"We all want peace and we all want love, but violence tests us."
Rayla returns and the Dragon Queen's visit is underway, but neither event go as hoped. Meanwhile, Claudia's infiltration of the Storm Spire is not without its obstacles.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Surprisingly enough Soren's dragon puns are able to get a laugh out of Queen Zubeia.
- Almost Dead Guy: Ibis is impaled, but manages to drag himself to the top of the Spire and cast a spell with his quite literal last breath.
- Blood from the Mouth: It's subtle but Ibis has blood coming from his mouth after getting impaled.
- By the Hair: When Claudia is about to kill him with a dagger, Ibis grabs her braid and yanks, leading her to redirect the knife into her own thigh.
- Call-Back: Ibis dragging himself to the top of the Storm Spire to send a message to Zubeia before he dies is quite similar to Runaan's actions in Moonrise.
- Combat Breakdown: Ibis and Claudia go from shooting magic to trying to choke and stab each other. By the end, Ibis is limping and Claudia can barely walk.
- Comforting Comforter: After watching and talking to sleeping Callum, Rayla places a cushion behind his back for support.
- Comical Nap Drool: Callum is drooling in his sleep which Rayla affectionately comments on.
- Converse with the Unconscious: After Callum dozes off, Rayla admits to his sleeping form that he was the best thing she ever had, and that she now realizes that in leaving she needlessly risked their relationship.
- Costume Evolution: Rayla has discarded her sleeveless green and black assassin attire, and now wears a dark purple layered outfit, with blue trousers and a single shoulder pad. Rayla has also styled her hair into a Prim and Proper Bun.
- Don't Explain the Joke: Soren can't help but explain his "dragon scales" joke to Queen Zubeia. She tells him that she got it the first time around.
- Family-Unfriendly Violence: Ibis is graphically impaled through the abdomen, with Blood from the Mouth shown as well.
- Godzilla Threshold: As Ibis says, he's usually averse to killing, but knowing that Claudia's aim is to bring back Aaravos has him willing to use lethal force to stop her.
- Hidden Depths: Corvus plays the cello, and invented a piece called "Love and Loss".
- Ironic Juxtaposition: Ezran's speech about love, loss, and anger is set against Ibis and Claudia's duel, which ends in Ibis deciding to kill Claudia to prevent Aaravos' escape and Terry killing him to save Claudia.
- Karma Houdini: The vandal who damaged the painting, meant to be gifted to Zubeia, is never caught or even identified.
- MacGuffin Melee: When Claudia and Ibis fight over Viren's staff.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Terry is horrified at having fatally wounded Ibis to save Claudia.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: When the vandalized painting is discovered, Soren angrily demands that if anybody has a problem with the Dragon Queen, they should say so to her real face... that can bite them in half. At which point he clearly realizes exactly why somebody be afraid to do that.
- Rousing Speech: When Ezran discovers that someone vandalized the painting of Zubeia, he gives a speech acknowledging his peoples' hurt and anger and empathizing with them over the loss of his own parents, then imploring them to hold pain and love in their hearts together and help create peace so that their children do not suffer as they have.
- Scaled Up: Claudia uses a spell to turn her lower half into a long snake tail.
- Sleep Cute: Stella sleeping on top of Bait.
- Sssssnake Talk: After getting Scaled Up, Claudia speaks this way, albeit subtly.
- Stepford Smiler: Both Ezran and Zubeia were hiding the pain they felt over the loss of their families to focus on the hope that relations between the human kingdoms and Xadia will improve. The vandalized painting forced Ezran to admit that there is still a lot of pain held by people on both sides and trying to pretend it doesn't exist does everyone a disservice leading to the Rousing Speech above.
- Thwarted Coup de Grâce: Terry impales Ibis while the latter prepares a spell to finish off Claudia.
- Tough Room: Soren's standup comedy doesn't elicit any reaction in his audience.
- Treasure Room: Claudia finds Viren's staff in a treasure room at the top of the Stormspire.
