The Dragon Prince - First episode

I think that most people my age can still remember the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. Even though the movie (The Last Airbender) failed spectacularly, the Nickelodeon show was quite successful. With The Dragon Prince writer Aaron Ehasz tries once again, this time on Netflix, with a story that actually has some similarities to Avatar. The show takes place in a world divided by war and supernatural powers are a major plot point once again. The drawing style is also quite similar and what I felt whilst watching the first episode, reminded me of Avatar as well. But let's stop comparing as The Dragon Prince isn't part of the same universe and it's a fully fleshed-out original story.

The complexity of the story is also its strength.

The first episode starts with a bit of backstory, which explains how the currently ongoing war came to be. Years ago the nation of Xadia consisted of six primal sources that kept the world in balance. The sun, the moon, stars, earth, air and the ocean formed Xadia, until a seventh primal source was discovered. Mankind, naturally, used this newfound source to create a divide between the populations of the world. The Western hemisphere eventually became the home of all humans and the Eastern was populated by magical creatures. Eventually tensions rise and due to an assassination the two sides face each other once again. The Dragon Prince tells the tales of these two factions, what their history looks like, why they fight each other and how they'll probably grow closer once again.



Although an animation show such as this one usually tends to be aimed towards children, this particular show seems to be aimed at a bigger audience. It looks good for the younger viewers among us, but the story is complicated enough to make sure that adults remain interested as well. The complexity of the story is also its strength. This is not a show where you can just become distracted and then resume watching. There's so many details in both the storylines and the characters that you're actually forced to pay attention in order to understand. This, in turn, makes The Dragon Prince suitable for all ages. Both young and old can enjoy this show and this first episode creates high expectations for the rest of the season. I expect that the writers aren't able to tell the full tale in only one season. They're counting on the fact that the show'll be successful and that they're able to create a lot more seasons involving this kingdom, starting with the first 'Moon'.

I expect a lot from The Dragon Prince!

Teenagers are the main characters in this conflict between adults. Prins Ezran (Sasha Rojen) and step-prince Callum (Jack DeSena, Avatar: The Last Airbender) receive more and more protection from their father King Harrow (Luc Roderique, The Crossing) once the fighting comes closer. In the forest Rayla (Paula Burrows) has an internal struggle between her heart and her mind when she, as a Moonshadow Elf, is told to engage the humans. Brother and sister Soren (Jesse Inocalla) and Claudia (Racquel Belmonte) receive a task from their father, Viren (Jason Simpson) the King's counsellor, to track down the elves in the forest before they manage to enter the kingdom. Strategy and honour are important themes in this episode, but it's difficult to fill this first half hour with a lot of action. But that's not even necessary, as the pilot episode provides us with more than enough information to get into the story.

I expect a lot from The Dragon Prince! I sort of expect that the story will turn out to be quite similar to Avatar and that the fine lines between good and evil will eventually fade. Naturally, this is a very specific genre that'll only be appealing to a specific crowd. But within this genre, the show has such a great start that I am interested in the rest. This season consists of only nine episodes and unfortunately at the moment nothing is known about a second season. What the creators have already revealed is that they're working on a video game that'll take place in the same universe. With such great plans and such good quality I don't doubt the fact that there will be more. Next to that there's already some good news for fans of Avatar. Netflix has announced that they're going to create a live-action remake of the series.