#Ezran carrying Zym up for his first experience feeling what its like to fly

[stuck-in-jelly]

First Flights

02x03/07x09

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Breaking points

A lot of the characters in TDP have reached their breaking point somewhere in the first two seasons. Some haven’t yet, but we have an upcoming season that might break them. Mua ha ha haa. 

When a character breaks, it’s very telling. We learn so much about these precious characters by what they can endure, and by what pushes them too far. We’ve all endured hard times, and we’ve all broken at one point or another. Seeing characters struggle, survive, break, and keep surviving makes them relatable and keeps us invested in their fate. It also keeps us hopeful--if they can make it, we can, too.

Let’s break down the breakdowns we’ve seen so far.

Harrow broke when he yelled at Viren in his throne room with his “thank you for starting this unwinnable war”. 

He realized he had to send his sons away because he was about to die for his sins. that it was all his fault, but he blamed Viren out loud, even though he knew it was his own fault for agreeing. Putting Viren on his knees later was just him reiterating his point: the problem isn’t really dark magic. It’s Viren’s love of dark magic, and how that does make Viren feel special. He’s probably never come up with a solution that didn’t use it. Harrow’s best friend is never going to change. He’ll keep getting people hurt and killed because he can’t see the cost everyone else is paying for his power. And Harrow’s not giving Viren his boys’ lives on top of Sarai’s. Harrow’s breaking because he’s realized that he, not Viren, got Sarai killed. The only way to save his sons’ lives is to admit he got his wife killed by following Viren’s plan. Harrow hates himself. And he takes it out on Viren.

Rayla broke when she drew her swords against Runaan. 

She was literally begging him to understand and support her, but he wouldn't stop his killing mission. She knew Ezran didn’t have to die, but she wanted to save Harrow too. If they let Harrow live, there’s a better chance for peace. If there’s peace, guys, Rayla’s parents might get to come home. When Rayla saw the egg, she didn’t just see a way to stop the war. She saw a way to redeem her parents’ honor without killing anyone. A way to get them back. As much as she loves and admires Runaan, he’ll never quite replace her parents. With the prospect of restoring their honor and maybe getting them back, or at least paying back their sacrifice of giving her up, Rayla turns her back on Runaan’s teachings. He was all she knew, his assassin ways all she wanted to learn, until suddenly she had a chance to get her parents back. Who wouldn’t fight for that, even against the elf who raised her?

Runaan broke on the balcony and cried after he sent the shadowhawk and its blood ribbon to the Dragon Queen.

Rayla abandoned him--the child he poured his heart and soul into. He’ll never see his beloved tinker again--or so he believes at this point. His mission is a Pyrrhic victory, taking the king but costing everyone’s lives save Rayla’s. He’s done his duty, which he holds very close to his heart, but somehow that’s only made a bigger mess for everyone he cares about. He’s sad, he’s scared, he’s in pain, he’s alone in enemy territory. He breaks. Quietly, where no one can see it. And then, he has to pull himself back together when he ends up alive in Viren’s dungeon. And not all the pieces fit like they used to.

Viren broke when his true-seeing mirror spell failed. (or did it just work “differently true”, thanks Lujanne)

Viren’s been under a lot of stress for a long time. He believes Katolis is in deadly danger. His best friend just turned against him and then died. He’s had to ask his kids to do harsh things to save the kingdom. And he has this glorious mirror that he knows is powerful and important and could turn the tide of the war, but he can’t figure out how to get it to work. He feels like an idiot and a failure, and he thinks he’ll lose the kingdom and the war because of it. Viren’s a genius, but with heightened awareness comes a lot of pressure and anxiety. The fate of humanity is a constant weight on his mind. Viren can keep his temper with his kids, even with Runaan. He let it slip a little at Harrow. But he absolutely rages at himself. He expects so much and feels he has too little to offer. When the mirror won’t crack, Viren cracks instead.

Callum broke when he learned Claudia had betrayed him.

Losing his step-dad was a huge blow, obviously. But he’d already lost his birth father. And he had a mission to complete: returning the egg to Xadia. When he thought he could trust his long-time friends to help him, he was in good spirits, despite learning of Harrow’s death. But when Claudia tried to capture him, he saw her true allegiance. It wasn’t to him, or his stepdad. It was to Viren. And that changed everything for Callum. He’s always believed that elves aren’t trustworthy. Rayla’s slowly changing his mind on that. But here, Callum’s learning that humans can be untrustworthy, too. That actions speak louder than words. He’s had positive experiences with Rayla, giving him hope and courage. But now he’s struck with a big negative, and it’s knocked out some of his balance. Maybe Claudia’s betrayal was actually necessary for Callum to get his mind into a place where he could accept something deep and true about elves, and thus could connect to the Sky arcanum. He definitely thrust himself into meditating on Sky to cope with his feelings--or to avoid them--and brought himself closer to his magic as a result.

Soren broke by crying about failing his dad, and how he was relieved that he couldn’t move so he couldn’t do the terrible things Viren told him to do.

He loves his father. Wants to be a good son. Viren’s approval means more to him than right and wrong. But he knew VIren’s order to kill the princes was wrong. He doesn’t want to judge his dad. And he doesn’t want to kill his friends. So taking himself out of the equation is a huge relief, and the only good option he can see. Soren would rather hurt himself than his dad, or the princes. What a sweet boy.

Claudia broke by killing the deer for Soren. 

It doesn’t look like she broke. She cried earlier over hurting Callum by telling him the truth about Harrow’s death. But this is a watershed moment for Claudia--her first big dark magic kill. Her first time choosing to kill something big enough that it leaves the mark of its power in her hair. This is what it looks like when you start forcing your will onto the world instead of finding a more organic (ahaha) way to resolve things. She’s killing things to drag the world where she wants it to be. We know where this road will take her if she doesn’t step off: she’ll end up like Ziard and Viren. It’ll kill her, along with countless other creatures and beings she sees as expendable for her own purposes. This is the first big leap down that slippery slope. In a way, she broke because Soren broke. They rely so heavily on each other for support, with a dad like Viren, that Claudia literally can’t stand on her own.

Ezran broke when he learned his dad was dead. 

Ezran’s been happy to remain a child up to this point on their quest. His responsibilities have been heavy, but he hasn’t had to grow up yet. He’s strong enough to carry the egg. He can work with Bait to provide light and tactical flashes. He’s capable of talking to Zym and teaching him to fly. He’s able to keep up on the trip. He hasn’t needed to grow up any further yet. But he knows deep down what being a king means, and that it’s different than being just a prince. When he first broke, Ezran reacted by running away from his feelings, his fears, and his responsibilities. He’s lost the biggest protection he had in the world: his father the king, whose place he’ll now need to take. It’s a double whammy of loss and danger. But he pulled himself together again and came back stronger than he’d been. Ezran will be a good king.

What’ll be interesting is seeing who else has breaking points in S3. Some people may get another one. Some may have their first. Others may not break at all.