Dota: Dragon's Blood Book 3 debuts on Netflix on Aug. 11, 2022.
Dragon’s Blood is Valve and Studio Mir’s attempt at presenting a more coherent version of the Dota franchise’s tangle of lore, and for the most part, Book 3 does a good job wrapping up the mess left behind from Book 2 — and Book 2 sure was a mess. If you missed it (you’ll need to watch it before jumping into this one, of course), it seemed like two seasons jammed into one with uneven pacing, questionable writing, and lackluster animation. Book 3, thankfully, echoes Book 1 instead, with its charming characters and some spectacular animation. Ultimately, though, what could be the final season of Dragon's Blood is mired by its overly ambitious attempts at mixing several core themes and new ideas with limited time. But if you managed to stick through Book 2, this installment has exciting moments that almost make up for some of its unevenness.
In Dragon's Blood Book 3, heroes Mirana, Davion, Luna, and their allies are forced to fully join Invoker and Terrorblade's fight for control of the universe. The fallout of those events carries the rest of the season.
Unfortunately though, Book 3 is forced to begin by picking up the pieces of the season before it. If it weren't already obvious that Book 2 would have been better as two separate seasons, the first two episodes of Book 3 seem like they would have been a more fitting finale rather than a premiere. The events of the first two episodes are clearly split from the rest of the season in a significant way as they culminate in a major event. That being said, they are an exciting way to start the season, even if it appears that big moments for side characters were rushed to move the overarching plot forward. I felt this especially with Bram’s storyline, which is a shame since he’s such a fun character.
Book 3 does find better pacing in the events following Episode 2. We won’t spoil the specifics, but those details make for a satisfying turn for the show. This season also sees the culmination of its major themes come to a head; fate, destiny, choice, trust, devotion, and madness. It's a lot, and unfortunately, the final exploration of these matters ends up a bit muddled by the end due to some conflicting actions. There is some great character introspection in questioning many of these themes, at least.
The most compelling of the characters was, surprisingly, one who had very little screen time up until this season. This is partially because their motivations saw all their development in Book 3 rather than being rushed through in Book 1 or 2 like the rest of the cast. It was a tad disappointing to see a few characters that were once rather important quickly disappear without much of a satisfying explanation, which I assume is once again because of time constraints. There was also one important new character whose situation was incredibly important to this season yet whose reason for being was a quick sidenote that wasn’t explained well.
I do also wish there was more time to further delve into character abilities and motivations. Dota 2 has many heroes with complex magic and powers and even more twisted connections to the lore Studio Mir is adapting. They tap into all of this, some of which is brilliantly put on display in this seemingly final season. However, without much context for some of these individuals, motivations can be confusing and certain power spikes feel too convenient. I’m sure anyone watching who isn’t familiar with Dota 2 is just going to have to shrug at a number of these occurrences. This isn’t to say we need a character narrating Dota 2 skill tooltips to get an understanding, but instead seeing certain less-explored characters have a moment or two to show who they are and what they could do would have been helpful.
Dragon's Blood still has a penchant for gratuitous f-bombs and the occasional odd transition (plus some awkward CG here and there, but that’s not uncommon in animation these days), but it’s still better than the bulk of what we saw in Book 2. The script is especially more consistent this season. Fymryn isn’t nonsensically asking what a murderous dragon chasing her and Davion is doing when it's obviously intending to eat them, for example. Instead, in Book 3, Fymryn is fittingly introspective and astute.
The best of this show, though, is the return of consistent and sometimes impressive animation. Characters are deeply expressive when they need to be and finer details return to scenes again. Something as simple as water from melting snow dripping off a freshly hung coat may seem unexciting, but it’s a great example of how the environment in Book 3 comes alive. Fight scenes, especially in the penultimate episode, are really where Studio Mir’s animators pop off. If the story isn’t what grabs you, at least stay for the excellent fights.
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/dAKPFGi
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