The Big Picture
- The Dragon Prince Season 4 begins with a two-year time jump, showing Ezran as the ruler of Katolis and Callum as the High Mage. Rayla has been gone for a year, leaving Callum heartbroken.
- Viren is revealed to be alive and seeks to free Aaravos with the help of Claudia and her Earthblood Elf boyfriend Terry. Meanwhile, Rayla returns, and the heroes embark on a journey to stop Claudia and face various challenges along the way.
- The heroes and their adversaries cross paths at Rex Igneous’ lair, where Claudia, Terry, and Viren manage to steal the map to Aaravos’ prison.
After a climactic ending to Season 3, The Dragon Prince rebranded for the next chapter. Adding The Mysteries of Aaravos to the title, the series refocused the story on a new threat. After the characters made peace with Xadia by returning the young dragon Zym to his mother and their biggest adversary Viren (Jason Simpson) took a life-ending fall, the story was seemingly over, yet Season 4 began again with a new mission for Ezran (Sasha Rojen), Callum (Jack DeSena), Rayla (Paula Burrows), Soren (Jesse Inocalla), and Zym. An ancient evil is awakening, and they must find it before their adversaries.
The season introduces new characters and sets up the looming threat of Aaravos (Erik Todd Dellums), which is sure to be continued in Season 5. With the change in focus, the season works almost as a premiere, establishing the inevitable action that will appear down the line. Season 4 had no shortage of surprises that will only become more important.
Ezran’s Peace Is Unstable in ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 4
Beginning with a controversial time jump, the season picks up two years after the last installment. Ezran is ruling the kingdom of Katolis after his father’s death, and Callum has assumed the role of High Mage as he tries to make sense of Viren’s collection, including a mysterious mirror with an inscription he cannot translate. Meanwhile, Rayla has gone off to hunt Claudia (Racquel Belmonte) and Viren, who she wants to be sure is dead. After being gone for a year, she returns with no news of their enemies, but Callum isn’t ready to forgive her absence. Callum manages to translate the mirror but cannot understand the riddle. Ezran plans a visit from the Dragon Queen (Nicole Oliver), but most of his kingdom still fears dragons. Hoping to smooth over old wounds and cement the peace, Ezran plans a celebration, which seems to be a success, until they discover someone vandalized Ezran’s gift for the Dragon Queen.
Ezran delivers a heartfelt speech about the importance of forgiveness and moving forward, as war hurts everyone, and the people listen. Despite the somber turn of events, the visit would be a success if they were not interrupted by a dire warning that sends the Dragon Queen home in a hurry. As the warning references the “fallen star” like Callum’s mirror, he believes it connects to a larger mystery. So Ezran, Callum, Rayla, and Soren go with her, anticipating another quest.
‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 4 Reveals That Viren Is Alive
Viren wakes after falling from the mountain to find that he has been dead for two years. His daughter, Claudia, revived him using dark magic and following the instructions from Aaravos, but it is not permanent. With the help of a creature in a chrysalis, they need to free Aaravos in thirty days, or Viren will die again. The father and daughter set out on their journey with the assistance of Claudia’s Earth-blood elf boyfriend, Terry (Benjamin Callins), who Viren doesn’t like much. They set out to find Viren’s staff, which was taken by the Dragon Queen. Since she isn’t home, they decide to break in. Viren panics as they climb the mountain, his death opening his eyes to how fragile life is, and considers living his last thirty days in peace, but Claudia rejects the idea. Claudia and Terry go on without him.
They find the staff in the dragon’s lair, but they are attacked by the Sky mage, Ibis (Ian James Corlett). To save Claudia, Terry kills the mage, horrifying himself. Ibis manages to send a warning to the Dragon Queen with his last breath (this is the same one that interrupts the celebration). But Claudia and Terry escape with the staff. They reunite with Viren, and the being in the chrysalis emerges to guide them. The moth-like creature, whom Claudia names Sir Sparklepuff, uses drawings to communicate, directing them to the “dragon in the mountain.”
The Heroes Set Off on Their Journey
At the Dragon Queen’s lair, they find Ibis dead. As they mourn him, the Dragon Queen tells them the story of Aaravos, the Startouch Elf who secretly manipulates people to control Xadia. The Dragon King imprisoned him generations ago with the help of a young human mage who looks suspiciously like Ezran. The mirror, which Callum brought along, is a window into Aaravos’ prison, and through that, Aaravos possesses Callum, bragging about his impending escape.
When the mirror shatters, Callum regains control of himself. The group realizes Claudia must be picking up where Viren left off and attempting to free Aaravos, but with no knowledge of where she is, their best chance is to stop her by reaching Aaravos first. However, not even the Dragon Queen knows where he is. She sends them to the only person who does, Rex Igneous (Ben Cotton), the Archdragon of Earth. They go to his mountain home, Umber Tor, but Zym is meant to stay behind. When the guards deny them entrance, Ezran, Callum, Rayla, and Soren look for the back way to Rex Igneous. Rayla and Soren go ahead but run into the Drakeriders, who are chasing a young dragon. Soren decides to defend it, getting captured and sent into the pit of despair for his efforts. There he befriends the dragon and escapes.
Yet, in that time, Rayla, Callum, and Ezran are busy. They discover Zym followed them to the Drakewood. While they look for Soren, the Drakeriders attempt to capture Zym. The others save him, meeting the young elf, N’than (Dylan Schombing), in the process. N’than offers to guide them to the back entrance, which is in the pit. To get through, they have to face several challenges. During their journey, Callum asks Rayla to kill him if Aaravos takes over him again. Rayla rejects the idea, but Callum fears being used to hurt his friends.
The Sunfire Elves Face Unrest Throughout ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 4
Queen of the Sunfire Elves, Janai (Rena Anakwe), returns to an encampment of her people after their home was destroyed. With the help of humans, the elves are rebuilding, but it is a slow process. It is there that Janai proposes to Amaya, a human and the aunt of Callum and Ezran. Janai’s brother, Karim (Luc Roderique), warns about the unrest, trying to talk her out of the marriage, but Janai will not budge. The issue becomes more volatile when a fight breaks out among the citizens of the camp. A grieving Sunfire Elf lights a traditional candle for his mother, but a human architect, Lucia (Ana Sani), orders him to put it out, fearing it will cause a fire. The elf begs, but Lucia doesn’t listen, putting the candle out herself, ruining the tradition.
Though the elf burns her hands, Lucia is put on trial for her actions and found guilty. Though the punishment is death, Janai shows mercy, ordering her to build a place where the Sunfire Elves can practice their traditions safely. Karim is furious at the mercy and challenges his sister to the ancient custom of Blood and Ash, insisting she gives him the crown or duel for it. Janai refuses to step aside, saying the custom was abolished. Karim insists, and Janai wins but doesn’t kill her brother. Instead, he is arrested when he will not accept his defeat.
Claudia and Soren Reunite
As Soren looks for his friends, who believe him to be dead, he runs into Claudia. First, he captures her and tries to convince her to leave behind their father’s ways as he did. But Claudia remains unconvinced. Terry and Viren wait for Claudia, getting progressively more nervous as she doesn’t return. Terry tries to bond with Viren, admitting that killing Ibis shook him and Viren’s advice to pull himself together was fair, but Terry refuses to stop feeling. Terry also comes out to Viren as transgender. Though Viren does nothing to reciprocate Terry’s trust, he does seem less annoyed by him and supportive of his transition. Terry, Viren, and Sir Sparklepuff save Claudia and capture Soren in return. So, much to his horror, Soren discovers that his father is alive.
The Heroes Meet Rex Igneous in ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 4 Finale
Just before they enter Rex Igneous’ lair, Ezran understands why Zym is acting strange. He was supposed to stay behind because Rex Igneous was a rival of his father’s. They fear Zym’s presence will anger Rex Igneous, so they disguise him as a wolf. Even so, their meeting with the Archdragon doesn’t go well. They were unaware they needed gifts to impress him, so each makes a personal sacrifice, which Rex doesn’t appreciate, yet he is interested in Ezran’s offer of a snack, which wins them one question. They waste no time in bringing up Aaravos. Rex refuses to answer the dangerous question, and it devolves into a rant against the Dragon King, causing Zym to reveal himself. Unaware of the Dragon King’s death, Rex falters. He admits he doesn’t actually know Aaravos’ location, but he has it. Callum solves the riddle, realizing it’s a map.
Before Rex can give them the map, Claudia, Viren, and Terry show up, with Soren as their prisoner. Claudia casts a spell that puts all the heroes to sleep as they look for the map, finding it etched into Rex’s tooth. Soren tries to wake up his friends with the help of Zym, who escaped the spell. As Claudia and Terry make an impression of the tooth, Soren rouses Rayla. And despite the interruption of Rayla waking Rex, Claudia and Terry get the map and escape. Believing his visitors to be working with the intruders, Rex chases the heroes out, but Rayla follows Viren, separating from her friends.
Catching up to the group, Rayla takes Terry hostage. But Claudia reveals that she has Rayla’s loved ones, Runaan (Jonathan Holmes), Lain (Tyrone Savage), and Tiadrin (Ely Jackson), trapped in soul coins and threatens to destroy them unless Rayla frees Terry. Rayla complies, but Claudia tricks her, keeping the coins for herself. Terry points out the cruelty, inspiring Claudia to give Rayla the coins. The villains escape, and it’s revealed that Viren once again has resorted to dark magic. Meanwhile, the heroes are trapped by a dragon-sized door. They must work together to open it, needing even Bait to open the door. When they think they made it, Rex bursts through after them, preventing their escape. But the Dragon Queen comes to save Zym, and she protects them from Rex. Rayla seems to be lost in the rubble, leaving her friends to mourn, but she pulls herself out, reuniting with her friends before they set off to regroup and find a way to defeat Viren and Claudia again.
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