The Dragon Prince Season 4 Review – Another exciting, fantastical chapter for Netflix’s wonderful animated series

The Dragon Prince has been one of Netflix’s best animated series since it debuted back in 2018. The wonderful blend of fantasy, animation and comedy has kept this likable for both adults and kids alike, and it seems to be doing good numbers for Netflix too. After all, the show has been renewed for an additional 4 seasons after the success of season 3 and anyone who has followed ‘Flix knows that’s a pretty rare feat!

After the exciting and dramatic conclusion to season 3, season 4 of The Dragon Prince feels like a reset of sorts, slowly building up to bigger things to come in the future. At the heart of this are three separate storylines that interweave around one another to determine the fate of Xadia and the larger world as a whole.

Two years have passed since the events that transpired from before (which neatly ties into the fact it has been over two years since the last season dropped!) and the Kingdom is in a sense of relative peace. Viren has been stopped, Claudia is in hiding while Ezran is determined to broker a peace between the humans and dragons. He has certainly wizened in his years as King and a speech about violence at the end of episode 3 only exemplifies that.

Alongside Ezran are the lovable band of misfits we’ve followed across the years, including Prince Callum who’s confounded by an enchanted mirror. Soren is still knocking about as the comedy relief, but definitely becomes more serious later on as he heads off on a mission of his own. Bait is still amazing as the grumpy toad, while Zym’s inclusion is always welcome!

After heading off on her revenge mission, Rayla is also on her own quest too, complete with new character Stella, who’s an adorable Cuddlemonkey that sticks by her side.

The forces of evil are certainly stirring though, and when Claudia manages to successfully use her resurrection spell on Viren, she quickly learns Tthat’s it’s only applicable for 30 days. The only solution to stop Viren from dying is freeing Aaravos from the the magical prison he’s being kept in and free him, in a bid to use his magic to extend the resurrection time.

These two storylines eventually collide toward the end in dramatic fashion, while a parallel thread with Queen Janai and a challenge to her throne and Kingdom helps to keep the wider world ticking over and given an element of intrigue.

I won’t disclose what happens here but suffice to say this very much feels like Act 1 of a much larger plot to follow. The ending will have you itching for more, but what’s here is certainly worthy of an animated crown of excellence.

The visuals and aesthetic in general are still top-notch, while the voice acting is great across the board. What’s particularly great about The Dragon Prince though is the sheer level of diversity across the board. It’s not here for the sake of ticking boxes either, everyone serves a purpose to the narrative. Inclusions like Amaya’s deafness or the Sunfire Elves tinged with a French accent give the worldbuilding a richness sorely lacking from other fantasy IPs. Looking at you, Wheel of Time and Rings of Power!

The music across is well-done and Frederik Wiedmann has brought his A-game to season 4 as well. This vibrant soundscape really helps to set the mood and it combines beautifully with the visuals.

The Dragon Prince is fantasy done right and now onto its fourth season, the story and quality doesn’t look like letting up anytime soon. It may have been over two years of waiting, but Netflix’s flagship animated series certainly makes that wait worth it!