Fire and Fury is the sixteenth episode of The Dragon Prince and seventh chapter of the second book, "Sky".
When Soren picks a fight with a dragon, chaos breaks out -- and Rayla faces a difficult decision. A defeated Viren returns to the figure in the mirror.
Plot
At night, Callum wonders about the Key of Aaravos when Rayla joins him on the cliff's edge. Upon being asked about her connection to the Moon, Rayla explains the feeling of connecting with her source, despite the explanation not really helping Callum to learn more about magic.
Soren and Claudia reach the border of a town, where they plan to drop off their captive. When Claudia wonders if they could still catch up to the princes, Corvus offers to help them track the two in return for being untied. Although he almost manages to trick Soren into doing so, Claudia gets in the way of his success.
When Callum worries about their safe entrance into Xadia, Rayla reassures him that the entry only requires them to locate the secret Moonstone Path. They proceed to go to sleep in a cave, barely missing a dragon passing by in the sky.
Soren and Claudia try to deliver Corvus as a prisoner in a nearby town jail, though the townsfolk seems to be focusing on something else. When the dragon Pyrrah comes into view, they are informed that the town they had entered has been plagued by the lone dragon flying overhead for three days now. Though it continues to fly unprovoked and a guard informs them that it has not attacked them, Soren assumes command over the town's defenders and prepares to attack the dragon by using the ballistics mounted on a tower. Corvus repeats that the dragon is not here to attack, but rather to intimidate them. Although he begs him not to start a fight he cannot finish, Soren launches the first attack and misses. Although Soren initially thinks it has been scared off, the dragon returns soon after, letting out a loud roar.
Hearing the roar, Rayla jolts awake, as she recognizes the sound too well. Team Zym rushes to investigate the situation, only leaving Azymondias behind with Bait, as Ezran deems the situation potentially too dangerous for the newborn dragonling.
Pyrrah finally strikes back as she hits the ballistics with a direct hit, before descending onto the town and setting fire to the rooftops, sparking chaos. Far out, Team Zym watches the scene in horror, when Rayla expresses in shock that she has no idea why a dragon would attack a town. Soren frees Corvus to help out in evacuating the villagers to safety and finally realizes that his impulsive actions have led to a terrible outcome that may have been avoidable. Claudia proposes an idea that could fix the chaos by using the eye of a gryphon, which would allow a bolt to land a direct hit on their target. As Pyrrah circles back, Claudia enchants the bolt and fires, causing it to pursue Pyrrah before ultimately landing a fatal hit. Pyrrah cries out in pain and crashes in the town's outskirts, near where Rayla and the princes are resting. Realizing the dragon has crashed, Ezran rushes to its aid, followed by his friends. He then approaches to inspect the dragon's condition and finds her still conscious, yet severely injured.
Inside the castle of Katolis, Viren enters the courtyard where Opeli confronts him about using the king's seal to call for a Pentarchy meeting without approval from the High Council. She asks what he gained from committing treason, to which Viren responds that he had gained nothing. Opeli proceeds to banish him from the High Council.
Callum and Rayla assist Ezran as he manages to pull out the ballista bolt that hit Pyrrah's wing. Unfortunately, they hear Soren and his men closing in. Rayla reluctantly has to retreat with the princes and leave Pyrrah to be chained up, where Soren and Claudia plan to have her torn apart for her body parts and fluids to be used in dark magic spells. Team Zym returns to their cave and reunites with Azymondias and Bait. Feeling as if she should have helped the defenseless dragon, Rayla begins to worry that fleeing may have been the wrong choice.
Viren descends into the dungeon undisturbed, despite being stripped of his authority in the council and Opeli's warning that he still awaits judgment. He is greeted by the chained Gren, who seems to still be cheerful despite his position as a prisoner. Having lost all options to seize power, Viren decides to finish the ritual with the mysterious elven mage in the mirror.
When Callum wonders why Rayla is so worried about a dragon that just attacked a town, Rayla reminds him that he had once said that if someone hurts another, the hurt person would have no choice but to defend themselves. To break the cycle of hatred, Rayla wishes to return to Pyrrah to help her, which leaves Callum feeling useless, due to no longer being a mage. Rayla reassures Callum that this is her fight and bids farewell to the princes to continue their journey if she does not return. Rayla stealthily gets past the soldiers guarding the dragon and tries to cut off her restraints, but gets discovered by Soren. The two end up in combat while she is surrounded by Soren's men. Meanwhile, Callum goes through his sketchbook and notices Claudia's spellbook, causing him to realize that he still has one option left to help. When Azymondias chases after him in worry, Ezran tries to distract the dragonling with a game.
Rayla finds herself overpowered and unable to break loose the chains securing Pyrrah. Claudia heeds Soren to not kill her as Rayla can help them to locate the lost princes. Just then, Callum enters the scene, armed with Claudia's dark magic spellbook and a caterpillar in his hand. Claudia realizes Callum is attempting his first dark magic spell and pleads him to stop since he has not been taught properly. However, Callum refuses to listen and recites the "Snake Binding" spell that Claudia had used before, causing all the chains to turn into snakes that drive off the human defenders in fear. Unfortunately, the spell takes a toll on Callum's body and renders him unconscious. Pyrrah remains unresponsive, even as Rayla pushes her head. Soren uses this opportunity to finally seize Rayla, however, Pyrrah finally awakens and towers over the two.
Meanwhile, Ezran plays a round of hide and seek with Bait and Azymondias, joking that it had a bad game idea, as Bait's glow gives away his position.
While Soren is busy with Pyrrah, Rayla rushes towards Callum to pick him up. Soren and Pyrrah engage in combat, where he manages to cut off one of her horns, but in return is being slammed into a nearby rock. Suddenly, Pyrrah's focus shifts from her opponent as she spots Azymondias nearby, who had walked into the scene. She seems to recognize the Dragon Prince and flies off, sparing her enemy. Azymondias's presence finally gives Claudia a chance to take back the Dragon Prince and she begins reciting a spell to trap him but is halted by Soren's cry for help. Claudia faces a dilemma but ultimately chooses to rush back and help her injured brother, allowing Azymondias and Ezran to escape. To her shock, Claudia realizes Soren's entire body has been paralyzed.
Inside the dungeon, Viren awaits the return of the elf inside the mirror. When he finally returns, the elf quickly notices that Viren is ready to finish the ritual. The elf proceeds to slit the palm of his hand as the blood pours into a bowl. Viren mimics the gesture. The elf opens his mouth where a caterpillar-like creature emerges and is dropped into the elf's bowl, causing it to teleport into Viren's. The creature proceeds to crawl up Viren's body, placing itself on the mage's ear, where the elf's words echo through it. The shocked Viren realizes he can now speak directly with the elven mage, who is relieved to finally speak with another person, inquiring how he may serve him.
Cast
- Jack De Sena as Callum
- Paula Burrows as Rayla
- Sasha Rojen as Ezran
- Jason Simpson as Viren
- Racquel Belmonte as Claudia
- Jesse Inocalla as Soren
- Paula Burrows as Opeli
- Adrian Petriw as Gren
- Omari Newton as Corvus
- Erik Todd Dellums as Aaravos
Trivia
- Callum's line "One does not simply walk into Xadia" is a reference to "The Lord of the Rings", the originally parodied quote being "One does not simply walk into Mordor".
- When Rayla talks about her connection to the moon, she strikes Sailor Moon's transformation pose.
- The episode repeatedly indicates that impulsive prejudice against the unknown, based on assumptions, may result in a horrible outcome and an unstoppable cycle of hatred between the nations.
- "Fire and Fury" became the first real storyboard pitch during early development, as the studio desired an episode that illustrates the war between the two opposing forces while giving Team Zym an opportunity to react to a direct situation of conflict.[1]
- Pyrrah's reason to circle the city was implied to be "an itch to fight humans".[1]
- The box used in Aaravos's ritual was inspired by 18th-century French ormolu jewelry boxes.[1]
Credits
- The credit image displaying Callum's corruption through dark magic re-appears in "The Book of Destiny". This repetition was an unintentional mistake by the staff.
- The image of Soren fighting the plushy of a dragon foreshadows his change of heart regarding dragons in "Dragonguard", where a continuation can be found in the episode's credits.
- The gryphon, whose eye was taken by Claudia to cast her magic, can be seen in the credits wearing an eyepatch.