The Dragon Prince’s third season was overshadowed at its launch by allegations of creating an abusive environment for women against the show’s creator and showrunner Aaron Ehasz. Ehasz’ terse response hasn’t helped matters, and many have abandoned support for the show as a show of solidarity. Which is a shame, because the third season culminates the last two seasons of storytelling where several threads come together for a compelling climax.
As Callum (Jack DeSena) and Rayla (Paula Burrows) make their way through Xadia to reunite the dragon prince Azymondias with his mother, Ezran (Sasha Rojen) returns to Katolis to take up his father’s throne. However, he’s soon maneuvered out of his position and the overzealous Lord Viren (Jason Simpson), who has become more and more ensnared by the malevolent Aaravos, ascends to the throne and takes Katolis and its allies to war against Xadia.
There is a lot of effective worldbuilding in the first few episodes that flesh out the world of Xadia.
There’s a blind dragon, for instance, and then, a ‘ghosting’ spell that banishes Rayla from her home. That contrasts with the political machinations back in Katolis, where Ezran is deposed perhaps a little too conveniently. By the time he’s headed back to his brother in Xadia, it feels like the writers thought that bringing Ezran back to Katolis was a bad idea to begin with, and his stay there seems more like a detour than anything else.
Viren’s descent into darkness- and the way he ensnares Claudia into his schemes- provide a grim counterpoint to the main trio’s journey to the dragon queen. There’s also an exploration of the history of the conflict between humans and Xadia, and we get to see various kinds of beings in Xadia, such as the kingdom of Sunfire Elves.
There’s some good character building done for not only the main cast, but also supporting characters like Soren and Claudia. Soren comes into his own as he leaves his father and tries to do right, while Claudia is unable to see past his facade and is determined to stick by him no matter what. Rayla struggles with her outcast nature and her parents seemingly deserting the dragon egg, and then she and Callum fall headfirst into a relationship, echoing shades of Aang and Katara.
The pacing is uneven this season, and the way characters travel across distances, sometimes on winged creatures, that previously took two seasons to traverse does invoke another recent show with dragons. One thing that still remains consistent is the wonderful art direction, which hits a new level this season with big set pieces and battles and impressive showings of magic.
It’s refreshing that the major story set up in season one reaches its conclusion in this third season. That frees up the show to take new directions, while building on existing threats such as Viren and Aaravos.
While The Dragon Prince doesn’t get everything right in its third season, it does enough to put the show on an exciting track.
Let’s hope that it can move past the controversies and continue its strong storytelling in the future.