Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 6 finale.
Netflix’sThe Dragon Princehas returned for its sixth and penultimate season. Created byAaron Ehasz— head writer forAvatar: The Last Airbender— andJustin Richmon, it takes place in the magical land of Xadia, divided in half between the magical east, ruled over by dragons and elves connected to one of six primal sources of magic, and the human kingdoms of the west, who use Dark Magic to take magic from creatures born with it. While the first few seasons focused onthe princess of Katolis and an elven assassintrying to avert war between the elves and humans,Season 4 began a new story arc surroundingthe Startouch Elf, Aaravos(Erik Todd Dellums), who has been pulling the strings from a hidden prison.
Season 6 sees the characters pushed to their limits as they go on journeys of self-reflection and unlock ancient magical secrets. The finale offers emotional gut-punches for many of these stories while also setting up the endgame conflict for the next one. Most importantly, Season 6’s finale, “Starfall,” finallyanswers some important questions regarding Aaravos and his motivations,which is sure to leave audiences with many questions.
The Dragon Prince
Two human princes forge an unlikely bond with the elfin assassin sent to kill them, embarking on an epic quest to bring peace to their warring lands.
What Happened in ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 6?
Following Season 5, the heroes have acquired the prison of Aaravos, and so disperse. Prince Callum (Jack DeSena) and his girlfriend, the Moonshadow Elf Rayla (Paula Burrows), head north to the Sky Scrapper to meet with the secular Celestial Elves. They were hoping to find the Nova Blade, which is said to have the power to kill an immortal, but unfortunately, the elves gave it to a human many years ago. Still, when Callum and Rayla help them deal with a blizzard-creating behemoth, they gift the duo with the Corona of the Heavens,adorned with three powerful Quasar Diamonds containing Star Magic. They also help purge Callum of the taint of Dark Magic by helping him connect with his inner light, which manifests as his love for Rayla.
In the south, Prince Karim (Luc Roderique) of the Sunfire elves leads his followers against his sister, Queen Janai (Rena Anakwe), for her progressive policies. On the day of her wedding to Callum’s aunt, General Amaya (Sheila Ferguson), Karim uses the sun seed he stole from Janai to heal the wings of the blind Archdragon of the sun, Sol Regem (Adrian Hough), in exchange for his help in defeating Janai’s armies. However, Karim is betrayed by his advisor, Pharos (Deven Christian Mack), who has been a puppet of Aaravos ever since he infected him in Season 3. Abandoning Karim to defeat, Pharos directs Sol Regem to the human kingdom of Katolis, wherethe dragon is mortally wounded while bathing the capital in flames.
Fortunately, most of the citizens survivedthanks to Lord Viren(Jason Simpson), who had returned to Katolis to atone for his crimes. Using his own heart in a Dark Magic ritual,he makes the survivors immune to dragon fireso that his son, Soren (Jesse Inocalla), can lead them to safety. His body is found by his daughter, Claudia (Racquel Belmonte), and her boyfriend, the Earthblood Elf, Terry (Benjamin Callins). Claudia is left distraught and unsure what to do next until she tumbles upon Aaravos' prison.
Callum and Rayla travel to the Moon Nexus to use the Quasar Diamonds to free the souls of Rayla’s parents and adopted father, Runaan (Jonathan Holmes), from Viren’s cursed magic coins,although one of the diamonds is revealed to be a fake. This leaves Rayla with a hard choice as she entersthe Spirit World: who will she save and who will she give up? Ultimately, she chooses to save Runaan. While she’d love nothing more than to have time with her parents, who left her at a young age to join the Dragon Guard, they are content to pass on, knowing that their sacrifice was not in vain. Meanwhile, Runaan still has his husband, Ethari (Vincent Gale), waiting for him, and he is tormented by self-loathing because he tried to kill Rayla for her defiance in Season 1. Reviving Runaan thus offers him the chance to atone for his mistakes. So Callum performs the ritual and, as Rayla embraces Runaan, Callum collects his blank soul coin.
Meanwhile, after burying her father, Claudia agrees to free Aaravos. He teaches her the same spell Callum used and reveals that the final Quasar Diamond is hidden in Viren’s staff. This confirms that Aaravos was the one who gave the staff to Ziard (Brian Drummond), the first Dark Mage, who blinded Sol Regem when the dragon threatened his city. Aaravos then tells Claudia about his daughter, Leola (Ridley Simpson). She loved mortals and spent more time on Xadia than in the heavens with her fellow Startouch Elves. One day, she gifted humanity primal stones so that they could cast magic like elves and dragons. Unfortunately, a young Sol Regem informed the Startouch Elves,and they sentenced Leola to death for breaking the cosmic order.
Aaravos offered his life in exchange, but the Startouch Elves refused, instead offering him the mercy of dying alongside his daughter.At that moment, the Fallen Star was born.Rejecting their mercy, he comforted Leola as she was turned into starlight and cast down to Xadia, creating the Sea of the Castout. Aaravos spent the next hundred yearsfilling it with his tears, and his prison was later hidden in the sea,which feels like it was done to further punish the Fallen Star.
After the story, Terry suggests they leave, since Aaravos is only interestedin getting revenge. Claudia, however, compares Aaravos' situation to her father’s: both men do terrible things out of love for their children and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. This allows Claudia to empathize with Aaravos and successfully cast the spell.Aaravos is freed and assumes a gigantic form before holding Claudia up to the heavens.
When You Can Stream ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 6 on Netflix: Premiere Date, Time, and More
All nine brand-new episodes will be available to stream later this month.
What Does This Mean for ‘The Dragon Prince’ Season 7?
“Stardust” highlights many of Season 6’s strengths, which have elevated the show pastthe lackluster Seasons 4 and 5.Concluding the side stories in the previous episodes kept the focus where it needed to be: on the major character developments.Rayla rescuing Runaan brings her multi-season storyline regarding her family legacy to a satisfactory conclusion. Perhaps this will see the banishing spell placed on her in Season 3 lifted so that she can rejoin her people. Runaan’s return also promises drama between him and the royal princes, who last saw Runaanwhen he and his assassins killed King Harrow(Luc Roderique). While Callum’s half-brother, King Ezran (Sasha Rojen), strives for peace and reconciliation, meeting his father’s killer might bring up harsh emotions that will challenge the young king’s ideals. As for Callum, he’ll likely attempt to be supportive of Rayla, but the fact that he never got to tell his stepfather how much he loved him may lead to a nasty confrontation.
The revelations concerning Aaravos add backstory and mythology tothe world ofThe Dragon Prince.Leola’s story is inspired by the tale of Prometheus: an immortal who is punished for giving a gift to mortals. Given that Sol Regem referred to humans as lesser beings back in Season 3, and the Startouched Elves called this a cosmic imbalance, it brings to question what elves and dragons believe humans' place in the world of Xadia should be. The fact that Callum proves that humans can connect to primal elements further complicates things. Is this also a cosmic imbalance, or were the Startouch Elves wrong and, if they meet Callum, will they re-evaluate their actions? It also makes Aaravos' fondness for humans more justified, as, like his daughter, they areinnocent beings unjustly punished by higher powers that claim to know better.
The end of Season 6 also sets up many items for use in Season 7. One Quasar Diamond remains, meaning that someone else could be brought back from the dead. Or perhaps Callum will use the diamond to trap Aaravos in the soul coin,thus allowing him to avoid using Dark Magic.Then there is the Nova Blade.Magic swordsare a staple of fantasy, and though the Celestial Elves reveal that it cannot kill Aaravos, it can destroy his physical form. If the heroes can find it, the blade could be used to weaken Aaravos. Finally, during the flashback with Aaravos, he uses his cube, called the Key of Aaravos, to unlock a book with knowledge about all six primal magics. Callum is carrying the cube right now, so perhaps he will find this book and learn something that will help him match Aaravos' magic.
The Dragon PrinceSeason 6 is available for streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
