By Juan Calvillo
Season three of Netflix’s “The Dragon Prince” is a roaring adventure that rivals the deep story and exciting action set pieces of any other fantasy genre fare.
Set moments after crossing into the magical land of Xadia the story for the new season combines political maneuvering, epic army battles and some interesting character progression.
The end of season two was a bit bleak. The trio of Princes Callum and Ezran and Moonshadow elf Rayla broke into two groups. Callum and Rayla were tasked with transporting the tiny dragon, Zym, back to his home in Xadia.
Ezran and his protector Corvus made their way back to the human kingdom, where the young Ezran is to take over as king.
Throughout the season, each of the three main characters truly come into their own.
Each of them being challenged in ways they weren’t in previous seasons. It’s odd to be watching a show for young adults and children and constantly comparing some of the story beats to “Game of Thrones.”
The mixture of politics in one scene, and then magic and dragons in the next almost makes it seem that this is Netflix’s kid friendly version of the Home Box Office hit series.
This immersive storytelling is focused through the growth and changes the show’s characters go through.
Ezran becomes much more confident and sure of who he is and what he is capable of doing.
His character becomes much more mature as the story progresses.He is constantly trying to make good decisions in situations that even adult kings would find troubling.
There’s a point in a later episode where Corvus remarks that he is truly impressed with the young king.
Rayla and Callum each become more confident through the episodes.
More of Rayla’s backstory and history is shown this season as well. The story goes deeper into Rayla’s past, showing more of what Rayla thinks of her parents and what really happened to them.
One of the more interesting moments has Rayla finally confronting her emotions, something that in past seasons she was reluctant to try and do.
Rayla manages to confront her feelings thanks to the deepening connection and friendship she shares with Callum.
Callum began his change into a confident magic user at the end of last season, and this season he is entirely sure of himself.
There are moments when he tries to run before he can walk, but because of his talented nature in magic it isn’t long before he shows what he is truly capable of when it comes to using his abilities.
Callum’s confidence is interesting to watch because of his lack of it in the earlier stories.
All through season three, Callum shows time and again that he is there for his friends and for his family.
He continues to show that he is the noble hero archetype, always willing to put the welfare of others before his own.
The supporting characters are also quite interesting to watch this time around.
Lord Viren, the high mage of the kingdom of Katolis, remains an intriguing bad guy. His motivations from the beginning of season one remain somewhat the same.
Viren has always wanted to protect humanity and in his view that means war with Xadia is inevitable.
In the third season he continues on this path, despite allowing his ambition to get the better of him.
Out of all the secondary characters that shined this season Viren’s son, Soren, was the most surprising to watch grow and change.
Soren had always been a character that was funny to watch figure things out, since for the most part the show makes him out to be a dunce.
The show continues this trend through the new episodes, but there is also a drastic change to his core values this season.
As the story unfolds, the audience sees Soren go from a bootlicking son who is constantly looking for his father’s approval into a character that is truly worthy of being a knight and protector of the king of Katolis.
“The Dragon Prince” continues to be a beautiful show to watch. The animation is pleasant and the world of Xadia and the kingdoms of humans are vibrant and alive.
The art style employed allows for each episode to really look like a piece of art come to life, especially when magic is used.
This season has a lot more in the way of action set pieces. There are battles and all out brawls this time around. Now these may concentrated towards the end of the season, but that’s what makes the show binge worthy. Each step leads to epic showdowns, some in the halls of the castle of Katolis and some in the lands of the humans and Xadia. The moments of action are heart pounding and intense, and there’s more than one moment that will leave viewers with goosebumps.
Netflix continues to impress with original offerings, and “The Dragon Prince” is one of it’s best shows available. It’s fun and lighthearted enough for the younger members of the family, but has enough meat on the bones for fans of the fantasy genre.
“The Dragon Prince” season three a total of nine episodes, is available to stream now on Netflix and is rated TV-Y7.