Warning: This article contains spoilers for Dragon Goes House-Hunting, Episode 4, “A Cold Home,” now streaming on Funimation.
The advantage of living in an RPG fantasy is that you can find fairytale-like places anywhere, and some of which might turn out to be unexpectedly cozy. In a clear nod to Jonah and the Whale and Pinocchio, Episode 4 of Dragon Goes House-Hunting finds Letty visiting a whale’s stomach -- and it might just be the best home yet.
Letty and Dearia go up north for some peace and quiet after Episode 3’s dungeon debacle. The North has long been home to the Yetis who build igloos out of snow and live very cheaply in the wild. The downside though, is that Letty has to learn to survive on his own, so Dearia leaves him alone for a trial period to see if he’s suited to the lifestyle.
Being a pampered dragon all his life, Letty has a hard time capturing any food -- actually, his prey chase him down, causing him to get hypothermia and pass out. When Letty regains consciousness and finds an egg by the ocean, he almost eats it, before remembering that he was kicked out of his home because of egg thieves. Letty refuses to do the same and instead decides to help the egg find its parents. But Letty’s heroic resolve doesn't last long as he's soon stranded on a piece of ice in the middle of the ocean, which is then swallowed by a giant whale.
To Letty’s surprise, the whale’s stomach is not a horrible death trap, but actually the cozy of Davy Jones aka "Ghost of Jonah." Davy Jones is a hospitable host and kindly lets Letty stay with him in the whale. Jones’ home, has everything one needs for comfortable living, from amenities to furniture -- mostly because the whale occasionally swallows well-equipped ships, meaning there's always plenty of supplies.
The whale also comes with its own air conditioning, since its inner temperature is always the same. There is even a washing machine that uses vibration from the whale’s crying to clean clothes, and the whale’s breathing hole is basically a dryer. Jones uses the whale’s body fat for lamps and cooking the tons of raw fish it often swallows. On top of all the amenities, no Heroes will ever find it, so it’s a perfectly safe space for any timid dragon.
But Letty’s kind nature keeps him from staying in the whale’s stomach for too long, because he’s still determined to return the egg to its parents. Davy Jones helps Letty escape the whale through its blowhole using a huge amount of pepper to induce a sneeze, but Letty seems to have forgotten that he’s still stranded on the ocean and has no way of getting back on land.
Fortunately, Dearia has kept an eye on Letty and goes to rescue him, but not before testing Letty one last time by transforming into an extremely cute seal. Letty still can’t bring himself to eat the seal which lets Dearia know that he’s not cut out for wild living, so they probably have to continue house-hunting.
Before Letty can find the egg’s parents, it hatches and a baby bird pops out, immediately imprinting on Letty and calling him “papa.” Thus begins Letty’s journey as a single parent, making it more important than ever that he finds a house far from any Heroes.
