The Dragon Prince Season 4: Mystery of Bad Writing

We waited three years for The Dragon Prince season 4 and unfortunately, it misses the mark.
Music:
► Field of Fireflies by purple cat
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► When I Was a Boy by Tokyo Music Walker
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Sometimes I stream: / redbloodcell1
Script by: redbloodcell1
Edited by: redbloodcell1
#thedragonprince #netflix #animation #review

[@DragonGoddess18]

Rayla coming back as if leaving Callum for two whole years was no big deal Even though it WAS a big deal ,the show acts as if Rayla is 100% innocent in all of this and Callum is the unreasonable one. News flash: Callum isn't.

[@gurun8071]

.....multiple times it's pointed out how much she hated the choice she made and that everyone else also hated her choice, it's only callum who simps

[@LordFlames]

I actively hate this whole situation that these two characters are in! This should never have been done because now you have to redo the entire arch with them AGAIN! Like wtf?!?! As a writer, in order to further their relationship have them find out where to live either east or west and then second meet the family and start actually getting know more about each other that could darken the relationship. Like what if Rayla has some secret aka THE COINS that could spice up the relationship. This stuff is barebones simple yet the people who made the series needed conflict now?? And let’s say Rayla and Calllum get into a fight about lies and secrets, that would test how much they love each other and strengthen their bond! For goodness sakes I came up with this on a Saturday morning and already I find this version somewhat interesting and could be explored.

[@thedarkbard]

⁠@@LordFlamesyeah, have to agree. To be clear, TtM was incredibly well written, I totally get why she left (even if I don’t like it). It’s more the length of time and their reactions that was messed up. Why wouldn’t Rayla send him letters? Surely some elven towns have some sort of generic mail service, and by the time Callum was able to get there she’d be long gone. Other than the few short stories, it doesn’t feel like the writers thought through the two years that much, which is shown in the clunky pick up. As I dabble in writing as well, I’ve found that you rarely want to leave major drama unresolved during such a big time jump.

[@sporkles7427]

Questions I had while watching: The architect of the Sunfire elf camp was worried of a candle burning down the camp. How does it make any sense that she would design the camp without the knowledge that *Sunfire* elves have the ability to heat up their skin? How has the camp not erupted into flames previously? Also, how are the lions, with *fire* on their tails, able to stay in *wooden* pens without burning them down? What was the point of Callum translating the mirror when the dragon queen explained everything the viewers needed to know in a monologue? Wouldn't it have made much more sense for Callum to ask her years earlier since it was her husband who originally owned the mirror? It seemed he was aware of where the mirror came from. Seems like a much easier solution. Why was this book, titled 'Earth', dedicated more towards the Sunfire elves subplot than the Earthblood elves? We got to see a little of how Earthblood society works, but barely enough to understand Earthblood culture or life. Wouldn't it be more plot relevant to have the plot feature a conflict the Earthblood elves are facing or something? Why did Ezran think it would be a good idea to host a gathering for Zubeia on what's essentially a mass-grave of humans. I get the message he is trying to go for, but wouldn't it be a little more respectful to hold the gathering somewhere that isn't a place remembered for the brutality done to humans at the hands of dragons? Why did Rayla randomly decide to show up again? Maybe the show made it clear somewhere, but it seems like a really awful move to disappear from your boyfriend for two years and randomly show up. Did she just give up on looking for Viren? Why come back now? Also, why did the show add in Stella? I know that Stella had the ability to save the 'bag of coins' in the end, and maybe she'll have a bigger role in the future, but it feels like her only purpose is to be another 'silly animal companion'. Why did the earth arch-dragon decide to attack everyone when it was clearly Claudia and company who were in the wrong? Why did they allow Zym to come with them to meet the earth arch-dragon when it was clear that him and Zym's dad had bad blood? Even if they did transform him into a dog, wouldn't it have made more sense for Zym, the *last* heir of the queen, to stay behind with the Earthblood elf for safety? Why is Zym even with them in the first place, shouldn't Zubeia be more cautious about where he is due to the fact he was kidnapped from her for years? Why did Terry decide to be Claudia's boyfriend? And why would he even decide to follow Viren, the man who killed the Dragon king, kidnapped Zym, destroyed Lux Aurea, incited a race war, used dark magic proficiently, and committed several other atrocities against elven-kind? And why would Claudia, with all of her prejudice against elves, decide to date one? What does Terry even get in return for trying to help Viren find Aaravos? Does he not realize it's a bad idea? Why was Ezran allowed to go on the mission with Callum and friends when it's obvious it's a terrible idea to allow the final heir to the Katolis throne to go on a potentially dangerous mission. He was so worried about being a king and being their for his people in the previous seasons, but it seems he's just thrown that responsibility out the window. Why did Claudia have the conversation with Soren about why elves are bad? She has an Earthblood elf as a boyfriend, surely she should know that not *all* elves are against humans. It makes her feel really shallow and ignorant.

[@androski5247]

Yea question 3 bugged me a lot. The sunfire plot easily could've been completely cut from this season and it wouldn't have made a difference. The added screentime could've been allocated to having more compelling dialogue between the two main groups, and developed the Earthblood Elves more. It just felt so packed in with that secondary plot that everything just went by at such a breakneck pace without any meaningful development actually occuring.

[@sporkles7427]

@@androski5247 Right?? I feel like a good idea would be to have Amaya send a letter to Callum and Ezran explaining how the Sunfire elves are doing and giving some closure to the viewers since Lux Aurea was destroyed last season. Or maybe just even one episode dedicated to Amaya and Janai so it wouldn't interrupt the main plot if the writing team found it that important. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than having the Sunfire sub-plot getting in the way of the main plot every five minutes.

[@azulasarabia3167]

She made a camp they can stay in while she rebuilds a whole sunfire civilization

[@YGhost_05]

I wish the writer would read that before releasing season 5 😂

[@Grf1556]

My man asking all the big questions here.

[@snakeman830]

Aaravos only got 2 minutes of screentime, but that two minutes was far and away the best scene in the entire season.

[@avoonis]

5:43 it gets a whole lot worse than visiting a free website to read a letter. A tie in graphic novel called Through The Moon exists where Rayla enters the dimension between life and death, meets her assassin pals who get convinced that she finished the mission since she doesn't have the binding. She comes across Viren in a cocoon and thus is convinced that he's alive. She agrees with Callum that they go hunt for him together, but leaves him behind as she left during the night of his birthday. The creators assured that buying and reading this novel wouldn't be necessary to understanding S4, but since the only thing we learn is that Rayla's been gone for 2 years and that she was looking for Viren, but didn't find him, clearly left the audience confused. Of course, this is without mentioning how Rayla's return is not addressed byeond that she's now back.

[@yoshigirl5760]

What cunfusing is we didn't know she left. That's bad story telling

[@MistyKathrine]

6:08 The communication issues make sense. If you ghosted your partner for 2 years and then showed back up at their house one day trying to pretend like nothing changed, it would not go very well.

[@bobbirdsong6825]

True. I find myself thinking that the general idea of everything was alright (except maybe the Rex igneous plot, that just needs to be rewritten) but somehow they just fumbled it so hard. It really felt like a second draft they had to put in production because they were already behind schedule or something

[@eosofspades_357]

it's all well and good to say that yeah, OBJECTIVELY, it makes sense they would struggle to communicate, but that doesn't change the fact that it's *subjectively* so poorly written. why didn't we get a single argument scene between them? Rayla has always been hotheaded and defensive and Callum has always been very openly emotional - if they've grown into different people, then we need to SEE that development in real time, not just have it told to us by a time skip. why didn't we get any REAL explanation for Rayla's disappearance and return if it was such a big deal? it's just badly written

[@felipecouto1102]

@@eosofspades_357 Instead of that we got a scene of Soren and Ezran telling them that it will be fine, a few glances and booom, a major relationship problem just stopped existing

[@lmao521]

@@eosofspades_357 ngl I think yall being too impatient Not all things need to be explain in one season.

[@PokemonPrince_]

Exactly

[@breaddboy]

i think what bothered me most was that in the two year skip there was like zero growth. amaya should already know sun elf traditions. shes lived there for two years, claudia afer comiting so many awful acts is still largly a child soren too. all the weight they felt in S3 just feels asent. its apparent in pretty mush all characters with the expection of the sun elf who is actualy torn. another issue is characters not stayin in their own lane, rayla has a pet now. that was ezrins thing like his whole personality.

[@Mushroompancake]

YES!!! Rayla having a pet felt like such a forced “Awwww look at the tiny cute thing” Even though Ezrins whole thing was being the animal guy.

[@periwinkle6676]

too many pet characters in the show.

[@Mushroompancake]

@@periwinkle6676 especially now that they added the 3 glow toad tadpoles like seriously there’s enough pets

[@mooredaxon]

It wasn't zero growth it was negative growth. It seems like all the characters lost ALL their personality

[@doandadrestarahma5290]

​@@mooredaxonreyla especially, it's the love interest syndrome

[@kalzium8857]

What i noticed: Many scenes are only to show that this character has this ability. Oh look have we shown that zubeia can summon storms? What happened to the world outside Katolis in the last 2 years? Do the other human kingdoms matter? Do the other kingdoms even want peace. Could there not be a ambassador from another kingdom. Maybe they appear again, if the writers need another human army. What about the dark magic subplot? The core conflict aside from aaravos? Aside from the magic that the baddies use. Dark magic had no impact on the story. If claudia was a primal mage, the story would the same. I mean she even got a elven bf. Why is ezran going on an adventure? Wasnt this a major deal that the princes were missing? Amayas impact on the main story is limited. Lets assume you remove amaya and her sunfire story line from the entire story. Aside from being a minor obstacle in s1e4 and destroying the breach, she doesnt do anything. The stuff with the architect could be a side story. The show tries to hype us for the prequel the orphan queen. Good luck getting it green lighted. In the first episode they could use the council meeting to establish the world. What consequences did the events of s3 have on s4? It seems the writers write the joke first. Story second. I think wether you like the s4 or not depends how much you trusts the writers.

[@MistyKathrine]

8:00 I thought the Sunfire Elf plot was fine over the first 3 episodes. It's episode 4 where it really starts to feel out of place with Lucia blowing out the candle scene that felt super forced and awkward that made that entire arc feel out of place, especially since it has no immediate connection to the rest of the story. Hopefully it ties together somehow in season 5, maybe Karim being a mage was trying to seize power because he's somehow under the influence of Aaravos or something. I didn't care for Karim's plot at all and I felt it took screen time away from the stuff we actually wanted to see.

[@redbloodcell1]

Yeah, crazy how Lucia designed a flammable camp for Sunfire elves, eh?

[@taymus13]

I never questioned the lack of reaction to Callums use of magic. Its been 2 years, and it seems that his been the high mage for most of that time, so at the very least everyone in the castle should be used to seeing him use said magic.

[@androski5247]

I watched the entire show over the course of a couple days about a week or two before season 4 released, and I became so heavily hooked. Every season was superb, with some gripes but they were minor, like the choppy animation in season 1, which was endearing to me at the same time. Season 4 launched, and I binged the show in a day. I was conflicted because I felt something was wrong, but the hype for the season and the fact that I had just watched the previous 3 seasons muddied my judgement, so I tried to justify some of the "awkward feelings" I had with the season. Upon rewatching it with my sister, I can confidently say that everything was just mismanaged here. The animation was sloppy, worse than season 1, there weren't any redeemable action scenes that showed their skills and prowess as animators. The dialogue was hollow and full of unnecessary jokes when we needed meaningful dialogue. The story felt quick and easy, as if every problem put in their way was solved a minute later by one small action (dropping bait on the drake rider, giving Rex Igneous choclate). The only good standout scene that came out of this season was the one scene where Aaravos controls Callum and has everyone in his grip, nothing was played for laughs, Aaravos felt like a genuine threat, everything felt right. I'm not saying I hate jokes and child friendly content in this show, honestly they were some of my favorite parts in the past 3 seasons, but once again the jokes just felt out of place and useless, they didn't develop the characters while we have a laugh, they didn't provide anything meaningful; and the show just feels a little "too child friendly" now. Every time Ezran spoke, it felt like I was watching an episode of Dora the explorer, not an animation that respects the intelligence of their viewers like the previous seasons did.

[@kalzium8857]

I would like to add that this show has gotten a new director. This new director was involved in projects like dragon ball evolution. So if you still had hopes for this show.

[@madeleinedartois4689]

Ouch ?!

[@DragonGoddess18]

😱 Oh dear God! We're doomed

[@PMW591]

Crap, this ain’t getting better then…

[@LordFlames]

F me, you are right they did get a new director. I mean still the writing team has to blame but a new director in the middle of seasons??????? This show is dead, this new director literally is famous for Lego show WTF?

[@windstormstrike]

Season 4 NEVER HAPPENED

[@davidross5640]

pretty much, it was a single episodes worth of nothing anyway... bad guy wants to escape, mean dragon has map... the end... and the insufferable jokes... the series is dead to me, three seasons and done... fucking tragic...

[@kumanique8206]

@@davidross5640 Whoa it's not that serious lmaoo hopefully next season brings back the original feel though. The fart jokes just didn't need to be there or any of the young kid humor. I.e "goopy goo" running joke

[@davidross5640]

@@kumanique8206 there is not a single thing in this 'season' that feels natural, none of it belongs. an ancient dragon queen acts like a twenty something mom, its disgusting. a creature that old, old enough to see the formation of civilizations, should see everything as five minutes old. elder humans should look like toddlers to an ancient dragon, but the dragon shouldnt act condescending either, because when a personality lives that long they stop being childish entirely. i mean its not even a kids show, dad dies in the first episode, so how about we act as mature as the subject matter... you know, civilization ending wars and all that shit...

[@davidm9612]

Nothing happened in s4 anyway. Could easily skip the whole season and watch a quick recap before s5 with no issues

[@davidross5640]

@@davidm9612 well no, they did butcher the Callum Rayla relationship before it had a chance to happen. That was one of the high notes from season 3

[@DarkTruth1]

This went from my top show to dead to me. Season 4 killed it for me. I have no interest in watching any more of it.

[@melisteke4055]

I Agree.I am just gonna watch the Ralllum scenes on KZbin.

[@LordFlames]

Seriously though how did something like this get made?! Did they even proofread this?? This show is dead to me as well, wtf were these guys thinking. Literally the opening scene was Rayla fuking off for 2 year and left in the middle of the night on this guy’s birthday… WTF???? F this show

[@fatimasyed8276]

The only things I liked about it were how much Sky Magic Callum learned, the discovery of the other types of magic gems besides the moon opal, and the fate of Rayla's parents.

[@MistyKathrine]

9:22 I just don't think he leaves Katolis much these days. He's the high mage, a member of the government, etc. His abilities would be well known in Katolis at this point. I think the only person he did magic in front of that didn't know Callum, was N'than and he's young and might not know too much about magic to begin with. He had used his magic in front of Claudia or Rex, then I would have definitely expected different reactions to it. Actually this was the first time Callum and Claudia even see each other since Callum tried his first dark magic. I was always disappointed we didn't have any interactions between Callum and Claudia and season 3 and had hoped to get more interactions between them than we did in season 4. Claudia and Callum had really good interactions in the first 2 seasons they used to be best friends and have a lot of feelings for each other and with everything that's happened since then, it seems like they would have a lot to say to each other. Claudia finding out that Callum made the impossible possible by learning sky magic would probably be a really fun scene.

[@playfulpanthress]

My question is still; if the boy king can talk to animals, why didn't the show have him find out and look for his father?? We all remember Viren traded the king and that bird's spirit, right?? Why was that a dropped plot point???

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

It's still in limbo

[@playfulpanthress]

@@TheMrPeteChannel It might be now, but when the boy first went back to the castle, wasn't the bird that housed his dad still hanging around?

[@adoniaescalona2024]

Honestly this show needs more flashbacks

[@VenhedisKaffas]

I'm still irritated about the Soren and Viren thing. They spent the whole season trying to humanize Viren by showing his love for Claudia, but my only thought during those scenes was "what about Soren?" Pretty sure we already knew in earlier seasons that Viren cares about Claudia in some way. We even get the comment from Aaravos about how Viren wished Soren had never been born. We get that during season 4 as they try to humanize Viren. Like, I get that it was a taunt from Aaravos, but the scenes between Claudia and Viren feel a lot less sweet and loving when you remember that he doesn't seem to care about his son at all. Also, I really hope other characters react a bit more seriously to certain things in the next season. I get the feeling that Callum's possession by Aaravos scene is going to come back in some way. Like, it was a rather dark scene and it might become an actual problem and yet most of the other characters skipped over that fact.

[@mweathers79]

And here we go again in S5. Same bad writing. People avoiding obvious conversations to create conflict to overcome and have “growth” at a later point. It’s so bad. It’s so basic. Just because a shown is “written for children” isn’t the same thing as written poorly…and the LGBTQ characters feel like pandering, there I said it.

[@Octon3127]

"Here's to hoping season 5 is an improvement" Season 5: Lol. Lmao.

[@Pokeyrunner]

Yeah, if anything it's even worse.

[@buffsheeri]

I think a lot has to do with the time lag between when Netflix green lit and when the studio began to fire up again. People moved on, so new teams had to be remade and as you said writers changed.

[@pierredufour6164]

No, look at the credits, the writers are the same. They just neglected this season apparently.

[@thegrumple5862]

no i specifically checked that when i first watched season 4. I thought that the writers had to have changed, how could they go from such a great high to one of the worst lows. The writers are the same.

[@User-jp1sj]

The fact that fanfiction writers managed to do better then this is embarrasing

[@stuffstuff3455]

What fanfiction is better than the official? I'm interested.

[@User-jp1sj]

@@stuffstuff3455 The White Mage by FableTheWolf7 for example

[@greenscythe8940]

It sucks that DP's writing isn't better, but I wouldn't call it embarassing. Many fandoms have some authors that are as good as published authors or actually do both. And some people have 10+ years experience writing from fics.

[@madeleinedartois4689]

@@User-jp1sj What else ?

[@chikannnn]

@@madeleinedartois4689i recommend looking up crimsonette works

[@MistyKathrine]

4:15 They actually just had plotted against Harrow and Ezran. Callum wasn't on the kill list.

[@CocoaCatniptv]

It being two years before Viren woke vs. two isn’t a retcon though. If you go back and watch the scene at the end of season 3, it’s never mentioned how long has passed. Also Ezran mentioning that callum is the first primal mage in centuries isn’t necessarily a retcon either. Now it’s true that most characters in universe have been led to believe that humans can’t connect to an arcanum, but callum proved this to be incorrect. I assume that Zubeia being as old as she is would have known about human primal mages existing before the discovery of dark magic and perhaps has told them this. The main issue is that we don’t ever see this conversation happen, and it just leaves us to assume that they found this out within the two years gap. Still an issue..but not quite as big as it being a full on retcon. Great video btw. I don’t necessarily agree with all your points and actually enjoyed season 4 myself, but it’s nice seeing other opinions.

[@The_Asexual_Pervert]

The additional context for rayla leaving was actually in a canonical graphic novel! It's wild that they expected people to BUY A BOOK to fully understand their tv show

[@Casshio]

So what happend? I read something about a ritual at the moon nexus?

[@The_Asexual_Pervert]

@@Casshio basically they do some magic thing at the moon nexus where they find out Viren might be alive and then Callum and Rayla agree to look for him together. Except Rayla was lying for some reason and she actually leaves in the middle of the night to go look on her own. To "protect him" or whatever.

[@The_Asexual_Pervert]

this is from what I remember at least. you might be able to find a better summary somewhere else

[@cnicholas1066]

Just got finished watching today! Completely agree with your assessment 😋 can’t wait to watch your future videos

[@saintricardo8746]

I waited years.... FOR THIS?!???

[@lc7751]

This wasn't even a full season it felt like 3 eps stretched out or less

[@Bluedragon-iz3oo]

To me, the sunfire elf plot seem too inconsquential to be shown. It feels like a side story that is only used to pad out the run time. It would be more interesting if Karim’s rebellion actually worked and have the sun elves side against the humans.

[@jaffarebellion292]

It really should've been a tie-in comic.

[@martinfranchini7488]

I think in someway aaravos is controlling carim, not directly But following a chains of events. Let's see

[@definitelynothere7736]

Im glad that there are other people who share my opinion. I've been an avid fan of the dragon prince and this season was... rough. Ive seen a bunch of people like it and i just havent felt the same. As of this comment, season 5 has been released and its better, but what happened in season 4 really dampened this newer season. I also want to say how the animation now has gotten lower quality, correct me if i'm wrong, but the characters dont seem as expressive anymore. Theres been 0 character growth or changing in the time skip, so theres no obvious reason for their facial expressions and movements to appear so stiff. The writing and show quality went wayyy down out of nowhere. What happened? Season 5 was still stiff, the writing was slightly better but still not as good. I reaally hope season 6 starts picking up the peices and redeems the show somehow but as of right now, im not sure.

[@narnia1233]

You are correct in your analysis. There’s so much that went wrong though that I don’t think this even covers everything. It is extremely annoying though because I was looking forward to seeing this show but to be honest I no longer want to see more. I’m okay with just pretending this season doesn’t exist and even ending the show.

[@Utahdolphin]

Wow! Good stuff! Big fan!

[@TheManBehindtheScreen]

I forgot this show existed until yesterday. Looked it up, saw S4 was out, and decided to start watching it after I got home from work today. Two episodes in and I've already ranted paragraphs upon paragraphs about how, so far, this season feels more like it was helmed by Taika Waititi than Aaron Ehasz. I've always had some issues with the show, particularly how it had this tendency to lean a little too much on its jokes, but from this video and the comments I'm glad to see my instincts and memory weren't wrong. The characters were sacrificed at the altar of meta humor.

[@felipecouto1102]

Speaking as someone who was never actually fond of the previous seasons, its kinda baffling how low season 4 got. I knew things were weird when the only thing I remembered from the first two episodes were flossing and fart jokes, when on previous seasons i actually got things to complain about.

[@alphastiv]

Great Video! Make one about season 5

[@eneggma]

after having just watched season 5, i can say that it’s definitely a step in the right direction. SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5 SO BE WARNED. the tonal dissonance is nowhere near as bad as season 4 (THANK GOD) and they don’t shy away from darker ideas. minimal fart jokes, better relationship development, and a more cohesive and compelling narrative are what makes season 5 far superior to 4. still, it is a shadow of the quality standard set by season 3. they glaze over a lot to do with callum and rayla’s relationship, and i felt like claudia, viren, and terry had nothing to do for the most part. i really liked seeing viren in the mind space, confronting his dark magic again like callum did in season 2, but it was overshadowed because we were constantly cutting away to other events. finnegrin was definitely the star of the season but the conflict felt so manufactured, i wish that the item that ezran stole was of more plot value than just some glow toad babies. it’s cute and it fits with his character, don’t get me wrong, but it feels a little trivial for this late in the game. anyways, claudia’s arc is handled much better this season, and we can really see her decent into darkness. it’s really interesting to see how she and viren are trading roles, how he is showing more and more remorse and she is showing more ambivalence and ruthlessness. she lost her LEG for gods sake, it’s only a matter of time before she loses her entire self.

[@palloae]

Here after season 5 annnnnnd it didn’t get better. 😭 I think the only reason I made it this far is because I just started watching and was able to binge seasons 1-5. I kept hoping the next season would finally get to the meat of the story but it STILL hasn’t happened. Aaravos is literally the only character that interests me but he has absolutely no screen time despite being the big bad villain.. The show spends a ridiculous amount of time showing us shallow character interactions. I don’t care how nice Claudia’s bf is.. I don’t care what flowers these ladies are gonna pick for their wedding, just wed them and move on.. And whatever’s going on with Viren like they gave it so much time for it not to even have an impact in the season… jfc 😭

[@acewmd.]

the edgy assassin was the weakest point for me, there was a lot wrong with it but honestly, she was the biggest issue to me.

[@palloae]

@@acewmd. rayla? Yeah she’s a mess

[@acewmd.]

@@palloae no, the blood one.

[@palloae]

@@acewmd. oh yea that was disappointing too

[@Casshio]

I just started watching this season and I'm already annoyed. The series had some very noticeable issues already but it feels like they will all gather up in this one. I thought maybe, they'd do that with it's great moments. But it keeps up with weird pacing from the 3rd season and already starts out with so many questions. Why the hell does Claudia have an Elf boyfriend? Why is Viren okay with it?? Why the fuck can they just climb up the Storm Spire??? Why is it barely guarded???? What happend with the other human kingdoms that attacked Xadia? Nor repercussions for that?? I guess this clownshow of a new council gave them a pass, a baker, seriously??? Ezra is hosting the visit of the former enemey at a war memorial? Meanwhile Rayala tsn off for two years??... to search for Viren who was right under the Storm Spire?? So, basically where he fell... What's with the humor, the writing, the world building? I can't believe this. These are just the first 2,5 episodes.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Why is Reyla still the only Dragon Guars after 2 years?

[@mikep2609]

Agree entirely. Also there was no continuity kf power and abilities and time and space were distorted. Rayla can jump through trees with ease but doesn't even attempt to jump up to Claudia during the finale who is what, 10ft up? Even after being tricked. How did Claudia's group even make it to the dragon without a guide like Callums group had... the butterfly person? How did Rayla go their direction but end back at the giant doors? Why didn't Rayla continue her pursuit... and really, a tart for the dragon. That was all in the last episode, so many other headscratchers along the way. Such a departure from the first 3 seasons. Season 3 finale was Epic, Season 4 just put you out of your misery.

[@rockxhero]

Agreed! I was a big fan for the 1st 3 seasons, & I want to forget 4. I"m about to start 5, though I'm not as excited as I once was for the show.

[@miedan21]

That's the problem with setup, once it's revealed what is was setting up for it will make more sense. I read most of this season setting up the fact that mage staffs hold a major significance to the plot, but the writers choose to be subtle about it this season. There were plenty of cinema sins though this season compared to previous seasons

[@blackchickiedee7]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the lack of communication and misunderstanding between characters. It's unbearable and frustrating to watch when shows do this which I'm thankful that s4 only had 9 episodes

[@vadimalbukh801]

The problem with dragon prince is that none of the good Guy characters actually respond to the history the politics or any of the things that go on in its own world do about that decision making and does everything going up hills artificial what the theme of the story being be good or be bad.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

6:00 What is this thing? It was created by committee to sell toys. That's it's purpose.

[@MistyKathrine]

9:03 I don't think that was a retcon as the scene ends in season 3 before you learn of how long he was dead.

[@woafofbread]

came here after season 5 and hoping it would be better than season 4 and I am so disappointed. It spends so much time lulling and not really going anywhere it's incredibly frustrating. The third season reached such a high climax and I was hoping since they had the amount of season planned out that they would plan out their story well but no, like you said there's much padding.

[@MistyKathrine]

6:24 In other interviews with the creators, Callum having a romantic relationship wasn't something that was planned at the beginning. I just rewatched season 1 a few days ago and there zero romantic interest between them. In Season 1, the main love interest for Callum is Claudia. I kind of get the impression they let Rayllum happen in season 3 for fan service but maybe they wanted a reason to break them up since it wasn't the creators' original vision and want to get back on track. Rayllum is dead and probably not going to happen again, at least that's my impression.

[@CocoaCatniptv]

It’s true that Rayllum wasn’t planned from the get go and they’ve said at first Claudium would have been more likely, but they’ve also said that Rayllum happened naturally. I don’t think it was fan service really, just how they felt the characters were progressing. Now as far as Rayllum happening again, I think it will. Some misunderstood a recent interview and it was spread that the creators said that Rayllum would be platonic, but Aaron responded and said that’s not what he meant. They’re essentially rebuilding the relationship and the two rebuilding that trust and friendship will come first. Of course it could end up just staying as friends, but I don’t think the ship being dead is certain either.

[@MistyKathrine]

@@CocoaCatniptv Writers usually don't like to give concrete details about stuff that's not released yet and often the details they do give are misdirection. I kind of think that Rayllum being a thing again would get in the way of the show going to where it needs to go.

[@nandrirandri4439]

I honestly would have prefer a relationship between Callum and Claudia since for now I am not the biggest fan of Rayla (actually she is my least favourite character in the show right now)

[@MistyKathrine]

In the first couple of seasons I thought they were going to be some kind of star crossed lovers that eventually end up together after a bunch of hardships and being on opposite sides. They both have a lot of similar interests and would probably be a really good match for each other. I pretty much never straight ship but that is like the one exception for me since their romantic scenes together were some of the best I have ever seen in a cartoon and they were just so cute together. I also agree that Rayla is the least interesting character at this point.

[@bfedezl2018]

I think you are sorely mistaken here, mainly because they know that that is a sure fire way to make the fans furious

[@bubblegum8959]

The thing about a late set up season is that it can be done well its just still a let down especially if your having it after an intense season like this show did Stranger things did this twice and one of those seasons are my favourite and the other one is almost everyone's favourite, because instead of doing this great big story that will later happen in the next season they drive the characters more make you love the characters even more than you did before, whilst getting rid of all the information it's an information slice of life season that's why it's never as good and yes stranger things added a little action and heartbreak as they should but it is still a less quality season that you don't even notice while you're watching, however here, it is not slice of life, I feel like I got too much and too little information all at the same time and I hatebthe characters I used to love

[@kirkokirko]

We don't talk about this season.

[@witchinggecko4271]

this season was painful to watch and I almost didn't make it. Especially since the contract to the first 3 was so severe

[@viravos]

so bad my boy aaravos got disrespected with only 2 MINUTES of screentime for a season literally NAMED after him & it didn’t even go in depth about his motivations whatsover. the website’s reflections stories did a better job on that if only slightly, saying he wanted the startouch elves to pay and use a human to cause that damage, and that he wanted to break out of jail lol

[@elizip5132]

I love your videos

[@bubblegum8959]

Lol I watched this series like a couple months ago when I tell you I can't remember anything but I can remember the first 3 seasons when I haven't watched in over a year 😅 😂 🤣

[@alexkrill2617]

I'm still optimistic about seasons 5-7 but I share your thoughts on this one.

[@Xaviezor]

Finally watched the 4th season, and it did not sit well with me at all A good example shows how weird i find the pacing to be. you know how in one interdimensional cable episode of Rick and Morty, of a show called "who's the killer" but the culprit surrenders at the very beginning of the episode? That young earthblood elf in episode 6 that captured Zym did the exact same thing. "I'm supposed to capture this creature and earn my glory or whatever... but i can't" end of story. For the sake of realism, yes he's a child and it's not in him to capture a dragon. But there was maybe a 0.02 second of internal conflict before he decides that he couldn't do it And the character inconsistencies within Viren is weird as well. He spirals between tough and vulnerable seemingly at random. He was conflicted about how to spend the 30 days but that only lasted the 20 seconds he was monologuing, then he goes right back to being horribly cruel when he's talking to Terry like he's got it all together. If they were trying to show a journey of inner conflict, it's done very weirdly cuz right now he's showing two extremes with little to no triggers pushing him to either side.

[@paulwong8985]

Season 5 came out on Netflix early, it feels much better this season. A different writer was hired for Season 4, I know it

[@shadow0974]

Yeah it was very better I would say in season one level

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

A public bathroom in Oakland is better than book 4. Natrualy 5 is better.

[@zacharyfreelove6101]

Just finished watching season 5 I am sad to say that it got worse

[@lukesoddlife]

Well said

[@Pandanas666]

Will you do an other video for season 5 ?

[@nightdweller2902]

I have mixed feelings about this show overall, but found it enjoyable enough to watch all the way through. Then I watched the first episode of S4 and it was so jam packed full of useless and dumb crap that I had no desire to watch the rest. This isn't even mentioning how they destroyed Rayla and Callum's relationship for no reason. I've always taken issue with how fast their relationship developed in the original three seasons as it sorta just came out of nowhere. Wasn't bad, but could have been better. Certainly gave us some great moments, but if they were going to do the time skip, I feel like it would have been better if they waited later in S4 for them to begin developing the romance. Idk. Just my thoughts. I've completely lost interest in this show.

[@androski5247]

Yea honestly they kinda shot themselves in the foot developing their relationship so fast if they were planning on doing another 4 seasons. Since they did, Callum and Rayla could've at least been the symbol of unity and love between Elves and Humans, but the sunfire plot with Amaya and Janai kinda steals the whole uniqueness of that prospect. Funnily enough I think the sunfire plot was the best developed of the two, which isn't saying much, but it just stole so much screentime from the characters that we actually wanted to see.

[@670HP-Package-NOW]

​@@androski5247this has to do with Netflix's habit of not giving many shows extensions which meant they had to treat s3 like it was possibly the final season.

[@prestonfernandes2071]

​@@670HP-Package-NOWSounds like what happened to The Legend of Korra when Nickelodeon made season 1 like the final season but then Renewed it till season 2 so they again made it the final season in season 2 but then again Nickelodeon extended the show for season 3 and 4. Atleast that season 2 and 3 felt more connected. But compare to what happened to the legend of Korra. Atleast Netflix only had to extend it once instead of 3 times. So the show atleast knows what to do for 4 seasons. I'm just assuming that they wanted to restart the story by using this time skip so the storying is just slow cause of it's trying to be season 1

[@Nirashi]

Season 4 should of been the comic book

[@silverslider562]

Season 4 was dreadfully bad…. They lost track of everything that made the show interesting to begin with.

[@murphymotion7306]

That's what I'm saying

[@PineappleDealer37]

hey, now that the season 5 is out I'd like to hear your opinion on that

[@rizvi1512]

Make one on season 5

[@ulrichbrodowsky5016]

I've watched the first few episodes and the tone completely puts me off. It feels like they cannot say anything without turning it into a joke. Sure, Dragon Prince always had some humour, but there were also always serious moments. They are almost entirely missing, I think. Not sure yet whether I continue to watch, even though I really liked the first two seasons. (The third one was okay as well, but I remember it as not quite on the same level)

[@fuze9305]

Honestly no context but i need final space back

[@j.fleury]

To be honest season 4 didn't mention aavrvos that much only that he was star elf and that he's in prison I mean wasn't the season suppose to focus on him and not the sunfire elves

[@buckeyeguru2321]

The show was delayed for 3 years bc Netflix hadn't greenlit it yet + COVID

[@azel8rrp169]

I stopped at Season 3. Wanted to keep going. But now that I know they spend more time on a lesbian wedding than an actual good story, I think I'll pass.

[@Spacefrisian]

In terms of relationships, it seems they have been pushing hetero relationships into the back ground, or more like failing relationships.

[@TheWeirdLad]

I must say i did enjoy this season but they could have done a bit better in certain things.

[@buckeyeguru2321]

9:09 why would they be shocked he's using primal magic if he's been using it for 2 YEARS during the time skip? Of course it's just a normal thing now

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Yeah I mean he is the High Mage. People in the castle should be used to his magic.

[@gfox6151]

Ah well at least season 5 is amazing

[@user-ym1zs8sd2y]

I actually thought season four was some sort of sequel but it's actually a continuation. I started getting disappointed and bored. I also hate that they make this big worldbuilding just to forget them. The storyline and worldbuilding did not resonate well with each other.

[@Memorial24]

Season 5 was bad too

[@egbert5871]

IMO not giving Aaravos a lot of screen time works well he is more a behind the scenes kind of villan not one that gets up in your face ...a Puppet Master....as the sybolism of sting attached to charaters implies

[@zachryder3150]

I will watch your career with great interest.

[@seriengirl4604]

I understood bug instead of buck (English is not my mother tongue) and I was soooooooo confused 😂😂😂

[@Whitetailedlynx]

Lol!

[@elizabethmay4944]

8:47 this is my one grip. she is kinda deaf. like she wouldnt have heard anyway.

[@One-In-a-Krillion]

the way the show fell off so hard is kinda crazy 💀

[@lukeluke333lukeluke]

I haven't finished season 4 yet but man everything feels off and I'm not enjoying it at all. Its been a struggle to want to finish the season. Humor is way off and the writing is not good. Shame. Show hasn't been perfect but I enjoyed the first 3 seasons.

[@marlesimms]

God this season sucked so much butt. Especially following how amazing the finale of Season 3 was. The characters don't have any depth or growth, and almost entire episodes are exposition. It's just an extended fetch quest. I can't believe how bad it was.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

If anything there was regression. Like how Ezran was acting more childish at 11 than 9. Soren goofier then ever.

[@MistyKathrine]

I thought season 4 was better than season 3. I just rewatched the entire series and season 3 was MUCH WORSE than I remember. The first half of 3 focuses on Ezran being king and he was absolutely terrible at it and it was super frustrating to watch. It doesn't even get interesting until Ezran gets himself thrown in prison. The final 3 episodes are okay, but I kind of feel like the writing kind of failed in the final battle. I think the hardest thing about season 4 for people is that Callum isn't any kind of protagonist this season. He does absolutely nothing to advance the plot whatsoever. Claudia ended being the main protagonist this season, she was the one advancing the story. She also had the most screen time and the most lines and dominated every scene which she appeared and was often the topic in scenes she didn't appear. The focus of this season was Claudia, this was her story of her quest to free Aaravos and save her father. The only other protagonist we have this season is Janai who leads her own unrelated plot.

[@redbloodcell1]

That’s more than fair and those are all really good points. Thanks for watching and discussing!

[@Eternal_Placidity]

Did we watch the same show?

[@MistyKathrine]

@Bla Bla Claudia isn't mentally unstable though... She's very pragmatic and rational, however she struggles with abandonment issues and loneliness, though having her father back and a new boyfriend definitely seems to be helping her with that. The biggest growth we need to see with Claudia is that she needs to learn to let go, and I think there will be a point in future seasons where Viren dies again and she will be forced to let him go. Claudia was always going to be the main event in season 4, just the cliffhanger that season 3 ended on teased that as well as pretty most of the promo materials for season 4. Claudia is easily one of the most interesting characters in the whole cast so having her as the main character works.

[@SuperBatSpider]

I was less interested in this season, hope it’s just a low point and it gets better

[@Charok1]

Agreed. This is the worst season and the writing is for dumb children.

[@DrenixWarriorKnight]

I blame the comic that made horrible use of the idea that you can trick ghosts into passing on. If I ever get a copy of that comic I am burning it.

[@Grf1556]

"Soren has high emotional intelligence." Season 2 Soren: Tries to murder a kid multiple times.

[@chikannnn]

that doesn’t really correlate

[@CoffeePotGames]

This felt like RWBY Volume 4. After such a high with season 3, this was a MAJOR downgrade

[@frostfiredirewolf8517]

There are people who say this is the best season of the lot...and those people I don't think I am able to understand.

[@DragonGoddess18]

They love the idea of season 4

[@martinfranchini7488]

Just because a season is slow and set up things, doesn't mean is shit. I found this season consistent with the other 3. This is adapting a series of book. S4 is the beginning of the second trilogy of those books. And we knew from age that this show will have 7 seasons. What would people expect? That everything about aaravos would have been revealed in this season? One thing it's his origins, another is his plans. Of course They Will not show his actions and Just set up the plot. Just like s1 did. S1 had no events, Just a build up for what was to come. Moreover, this season show us more about the earth setting and its lore, a thing that the first 2 seasons did less better. And for a show divided in books with titles like Moon, is important. The only issue i had with this season is the sun elves arc. But I had a feeling aaravos is in someway controlling carim. Not directly, But through a chain of events. Let'see

[@frostfiredirewolf8517]

@@martinfranchini7488 You're almost correct. Just because it is slow and set up doesn't make it bad. The fact they are shit is what makes it shit. Season 1 had major events complete with a proper pay off and finally. Season 2 had less lore set up, but it was also deeper and vastly better paced. People were expecting something that wasn't utter trash. This season was a 3/10 at BEST. The characters were actively trying to win the useless dumb ass award. It being set up isn't an excuse for it to suck as hard as it does. Don't just be a consumer. Expect better man.

[@sayrahjohans3559]

It continued to be bad

[@PokemonPrince_]

8:50 amaya's deaf she wouldn't hear them if they said something man

[@maddlarkin]

I think the pandemic seriously hurt season 4, a lot of the writing discussion and production took place over teams and the lack of feeback and discussion shows, the decision to match the time skip to real world time was made I'd guess to enable audiences to catch up from a new starting base point to cusion them (a foolish decision for a neflix show you can binge to catch up in a couple of days) a lot of this issues you describe and others I would think of would probably of got caught in discussion as they writers talked it through, but working in isolation it didnt and we got this mess, Im hoping its a blip and 5 will return to form, but Im a gamer Im used to disappointment

[@Oboro86]

and it got worse lmao

[@tatangakarvel8667]

Season 5 (4 episodes watched so far) feels like a Naruto filler episode run. They wanna milk that cow, instead of making stuff good. I mean they have BOOKS that work... why wreck it all up. The quality of animation declined too. How about a black space where 1 character can stand and think about life, without giving any new information. Really loved Season 1-3. Why did they have to ruin it -_-

[@renilol705]

And it doesn't get any better in season 5...

[@vadimalbukh801]

all the season where bad this is nothing new

[@vadimalbukh801]

This show is more like Korra as it can't show us what it is trying to say and can't wright politics.

[@sambur6480]

Ya it was bad

[@henryhere]

I COME FROM THE FUTURE to tell you (even though you already know but i felt like commenting anyway) that season 5 was in fact better! It wasn't exactly good but it was still better than season 4!

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

A Detroit public bathroom is better than book 4.

[@danreddits3796]

Its a kids show. I try watching shows like these with the eyes and mind of a 7 year old. I dont want to overthink everything. And so far even after season 5? 7 year old me is impressed.

[@davidross5640]

i used to think this show was the spiritual successor to the last air bender... but now its just garbage... they did such a shit job on this 'season' the single episode that it was. that at this point the series ended with season 3 in my mind... they just cant help but ruin everything.