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About Soren being paralyzed, you did see the part with the deer, right? I’m pretty sure Claudia drained all the life out of an innocent deer that she tricked Ezran(who can talk to animals) into leading her to. I think the point was that she was willing to do something unethical to save her brother, when the mature thing for her to do was to let him deal with his situation. I suppose it could have been more impactful if the deer was built up to be a close friend of Ezran’s, though maybe the writers still wanted her to have some sympathy. Just wanted to point that out. I still liked your review.
To me, Soren's legs being fixed was because it wasn't a character arc for him, it was an example of dark magic being terrible and great at the same time. So it was supposed to show more of the duality and morality for dark magic instead of a problem for Soren.
For me it represented how dark magic, or rather appropriated magic, operates outside of the arcanum magics. Arcanum magics operate within the natural equilibrium, tapping into the elements and channeling them like wind and lightning. Dark magic operates regardless of this, with more varied application because of this. Soren’s back should have been broken for good, as per the cause and effect of him being thrown against the rock during the battle with the dragon. Claudia killed a doe for its life force so she could overturn the natural effect and restore Soren’s back, getting a stripe of white in her hair. It does have something of a character moment for Soren because he’s more at peace with his now limited mobility because he’s been conflicted between his father’s instruction to kill Callum and Ezren if they don’t come on side and his uncertainty about actually doing this because he genuinely cares for them. Claudia has thrust him back into this, giving Soren another conflict of her putting him back in this position vs the cost she’s paid to restore him (potentially adding another conflict where Claudia tries to hide this from Soren).
This is how I feel. It wasn't his arc being resolved too fast and it wasn't just Claudia casting a simple spell and fixing their problems. Claudia had to trick Ez and kill a full deer, previously we've only seen bugs get squished. I thought the scene of her storming into the hospital room and restoring his body was an incredible display that was the intention
I also thought that it showed how far Claudia would go just to save someone. I’m posting this after watching season 3 and the resolve of that season is Claudia bringing her dad back. The addition of the white streaks show how far Claudia Has gone down the dark magic path. The inclusion of the harvest and Sorrens injury show how dark magic is a double edged sword and can be both bad and good.
I almost cried when King Harrow went to tell Callum about his mother's death, and he says the exact same thing that Callum says when he first tried to tell Ezrin about their father.... Not only was it an emotional scene on its own, but it also gives more nuance to their relationship as father and adopted son.
With the part with Soren’s paralysis. I think the focus is meant to be Claudia, as it begin with forcing her to make a choice between her brother & the Dragon. We then see her panic as she can’t heal him, & the extent she goes to to find a cure for him. And I think it’s also an important motif that dark magic is “a short cut” just as Callum’s Mum said. And we’ll see the consequences of it.
Allow me to add to that: Claudia's spell might wear off. It's going to start with Soren feeling numb and when she sees this, she starts finding deers in order to keep him "healthy". Lots of story threads this could follow.
Then Ezran could find out about it on his way back, and practically interrogate Claudia on why there seem to be so many dead deer where she goes, and he could feel betrayed and manipulated.
Also, not knowing if you're going to be renewed each season or not. A perfect time for the panic attack to be introduced would have been when King Harrow died and Calum couldn't decide whether he should go back or not. But since that wouldn't have been followed up on until Season 2, that might not have been the best choice.
What a great point. Imagine what episodes of A: TLA would have been cut if it had been 13 episodes. Probably would have lost the Waterbending Scroll, Jet, and the one where they meet Haru. Those parts of the show, if introduced at all, would have likely been compressed or rushed. I feel like this is a lot of the issue in the Legend of Korra as well.
Like the whole Callum internal termoil and Soren being paralyzed takes up a full third of the entire seasons run time which if they had a season about the size of avatar would be a full seven episodes
What if Soren’s “recovery” is only for a limited time, i.e. Claudia has to repeatedly renew the spell from time to time? From that could conflict grow with Soren seeing the after-effects to Claudia and wanting her to not heal him so that she doesn’t worsen and Claudia’s reaction to that. Also haven’t we already seen that dark magic is bad for you in the long run with Veran and the butterflies?
Hello Future Me it would really drive home that it is not an easy solution and shortcuts have shortcomings. I do think there is something of a precedent set, although I could be wrong, with the magma Titan heart. Did they say how long the effects of that spell which used the Titan heart lasted for?
Viren looked a lot more huan in the flashbacks, i think the dark magic takes away something integral. All magic seems to be linked to something spiritual.
That sounds like a perfect fix to the character arc! Sounds really interesting with Soren conflicted between being healed and continuing his life as normal or stopping his sister from hurting herself healing him. And Claudia conflicted between helping her brother and her own health.
That "is it wrong" / "yes" / "is it, though?" / "yes!" scene was one of the few points in the entire series that I literally laughed out loud. Certainly not a nuanced debate, but I still absolutely love that scene.
It also isn't objective. It's Callum deciding to strongly hold a particular moral view. It could change with more time with Claudia, maybe she'll bring more nuance to Callum's (and the show's) views of dark magic.
@@andrewjacks2716 we honestly need a new dark mage to enter the scene. A bit of a optimistic realist. Someone who will advise Callum that he should trust the elves implicitly. Because while they arent horrible monsters like they thought. They are still people with thoughts, ambitions, and darkness of their own. Personally from a machiavellian perspective what the elves did makes sense. The humans discovered a magic that would upset the balance of power (it also appers that Callum is the only human that we know of to learn none dark magic.) Because of this the elves cast humanity out to the shit side of the content to try and limit the dark mages power. If this is the case barring Callum being able to cast magic because of some elven ancestry. (It is possible, but I'm fine either way if it's done correctly) the elves will react to callums ability to do elven magic much the same way they did with dark magics discovery. They will probably try, and kill Callum to prevent this information from spreading. They might even order Rayla to do it. At that point the curtain falls, and the heros realize that this is not something that will be solved by simply restoring the old peace things need to change.
The only time I laughed out loud uncontrollably while watching this show was when it was revealed that the boys and Rayla tricked Soren and Claudia. The music gets intense and the camera closes in on Soren's face as he tenses up and looks all serious as if he's in deep thought. Then he just points at Rayla and tells "Sarcasm". I don't know why but that scene absolutely killed me. I laughed for like, a solid minute.
The thing that got me was when Sorin was paralyzed and Claudia just didn't know what to do, and I actually liked that whole arc including how Claudia healed him cause I'm interested to see what kind of consequences come out of it.
It'd be really compelling if Claudia has to repeatedly use dark magic to continually heal him and stop his relapse. He becomes dependent on it, and she has to keep a secret how much it's slowly corrupting and destroying her. THAT would be amazing. ~ Tim
@@HelloFutureMe Nah dark magic was able to change the climate of two kingdoms for decades. Viren probably has a permant fix for Soren when they get back if what Claudia did was not permanent. It seems as if the show was telling us of the amoral nature of dark magic. That it could be used to heal a love one at the cost of an animal. I think Claudia was too unskilled to use that particular spell so she got damaged. For example, she mentioned to Callum that dark magic is very dangerous if not properly shown how to be used. And then Callum got into a fever dream when Claudia just spams the spell. The thing is dark magic seems to require a lot of education, knowledge and training to be skilled in it without side effects. Like Viren appearance did not change when he changed the climate, we would know if it did for people would have mentioned it. It seems his appearance probably changed when he killed thunder. So basically to some level dark magic negative effects depend on the user skills. We have only seen Viren do master level shit(like changing souls, trapping souls, implied to kill the dragon king which probably messed him up the most).
yeah i assumed that was the reason they did it to set up like unintended consequences in the next season, besides his personal growth still exists maybe he ends up resenting his sister for taking his new path in life away but he feels shame for feeling that cuz she diminished herself thinking she was helping him
@@alexandergrant6361 Soren was actually depressed when broken though. He looked over the kids passing by when Claudia was not here with a look of great sadness. This will help him grow. It will reduce his arrogance after his near career ending injury. And if Claudia does indeed become darker mentally, or more likely physically damaged Soren will feel a great deal of shame resulting in him not wanting to be so fool hardy and arrogant again.
The show does a good job with the two primary uses of magic. 1. Magic in world building, which adds a deep sense of mystery and awe. 2. Magic as a tool to solve problems.
I thin that with Souren and Claudia Souren welcomed the paralysis because I finally got him out from under his father, as he said. Now Claudia has forced him back not only under his father's path of killing the princes, stolen the future he was planning for himself, but did it all without asking him if he wanted. She forced the magical cure on him and while she did it out of love it will be interesting to see how their relationship is going to change after they now know what their father wanted and that Claudia's use of the magic is affecting her.
Yeah this could well end up with his fall into darkness since now he can do things again. He's pretty malleable and without this moment of growth playing out he will definitely be a very different person. On the other hand he may turn over a new leaf and come to blows with her later when she goes too far. Can you imagine if this ended with one of them killing the other?
@@Merilirem Holy crap, Soren is totally going to kill Claudia to save Esran or Calum from her or something else. On another note, what kind of dark magic would sacrificing humans or even elves create? What kind would sacrificing a dragon create?
At 9:50 I feel like the sentiment that Claudia has whatever she needs for any situation is the point. Dark magic is easy... Too easy. You can solve anything without understanding the complexity that actually causes the problem in the first place. You just kill an animal, chip away at your soul and abra kadabra problem solved. Calum's mission will be to force her to think about her action and not always take the easy way out so that magical creatures can live in harmony with humans again.
I hadn't gotten to that part of the video yet but its the same for sorens paralysis. You feel like he was robbed of a story arc, and he was, by Claudia's inability to understand that it might be a good thing for Soren to learn humility. He has already accepted his fate and is ready to change, then Claudia robs him of the ability to grow as a character.
I think all of the points are valid and feed into each other. Claudia did struggle with finding how to cure her brother. It was a bit downplayed however she did not find something that could cure him and had to use something other that is much more taxing on her body and cruel to her environment to save her brother. I think you can see it as her inability to accept consequences and having to take the easier choice and having to move her moral compass to darker places and rely on more sinister levels of dark magic rather then take the hard road and accept the consequences of her and her brother's acts.
and resisting the temptation, it seems, has a boon too. it is at the end of the day, calum gained magic from using dark magic, but having the mental forititude and integrity to withstand tis temptation. and it nearly killed him too, ressiting its temptation.
I liked Season 2. It was all about the characters. There was no highly choreographed fights or giant kaiju battles, but it didn't need it. Im happy with the way the show is going.
Very true, though I do think it would be cool to see a big siege episode in season 3. Maybe the finale will involve the elves and the dragons laying siege to the main border fortress and succeeding in taking it.
But while Sokka was a person who had trained his life to be a warrior and was then suddenly surrounded by the best benders of the generation, Callum is some guy who just whines about how he's not special but never did anything to build up any skills. The only things he is capable of doing are stuff he learned on the journey, and he's not even that good at them.
@@zuulmeister8409 That's a bit unfair. Sokka was mostly self trained, and he learns over the course of the show that he has a lot to learn, all culminating in him actually becoming one of the best fighters in the story. Callum's story is as a prince who is obligated to practice things that he clearly isn't good at, and it makes him feel lesser than those around him. He wants to be good at something that people will respect him or like him for, and he doesn't like feeling that way. So when he finds a thing he can do practically effortlessly, he clings to it.
There is literally this one moment in season 3 where I swear it's an obvious reference to ATLA. I'm not going to spoil what it is but any ATLA fan will know it when they see it.
@@AvatarTheLastPodcasters Yeah, she's good. "I'm excited to rapidly eat a plate of unwholesome food, in an excessive portion size!" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5kGNsbnb9D4.html
She is integral of the flow for the story for sure, and i think carries season 1 for the most part. In terms of humor anyway with callum as her sidekick.
I actually think Soren's arc is not finished yet,Claudia might have make him walk again but he barely could take a few steps and even with Claudia's help,i dont think he will be able to fight again,and while not figting is not as bad as beeing paralized,it's still gonna have some consequences
I think the consequences of a lot of Soren's actions have yet to be truly fleshed out. He feels responsible for the destruction of a town, he feels powerless next to his sister, he feels burdened by his father. Everything about him was called into question in this season, and it will be an interesting possible redemption arc for him. How can you turn back from toxic masculinity? At least, if they go that direction.
I have to disagree on the Soren’s paralysis part.. the whole point of dark magic is it’s a quick fix-it’s the illusion that, that which has been done can be undone without further consequences.. so it only makes sense that Soren’s sister in trying to help him would use dark magic in this way.. and if it didn’t fully work or it took a long time to do we wouldn’t get the sense of why it’s so appealing, why it’s so powerful. I’m glad you can see where they might be going with Claudia.. I think we are about to see how playing with dark magic slowly changes the user and twists them, and the real reason why dark magic caused humans and elves to be devided.. we saw in Callum’s internal struggle the pull of dark magic after one use, like a hard drug that creates an addiction.. it weakens the resolve and poisons the soul.. it doesn’t seem Claudia understands the forces she’s contending with as she casually uses dark magic.. she’s naive.. up until this point she’s been using parts of dead creatures .. it doesn’t appear that she’s ever drawn the life essence directly from a still living creature like this.. her choice to sacrifice the baby deer is symbolic of how she is sacrificing her own innocence and going down a dark path, one perfectly juxtaposed by Callum’s rejection of it.. Dark magic is absolute power, and as the phrase goes.. absolute power corrupts absolutely.
jak jak I think if they do try to redeem (I use that word lightly cause she isn’t evil if not being corrupted) Claudia is to have her learn or learn about Earth magic
Not only that, but we the audience are meant to feel cheated for what happened because dark magic is cheating. With dark magic we would never have to learn from mistakes. We would never have to grow up and consider the consequences of our actions have on us and those around us. Claudia wants desperately to keep her family as is, and it will end up twisting her to do some awful things.
I think that that's something people miss about how dark magic is framed in this series. It's easy to look at the sacrifice of a deer to heal someone from a debilitating injury and think "so what?" It's just a deer after all. We have no problem sacrificing those just for the sake of a meal or a new pair of boots. But the deer isn't the point. If they'd wanted to, they could have made a huge deal about how cute and innocent this deer is, but instead, the deer barely gets any screen time. Instead, we get a big look at what this spell does to Claudia. We get a close up of her face becoming dark and distorted, and her eyes becoming totally black. Her speach also becomes slurred for a moment, and she sounds unhinged. And she develops a permanent white streak in her hair. Dark magic is an easy shortcut, and what this show shows us over and over again is the dire consequences it has for those that use it. And not just physical consequences. When Callum uses it, we see that dark magic can be extremely addictive. If you use it once, it starts to seem like it's the solution to all your problems, and it becomes easier and easier to go to more extreme lengths. It's similar in many ways to the dark side in star wars. It offers easy power, but it always has dire consequences both for the user and everyone around them.
I think the "just breath" thing was more about how he has to stop trying to over think, because sky is about letting go or because arcanums in general are intuitive. I did feel like every time they talked about arcanums it seemed less like they "couldn't be taught" and more like none of the characters were articulate enough to explain it - but that might have been an intentional exploration of elven pride.
The dragon prince is good but the story feel too often rushed. Some foreshadowing would make it much, much better. And allowing event to sink in could raise it to Avatar level
@@sparklytazer5678 I agree. I hope the next season will increase the number of episodes, preferably to 15 at least and anything 20+ would be beyond perfect.
It's about what Netflix allows for the creators of the show. Since the saga is confirmed, I am hopeful they will make the seasons a bit longer to really flesh out a solid storyline. These first 3 seasons feel like a nice precursor for what's to come.
I thought I was the only one XDD! At first I thought he was pretty. Then I heard him speak. Like....oooh shiiit. Dudes Im joining the villains anyday as long as theyve got Aaravos, goodbye goodies Im in love now
I feel like a lot of what is going on with this series is a slow burn, and that they're going for big reveals instead of compounding huge plot and character developments. Not only that, but Netflix chopping up something into 2 seasons when it should be 1 is typical for them, and it seems like it would equate to the fall finale and then spring premiere in traditional television. I'm also not sure if comparing DP to GoT is fair, haha. I mean, they're not in the same wheelhouse at their core. I honestly think that they are building up for a big reveal w/the consequences of dark magic and perhaps the consequences of the human race's distance of the nature and magic... like cutting off an essential part of ourselves that has been there all along. I feel as though there's going to be a serious 'Soylent Green is people' thing going on, or even Full Metal Alchemist where souls power the alchemy. Life force obviously powers dark magic, so Claudia exchanged some of her life to heal Soren. It could lend to even more of the commentary that I feel runs deeply in this show: what are we willing to give up for convenience and power over nature and one another?
I also would not be surprised if we learn the Elf in the mirror, whose name I cannot remember how to spell, was the one who actually created Dark Magic and taught to humans and that the elves trapped him somewhere and banished the humans to keep it from happening again.
@@thedragoknight9740 He doesn't have any qualms about using it because he himself uses it. He used his own magical-elf blood to fuel the spell that allowed him to send the bug to Viren so they could speak. Also, when people use dark magic, their eyes temporarily turn black, but Viren's eyes are already turning permanently grey from repeated use, and Aaravos' eyes are permanently black; suggesting that he has used dark magic a lot.
@@matthewmuir8884 I think that's just how his eyes are, though. when a human uses dark magic, his/her eyes go completely black, whereas Aaravos's eyes still have visible irises and pupils.
@@thedragoknight9740 I would agree if it weren't for the fact that Viren's eyes are noticeably permanently darker than everyone else's; that's why I think it has to do with dark magic.
Saddest moment (with both Callum and Ezran, and Callum and Harrow): "I want to talk to you about life, and growing up- and how sometimes there are changes you don't expect."
I think Soren's pain isn't over. I think it was rushed by necessity to split the party. And also to end the season on some heavy choices. But I'm not ready to be too critical YET, because there's a ton of foreshadowing as you've mentioned that Dark Magic is not perfect and obviously still has long term consequences for a short term relief. Claudia, Viren, and especially Aaravos have a lot of secrets to discover/reveal about Dark Magic.
Soren's paralysis was the biggest ish I had with the season. I did love that all of like 10 minutes after realizing he was paralyzed he just happily states he's going to start doing poetry now, I actually said aloud "I love him" what that happened hahaha It felt very in character too, he's got that dense, blind optimism about his own actions and decisions that him suddenly deciding to become an intellectual was so pure and wonderful, like yes dear child, do poetry, whatever your heart desires. Him getting cured right away took away all the potential consequences that could have come about from his relationship with his father. I understand the angle about dark magic having a negative effect on Claudia, but even when she barged in determined to cure him (without asking what Soren wanted, but that's a separate thought), I was honestly expecting it to only partially work. I wonder if the cure will start to wear off in the future, and we'll gradually see Soren's physical capabilities deteriorate as he simultaneously comes to terms with his conflicting feelings about pleasing his father. That would make the insta-cure more satisfying for me, and it would also play back to Claudia's arc and force her to reexamine the cost of using dark magic. But as it stands now, I was disappointed with that story beat. It was an opportunity for both Soren and Claudia to have a conflict of character moment, but it feels like Claudia got more fodder for her character arc than Soren. Soren still stands as best boy for me though, let our lovingly dense jock write poetry, I will support him unconditionally.
@@AlexKnauth yea, you win. That's about as correct answer as I can think of. Although spoiler alert for GOT, I think we may get more commentary on Ned's philosophy through Jon Sno.
The dark magic is supposed to be a easy fix. It is a easy way out of everything. That is part of the reason why elves fear it. With dark magic, you have unlimited spells and unlimited power. It isn't just about the moral dilemma of killing innocent creatures, it is also about the fact that using dark magic is a shortcut to power you should only be able to get if you are experienced and powerful. There is no way a sky elf of Claudia's age could use a spell so powerful it could reboot bodies. But i think old and powerful mages would be able to do it. I think most of the dark spells are spells from primal sources, but because you can take the magic from creatures, you don't have to sacrifice time to practice.
I would recommend you look into Irish mythology, specifically the Elven Star. It seems that the elements of the magic system is loosely based off it, which leads me to some ideas about what they may do later down the line. Essentially, I think that "Dark magic" is actually "Spirit magic", but when the immoral element of taking is put in, it becomes Dark magic. I think that they may set it up that the Spirit Acanum is to incorporate empathy, to a level that one can resonate and replicate what they need from their own spirit energy. But the draw back is that you have to use your own spirit energy. So if you push too hard before you're ready, you risk something along the lines of comatose or death. In terms of story, it's obvious how they set up Colom to go and try to attain all the primal Arcanum, but I think that it's going to be Claudia who finds the Spirit Arcanum via a process including what you mentioned of her not having the components she needs but remembering what it felt like to wield those components. (I'd love to hear your thoughts, but I'm a broke college student, so I can't go on patreon to get access to the discord. Sorry. :( But maybe you'll see this. I doubt it, but who knows.)
Is... is that your book in the back?? Also, you are amazingly well-spoken, and you’re ability to analyze and process stories is spectacular. Love your videos!!!
If you remember there was a build up to him discovering his magic by him going through his first use of dark magic use and him falling terribly sick but once he comes to and understands his place does he discover his magic
23:00 I think the only problem is if they were to try and explore this as a concept is that full paralysis in a medevil setting is basically the same as death. Perhaps if they only made him lose and arm or his legs it could have worked but not full paralysis.
My biggest problem is with Soren and Claudia. They work much better as antagonists than protagonists, but the show seems to want to give them a redemption arc that they don't believe in
They are both grey area characters. The journey for them has always been which side they fall on when the chips are down. Having the two of them it feels almost certain that their final fight will be with each other, Zuko/Azula Style. Perhaps not as cool looking but potentially just as meaningful and emotional if not a little bit more. Potential is of course easy to squander.
I cried a lot when Callum found out about his father's death and when he read his father's note. Then again I'm a VERY emotional person. I'm quite the empath.
23:10 Soren's paralysis is meant to be a midpoint in his story, he no longer has to suffer under the burden of his orders to kill the princes, which allows him to admit to himself he really doesn't want to. And then when Claudia brings him back he still remembers that he really doesn't want to do this.
I think it's possible that Soren's healing is temporary, but his paralysis is permanent. Claudia's dark magic can restore his vitality for a time, but since that magic comes from quashing the vitality of a _young_ creature and because youth itself is fleeting and impermanent, that vitality will eventually fade and leave Soren paralyzed again. This could set up an arc that simultaneously explores Claudia's grappling with the limitations and ethics of dark magic _and_ Soren's journey through the process of coming to accept his disability. As Claudia sacrifices more of her humanity and more innocent life to keep her brother in fighting shape, it could take an emotional toll on Soren that causes him to question whether his own happiness is worth the price of his sister's health and/or sanity.
17:00 I'm going to say right now, I think that moral quandary of the extent of using dark magic might be something they're saving for Claudia later. Calum is younger, more optimistic, the idea of dark magic is going to be harder for him to accept at any level at this point, especially given his exposure and knowledge of it at this point. He doesn't really know that much about it other than what he's seen Claudia do (mostly bad, though not all), and what his heavily biased elven companion says and thinks. Claudia is going to be the mirror of Zuko, the fallen hero, or she's going to get right to the very edge, or she's going to cross the edge and come back.
I never thought the Sky Arcanum was "just breathe". His mother's words are the spark that helped him realize that the sky exists within and without. The Sky Arcanum is Dragon Prince's version of a very old philosophical/occult idea: as above, so below. He realizes that the whole world is a primal stone that he's inside of and, when he beathes, it is inside him. The Arcanum is the idea that we exist in microcosmic layers. This is a mind expanding revelation on par with the Moon Arcanum: that all we can ever know are our own malleable perceptions. Both ideas are old and well-tempered yet still difficult for many RL humans to grasp, which makes sense why Dragon Prince humans fail to internalise them. I'm super excited to learn more about these teachings.
Honestly what you see as Sorin's character arc I saw more as Claudia's arc with seeing how far she would go for someone or something she cares about....
I'd be a lot more happy with this show if people weren't trying so desperately to unfavorably compare it to Avatar. Just let the show exist on its own merits, ffs
I would argue that we haven't seen the full consequences of Claudia's spell yet, and that might make for a better arc than exploring Soren dealing with paralysis.
I feel the same way about the paralysis. I somewhat expect that the dark magic fix isn't permanent. You get them trying to find a long term fix, and claudia finding out that dark magic is not as powerful as she expects. Then both can have growth in a single issue
I actually liked the Backstory, "Kinda" exploring the good part of dark magic, and showing Viren Isnt Generic BAD guy. loved the transition of Sarai into the Statue
Stuff I can’t wait for (Spoilers) - - - - Can’t wait for Ezran to find his Bird dad Really curious if Calum is gonna be a magic avatar, or just be stuck with the sky element Would be very interesting character development is calum found his mother’s remains And I cannot wait to see the brothers meet again after the development they will get from being apart
Maybe not quite as good as avatar, but it’s definitely getting there. This season fleshed put the characters more and the plot. The animation is also much better.
I really want to know more about that Sun dragon that gard's the border. We do know his the one from the opening but now half his face looks burnt how did that happen?
Honestly the thing that got me most in the feels is how Callum and Ezran come to discover the death of their father and how they coped with it. This hit me real hard as a brother of a decent sized family because I could feel the pain and conflict in Callum to tell Ezran about his fathers death and how he tries tooffer up words of comfort passed down to him by his dad when his mom died. And the thing that almost had me in tears was how Ezran took Callum's words to heart after he discovered his father was dead and was talking to Claudia. I may not have actually lost anyone this closely but I could totally see myself doing exactly what each of the characters did in the show.
Agreed on Soren's lost opportunity there. I saw that episode more as foreshadowing: their consequences will only get worse over time; this is their solution, and it now shows a sort of price. I'm fully expecting Soren to die, and Claudia losing herself to bring him back.
So after seeing Callum in this season, I actually developed two ideas that I really hope could be used, if not one: the first would be a dark master subplot between him and Aaravos. Aaravos could discover Callum through his connection with the key or from Viren and somehow makes contact with Callum in his dreams and offers to train him in order to persuade him to release him. My second hope is that Claudia learns Earth magic as, in my opinion, it is the direct opposite of dark magic and Claudia having to connect and understand the creatures she’s sacrificed to use magic would be pretty interesting to watch
The buildup to Calum's revelation how to use sky magic was every moment he was on screen for the second half of the season. The episode on the boat is him gaining a physical understanding of the sky through the way the wind affects the boat, him being out in the storm gives him an intellectual understanding of the sky in that it isn't just about the lightning but the way everything in the sky interacts, and then a spiritual understanding in his fever dream at the end of the series as he realises that he doesn't need a primal stone because the sky itself is all around him all the time, and because he understands it physically, intellectually, and spiritually he can now use the magic of the sky. That's quite different from the way everything else uses magic because they don't have the understanding that they're always connected with everything, they can only use the arcanum they're born with. (Except Aaravos, who uses all six arcana despite being a Star Elf). I think there's more of a price for healing Soren than you're anticipating. We see with Viren that dark magic has warped him to the point he needs to continue using it and killing butterflies to even maintain a human appearance.
the part that have always been the most emotional for me until now have been the adults' story arcs. I got very quickly and strongly attached to King Harald, Runaan, Queen Saraï. I hurt when they hurt while I feel more detached about the kids' struggles. I don't know why. 🤷🏾♀️
They could still have Soren's time being paralyzed affect him in the future, in the form of PTSD. He could develop a reluctance to take the chances that lead to the paralysis. His arrogance, and the youthful sense that there is nothing he couldn't do. Next time he has a need to be bold, he could remember the price he almost paid of being trapped in a bed for the rest of his life, and restrain himself as a result.
You know, I _would_ tell you the part that I felt was the most emotionally resonant, but this is coming out so far after I watched season 2 that I barely remember any of the details. Also: “One does not simply walk into Xadia”
I was right there with Callum, drowning, not being able to get to the surface and I am still underwater. When he woke up and just could breathe, it gave me hope.
so i watched this season just after my mum passed away. naturally, the episodes with calum's letter and talking through his mother and step-fathers death really had me, i could really resonate with how he felt and they did such a good job encompassing how that grief feels imo. cant wait for s3!
When are you going to do a review of season 3? 😊 I thought it expanded character arcs and we learned more back story. Side note: ezran and callum are half brothers, not step brothers.
20:00 Emotion is not always about happy, sad, surprised or angry. It can be just as well awe, agreement, catharsis... Or even more complex emotions for which we have few or no names for. One such case for me was seeing Aaravos (which, btw, sounds surprisingly like Erebus) for the first time. That was the moment I felt the universe was grander and more interesting than I had previously imagined and for a brief moment it was as if I could see all the future, present and past of that world. It all came crashing down in a wave of expectation-slash-catharsis-slash-fulfillment when his eyes shined a rainbow light and he used all elements THROUGH Viren. Very, veeeery powerful Warhammer's winds of magic feelings that fill me with excitement.
As a fan of the nightborne aesthetic in WoW, I really enjoyed the aesthetic of several of the elf-related things in season 2. Reminds me a lot of the night elf and nightborne depictions by artist Faebelina.
I think the whole dream sequence was a part of him figuring out sky magic and what it means to him, as well as in the beginning of the dream where he refused dark magician apart of the learning process he needed. There was the whole trippy scene when he becomes the boat and smashes the orb and it comes together again, all of that is him figuring out what he needs to understand.
Soren's injury/paralysis was basically all about Claudia. It showed what it took for dark magic to help something that severe (needing take a larger life force to cast than most of her spells), the toll it took on her to perform the spell, and throughout the whole ordeal, it showed her mental state in relation to her brother - what he meant to her, the fact that she had specifically discussed with Viren that if it came down to she was supposed to let Soren die and get the egg, yet there she was losing her mind to do what needed to be done to save and fix him. It may have been something that got fixed quickly, but it was revealing of Claudia's character and also has and will cost her dearly.
Yea I've been commenting that...if it was about soren it is weak storytelling but is obviously about Claudia's character arc which i think was great...she didn't even think twice about the morality of killing that baby deer...she knew it was bad thats why she didn't tell Ezran...but she did it anyways and I'm sure she will pay the consequences one day
The part of the season that hit me the hardest, is when Callum learned that his father died/Callum trying to find a way to tell Ezrin that their father died. As an older brother, I put myself in Callum’s shoes and it brought me to near tears. Although I was watching it at night, and am kinda in an emotional 15 year old “phase”, but I still really liked the dilemma.
Just as how they could expand the debate on dark magic if they chose, I think they could continue using Soren’s paralysis to test Claudia further. They could, after some episodes in between, have the paralysis gradually return - similar to a degenerative illness. And the only solution, at least for a time, being more and more dark magic to keep him going until it becomes too much for Claudia. And Soren would have to confront the inevitability of his full paralysis as well as seeing how the magic is harming his sister. Just an option.
One thing I wonder is if Sorin’s paralysis is completely fixed. What if what happened is only temporary or that he’s now stuck being capable of less things now because of it.
10:00 your wrong the scene when Claudia needed to find an animal part component to heal soren from his paralysis state really meant that she didn't have the right material to cast the incantation
I have to give the show praise for not doing the obvious and obnoxious "you hid this from me!" falling out subplot with Callum and Rayla after he found out Harrow died
I understand. What really shocked me about that flashback was that it put the death of the Dragon King in a new context: it was revenge for the death of the queen. It certainly explains why, when angrily ranting about how they got to this point in season 1, Harrow only mentioned the supposed killing of the egg; not the dragon king.
