Soren's reckless actions cause a dragon attack, and as Rayla and the others debate what to do when the animal goes down, Viren returns to Katolis in disgrace.
Rayla finds Callum pondering over the cube's importance, feeling like he's close to figuring out how to be a mage again. He asks her what it's like when she feels lunar powers flow through her, but she isn't able to explain the sensation.
Nearby, Soren decides to leave the soldier who was tracking the kids, Corvus, in jail at a nearby town, and assuages Claudia's fear that they've lost the boys' trail. Corvus offers to help, promising not to try to escape again, and Soren almost falls for it, but Claudia makes him realize it's a trick. Callum points out to Rayla that him being a mage would help on the journey to Xadia, which has a river of lava. She reveals a secret "Moonstone Path" that'll be safe even if he can't do magic, and the two head to bed, not noticing the dragon in the sky. Soren and Claudia ride into town, but he notices no one is listening to him, which Claudia says is because something is wrong: the dragon. Soren is appalled to learn the guards have let the dragon soar around for three days without using their ballistas, because it hasn't attacked them. Using his position on the Crownguard, Soren takes command and orders use of the ballistas, against Corvus's warning to not start a fight he can't win with a dragon that just wants to intimidate them. Soren ignores this and launches a bolt that seems to scare the red dragon away, but it soon lets out a roar that wakes Rayla, and swings back to the town. Rayla, Callum, and Ezran then leave the cave to get a better look, leaving Bait to watch over the sad and frightened Zym.
The trio is horrified and confused when the dragon, after setting fire to one of the ballistas, lights the town ablaze as well.
The guards mount more ballistas, but their shots prove ineffective and the dragon destroys more of the tower, so Soren frees Corvus and tells him to help the people. He admits to Claudia he doesn't know how to stop the dragon, but Claudia reveals she has a gryphon's eye that she can enchant a ballista bolt with to never miss. ​Claudia enchants and launches the glowing bolt, and though it misses at first, it soon swerves around like the "patriot arrow" from Robin Hood Men in Tights, and strikes the dragon in its side. The dragon then plummets into the forest, almost hitting the kids in the process, and Ezran rushes to its side and discovers it's still alive.
Meanwhile, Viren returns to Katolis where Opeli, the high councilwoman who has been watching the mage, reprimands him for his treasonous actions.
He admits that he did it for nothing in the end, and she warns that he'll be lucky if all that happens is being removed from the council. Back in the woods, Rayla and Callum lift the dragon's wings so Ezran, who also says the animal is a female, can remove the bolt. Rayla whips out her swords when they hear the soldiers coming, but Callum and Ez remind her they can't fight the whole group and have to get back to Zym. Callum notices Claudia and Soren, and the group flees. Claudia smugly points out how slaying a dragon was Soren's dream, yet she's the one who did it, and he, unsure if the dragon is dead yet, tells the soldiers to secure her. The kids return to the cave where Zym leaps into Ezran's arms, and Callum is confused when Rayla chastises herself for not helping the dragon when she's usually the one focused on returning Zym. She explains that she's not hesitating on the issue; she is just certain that leaving the defenseless dragon to the mercy of the soldiers is wrong. In Katolis, Viren heads to his secret dungeon where Gren confuses him with the strange positive mentality of not being chained down, but chained up instead. The mage then enters his side room where the supplies the elf had him get are still waiting. Certain he has nothing to lose, he removes the curtain from the mirror. Claudia becomes excited at the magical uses of dragons, and wonders if Viren would be happy if they brought this one to Katolis. Soren points out the dragon is incredibly heavy, but she shrugs that they'll just move it in pieces. At the same time, Callum wonders why Rayla wants to help a dragon that burnt a town, but she reminds him of how he told her of the cycle of hurting one another. To break this cycle, she says someone has to take a stand. Callum agrees, but wonders how he can do so when he can't fight or use magic She explains that she doesn't expect him to; this is something she feels she needs to do. Though she sets out alone, Rayla's actions inspire Callum into action, and Viren renews contact with his elf friend.
Another win for The Dragon Prince comes in this episode as we again get a lot of both action and character progression yet again.
The situation with the dragon is the perfect example of the cycle of endless violence the group has been talking about lately. Soren, while trying to be a good man, has taken on a lot of his father's worst traits, and as such sees the dragon as simply an evil beast like Viren did with the Magma titan. As a result, despite it doing nothing besides flying around, he decides it has to die, and is the reason it burns the village. Claudia showcases her darkness as well, no pun intended on her powers, suggesting the heavy dragon be chopped into pieces so they can cart it back to Katolis. Her glee at having killed the dragon when it's Soren dream to do so, while a clear sibling joke, is creepy as well, as she's so overjoyed to have killed the animal. Whereas she constantly kills animals for her dark magic, we have Ezran, who is able to communicate with them, and uses this ability to help the dragon. The group wasn't even sure if the dragon was alive at first, but thanks to Ezran's ability, they determined it was and were able to help her. Even if they had to flee, they were able to remove some of its suffering and damage by removing the bolt, and the group of soldiers, rather than checking if she's alive, simply chain her up, and while this isn't a great situation, it's better than a quick execution. Perhaps because of her chat with Villads, Rayla has a moment of reflection in this episode as she is certain she shouldn't have left the dragon. Since she's questioning who she is and what she should do, this difficult situation is the perfect test, since she has to choose whether to leave or help the dragon. It's not an easy choice, either; obviously the whole group wants to help the dragon, but if they try to do so, they face Soren, his soldiers, and Claudia's magic. The only way they would have to fight the group is Rayla with her swords, but even with her abilities, they're outmatched and Claudia's magic puts her into a more dangerous class. If the soldiers weren't coming, it would be a more basic morality challenge of deciding whether they should help the dragon after it torched the town. As presented, Rayla deciding to do so would also put at least her in danger, as she'd be facing a group of armed soldiers and a mage. It's also a kind of test for Callum as he tries to find a solution for his mage issue, feeling useless since he can't help the same way he did before. Something I find interesting about his situation is that, unlike Lujanne and Claudia, Rayla seems to believe he can find a way to perform magic again. Despite starting out as enemies, their group has become fast friends that support each other in great moments. We don't see Viren much in this episode, but I think that's for the best given how much we saw him recently, how much happens with the others, and how his return to the secret room leaves us on an excellent cliffhanger. Oddly enough considering this seems pretty early in the story, Viren's plans seem to be crumbling around him. Not only did he fail to convince the other kingdoms to join him, but now others are discovering his planning. Needing to move so quickly proved to be his downfall, as he wasn't able to lay down a careful plan, and what plan he did have blew up because of underestimating Aanya. Oddly enough, one of the lightest moments in the episode comes in Viren's sections, as Gren's odd optimism continues. My favorite comedic moments, however, came at the start when Rayla and Callum were discussing magic and the road ahead. Just like Lujanne, Rayla is unable to easily describe how it feels to use her lunar abilities, and at one point in describing it, strikes a Sailor Moon pose. I felt like this one could easily be missed, but Callum makes a more obvious one. When talking about the dangers coming, he forms a circle with one hand and says "One does not simply walk into Xadia." Though the pose actually fits more with the phrase "the great eye is ever watchful," Callum's face is a direct reference to Lord of the Rings, when Boromir states that "one does not simply walk into Mordor." We also see a lot of gorgeous art in this episode, especially when the dragon is attacking the town. There are numerous shots of the dragon swooping cinematically through the sky, and hints of flame followed by burning streams from its mouth are fantastically done. Even the dragon itself is beautiful to look at. It has a fantastic design, and fitting with its fire nature, is a combination of mostly reds, yellows, and black. Yellow is sprinkled at different points of the mostly red dragon, complimenting it nicely, and the whole design has a fiery feel thanks to these and the ashy black. The kids are a lot closer now to returning Zym to Xadia, but with Viren making a deal and a dragon "attack" having taken place, they might face Katolis going to war soon.
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