I missed it! Can someone tell me what happened?

Mmm, Moordryd makes such a charming damsel-in-distress. It's a shame he’d have snapped his neck, really.

You know, that whole “hero in us all” might be approaching a reason why Artha is the Dragon Booster. Because Mr. “New Personality Flaw Every Episode” really SHOULDN’T have been chosen by any SENSIBLE destiny. Also, I hope they acknowledge the good in the other Paynn, or else they WILL be hypocritical, though I know that's probably not going to happen.

I was unimpressed with Artha’s speech while hanging off the balcony by his fingertips; the complete turn-around in attitude didn't quite ring true for me--it felt more like desperation rather than genuine repentance. And WHY did Parm, Kitt, and Lance look somewhat shamefaced while he was apologising to them? Also, that thing about “Being the Dragon Booster is a HARD thing to live up to. Pity poor me, who only has near-absolute power to play around with” struck me as poor excuse-making. I was also unimpressed with the cheap joke at the end. I'd have preferred to see more Moordryd/Word interaction.

I liked the Moordryd subplot very much. The father/son relationship, the need to prove oneself, Moordryd showing actual redeemable qualities…Mmmm. Liked Word’s lines, too. Less clichéd than usual. And Artha/Moordryd? Is SO going to be the Harry/Draco of this fandom, only with even more subtext. I really like that they're developing Moordryd's character.

That Artha took Decepshun I think could indicate how they manage things in Dragon City: if a dragon bonds to one person, perhaps they can do a swap. Though this would be impractical for professional breeders, so maybe not. I’m a bit disturbed by Decepshun’s total obedience to Artha, though. Surely someone who’s supposed to be freeing dragons should have…noticed? Shouldn’t Decepshun, assuming she’s intelligent (according to the official site, she is), have refused to follow Artha, unless he was somehow controlling her (I think he used some gear on her, which gave me that impression)? And if he was controlling her, that’s a case of “ends justifying the means”, which Destined Heroes are not supposed to do. (Unless they’re made accountable for it.)

I think Word could have done something at the end, when Beau is restored to himself, because after all having the black-and-gold dragon in his citadel is something he’s actually been aiming for all along. He seems to have considerable resources at his command, as he showed earlier in the episode.

Moordryd choosing to appear on the news? I don’t get that. It would upset his father, who would of course now know that his son has been upsetting his schemes. Yes, the plan ended with Moordryd getting Beau, but I don’t think Moordryd’s plan could have stretched that far, meaning that accepting fame as himself was a stupid move.

I liked the wraith dragon attacks. Could be a hint of just how Word plans to start
the war.

I thought it was interesting that the Furox was merged into Beau. I wonder if that's a signal of some eventual climax, some merging of draconium influences that will save the world? It'll probably be something along the lines of Artha/Kitt/Moordryd/Parm/Lance (mass orgy) merging draconium influences to end the war, but one other possibility is that they will turn all dragons into gold; because, apparently, on the original site breeding the dragons to different strengths debased them. Now the latter would be interesting. I wouldn't agree with it because I like diversity, but it would be interesting and in tune with what is printed on the official site.

How well is Word actually regarded in Dragon City? Moordryd was introduced as ‘dragon racer’ not ‘Word Paynn’s son’. For one of the wealthiest men in Dragon City, Word seems to be keeping a low profile…yet he owns a big corporation named after him, and is a would-be politician. Slight inconsistency, I feel. Also, his lines about “the Paynn name”? I suppose it’s possible that he had famous ancestry way back, but in the official site it’s said that he was an orphan brought up by Dragon Priests, not an aristocrat.

And the animation? OMFGWOW. It all looked beautiful, I thought. Nice fight scenes.

Artha was experiencing a bad case of swelled-head, and Moordryd decided he'd become a hero too just to prove himself to his father. So Moordryd, controlling the wraith dragons, pretends to be a new hero in town, saving Artha-as-Dragon-Booster's life. Artha gets upset and challenges Moordryd as the Dragon Booster, and Moordryd dares him to let him try to ride Beau. Beau accepts Moordryd--who apparently has some good in him--and Moordryd sticks the Furox into Beau's forehead, transforming him into EvilPsychoBeau. Moordryd then rides into his father's citadel and manhandles Daddy Dearest, who is actually impressed that Moordryd has grown a spine. However, Artha turns up and convinces Moordryd that there's a hero in him too, and Moordryd returns from the Furox' influence--and is thrown off the dragon. Artha is thrown to the edge of a balcony by EvilPsychoBeau, but at the VERY last minute manages to convince him that he really is very sorry and he won't do it ever again and could he please have some help now? At this point, Beau absorbs the Furox' energies and becomes the black-and-gold dragon again, saving Artha. The two of them turn to face Word, who flees, but Moordryd and the Dragon Booster get a (romantic) Moment. Returning home, Artha apologises to his friends and the episode ends with a brief comic gag.

Sounds like it might have been interesting, but probably not the best episode they've done.

My initial responses.

I really liked it.

Moordryd didn't act without provocation, Word was very much the father I've imagined him as (and surprisingly impressive, for some reason, the way he dealt his wrath), and Parm was ADORABLE! I'm rather inclined to favour him along with Moordryd, perhaps as the two characters most capable of stretching their wings?

Beau rocked out as the Furox, the transformation scene looked awesome, as did that Black Shadow gear Moordryd used on Decepshun. Exceedingly purdyful.

Why weren't Artha and Moordryd arrested? I imagine that street racing on actual streets would be quite dangerous/illegal.

Heroic!Moordryd's one-liners ie 'Play safe!' were far less irritating than Dragon Booster's, whether or not they were intended to be.

And that little news scene where Moordryd got his award? His stance, and expression, everything about him was exactly how you see people act in those situations, and one of the highlights of the episode for me, even if it wasn't one hundred percent logical.

Parm's droll "It's no small wonder your helmet still fits." (Or words to that effect) was perfectly delivered, if unusual for him.

My question exactly. They'd done nothing wrong, they'd been warning Artha all along, and putting up with him. And if he has 'all that pressure' as an uber-powerful hero, what about them? They have no super suit or magic dragons, and they are trying to save the City as well. Wasn't that the message of last week's ep?

I'm still shaking and squeeing with excitement :D :D My goodness, did that episode rock or what?!?!!?!!?!!?!3289? :D

THe animation, the animation, the animation, the animation, OH THE ANIMATION!!!!! The race scene has to be the best example of the animation on the show so far, at least that's how it seems to me. The detail going into all of the spectators, the movement, the equipment, I think I'm honestly going to have a heartattacK!!!! :o THAT SHADOW GEAR!!!!!!!1

The characters were acting so natural in this episode! Well, Artha's little gang away, THEY CALLED ARTHA BIGHEADED!!!! IT'S WHAT SO MANY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!! HAVE THEY BEEN READING OFF THIS SITE OR SOMETHING?!?!??! Hey Flash, I loved Parm's little line about Artha's head being able to fit in his helmet too. :D Parm showed emotions in that episode I haven't seen in him before! Yeah for Parm character developement! Kitt was scary in that episode! She's got one hell of a temper!

I think some parts with Moordryd were rather funny, he seemed to be taking great pleasure in being the hero for once, he probably didn't have many friends as a child :( . He seemed so shocked when Boa chose him, he must really be the kind of guy that's used to being the bad guy. When Artha took Decepshun I was a little confused to, my guess is Decepshun may have realised that something was wrong with Moordryd and decided to play along, after all Dragons are meant to care about their riders right?

Loved the Moordryd/Cain interaction at the beginning of show, loved the Moordryd/Word father/son dynamic even more. It seemed that in that episode Moordryd was faced with three choices, the power of the bonemark, the pride of his father, and the chance to be a hero. All very powerful and difficult choices, I'm interested to see where that goes.

Boa looked cooler than ever! One of my favourite parts was when Artha fell off the rooftop, I was touched! I wished Boa could have stayed looking like that :P . This episode had so many touching moments, character developement, emotion, violence (sort of), gee golly, it was a good one wasn't it?

I thought the Artha thing was too melodramatic, to be honest...it was somewhat exaggerated, and I wish Parm, Kitt and Lance had had more to do; they really didn't achieve anything in this ep. Sidekick Overload! Also, one would expect that a Destined Hero would not suffer from swelled head; after all, if you're choosing the Chosen One, you want the best possible person for the job, right? For Artha to have these major personality flaws--some acknowledged, some not--is an internal contradiction in Dragon Booster. I know it's possible to write genuinely heroic characters without making them irritating, because I've seen it done. It's a pity Artha doesn't make the grade.

Indeed it was, Claire!

Maybe Decepshun was just following Moordryd, and would have with or with out that dang hero-type on her back.

Ah Sarah?

Do you ever say any thing NICE about the Eps?

Sarah, I think that was the point of the ep, anyone can be the Dragon Booster :P as long as they have SOME good in them. Meaning if Artha really did screw up (more than being slightly irratatin) Beau may just ditch him and choose someone else.
Some of the fight scenes were really good. Beau looked awesome as half-Furox, I particularily liked his claws, that and his eyes changing red :D
The Moordryd/Word stuff was good, and gave Moordryd a very IC reason to go off playing the hero. And even though it was a bit of attention seeking for him I think he actuallly enjoyed it and I don't mean just because he was getting attention for it. I think he might have actually enjoyed helping people just a bit.
I didn't see any inconsistancy with Decepshun letting Artha ride her. When he hops on she sort of looks at him like 'um, what are you doing?' But when he tells her to follow Moordryd she seems to understand and realise he's trying to help.
And grumpy Parm was very adorable with his 'it's a wonder his helmet still fits' line.
I really enjoyed this ep, mostly because it was exciting, great action scenes, had turbo character develpment and for once they didn't bash you with the morals as much as they usually do.

And the annimation! Don't forget that, it was some of the best yet! :D

I'm afraid I wouldn't be too sure. At least in my opinion. Hopefully the DVDs will come out soon and you'll be able to see it, or maybe someone recorded it, because it's an excellent episode, my favourite anyway.

This was a good episode overall, wasn't it? Adds an interesting element to the overall story arc and Moordryd's character arc.

I had pretty much guessed that Moordryd was saving the bonemark of the Furox to use on Beau somehow. If he was planning on mutating Decepshun with it say, then he would have done it by now. The fact that so many episodes had gone by without using it meant that he was saving it for a special occasion, and there's no dragon more special than Beau.

The thing I never guessed at was that Beau would let Moordryd ride him. I'm not sure that's really consistent with everything in previous episodes though. We'll talk more about this point later. I also never would have guessed that Moordryd would ever recant and actually attempt to remove the bonemark from Beau. I found that even more surprising. Two surprises like that in one story is pretty good.

On the subject of Artha being able to ride Decepshun: the show's mythology says that the gold dragon of legend will be the only dragon that chooses its rider, which tends to imply that other dragons will accept anyone (even though that makes the situation too horse-like for my tastes). She gave Artha a questioning look when he jumped in the saddle, so I'm going to assume that she was deciding what she wanted to do right then. When the camera cut to her, she also looked surprised at what was going on: either startled a bit by the Furox or that Moordryd was leaving without her. It's possible she decided that going after them with Artha was the best thing to do at that point.

And yes, wasn't the animation great in this episode? Did you notice in the credits that there were roughly twice as many animators working on this episode than there were for "Track of Doom". It really makes a difference, doesn't it.

Well, that's interesting, isn't it? Anyonecould have been the Dragon Booster?

Then I'm sure that at least one of the young riders Connor/Mortis tested before Artha was chosen would have made a suitable Dragon Booster.

Or Artha could have temporarily lent Dragon Booster powers to any one of his friends. I mean, Kitt's supposed to be the best racer in the city--wouldn't that make her a better Dragon Booster? So why not let her try to ride Beau, and she can save the world in double-quick time? Or Parm, who would no doubt know exactly how to use all of the Dragon Booster's gadgets to their greatest efficiency? If Artha can share his powers around (which he did with Moordryd) why isn't he? (Well, because he's a rampant egoist. But it's something that could have been turned to great effect.

And what about choosing a mature Dragon Booster? Because an adult would have more skills, be ready for the responsibility and you can't tell me there are no suitable adults in Dragon City.

Lowering the bar for the qualification of Dragon Booster takes away some of the problems with Artha, but it's problematic in itself. It makes the prophecy very inefficient. (If I was an ancient voice of Destiny? I'd make the destined hero twenty-eight or so, with fighting experience, training, and all the best qualities I could think of.) Artha's personality has mucked things up before, and it'll probably continue in next week's ep ('Misjudged'). Stupid prophecy.

I mentioned at least three things I liked about this week's ep above. What are you talking about?

Maybe someone recorded it?? :blink:

I think you've underestimated how fanatical some of us can be. :D

But seriously, I want the DVDs myself so I've been keeping tabs on FUNimation's upcoming release list. They've announced their releases through the end of May at the moment and Dragon Booster isn't there yet. There's nothing in the forum on their web site either. So I'd say it's several months away at a minimum. I also don't know how they schedule the international releases.

The DVDs will definitely be worth getting if you're a fan. I was able to get hold of a promotional DVD that was sent to retailers in North America to help promote the trading card game. It contains the "Long" trailer that's on the show's official web site plus the entire episode of "The Stand". (Yeah, I wish it had been "Horn of Libris" instead myself.) As with all DVDs made from digital CGI sources, the picture quality is nothing short of stunning. And the sound is unbelievable as well. So much more bass and clarity. I get my TV channels through a digital satellite service and that doesn't come close to how good the DVD looks and sounds. I can't wait to see a good episode like "Horn of Libris" on DVD.

Actually, she already tried in episode 1 and Beau rejected her.

The criteria for being chosen isn't exactly clear to me, though I'm sure it's more than the person just having some "good" in them. I think that's just supposed to be one of several necessary ingredients. So it's necessary, but not sufficient. I think Artha's line of dialogue at that point where he says "there is some good in you" was just his astonishment that Moordryd wasn't the pure evil he had thought, not a statement that "some good" was the sole criteria for riding Beau. Otherwise, tons of people should qualify.

But for the most of it you were bashing it, AND Artha

And futher more, I'd like to see you put in Artha's position and not screw up!!!

Ah. (Missed seeing the eps before 'Fanning the Flames'.) Wonder what the criteria for Dragon Booster IS, then? It does not appear to operate according to Earth logic.

Well, no, Honour, I'm not perfect, and I'd probably make a terrible superhero. But I'm not the Destined One Of Ancient Prophecy, am I now? I'm also not the main character in a work, who is somehow the Chosen One despite numerous personality flaws, some of which are overlooked by the authors in the process of turning the character into a Canon Sue. Also, I don't have absolute power.

You have just invoked Ebert's Law (if you can't do it you have no right to criticise it, named after the famous movie critic), and thus your argument is invalid.

Also, bashing, in its typically used sense, is a form of criticism that does not use rational observation. If any of my argument is invalid, do tell me?

:unsure:

I think I oughta just back down now

OH MY GOD! I am still overly hyperactively excited about this eppie! The animation! The EXPRESSIONS on Moordryd! *Squeals* he's a villian *grabs the nearest person* That's so totally not done with villians! We're supposed to be brainwashed into believing their not even human and deserve everything they get. And the Plot bunnies! The big fat plot bunies! *hugs them all* Oh I was totally trasfixed, I was sitting in a very awkward way, I didn't even realise my leg was hurting quite a bit until the eppie finished. I was positively openmouthed all the way through! *bounces with hyeractivity* It squishes the Furox episode quite flat and replaces it as my favourite all time!

*ahem* Now back to dicussing like a relatively normal human being.

I also thought Decepshion was just following Moordryd. I was puzzled for about three seconds, but the "what the hell are YOU doing there?" look she gave Artha at first kinda aleviated that.

I don't think Beau let Moordryd ride him JUST becasue he had a little good in him. I think it was more to proove a point to both Artha AND Moordryd. If he hadn't let our favourite antagonist ride, I don't think Moordryd would have really been faced with the option of Good vs. Father vs. Pride, and Artha wouldn't have been forced to realise that maybe Moordryd's a human being after all and not just something that evolved from pond scum.
We all remember Moordryd HAD tried to ride Beau in the beginning. And he would have had the same amount of good as now- probably more, considering he wouldn't've done quite so many evil things without the Dragon Booster around.
I think Beau (having given us the huge plot bunny when using Moodryd's Black Draconium power thingy to neautilize the Grey bone dragon) Is more forethinking then Artha, and might have an inkling of Moordryd's further role in the war.

I never heard ANYWHERE that the Dragon Booster was chosen for their heroic personality. Infact, all we're given is that Beau will choose a someone to be the Dragon Booster. Not a heroic someone, not a humble someone, not even a nice someone. Just someone. And he chose Artha. Live with it. it's NO going to change, all you do is cause yourself stress and make the show less enjoyable to watch sitting there raging at an animated character. We've been here, done this, and repeating over and over won't get me to change my position on Artha, nor will it suddenly change the mind of the writers or character developers.
Artha is fundementally a good person. He shows off, but show me a sixteen year old that doesn't show off and I'll show you a very good liar. He cares about his friends. He's saved Moordryd's life three times now, although he didn't really have to, it was Moordryd's stubborness that almost got his head bitten off by the Grey bone dragon, and Artha's reaction to pulling him up from precarious cable! was pretty instinctive. Though saving him from breaking his neck and becoming a splatter on a lower level of the city was more then a bit showy, and pretty dangerous, considering there was about six inches to go before certain death. But eh, boys drive cars to fast to show off as well and weave idiotically through traffic. Hormones! *rolls eyes*

Mature Dragon Booster isn't as maelable as a young one. You can train bad habits out of young people, they grow out of them, older people (and yes, older people DO have bad habits too you know) would be much harder to train.

Moordryd on the news- Word doesn't strike me as the type to watch the news with a cup of coffee, really. And at that point, I think Moordryd was enjoying himself too throughly to even care what his father thought, I mean he was livid with him any way, it might have been revenge, he might even have overlooked it's repercussions, I know I do stupid things like that. We aren't shown what Word's reaction was anyway- he probably was ropeable, but no Moordryd to take it out on. When he rocks up with the Black and Gold dragon, I think all that anger would have pretty much dissolved in an instant.

Word's rep- I personally think, and have always thought, neither Word nor Moordryd make a big deal about their family tie. Word doesn't seem to be the type to give his son's career a boost by using his influence- he's thoroughly the "earn it yourself!" type, and Moordryd's too proud to want to rely on his Daddy for anything.
Word's a big corporate name, and seeing he owns the empire to the biggest sought after item in the city, he's pretty demi godly. That I think, to a Down city council racer would be more of a hinderance then a help. Though you might wonder at the mentality of the people who can't put two and two together and connect white hair, one eyebrow and the name "Paynn"... but on the other hand, i think it might also keep the authorities off Moordryd's back a bit too, even if it's not publicised, arresting Word Paynn's son isn't exactly a move with your own well being in mind.

The name of Paynn- yes, this took me a little while to out together myself. I don't think he's refering to it in the same sense as "Malfoy" i think Word refers to the name he himself created, the respect and the dignity he put together. i mean it's no mean effort to go from being an orphan to being one of the richest and most influencial people in the city.

My favouite part of this whole episode was Moodryd's expressions. He is THE most expressive character in the series yet. My Mum always tells me in asn exasperated voice "You never hide your light under a bushel!" Meaning I have a rather pronounced habit of broadcasting what I feel quite plainly with expression and body language- and Moordryd does the same, more then any other character too, which is exceptionally odd for a cartoon villian. In his case I'd put it down to lack of any real upbringing. He wanted his feelings known, he'd have to do it with neon signs.
I was totally knocked flat and so excited I was beaming ear to ear when Moordryd was hit with the realisation his father was actually proud of him- in the scene that followed, he went through a rather impressive array of emotional conflicts displayed simply using his eyes. if I could have squealed without making my Dad think I was a psycho, i would have. I <3<3<3 Villains treated like human beings. it's a refreshing change...

Trust me, H, it's recorded! :lol:

I really want the DVDs, especially now that I've seen the animation in 'Pride of The Hero'. Wow. :blink:

i wouldn't bet on that either, it steam rollered my Furox favourtism, it was full of plot bunnies as well

I'm willing to call a truce about Artha, what 'bout you Sarah?

I believe you're right. To the best of my memory, they consistently use the word "worthy" when describing the type of person Beau will choose. I'm confident the writers left the criteria vague for exactly why someone gets chosen on purpose so they could pull off this episode without having to do a lot of explaining. Though even so, it pushes believability quite a bit. After all, Moordryd tried to abduct Beau in episode 1 and Beau responded by mag-blasting him across the stable yard as he approached, and not once but twice. Yet this time he lets him on as he approaches. So why didn't Beau just let him on the first time? Beau's reaction to Moordryd in these two episodes seem to be at odds with each other. I might be able to accept it more easily if Moordryd had gone through a more visible change since episode 1 but I don't quite see enough of a change.

Still, it was a very pleasant surprise to see something like this happen since they almost never do things like this with characters who are supposed to be "villains."

i'm not so sure about not changing. i know he han't really changed visibly, but since Dragon Boosters been around, his father's been hacking into him quite a lot. I can't imagine Word would have found really much to yell at Moordryd about beforehand when he was just a racer. Now Word's plan is in action he's probably putting the pressue on Moordryd more and more. I think Moordryd's starting to crack a bit under the strain.

It's certainly true that Word is putting more pressure on Moordryd from episode 2 onwards. Whether that would change him enough to make him now worthy of being chosen is open to question. It would be interesting to know if Beau would have chosen Moordryd right off the bat if Connor had let him try at the top of episode 1. Personally, I'd like to believe he would have and that Beau mag-blasted Moordryd later in the episode because Moordryd was being hostile at that point.

Of course, the whole choosing thing is weird. Artha and Beau grew up together and we see them in close physical contact at the top of episode 1. Is it really possible that Beau had no idea at all that he might want to choose Artha? Or does it require a certain mind set in the person first? Early in the episode, Artha doesn't want to be chosen, so perhaps that's what prevents it from happening. After Artha saves Lance, maybe that's what changes Artha. Maybe Moordryd's mind set wasn't right either at that point in time either. He was approaching with the mind set to steal Beau, not to be his rider, as opposed to this episode where he wanted to get chosen. This seems flimsy, but it's the closest semi-plausible rationale I can think of. For a plot point as important as this I wish the writers had made the rules clear.

In any event, I'm fairly certain the writers are going to stop at having two Dragon Boosters since I don't think they'll want to clutter up the storyline with a multitude of riders for Beau. I'm also certain that Moordryd being chosen by Beau is going to turn up again in a future episode.

An interesting side question is whether Beau would ever let Moordryd on again. After all, he let him on this time and Moordryd immediately betrayed him and put the bonemark on him. Then again, since Beau apparently forgave Moordryd for trying to steal him (and using the energy draining whip on him in episode 2) it seems likely he'll forgive him again.

True, Moordryd was going after Beau on his father's orders in Eppie one, rather then his own reasons- let's conveiniantly forget he's actually trying to impress his father at this point, though on second thoughts, that might also be in his favour, he's not actually blindly obeying Daddy, but trying desperately to gain approval which is striving for a form of love and affection, unusual for a villain ne? 'For hells sake Dad, LOVE ME for a change, damnit!' I'm guessing Beau would see that. He definately saw SOMETHING, he was all ready to throw him off. (Artha "don't Mag him too far boy..." Beau *wicked chuckle*)

I think Beau knew exactly who he wanted, he was just waiting for Artha to stop being childish and all anti Dragon racer and just accept his fate.

I really don't think Beau was even implying moordryd could be the Dragon Booster, I mean for one his draconium influence is wrong, even his secondary influences don't.... *sudden thought* it's pretty obvious that Artha, Kitt, Lance, parm and Moordryd are the representatives of the five main Draconium colours... I was wondering about the minor colours- it just hit me, I need to check it out... the secondary colour influences... *runs off to check*
Back on track. His influence doesn't match- I still think Beau just did it to proove a point to both of them, the furox wasn't what he had in mind (or was it? Beau just stood there when Moodryd was wavign it around...)

I think Beau actually might let Moordryd on him again. Althoguh he'll remember being tricked, he should also remember Moordryd WAS infact, going to remove it again of his own free will...

Ah! Checked the site and i WAS right- between them, Artha, Kitt, Parm, Lance and Moordryd each have one of the five major colours as their own and between them cover all the rest of the colours too in their secondary influences. Now isn't THAT interesting...

Way mucho coincidence. Bet they'll end up merging 'em all in the end.

I noticed that, too. It appeared as if Beau had never considered Moordryd as a rider before. Beau looks surprised when Artha suggests that Moordryd try and then as you said appears to be ready to mag-toss him off immediately. But then he definitely sees something in Moordryd and lets him on. I'm going to assume that the "something" is the real potential to be a hero, but in a more substantial way that 99.9% of the people wouldn't have.

I think it might be something like that, too. In episode 1, Artha complains that Beau and the other dragons at the stable as always hanging around him, so they're apparently drawn to him.

Interesting. I hadn't thought of it that way. You could be right about that. I had assumed that Beau allowing Moordryd on meant that he was equally worthy as Artha for being the Dragon Booster, even to the point where Artha could hand the armband and amulet to Moordryd and he could use them. (Wouldn't that make for an interesting future episode.) After all, there's nothing in prophecy that says there can only be one person who's worthy of being chosen. So if this is all true, then Artha was chosen because he was the first worthy person to step up to the plate, not because he was the only worthy person or destined to be the "one" or anything. I personally find that more satisfying than if Artha was chosen because of destiny or his DNA or something.

But I think your point is equally valid. It will be interesting to see what happens in season 2. I'm really hoping that this episode is here to put events in motion and that what we've seen will come up and make a difference in the storyline.

I picked up on that as well. I think Moordryd making the attempt to remove the bone mark is supposed to be a validation that he does have hero potential. Despite a life time of negative influence from Word, he still does the right thing which seems to validate Beau's choosing him. Trying to remove a bone mark that's mag-locked to a rather angry dragon, by hand no less, is a fairly heroic move to make. Plus Moordryd was able to overcome the influence of the Furox on his own as well. I think that says a lot about his character.

I tend to think Beau will allow Moordryd to ride him again as well. All signs are that dragons are incredibly forgiving. Not only has Beau apparently forgiven Moordyrd for trying to steal him, but he's forgiven Artha repeatedly as well.

Oh, and one more comment on the cool animation in this episode: I think Beau looked seriously cool when he had the Furox in him and I liked that pulsating glow coming off him. But even cooler was they added a lighting effect so that when the camera was on Artha say, you could see the glow reflected in Artha's face and on the armor. This is where CG really shines as this is so easy to do. If this were hand drawn cel animation that effect would have been so painful and time consuming they wouldn't even consider doing it. The art style of this show really impresses me.

Did anyone else pick up on this line of dialogue:

Does anyone else besides me think that the last phrase there is foreshadowing what will actually happen later in the series? That Moordryd will turn against Word, and while he may not completely switch sides and join with Artha, he may team with Artha when convenient for him to oppose Word?

Episode trivia: in case not everyone looks at things written in Draconian, the TV news show that Moordryd appears on is called "DRAGS" which is obviously a reference to the real show "Cops".

That's been predicted before in one form or another on this board, hasn't it?

For the record, I'm sure Moordryd will help the heroes at some point and probably merge his draconium influence with them at least once thereby helping the war, though I doubt he'll be completely redeemed and end as their new best friend. (He hasn't got the right genitalia to be RedeemedByTrooLove, too.) Then again, I'd really like to see him acting out of enlightened self-interest rather than idealism, which would be faithful with his character as thus far shown.

I was wondering what that word said. Thanks. :)

Yep, we've talked about it here already. This was just the first time I came across a line of actual dialogue making reference to it, which I think makes it a more substantial clue than what we saw in "Horn of Libris" say.

My thinking of what will happen is along the same lines as what you said. I tend to think Moordryd will go his own direction with his own agenda instead of joining forces with the heroes (that just doesn't seem like him). At varying times he may either oppose Artha or be an ally depending upon what best serves his agenda at that point in time. Or at least, that's what I'd like to see since I think it adds an interesting complication to the overall story.

Yup. :) Complication is interesting, and we can't expect all characters to be complete unselfish idealists. Characters with some sort of selfish aim in mind tend to be quite well-developed, too. It's human nature, really.

I'm not sure how much of his father's fist Moordryd WILL be able to shake off, his father's good impression appears to be Moordryd's driving force- his moods are based on it, and the level of effort seems to be as well.
He gained both the Furox AND the black and gold dragon in differing episodes because of his father's scorn. (One wonders how far he could go if he tapped into that determination all by himself...) And as this episode prooves, even if Word totally diswned him, he's more likely to do anything to get back into his good books rather then fight against him

I do agree with you though. It's pretty obvious he'll end up helping the Dragon Booster in some way- of his own free will too. But I'm just curious as to why he'd betray his father...

Interesting idea Sarah- in what way are they selfish? Each character has an overwhelming streak of some form of greed. Artha's seems to be recognition (I assume that's from his history as a stable boy) Parm's is acknowledgement, for all his gadgets and ideas, and his own role, Kitts for companionship, Furox eppie case point, Lance for equality, he appares to hate being calle d akid, and Moordryd, strangest of all, is love- although being male he'd probably be terrified of the idea, it's pretty blinding he just wants a father who actually gives a damn if he lives or dies. I wonder if that's supposed to work into their colours and such? It's deliberate,you can't design a character with flaws like those accidentally.

It's just that I find self-interest to be a far more realistic and convincing motivation than any other. Makes life more interesting.

I think you're right about Artha wanting recognition, though I think there's a little inconsistency there. He was a stableboy, but if he wanted to he could have been a racer before Beau chose him, because he already knew martial arts, his father trained riders, and he must have had some basic skill before Beau chose him, right? I think it's more that he's drunk on power at the moment.

I think Parm's more driven by enthusiasm for knowledge itself, though he could certainly do with more approval from his friends. He's such a shallow character, though; I think on the whole he's happy with the role of Walking Plot Device. He doesn't have any qualities that aren't standard for the brainy character (unlike Hermione, our bossy little overachiever).

I don't see Kitt as being that hungry for companionship. She doesn't try to impress her friends in the least; while she's helpful towards them, she doesn't tone down the 'witty' remarks. She also hasn't tried to join a crew (come on, if she's the best racer in the city, I think she could've applied to Pyrrah before if she'd really wanted to), so I think she doesn't crave companionship especially. I actually don't think she has any driving passion. She should, of course, love racing, but she seems happy enough to let Artha win and help him. Maybe it's a sign that she has a crush on him and that's the passion, but she doesn't act 'moonstruck' around him in general. I suppose in her own way she's as much of a plot device as Parm: she's there to be useful on occasion and be the LoveInterest, but like Parm she doesn't have much of a life outside of Artha.

Lance wanting equality? Yeah, he doesn't want to be treated like a kid all the time. But sometimes--"You do realise I'm only ten, right"--he can acknowledge this. Seems like a fairly well-adjusted kid, to me. Preternaturally knowledgable and nauseatingly cute, but doesn't seem to have any faults, annoyingly enough.

Actually, I've just realised that I don't think any of the HeroicGang have defining passions beyond those directly related to the "save-the-world" thing. Not even their personalities show that much deviation beyond the cliche. Contrast Harry Potter, where Ron (Kitt) hates being poor and wants fame, Hermione (Parm) wants to be the best, and Harry (Artha) just wants to be left alone. None of these directly help save the world (in contrast to Kitt's dragon-racing skills, Parm's enthusiasm for fixing stuff, and Artha's quest for glory), but they make for more well-developed characters, I think.

I also don't think that any of the HeroicGang are being set up to be selfish; they're spending a lot of time saving the world, after all, and even if I think Artha's mostly in it for the glory, none of them are doing it out of anything other than idealism, friendship, and other qualities that make me feel vaguely nauseous. Parm's flaw is his overenthusiasm for knowledge; Kitt's is a quick temper and mouth; Lance is a child sometimes; and Artha gets a new one every episode, typical--and boring--flaws for the character type, but none of these really cause serious harm--I think Artha's the main one used to teach Moral Lessons. So I don't think the HeroicGang are intended by the authors to be selfish.

I think you're right about Moordryd, though. The boy just wants approval from his father.

To a certain extent, I think the bone colours could have the flaws built into them. Red is a colour that's obviously intended for the fast and overemotional. Green, though, is for stolidly-built dragons respecting "strength", but that doesn't fit Parm's quick mind. Khatah's flaw is closed-mindedness, which fits the "discipline" of Blue, but that doesn't really fit Lance. Black's power is to intimidate opponents by mental control, and I suppose that could fit into "we really want love from someone we're NOT controlling", but I'd go more with Black's standard weakness being one of the Standard Weaknesses Of Evil, such as overambition, overconfidence, or not killing the hero straight off. (Boring, I know, but so far I think black draconium influence is like the Slytherin equivalent of Dragon Booster.) Oh yeah, and gold is sparkly, so maybe excessive glory-seeking and other immature behaviour is the fault for Dragon Boosters.

Shall we talk about story structure?

The roles the characters play in this episode are different than usual and I found that kind of interesting. One of things I encountered in the books I mentioned over in the story structure thread was that characters can change roles and even swap around during the course of a single story. This is something I had never really noticed until I read about it and I thought is was interesting since it's yet another way to add variety to a story. Here's my take on how this episode fits the mythic hero story structure:

The race sequence at the beginning represents the Ordinary World which continues up until Moordryd meets with Word. Word's criticism is the Call to Adventure which this time is given to Moordryd, who for this episode, is the main hero instead of the villain. Some might say he's an anti-hero, but I think he deserves hero billing since he's taking a hero's journey in this story. His journey is to prove himself to his father, but along the way he learns something about himself. In any event, Moordryd wouldn't have taken the next step and there wouldn't have been a story without Word having chewed him out, so that's a pretty clear Call to Adventure.

Moordryd never refuses the Call in this story but Cain cautions him about what he's doing. I've noticed this in other stories, too. When the hero doesn't refuse the Call, usually some other character will express the doubt or caution for him/her. It's another example of how characters can swap roles and that it doesn't always have to be the hero who's the main focus in each stage. This happens in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Indiana Jones never refuses the Call to go after the ark but his friend Marcus Brody warns him of the dangers. The Refusal of the Call is supposed to serve two main purposes: just about everyone has doubt when they're about to undertake something new and so this stage helps the audience identify with the hero. It also serves as a dramatic function to signal to the audience of the dangers ahead, so even if the hero doesn't refuse, the dramatic function seems to help set things up. In "Raiders of the Lost Ark" it's an early clue that the ark could be something dangerous and seems to add a little something to the mood.

Artha is kind of a secondary hero in this story. I haven't been able to decide whether Artha technically gets his own Call to Adventure when he sees Moordryd helping fight the wraith dragons which triggers suspicion in him. It seems to be a Call since Artha responds to it and heads down a path he wouldn't have otherwise taken. But it could also be argued that he's just responding as an enemy to Moordryd as part of stage 6. I could go either way on this.

Artha seems to have the main Supreme Ordeal in this story when he loses Beau to his worst enemy. But it's also kind of interesting how things go back and forth and overlap between Artha and Moordryd at this point. The Reward stage begins when Moordryd finds out Word might actually be proud of him. This knowledge enables him to overcome the influence of the Furox and he takes the first step on the Road Back by trying to remove the bone mark. But the Furox, who appears to be the main villain in this story since it's a force to be defeated, blocks the road. Stage 11 completes when Artha makes his emotional plea to Beau. Artha is Resurrected with a little more humility and wisdom than he had before, Moordryd is Resurrected as well with the knowledge that he could be a hero as well, and Beau is Resurrected when he's able to overcome the Furox as well (and perhaps fighting off the influence of the Furox was his own Supreme Ordeal). The Return with Elixir is Artha returning home with both Beau and some new wisdom.

That's my interpretation for what it's worth. I just thought it was interesting to see how a character who's usually the villain can also be made the hero and how character roles can flip-flop around at various stages in the story. As I said, I don't claim to be an expert on this, so I'm sure other interpretations can be made. If you have a different one, post it and let's see.

Oh, I think I agree with your analysis, though I think you've had to stretch some things quite a bit in order to make the Hero's Journey structure fit. I think "Pride of the Hero" might even be taken as proof positive that not all stories will fit the pattern. Of course, this episode was still well-structured--orientation, complication, climax, conclusion (though Moordryd didn't get a 'last word', unforunately enough)--and it had character development, which makes it good. The Hero's Journey structure will fit many stories, but the point is not to make a story fit.

I think this episode could be better taken as a smaller part of Artha's journey, another experience on the hero's road--where, in this case, he confronts inner demons (his own faults), learns that Moordryd isn't as bad as he thought, and, of course, plot development occurs. Good episode, but it will need follow-up. Moordryd hasn't had his Supreme Ordeal yet--he's only up to an early stage in his adventure.

This episode is also an important part of Moordryd's Heroic Journey, but not the whole thing. He's had the ordinary world in the early episodes, and been called to adventure by his father; as his resentment shows, he's resisting the call. Cain, I think, would be the primary mentor figure for him. In this episode, his becoming a hero around town would be the first threshold (as you said, he is also Called to it in the context of this episode). His testing would be his action in restoring Beau to himself. The glance of understanding he shared with Artha signals his approach to the Inmost Cave, in my opinion: it marks the beginning of a more introspective Moordryd, who probably will make future choices that won't necessarily fit his father's plans. I would say that his Supreme Ordeal would be whatever choice he has to make in a future episode in order to join Artha and friends; the Reward will be some trust and redemption; the Road Back will be the attempt to save the world; Resurrection will involve that battle; and Moordryd's Return will be after the dust has cleared and everything's over.

I'm going on the assumption that Moordryd's Black Draconium Influence will be required to save the world, of course. I also think Cain is a possible candidate, but so far Moordryd has had far more screentime and this episode has shown us his potential. His character arc's not finished yet!

I agree that I stretched things. I imagine my postings might come across as if I'm trying to rigidly apply the stages. I actually just find it a fun exercise to look at the structure and the 12 stages just provides a framework to go by. I particularly like Vogler's book because it helps me see things in the story I wouldn't have otherwise noticed for what they were. It gives me a better appreciation for what's going on.

The way I see the show is that each episode is its own story going through the stages in some fashion. And then there's the larger story formed by putting them all together which has it's own set of stages. So I agree with you that this episode is just a piece of Moordryd's Journey and not the whole thing. The thing that I find interesting is that the overall story can have multiple interacting pieces. So for example, Artha's having his Journey at the same time Moordryd is having his own. I find the extra depth this adds really appealing, especially since there aren't very many shows that try to do this across multiple episodes.

Interesting that you should mention Cain as a mentor for Moordryd. I was trying to decide for myself if he fit that role or is just an ally to Moordryd. It will be interesting to see if they develop his character further as the series goes on.