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porscheczar110 · 1 year

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Season 1 of prodigy sure is something else, isn’t it? It starts off looking like a Star Wars show, but over a couple episodes it gradually introduces us to Star Trek conventions such as the teleporter, warp travel, universal translators, and more. Then it goes full blown Star Trek with staples like time travel, malfunctioning holodecks, Romulan Spies, classic Trek nods, and many many inspirational speeches and lessons.

I think the show would feel more like one season if there hadn’t been a year break between the first and second half, so I’m excited to go back and rewatch everything from scratch and without pause. I really hope that now that the season has ended that more people start reacting to it and hearing the good word of mouth spreading… Because honestly I need to go on this ride with an uninitiated.

Overall I still think that this has to be one of the best and most tightly written season 1’s of any Star Trek series to date. I can’t think of a single series that has had such overwhelming consistency in its writing and storytelling. Every episode is it’s own self contained story, while continuing to further the plot of the main over arching story. You constantly get growth from the main characters as well as insight into their lives and motivations. Technobabble is remarkably coherent. And there’s some incredible deep cuts that date back to the 1960’s without needing you, the viewer, to be in on the joke! Truly an amazing feat!

Every loose thread gets pulled. Every chekhof’s gun gets fired. Every setup paid off. This is the kind of writing that I truly appreciate and hope I’d be able to achieve someday.

My only real regrets with this show are 1) the slow uptake from long term Trek fans who scoffed at it and dismissed it as garbage because they didn’t have the patience to allow the show to establish itself and 2) that I’m still not seeing the buzz around this show as I would like to see in some online spaces. I really hope this show is resonating with its target demographic!

For my part I’d like to thank all of you who follow this blog and contribute every week! It’s always great to see the same people commenting on posts and proposing theories and posting art! You guys are fantastic and you’ve made me feel much less alone than when i began this blog! I may not be able to respond to everyone, but let me reassure you that I see every one of you and I’m so grateful that you all exist in this Star Trek community! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I’m not sure what I’m gonna do in between now and season 2. I imagine it will be a while before season 2 airs. But I’m so lucky and thankful that whatever I decide to do with this blog until then, you’ll be there with me and we can go on this journey together!

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porscheczar110 · 1 year

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mr. steal your girl inspired by @bilingual-beast-boy's post

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porscheczar110 · 1 year

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Merry christmas 🎄

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porscheczar110 · 1 year

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All of this. Exactly. S4 made no sense, and I’d happily burn it out of my mind if they fix it in S5…which at this rate hopefully doesn’t take another two years.

Some thoughts about s4

First I'm gonna preface this with the disclaimer that I enjoyed season 4 immensely. It was a lot of set up, a lot of fun, and I'm here for the long haul no matter what happens because I love and support this show. HOWEVER, I have. Many questions about some decisions that were made, in many cases because it directly contradicts with what seasons 1-3 and TTM set up, and I have some thoughts about it and they're not the nicest thoughts I've had about TDP. Other people have already voiced their opinions and their critiques but these specifically are my own that I hope S5 onwards will address.

Strap in kids. This is long.

1. Tone, Pacing, Structure

S1-3 were tight, and not in the slang way. Everything that appeared onscreen was relevant in some way, parallels could be made everywhere, everyone was a foil for everyone else.

S4 was. Not that. S4 was, comparatively, all over the hecking shop. I am of the opinion that if you need an entire season or movie just to set up future movies, you're not doing the movie right, and that's what S4 felt like instead. Instead of capitalising on the set up s1-3 did, it varied wildly from entire scenes of exposition, to entire scenes about fart jokes, to entire scenes that just didn't do anything for anyone other than present awkward clunky dialogue that wasn't even necessary.

One of the biggest offenders? The Guardians of the Great Gates. Literally what were they for? They didn't do anything. The were there to be Difficult and to be Unfunny, and they don't even have the excuse of being an obstacle that Zubeia couldn't get past so she couldn't accompany the kids because a fucking rockslide did that. That entire scene could have been snappier if they weren't fucking there, and instead the show chose to spend time on characters that weren't relevant to anything to deliver bad banter, which leads me to

Tone and the way the season couldn't decide if it was darker and edgier or if it was still for kids ages 8-12. This probably wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't spend SDCC and NYCC hyping up the fact that it was darker and that they wanted it to grow with their audience, except it hadn't and it was purely because they kept bailing on scenes that should have been awe-inspiring or emotional and replacing it with dumb jokes.

There were, of course, some exceptional scenes: Ez's speech? Corvus playing cello? Beautiful. Raw. Important narratively and delivered flawlessly. Aaravos possessing Callum? Terrifying. Loved every minute of it. Ibis' death? Chilling. But those scenes are far outnumbered by things that didn't feel necessary and went on for far too long: Soren's stand up comedy act, Callum's failed magic presentation, fart jokes, the unfunny guardians, etc. It's like everytime they came close to doing something emotional and heartfelt, they copped out, and that is especially clear in the relationships between characters (and not just rayllum! But we'll come to that later).

And that. Doesn't track??? TDP has never shied away from emotional depth before and now it's like they're pulling a Marvel and removing the gravity of every situation with bad humour. The pacing and structure suffer for it. The spend to long on the jokes resulting in weird pacing, and there are references and characters put in there to be funny that are completely unnecessary to the plot and interfere with the flow. There were times I literally went "GET TO THE POINT" because it waffled for too long on something stupid.

It's as if they couldn't settle on the tone they wanted to set and hoped the fart jokes would balance out the murder.

2. Agency, Characterisation, Big Feelings

For a show that emphasizes being able to write your own destiny, they took a lot of that ability away. So much information comes to our heroes in the form of exposition. So many answers appear in the form of a character willing to just give them what they need.

Why, for example, couldn't Callum discover Aaravos on his own? He's been obsessive about magic for two years, why didn't he make more progress in Rayla's absence? Why have Zubeia deliver that information to him when it would have made more sense to just have him obsessive over the mirror, where Aaravos might have tempted him with more knowledge, more secrets, and then his possession of him would have hit like 10 times harder?

Why did Opeli, of all people, have to suggest that Ez et al go on their adventure, instead of Ez deciding it for himself? He's never had problems leaving her in charge in the past. He's the king, it should be his decision!

What the fuck was N'than for other than an Uncharted reference? Why couldn't the kids have figured things out together the way they always have? Why not use the opportunity for Callum and Rayla to hash out their MANY issues a la S1?

And this, obviously, isn't the only issue with the way the characters were presented this season. Characterisation itself was iffy af, and our first red flag was should have been the fact that everyone thought Rayla was fake.

Rayla, in particular, bothered me. TTM and Dear Callum made it abundantly clear that she was deeply troubled and that she knew leaving would tear Callum's heart out, and she comes back unapologetic? Flirty? Otherwise fine?? What the fuck happened to her many obvious mental health problems? What's happening in her head? Why did she come back empty handed?

The only way I can understand her logic is to assume that she came back because she realised her friends and family were more important to her than Viren. Which is fine! Okay! I'd buy that! BUT THEN SHE GOES AFTER VIREN AGAIN THE SECOND SHE REALIZES HE'S ALIVE?

WHY COME BACK AT ALL THEN? WHAT WAS THE POINT? APPARENTLY JUST TO CAUSE ANGST INSTEAD OF EXPLORING HER MENTAL STATE AND CHARACTER.

And then there's CALLUM, whose reaction to her return isn't cold, isn't angry, it's just. Kind of confused? I can excuse Rayla appearing in his office and then him writing it off in the morning—maybe he thought it was a dream, bc he's had to have dreams like that before—but then she reappears, and she's real, and... That's it? He should be furious at her! He would be right to be! He's, at the very most, confused! And I know what you're gonna say: of course, he's confused! He's happy to see her but he's still mad at her for leaving!

Then SHOW ME. LET HIM BE MAD. LET HIM HAVE MOMENTS OF WEAKNESS WHEN THAT FACADE BREAKS. LET THEM AIR THEIR FUCKING ISSUES.

But they never get to! Every time they get close, they're interrupted by more pointless humour, and this the thing that bothers me right: fine. They don't talk. I can understand that. But those issues can and should present in other ways: emotionally charged magic, tension in every interaction, Callum getting snappy, not just at Rayla but at everyone. Some people have been calling the way he handled that conflict "mature" but maturity involves addressing the problem and managing the resulting emotions, NOT AVOIDING IT COMPLETELY.

And then Rayla sees Viren and tries to leave a second time, and he lets her? This boy? The one who turned against his own morals and used dark magic to help her save a dragon? The one who jumped off a mountain to save her or die trying? The one who was ready to leave at dawn to go on her crazy mission too? He doesn't even offer to go with her?????

That scene was, again, an opportunity to start talking about it and they don't! He just lets her go! And that is so violently against the character traits they established for Callum, who is fiercely loyal to his friends and family, who would has followed Rayla against all odds just to help her and it's just??????

And listen, the problem isn't just with rayllum. Soren comes face to face with his newly revived father and he doesn't get to talk to him? He doesn't get to talk about it at all? Callum is possessed by Aaravos and nobody finds that Concerning enough to talk about? Rayla can't remember Ibis' name one second and then is suddenly SUPER cut up about discovering his body? Claudia tries to convince Soren he's on the wrong side by saying elves will only ever see him as Just Human while she's dating an elf?

There are things, too, that don't make sense. The conflict between the Sunfire Elves and humans worked really well actually, and was one of the best parts of the season, but Karim presents Miyana with the possibility of a blood duel but then has to tell Miyana what it means, and Miyana is supposed to be one of their best generals. If she doesn't know what a blood duel would mean, neither would anyone else, and if no one understands it's significance, then it's not significant.

It's all so inconsistent, so against everything already established, and I can't understand why they chose to write it like this.

3. Alternatives

It's not even that hard to fix. There were fan theories and metas that were tighter than whatever happened this season, that built on what was already established and extrapolated from it instead of... Whatever happened here. They could even keep some of the decisions they did make just by addressing some of it. If I had to rewrite it, then:

Callum discovers something weird about the mirror, on his own merit, using his own research and knowledge. He takes the information to Zubeia who confirms and provides more information about Aaravos, and the pieces together, along with Ibis' death, provides the impetus for our gang to head into Xadia. Rayla doesn't return.

The kids arrive at the Storm Spire to find Ibis has been murdered and rendezvous with Rayla who has been tracking Claudia, so she at least hasn't spent two years away for nothing. Tensions arise. Callum and Rayla Don't Talk and Callum is noticeably cold to her. Aaravos possesses Callum, spurring Zubeia to send them to Umber Tor to seek help from Rex Igneous. Rayla and Callum agree, grudgingly, to co-operate, their concern for each other obvious in spite of the tension.

The kids arrive at the Great Gates only to find that they have collapsed and there's no way through. They receive guidance from a guardian perhaps in riddle form, and not in shitty banter form, to find the alternative entrance in the Uncharted Forest.

Frustrated, and with tensions rising, the kids (read: rayllum) bicker their way through to forest until their position is given away and they run into the Riders of the Drakewood. Fighting ensues. Callum and Rayla fall back into their old patterns and find that working together isn't so hard after all. You Fight Good scene, resulting in the first tension break since their reunion, however is short lived as Soren is captured. They go after him into the Pit of Despair.

The only way out of the Pit of Despair is through it. Rayllum continue to fight and argue a la 1x07. Their fighting inadvertently shows them the way forward, and they spend the episode relearning how to work together.

They take a break. Callum and Rayla have the beginnings of a talk regarding Aaravos' posession. Rayla shows her concern for him and Callum, angry, brushes her off: if she was so concerned, she never should have left. More arguing. Ezran, frustrated, steps in. Their arguing brings the next set of challenges. They push forward.

They find Soren at the mercy of Rex Igneous, but the scene proceeds as per the show. Rayla, having dealt with Claudia's sleep spell before, has the foresight to find something to keep her awake. She wakes the others and Rex Igneous as per the show before they see Viren. Soren freezes up on the spot but chooses his duty to Ezran. He will deal with his Big Feelings later. Rayla tries to go after him again, only for Callum to stop her. She can't go again, not after all of this. BIG FEELINGS TIME. Rayla chooses, in the end, that her friends and family are more important. She escapes with them. A promise to talk is made.

Anyway. Fix it tdp. Give me back my show.

#rayllum #the dragon prince #tdp s4 #tdp callum #tdp rayla #tdp #TDP fix it

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porscheczar110 · 1 year

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Frankly also kind of shocked at how carelessly their relationship was treated this season. Really hoping for more in season 5.

The Problem with Rayllum

Here is my promised salt post about my issues with how Callum and Rayla's relationship and individual characters were written in season 4. I know a lot of people really enjoyed the season, so please feel free to skip. I have no idea how long this is going to be since I intend to ramble until I've gotten all the Big Feelings off my chest. I still love the show (arc 1 will always be one of my favorite stories), and I adore these two and their precious relationship... it's one of my top two OTPs of all time. I want to see them happy, but I also want their characters done justice.

First off, a lot of my issues could potentially be resolved by what happens in season 5 onward, and I truly hope this is what happens. I want to be able to look back on season 4 and see it as part of the whole picture, even if I seriously doubt it will ever be one of my favorite seasons (right now it's for sure my least favorite). I went in with a lot of hope and faith in the writers, and I'm going to be watching season 5 with a lot more caution.

For starters, Callum. This sweet boy was dealt a devastating blow that fundamentally changed him as a person, but 4x01 makes it abundantly clear that he's still deeply in love with Rayla, to the point that he can't even be happy on his own birthday because of how achingly he misses her. When she abruptly reappears in his life, his reaction is realistic. He's cold and distant and makes it clear he does not want to talk to her. If anything, he seems annoyed that she showed up. But as he says later on, the two emotions he immediately felt were happiness and anger. We see the former at the very end of the finale, but basically none of the latter. Instead, he spends the entire season icing Rayla out, turning down her multiple attempts at getting him to talk with her. And I can't help but wonder why. Does he not want to get angry at her? Because boy, he needs to. He has EVERY RIGHT to be furious with her, for leaving him behind and never letting him know she was okay and then randomly popping up in his study in the middle of the night without so much as an apology (more on that later). This is what I expected and hoped for going into season 4... that he would snip at her for a while, leading up to a confrontation where all the Big Feelings come out. He needs to let himself be angry, to shout and scream and let out two whole years of hurt, because I'm not convinced Rayla understands just how deeply she wounded him. But instead, he just seemed... indifferent, if not mildly irritated by her, ignoring her flirtacious remarks (or icily shutting them down) and turning away her efforts at a conversation.

Speaking of Rayla... GIRL WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AND WHY DID YOU JUST NOW DECIDE TO COME BACK!?!?! I'm honestly flabbergasted by how they approached Rayla this season. Through the Moon and "Dear Callum" were such lovingly crafted looks into her psyche, and all that just fell flat on its face. I still really loved seeing her this season, but they did not address the fallout of her decision at all, and she seemed more or less unchanged by it. In "Dear Callum," she expresses her belief that she very likely may not come back, and despite how desperately she longs to stay, she cannot return until she knows for certain that Viren is dead and therefore Callum is safe (that's another issue... she says she was after "revenge," but TTM and "Dear Callum" show that her main motivation was protecting Callum). But she never found Viren, or any proof of his demise. So why come back? Why go two whole years and then randomly decide to give up? The first words out of Callum's mouth after her name are, "Why are you here?" She offers no explanation beyond, "I came back." Girl why? What happened? Why did you change your mind, when your self-appointed mission isn't complete? Especially when, as far as I can tell, she doesn't understand that what she did was wrong. That's why, despite acknowledging that her leaving was painful for Callum, she doesn't apologize. Because in her mind, there's nothing to apologize for. She did it because she loves Callum, therefore it's right. But then again, why apologize to Ezran and not to Callum?

That's another reason I think Callum needs to fully express his anger at Rayla, not only for his own healing but to show Rayla how wrong she was, that he may be safe physically, but his heart has been shattered beyond repair. That he's no longer the same sweet, open-hearted boy she left behind entirely by her own doing. She seems to have some awareness that she tossed their relationship away ("We had something so special"), but for the most part expects to pick up where they left off, hinting at wanting to cuddle him and go on walks alone and receive his attention the way she used to (kind of strange, considering how terrified she was in her letter that he would hate her for this). Ezran even acknowledges how much she's trying to get things back to they way they were. But she can't, not without understanding the gravity of her actions. I need season 5 to demonstrate how Rayla's journey changed her, because right now it seemed to have very little impact. Again, most of this can be fixed by future seasons, if they take the time to explain just what happened to Rayla during her time alone and what motivated her to suddenly return. And I'm decently confident it will, since clearly there's going to be a lot of Moonfam drama going down.

As for the Rayllum relationship, I was initially upset that there was no romance, especially with how it was hyped up in the marketing and after reading so many wonderful fics. After sleeping on it, I realized that's not my problem with it. It makes perfect sense that they wouldn't be ready to snuggle and kiss again yet. Most of my issues stem from the points addressed above, that Callum treated her so coldly instead of telling her how he felt and that Rayla expected to resume their romance without an apology or explanation (and dang, it was painful to watch him reject her, like a knife in my heart). A lot of their interactions were just... weird, as Soren put it. She sweetly tells him he was the best thing that ever happened to her (while he sleeps), then just... leaves and doesn't show up again until that night. Why? Where'd she go? What was she doing? She didn't think it might traumatize him to leave again while he slept, right after she came back? Lucky for her it didn't... which is even more weird. Callum doesn't even acknowledge Rayla's absence, or that she ever came back at all, upon waking up. She could've left for good again. That could've been the last time he ever saw her, and he's completely unfazed. Again... so, so weird coming from the lovelorn boy in 4x01. But one thing I just can't accept, that future seasons can't smooth out, was that when push came to shove, Callum let her go. Rayla sees Viren. Her worst fear, that impossible fear that drove her to abandon Callum for two years in the first place, is realized. Viren is alive, and this time, Callum knows it too. It makes sense to me that she'd go after him... this is her chance to complete her mission, to protect Callum once and for all. What doesn't make since, what I seriously doubt ever will, is that Callum lets her. This time, he knows she's right. He saw Viren with his own eyes! She's not chasing after a ghost, but a very real and very much alive dark mage who she nearly died fighting before. Yes, I think he was right to give her his blessing to fulfill her mission, but not in letting her go alone. Without him. He just got her back after two years! Two years of not knowing if she was dead or alive! Two years of misery and pining and feeling like his heart had been torn from his chest, and he just lets her do it again! This was his chance to prove to her that she was wrong, that they're stronger together, that they always have been. That she can't keep leaving him and breaking his heart, even if she thinks it's what's best for him. Particularly when there's a very good chance she could die. Callum has always called her out on her self-sacrificing tendencies in the past, but this time, when it matters most, nope. He lets her go without any argument. And then, he breaks down and sobs over her blade, believing she died in her efforts. Which was very sweet of course, and a much-need reassurance of the depths of his devotion to her, but honey??? You let her go, you let her run off alone to what would've been an impossible battle. What did you expect? I fear that had Rayla not gotten the coins, she would've continued chasing Viren and company instead of returning to the group, making it all for nothing. She's right back where she started.

There you have it. Most if not all of my salt over Rayllum in season 4. Thankfully, the season ended with Rayla wrapped in Callum's arms again, and the implication that he's ready to talk to her. But as much as I ravenously desire them to get back to the sweet, romantic, pitifully-in-love couple they were before, I need them to TALK. I need it to happen ON-SCREEN. I need Callum to vent all that heartache and betrayal, and I need Rayla to apologize, really apologize, and assure him that whatever they have to face in the future, they will face it together. I don't want Callum to forgive her while she thinks there's nothing to forgive, I don't want him trapped in an endless loop of abandonment and heartbreak, and I don't want Rayla left pining after the love of the man she's so hopelessly devoted to while he lets unspoken emotions continue to fester.

Let Callum voice his hurt. Let Rayla own up to her mistakes. Let them talk. Let them work through all the pain between them. Let them save each other's hearts and grow back into the precious love they've found. Please do my Rayllum right again.

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