PLOT A: "Dragons vs. Farm Animals"
Despite all of the dragons vs. Vikings
problems being a thing of the recent past and everyone’s finally able to get
along with their reptilian counter-parts, the Vikings “forgot to tell the
animals”. So now, the animals are scared of Dragons…so scared that they’re not
providing the necessary provisions for the upcoming “devastating winter” the
lies ahead.
So this plot is definitely not
something we all thought of off the top of our heads (admit it), so I’ll
definitely give it points for originality and surprisingly good usage of a realistic
plot device. I think the sole reason this problem works without being weird is
because of the huge set up it got in “How to Start a Dragon Academy”. In the
first episode everyone was storing food for the freeze, and even though the
dragons—at the end—were helping them restock the inventory that the dragons ate…they
still don’t have enough to last them the winter, and it doesn’t help that the
animals producing milk and eggs, which are huge provisions for making just
about everything, aren’t doing their jobs.
I actually really liked that they made
it because the animals are afraid of the dragons that they’re not laying eggs
or producing milk, but this episode’s “pesky dragon” plotline ultimately
suffered the same thing that “How to Start a Dragon Academy” did: the solution
was iffy probably because the problem lacked pazazz in the first place. But, not in the sense that it was rushed. Unlike the first episode,
this one did take a longer amount of time actually showing the teens trying out
different techniques to help the animals out, but it was the “dragons natural instincts”
that threw it off for me.
They put a little too much emphasis on it, I think, and it was all very…random, cause that was pretty well established in the movie to begin with. It just wen't backwards for the whole forward movement the movie made, so...that really brought the episode down. Like, a lot.
If they would’ve shown a slower
development of the dragons coming to protect the farm animals gradually over
the course of the episode, I would’ve been--maybe--a little better about this plot (maybe), but it kind of just…happened
at the end with Toothless saving the baby sheep (which I admit, was very
adorable) and then this fuels the trust of the rest of the animals.
Still, the premise of this plot is
very realistic and overall, well thought out in structure…just completely off on the
solution and the overall moral. We all know dragons protect their riders, that's not a big *gasp* moment.
Also…a Gronckle’s wings are tiny…so
how does it block the snow with its wings? (Just saying.)
PLOT B: "It’s Hiccup’s responsibility
(again)"
With the dragons scaring the animals into not
making food Stoick’s too busy figuring out how to protect the village during
the storm to take care of the dragons, so now it’s up to Hiccup to show the
farm animals that dragons aren’t scary.
Oh, Hiccup, never will an episode go
by where you’re not forced to take care of a problem that’s too big for you to
handle alone. Luckily you have 17 more episodes this season to get it right, so
take your time.
Normally, I’d be sick of the routine
of ‘there’s a problem, Hiccup’s got to fix it’ but these are actually pretty
well done, mainly because they all have a different motivation behind them. In
this episode, Hiccup was dealing with dragon-related problems rather than
finding Gobber a job like he was in the previous episode, so he was a little
more confident like he was in episode 1. But “shockingly” the problem is more
than he bargained for. So what’s a Hiccup to do? Well, he really doesn’t solve
the problem this time around, the dragons kind of got their own “natural
instinct” thing that takes care of the problem for him. So, he gets a break.
Still, it’s obvious that Hiccup takes
the weight of the world on his shoulders when it comes to keeping the dragons
under wraps. His defeated expression in the Training Ring when sheep are being
burned and flung everywhere shows just how invested he is, as well as when he
offered to stay behind and keep working even though the storm was already
coming in.
But I think what makes this “Hiccup
solves a problem” plot resonate more with me then the others is the line he
delivers when his father finds him in the snow and he tells Stoick with a crack
in his voice “I’m sorry I let you down”. That really touched me, because not
only is Hiccup’s need to be the one who solves dragon-related problems because
he doesn’t want to feel useless anymore, but also because he’s still trying to
prove himself to his father.
I wonder what Hiccup’s motivation to
solve next week’s problem will be?
PLOT C: "Awkward Romance (Hiccup and
Astrid)"
Hiccup and Astrid are still good friends after
the events of the movie, but find themselves rather awkward around each other
when he comes to romantic matters.
Ah, yes…we were all wondering when
this one was going to come to a boil. There have been little hints in the first
two episodes that Hiccup has remained the closest to Astrid out of all the
teens after the events of the movie, but we never got any real evidence that
they were dating. I think this episode finally buries that debate.
No, they’re not dating. Yet.
I (being a Hiccup/Astrid shipper
myself) don’t mind. I like that the writers/developers are taking their time to
ensure that these two have a stable friendship before putting them in a serious
romantic relationship. And they have obviously gotten extremely close as
friends. I mean, so far, Astrid’s the only one out of the teens Hiccup has done
anything alone with.
Still, why are they so awkward? Well
people can argue about that until the yaks come home but reality is: they’re
awkward. It’s obvious that they both like each other romantically, but as far
as we know they’re both novices in the “wonderful” world of dating, so they
might not know/be too scared to move forward. Kind of like an “Okay…we like
each other…now what?” kind of deal. But, oddly enough they’re not afraid to be
affectionate towards each other, such as Astrid’s “don’t worry” comment. That
was pretty poignant just because she didn’t have to say that, or put her arm
around him.
And as for the “stuck in the snow”
scene. Obviously that was just a plot device to introduce the themes of the
episode, but still served as a nice awkward moment between them. It’s
interesting to see how on/off that is, though. Since one moment they’re openly
playful with each other, Hiccup shows off some protective instincts of his own
when he immediately asks Astrid to “come here” after she said she was freezing,
yet as soon as they come back to reality they realize “Oh my gosh, we’re
touching”. It’s a typical ‘flirting in private, awkward when it’s called to
attention or in public’ scenario.
All and all, nicely done for these
two. My only complaint is that their point in the episode never seemed finished
so it might’ve ignited the “what was the point?” question in some viewers.
Their part just kind of got buried in all the other plots in the last act of
the episode and it never came back. So although that was a little uncomfortable
I’m guessing that’s just because this isn’t the last we’ll see of
Awkward!Hiccstrid.
I do hope that they don't take too long putting these two together though, but with the Heather story line coming up in episode 10, I'm guessing their relationship will get more flushed out soon enough!
I do hope that they don't take too long putting these two together though, but with the Heather story line coming up in episode 10, I'm guessing their relationship will get more flushed out soon enough!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This episode—like “Viking for Hire”—gave
a less cliché light to the problems cohabitating with dragons may induce, and
offered a lot of really touching subplots to help out the slightly lagging
moments. It was a good episode, but still
missing just a little something to make it perfect. The emotional moments it pulled from the ending saved it from being too average, but the "dragons protect their riders" being constantly shoved in my face every few minutes ruined this episode for getting the A it might have deserved otherwise.
But I am looking forward to the “New
Dragon” plot in the next episode, because I think three episodes in a row about
Dragons vs. [Insert problem here] is enough for now.
Plus, I’d just like to say that I love
the fact that they’re paying attention to the seasons on Berk in this TV show.
One thing people wouldn’t be quiet about in terms of the movie was that Berk
was supposed to be a horrible place to live weather-wise and it looked pretty
sunny all the time, so it’s good to see “devastating winter” coming into play. And
the fact that there was already little sheets of ice all over Berk when the
episode started before the storm even hit was well done. These little details
really make Berk feel like it’s supposed to.
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