PLOT A: Hiccup vs. Snotlout (can you
smell the testosterone?)
It’s the annual Thawfest games and Snotlout
and the Jorgenson clan have been reigning champs since as long as Hiccup can
remember. But now that dragon events have been added to the list, Hiccup
finally feels he can best Snotlout and bring honor to his clan!
Fans of the book series this franchise
is based off of have been eagerly awaiting a plot like this more than anyone.
Hiccup vs. Snotlout! Cousin vs. Cousin (is it confirmed that these two are
cousin’s yet?). The heat is on and the testosterone levels is high!
The heftiness of this
plot was great!. It was a classic man’s struggle of ego vs. ego. Snotlout being good at
the old talents of the Vikings, strength, agility, accuracy, while Hiccup
excels in the newer skills of the dragon related events. Although Hiccup’s been
stealing the spotlight of being Berk’s head of the dragon training academy,
Snotlout finally has his chance to shine again!
One of my favorite things about this
plotline is that not only does it feature hilariously witty writing, but
there’s an unspoken history behind it that resonates heavily throughout the
episode. Hiccup’s line of “he started it, when we were five” calls to that but
even without that line, you can feel the history and years of built up tension
in every confrontation Hiccup and Snotlout had. These were definitely the
shining moments of the episode! Much like the arguments between Hiccup and
Astrid back in episode 10, they drove the episode and did a great job!
But my personal favorite interaction
was near the end when Hiccup was trying to make peace with Snotlout he called
Hiccup “scrawny” something about the subtle intensity in Snotlout’s voice was
extremely powerful.
Though some can argue that they think the episode's end to this plot was a little off because Snotlout didn't learn his lesson, there was never really the vibe from this episode that Snotlout was going to learn something. It focused more on correcting Hiccup's unstable moral conscience and more so putting light on a back story and motivation for Snotlout.
PLOT B: Welcome to the Dark Side,
Hiccup
While finally gaining some points in the games
due to his expertise in dragons, Hiccup’s new found success is going to his
head, and he’s sinking down to Snotlout’s level much to Astrid’s
disappointment.
So, I’m not entirely surprised by this
plot at all. I’ve been waiting for Hiccup’s rise to the top to finally go to
his head more than it already has.
In defense of the show, they were
trying to make it seem like thinking big of himself was out of character for
him, but honestly, Hiccup has seemed pretty cocky the whole show. He’s just
quietly cocky. The gloating and being a Snotlout-level jerk is what’s out of character
though, for that’s definitely not Hiccup’s style, so it still worked that
everyone noticed that he wasn’t being himself.
His “hidden cockiness” was definitely
revealed when he said “Toothless is a night fury and I’m the best dragon
rider”, you can tell he’s thought this for a while, and instead of repressing
it and quietly patting himself on the back, he’s using it to bring someone else
down. His actions are justified since Snotlout was being just as big of a jerk,
and Hiccup was just sick of it and finally decided to dish it out as well.
I did like how they evenly paced out
Hiccup turning over into being eaten up with his own satisfaction in beating
Snotlout to the point where they were both acting like they were 5 with the
petty arguments, and Hiccup didn’t even care what he was becoming, he was just
so consumed in beating Snotlout and getting that winner’s high. I especially
loved the scene of him and Toothless in the forge, where Hiccup explains the
modifications he’s made to Toothless’s apparatus. He was pretty much insane at
that point.
Given, Hiccup did have more of heart
than Snotlout did, for he tried to make peace before the finale race and Snotlout
just wasn’t having it (and as I mentioned, I loved that scene!)
And it was interesting how they threw
in Astrid in there as Hiccup’s conscious. It was a little ironic that she was
the one to give Hiccup a lesson about sore winning and losing given the fact
that she struggled with the same issue in the movie. But Astrid’s character has
grown a lot since then and she can sense the mistakes she’s made in others,
especially in Hiccup, whom I suspects she looks up to a lot in moral matters.
It was obvious her words ate away at his ego boost eventually. It was a good step back to the right side of moral competition to throw the race!
PLOT C: The glory of the clan rests on
your shoulders, but no pressure.
Hiccup and Snotlout both have a huge weight on
their shoulders to make a good name for their clan in this year’s Thawfest.
In this show it’s easy for anyone who
isn’t Hiccup to get cast aside for character development and back story. Astrid
got the spotlight in the last two episodes (and apparently her back story will
be more covered in season 2), and even though he wasn’t technically the star of
this episode, Snotlout finally got some specific airtime dedicated to showing
his own broken relationship with his father.
It was interesting to see how both
Snotlout and Hiccup interact with their fathers. Originally I’m sure their
situations were the same, but Stoick and Hiccup’s relationship has grown a lot!
It’s good to see that the great move forward for them that was shown back in
episode 8 hasn’t faded. It was obvious Stoick wanted the glory for the Haddock
clan, but he repressed pressuring Hiccup too much and was proud of him even
when he didn’t go home with the gold. That was a really great carry over for
those two!
Moreover on Snotlout’s end, It was
great to finally get some justification in his motivations. Snotlout’s fueled
by the same things Hiccup are, actually. To please his father and uphold his
family name. I’m sure Snotlout’s been taking quite a few blows from his father
ever since the Dragon Academy started. It’s evident throughout the whole
village that Hiccup is the best rider/trainer and leads the pack and Snotlout
has an unruly dragon that barely listens. That’s sure to be quite a kick to the
Jorgenson’s ego. So, Thawfest—as I mentioned—was Snotlout’s chance to shine!
It looks like Spitelout needs to take
some fatherly lessons from Stoick on tolerating what his son, cause he’s doing
a pretty poor job so far. Tsk tsk, Spitelout. But, more seriously, Spitelout’s
pressuring Snotlout was so severe that Snotlout was absolutely terrified to
lose and face his father with it. I think that hints to a lot more deeper (and
perhaps too mature?) issues in Spitelout and Snotlout’s relationship than just
pressure, but I wonder if the show will even go there?
FINAL THOUGHTS:
So, last week’s episode was extremely
controversial, but luckily this episode slowed things down from the heavy
action and tension in the previous episode and gave us witty writing, well done
character development, and a good spirit of competition!
The Thawfest games are interesting as
well! I liked the idea of them (They do have other special events on Berk other
than Snoggletog) and it called back to those popular “winter Olympics games”
shorts that played before the movie’s release.
Though, there are some minor
nitpicking complaints to the episode. Although it was obvious the episode was
going to focus on Hiccup and Snotlout’s rising and falling in the games, I
would’ve liked to see some of Astrid’s great talent at least snag a point or
two, especially in the axe throwing competition. That’s Astrid’s thing! But,
still, in the episode’s defense, they managed to make it obvious that Fishlegs
kept messing Astrid up, which was actually pretty funny to watch. (Maybe stand
next to someone else during next year’s Thawgames, Astrid?)
And, Toothless. While his expressions
towards Hiccup’s insane need to win and him being there for his rider even when
he was miserably failing were very well done, I would’ve liked Toothless to be
just a tad more present in this episode. He’s been getting pushed aside a lot,
which was expected in the Heather episodes as neither Hiccup nor Toothless were
really the main focus, but it just feels like it’s been a while since we’ve
gotten a good Toothless episode (since episode 9, I suppose?)
And, everyone was freaking out about
the surprise ending of Astrid giving Hiccup a kiss. It pretty much goes for
everyone that no one was really expecting that, yet thankfully it fit into the
plot and didn’t feel too random. It felt more like a reward for Hiccup's character, since he didn't win a metal he still 'won' something. It is ironic, though, how they had a subtle finish to
the Hiccup/Astrid plot in the last episode and then bring in the ‘big guns’ for
the end of this episode. Although I still can’t really tell where in the world
they’re going with their relationship in the show, it’s good that it’s not
being completely ignored until the
finale like anticipated. But, that raises the question of what will be the big finale finish
with those two if it’s not a kiss? We shall see….
So, this was a pretty squeaky clean
episode. Well written, well paced, well characterized, and a satisfying plot
turnout, it’s hard to give it anything but an A+!
See you at next year’s Thawfest!
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