Breaking the Seal

I absolutely love that we got to see more of Viren before his fall, as well as better understand the events that led to all of this. Seeing Viren and Harrow together, young and hopeful, is really painful!! I also really liked getting to meet Sarai.

I think that the storytelling in this show is really good; how they're able to weave the past and present together. I mentioned in my review of the first season that I liked how it felt like we were thrown right into the action; you could tell that there was a history behind the action, but we weren't bogged down with a ton of explanation. I like that that can still be true, but we can also get that history! I hope we only see more flashbacks moving forward.

They can write good child characters and Ez is one of my favorites.

But when it comes to adults, they have no idea how to write good ones. Imature and dumb writers make for the same type of adult characters.

King Harrow and his wife, Viren is kinda decent but bipolar and the rest.. jeez. Obnoxious and generic af.

The dream that Harrow makes you throw up.. the most generic "good" guy that we've heard for 50 years. Maybe change some lines?

In any case, there's no show that escapes politica and woke agenda it seems.

The only good part is now dark elves must have irish accent it seems. Funny twitst.

There are so many little details that make this show the amazing work of art that it is. I've always loved the pentagonal building where the meeting of the Pentarchy takes place. Viren's magical PowerPoint is awesome as well, even if it's a bit creepy and possibly bordering on propaganda. Then there's Aanya, the very young queen of the kingdom of Duren, ready to prove herself by attending the meeting without a regent. It's amazing that the child ruler is the only one to truly think critically about Viren's plan, and it's very in character for Viren to respond by telling her a story meant to guilt-trip her into agreement. Another one of my favorite lines is "Besides, I hardly call 'we'll do what everyone else does' a decision." I mean, seriously, get this kid into a political rap battle competition! Despite Viren's true intentions, I enjoy the story about the struggles Harrow faced as a new ruler. It's easy to root for him and his ideas. I adore the scene where the royal family is having their portrait painted. Li'l Callum and Baby Ezran are so cute, and it was great to finally meet Queen Sarai!

We get to see the rulers of the other kingdoms. I think all of them are interesting. However, they do not compare to Queen Aanya. Queen Aanya has to be one of my favorite characters. She is mature for her age; she might be more mature than Viren. I love Queen Sarai! Probably the best mother in the show. Aanya's parents, Queen Neha and Annika, are great, too! Bait being dismissed by Ezran is saddening. Callum finally opens the seal to Harrow's letter. Viren's story to Aanya is great. Overall, this episode is great. This sets up the next episode perfectly. At first, I didn't care for this episode, but now I love it.

The king's speech regarding justice was extremely influenced by Rawlsian philosophy and his subsequent actions were also. Interesting but perhaps a bit heavy handed and on the nose.