After seasons 1 and 2 saw princes Rupert and Amir go from being enemies to reluctant allies to lovers to fiancés, all the while saving their realm from evil magical creatures, Gimlet Media and Spotify’s fantasy adventure podcast The Two Princes is back for season 3, and this time it’s a musical! Released on October 20th, this third season is all about the wedding we’ve been waiting for since season 1!
In The Two Princes season 1, we followed Rupert (Noah Galvin) and Amir (Ari’el Stachel), who are two princes from rival kingdoms, as they went on a quest to save their respective kingdoms from a mysterious curse and fell in love along the way. After already having their wedding interrupted once in season 2 when a wicked sorceress named Malkia invaded their realm and snatched all of Amir’s memories, this time around Rupert and Amir are determined to get married, and they will stop at nothing. But with the sudden appearance of a mysterious prince who keeps flirting with Rupert, half of their kingdom’s population vanishing into thin air, and the literal end of the world standing right on their doorstep, will Amir and Rupert get their happily ever after after all?
Just like the past seasons, season 3 also closely resembles the tried and true Disney-esque fairytale formula. However, while the storylines in the first two seasons were simple and predictable, this time the stakes are raised higher than ever, and the plot is a lot more suspenseful and intense. Although the pacing was almost too fast to keep track of the narrative at first, it slowed down a bit about halfway through, and ultimately the plotlines all blended into an ending that felt very fitting and fulfilling. In fact, season 3 was definitely more engaging than the previous two seasons both plot-wise and character-wise, and it was absolutely my favourite season so far!
As for the musical numbers, each episode consists of about two of them, and even though most of the songs managed to be very catchy, I’ll admit to my personal favourite being In Just Three Days, closely followed by My Story Starts With You. Get Over It by Madi Masden (who plays Lady Cecily) is one of those songs you just can’t get out of your head, and Stachel’s solo version of Good Guys Finish First is a wonderfully touching song I’ll be listening to on repeat for a long time to come.
The Two Princes season three comprises a delightful, mostly queer cast of characters. Rupert and Amir were insanely adorable together as always, and Rupert’s character arc in particular felt very satisfying. All the voice actors have done an incredible job this time around as well; I’m completely in awe of the way all of them managed to channel every single emotion so acutely only through their voices. The sound effects were also remarkable once again, which is a true feat considering they put together the entire thing during quarantine.
All that being said, I did have a few issues with this third season. First and foremost of them being the fact that we got to spend very little time with Amir. There were a few instances when I felt like Amir got pushed in the back in favour of Rupert getting the superior character arc. Plus, the sheer number of characters did seem overwhelming at times, and I do wish the narrative had taken more time to focus on and develop the primary characters, instead of bringing back some old, inconsequential characters from the previous seasons (like Joan’s father, who’s always been a jerk) and allotting a lot of undeserved screen time to them.
Overall, The Two Princes season 3 was certainly not perfect, but it was charming and sweet all the same. I binge-listened to the whole thing, and you should consider doing the same if you’re looking for a story you can just sit back and enjoy, and that leaves you feeling joyous and content at the end. What with the world we’re living in right now, The Two Princes might be just the thing you need to step away from the news cycle for a few hours.
