After a 2 year long hiatus, the Netflix animated show and Wonderstorm’s debut original show The Dragon Prince is finally returning with their fourth season on November 3rd, 2022. The wait has been exciting; some may say tedious. The long wait was unprecedented, seeing as the show’s first three seasons had all been released in just over a year, spanning September 2018— November 2019. Alongside this long wait came a two year time-skip in the story itself, which turned out to be a clever move that imitated the real life duration between seeing the characters in action, therefore lessening the pain of a lack of new content. With an exciting and ambitious new trailer having just been shown at New York Comic Con, it seems that both fans and the crew themselves are all waiting anxiously for the new arc to become unveiled alongside its new secrets and adventures.
It should be said that the production crew for The Dragon Prince has not forgotten the fanbase in between seasons. With the news that Netflix had granted them the entire saga of seasons, the staff soon got to work on imagining just how wide this fantastical world could truly be. One notable example is the new TTRPG , Tales of Xadia, created in collaboration with Cortex 1, a company which has created highly successful and accessible role-playing games. TOX, as it is affectionately nicknamed, has opened the world to new adventures and storylines, including a mysterious floating city and a wayward Moonshadow assassin facing a difficult decision.
Secondly, two out of three graphic novels have been released: Through the Moon, a post-season three story set in a well-known canonical location, telling a tragic yet necessary story that sets up the beginning of the new arc to be found in season four. The second was Bloodmoon Huntress, a story that took place many years before the show’s current timeline, delving deep into a classic Moonshadow tale, featuring one of the protagonists, Rayla. It is clear that these two extra stories set out to enrich the fictional universe by telling important and poignant stories which not only matter to the characters themselves but to fans as well.
Despite granting the Dragon Prince crew a whopping seven seasons in total, Netflix remains keen on allowing them only nine episodes per season, with each holding a runtime of only 22 minutes, approximately. This in turn leaves the writers at a crossroads. The creatives get to hold a world so well-developed and rich in variety and opportunities, but often have to put small, intimate moments which could be very interesting and fun to learn about, on the chopping block in favour of keeping the story tight, with only the most effective pieces remaining. It is quite unlike its spiritual predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender, which was very kindly given many ‘filler’ episodes which offered slice of life stories about the lovable characters. The episode Tales of Ba Sing Se is a keen fan favourite, as it showed mundane stories which, despite having little connections to the main plot, were quirky and heart-warming, or heart-breaking, in Iroh and Momo’s cases.
When faced with constraints, a creative team must do what they do best: get creative. It is clear that The Dragon Prince crew has done so through the introductions of the new TTRPG and the graphic novels, but they have also innovated in other ways. In June of 2022, a new short story launched on the website, titled Patience—a poetic yet brief monologue from the series’ antagonist, Aaravos. The story is largely anticipatory and vague, which is befitting of this character’s overall role in both the fictional universe itself as well as his role in the seasons to come. However, it was also what the Twitter account called “the first entry in [the] new short story series, #TheDragonPrince: Reflections,” 2 . This, of course, immediately intrigued fans, who have been eager to get any glimpse at their beloved characters. Additionally, fan theorists were quick to notice the connection between the mirror shards and title ‘reflections’ and the glass prison that the primary antagonist—Aaravos—had been locked in for centuries before escaping in season three. Hype soon spread and only grew with each bi-weekly release of these short stories, and in a fandom that was eagerly hungry for more, it was like a refreshing well in an Oasis.
When considering the importance of the ‘Reflections’ stories, one must not only view the duration of time before receiving new content, but also the sanctity with which fans hold these stories. In a fandom which was largely quiet in the latter half of the two-year wait, I can confidently say that these indulgent, slice of life glimpses have enriched the community, providing us with fodder for theories and speculation. It not only amplifies the interest and anticipation for the new arc which will soon unfold, but also widens our view of the rich world teeming with new discoveries and mysteries. Reflections feel like small tributes to the beloved characters we all love and are intrigued by, thanks to the exceptional writing demonstrated by the creative staff.
Seeing as the writing crew has been shouldered with writing the entire saga of seven seasons, they are undoubtedly very busy, and have been working hard even through the pandemic 3. We must not only appreciate the stories themselves, but the fact that the writers cherish these characters enough to allow us to join them in these intimate moments. We watch the young mage Callum, who is now entrusted with the High Mage of Katolis role, as he unravels the mystical puzzles found in the tombs of the castle; Janai, the new Queen of Lux Aurea, and her brother, struggling with their older sister’s death; Ezran, also coming to terms with his new role as King of Katolis, confiding in his pet glow toad and the Dragon Prince himself, Azymondias. Although the animated show does not skimp out on emotionally rich and vulnerable moments, the stories found in Reflections take place in between the two years we did not see these characters, and judging from the new trailer released, it seems like the new season takes a running start into the quick unfolding new era. There is little time to waste, and so, Reflections was born.
Such heartfelt, bonus short stories are sadly uncommon in such a competitive and profit-driven industry. Reflections are not only lovingly crafted, they are also free to read, as they are not locked behind a paywall or a new product in stores like the graphic novels. It is clear that Wonderstorm was willing to put their creative time and energy into giving fans these important narratives even if it meant sacrificing a possible new source of income. Fans of other animated shows have taken notice to the company’s new practice, tweeting that they wish other IP’s had similar stories.
I will just add that this is the sort of stuff I hope we see Avatar Studios eventually do. It highlights how badly we need an official Avatar website, seeing TDP have all the key Season 4 news as well as original shorts all up and easy to access. Night and day from what we have (Twitter user AirspeedPrime) 4.
Reflections came at a time where fans eagerly awaited any news about what the Dragon Prince universe might look like during and after the two-year time-skip, and it has delivered on all fronts with delivering heartfelt, meaningful, and lovingly crafted short stories. These tales inform fans not only of the character’s places in the story, but also their emotional inner worlds in a fictional universe which is changing as quickly as our own has since the pandemic. The creative team continues to offer masterful writing which can only come from a genuine dedication to their story and characters, and as a member of the fandom, I am very thankful.
1 Table-top role-playing game.
2 https://twitter.com/thedragonprince/status/1539386614249447424?s=20&t=b3fPTJ1hjfB5cal8WA12dA
3 The renewal of the show came in 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
4 https://twitter.com/AirspeedPrime/status/1575611134870450176
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