Author’s note: This review contains spoilers, but I don’t recommend watching this show, so I am not holding anything back.
I don’t write negative reviews very often, so it’s a big deal that I’m reviewing something I didn’t like. After finishing “The Owl House, I watched this show because I had heard a few ads for it on Spotify and thought it was worth a watch, especially for the reported queer content. I quickly discovered “The Dragon Prince” was not “The Two Princes”, the show that I had heard advertised and believed I was watching at first and was disappointed when I realized how straight the show was, but I watched on. The plot was generic, and the characters weren’t drawing me in, but some of the jokes were good, and I recognized the voice of “Avatar”’s Sokka, so I felt like it had to be at least decent. And it was decent.
But then the Internet discovered I had seen the show, as it always does, and started recommending “Dragon Prince” content to me on YouTube. It was then that I discovered that people adore this show, leaving me truly puzzled.
I then realized that the show was so popular that it has been renewed for four more seasons. Four! There are so many good Netflix shows that have been canceled, like “Santa Clarita Diet” and “Tucca and Bertie”, so I was genuinely angry to discover that this generic quest fic is getting seven seasons.
I have gotten over my anger (bring back “Santa Clarita Diet”, Netflix, I’m begging you) but am still confused about what fans see in this show. People are calling it the next “Avatar” and I cannot believe it. I’m not “Avatar”’s biggest fan (“The Legend of Korra” is better), but I can understand why people adore it so much.
“Avatar” has excellent writing, phenomenal characters, a unique premise grounded in Eastern culture, and one of the best redemption arcs in fiction, cartoon or otherwise. Although overhyped by some people, it is a really great show that is genuinely deserving of its accolades.
This show is not “Avatar”. “Dragon Prince” will have seven seasons to surprise me and become excellent in the upcoming seasons, but for right now, it is just the same generic piece of quest fiction that I’ve been unimpressed by dozens of times.
“The Dragon Prince” is a Netflix original animated series that stars Ezran and Callum, the young prince and older step-prince in the kingdom of Katolis. Many years before the story begins, humans started using dark magic and were cast out of the kingdom of Xadia, where the magical beings lived, forming their own land in the magic-less section of the world. This is a decent backstory, but it is very generic and portrays humans and elves as equally biased, which I don’t mind because it is a little more realistic than the “humans evil, magic good” we often see. However, it taps into both-sides-ism, which makes this backstory somewhat dated in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Despite the generic plot, there are some things I liked. I like Rayla, an assassin elf; she’s generic but fun and she definitely has the best lines in the show. I also liked many side-characters, such as the 11-year-old queen, most sun-elves, the human baker, the blind pirate, and one illusion elf whose name is a pun. These are good characters not ruined by overexposure and writing quality. I’m especially fond of General Amaya, the deaf sister of Katolis’s dead queen, and her captor-turned-likely-girlfriend, the sun-elf general and princess. Amaya being deaf is one of the only diverse aspects of the show, which is unfortunate, but it is really cool to see a deaf person in a cartoon, without subtitles on her all the time, and being a bad**s, all at once.
However, the main characters aren’t interesting or compelling. They have random plot arcs that spawn from nowhere and only are relevant for one or two episodes before fading like they never existed. One example is that Ezran suddenly can speak to animals, a plot point seemingly added so he can talk to a wolf who is in two episodes. There’s also a very sudden and not-well-written romance between Callum and Rayla that sprung from nowhere and is so generic that I actively dislike it. Stop writing that any boy and girl who are friends must automatically date. It’s a tired premise that perpetuates unfair expectations on children.
The writing is also very uneven and took a very sudden dive in the middle of season 2. It was strange and largely unexplained, and I had to pause the show and run it back to make sure I wasn’t missing a major plotline. With bad writing quality and in-story issues, “The Dragon Prince” doesn’t have much to offer. It isn’t saved by its groundbreaking nature, like “Steven Universe” or subversiveness, like “Phineas and Ferb”. The show has very little diversity to offer viewers, with three black characters (one of which is dead) and three out of four of their queer characters dying in the same episode they’re introduced. They took a big step back from “She-Ra” and “Kipo” here, so I’m now disappointed in Netflix again.
There are so many good cartoons to watch right now, and you don’t need to watch this one. Instead, watch “Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts” or “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” or “BoJack Horseman”.
“The Owl House” on network TV has my unprecedented support. It’s amazing, and there’s a second season coming soon. “Infinity Train” is a good choice as well, whose future is up in the air right now, and it needs support. So, even if you have more time than ever to watch TV right now, use that time wisely and watch shows that are worth watching. “The Dragon Prince” should not be one of them.
6 Comments
Sorry to say, but your reasoning for recommending not watching The Dragon Prince (TDP) is unclear and partially based on falsehoods, although you captured Amaya and supporting characters well, and I’ll also agree that canceling Santa Clarita Diet was a travesty. However, it’s a shame you’re recommending people not watch a truly captivating, fun, and yes, highly diverse, show. True, the head writer of Avatar heads TDP, so it can seem reminiscent of Avatar in some areas, especially when you have a couple voice actor crossovers (notably main character Callum, who voiced Sokka.) You say you preferred Korra over Avatar, but that is your opinion, and you shouldn’t recommend others not watch a series because it wasn’t your preference, as you’re doing with The Dragon Prince. I don’t believe you not connecting with the show does not provide you grounds to claim it is generic, as your article doesn’t really prove your case. Although you make good points about the romance not being necessary between Rayla and Callum, it doesn’t come out of nowhere, as relationships often are formed from friendships. I do find the relationship valid because the two are young teens who find an understanding in each other that hasn’t been provided by another their own age before. Puppy love is a stereotype because to be young and understood by another is a basis for a strong connection, albeit often fleeting in real life, but that isn’t always the case either.
Despite some similarities, unoriginal or generic is not what I would use to describe a truly interesting world carefully and thoughtfully crafted, with many (not all) truly unique characters. Especially considering there isn’t even half the episodes per season that Avatar received. If you were truly focused solely on watching the shows, and not getting distracted, you would have noticed Ezran’s ability to communicate with animals began in the first 2 episodes, with the egg (wanting it’s mother) and Bait. The diversity is also NOT limited to a handful of characters, and is present among humans and elves, as Callum is half Asian, Ezran is half Black and half Asian, and then you have Corvus, Janai & her sister, Kazi, Lujanne, Amaya and Sarai, to name a few. If you refer to the writing mid-season 2 as falling off being the episodes that offered necessary back story, it didn’t fall off so much as provide context. It needed to do 2 things, 1) give proper attention to what is learned up to that point in the series to ensure viewers appreciate with deeper meaning what happens in season 3, and 2) provides deeper insight into character motivations. You’ll notice episode ratings for the latter half of season 2 on IMDB actually go higher, and it’s because viewers that became more invested in the world and the characters appreciate the added context in order to NOT be generic. I find it ironic you say this where you felt the writing took a dive.
The point is this show is quite good, original, and offers more world building than many shows on the market, especially ones geared to a specific age range, which this is not. It doesn’t have to be groundbreaking to be original, and let’s face it, anything with elves after Lord of the Rings and its many derivatives will seem unoriginal, but TDP gives us a diverse and unique set of characters here as well. A good show speaks to its viewers with it’s characters, arcs, and overall storyline, and it has a following because it does just that. Fans range all age ranges, including those who have and haven’t seen Avatar, and even if it doesn’t quite fit your fancy, that’s fine, but I wouldn’t recommend not watching it just because it isn’t up your alley. Quite the contrary, I recommend you give the series a test run, as it is rare for Netflix to confirm a series beyond a third season due to their system, so you know the creators will be able to deliver all 7 seasons with a complete story. And for those of you who have watched it, have a jelly tart.
I just randomly stumbled upon this review cause I can not wait for another season, and all I gotta say is, I Stan this comment. I really wanted to right a comment cause I didn’t agree with a lot of the review, and I’m really glad someone already did cause I really wasn’t going to right a comment that good! And thank you, I will take a jelly tart.
I knew not to trust this review when you stated Lok was better than AtLA. Also your use of the word “generic” is redundant.
It’s like this person didn’t even pay attention, and The Owl House is certainly more generic than The Dragon Prince.
I was about to lose my mind until I realized this review was done by a high school kid.
Just wanted to say thanks for this review! I agree with you, and I don’t think people have to be so bitter in the comments. People take entertainment too seriously sometimes, haha. :)