'The Dragon Prince' Season 2: There Are Dragons Now!

There's dragons now! Dragons in the show titled "The Dragon Prince!" It only took 2 seasons for dragons to show up! But in all seriousness, this season of Netflix's The Dragon Prince was a vast improvement from the first season of the show, and had a lot more of what I hoped for the series, including more dragons.

If you want to see what I thought about the first season, check out my previous article. But generally, I thought it was a mixed bag.

The first three episodes were quite promising, but then it really slows down after that. And with the exception of General Amaya, the best character, the show just kind of spins its wheels.

But, with the basic setup out of the way, surely season 2 will really pick up the pace. Right? And we're in the same place for three episodes... But in another twist of fate, while the first season of The Dragon Price starts with three promising episodes, and a disappointing rest of the season, the second season starts with three forgettable episodes, and the rest of the season is really cool and exciting.

So first off, the characters. They actually develop the characters this season. They do a lot with Sokka, and a surprising amount with his younger brother. They set things up, and then pay them off. It's satisfying. I really liked what they did with Lancelot Quarterback this season. And although I would've liked to see more consequences, and what it would've been like for him to stay paralyzed, I have a feeling more magic stuff will be just as interesting.

Let's talk about the best episodes in this season and the main thing that kept me watching: "Breaking the Seal," and "Heart of a Titan." This two-part flashback tells the story of the main characters' parents who go on a quest to save the kingdom. It feels like a classic story from mythology, and it's really cool. We get to see the kids' dead mother, who turns out to be really cool, and a great warrior. We get some General Amaya action, which I always love. And they introduce the show's first gay couple, which is pretty progressive for a kids show. And it's handled well, unlike other shows like Legend of Korra or Voltron where they just shoehorn a gay character into the last five minutes.

So the main plot of this two-parter is that the land is too cold to grow food, so they have to go on a quest to get the heart of a lava monster to warm up the land. There's a great exchange between the king and the dead mom, where she goes, "What if it has a family?" and the king's like, "I don't think it does," and she goes, "Then it's the last of its kind." Both great reasons to not kill someone, thus proving her point. It's actually kind of sad when she is the one that has to deliver the final blow.

This arc is really cool for two reasons. One, it does a good job world building and showing us essential backstory. And two, it's just a fun fantasy adventure, where a group of heroes have to go on a quest and fight a monster. This is something the show desperately needed, previously only having hints of this level of action and cool magic stuff.

My main problem with the first season was that there wasn't very much overall progression. It took a long time for stuff to happen, and even when it did, not much happened. They spend how many episodes just climbing a hill? But this season was much better. They actually spend time progressing the story. And by the end of the season there's like major character development, the status quo changes, and they get significantly closer to the end goal.

The main goal of the series is to get the Dragon Prince to whatever the dragon country is called, and at the end of the season, they get there. Now I'm sure there is still plenty more story to tell, but I was really glad to see such a significant amount of progress. It's like if Frodo was already in Mordor. Also, in the final scene, they pay off multiple story beats, Sokka learning magic, and the Dragon Prince learning to fly. It's simple storytelling, but really effective, and it makes me feel like I'm not watching this show for nothing.

Other standout moments include the opening action scene with General Amaya, that time Lancelot Quarterback fought a dragon, and the black kid's arc this season. His arc involves him realizing that their dead dad is dead, and deciding that he must go back to the kingdom to help rule. This will totally shake up the dynamic for next season too, as it is not just the Danny Phantom trio of white lead, female friend & black friend anymore. And once again, dragons.

Season one they only had a dragon egg and so, much like Game of Thrones, the dragon action can only begin once it's hatched. But since it has, the Dragon Prince is now a character more or less. It's just a baby so it doesn't really do much, but it's good to know we are actually getting somewhere. There is also a cool fight between a dragon and Lancelot Quarterback as I mentioned earlier, and now that our main characters are in the dragon country, we'll likely be seeing a lot more dragons, which can only be a good thing.

So yeah, I was satisfied with the second season of this show. It was definitely an improvement over the slow beginning of the first season, and it feels like it will continue to pick up. It's not as good as some of Netflix's other cartoons like Voltron or She-Ra, but there also isn't that many original stories going around nowadays either. Plus, this show does feel like the creators have an endgame in mind, which apparently is rare for fantasy shows. *cough* GOT *cough* Anyways, deeply offended me in anyway, and the episodes are pretty short so I will probably keep watching next season. Plus there can only be more dragons from this point onward, right?