PLOT A: Old Flames
Toothless is “reunited” with an old enemy—a
Whispering Death—from before he knew Hiccup and is determined to face off in
this battle alone even though he can’t fly without Hiccup.
I must say this is exactly the kind of
innovative Toothless-centric plot we’ve all been wanting. Not only did we get a
healthy reminder that, yes, Toothless had a life before he met Hiccup and
“settled down”, but that he wasn’t the cute little Toothless we all fawn over.
He’s a powerful dragon with….*gasp* enemies.
Also, this just showcases for me—and
probably a lot of others—how great the animation and personality for Toothless
is. We could all understand Toothless’s movements, motives, and facial
expressions which is crucial for a non-speaking character.
The way the fight was handled was good
as well. Since this show doesn’t seem to do flashbacks, we’ll never really know
what those two are fighting about, but it was obviously something bad, and the
tension and history was definitely there every time those two faced off.
Also, this is definitely the best “new
dragon” episode so far. They way that the Whispering Death was animated was
also very good. We got a good glimpse into its underground tunnels, and its
eyes were just terrifyingly chilling! Also the touch about it not liking
sunlight was a nice add on as well, and it didn’t feel like it was just put in
there to be convenient like some other plot devices can seem like.
I can’t really find too much wrong
with this plot line. It was a great look into and a reminder of Toothless’s
pre-HTTYD life, good action, nicely choreographed fights, good pacing, and
definitely good characterization even though neither of the two fighting
parties could speak.
PLOT B: Getting to the "bottom" of things
Hiccup is confused as to why Toothless won’t
let him help in fighting off the Whispering Death, so he tries to get in the
middle of it.
Reckless and impulsive Hiccup
is…reckless and impulsive. I can’t say that they’re not consistent with that
aspect of his character. Which is fine by me, cause consistency is key.
But, I did feel like Hiccup wanting to
get right in the middle of a dragon brawl was exactly his “style”. He’s always
going to go to the deep end without a second thought for Toothless because that’s
just the kind of friend he is. And it’s nice that the group is really starting
to feel…like a real group.
There’s always a leeway period for
groups in TV series where first they’re not all exactly a functional group but
they stick together anyways, and then they’re beginning to get there, and now I
feel like, okay they might not all be what you would consider a group of best
friends who have all got each other’s backs…but I don’t think that’s the point
of the group. They’re all around the same age, all ride dragons, and they do
feel more like the “adventurer group” that they’re supposed to now, because
they’re learning to work together more and more, everyone’s gaining their
roles, so…I like it!
But back to the plot, it was mostly
just a piecing the puzzle kind of deal for the teens. They didn’t know what was
going on, so they investigated. And it was a good investigation plot that was
paced out well and didn’t feel too painstakingly obvious.
Plus, this plot was just full of good
side character moments. Tuffnut was hilarious, Fishlegs was great when he felt
pressured about his role of “having all the answers”, poor Astrid probably
almost had a heart attack three times in this episode behind worry about
Hiccup, and Snotlout…..oh Snotlout. Him being such a jerk didn’t surprise me,
especially after the events of episode 112 with an insight as to why he is how
he is. But, you gotta love how mad Astrid got at him continually harping on
Toothless’s non-flight.
And back to reckless Hiccup, once
again, at least that aspect of his character is consistent but…darn Hiccup,
that boy has a death wish. His impulsiveness is beginning to get more extreme
so I hope that’s building up to something…
All and all, good plotline for this
one as well, I really can’t find too much wrong with it either.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This episode was a great comeback
since it aired after a two month break. It was a good Toothless-centric
episode, had great character moments, an innovative plotline, and good pacing.
My only nitpick (which has nothing to
do with the plot since it was pretty flawless), the camera angles in this
episode were very…close up. I’ll have to go back and count how many extreme
face close ups this episode had but there were A LOT. It was a little
unnecessary sometimes.
Still, a nitpick is a nitpick. And
with a plotline like this one that can easily be overlooked (though I also wish
this show would ditch the slow motion…it’s a hit and miss practically every
time).
This episode was just great! Much like
mostly all of the episodes in the second half of the season, this is the third
A+ episode in a row and with the Twin’s episode coming up next I’m hoping that
these great episodes will continue!
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