#we're Well past that sor-bear (unfortunately)

[raayllum]

Loyalty and Love :: A Miyana Meta

In S4 and S5, one of the most interesting side characters introduced, upon further reflection, has definitely been General Miyana of the Six Horns. Although mostly there to be a trusted confidant and sounding board for Karim, in S5 she's allowed to be a lot more active and interplay a lot more with themes the show is steadily more explicitly exploring in regards to love and loyalty, which is what I'm gonna talk about today.

So without further ado, let's get into it.

The first time we see Miyana is in the tent with Karim for Janai and Amaya's initial engagement announcement / celebration.

It is worth noting, I believe, that Karim initially didn't want to tell Janai about is concerns over her marriage, but Janai urged him to be honest with her about what was bothering him. (Talk about a catalyst for unwanted consequences). Given that Karim is clearly close to Amaya to have seen her effect on Amaya ("Well sister, it can finally be said: you have met your match... Janai, I have nothing to criticize about Amaya. I love Amaya! She is strong and funny, and she makes you happy") as well as for Amaya to consider the marriage merely "officially" making him her little brother. Miyana and Karim might've shared similar reservations and worries about the humans' continued, growing presence in 'New' Aurea, but we simply don't know enough to say; perhaps she brought muttering from the other Six Horns to him, and that was the initial seed (or the other way around).

When the incident with the architect and the Soul flame candle happens, though, Karim starts to lose his impatience.

K: This is the problem! Like all the other humans, even your wife-to-be thinks this is a joke. [...] You know what must be done. Call a Tribunal of the Six Horns.

And this is also where we start to see the political implications of Miyana and Karim's relationship. But first, a few assumptions:

Miyana is close enough to the queen to be sent to report news to her, something we see only Kazi and Gren do to either Amaya or Janai (5x07)

Janai trusts Miyana with the Sun Seed and is comfortable operating on a first name basis (5x07), particularly in Amaya's absence

Miyana leads the lineup of the Six Horns, likely indicating either senior-ship or authority among the group

Karim and Miyana have likely been together for a while, but are seemingly not wed. Janai refers to him as "kid brother" which indicates a more prominent age gap between the siblings (anywhere from 7-10 years in my experience) and does not mention Miyana when she says, "I'm supposed to criticize your love life, not the other way around" (4x02)

Either Karim and Miyana have kept their relationship entirely secret, or Janai knows but does not disapprove, and assumes she still has Miyana's loyalty due to her continued presence at camp even after Karim's exile / not helping him when he asked in 4x09. I personally lean toward her not knowing due to their late night scheduled rendezvous, but you can interpret it both ways

Either way, they clearly care about keeping their relationship secret as when he goes to her quarters in 4x08, Miyana says, "What are you doing? We shouldn't be seen together" (showing that they are both politically minded enough to be willing to stay a secret for no other apparent reason, too).

Given that Janai and Miyana have both worked as prominent generals and her close relationship with Kairm, Miyana has likely known the Sunfire royal family for some time (possibly since childhood)

Miyana is not the first to cast judgement, either, at the trial's end, with everyone else changing their fire first. (This could indicate the opposite of what leading the line did, and that she is in reality the lowest of the Six Horns, or could not be custom at all - who knows?)

After all, we know the outcome Karim wants - punishment and "justice" and that by calling the Horns, he will likely get what he wants, as he knows Miyana will likely side with his choice as well. This is supported in canon since the Horns likewise unanimously vote that Lucia is guilty even with Amaya's testimony; it is singularly Janai's decision of what she is being sentenced to that spares her.

It's implied that when Karim left the tribunal angrily, he was waiting at the wall to meet Miyana when Janai intercepted him, given that it's his and Miyana's meeting spot later than episode, and she playfully chides him for being late.

Miyana doesn't seem particularly upset herself about anything that happened at the Tribunal, even if Janai certainly didn't go with what sentencing Miyana had had in mind when choosing guilty as a verdict. She also doesn't seem super shocked that Karim is going to well, conspire to go against his sister (which is treason) but to be fair, she is mostly there to 1) establish that they're in a relationship and 2) so Karim has an excuse to say his thoughts out loud so the audience can hear them. You can, however, also read this very laid back reaction as one of well - future loyalty, as we'll soon see, but also perhaps a sign of caution, which is Miyana's most valuable trait in contrast to Karim's more impatient nature. And if the previous implications are right - Miyana and Karim both putting their political power over being open about their relationship, it would make sense that they must politically agree / have values that align beyond just "your values should match up when someone is your partner" y'know?

"These things take time." This is, of course, the last thing Karim wants to hear after learning about Janai's 100+ year plan to restore their people's peace and security, a day that neither them nor their potential children will leave to see, so he doubles down accordingly.

Miyana being more cautious/patience makes sense, too, given that she's not nearly as irate about Janai and Amaya doing well, anything, at this point as he is.

Miyana's emphasis on "Did he win?" (a focus on securing victory and hedging your bets/choices correctly) over Karim's "He did, but the point of the story is not who won. The duel stopped the war" and stopped the clash between siblings, which is ultimately what Karim wants. He never thinks that Janai will accept the duel, but that she will abdicate, leave with her wife, and they can both get exactly what they wanted, particularly since as Janai said, "I never wanted to be queen" (4x02) a perspective that has changed because of the Tribunal he urged her to call and because of her growing bond with Amaya (4x08).

So by this point in the story, we know that:

Miyana is close to the royal family

She cares about her own political values and power enough to be willing to hide her and Karim's relationship for their mutual political gain, particularly in situations like the Tribunal

She's caring, patient, and less irritable than her partner

She's cautious and plays the long game - not stepping in to help Karim in 4x09 when she sees the tide has already turned against him, knowing she'd be more valuable remaining at camp until she can make her own play

She thinks through more of the angles (such as questioning what will happen if Janai accepts the duel, which Karim never really considers as an option)

S5 doesn't really give us any new information - it just doubles down on all of these, but allows her to do so independently without Karim's own pushing. Rather, Pharos arriving and almost implicating her serves to tell her what Karim wants, even if she doesn't know why yet.

This 'demand' tells us more about Karim in some ways than it does Miyana. It shows that he misses her, it indicates that he trusts her still which this episode later proves, and it's a way to give her an excuse to see him again, which we know he desperately wants (but we're gonna talk a lot more about their final scene, just you wait) that she may not be able to take without causing suspicion otherwise.

It's also why he cries when she does show up in 5x09, because when she didn't in 5x08, he thought she'd truly betrayed him and changed sides (hence why he was maybe more angry at Janai and Amaya than he previously ever had been before, given what he'd 'lost' to them), believing retrospectively that his love had truly forsaken him.

But she hadn't. Because she betrayed Janai instead.

Karim isn't in a particularly good place at the end of season four, either, with losing his duel (but having his life spared) and his political machinations and future for his people blowing up in his face. But he's in an undeniably worse one (at first) in 5x09, having tried to legitimately kill his sister (which wasn't the initial plan in 4x09) and failed, enlisting a dubious assassin who also abandoned him when it suited her, getting his ass kicked by Amaya, his plan to heal Sol Regem and get his aid indefinitely stalled without the sun seed, losing the love of his life, and losing his mother's ring, to boot.

It is quite literally only because of Miyana that absolutely anything gets turned around and even before Miyana reveals that she's absolutely changed the game in his favour, Karim is still emotional and overjoyed to see her (and we start to see their, let's say Parallels, come to light...)

Amaya: You abandoned him. You broke his heart.

Callum: Well, some things have changed, but not everything: I would do anything for you.

Opeli: Don't you want to know what she was up to? Why she did all this? Callum: If she didn't tell me, she has a good reason. [...] Rayla, I was wrong. I waited too long. I hope you know—

In spite of less than ideal appearances, in spite of perceived or actual abandonment, in spite of apparent indifference, they've stayed loyal to one another through everything. As they clarify tearfully to themselves, Miyana's Love for him is Synonymous with her Loyalty. They are one and the same.

You might say that she would Do Anything for him. Even when quite literally everyone and anything else turns against him, she is in his corner - and makes all the difference. I dunno about you, but I kinda have to respect it.

Which, okay, yeah Miyana is loyal to Karim because she loves him. Duh. Why does this matter thematically? How does this develop one of the other major explorations / notions of the season? Well...

(Cut lines from Finnegrin's Wake) Finnegrin to Callum: Seems to me that love's got a tighter grip on you than those chains round your wrists. So I'll do you a favour and set you free.

A slave to your loyalties.

Your loyalty? My love.

Interesting, don't you think?

TLDR; Miyana's love and loyalty to Kairm helps reinforce the "in the name of love" motivation that we increasingly see the main cast be embroiled in over the course of Arc 2, for better or for worse, with interesting implications for her history with the Sunfire Royal Family, and possible reaffirmation setup for Callum and Rayla moving forward.

#tdp #tdp miyana #prince karim #miyana #the dragon prince #karim x miyana #analysis series #s4 #s5 #arc 2 #in the name of love #with a bit of rayllum at the end. as a treat #even soren's 'dad is dead you don't have to do what he Wants anymore' to claudia like #we're Well past that sor-bear (unfortunately) #rayllum ignoring direct orders from a queen. ezran likely putting his foot down about the starscraper #LIKE GEE I WONDER. I WONDER WHERE IT'S GOING #one of my fave lil realizations of the season tbh. excited to finally write it down in more detail