What I really love about The Dragon Prince is that Callum isn’t fully blood-related to Ezran or Harrow. They could’ve made Callum all angsty about being a “Step-Prince” and have him be all “We’re not real brothers / You’re not my dad”, then have him slowly grow into the role of a good brother to Ezran. Instead, he is a good brother right off the bat, and there is so much love in their bond.
Sure, Callum and Ezran share the same mother, but oftentimes in fiction,the term “half-brothers” is viewed as “Not really brothers”. But here, for these two? That trope doesn’t apply.
In the second episode, when Rayla tells Callum that she must kill Ezran to complete her mission…
Callum was willing to die in order to protect his little brother. Like, did not hesitate to put himself in Ezran’s place.
He was going to dive into a frozen lake to save Ezran. And when he didn’t resurface, Callum was horrified that he lost his baby brother.
There has never been any doubt that Callum cares for and loves Ezran very much.
Then there’s Callum’s relationship with King Harrow.
Now, it’s established that it was hard for Callum to call Harrow his father. Not because he didn’t believe it to be true, not because there is no love between them, but because he felt he didn’t deserve to refer to the king by such an endearing word.
Callum has a lot of respect for King Harrow. He’s afraid that he would be stepping out of line by calling him “Dad”, so he plays it safe and addresses him the way anyone else would: As a King.
He says “I’m his stepson.” Not, “He’s not my father.” I feel like there’s a difference between these two phrases. By saying “I’m his stepson”, it’s basically telling us that Callum feels he’s not fit to call the king his father, no matter how much Harrow acts as one toward him.
But this isn’t due to how the king treats him. Harrow is never cold or closed-off around Callum, and he’s never made him feel like he wasn’t part of the family.
From Harrow’s perspective, there is no denying that Callum is his son, and he loves him very much.
And Ezran is right. Harrow would want Callum to call him “Dad”. But only if he wanted to. He would never force the boy into doing so if he wasn’t okay with it. The tension between Harrow and Callum is not due to a lack of devotion, but out of respect for each other’s boundaries.
But in the end, there is nothing but love, affection, and just… a strong familial bond between all three of them. Callum may not be blood-related to Harrow, he may only be Ezran’s half-brother, but that does not mean he isn’t family. He is given so much love by his father and his brother, and he gives that same love back to both of them.
TLDR: The Dragon Prince establishes one of the most important lessons in life: Family isn’t defined by blood. It’s defined by love.
