With Season 5 of TDP now out…I want to share my findings (the last one was found by a friend) with proof that Aaravos is meant to be “complicated”, not “evil” Still a long-game villain, but not evil like Zubeia claims and that the heroes believe and like the show seems to be trying to ignore or forget…until the final episode maybe.
In order of which these interviews and tweets were found:
If this ends up not being the case, or not being something we see until season 6 or even the final season…well, this is my evidence for why I hoped otherwise. Multiple times in interviews Aaravos was called complicated and/or something positive by one or both of the creators. So, it’s what I hope and expect to see in season 6 or something.
Bonus:
Someone very important to him is mentioned to be on the map of one of the novel versions of the seasons. This at least shows he actually might not be a boring “looks down his nose at others no matter how they treat him first” and apathetic kind of villain…
No matter what the show does to either scrap these decisions or redo them, I am going to continue to write him how they described here in my work. Except not as a villain because he isn’t in a situation that he would have that role on this blog.
How I write him: A complicated person with a very complicated history and motivation, and someone that is not truly evil or heartless as he’s been said to be by people in his world. That’s the angle of this blog and if you don’t like it, this is the warning and invitation to move on.
—
Sources:
Weirdly enough the interviews and QnA’s from the first three screenshots are missing. Probably taken down either by request of the show (no proof so I’m just speculating) or they took it down for other reasons maybe. But here is the link to the second Forbes article, which includes a video version of the full interview:
Wonderstorm co-founders Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond discuss Season 4 of 'The Dragon Prince' on Netflix. Time-jumps, complex villains, wi
View it before it’s gone if you’re a fellow TDP fan that watched up to season 4 because you wanted to see what the co-creator meant by ‘complicated, not evil’ and ‘matter of perspective’
Maybe season 6 will finally give us the full story, being the season named “Star” after that arcanum…but I’m getting tired of being led on like this. I would guess a lot of you are too.
At least the one episode he was in (the last episode), he was his usual self. Still sassy and teasing, with an ominous undertone given the situation and everything.
Aaravos, Leola, and the Entire History of Human Magic
ALL RIGHT, BUCKLE THE FUCK UP:
So after my "Leola and Laurelion might be the same person" crazy, I was looking shit up to write a post about alternately Laurelion possibly being Aaravos, as in Laurelion was the immortal Aaravos, and Aaravos is the fallen Laurelion, because of this:
White as the star's heart it pierced, as in "Novablade is white, and the star's heart was also white."
Who... had the white heart of a star...
... and now... doesn't?
hmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
However, the problem with this is that Aaravos at least appears to go from powered/heart-ed version:
To de-powered, heart...less? version:
...when he's imprisoned. At least, according to the way Zubeia tells it.
Meanwhile, in Ripples, we see what is presumably Aaravos's actual "fall," as the "Fallen Star"—a literal descent from the heavens. This occurs long, long before the events of Aaravos's imprisonment, before dark magic, before Elarion.
I'll note that part of what I'm taking into account here is a note from the artbook on Aaravos's designs:
As a "fallen" Startouch elf, Aaravos can only access a fraction of his former power.
So it seems like the assumption to make would be that Aaravos lost his powers and status when he was cast from the heavens, which is also where I would assume Laurelion dies and Aaravos is "born" if the Laurelion/Aaravos as the same being dichotomy was in play. Then why is his heart not blackened until he's imprisoned?
One possibility is that his empowered appearance is an illusion he's maintaining—another manipulation, that's dropped when he's imprisoned.
Another possibility is this is all bullshit, and everything is as generally assumed before: when Aaravos was imprisoned, the majority of his power was somehow stripped.
Leaving that aside for a moment, let's take a look at the order of operations here, historically.
Humanity looks to the stars to save them, but the stars do not respond:
— Patience
At some point, humanity is granted some kind of blessing from the heavens, long before humans built cities and became powerful:
— Patience
ALSO at some point, humanity is granted the power of primal magic. By tradition this was from the unicorns, in particular Leola:
— Tales of Xadia
However, this magic is forbidden them:
— Ripples
Aaravos is cast from the heavens in a calamity that creates the Sea of the Castout—again, long before dark magic:
— Ripples
Further, in the retelling of this story, Aaravos notes that the stars apparently were satisfied with the results of casting him out. It scarred the land, and frightened the humans—and their claim on primal magic—into submission:
— Ripples
I'll add another note from the artbook here on Aaravos's design:
Some designs had a strong, authoritative vibe that suited other Startouch elves, but not our "fallen star."
Finally, let's look at this again:
Aaravos, obviously, on his knees and in despair. A feminine-appearing elf who is almost certainly another Startouch elf, by the horn shape and the design of the crown on her brow.
I've seen at least one person cast this as a rendition of Aaravos's punishment, in that she represents the other stars and gestures as if to say "behold how far our brother has fallen."
But y'all. Y'ALL. Please.
We have seen this gesture FAR too many times for it to be something else, at this point. This is mercy, and love, and the passing of a torch.
So, let me clean this up into what I think happened:
The stars are largely absent gods, indifferent to the fate of humans and interested in only their design/prophecy of the world.
Leola, another Startouch elf (or else we're gonna stretch the definition of "unicorn" pretty far), takes pity on humanity and grants them the secret of primal magic.
Leola is somehow punished for this transgression. If Laurelion is Leola, she is killed. (The Celestial elves, in this case, are the guardians of the stars' order and power in Xadia. They are the last line of defense against this sort of thing.)
Aaravos, who loved Leola, either speaks on her behalf or otherwise rebels against the order of the stars. Aaravos is cast out. If Laurelion is Aaravos, he is robbed of his heart and his power.
"Leola's Last Wish" is to continue to be a guide to humanity, through the darkness.
Aaravos, meanwhile, fucking loses his mind and decides to burn down everything. He will destroy everything the stars put in place in all of Xadia, and he will leverage humans to do it.
Aaravos begins to spin up dark magic, and when the time is right, gifts it to humanity as the inciting action of his plan to tear all of Xadia apart. More on that here.
ADDENDUM: Chatting with @raayllum immediately after writing this and they raised the possibility of Leola being Aaravos’s mother, given the parallel to Sarai in the statue, and YES that makes so much sense. Particularly regarding the star-child constellation, him adopting her crown, and why he might be punished along with her.
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