Janai leaves another permanent mark on Amaya’s shield. The two gear up to face each other, aware of the stakes (as Janai is smart enough to have put a stop to Amaya’s plan). Janai throws down the rope (again, almost as a sort of taunt) while Amaya steels herself to make a sacrifice to fix what Janai has now severed, too. In her bid to cut off the Breach as a connective thread, to sever elves and humans from each other even more permanently, Amaya finds herself encountering Janai. It was only a matter of time before they would collide, properly. Something tense and a little exciting, a sort of thrill or intrigue, if not again, that sort of matched energy, that binds them together. This personal sort of vibe isn’t exactly negative (despite being enemies), nor is it positive, but there’s something. And not just because Janai permanently marks Amaya’s armour.

I’ve commented on it before, but the best way I can think to describe the fight scene in 2x04 with its highs and lows, Janai chasing after Amaya on the roof, is personal. (These two are going to love sparring together.) We know that Amaya has a good sense of humour and has a softer side, so seeing this possibly reflected in a future partner who will be able to understand both the warrior, leader, and the playful sides is invaluable. This is their fight, and their ability to match wits.Īmaya’s cheerful confidence comes out, as well as her slight playfulness that we’ve seen in more serious fights before.īut when Janai matches her, she returns it too as an equal taunt, proving that while she is a serious and talented warrior, Janai has a smug and playful side too. This time, it’s clear that whether 2x01 was their first meeting or not, it’s gotten personal, with them chasing after each other and engaging one another on one-on-one. Janai pulls off a scheme, Amaya is almost duped but suspicious and figures it out, and the battle ensues. 2x04Ģx01 demonstrated that they match each other physically as fighters (the long held trope of homoeroticism on the battlefield as rivals - particularly in plays like Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus” help matters along too) but 2x04 adds to both of them, particularly in foreshadowing Janai as a future partner. But what follows is almost even more important. The ambiguity of their first on screen meeting is also rather fun - given their positions, it’s likely they’ve run into each other before - or is this somehow a first encounter? Either is bracing and great fic fodder.Īs an introduction to the season and their dynamic, and to Janai as a character, it’s a fantastic start. The fact that they’re military equals, opponents, sword and shield, is a lovely foundation for what they’ll become. It emphasizes the threat of the border, Janai’s fighting skill, and that “Aunt Amaya says she never encountered a Sunfire elf who could best her in battle - until she met Janai,” (Callum’s Spellbook) indeed. Janai poses a challenge and in some ways sends Amaya running. Amaya is a force to be reckoned with and deals with the other Sunfire elves easily and efficiently. We’ve never seen Amaya lose a fight before, whether in countering Viren’s quick remarks or in the way she decimates Rayla at the Banther Lodge, even though Runaan himself states that Rayla may be the quickest and fastest of all their troupes. The other half of the equation, quite literally, is Janai, with one of the most striking and beautiful character designs in the show (which is saying something - and my personal favourite) and wielding a weapon we’ve only gotten a hint of its true potential. It’s fun and exciting to see a location we’ve only had alluded to, mostly, and to see Amaya in her day job. Season two opens with a bang, and so much of it is owed to the amazing fight scene with Amaya and the Sunfire elves at the Breach.

This is particularly impressive given how few of their scenes include dialogue, with the majority of their dynamic resting on being unspoken - but not unsaid, or misunderstood.ĪKA I’ve had a vague idea for Janaya meta in my head for over a year now, and what better time to finally get it out than JanaiWeek? So let’s dive in, episode by episode, without further ado. It is astonishing how many of their scenes are overloaded, working over time to get you on board (if sword wielding lesbians wasn’t enough at face value).

Janai and Amaya are proof of the age old saying of quality over quantity, which is to say: for a ship with understandably limited time to develop, they are exceedingly well paced and well done with a steady progression and an intriguing, emotionally investing dynamic.

Dragon prince amaya