Dragons: The Nine Realms - Magma Breather (S2E2)
Tom has to keep his mom, Olivia, distracted while Jun, Alex, and D’Angelo use a new dragon to close off a cave leading to the Crystal Realm, and prevent her from discovering the dragons.
| Runtime (min) | 23 |
|---|---|
| TMDB Rating | 9.0 (2 votes) |
| Air Date | 2022-05-05 |
| Genres | Animation, Action & Adventure |
| TV Rating | TV-Y7-FV |
| Network(s) | Hulu, Peacock |
Storyline
Tom faces a challenging balancing act when his mother Olivia's curiosity threatens to expose the secret world of dragons hidden beneath the surface. While Tom works to keep Olivia occupied and away from the dangerous truth, his friends Jun, Alex, and D'Angelo embark on a critical mission involving a newly discovered dragon species. Their goal is to seal off a cave entrance that leads directly to the Crystal Realm, the hidden sanctuary where the dragons live.
The episode centers on the tension between protecting the dragons and maintaining the secrecy that keeps both worlds safe. Tom must think quickly and creatively to distract his scientist mother, whose professional instincts make her naturally inquisitive about unusual activity in the area. Meanwhile, his friends race against time to complete their task with the magma-breathing dragon before Olivia stumbles upon evidence of the dragons' existence. The dual storylines converge as the team navigates the risks of discovery while working to preserve the delicate boundary between the human world and the hidden realm of dragons.
What kids learn
This episode teaches children about the importance of teamwork and trust when facing difficult situations. Tom must rely on his friends to handle a critical task while he manages his own challenging responsibility, demonstrating how dividing roles according to each person's strengths can help a group succeed. Children see that sometimes helping others means taking on an unglamorous or stressful job so teammates can focus on what they do best.
The story also explores the complexity of keeping secrets, particularly when those secrets protect others. Tom isn't lying to his mother out of disrespect or selfishness—he's protecting both her safety and the dragons' hidden world. Young viewers can consider the difference between harmful deception and protective confidentiality, understanding that some secrets serve a greater good. The episode shows that this kind of secret-keeping can be stressful and morally complicated, not simple or easy.
Additionally, children learn about quick thinking and adaptability under pressure. Tom must improvise ways to keep his mother distracted without arousing suspicion, while his friends must work with an unfamiliar dragon species to accomplish an urgent goal. The episode reinforces that solving problems often requires creativity, flexibility, and staying calm when circumstances don't go as planned.
Parents' top 5 questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is it appropriate that Tom lies to his mother in this episode? | Tom's situation is presented as morally complex rather than simple dishonesty. He's not deceiving his mother for personal gain but to protect both her and the dragons from danger. The episode shows this weighing on him, illustrating that even well-intentioned secrets create stress and ethical tension. This provides an opportunity to discuss with children when protecting others might require withholding information, while emphasizing that honesty with parents is generally the right path in everyday situations. |
| What kind of danger or scary content appears in this episode? | The episode involves the urgency of sealing a cave before discovery occurs, and working with a magma-breathing dragon introduces some visual intensity with fire and heat elements. However, the show maintains its family-friendly tone with adventure-based tension rather than graphic or frightening content. The stakes are more about the risk of exposure and the challenge of completing the mission than physical peril, making it suitable for the target age group. |
| Does Tom's mother discover the dragons by the end? | The episode focuses on the team's efforts to prevent Olivia from discovering the dragons' existence. The tension revolves around whether Tom can successfully distract her while his friends complete their mission. Without spoiling the resolution, the episode maintains the ongoing series premise that the dragons remain a secret from most adults, which is central to the show's continuing storyline and the challenges the young protagonists face. |
| What does this episode teach about friendship and responsibility? | The episode demonstrates how true friendship involves trusting others to handle important tasks even when you can't be there to help directly. Tom must have faith in Jun, Alex, and D'Angelo to succeed with the cave mission while he manages his own difficult responsibility. Children see that being a good friend sometimes means taking on the hard job that allows others to accomplish something critical, and that reliable teamwork requires everyone to follow through on their commitments. |
| Is the magma-breathing dragon portrayed as dangerous or friendly? | The magma-breathing dragon is presented as a tool the kids must learn to work with rather than as a villain or immediate threat. Like other dragons in the series, it has unique abilities that can be helpful when understood and respected. The episode shows the children learning to collaborate with this new dragon species to accomplish their goal, reinforcing the show's theme that dragons are powerful creatures requiring knowledge, respect, and careful handling rather than simple fear or aggression. |
Writing
Directing
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Moving to an exotic new home, an adventurous teenager meets a new group of kids and discovers a dragon in the fissure. |
| 1 | 2 | Tom forges a friendship with the dragon and discovers an entire world of dragons within the fissure. |
| 1 | 3 | Tom and Jun encounter unexpected dangers and are separated while exploring the Hidden Realm of dragons. Tom introduces Jun to the dragon world, and Jun bonds with a dragon of her own – Wu and Wei. |
| 1 | 4 | Tom and Jun take a risk in revealing the secret of the Hidden Realm to D’Angelo to aid an injured dragon, and D’Angelo bonds with Plowhorn. |
| 1 | 5 | Tom and the others debate how to keep the dragons a secret, even as a rambunctious young “cloaking” dragon gets loose in town and pursues a friendship with a Alex. |
| 1 | 6 | Tom and the Riders try to save ICARIS when it's revealed to be in danger from a monstrous dragon. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Jun breaks the rules by sneaking a small, adorable dragon out of the Crystal Realm and bringing it home, but finds that her older brother, Eugene, has arrived and watches her every move. |
| 2 | 2 | Tom has to keep his mom, Olivia, distracted while Jun, Alex, and D’Angelo use a new dragon to close off a cave leading to the Crystal Realm, and prevent her from discovering the dragons. |
| 2 | 3 | When Feather is taken by a group of what appear to be zombie dragons, Alex finds her inner hero and rescues her friend. |
| 2 | 4 | Tom and Thunder train a new species of aggressive tidal dragons to help the other riders put out a forest fire threatening ICARIS. |
| 2 | 5 | Tom and D’Angelo must come together to help Alex and Jun escape the clutches of the Spiderwings. |
| 2 | 6 | Tom and the riders go in search of Thunder and must face a gauntlet of dangerous dragons to find their lost friend. Along the way, Tom reveals his big secret to D’Angelo and Alex. |
| 2 | 7 | Tom and the riders help Thunder, who is seeking revenge against the dragons that chased off his family. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Tom hatches an unorthodox plan to use a Monstrous Nightmare to test Alex's new fire suit, endangering the secret of dragons. |
| 3 | 2 | After a fight with her mom, Jun joins Tom on an adventure into the Fire Realm, where her knowledge of myths saves the day. |
| 3 | 3 | When a tiny Fireworm dragon ends up at ICARIS, Alex must decide between her mom's excitement and keeping the dragon secret. |
| 3 | 4 | During an attempt to get displaced Fire Gronckles back to their native realm, D'Angelo accidentally feeds them Catastrophic Quaken eggs. |
| 3 | 5 | Eugene discovers the Lair and demands a dragon of his own. |
| 3 | 6 | The dragon riders must sneak a very sick Magma Breather into the ICARIS infirmary. |
| 3 | 7 | The Sky Torcher and Flame Throwers invade the Crystal Realm; Tom must conquer his demons and bond with the Fault Ripper to defeat the Sky Torcher. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | Tom and the riders discover the Ice Realm and find Buzzsaw inside. |
| 4 | 2 | Alex and Eugene find themselves at odds with Tom and their fellow dragon riders when Feathers and Webmaster go missing during a blizzard in the Ice Realm. |
| 4 | 3 | Jun struggles to convince Tom to trust her faith in myths over the Book of Dragons when they venture to a place that his book seems to say is extremely dangerous. |
| 4 | 4 | Tom’s leadership abilities come into question by Eugene when his decisions lead to failure while attempting to confront Buzzsaw. |
| 4 | 5 | Tom and Thunder discover a baby Nightlight and must bring him back to Thunder’s home realm. |
| 4 | 6 | When Thunder’s clan of fellow Nightlights is attacked by the Snow Wraith, Tom vows to rescue them. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | While punished, Tom must sneak out to rescue the Riders from Buzzsaw. |
| 5 | 2 | Tom orchestrates a “safe” tour of the realms to convince Olivia that the Hidden World is safe for them to explore. |
| 5 | 3 | A mischievous new breed of dragons called Vine Tails steal the Book of Dragons. |
| 5 | 4 | Tom and the riders must work together to rescue Eugene from a dragon’s nest. |
| 5 | 5 | Tom must rescue Olivia from the Hidden World when she winds up getting herself frozen by a pack of hungry Speed Stingers. |
| 5 | 6 | When a deep freeze puts the lives of everyone in Rakke Town in jeopardy, the riders must attempt to use the dragons to get the humans through the night without being seen. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | Tom struggles under the pressure of being the new ‘Dragon Whisperer’ for Rakke Town; Thunder rises to the occasion to help him. |
| 6 | 2 | When the parents leave for the night and tell the riders not to bring the dragons to the surface while they’re gone, D’Angelo and Eugene get locked in the hangar (with the dragons!) after Eugene triggers a security lockdown. |
| 6 | 3 | Jun forms an unlikely connection with Sledkin. |
| 6 | 4 | Eugene’s bond with Webmaster is put to the test when Webmaster leaves the group for a pack of Deathgrippers. |
| 6 | 5 | Tom sets out to prove Sledkin caused an explosion that injured a dragon in the Hidden World. |
| 6 | 6 | When the dragons fall victim to Buzzsaw’s poison darts, D struggles to keep a cool head and find a cure while others panic. |
| 6 | 7 | Tom and the riders “borrow” the bathysphere to rescue a dragon from the depths of the Giant Realm Sea. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | When Phil threatens to shut down D’Angelo’s new dragon hospital and ban dragons from ICARIS, D’Angelo and a little Hobgobbler have to change his mind. |
| 7 | 2 | While Tom struggles with admitting his feelings for Jun, the pair find themselves trapped inside a giant tree with an anxious colony of Woodchipper dragons. |
| 7 | 3 | Thunder must wrangle and lead the Hero Dragons in a desperate attempt to save Tom and the riders from a dangerous new dragon, The Glass Caster. |
| 7 | 4 | When Jun does a Tarot reading for the team, she interprets its meaning to be that the riders will disband! In an effort to defy this fate, Jun forces the group to stick together as they search for a dragon that has breached the Rakke Town eel barrier. |
| 7 | 5 | With the dragon riders disbanded, Eugene attempts to start his own Dragon Club. |
| 7 | 6 | When Thunder accidentally fries Alex’s tablet, Alex goes off on her own and is captured by Buzzsaw. |
| 7 | 7 | Tom and the riders must finally overcome their differences and come together as a team to survive the Dark Realm. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | Tom attempts to defeat the World Serpent by emulating Hiccup. |
| 8 | 2 | Tom and the dragon riders foster displaced Hidden Realm dragons in Rakke Town but things get complicated when Mr. Rakke makes a surprise visit. |
| 8 | 3 | The Dragon riders enlist the aid of Carla and Hazel and their scientific knowledge to help them prepare for a mission to neutralize Jörmungandr so they can return him to his chamber and seal him back inside. |
| 8 | 4 | Tom and the riders must rescue Plowhorn from Sledkin when the villain abducts the dragon to help her find the Gods Realm and the Dragonsite jewel. |
| 8 | 5 | Tom’s overconfidence turns to frustration then despair as he struggles to procure the ingredients for Gronckle Iron in hopes of building a trap to stop the World Serpent. |
| 8 | 6 | After a major miscalculation by Tom in 225 leaves the fate of the Realms in jeopardy, Jun and the riders rally behind Tom and Thunder to face off against the World Serpent. |
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