First season of The Dragon Prince has an extremely well constructed narrative with lots of storytelling, visual, and even extra-medium clues rich in themes of duplicity and foreshadowing which allow for plenty of theorizing. In this essay I will discuss the imagery of what we’ve seen so far in the show, and speculate about the possible explainations and future developments.

The Cast

The show uses a duplicate set of main characters to explore many of it’s themes, resolve conflicts and drive the plot forward. The young protagonists - Callum, Ezran, Reyla, and Azymondias seek to stop the war initiated by their older counterparts: Viren, Harrow, Runaan, and Thunder. This dual cast is likely to grow with the introduction of more characters, but for now I will only focus on the scope of season 1. Each pair of characters fits their own archetype allowing for the conflict to develop two-fold.

The Dragon. Zym and Thunder are perhaps the most nebulous protagonists so far, but it’s their respective life and death which lie at the center of the conflict and give the show it’s title. Season 1 only gave us bits and pieces of them so far, but I’m sure the show will develop them beyond the stereotype of a MacGuffin / extremely OP magical creature.

Zym and Thunder are perhaps the most nebulous protagonists so far, but it’s their respective life and death which lie at the center of the conflict and give the show it’s title. Season 1 only gave us bits and pieces of them so far, but I’m sure the show will develop them beyond the stereotype of a MacGuffin / extremely OP magical creature. The Assassin. Reyla and Runaan share a sense of purpose and kinship, and encounter some very similar problems. On the surface they both end up hurt (by the assassin bond) and starving (loosing food supply / refusing food) during this season. Both of them end up admitting to having fears: water for Reyla and mysterious magic mirror for Runaan. But the key difference is that, Reyla’s failure to act becomes her victory - instead of seeking revenge she’s now seeking redemption and peace, while Runaan victory act becomes his failure - leading to further animosity between humans and elves and escalating the conflict.

Reyla and Runaan share a sense of purpose and kinship, and encounter some very similar problems. On the surface they both end up hurt (by the assassin bond) and starving (loosing food supply / refusing food) during this season. Both of them end up admitting to having fears: water for Reyla and mysterious magic mirror for Runaan. But the key difference is that, Reyla’s failure to act becomes her victory - instead of seeking revenge she’s now seeking redemption and peace, while Runaan victory act becomes his failure - leading to further animosity between humans and elves and escalating the conflict. The Royal. Ezran and Harrow are the archetypical wise rulers, stubborn and temperamental, but ultimately good hearted. Both of them are the targets of assassination, the blood price for the death of the dragons (alleged in the case of Zym), and someone to be protected at all cost. Both of them are showed to find solace in the company of their pets. As we later learn Ezran has a special ability to communicate with animals, and feels like he doesn’t quite fit in with the humans, which is why, perhaps, having Bait at all times allows him to feel more grounded. Similarly, Harrow enjoys the company of Pip. The key contrast here is that Harrow believes himself (at least partially) responsible for the start of the war, death of the Thunder and destruction of the dragon egg for which he pays with his life, while Ezran is risking his life (diving into ice cold water) to save the egg and stop the war. (speculation warning) I believe that animal speech might be a hereditary/royal trait, which would mean [Harrow should have this gift as well].

Ezran and Harrow are the archetypical wise rulers, stubborn and temperamental, but ultimately good hearted. Both of them are the targets of assassination, the blood price for the death of the dragons (alleged in the case of Zym), and someone to be protected at all cost. Both of them are showed to find solace in the company of their pets. As we later learn Ezran has a special ability to communicate with animals, and feels like he doesn’t quite fit in with the humans, which is why, perhaps, having Bait at all times allows him to feel more grounded. Similarly, Harrow enjoys the company of Pip. The key contrast here is that Harrow believes himself (at least partially) responsible for the start of the war, death of the Thunder and destruction of the dragon egg for which he pays with his life, while Ezran is risking his life (diving into ice cold water) to save the egg and stop the war. (speculation warning) I believe that animal speech might be a hereditary/royal trait, which would mean [Harrow should have this gift as well]. The Mage. Callum and Viren’s identity is partially defined by their relationship with the Royal, as a friend and advisor, someone who will stand by the royal’s side through every challenge (and, perhaps, Viren’s comment about him thinking of Harrow as a brother is meant to further stress this similarity) , as well as their almost all consuming fascination with magic. Viren is assumed to have destroyed the egg, while Callum is actually the one who ends up destroying the egg - to save the dragon within. Both of them in this season face the possibility of self-sacrifice and the key difference is that Callum is instantly ready to trade his life for Ezrans, Viren hesitates which ultimately leads to the erosion of trust between him and Harrow. Now this parallel only works up to the episode 3 and then we are faced with the reality of Viren suddenly turning into a

(Description: a gif from a Starkid’s parody show Twisted where a parrot is calling Ja'far a “Piece of shit!”)

which leads me to the next part.

The Duality

Like I mentioned before, TDP has a strong theme of duality which is reflected in it’s main cast, but the one character who’s most affected by it is lord Viren - simultaneously everybody’s favorite [gay heartache], [trash gremlin], and [problematic trope]. His duality is reflected in many aspects of the story and largely breaks the season in two parts: episodes 1-3 where he is presented as a loyal friend and sometimes exasperated but good father, and episodes 4-9 where he keeps lying and manipulating everyone including his own children with the goal to become Lord Protector of the kingdom of Katolis and attack Xadia. This change of character is abrupt and concealed in the plot’s negative space:

(Description: a classic example of the use of negative space where picture is either a vase or two human profiles)



The one scene which holds the key to Viren’s change of heart and Harrow’s Schrödinger bird status is the one which is strategically hidden from us.

I see 3 possible explainations for Viren’s tranformation:

Viren was a villain all along, and he was manipulating Harrow as well as us viewers for the first 3 episodes, but it doesn’t pass the scrutiny for any sort of rational behavior. He has plenty of far less suspicious opportunities to grab the power, including simply complying with Harrow’s wishes instead of fighting him. And yet we are witnessing an extremely messy and disorganized attempt at a coup d'état performed by otherwise methodical man.

Harrow’s extreme emotional reaction coupled with Callum’s threats of punishment for concealment of the egg in episode 3 force Viren into an abrupt change of plans, but again almost every single action performed by evil!Viren goes against the ideals established by the good!Viren in the first episodes, and narratively such decisions for an otherwise good person would come at the price (think the dark catharsis of ”No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” in Wicked)

Whoever is now wearing Viren’s face is not Viren but some other malicious entity, for example the OG Dark Mage, who shares the same magic staff with Viren and of whom we haven’t otherwise heard anything since the prologue. This version would explain the change, but since the transformation occurs in the scope of plot’s negative space we are largely left to wonder how did it go down, where did the malicious entity come from, and how is it able to fake being Viren.



I personally believe that lots of clues in season one are pointing in the direction of the third explaination, but these are no formal arguments, but rather a story logic arguments, and so the conclusion is largely a speculation. As Callum put it in episode 8 ”Nah, maybe that’s something which works in stories, but in the real world…”

In the next section I will attempt to compile these clues into a comprehensive list.

The Clues

The Symbolism. Viren’s first appearance in the show is him standing in front of the magic mirror and trying to uncover it’s secrets. Mirror in fiction is a strong symbol of duality, but also weirdness and sometimes corruption (consider Snow White, vampire lore). The Viren’s decision to sacrifice himself for Harrow is strongly reflected in the double-headedness of the soulfang snake . As @calllay​ beautifully put [here] its a crossroad, a decision, but also a double edged sword which can be directed against the wielder. And [as I previously wrote], with the assumption that Harrow is able to understand animals much like Ezran, it could also have been a catalyst to the conflict between Viren and Harrow.



Viren’s first appearance in the show is him standing in front of the and trying to uncover it’s secrets. Mirror in fiction is a strong symbol of duality, but also weirdness and sometimes corruption (consider Snow White, vampire lore). The Viren’s decision to sacrifice himself for Harrow is strongly reflected in the double-headedness of the . As @calllay​ beautifully put [here] its a crossroad, a decision, but also a double edged sword which can be directed against the wielder. And [as I previously wrote], with the assumption that Harrow is able to understand animals much like Ezran, it could also have been a catalyst to the conflict between Viren and Harrow. The Lighting. Through the majority of the first 3 episodes Viren is strongly associated with the sunlight, from his first appearance at the dawn, to opening the curtains in Harrow’s bedroom, to arguing for the use of the soulfang serpent.

(Description: a screenshot of the scene in episode 1 shere Viren opens the curtains to the morning sun in Harrow’s bedroom and is looking at Pip)

However, after the sparsely lit “kneel” scene the imagery reverses. During the funeral and the interrupted coronation scene Viren almost constantly turns his back to the light, making him the darkest part of the frame.



(Description: a screenshot of the scene in episode 4 where Viren proclaims that he would serve as a Lord Protector of Katolis while being backlit by the torches)



The Values and the Trolley Problem. In the span of one season the show manages to introduce the trolley problem twice. The first time Viren poses it for Harrow during the soulfang scene, and it clearly indicates that Viren values the preservation of person’s life (especially if that person is Harrow, but saving 200 royal guards in the process is a definite plus). Which seems consistent with Viren choosing to hide and preserve the dragon egg, as well as echoes the beliefs of the moonshadow elves in regard to taking a life only with purpose and care (similarly, dark magic is relying on the lives of magical creatures, and so every creature’s death is directed towards a purpose). Harrow however changes the problem such that it’s Viren on the lesser evil rail. Viren hesitates, but ultimately seems to accept this as a “solution“ as long as Harrow lives, and essentially says his goodbyes to both Claudia and Soren.

(Description: a trolley problem meme modified to have Runaan as a trolley, soulfang snake as a switch, Harrow as the passerby, one random guard on one rail and Harrow with 200 guards on another)



Second trolley problem is posed by Claudia to Viren as a joke. Viren, however, chooses the power of the dragon egg over the life of his own son, which clashes strongly with previously posed ideal of preserving life at all cost.



(Description: a trolley problem meme modified to have Viren as the passerby, Soren on one rail, and the dragon egg on another)



The Pride. In episode 2 Viren berates Harrow for being prideful and not wanting to accept any ‘creative solutions‘. He himself doesn’t seem affected much by it, as even after an awkward retreat at Harrow’s “Get out!“ in front of the royal guards Viren’s mind is occupied with keeping Harrow safe. And Viren puts up basically zero fight at Harrow’s command to go on his knees - sure he’s hurt by Harrow’s words, but IMO he’s hurt not because of being put into vulnerable subservient position, but rather because of Harrow’s words about him being “just a servant” and, thus, exchangable and expendable.



In episode 2 Viren berates Harrow for being prideful and not wanting to accept any ‘creative solutions‘. He himself doesn’t seem affected much by it, as even after an awkward retreat at Harrow’s “Get out!“ in front of the royal guards Viren’s mind is occupied with keeping Harrow safe. And Viren puts up basically zero fight at Harrow’s command to go on his knees - sure he’s hurt by Harrow’s words, but IMO he’s hurt not because of being put into vulnerable subservient position, but rather because of Harrow’s words about him being “just a servant” and, thus, exchangable and expendable. How Bad Can I Be? (Reprise). A few of the keywords/conversation topics from the first part of the season come back in second half and sound as a dark corrupted refrain. Viren calls Harrow his brother in the episode 3, and then in episode 4 he claims it was Harrow who called him that. It is Harrow who’s driving the point of Viren being just a servant (and Viren is visibly discomforted by that), while in episode 5 it’s Viren who’s claiming to be just a servant of the Katolis in front of Amaya. These two moments pose a bit of a challenge for the Dark Mage lich theory as they require that the Dark Mage was present for the rather private conversation between Harrow and Viren.

A few of the keywords/conversation topics from the first part of the season come back in second half and sound as a dark corrupted refrain. Viren calls Harrow his brother in the episode 3, and then in episode 4 he claims it was Harrow who called him that. It is Harrow who’s driving the point of Viren being just a servant (and Viren is visibly discomforted by that), while in episode 5 it’s Viren who’s claiming to be just a servant of the Katolis in front of Amaya. These two moments pose a bit of a challenge for the Dark Mage lich theory as they require that the Dark Mage was present for the rather private conversation between Harrow and Viren. Viren and Callum’s relationship. That one is largely speculative, as before the “kneel“ scene we have barely any interactions of the two, and the one right after is outright disastrous. The only thing we witness beforehand is Viren being angry/annoyed because Callum overheard about the assassination attempt and pointedly shutting the window. However, there are some indirect pieces which lead me to believe that what relationship existed in between the two could not have been that bad. If anything, Callum seems excited at the prospect of being a Mage (which, admittedly, could be attributed to Claudia). But when Callum is followed by Reyla, his instinct is to run towards Viren’s study, and his plea for help goes “Lord Viren! Claudia!“, rather than just “Claudia!“, so it seems like despite earlier tense window episode Callum feels comfortable enough seeking help from Viren.



That one is largely speculative, as before the “kneel“ scene we have barely any interactions of the two, and the one right after is outright disastrous. The only thing we witness beforehand is Viren being angry/annoyed because Callum overheard about the assassination attempt and pointedly shutting the window. However, there are some indirect pieces which lead me to believe that what relationship existed in between the two could not have been that bad. If anything, Callum seems excited at the prospect of being a Mage (which, admittedly, could be attributed to Claudia). But when Callum is followed by Reyla, his instinct is to run towards Viren’s study, and his plea for help goes “Lord Viren! Claudia!“, rather than just “Claudia!“, so it seems like despite earlier tense window episode Callum feels comfortable enough seeking help from Viren. The Brodigies. In the first episode despite only having a direct assignment for Soren, Viren consults both his children about the upcoming assassination attempt, gives them space to be silly together, and only loses his cool when Soren is not careful with being discrete. However after episode 3, before the upcoming coronation he abruptly shuts down Soren’s sillyness to talk with the bird. As well as in episode 6 he separates Soren and Claudia, and makes them keep secrets from each other (which is basically divide and conquer - a way for a malicious entity to avoid detection by the two people closest to Viren). Interestingly, during conversation with Claudia the magic mirror is outright present, while in conversation with Soren the imagery creates the feeling of wrongness by turning Viren upside down. But as @runecubes [pointed out] the Brodigies start to realize that something is wrong anyway. Additional sideways speculation with regards to the Brodigies: Unlike Harrow, who explicitly has been presented as a widower, there are no any signs pointing towards Viren ever having a wife / the Brodigies having a mom. That doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything - perhaps it’s just not relevant to the plot of the show, but out of all the characters Soren seems to be the most involved with the fact that Callum is merely a step-prince. And so as much as I personally am interested in possibility of trans!Viren, by the story logic it seems likely that Soren (and perhaps Claudia) are in for a surprise in regards to being adopted.

(Description: Upside down Viren when talking to Soren about killing the princes)



The Bad Leg. One thing which I remember struggling with in the first episodes was the question of whether Viren actually needs his staff as a mobility aid, or is it just that I’m not used to this style of animation / animators had a hard time with his walk cycle because of the staff. By the time I reached further episodes that thought kinda slipped my mind, until @gayingupspace reminded me of it. The interesting thing is that on the rewatch Viren’s walk cycle still seemed just a bit off up until I noticed this scene:



(Description: Viren in episode 2 picking up the basket with the soulfang serpent from the floor after being told to get out by Harrow)

That animation sequence was rather quick, but notice the pose. Right leg bent in the knee, left leg only slightly bent and put somewhat sideways, most of the weight is put onto the right leg and the staff. Pose is extremely uncomfortable and weird, unless Viren actually has trouble bending his left knee. Through the entirety of the first 2 and a half or so episodes Viren does not part with the staff and is actually visibly putting some weight onto it, including when on the spiral staircases. Interestingly, right after the ‘kneel‘ scene in episode 4 Viren often ditches the staff, or simply picks up and carries it, as well as doesn’t have any particular problems with kneeling (coronation, Sarai’s statue, chatting to Runaan). good!Viren having a leg trauma adds some more tragic/dark context to the ‘kneel‘ scene, as obeying the order likely was not only a question of hurt feelings, but meant also being in pain.



The Previously On. As @darth-alinart pointed out to me, each episode apart from episode 1 starts with the recap sequence, and each of those has one of the characters say “Previously on the Dragon Prince“. The list is the following: Callum, Ezran, Viren, Viren, Soren, Claudia, Runaan, Ava. The only character to be featured twice is Viren, and exactly around the recaps separating the good!Viren part of the season from the evil one. Which seems to at the very least imply Viren’s duality, and perhaps hint at the fact that what we percieve as one character is actually two.



Pure speculation: The Dragon, the High Mage, and the Staff

When talking about the soulfang serpent, Viren says he acquired it during “our last journey into Xadia”, which seems to mean during their attack on the Thunder. Viren is often rather subtle, calling “dark magic” a “creative solution”, but what if that operation wasn’t intended as a military one from the start?

one from the start? Harrow believes himself responsible for “some of those wrongs” between Xadia and Katolis, but in conversation with Viren Harrow attributes “starting this unwinnable war“ to Viren , while Viren believes that Harrow is being “stubborn and ungrateful“ for refusing to use dark magic.



, while Viren believes that Harrow is being “stubborn and ungrateful“ for refusing to use dark magic. I wonder if “unspeakable dark magic” which Viren used against Thunder was perhaps not a planned operation (as if they believed the war to be unwinnable - why start one?), but rather a last ditch attempt to, possibly, save Harrow . That’s why Viren believes that Harrow should be grateful, and why Harrow thinks that it was dark magic which “got us here”.

. That’s why Viren believes that Harrow should be grateful, and why Harrow thinks that it was dark magic which “got us here”. To answer the previously posed quesiton about how the OG Dark Mage could have possibly known what happened between Viren and Harrow, we need to remember that duriing the journey to Xadia Viren seemingly acquired a lot of powerful magical artifacts and creatures: the mirror, the serpent, the egg, possibly more. What if, perhaps, the staff was a recent acquisition as well? As Ellis puts it, every mage is meant to have a weird amulet, and it being a staff allows Viren to use it as a mobility aid. And during the first 3 episodes Viren never parts with the staff - including the “kneel” scene. So what if the staff had a soul of it’s previousl owner - the OG Dark Mage latched onto it? And so when whatever happens in Harrow’s bedroom happens, the amount of magical energy released is enough for the the Dark mage to take over.

as well? As Ellis puts it, every mage is meant to have a weird amulet, and it being a staff allows Viren to use it as a mobility aid. And during the first 3 episodes Viren never parts with the staff - including the “kneel” scene. So what if the staff had a soul of it’s previousl owner - the OG Dark Mage latched onto it? And so when whatever happens in Harrow’s bedroom happens, the amount of magical energy released is enough for the the Dark mage to take over. The significance of the coins is that they manage to encapsulate both the weirdness of a mirror - by keeping the reflection of the victim, as well as turning them into exchange tokens and taking away their agency. I believe their purpose, which Runaan might have been aware of, is to change the appearance of the mage into one of the victim, which is especially terrifying for Runaan, as that means using his face and name against Xadia and possibly Reyla.

Evil Chancellor Traytor syndrome



I am strongly in favor of the theory that it’s the Dark Mage who’s operating under the guise of Viren, because I believe that the good!Viren is an interesting and complicated character, one with good intentions, but not without his flaws. Simply turning Viren into a flat and stereotypical villain looks to me like a cheap shortcut / dangerous trope, especially given Viren’s implied disability and queer-codedness.

I do however find it rather funny and ironic if Viren is meant to be suffering from the [Evil Chancellor Traytor] syndrome. Essentially from the point of view of the Dark Mage, who has been accompanying Viren for the most part of the year, Viren is a powerful magic user who is well loved by his family and friends. What he doesn’t really account for is that outside of that friendly social circle Viren is a “mongrel” and a misfit (much like Callum finds himself). Viren is stereotyped into a Grima Wormtongue, which is why Opeli, Amaya and the general public are so unhappy about Viren’s rise to power.

It’s such a predictable trope, that turning it around and in the scope of a fairytale saying that, well, actually, being a queer-coded disabled dark magic user (often overused for villain characters) doesn’t mean anything in regards to person’s morals, and having such assumptions is harmful, would IMO be a pretty revolutionary plot point and a big power move.

tl;dr

(Descritpion: Harrison Ford meme, where the “Baby boy. Baby” part corresponds to episode 3 Viren considering self-sacrifice, and “Evil” part corresponds to Viren during Harrow’s funeral in episode 4)