#interesting that finnegrin's starts in the hands (with rayla too) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

self-spaghettification · 9 months

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so much hype for season 6 now. we’re probably getting:

they try to get the pearl back but a bunch of shit happens on the way

aaravos and callum interactions!!

aaravos flashback and emotional scene

deep magic rant

viren is probably not dead if aaravos was lying (context clues)

claudia will probably chase dragang back across the sea or to scumport to recruit pirates to try to get pearl back

finnegrin’s return (maybe) (aaron said there will be pirates again!!) (who heard abt a treasure…)

sol regem’s return (oh no)

aaravos’s return (i hope) (sol regem n aaravos interacting would be so interesting bc they’re radicalists on opposite ends)

janai and karim fight for rightful ruler a bunch of people fuckin die karim dies at jainai’s hand mayhaps

maybe zubeia and sol regem fight (keeping them both occupied) but sol regem starts winning

maybe they actually need dark magic help to stop the dragon aaaagain from ruining fragile human/elf peace (will callum etc be called back to lux aurea to help fight back but callum isn’t strong enough on his own.. more trauma for baby boy <3 )

callum does some absolutely insane shit to save rayla’s life again

what if pearl breaks before they can rehide it (intentionally question mark)

ezran negotiates with millennia old startouch elf to maybe not play god and have some empathy or something idk

uhh maaybe they get a sword to kill aaravos with!!!! (might not happen this season, too soon?)

we meet some celestial skywing elves and maybe hear about some other startouch elves more from them

lain tiadrin and runaan’s return (yippee!!)

#the dragon prince #tdp s6 hype #tdp s6 speculation #tdp speculation #me just listing on all the things that scratch my little brain specifically whaat i would never #ff to rb with addons #self spaghettification #my writing #ish

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raayllum · 5 months

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Love as a Strength and Weakness in 5x08

Re: Callum drawing love from strength vs love never been an unequivocal good in TDP (written post-S4).

Let's talk, briefly, about love as a strength and a weakness in 5x08, as the episode highlights this dichotomy very well. To begin, we have Callum and Finnegrin's differing viewpoints on it, specifically:

C: See? So long as we protect each other, so long as we love each other, you can never control us.

F: All that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain, you completely lost yourself.

And to a certain degree, they're both right. Callum's epiphany of "You don't control anything" is something that applies to both Callum and Finnegrin because it's the innermost truth of the arcanum they now both share.

Callum's love for Rayla allows him to be controlled, shown when he gives up the spell (and by doing dark magic).

But it's also what sets him free from Finnegrin's (immobilization) blood freezing spell. Love here is why Finnegrin is also ultimately unable to control him, too.

However, I want to talk more specifically about the hands in Finnegrin's Wake (yes, again, because there's still more to talk about) in regards to the epiphany scene in particular with more detail than I gave it in the linked meta a few lines above. Let's look at the framing, shall we?

When Finnegrin first gives Callum the rattle snake tail (a literal warning sign that Callum is goaded and then does crush out of desperation), we see Callum clasp his wrist, like a chain, and the shot of his palm open wide.

We get a similar open hand shot as he starts to connect to the Ocean arcanum, thereby showing his acceptance of being willing to use dark magic to save Rayla (and his loved ones) is indeed crucial to him unlocking the Ocean arcanum. Rayla is likewise highlighted because she was on the one tethered to this poem earlier on in the season (x2). Callum mimics the crushing of the slug as the final physical / metaphysical stage required for the magic to take hold.

And, rather symbolically, the dark storm we saw at first as well as the rain begins to fade. The light comes out and the chaos recedes. He's weathered the storm and come out drastically changed for it, but him unlocking the Ocean arcanum is strength and is a positive: it allows him to free himself. It brings back the light. It's tethered to Love.

But the episode doesn't end on a triumphant note, because it's not interested in easy answers or straight forward paths. Instead, it's interested in dualities and dark sides, and that Callum's love for her will unlock both great things - and terrible ones.

And so again, we return to the hand clasp - the metaphorical chain - because as much as love has given him strength and having Rayla in his life is worth it to Callum, it's still not without its complications ("Now you're back: that's kind of good, and it's kind of bad" / "We have to hold pain and love in our hearts at the same time"). She makes him strong and supports and loves him, but she's also his weakness and leaves him worryingly exploitable, if only to his own nerves and reservations.

And, y'know, probably Aaravos' plans, too.

#rayllum #theme: strength vs weakness #i would do anything for you #5x08 #mage boy #analysis series #snake boi callum #analysis #tdp #tdp meta #the dragon prince #subset: salvation and destruction #will put under a read more on request i just thought it was short enough #callum realizing he'll quite literally do anything in his version of a finale #it's giving claudia 2x09 leading to the s3 fuckery arc #except even more blatantly bc that was for her father and s2 is what gives hope she might choose her brother #and she Didn't lmao #yes i wrote this and cried

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