It's that time of year again media fans, time for another season of Netflix's most hit-and-miss show of all time, The Dragon Prince!
Gosh, how have is it I've reviewed two seasons of this show already? Where does that time go everyone...?
If you've been following my blog these past couple of years, then you may remember that I have...not been fond of these recent Dragon Prince seasons. Season 4 was a disappointing return after that three-year hiatus that left us waiting for it and Season 5, while better, still suffered from an over-reliance on humour, a crazily overstuffed plot and an overcrowded cast of characters. So going into Season 6, instead of being hopeful for it, all I could do was say "Please don't suck!" Given this is the penultimate season before the show concludes with Season 7, it ought to be good, right?
So is Season 6 an improvement over the last two seasons? Or do we have yet another dud on our hands? Let's fly into Xadia and find out...
Section 1: The Story
Continuing from last time, Callum and Rayla journey to the Starscraper to find out how to deal with Aaravos now they have his prison and also find a way to return Rayla's loved ones back into the world of living. Meanwhile, Queen Janai and General Amaya have their wedding, Claudia tries to come to terms with her father's change in attitude, Viren tries to make amends and Aaravos is still scheming as his return grows ever closer.
So with Season 4 being badly paced and full of dumb moments and Season 5 being overstuff with plot and characters, is this season any better and at least manages to be good? I can say with the utmost certainty that YES, it is better than the last two seasons. But it still suffers some of the problems of the previous seasons, so I'll cover those first and then get to the good stuff.
Sadly, the same problem as last time plagues this season too: THERE'S STILL TOO MUCH PLOT! Why can't this show just pick the most important plots and stick with them already?! It's getting annoying trying to keep track of this show and everything that's going on because there's constantly so much happening. Like we only needed Callum & Rayla, Claudia and Viren's plots at best. We really didn't need to waste an episode on Soren and Corvus helping Zym find his mum, and we most certainly didn't need to devote an episode to Janai and Amaya's wedding. Because of how overcrowded and overstuffed this plot is, we have moments that are either insignificant to the main plot such as the search for Zubeia, moments that go nowhere like Claudia leaving Terry for all of one episode before she comes back for...reasons, or stories that end anti-climactically like Prince Karim's. Seriously, his plot was ultimately a waste of time in the end with how pathetically easily it was resolved. They devoted two seasons worth of plot for this? A coup that barely even posed any real threat and we didn't even get to see his defeat in full? And no, the whole Sol Regem thing doesn't count. That could've happened without Prince Karim's coup easily.
And then we get plots that don't get a follow-up because of how this story has too much on its mind already. Throughout this season, I had one burning question in my mind that the show just neglected or outright forgot to address: WHERE THE HELL WAS KIM'DAEL?! No joke, the Bloodmoon Huntress is Dame-Not-Appearing-In-This-Story! What was the point of her existence in the last season if it didn't go anywhere and she's just not here in this season? All it's done is leave an annoying plot hole that makes it hard to enjoy this season because all I can do is keep asking that question without getting an answer.
Speaking of plot holes, there's a few things that don't add up in this series. For example, the resolution to the Ice Behemoth was as simple as showing love to it. Why didn't the Skywing Elves ever consider that? You're seriously expecting me to believe that they never considered that option? Also, it turns out that the prison Callum and Rayla have with them is the fake candy one Callum created in Episode 1. How do Callum and Rayla not know this? You're seriously expecting me to believe they can't tell that they've got the fake prison this whole time? Surely the smell of candy or at least the feel of it would clue them in that they've got the fake one? That's a lot to buy writers.
So yeah, the plot is overstuffed and there are plot holes galore. So why am I saying this season is an improvement over the last two? Very simple: because it's less annoying to watch than Seasons 4 and 5 and the writing is still better than those seasons were because of all the good stuff we got here. First of all, the plots that ACTUALLY matter are all well done and have a lot of wonderful, emotional, strong and compelling moments in them and it's where the season's best writing comes in. Callum and Rayla's plot is really sweet to watch as their romance finally returns again and they're back to hugging and kissing. Believe me, the Rayllum shipper in me was cheering so much when they kissed again. I also like how Rayla was finally given closure with her loved ones in the end, and was even surprised when she chose Runaan in particular to bring back from his coin prison. I sure hope things won't be too awkward with him and Callum given Runaan killed King Harrow in Season 1...
This season also addresses some of the criticisms of the previous seasons and does something about it. First of all, the humour FINALLY gets toned down. For the first five or six episodes, it's still annoying and forced, but then when we get the final three episodes, they finally stop telling jokes every five minutes and let the tone be serious for once. Hell, they even end the season on a bittersweet note and there's not a shred of humour anywhere! No dumb jokes or anything, they make it clear that Katolis's destruction is no laughing matter and Aaravos being back is a bad thing! They finally delivered what they promised in the show getting darker and it's so welcome! Where was this in the previous two seasons, might I ask?
Speaking of, we finally get some interactions with Viren and Soren after Season 4 neglected to devote any time to that, and they executed those scenes PERFECTLY. Soren isn't being an annoying goofball for once and actually takes the situation seriously, as well as giving Viren the dressing down he deserves for being a terrible father. It was so great to see these scenes at last and they didn't ruin it with a dumb joke or anything. The same applies to Ezran in how he's finally taking the situation more seriously than in the previous seasons and isn't being a goofball all the time. His reaction to Viren's return especially was perfect with him not showing a shred of empathy of care towards him. Given what Viren's done to him, his brother and his friends, of course he won't be happy to see him. It was so good to see this side of Ezran for a change.
The season also continues The Dragon Prince's usual track record of interesting world-building and character writing. It was interesting learning about the Skywing Elves and their culture and I really enjoyed learning the backstories of Viren and Aaravos. We even get to learn about Callum's birth father at long last and what we get suddenly puts anytime Callum gets strangled or runs short on breath in a dark new context. Those moments were when the story was at its most interesting. I love exploring the world of Xadia, I love learning about these characters and their backstories, and I love seeing the cultures of the different races that live in this world and Season 6 delivers on that in spades. Another thing the show does well is visual story-telling, and the scenes with Terry and Claudia in Episode 3 are no exception. In that episode, their entire scenes are ALL done with no dialogue, and it only ended up making them more interesting, even beautiful, to watch in that episode. Maybe it's because we don't have to hear Claudia raving like a lunatic as usual, but that's not the point. They could've easily put dialogue on those scenes, maybe even forced in more jokes, but they didn't and I'm so glad for it.
And I must also add that the romance side of The Dragon Prince is as solid and touching as ever. Janai and Amaya's wedding may have been unnecessary for the story, but it was still sweet to watch. And of course, the Rayllum scenes were the highlights of the whole season. The two finally got back together and it was so wholesome to see.
Season 6 is flawed, and I do mean FLAWED, but I won't say it's a bad season by any means. It lacks a lot of the stuff that made Seasons 4 and 5 frustrating to watch, handles the characters better, delivers more on what it promises and by the time the series is over, I actually find myself wanting to see the next one. It took a while, but we finally have a GOOD season of The Dragon Prince for the first time since Season 3. A job well done there to all the writers for this season...
Section 2: The Characters
Once again, make yourself a sandwich or something because this'll take a while.
We have our main leads again, Callum (voiced by Jack DeSana) and Rayla (voiced by Paula Burrows). Callum and Rayla were great here with their rekindling relationship finally coming together and blossoming into romance once more after the time-skip soured things between them in the previous two seasons and they're constantly showing why they're made for each other by watching each other's backs and standing up for one another. While they don't prevent Aaravos from escaping in the end, they do at least free Runaan from his coin prison, so that was nice for Rayla. I like how Callum is taking Aaravos the most seriously of anyone here given Aaravos briefly took control of him in Season 4, and he just doesn't want it to happen again. We even get a repeat of him making Rayla promise to kill him if Aaravos controls him and unlike in Season 4 where they ruined it with a stupid joke, it's done more seriously here with no nose-squeezing. These two had the best scenes throughout the season and their plot was the most compelling to watch as a result. Oh and it turns out Rayla has a lovely singing voice too. Who knew the badass assassin elf girl could sing so nicely? The scene where she calms down the Ice Behemoth was so wholesome and it really shows how far she's come. Here she is taking the peaceful approach. It's clear Callum and Ezran have left quite an impact on her...
Next, we have Lord Viren (voiced by Jason Simpson). At first, I got annoyed when it turned out that YET AGAIN Claudia brought him back alive and it seemed Aaravos warning him he was going to die at the end of Season 5 was all for nothing, thankfully his character development from last time stuck and he didn't just go back to being evil again. He's a changed man and finally sees the error of his ways and the damage his choices have done to his children, which makes him regretful and he wants to make amends for it. He especially had some really impactful and powerful moments with Soren (voiced by Jesse Inocalla) where he genuinely wants to make up to him and is really sorry for being a bad dad to him but Soren, understandably, wants nothing to do with him. It's here where we get Soren at his angriest and most serious, which was refreshing to see after the last two seasons flanderized his goofy antics and made him annoying. But back to Viren, his best moment for me was when he wrote that letter detailing his backstory and why his wife left him and yet Soren's attitude towards Viren him choose not to give it him in the end. It was interesting to learn of Viren and Soren's past like this and it explains so much about their dynamic in previous seasons. And thankfully, Viren gets to finally die in the end...but as a hero. He gives his life to save the people of Katolis from Sol Regem, using Dark Magic one last time to do so. He lived believing himself to be doing good for his people, and he died doing just that. A PERFECT conclusion to his story if I say so myself.
Too bad that Viren's death ends up throwing away whatever potential Claudia (voiced by Racquel Belmonte) had to redeem herself. As usual, the show tries to make us feel sorry for her, which is NEVER going to happen because she's below any sympathy at this point. I know anytime she cried for her father, I was just saying "Serves you right". And as usual, the show continues to be confused over how we're supposed to feel about her. One minute, she's this tragic figure whom we're supposed to feel sorry for, then she's back to being a goofball like when she played with that creature and had a happy time with it, and then she's back to being evil. Like, pick a lane writers! Is Claudia this irredeemable villain or a quirky goofball? You can't have both! And this leads to the most annoying thing about Claudia this season: the fact the show teases a possible redemption for her and then just throws it in the dustbin and makes her a minion for Aaravos. What, did she take lesson in redemption from Chloe Bourgeois or something? I've said it once and I'll say it again: don't tease a redemption arc with these characters! Either make them unrepentantly evil or make them redeemable! I just wish Terry would finally wake the hell up and realize Claudia's this horrible, evil person already, because it's just sad at this point how delusional he is.
And of course, there's the big bad himself, Aaravos (voiced by Erik Dellums). After Seasons 4 and 5 nearly forgot he existed and made him seem irrelevant in his own story, Season 6 finally involves him more on the plot this time around. His presence hangs over the cast throughout and it makes him this creepy, sinister force of nature again that the previous three seasons set him up as. And then the last episode reveals his backstory to us...and after seeing it, I'm genuinely asking "Are we sure he's the villain?" Seriously, unlike Claudia, I DO feel sorry for Aaravos after his backstory was revealed. He is ACTUALLY a sympathetic character, and it explains so much about why he's doing what he does here. His daughter was taken away from him because she broke the law, and now he's lashing out at the cosmos for taking away his dearly beloved. No wonder he seems so peeved at the other elves. It's so great to see Aaravos being threatening and interesting again and I expect big things now he's released from his prison...
What's not interesting is the treacherous Prince Karim (voiced by Luc Rodrique). His entire subplot was the biggest waste of time in the entire series and I want my time back for all the seconds wasted on this miserable excuse for a character. I'm not kidding when I say his entire subplot amounted to attempting to stage a coup on his own sister...and it completely fails because Sol Regem bailed on him and attacked Katolis instead so he gets defeated hilariously easily. What was the point of spending all this time on him if his subplot was going to be resolved so anticlimactically? Sol Regem didn't need him to get involved in this plot! All the time that was wasted on Karim and his betrayal could've been spent on the plots that actually mattered and instead of spending so much time setting up a plot point that was over and done with so quickly, they could've set up Sol Regem's attack on Katolis literally ANY other way! This set-up didn't require three seasons worth of nothing, they could've done it in a single season and saved us so much time that was wasted on nothing. Karim is officially the character I hate the most in the entire series, even more so than Claudia, because all he did was waste time. Why this character EVER existed, I will never understand...
Oh and to sum up how useless he was, as I mentioned earlier Kim'dael, the deadly vampire elf he released in the last season, doesn't even show up in this season. So he wasted our time setting her up for nothing in Season 5 and he wasted our time again with this entire coup that amounted to nothing. Karim, if you want to be useful in any way at all, then don't bother showing up again in Season 7, OK? You've stolen enough time out of our lives as it is!
The rest don't have too much to comment about. Ezran (voiced by Sasha Rojen) is his old self again, only he actually comes off as more mature and responsible this time around given he's doing his kingly duties for once and actually proves he's capable of being serious when the situation calls for it, Zym has a pointless subplot that just tells us Zubeia's alright but it has nothing to do with the main plot, General Amaya and Queen Janai (voiced by Rena Anakwe) have their wedding, which while sweet and romantic wasn't really worth devoting a subplot towards, Queen Aanya (voiced by Zelda Ehasz) makes a surpise comeback but doesn't really do anything, Sol Regem (voiced by Adrian Hough) only emphasizes how pointless Karim's plot was since he pretty much abandons it to do what he wants and Runaan finally gets to make his comeback at the end of the season. Feels a bit late to bring him back in my opinion, especially since Season 7 won't have time for him and Callum to really come to grips with how Runaan killed his surrogate father. We need time devoted to that and the final season won't really have time for that given we have Aaravos and how our heroes will stop him to deal with. Runaan should've been brought back much sooner if you ask me. Maybe instead of wasting so much time on Karim, we could've brought him back in Season 4 or 5 instead and devoted all of Karim's scenes to him! Just saying.
In terms of new characters, we only really have the Skywing Elves with the Elder (voiced by Mark Gibbon, Kosmo (voiced by Ethan Farrell) and Astrid (voiced by Boone Williams) being the only ones who are even characterized. Aside from that, no real new characters to speak of, it's all mostly the old ones here. And honestly, that's for the best because the last thing we need right now with this overstuffed mess of a show is MORE characters.
The characters are better than they have been in the previous two seasons with Callum, Rayla, Viren and Aaravos being true standouts here while the rest aren't as worth talking about, and in Karim's case he shouldn't have even been created at all. Now are we ever going to get an answer on where Kim'dael is? She's a big question mark that can't be left unanswered!
Section 3: The Animation
The animation is still great. What else do you expect me to say? Once again, it never ceases to amaze me how far we've come since we started. While the writing has been very hit-and-miss these past few seasons, the animation continues to be the only thing about this show that remains consistently great.
The character designs are as on point as ever, the backgrounds are gorgeously detailed and pretty to look at, the character animation conveys a lot of emotion and personality and the action scenes are still intense and exciting with the highlights for me including Sol Regem's rampage on Katolis that sees the human kingdom literally go up in flames and there's panic all round as the humans are forced to flee for their lives.
The only problem with the animation in this season is that compared to the previous seasons, I really don't have a lot to talk about. We don't really get a lot of new things to see here, only really the Skywing Elves's home tower, the Starscraper, which is appropriately this tall building that mostly consists of beams of light and floating platforms. Aside from that, we've pretty much seen everything else before, so the visuals don't give us much of what we haven't seen already. It's not that it makes the animation bad or boring to look at or anything, just that it doesn't have a whole lot that stands out from last time. That said, it does have one standout moment for me, and that's when Viren writes his letter to Soren. We get flashbacks to his past of course, but some of those flashbacks are depicted in the form of illustrations on paper, like we're seeing his story told through a picture book. It would've been cool if they told his entire backstory like this, but mixing it up with the show's usual animation and those still shots did still make it interesting to look at. It's a neat visual representation of what is literally the story of his life and so giving us storybook like visuals really made sense and was quite clever in my eyes. What was also clever, and somewhat cheeky, is when Callum and Rayla find the frozen ship and it says "Ray of Illumination" on the side, but then as it sinks in the frozen lake, the name becomes faded except for "Ray" and "llum". Get it? Rayllum? The shipping name for Callum and Rayla? They did a funny! I do hope that visual isn't meant to be foreshadowing of what will become of their relationship in the future...
Another stand out moment for me is Caludia and Terry's subplot in "The Frozen Ship". As mentioned in the story section, their entire subplot in that episode is told without a single word of dialogue, leaving it up to the animators to get everything across on their own. Those scenes were infinitely more interesting to watch as a result of them being dialogue-free and Claudia and Terry convey so much between them with just facial expressions and body-language alone. This show's always been great at visual story-telling and those scenes are another example of that for me.
As is, the animation is still great as ever, but is mostly more of the same visuals we've seen before. The framerate, while still improved, noticeably drops a little during the blizzard scenes when Callum and Rayla fight the Ice Behemoth but otherwise remains smoother and consistent throughout the season. Aside from that, there's no real technical issues with the animation. It's still pretty to look at and is still an improvement over the first three seasons. I only wish the show had six seasons worth of great storytelling as well as six seasons worth of great animation. Isn't it weird how the show's writing quality was great, but the animation wasn't when it started and now the writing quality has gone down, but the animation has gone up? So bizarre...
Overall
The Dragon Prince Season 6 is a flawed season, but is easily the best we've had since Season 3. The plot is still too large and complex for its own good, there's a lot of annoying plot-holes, some plot-points go nowhere or are pointless and there's a lot of annoying attempts at humour. But it also has a lot of high points that make the season worthwhile such as the surprisingly bleak ending, the humour getting toned down for the second half, some satisfying conclusions to character arcs like Callum, Rayla and Viren and Aaravos finally feels relevant in his own story. It was a long path before we finally got here, but The Dragon Prince actually feels enjoyable again for the first time since Season 3 and I actually find myself anticipating the finale. It feels good to be enjoying this show again and I hope it sticks the landing next time. Roll on that finale...
And that's my review on The Dragon Prince Season 6. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your comments down below. Did you enjoy this season? Did you not enjoy it? Do tell me.
Next week, I'll be reviewing Deadpool and Wolverine. See you then media fans!
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