Season 6, Episode 8 of the Netflix series The Dragon Prince, titled “We All Fall Down,” is directed by George Samilski and penned by show creators Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond. The episode is the darkest The Dragon Prince has presented thus far, focusing on Sol Regem burning down Katolis’ castle and this attack leading to many deaths. However, the violence and blood shown during the massacre were not that dark and bloody compared to how Daenerys Targaryen burned Kingslanding in Season 8 of Game of Thrones.
Sol Regem attacks Katolis
Sol Regem (Adrian Hough), under Aaravos’ (Erik Dellums) manipulation, attacks the castle of Katolis. The rain of fire on the castle below causes chaos and mayhem. The castle soldiers and the crownsguard evacuate the citizens and those who could not fight. The rest of the soldiers prepared the ballistas and the archers did their work. They fire their arrows and ballista shots at Sol Regem, which have success as the Archdragon of the Sun becomes fatally injured but continues to wreak havoc on the castle.
This event should be embarrassing for Sol Regem as he thinks he is burning Queen Janai and her army when in reality, he is burning the castle of Katolis. Aaravos, in Pharos’ body, then directs the Archdragon to burn the castle bridge so that no one can escape. It may seem weird Aaravos is not letting the people escape the castle if he wishes for the Pearl to be far from his enemies’ hands. However, this is another form of manipulation that will be explained later. Aaravos then continues to press the attack with Sol Regem as his puppet.
Viren’s Sacrifice
Sol Regem’s attack continues and the death toll is unknown. Additionally, the attack has damaged the castle greatly and it does not seem as if the soldiers of Katolis can kill the Archdragon. Soren (Jesse Inocalla) realised this and ordered his soldiers to evacuate everyone from the city. The people must be kept safe from the dragon raining fire above. However, the fires surround the castle and there is no escape for the soldiers and the people still inside. As a result, Soren has to resort to asking for help from the person who he would least expect: Viren (Jason Simpson).
Soren asks his father for help but Viren states he cannot defeat a dragon. Soren then asks if Viren can instead use the dark magic spell he used at Lux Aurea which turned Viren’s human army into magma entities, making them immune to fire: Hearts of Cinder. Viren says he can’t perform hearts of cinder as he had a primal stone (the Sun Staff). The spell would require a human heart. Soren volunteers to sacrifice himself but Viren relents and decides to sacrifice his own life for the people of Katolis.
Viren uses a dagger to carve a rune on his chest where his heart is closest. He then reaches Ezran’s bedroom and heads towards the balcony where he begins reciting the Hearts of Cinder ritual. The process is painful but Viren uses the last of his strength to save the lives of everyone in Katolis by making them immune to fire, turning them into temporary fire entities. Soren feels the magic flow into him and orders everyone to escape the castle and leave Katolis as the fire cannot hurt them at the moment. Viren slowly dies, his final words citing that he is a servant of Katolis, showing how humble he’s become in his self-reflecting odyssey from the events of Seasons 4-6. The servant quote is also a reference to how Harrow refers to Viren as a servant of Katolis as is everyone who leads the kingdom. Soren takes one look at where his father fell and sorrowfully mourns his father’s death.
Sol Regem’s Death
Following the conflict, Sol Regem is dying from his battle wounds at the Valley of Graves. The valley is where the worthy monarchs of Katolis are buried. The Archdragon of the Sun waits for his coming death until confronted by Aaravos in Pharos’ body. Aaravos mocks Sol Regem for being an unwitting servant to his cause. In other words, Aaravos had manipulated Sol Regem for centuries as he did today. Sol Regem turns away embarrassed for being an unwitting pawn, but Aaravos calmly and angrily wants the Archdragon to face him and calls Sol Regem by his real name: Anak Araw. From this revelation, likely, the names of Sol Regem (Archdragon of the Sun), Luna Tenebris (Archdragon of the Moon), Rex Igneous (Archdragon of the Earth), and Domina Profundis (Archdragon of the Ocean) are not the real names of the archdragons, but merely names given when they ascended as archdragons.
Angry, Sol Regem realises he is helpless to stop the Fallen Star. Nevertheless, Aaravos continues to taunt Sol Regem by offering him a “reward,” the mercy of truth. Aaravos promises the dying Sol Regem some mercy by offering him closure on the fate of his beloved mate who disappeared, the mystery that has haunted the Archdragon for a thousand years. Sol Regem is eager to know the truth and asks what happened to Aithne Solaire. It seems that Aithne Solaire may be the real name of Luna Tenebris, considering how the Archdragon of the Moon also went missing. However, this may not be the case as Aithne Solaire seems more like a name that belongs to a sun dragon rather than a moon dragon.
However, Aaravos warns that the line between mercy and cruelty can be thin. The reason is that Sol Regem, in his fury, accidentally killed his beloved mate. From what Aaravos detailed, it is possible that this happened when Sol Regem, blinded by Ziard’s fire magic, burned the city of Elarion thousands of years ago. Since Aaravos was there defending the humans and fighting Sol Regem, Aithne Solaire might have joined to help stop her husband’s madness but was burned, killed, and buried beneath the rubble of the ruined city. The Fallen Star might have seen this and likely kept this secret hidden to torment Sol Regem the day he died. However, this revelation does not seem shocking or impactful, as Luna Tenebris was the only dragon referenced to have gone missing with an unknown fate. Aithne Solaire was never mentioned or referenced as if there is a missing storyline left unwritten.
Sol Regem becomes mournful in grief and sadness at what he did. Aaravos laughs in amusement, angering the Archdragon to bite and devour the Fallen Star’s vessel (Pharos) but chokes on the body. The Fallen Star gleefully tells Anak Araw to choke on his pride and arrogance. Sol Regem tries to burn Pharos’ body in his throat to free himself of choking, but it is too late. The Sun King dies most pathetically. After his death, the fire in Sol Regem’s body cremates the former Archdragon until there is nothing left but a skeleton lying at the Valley of Graves.
Like the Curse of Harrenhal, it’s almost as if the position of Dragon King or Dragon Queen is cursed: Sol Regem became blinded and later choked to death, Luna Tenebris went missing, Avizandum was literally petrified to death, and Zubeia almost died from a dark magic infection. However, this curse stems from Aaravos’ manipulations as he – like the timeblind and the startouch elves – can see different potential futures. Aaravos’ gift of foresight as a startouch elf likely allowed him to see multiple futures and find a way to reach an outcome of his desire. It may be why he allowed events, such as Viren’s death, to happen so that he could cause certain events and future pawns to manifest, serving his own goals and desires.
Claudia Mourns Her Father’s Death
Hours later at night, Claudia (Racquel Belmonte) and Terry (Benjamin Callins) arrive at the worst time ever in Katolis. It is surprising how none of the two encountered anyone evacuating the capital city. Maybe they took a different route? Claudia is confused about why the castle is burning and in ruins, which makes her infinitely worried about her father. She runs and is followed by Terry. Claudia finds her father’s corpse and mourns his death until Aaravos calls her. Claudia follows the voice and finds the real Pearl under the rubble.
Lujanne helps Callum and Rayla
At the Moon Nexus, Callum (Jack DeSena) and Rayla (Paula Burrows) meet with the Moon Mage Lujanne (Ellie King), their old friend and part-time teacher of sorts. The duo needs Lujanne’s help as Rayla’s parents are trapped in cursed coins and they can use the three quasar diamonds in the Corona of the Heavens to help. However, Lujanne notices one of the diamonds looks strange and fake. She takes the fake diamond and blows the illusion away, turning into a normal purple gem. This horrifies Rayla as she can only save two of her three loved ones. She has to choose between her parents and Runaan.
Aaravos Directs Claudia
Aaravos directs Claudia and Terry to the Valley of the Graves where they find the scorching skeleton of Sol Regem. From there, Claudia buries her father at the Valley of Graves as an unmarked grave. The irony is the Valley of Graves is meant for deceased Katolis’ leaders who have shown heroism, wisdom, bravery, and kindness. Viren died somewhat as a hero for one day but it is fitting that Viren’s grave is unmarked as only Soren, Claudia, Terry, and a few others know Viren’s sacrifice. Aaravos comforts Claudia despite being the one responsible for his death which is twisted and sick.
Despite this, Aaravos asks Claudia if she is willing to help him repay the debt she owes him for helping to resurrect Viren a month ago. Terry is angry at Aaravos’ insistence and pleads to let his girlfriend have room to grieve since her father died. Claudia calms her boyfriend and tells him it is fine since she needs to repay Aaravos for his past help anyway.
Aaravos needs to be resurrected, so he guides Claudia to perform the resurrection spell (Amor Stella Vitae), a rare form of star magic. However, the star spell requires six simple components: Blood brings the power of the ocean to create a body. A feather brings the essence of the sky, giving breath. A bone marshalls the power of the Moon to pull life from death. Roots tether the body to this world, through the energy of Earth. A flame sparks the magic of the Sun, awakening life. And to connect the lost spirit, a quasar diamond, that holds the power of the Stars, is needed. The quasar diamond is a gemstone made of pure stardust. Only three exist in Xadia while the rest can only be obtained if one travels to the heavens (space). Claudia is troubled about where they can find a quasar diamond, and Aaravos levitates the Relic Staff revealing that its purple gem is a quasar diamond in disguise. Later, Claudia performs the star resurrection ritual to free Aaravos and give him a physical form, but the spell fails.
Rating: 9/10