The boys want to take their time returning their new friend, but Rayla senses danger on the horizon as Viren makes moves to further his ambitions.
Aunt Amaya kicks season 2 off, exploring a lava zone when a group of Sunfire elves attack. She easily dispatches the three soldiers, but finds herself facing a more decorated elf wielding a Sunforge blade.
Realizing the weapon's danger as it slices through her own sword, and pushes back her shield, Amaya knocks the elf away and escapes on her horse. ​Callum delivers a recap of the week-long first season, which turns out to be a letter to King Harrow that Rayla interrupts to brag about herself. Rayla goes quiet as she hasn't told the boys about their father yet, and Callum finishes the letter talking about their new companion: the dragon prince himself, Azymondias. In Katolis, Viren rants in a war meeting that dragons have been spotted over the kingdom, suggesting they act against Xadia. One man points out that no fights have broken out since Harrow's assassination, suggesting patience as he believes tensions will calm. Annoyed, Viren tells them Amaya reported elven forces on the Xadian side of the breach, and demands for a summit with the "Pentarchy." Another counselor calls Viren out of order, as only a king or queen can make this call. He counters they could face extinction and need to work with the other kingdoms; she says it doesn't matter without a king, demanding they find the princes first.
Back at the Caldera, Lujanne prepares a meal for the group, but the boys are disgusted to learn it's all an illusion; they're actually eating grubs.
Rayla is feeling chipper about having her hand back, but disappoints the kids by saying they need to leave, as she can feel danger coming. Lujanne agrees, admitting she felt something wrong two days before when the dragon prince was born, mentioning the darkness from Claudia's purple wisps. Rayla continues that a massive war is coming, and Zym needs to get back to his mom; Ezran worries about the little dragon and how he can't fly yet. Noticing his connection to Zym, Lujanne suggests Ezran teach the dragon, and agrees to teach Callum some Moon Magic herself. Frustrated, Rayla agrees to stay one more day, urging the others to stay alert. Lujanne takes Callum to the "Moonhenge," where the Moonshadow elves' ancestors performed rituals, using an illusion to repair the ruins and show an example. She explains a legend that the ancestors used the Nexus to reach a world beyond life and death, but the Moon Druids destroyed this Nexus when Xadia was divided, and a mage now always protects it to be sure no humans discover it. Callum wonders if she has to kill the humans who do, but she laughs that she can just "break their brains" with her illusions, which he passes on experiencing. Ezran tries to teach Zym how to fly, and though he can't get the dragon to flap his wings, Zym does succeed in leaping off a rock.
Viren is hearing the horrific sounds of war as he heads to Harrow's room, with arrows for some reason still stuck in the door and littering the ground. He momentarily looks at a picture of Harrow and his family at a happier time, then takes the king's seal.
Meanwhile, Rayla vents her frustration about the boys wanting to stay longer, feeling she's the only one who cares about their mission. Her fear that something's in the woods goes unfounded when a noise turns out to be the illusory spider from before. Ezran brings Lujanne's phoenix Phoe-Phoe to help Zym, growing excited when the dragon flaps his wings. Carrying Zym on his head to simulate flying, Ezran gets overzealous and throws him straight into a bush, though the dragon is unharmed. Lujanne explains how primal energy works to Callum, and how the different types are strongest at certain times, like moon energy when the moon is full. She tells him there are six Nexuses around the world where primal energy is most powerful and pure, and they've just arrived at the moon's. A circular lake surrounded on all sides, the Nexus perfectly reflects the entire full moon. Excited, Callum asks to learn some magic, but Lujanne says he was only a mage before because he had a primal stone, and now that it's gone, he's normal again. Remembering Claudia and Viren, Callum protests that he's seen humans do magic, but Lujanne firmly states the elves don't consider this darkness to be magic. Callum leaves disheartened even after she tries to cheer him up, but he becomes determined to learn magic as Ezran trains Zym and Viren's plot progresses.
As the first episode of the season, this show does a good job of quickly reminding viewers of the things that have happened thus far.
Rather than having a slow recap where a narrator explains things in detail, Callum is giving quick summaries of what he knows in a letter to his father. Along with reminding us of the story, this serves the current story as Rayla remembers she has yet to tell the boys what happened to Harrow. I was reminded of Avatar: The Last Airbender again, as that series had an episode where the characters watch a play about their adventures. This served as a way of recapping the story, but kept viewers entertained by having the kids watch a silly, poorly made performance. Compared to the first season, I'm also more of a fan of this animation style; before I liked it for what it was, but saw moments where it could be janky. This time around, things seem smoother. In other areas it has stayed the same, which is a plus; the background art is consistently beautiful, and shine gorgeously in moments like when Lujanne shows Callum the history of the Moonhenge. I also just enjoy the pun with that name. As the season's first episode, this one also effectively keeps things slow in preparation for climaxes to come, but still has threats from last season looming. It also brings in something from last season I was hoping to see soon: the Sunfire elves and more of their Sunforge weapons. The opening with Amaya piqued my interest, wondering why she was encountering the elves, and who exactly they were, and their leader's blade was impressive. I'm liking the addition of Zym to the group, bringing with him even more childlike wonder than Ezran, and seemingly making Bait jealous. ​Callum's discovery about magic provide a disheartening aspect to the show, especially considering like he told Lujanne, he failed at things he should've been good at before. For so long, Callum felt like a loser because he couldn't do things expected of a prince, and now that he's found one, he discovers it's lost to him. This seems an obvious setup for the boy discovering a way to unlock magic within himself, but for now this is only a dream, as even the cube, which reacts to the primal energies in different creatures, stayed dormant when placed next to Callum. It'll be interesting seeing how Callum fixes his problem, and considering the topic, I'm expecting some beautiful moments with magic as he overcomes his limitations. Viren has his own limitations as he tries to take control of everything, as everyone else wanting to stay firm in finding the princes keeps him from proceeding. With Harrow out of the way, Viren is able to manipulate people more easily, but manipulation is a long, slow process one has to be careful about. With such dark plans involving the boys' deaths, Viren has to be careful how much he plans and how it gets done, lest others grow suspicious. He still doesn't have the authority to order everyone around, so he has to keep his threats to moments where he's alone, like a moment he gets this episode. In this way, he's on a time crunch much like the boys; they don't know what he's up to, but know they need to get Zym to his mom to prevent war. Viren is aware of what they're doing, and must manipulate everyone to his needs before they succeed. Now that Rayla's arm is fine, I feel like her biggest problem is with how she needs to come clean with the boys. She's been afraid of admitting the full truth all the time she's been with them, and she's slowly learning how to be open with them. I was glad the boys didn't react negatively when she admitted a truth to them before, but this is a different story. Back then, she was telling them about herself, and now she'd be telling them their father is dead. Such a close death would be hard for anyone, but the princes are still kids, and they're travelling with someone involved in Harrow's "death." This season is starting on a strong foot, and this episode only makes me want to watch more as Viren furthers his dark plans and Rayla and the boys continue on their way.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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