#freeing rayla = freeing aaravos my beloved

[raayllum]

—act 5, scene i, The Tempest

[moondustgleam]

⚠️⚠️ TDP S6 EP 01/(02 just a little) SPOILER WARNING SERIOUSLY LOOK AWAY ⚠️⚠️

-aaravos crying omg 😭

- lady's voice is pretty

-moon nexus??????

-giants on moon nexus????????

-VIREN???????

-Terry omg where have you been the whole divorce/death arc

-he continues to be too wholesome for this world (thay family)

- BABE WHY DO YOU CARE IF HES DEAD OR NOT

-HES NOT DEAD??????? aaravos you little bitch

-he is alive! And free!

-that's a tone shift to Claudia's blood

-Jesus christ that's a lot of blood

-sir sparklepuff no!!!!!!!

-omg it wasn't her bloooooood

-Jesus christ

-HIS WINGS NOOOO

-her voice no :((((((((((

-his voice nooooo :(

-oh Jesus her leg

-nooooo his wingggggggg

-bro finally making a good choice in his life

-why didn't we notice sir sparklepuff wasn't in the trailer

-it's a little late to be a good influence on your daughter, dude

-NOOOO HES LEAVING EVERYONE LEAVES HER CLAUDIA

-RACQUEL FUCKING KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE FUCKING PARK HOLY SHIT GIVE HER ALL THE AWARDS

-that's a fucking tone shift

-opeli is relevant finally???

-lord breadsandwich 🤣

-the baitlings my beloved <3

-ayyy the sphere shot that came sooner than I thought

-oh shit they're looking at viren in the rain from that one shot

-barius why are you here. Like no offense

-OH SHIT HES GETTING POSSESSED

-head cannon destroying it releases him that was too suspicious

-fellowship of the pearl 😭 sorens becoming self aware in a 4th wall kinda way

-the lightings so pretty omg

-zym errands friendship <3

-CUDDLE FAMILY LETS GOOO

-bro is getting possessed. I can feel it.

-moonfam this season?

-the way jack said runaan 🤣🤣

-rayla called him king oooooh

-bro is getting possessed

-bro is getting possessed

-omg it's happening

-sleep possession AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-NO GET AWAY FROM THE FUCKING PEARL

-GET HIM SNEEZLES

-wtf is happening

wtf is happening

wtf is happening

wtf is happening

wtf is happening wtf is happening wtf is happening wtf is happening wtf is happening wtf is happening

-bro don't just drop it

-hair down rayla?????? Slayyyyyyyy

-the instant belief 😍

-he took their blankie 😡

-barius plot relevant???

-zym picked up cues from ava awwwww

-furry soren?????????

-let ezran sleep jesus

-LET ALL OF THEM SLEEP JESUS

-barius is the chocolate guy canonically

-NOOOO WHY ARE YOU TAKING IT WITH YOU. UR GONNA USE THE FUCKING QUASAR DIAMOND ON IT AND RUTHARI SHIPPERS WILL STARVE FOREVER

-FATEFUL MISTAKE I CAN FEEL IT

-Ayyyy sorvus

-awwwww sleepy callum

-sleepy rayllum

-OH SHIT ANOTHER TONE SHIFT

-poor Terry. Deserves better

-maybe Taylor and Terry could be cute

-Terry why are you crawling u have legs (unlike someone oops)

-AHHHHHHHHHHH

-CLAUDIA STATUE THING?????? (NOT FIRST EPISODE BUT HAD TO MENTION OMG)

[iamsoobsessedwiththedragonprince]

Characters' name meanings

Leola-loyal,faithful,lion

Opeli-Opal gem

Callum-Dove

Aaravos-Between light and dark

Claudia-Lame, enclosure

Rayla-Wise guardian, ewe, female sheep

Ezran-A helper, one who aids others

Corvus-Raven

Soren-Stern, strict, severe

Viren-Hero, brave

Harrow-(no meaning as a first name)

Runaan-Pure soul

Ethari-Luminous, radiant, bright, brilliant

Lain-Wool

Tiadrin-(Can't find name meaning)

Nyx-Night

Villads-Desiring battle

Elmer-Noble, famous

Finnegrin-(Can't find name meaning)

Lujanne-Silver

Barius-Free man, baron

Amaya-The end, mother city, heavenly valley

Janai-God has answered

Karim-Generous, honourable

Miyana-Star of the sea

Aanya-Grace, precious, unique

Sarai-Palace, master, princess, releaser

Zubeia-Beauty

Azymondias-Colossal, tyrant

Kosmo-Order, organisation, beauty

Astrid-Divinely beautiful, beloved of the gods

Terry-Ruler of the people

Ibis-long-legged bird

Lissa-Bee, honeybee, God is my oath

Gren-Branch

Know you know what their names mean you're welcome for this random post

[disappointingcabbage]

TDP Season 6 Episode 1 live reaction, spoilers under the cut

Who is this man crying?

What the fuck it’s Aaravos

Ok so Aaravos showing actual emotion was not on my 2024 bingo card

Genuinely why does his crying sound autotuned

There’s another startouched elf??? Who is she?????

Why is the intro still Viren getting statued??? He’s dead

Oh ok his statue got disintegrated

Yup he’s dead

Terry my beloved

O h n o he’s gonna find viren’s body

Bro why are you sobbing over this racist motherfucker

WAIT WHAT

HE’S ALIVE ????? WHY IS HE ALIVE????

oh no Claudia’s covered in blood

NOOO THE LITTLE MOTH GREMLIN SHE DID THE SACRIFICE

Oh damn Viren is fully redemption arcing and he has Regrets

“No parent wants their child to suffer for them” first of all tell that to Soren. Atone for your bullshit. Second of all you’ve clearly never met my mother

Ah shit Aaravos convinced Claudia to let him out

Viren’s actually putting his foot down and saying no. I never would have predicted this pre-s5 but now it makes total sense and I love that the writers are sticking with his character development

Oh ew this show is actually going to get me to like Viren I hate that

He’s going to Katolis to turn himself in. Based tbh.

Claudia what the fuck though like girlie your whole point of everything was to get your dad back and he’s fine now why are you still going along with Aaravos

Oof her voice acting in this scene is incredible though

Also she’s still missing that leg. I hope she gets either a cool prosthetic or an even cooler mobility aid.

Soren has opening blindfolded for some reason. The reason is either going to be A Secret Meeting for Very Not Good Ominous Reasons or something very funny

Based on the tone of the scene I’m assuming it’s the funny option

LMAO LORD BREADSANDWICH SOREN I LOVE YOU

Oh it’s just a season 5 recap in the high mage’s office

Oooh they’re deciding what to do with aaravos’s prison

I get he’s on the high council and all but why is Barius here???

Callum wants to destroy the prison, Opeli wants to assemble a multi-kingdom task force to protect it, and Barius wants to hide it

I’m with Callum or Barius tbh, the multi kingdom task force idea exposes too many people to potentially be manipulated by aaravos.

However, hiding it means that it can be found probably and exposes everyone who already knows about it to Aaravos, and destroying it runs the risk of freeing him accidentally.

Soren with the LOTR reference 💀

Rayla has the same issues as me with destroying it

Ezran has decided to hide it in katolis, smart choice

oh no, Zym’s sad about Zubeia

Callum wants to visit this ancient faction of skywing elves for info on A) yeeting the pearl out of existence and B) un-coining Rayla’s family (please let them out)

Callum is right to be afraid of aaravos manipulating him tbh

Awww one of the baitlings sleeps in Callum’s bed

Oh god aaravos nightmares oh FUCK WHY ARE YOU SLEEPWALKING

what the fuck what the fuck whY IS HE IN THE PEAR WHAT WAS THAT IMAGE OF AARAVOS YEETING THE PEARL F E A R

Rayla do NOT dismiss Callum’s concerns like that

“I have an idea” *fucking sprints away to enact said idea without elaborating* peak autism moment

I’m sorry, you want to stop aaravos with the power of pastries?

“Sometimes I wonder where my mom is too” SOBBING

awwwww bait has a little four poster bed that’s so cute

AHDIEJXIEKF BARIUS DID AN “is it real or is it cake” WITH A FUCKING PEARL DECOY IM WHEEZING

Ooh anti spell blankie

“I have my blankie 😎” Callum I would die for you

Soren and zym are going on a quest to find Zubeia and Callum and Rayla are going to see the Celestial Elves but more importantly, each questing squad is taking a baby bait with them!!

If the one going with Soren isn’t Hat I will be very disappointed

Claudia why are you ominously standing over Terry and trauma dumping

Claudia what are you doing with the staff

Claudia no please don’t hurt him if you hurt him it’s transphobic

Oh ok she’s just walking her toxic ass out of the relationship cool

Terry don’t wait for her she doesn’t deserve it

[convenient-plot-device]

My unorganized thoughts after finishing The Dragon Prince season 5

Finished binging the season!!! I loved it. It dragged in places and that stupid fucking lemur thing is still the bane of my existence but I loved the character development and plot beats! I also loved seeing more of Terry. He has something deeply wrong with him <3. Also liked Viren completing his redemption arc, though I would have preferred the resurrection spell actually require Claudia to sacrifice herself or at least like sacrifice a limb or something to truly complete Viren's arc. He has no attachment to that fuckin homunculus thing, and his reasoning for not killing it being that "Dark magic led Claudia down a dangerous path, I'm not doing any more dark magic" is a little weak. I do appreciate that the way they did it gave us a whole scene of Aaravos talking about "our child" with Viren, peak evil gay, but it did a disservice to Viren's redemption arc. I get that it was kinda the only way, since Aaravos knows Viren would never hurt one of his actual kids at this point in his arc, but still. I also am really interested in how Zubeia being corrupted goes, how Claudia losing her leg goes, and what's up with that magic pearl. Is that really Aaravos's prison? Or is that the key to his prison? Loved Callum struggling with what he's willing to do under pressure to save those he loves, and how that's contrasted with Claudia, who's kind of a dark mirror for who he could become if he can't learn to let go of those he loves. Loved the reveal that he used dark magic to save Rayla in the Sea Legs episode. Also just really liked Finnegrin, he's a great character and I love his design. Love a ruthless evil pirate who wants revenge on the Archdragon of the Ocean for killing his beloved hermit crab, who keeps pet hermit crabs all over his office, and who has a neckline low enough to kill god. I also love Elmer! What the fuck is his deal though. Are there just plant trolls in Xadia now? Not opposed, just wanna know.

I also really loved Soren this season! I like how his kindness and unwavering faith in others is his greatest strength. Very sweet. That man is the One True Himbo. Dumb, strong, and most importantly, kind. Fucking LOVED seeing Tidebound elves this season. I've wanted to see ocean elves since season one! Fuck yeah! Janai and Amaya are so cute together. Same with Terry and Claudia, love a good fucked up couple. He's just like "I can fix her" and she's just like "No you can't but you CAN join me in my insanity." Callum and Rayla go back and forth for me; sometimes they're really sweet, but sometimes they seem almost forced and I'm just like... can't they be BFFs? Or in a QPR? I feel like it would fit better than a romance TBH. I also love how Villads was 1000% willing to get his hand chopped off for a few kids he met once three years ago. My kind of dude. Fuck that General lady, also. Like, how is Karim worth betraying your entire people and possibly ruining the future of your whole society?? Does he kiss you on the forehead sometimes? Please get better judgment you are literally a judge on the High Court. Also what is up with the Sunfire high priest? He's clearly hiding what's most likely a corrupted wound but why? And why side with Karim? I loved Kim'dael. Love an emo vampire lady with sapphic energy who could kill a man with her fingernails (literally). I like how she isn't strictly evil and has a clear goal that she acts toward with logic. She wants to be freed from her mercy debt so she can drink the blood of anyone she wants, and she acts with logic toward that goal. I still CANNOT wait for them to finally free Runaan from the coin. Honestly Rayla's parents come second for me because we just don't know them as people. But like. I wanna see the cut to Ethari standing over the pool and seeing Runaan's life lily rise to the surface again. I will cry and that is a promise.

Also, that bit where Janai has a nightmare where Aaravos tells her that her great-grandmother's fate was that Aaravos "swallowed her"??? Why are half the lines out of Aaravos's mouth innuendos. Is it the VA's voice? Does it just compel people to write his characters like that? Or is Aaravos just Like That as a person.

I mean like. Aarvos also flirts needlessly with Viren every chance he gets. Not even for manipulation because Viren is not into him, he's just incapable of not acting like that. Viren is definitely gay though. Like definitely. Even my cishet brother could tell in that scene where Viren is having a dark magic-induced fever dream about Harrow. Like oh you *liked him* liked him. Sure had a funny way of showing it, Mr. Kill The Princes. Anyway. Yeah that's my thoughts on The Dragon Prince season 5! Cannot wait for seasons six and seven, I'm sure they will be so cool.

[raayllum]

*takes you by the face* listen to me. listen. callum is going to be the one to free aaravos. if it was going to be claudia it could've just happened at the end of s5 and the gang didn't need to have the prison. he's the only other main character with seasons of buildup. listen. idk whether it's going to be under possession or another form of coercion but he's going to do it. it's going to be a 'choice'. either knowing what he's risking in what leads to him doing it under possession or doing it bc he can't bear to lose rayla. "i would do anything for you" and all of 5x08 and "seems love's got a tighter grip on you than those chains round your wrists so i'll do you a favour and set you free" is just set up. rayla coming back with the cube on her shoulder that's also in callum's pawn intro is On Purpose. she's his light and he's going to lose the game anyway. he has to. listen to me-- *is being escorted out by security* he has the key - HE HAS THE KEY!

[raayllum]

ALRIGHT, time to talk about the poster in lovely HD.

First things first, I want to talk about these two ladies (?). The upper one closer to the moon looks more like an elf, and is gazing down at the second, closer woman. I've seen people speculate Ziard due to the hair, but none of this usual clothing appendages are there, so I lean towards a new character, and possibly being the human Aaravos had a special connection to. We see what looks like the arches of the Moon Nexus framed behind them, which was the case both when Rayla went through the portal in TTM and when Lujanne used historia viventum to show Callum the way things looked before. Souls of hate and love, maybe?

We see other Moon symbols throughout the posture sure as archangel lunarises, which seek out Moon magic (1x01) and can be used in illusion spells (2x03, 3x09). We also see the enchanted lotuses from 3x03, though for what purpose is unclear (more on that later).

Moving down, we have a fully celestial, quite happy Aaravos. He's in full flourish and clearly using Moon magic for someone, as begetting the moon behind him, though whether he's constructing lotuses or channeling energy into his Key (perhaps making it able to sense Moon magic) is unknown. While the lotuses in 3x03 were occasionally different colours, the deep purple here makes me think of dark magic. If he is channeling his cube, perhaps he's taking moon energy from the lotuses (or moths) surrounding him to put inside.

I don't think I need to scream much further than I already have about the Moon rune glowing on his Key and having it displayed with his usual star symbol (rune cube foreshadowing symbolism my beloved). This bodes well for theories in which 1) Callum goes too far and does something knowingly risky to free the Moon fam for Rayla's sake or 2) does something risky to help Aaravos to protect Rayla's life, each subsequently to being possessed and/or playing into Aaravos' hands. Thank you goodnight.

Then we have the book, which is deeply fascinating. It seems like a very Moon book, the fragments framing it similar to the ones we see on the lotuses and possibly evoking one of the archangel lunaris' flying around. It wouldn't surprise me if the book contains a variant of Deep moon magic of some kind, whatever that would look like. The crescent curved moon is also similar to the symbol we see on Aaravos' poem page for the Midnight Star in show (2x08). I do wonder why each side of the book looks so different though, with no actual visible moon in sight besides the tiny gemstones and the crescent moon, the other side being entirely dark (which, to be fair, is pretty moon-y).

We also sort of but don't quite see Aaravos' famous chest piece, though it is a-glowing. Whether it glowed all the time pre-Fall we just don't know, as the only time we've seen it glow/be filled in is 2x09 when he's channeling magic through Viren, but who knows. It does mean that the cube is even older than his banishment and that if it does hold his chest piece, it was placed after (if it's tangible at all, which has always been one of the biggest questions).

This is perhaps the weirdest thing that I am the most interested in, as alongside his crown and bangles, this is the biggest design difference between Aaravos in-show and out. In show, both in his mirror and even 'pre-Fall' (aka the timeline for the 1x01 shot is probably a lie anyway), Aaravos' hip thingy is a lot more simplistic.

However, Aaravos does have all his flowery (and I mean that literally, it looks like petals) adornment in his concept art.

The fact they have a lotus flower flair to them always felt interesting but ultimately like a coincidence, but perhaps not. Either way as pictured below, it seems like he's either constructing or dismantling the lotuses, which is Eyes Emoji either way.

The most... surely metaphorical / abstract portion of the poster, though, is I'd imagine the very bottom. I hesitate to read into things too literally (one of the S5 posters had Finnegrin's ship being blasted with lightning and Domina watching the waves, and while she featured in the season and played a role in Finnegrin's aims, the scene itself as portrayed did not come fully to fruition) so I'm gonna go with a more symbolic read, just as as disclaimer.

Lastly we have these two figures. I'm assuming the one in white is an elf and betting on young Aaravos or Leola, though it could be someone else connected to the Moon arcanum (the elven daughter who vouched for exiling rather than eliminating humanity?). The red and black shadow figure feels far more sinister (blood and stardust, anyone) but if you lighten the shadows, you get something even more... interesting, shall we say.

Rather than standing up straight, this figure almost seems to swoop down with a draconic like claw and a face that reminds me the most of Sir Sparklepuff's features, honestly, perhaps boasting a similar kind of blood (Viren's) and star (Aaravos) and dark magic (the staff?). It is also clearly moving toward the more humanoid figure on the bottom right, which gives a "corruption is reaching / coming for / offering things to you" sort of vibe.

[raayllum]

I know you were ready to lay CHET to rest after this season but… Callum still has the cube, we still don’t know *exactly* what it does but Aaravos will presumedly need it, and all that foreshadowing about Callum choosing Rayla over the greater good? I still believe

i'll have a more coherent post about this when i'm not running on under 7 hours of sleep for 24+ hours (close to 30+ now honestly) but no i feel so Fucking Crazy right now precisely because i went into s6, our penultimate season, expecting to finally get to lay CHET and its variants (5x08 my beloved) to rest after 4+ years, every season for 3 seasons in a row i've been ready to lay it down, and yet it's still on the Goddamn Table arguably more than ever before

Obviously certain things have changed — Callum's thematic associations with freedom would switch probably to having a role to play in 'unlocking' Aaravos' full power and/or giving him access to the other Startouch elves somehow — but both of those things are stuff I've considered being related to the cube before (as well as dark magic) so not much is actually changing there fundamentally.

What continues to change is the sheer assortment of evidence that Callum is going to play into Aaravos' hands for her (the initial basis of CHET), and Rayla is likewise going to refuse to sacrifice him (thereby shortly followed by mutual salvation theory), and 6x03 is a Giant Sign blinking Pay Attention in bright neon.

Rayla: Listen to me. If you ever have to choose between me and the greater good, do the right thing. Make the sacrifice.

Nevermind that 'right thing' is subjective and that sacrificing loved ones is routinely seen as Bad ("We must be willing to sacrifice, even the things we love" / "My daughter [...] and I tried to kill you") and that Aaravos (one of Rayla's primary foils) likewise demanded for Viren to 'make a sacrifice' regarding Sir Sparklepuff in 5x09. It'd be one thing, mind you, for Rayla to just bring up this Hypothetical and it could conceivably be dropped, but then Callum makes the basis of CHET's adjacent Mutual Salvation Theory explicit in tethering Rayla's request to his own:

Rayla: What? Callum: If Aaravos ever controls me again, if he ever uses me, promise me you'll kill me. Rayla: Yes. I promise.

(There's a few different things we can read both into Callum's renewed approach and Rayla's changed response, but meta for another day).

What this conversation does, though, is link these things in the audience's mind. If half is called upon their deal in a scenario, it's only logical that the other will be too. And, of course, Aaravos has to inevitably possess Callum, and Callum (as a main protagonist and usher of a new age of magic) cannot die, so Rayla has to break her promise (a la TTM) to keep him alive, freeing up room in the narrative to Callum likewise break his (more thinly made tbh) promise as well. The easiest order of events, therefore, is for Callum to break his promise first in order to save/protect her, be possessed, and then Rayla breaks her promise in saving him. Mutual salvation and all that

The fact we have other characters and plot threads routinely referring back to and building up Rayllum's thematic basis for each plot turn in S7 is just the cherry on top.

(We also see Rayla talk not just one but two 'monsters' down corrupted by desperation and grief, so while it may retread more territory if she does the same to Callum, there's certainly more than a precedent. For Callum, 2/3 dark magic times were for Rayla, and you don't introduce Big Extra Scary 'permanently ruined by dark magic' Stakes if you're not gonna use them as a way to escalate things, either, even if of course given that it's S7, there will be ways out and a happy ending).

Insert Callum putting the star rune sign directly down against her palm.

I think it's likely the cube is still involved somehow (all the ominous foreshadowing including and most prevalently featured in the pawn intro doesn't suddenly go away, and was only added to in S6) and really, this is about the only parallel I personally need anymore to keep chugging along theory wise:

Like it's Over and at this point we just gotta wait for S7, tbh, especially when a big juicy angsty mutual Rayllum plotline is more than in order after their relatively fluffy (loved) plotline in S6

[raayllum]

this sequence lives in my head rent free

AAAAAAAAAA

why does the shot of callum's deep breathing linger for so long? why does rayla look so troubled? callum just did an incredible spell, and seemingly solved all their problems, so why is it all so unsettling?

specifically

this shot

ik this can't just be me. we the viewers are made to notice this scene

i think

uh

help

So there's a few things, I think:

Thus far in show, outside of Light Spell (which is physical) and Ghosting spell (which is emotional / metaphysical) there's been very few instances of like, Primal magic being dangerous/horrific. (Viren's killing of the guards when Aaravos is channelling it through him notwithstanding in 2x09, but that's also easy to get wires crossed on because it's Aaravos, y'know?). So Callum having primal magic send him to his knees and giving him a hard limit is new, particularly for him. (It is worth noting, of course, that primal magic - as far as we know - doesn't leave any longterm harm or in-body corruption the way dark magic does, though, which is arguably the biggest thing.)

The second is that it harkens back to Callum's primal stone - which he had to destroy - and the reflection motif with the mirror that was ongoing in early S4 for him in particular (which TDP tends to have characters have a reflection like that when they're making decisions or not liking what they're seeing, which we'll get to in a second). But like, the Primal Stone foreshadowing continues, my beloved, and it's nothing good.

Jack De Sena has also said that when voicing Callum (particularly S2 onwards) he pays a lot of attention to how and where Callum's breaths are placed while he talks or does stuff. (This is why I loved Callum's sharp inhales and shaky exhales whenever he was angsting over Rayla in early S4, and that his crying when he thinks he's lost her sounds far more like a panic attack than like, sobbing.) And in S5, Callum has steady breathing basically the whole way through... until this scene when he's taken on too much (not too little) and is struggling for a decent chunk to catch his breath. And also why when Callum starts panicking in 5x08 over Finnegrin threatening Rayla ("Just let her go") you hear it in his breathing first and foremost.

But that's all like, little technical stuff. What I think 5x07 does so well is set up everything that's going to come crashing down in a lot of ways in 5x08, specifically in Callum's steadiness (of identity) and specifically his confidence. When 5x07 opens up, he's getting terse with Nyx for dismissing his skills and prowess as a mage and his position as High Mage, and in his zealousness to prove it, he sends poor Sneezles into the water... because of his pride and the fact he wants that recognition (whereas Rayla, who was also diminished as a "junior assassin" doesn't say a word about it, because pride isn't on of her faults). But then, when Finnegrin starts to catch up with them, Callum remains optimistic that he'll be the one who makes a positive difference (nor is he necessarily wrong):

And Callum's burst of speed combined with Rayla's idea to hide ("He can't hurt us if he can't see us") seems to work. Until it doesn't, and his attitude starts to change because well, the stakes have changed.

And then we get what's probably one of my favourite lines in the season / favourite bits of foreshadowing.

You put them in irons. You put them in chains.

S: I don't get it. What happened? Rayla: He took their wind away.

This was a far more taxing, difficult spell to pull off, and one that took a lot out of Callum (not unlike how Viren and Claudia's uses of dark magic have made them collapse) so it's unsettling to see similar physical behaviours here as a consequence. And it's worth noting that after this scene, Callum doesn't come up with any other ideas. This was 2/2, he's done. And I think it really elevates the impending sense of desperation and fear (that is of course going to be cranked up next episode) as well as the comparative limits of primal magic in contrast to dark magic. Magic can't fix everything, and it's this choice (taking the winds out of the sails) that signals to Finnegrin next episode that Callum is a mage, and sets up all of the conflict that comes from it.

A primal spell that leads to a dark magic consequence (in more ways than one).

Callum starts out as optimistic and proud at the beginning of 5x07. The episode literally whittles him down as it goes on. In 5x08, he starts off okay but battered, but still confident in his worldview ("See? As long as we protect each other, as long as we love each other, you can never control us"). By the end of 5x08 that's all changed, because he's had to accept that it was too simplistic, that it wasn't true, that

His loved ones (specifically Rayla) were/are the key to controlling him, even when Finnegrin wasn't the one holding his chains anymore ("That deal is no longer on the table"). He couldn't control everything, but he could control his responses, and he made his choice. And it's not a reality he likes, but it's the one lives in and the one he chose to live in, and he had to accept it. No matter how bitter or dark.

[raayllum]

like don't get me wrong Callum flat out exchanging the cube or freeing Aaravos of his own 'free will' because Rayla's life is on the line is my Beloved Theory. that said, because we've already had a hostage deal and exchange of information + dark magic use was to save her life, it's like...

It'd be even funnier to me if Rayla's not directly in danger. Because it's one thing to knowingly open yourself up to Aaravos and risk doing dark magic again when if you don't, she will literally die (thank you 5x08). It's another form of escalation entirely to trust Aaravos' word or or risk possession Again just because she's sad or will maybe do something dangerous to free her family if you don't step in and do it first

[raayllum]

Some of my favorite things about s4!!

-Ezran’s speech in episode 3 and the way it voices over Claudia and Ibis’s battle

-Ibis’s death scene paired with Corvus’s song (sorry Ibis)

-Janaya proposal scene <3 and the amount of times Janai calls Amaya her future wife

-The Janaya two cakes scene, which is so incredibly soft and beautiful

-Terry’s conversation with Viren about how he always knew he was a buck and how beautifully his representation was portrayed

-the aged up character designs!

-the Katolis birthday song

-“you still love her, dont you?”

-the softness and intimacy of the morning after the rayllum reunion scene. The way rayla’s face is filled with such love watching him sleep.

“The best thing I ever had: you.”

-The fact that Barius invented chocolate and this arguably saved the dragangs lives when facing Rex Igneous. So yeah he 1000% deserves that council seat!

-callum entrusting/asking rayla to kill him if he loses control of himself

-zubeia…being unexpectedly one of my favorite characters this season!

-Sorvus, my beloved

-the way callum cradles rayla’s blade to his chest at the end of episode 9

-Soren and rayla’s friendship

And there’s so much more!! But I’ll leave it at that. <3

Other things I loved:

seeing Callum staring up and looking at the moon and thinking of Rayla in general

Ezran being so much more confident as king even if he’s not infallible

Claudia falling down the stairs of the storm spire just like her father while she repeats (literally and figuratively) all his same mistakes

All the new spells this season!

Rayla being so sweet and affectionate/warm with Stella, her cuddle baby <3 girl still has as big a heart as ever

Soren being fully integrated into the dragang

“But enough about my pajamas Claudia. You need to stop trying to free the greatest evil the world has ever known”

Zubeia knowing Ezran and Zym are besties (and using it to her advantage when it comes to eating vegetables)

The transition shot of Ibis on the spire to Opeli lighting the circular fire basin in 4x03

Aaravos shattering his mirror in the same place it had been kept for 300+ years was chef’s kiss

Three Ezran and Rayla hugs this season. Automatically best season

“Just some crickets. But don’t worry. They told me they’re not the ambushing type” 

unpopular opinion maybe but i looved the guardians of the gate, chert is my funny lil rock guy

[raayllum]

Irony and The Dragon Prince

So, TDP really likes irony as a story telling tool to craft both characters, foil relationships, and general arc stuff. There can be irony purely in someone going against an intended expectation (i.e. subversion can fall under irony sometimes) as well as more general dramatic irony. Think Oedipus Rex in which the further Oedipus pushes for the truth, the closer he comes to destroying himself and everyone around him - the audience knows this, even if he doesn’t. Or 1x08′s beloved little bit of verbal and situational irony sometimes. It’s also where we get most character inversions and foils from, for example:

Rayla, an assassin who has never killed anyone, becomes the protector of the princes she was sworn to kill. Meanwhile Soren, a proven captain of the crownguard, is tasked with killing the princes instead. The fact that Viren ordered Soren to do something so terrible is precisely what leads Soren to end up stabbing his father in the first place. Bait is grumpy (a negative trait) yet can glow with light (a positive association) whenever he needs to; also his name, for that matter. Claudia is extremely goofy and also a sinister dark mage. Callum spends most of season two stuck in his head until he is literally stuck in his own head in 2x08. A hero (Callum) and a villain (Aaravos) both seek the exact same thing: magic, and freedom from the chains (metaphorical or literal) that bind them.

King Harrow states that a child is freer than a king, so then the show explores the weight of being a child king in Ezran. Then, right when Ezran gives up the crown (thus ‘freeing’ himself of that weight) he is literally put in chains. This is also the main reason why I haven’t let go of the “Harrow in Pip” theory, either, because a king trapped in a bird (the symbol of freedom) is simply too much up the show’s alley to deny. 

TDP also really really likes to have things come back in horrifying, roundabout ways. Claudia mentions turning chains into snakes in 1x03 and we see that spell twice in S2 from both her and Callum. She and Soren are tricked using illusions of the princes, Soren states he hates the moon, and then Claudia uses the same trick on him a season and a half later. Avizandum blocks out the sun and then kills multiple humans crossing back into Xadia, only for his son to block out the sun by the end of the season in order to save Callum and Rayla’s lives. 

Perhaps the most obvious examples are Rayla and Claudia’s mindsets from the first few episodes. “My heart for Xadia” is something that follows Rayla throughout the series and the way she prioritizes what she feels her duty is over love and family time and time again, even over Runaan and then over Callum in TTM. Her arc also ends with her actually succeeding in her mission as she kills a human and a king of Katolis no less, just not the one she was supposed to. 

Then you have Claudia not understanding why Harrow would have reservations about the switching spell, even when Viren does, embodied by the way Claudia has still (seemingly) killed a man (or many things) in order to bring her father back to life. 

TDP loves irony and bringing things back in unforeseen ways, even episodes or seasons later. It’s one of the reasons rewatching the show is so rewarding, whether to pick up on things you missed the first time, or to speculate about other things in the future, and I love / appreciate it very much.