to muster support from the other human kingdoms to attack Xadia.
There’s an important theme that’s explored in this sub plot, as Viren advises King Harrow to kill a magma creature to use its heart to solve famine in his kingdom. His wife, Sarai, disapproves, asking if its sentient and has a family, and that they shouldn’t look for shortcuts to solve endemic problems like famine. Sarai, however, supports her husband’s decision, in a move that ultimately leads to her demise.
We also get more backstory and a proper look at Callum and Ezran’s mother, Saria, who died during Katolis’s last excursion into Xadia. Rayla, who got more of a starring role last season, is still important, but plays more of a supporting role to Callum, who she also develops a crush on.
The Trademark Humor Breaks up the Tension
Of course, along with all these heavy themes and deep lore, we also get some of the trademark humor we have seen in the Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra. Soren’s dim witted antics often make him the brunt of many jokes, and a pirate who is somehow blind in both eyes and still functions perfectly fine while sailing, complete with talking parrot in tow.
Of course, the shorter season lengths mean that the Dragon Prince is noticeably behind in terms of plot progression and character development compared to both the Legend of Korra and the Last Airbender, where the seasons of the former varied from 12 to 14 episodes and the latter which often had twenty episode seasons.
However, the Dragon Prince does well with what it’s given, laying solid foundations for future seasons to come.
If you haven’t gotten into the show yet, now is a good time to catch up, with only 18 episodes so far that are less than thirty minutes each. While it hasn’t still reached the heights of the Last Airbender, it’s already a great show in its own right.