Review: ‘The Dragon Prince’

Review: ‘The Dragon Prince’

Lea Killian
Staff Writer

In the land of Xadia, a world torn in two by a timeless war, an imminent revenge looms over its people.

Many centuries ago, with the aid of dark magic, humans killed the King of the Dragons and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince.

Now, elves seek a punishment to fit the ancient crime.

An elite team of eleven assassins is sent to the castle to take the lives of King Harrow and his son, Prince Ezran.

Wanting to make up for the mistakes of her past, Rayla, a Moonshadow Elf, consistently burdened by right and wrong, sneaks into the castle before her team in order to carry out the mission alone.

Mistakenly believing Ezran’s older brother Callum is her true target, she chases him through the beaten paths of the corridors and into a hidden, surreptitious room beneath the stronghold.

What they find there intertwines the destinies of Rayla, Callum and Ezren in unimaginable ways that will forever shape the future of Xadia.

From the head writer of Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Aaron Ehasz, showrunners Justin Richmond and Giancarlo Volpe, bring The Dragon Prince to life in enchanted, powerful ways.

Speaking on the relevancy of the show in an interview with Hypable, Ehasz said, “We do believe that there’s an opportunity, especially for young people, to look at their world, to look at what they’re being told, and make decisions that come up with a brighter future.

It was something that we were really interested in, and thought would be an awesome part of an epic story, but that also would mean something and be relevant to real people in the world today.”

From my perspective, “The Dragon Prince” hit every mark.

Before delving into the story, I was skeptical of the animation.

I hoped, hearing that a writer from “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was on the team, that it would look more like the classic animation I was used to.

While that seemed to be a complaint from a large portion of the audience, my worries faded substantially within the first two episodes.

For me, the beauty of the scenery and character/creature design far outweighed any complaints I had about the animation. Still, Ehasz, Richmond and Volpe said they noted the remarks, and intend to improve in the second season, given the chance by Netflix, of course.

What really makes “The Dragon Prince” special and worth your weekend binge-session is the representation of the show’s primary characters.

While many of us are used to a whitewashed cast, yes, even in animation, The Dragon Prince offers no such thing.

Much like “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” this show will leave you awestruck at the level of inclusiveness in their story-telling ability. Not stopping at breaking the racial barrier, “The Dragon Prince” team even includes the use of American Sign Language, mostly obscure in any animation seen on television.

In an interview with Vice, Ehasz said, “One of our main goals was to make something that Avatar fans would love… We want this to be a real epic fantasy story, for true genre fans.

Teens, adults, we want it to be a real experience for them.

But we also want it—like Avatar—to have that feeling of it being accessible and appropriate for families and wider audiences as well.”

Being a huge fan of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” since the beginning, I can whole heartedly say that they succeeded.

However, it is important to note that, given the chance, everyone else will love it, too.

Easily, I give “The Dragon Prince” a 10/10.

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