I’ve seen the term “prodigal son” used in other ways before, but it’s pretty much always “the prodigal son returns”. I’ve tried to Google it before and that has only confused me more honestly.
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One minor point about the word meaning here. I’ve seen sources that treat “prodigal” as meaning “one who leaves,” since that’s what the prodigal son does in the parable. (E.g., in the Sandman comic, one of the Endless has left and is only referred to as The Prodigal for a while.)
In the original parable, though, the son left and then spent his money wastefully. It’s that wastefulness that earned him the descriptor “prodigal.” Per that original meaning, it shouldn’t be applied to someone who just leaves, but that’s language change for you.
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