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atalana · 5 years

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Callum, Dark Magic, and The Meaning of Strength

Okay, so... season 2 gave us a lot to think about. And then I had a huge conversation with a friend about it, which made me think even more.

I wanna start this by talking about dark magic, where exactly it comes from, and why it affected Callum the way it did. Because while it might be normal for a dark magic novice to find a spell like that draining, it turning into a full on illness that would have killed him is not standard practice.

Now dark magic isn't technically magic. Not in the traditional sense, anyway, which is why the Xadians don't see it as magic. And they've got good reason. Using primal magic is about connecting with the universe, it's a give and take thing, and to use primal magic you have to trust and respect the elements around you. When you have a good relationship with the source of your magic, it will work for you, because it's a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Dark magic, on the other hand, is essentially necromancy. It's trading in the lives of other beings to gain power for yourself. And the universe isn't gonna let you just do that. Not without consequences. If primal magic is an exchange of trust between you and the universe, dark magic is you standing with your boot on its neck demanding it works for you. And the universe is gonna fight back against that. So you need the mental strength and defences to keep it under control.

Claudia said that using dark magic without proper training is dangerous. And she trained with Viren, she'd know why. Because there's no balance to dark magic, and therefore, no limit. Once you make that connection with dark magic, you're chaining yourself to a starving lion. And either you learn to dominate it, or it eats away at you until you die.

When you train dark magic properly, you'd learn this slowly. The smaller the spell the smaller the threat, and you can learn to build up your mental defences without risking the magic winning. And the more practiced you get, the easier it is to take more and more from the universe (but also the more it takes from you, hence the whole dark magic zombie appearance).

But then we have Callum. And Callum approaches dark magic like it's primal magic, which is a very dangerous thing to do.

There's a few different things that made Callum super vulnerable here.

First, he expected the same give and take trusting relationship as with primal magic, which dark magic doesn't have.

Second, his mental defenses were at an all time low, because he'd spent most of the season trying to remove them in order to connect with primal magic (in a trusting relationship, you can't spend the whole time with your guard up, or it won't work).

And third, he was afraid of dark magic, and you can't hold something hostage when you're afraid of it, it'll lash out and you'll lose.

So Callum goes in trying to copy what Claudia did (and points to him, he does have a photographic memory, so casting the spell itself wasn't actually a problem, which is I'm sure why he thought he'd be fine). He succeeds in casting it, because his technique was fine, but he doesn't have anything in place to protect himself, so instead of forcing the universe to take the power out of the bug, it takes the power out of him. And then, without Callum forcing it to stop, it just keeps going, draining him for everything he's got.

The first part of his mindscape is that battle with the magic. It's worth noting at this point that a decision either way would have kept Callum from dying, he just had to be sure about it. Reject the magic completely, and it loses its hold over you. Accept the responsibility of it, and you learn to control it (which will eventually turn you into someone like Viren). But Callum chose the former (despite being tempted by the latter), which is very telling of who he is as a person.

It's no coincidence that Callum's psychological journey this season went hand in hand with his magical progression. And the key to that is in what Harrow told him about strength.

Harrow starts off by talking about the traditional idea of strength. You know, your stereotypical masculine ideal - show no feelings, be in control at all times, be physically strong, slay a dragon, etc etc. He talks about how this is what you're taught true strength is, which is true in his world and ours. This is what's constantly equated to strength in the stories we're told, the lessons we're taught, that strong people suffer in silence, that strong people carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, that strong people are strong enough to survive life on their own, and emotions and vulnerability are weaknesses. This is usually also equated with physical strength, these are the ass-kicking heroes we're supposed to look up to.

And this is the kind of strength required for dark magic. If you want to control your magic, you need to control your own mind, show no weaknesses that could be exploited, it's a fight for your life that you have to be sure of winning.

It's no coincidence also then that dark magic is the traditional tool of the humans, because of course it is. It is all the ideals we're taught to strive for - power without limit, controlling those around you, relying on no one but yourself.

And throughout the series, this is something Callum's failed at. He's not a fighter in the traditional sense, he's not physically strong, he's shitty in a sword fight, and he's so empathetic and caring. And he beats himself up for that, because he believes those are the traits that make him useless - not surprising, given how he's been raised to view those as the only important traits, especially for a prince and not a regent. He's royalty, and that's a title that has a lot of weight to it, but he's not of royal blood, he'll never be the king, which puts him at a disadvantage right off the bat. He's constantly trying to prove himself, and he hasn't found the way to do that yet, because as far as he's concerned, his only strength is art, which isn't a 'real' strength. Feeling useless is the whole reason he turns to dark magic, which feeds again into that parallel.

But then Harrow says what is in my opinion the most important lesson in the series, and I love him so much for saying it - that isn't real strength.

Real strength isn't about how much power you have, how much you can control, or how guarded you can be. Real strength is in trusting others, in staying vulnerable, in the quiet moments that look like weakness to people who perpetuate the physical strength ideal. (And honestly as someone who struggled with this idea a lot as a teenager and eventually overcame it, I know Harrow's right, but I so rarely hear it said in media).

This is the kind of strength needed for primal magic. The strength to look at a vast, terrifying universe, and ask it for help. And that's a hard thing to do. Callum even comments on how surprisingly easy dark magic was, because that kind of thinking is very easy to slip into. It's easy to try and gain power, it's easy to have walls up. It's hard to put your trust in something so completely, not knowing what the outcome will be. But that's where the strength part comes in.

Harrow is present in Callum's mindscape to remind him of this, when dark!Callum is doing its best to convince him that dark magic (and all it entails) are the only way. It's the human tradition! It's the only way humans can survive in this world! It makes you powerful and useful and no one will be able to control you!

Everything Callum's heard his whole life, in one form or another, everything our media tells us constantly.

Harrow reminds Callum that he is in charge of his own life. He is free of the harmful traditions of the past, he forges his own way. And Callum says no. No, I decide who I wanna be.

Choosing to keep your vulnerability in a world trying to take it from you isn't a weakness. It's the strongest choice of all.

And it's knowing that and deciding that that frees Callum from the dark magic. It doesn't grant him instant access to primal magic, or there wouldn't be any point - true strength is not an easy journey, and there's always a chance you'll fail. But it puts him in the best position to try. And by accepting Sarai's help, he manages it.

Harrow wanted his sons to forge a new path, to be free of expectation and not defined by what came before. And Callum's done that. (Ezran is also doing that, in his own ways, I think, though there was more of a focus on Callum this season). They're moving towards a new future, a one where humans can learn primal magic, not just dark, and one where creativity, kindness, and patience are seen as the strengths they are, not as things holding you back.

(As a side note, I've seen a lot of theories around of Callum being a half elf, but I gotta say, I really hope that isn't true, because it runs so counter to everything this season was saying. Yes, Callum is the first human we know to do primal magic, and a lot of that is on his own merit, but he never would have learned had he not had the opportunities and guidance that he did. Very few humans can even do dark magic, we've only seen Viren and Claudia do it so far, and primal magic is hugely out of reach for the majority of people. Villads is a good example, he understands the sky arcanum, but wouldn't have considered using it for magic, because magic's not a part of his world. And those who would have the knowledge and motivation to learn magic are the people who already have power and resources, who believe in the wrong kind of strength, who wouldn't be able to understand an arcanum even if they did know what one was. Which means they're therefore much more likely to see dark magic as the only, or possibly the superior, option.

Callum may never be king, but he will stand alongside Ezran as they lead their people into a new age, and he'll be the one teaching them magic - turning what was once an impossibility into an opportunity, and hopefully mending the original rift between humans and Xadians.)

#tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #callum #prince callum #tdp s2 #dragon prince season 2 #tdp callum #i would like to put in a readmore bc this gets loooong but you cant do that on mobile apparently #anyway have my thoughts on this season #im so proud of this boy and so grateful to this show for existing #words

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