So, I'm way too old to say I told you so. But I told you so.
Sort of. He is, after all, the great hero who has united the peoples.
But, he's not a King. Well...he is, but he isn't.
Ok, backing up. In the first post on this show, I compared Prince Callum to King Arthur. I said that the title of the show referred to him, as well as to the (now hatched) Dragon Prince. I made my argument for that idea, by using the etymology of the name "Pendragon": which roughly does translate as "Dragon Prince". And, the show has confirmed it. But they've taken the idea of King Arthur in a new direction. Callum is indeed a King, in everything but the name. And that is entirely consistent with the archetype that King Arthur represents: the True King. Or as I previously called it, the Leader of Leaders. A person who leads not by intimidating or manipulating other people, but purely because people want to follow this person. People might even actually ask to follow this person, as Soren does in his roundabout way with Callum. Callum is someone that people want to follow. Why?
Because he is stubbornly committed to goodness now, no matter how hard that path becomes. The creators of the show talked about how the romance between Callum and Rayla "sprang naturally" from the narrative. And, indeed, it does. Specifically, it is the inevitable result of the episode that finishes the second season: when Callum chooses to reject Dark Magic completely after his first time using it. This rejection enabled him to understand the Sky Arcanum, becoming the first known human primal mage. There is no way that Callum, as he is now, could love anyone else. Callum at the beginning of the show could have fallen in love with Claudia. He did, after all, want power. That is why he picked up the primal storm in the first place: which is what allowed him to cast sky magic before. But he [spoiler alert] sacrificed that power to save the Dragon Egg, by allowing the Dragon Prince to hatch. When he did, he changed his view of himself. Callum, see, is a Prince but not the Crown Prince. Callum is the Queen's son from her first marriage. Thus, Callum is not in line to be King but Ezran is. Callum doesn't resent Ezran, but does feel lost. Being smart and not physically large or strong, Callum is also bullied by Soren: and he knows that Soren is only saying what other people are thinking. Callum, doesn't respect himself: until the moment when he saves the Dragon Prince.
Now, Callum has done something he knows is good, which will effect the entire world. It cannot be undone. Whatever happens now, Callum will be the hero who sacrificed his power to save the Dragon Prince...and possibly the world. The war between the humans and Xadians cannot continue, the price has become too high. Callum's mother, Sarai, died on an expedition into Xadia. He has sought to change the circumstances which caused her death. Whether he succeeds or fails, he can die knowing that he did his best. That is enough for Callum to begin to respect himself. And indeed to know himself. He is not just King Harrow's adopted son, or Ezran's brother. He is not the "step-prince". He is a man who puts the greater good ahead of his own desires, a hero. And a perfect foil to Viren, who believes this is also what he is doing: but has really enslaved himself and the kingdom to the whims of the godlike Aaravos.
Callum's desire for Claudia was a desire for respect from Soren, whom Callum saw as representing the normal person. A good desire for a Prince to have. But in this case misguided. Soren's dislike of Callum came not from a sense of superiority, but rather from jealousy. Viren, Soren's father, mistreated him. Viren values his children only insofar as they can either feed his ambitions, or else carry on his legacy. Soren, can't do either. He has no interest in feeding Viren's royal ambitions: and he is not talented in magic so he can't carry on Viren's legacy as palace mage. Thus Viren openly favors Claudia, seeing as she can do both things. Viren appears to be a better man than he is because he doesn't want power solely for himself: he wants power he can pass on to his family. Soren craves his father's approval, but can't be someone his father approves of. However he sees that King Harrow loves Callum unconditionally, even though Callum is not his son. Soren can't stand that, understandably enough. Being still immature however, Soren cannot see that his father is a despicable person. He sees his father's lack of care for him as the natural consequence of his own failures.
Now one version of the King Arthur myth has Arthur's identity be hidden and puts him in a similar situation to Callum in our story. Although in this version Arthur is really the son of Uther Pendragon, because his mother was not the Queen he is similarly not in line for the throne. Until, of course, he pulls the sword from the stone. This fit with the courtly love genre and the old as dirt trope of the prince being raised among the people. The True King was the product of the union between the King and his true love: and his infidelity could be justified by taking the common woman as a representation of the nation itself. Callum similarly was not born royal: his mother married into the royal family. A commoner elevated to royalty. Perhaps the oldest trope in fantasy, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why.
Thus it was not only Soren who was jealous of Callum. Viren was too: because Callum had acquired with no effort what Viren wanted. That Callum didn't seem to want to be royal only made things worse. Sarai, a woman with a son but no husband, fulfills the age-old narrative purpose of representing the nation. The name "Sarai" is interesting as well. It is a biblical name, though few probably realize that as it is mentioned only once and some translations entirely gloss over it. It is mentioned as the original name of Sarah, Abraham's wife. But Sarai in this show seems to play the role of Abraham in the original story: the founder of a family line with a special destiny. For Callum was indeed destined to be a Primal mage and to love Rayla, in the sense that he always had the possibility inside him to make this choice. All he needed to do was learn that earning the approval of others was not the route to self-respect.
It is Rayla who teaches him that: for Rayla respects herself, even though others do not. Runaan, her adoptive father, does not respect her because she cannot take a life. She understands however that Runaan is wrong, that she knows the right path. While she wants the approval of her community, she knows better than to try to change herself to earn it. Instead, she is willing to act to persuade others that she is right. That is the harder way, but in the end more satisfying. She won't force anything on anyone, but she will persist in acting according to her principles. This is what makes her a hero and a worthy love-interest for Callum.
Meanwhile, Claudia has turned to the dark side. She eventually chooses her father over her brother, although she did make a decent effort at trying to solve the conflict between them. Why? She is a teenage girl: it is natural she would feel powerless, and that she would still think that power can only be found outside of oneself. This seems indeed to be the difference between the types of magic: the Dark Mage hunts for power in the world, while the Primal Mage uses the power within himself. The spell that Callum uses in the final episode drives home this point, as his ability to cast the spell is expressly affected by two things: self-knowledge, and willpower.
Again, hardly anything new when it comes to magic. This is standard fantasy fare: Harry Potter's patronus charm also works off of confidence. Here though, this trope is used differently. A primal mage must know his or her emotions, not believe in his or her abilities. Callum does not know whether he can do the spell, he only knows that he must do it or lose the person he loves the most. He must admit to himself how he feels in order to work up the willpower. This is normally something difficult for Callum, as one would expect for a boy his age. But he can do it here because he is facing death. When you are facing death, you are also perforce facing who you truly are: your deepest truth. Callum's deepest truth then, is that he loves Rayla: and by extension, Xadia. He cannot go back down the path of Dark Magic now.
Originality is overrated. Far too often, writers chase the goal of being original so single-mindedly that they forget to write well (see Suicide Squad). There is no need to throw out old tropes, old plotlines. Those things were popular because they resonated with people. Assuming the trope or plotline isn't dated because of changing ideologies, there is no reason it won't resonate in the modern era. But old tropes and plotlines are so familiar they've ceased to be interesting: so change it up. Use an old trope, but take it in a new direction. Start someplace familiar, and take your audience somewhere new. Start with King Arthur, and end with an interracial romance. Have fun, and write a story you want to read.
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