graves and graveyards
1x08 / 7x03
“Ah, the young human has come to grace me with his presence?” he sneers, nearly smirking.
Ezran sits down on the chair across from him. His heart beats fast without meaning to, but this won’t be like their failed negotiations, Ez reminds himself, the panic of watching allied forces rush to their deaths all around him still a steady ache in his bones. He has the power here — all the power here. Karim is his prisoner this time, not the other way around.
“I’ve come to decide what your fate will be,” Ezran corrects calmly. Karim’s expression doesn’t change, until, “You and your followers.”
“You don’t know the first thing about battles or contingencies, yet you betray her too. How can you do that? Betray your only family like that, your sibling, your—”
Rayla is our family, Callum had shouted at him, like he’d forgotten. How can you not want this for her?
But how could he, when Runaan had killed their father? His father?
“My followers, they—”
“They were led astray by your unsteady hand, and now their fates sit in my palm.”
“You say you know and respect history, Prince Karim,” Ezran says coolly. “And if that’s true, then you should know of me. My mother was killed by the Dragon King before my second birthday, and my father was killed by Moonshadow assassins.
"But it’s not just about me. It’s not even just about you. It is about legacy, and principle, and breaking chains. Things you don’t truly understand, but your children might.”
—the boy who tamed dragon fire, sept 2024 / the dragon prince book 7: dark, dec 2024
So you've given up on me...
4x06 / 7x03
But if you ask me, it’s caused nothing but trouble. / History has a way of burying the ugly truths of those who write it.
4x07 (thousands of years ago) vs 7x03 (the same happening just centuries ago because of dark magic)
My brother… How can I ever forgive him? / I’ll never forgive him!
Because S7 in particular gave me even more Ezran feelings than usual, and I thought “What’s more fun than methodically breaking them down and sorting them into categories?” so here we are. We’ll be looking at a lot (but not all) of Ezran’s s7 arc as well as some holdovers from previous seasons. There are also some motifs to keep in mind, such as the:
that we will dive into more later once they’re more relevant / we can put the pieces in place. For now, a little background meta key up because S7 breaks Ezran down and then systematically builds him back up while also, in some ways, doing a complete overhaul.
So let’s talk about it?
TDP is a series obsessed with a lot of things, but if I’d have to wager what the second core idea of the series is beyond the Cycle of Violence, I’d probably put in on a theme of Identity, specifically questions such as, “how do I, as a person, exist within the Cycle (breaking it, perpetuating it, both)?” and “who has, or is, my grief turning me into?” as they are deeply interrelated. To answer those questions, that requires establishing who a character is in ‘normal life,’ or outside of grief and the cycle (ie. trauma) and who they are within it.
With that in mind, I think Ezran has about five approximate pillars for his identity, in roughly this order:
I don’t think that other characters pillars would be that different (Rayla’s primary would also likely be her three duty bound parents) as it does make sense; most children’s primary influence in life, especially as they grow, start with their parents as role models even if they may eventually separate and take an opposite road (love you Soren). Where Ezran differs, I think, is that while I don’t know if Rayla would consciously conceptualize herself as her parents’ daughter as her primary pillar, I do think that Ezran — especially Ezran in arc 2 — is always orienting himself around “I am Harrow’s son” (for better or for worse in terms of what that means).
This is also why I put Ezran’s identity as king as his second pillar. In his childhood / pre-s3, I think his second pillar would’ve been his identity as Callum’s (little) brother. However, we see him place returning to his kingdom above helping Callum (brother) and Rayla (friend) returning Zym (another friend) to Xadia. The loss of his father strips away the relative safety of body and mind that being a prince comparatively gave him, fundamentally altering his internalized and externalized sense(s) of responsibility and his choices accordingly. It’s the loss of his father and the subsequent grief, yes, which Callum also experiences, but uniquely the mantle of the throne as well, which is what he highlights in 7x02:
This all started the day that assassin came to Katolis and killed him. Our king. Our father. I never asked for this. I wasn’t ready to be a king. I’m just a kid. That day changed me forever.
So let’s talk about being the king. Let’s talk about
We believe compassion will build a stronger, brighter future.
--7x03
King Ezran, I admire your courage. But peace will require just as much strength as war. Are you prepared to defend it?
Yes. I am.
--3x02
love the absolutely ridiculous degree to which Aaravos misunderstands why Claudia is so disturbed by the unicorn skeleton, like she's reliving a moment of traumatic childhood disillusionment and existential crisis over the inevitability of death for even the most legendarily good and magical of creatures and his response is "don't worry, ghosts aren't real"
--1x05 // 7x03
7x03 / 7x07
Miyana always believed in the light of the sun.
She longed to see its truth, see its beauty - and when Karim initially began talking about his plans of restoring the kingdom, he made it seem so effortless and easy.
He made it make sense.
The Sunfire Elves were the purest form of the sun. Humans were vermin of darkness - creatures that always caused damage and chaos, that took until land was barren of life. The very culture of the Sunfire Elves must be preserved, free of blemish - the race shall be purified.
But now, a light shone inside her.
Her mother always said, “You think the sun is bright? You think Queen Khessa is the sun? Ha!” She would foolishly stare into the sun as she said it - something that only the most well-trained Mages and Sun Warriors were taught to do. “Wait until Queen Khessa has children. Then she will see the true light.”
She was right.
And to live - to be spared and given amnesty - meant that light would shine. Second chances as traitors were rare. She had the chance to live again and share this light.
But Karim did not see it that way.
“And…how is our heir?”
The question struck her harder than any arrow on the battlefield.
“Heir?” Her lips dried from the very question. “Is that how you see our child?”
“I am only thinking of the future, Miyana.” Future? What future? You are a traitor, in jail. Your hands are literally in shackles. There is a date set for your execution. “This heir will play a great role in the rebirth of the Sunfire Empire. It's what we dreamed of.”
Yet, her dreams had changed.
She doesn’t remember what she said next - the words just fell from her lips without thought, something about fighting for their child.
He didn’t even call it that - their child.
Once all was said and done, Miayana felt herself being led out by the human queen.
No. Enough of that poison. Queen Amaya- she had earned that right.
Yes, her dreams had moved on - but in reality, her destiny was now tied to his.
My child shall be more than simply an heir…
A gentle hand grazed her shoulder. Glancing up, Miyana stared into the Queen's face. It held neither anger, nor disdain, nor cruelty.
But inside Queen Amaya’s eyes was something else more devastating: the look of pity.
Miyana always believed in the light of the sun. She believed in truth, in beauty - she believed in fighting for that right, although the path had so drastically changed.
She prayed that somehow, someway that the light would relieve her of this burden of destiny.
and everyone clapped
