PLOT A: Let the Testosterone induced
arguments commence!
Snotlout and Hiccup get stranded on Outcast
Island after Hiccup goes to retrieve Snotlout when he runs off during a search
and rescue mission.
Even from that short premise I’m sure
everyone could’ve known already that certain events in episode 112 “Thawfest”
were gonna come back into fruition. Perhaps not Snotlout dealing with daddy
issues, but definitely deeper into his resentment towards Hiccup. And what do
you know, that’s exactly what we got!
I was thoroughly pleased with the
carry-over from episode 112, and the fact that the previous episodes kept a
subtle build up to this “showdown”, if you will, between Snotlout and Hiccup. I
love how these two interact. It seems to bring out the absolute worst in both
of them. Especially during the argument when Snotlout finally reveals what we all
kinda figured was his problem, but it was delivered so wonderfully written, and
great voice acting from Zach Pearlman, who cares if we all guessed it a long
time ago?
So Snotlout is jealous, and Hiccup’s
inflated ego over his continuous string of successes kind of warrants
Snotlout’s behavior. Despite us knowing that Snotlout is a jerk, Hiccup, too,
is smug. It’s funny how much these two actually have in common, especially when
they get together, it’s Hiccup’s ego vs. Snotlout’s.
And I know everyone’s relieved that
this episode—unlike episode 112—felt a bit more finished and concluded for this
chapter of Hiccup and Snotlout’s ego wars. They’ve seemed to come to a silent
agreement that while they still kinda don’t care for each other, they at least
know where the other is coming from and can deal if necessary.
It was a great turning point for both
characters, and really exposed them both. Putting these two together always
brings out the honest intentions in both their personalities, luckily in this
episode, both Hiccup and Snotlout learned something instead of just one of
them.
PLOT B: If it wasn’t for that meddling
90 pound kid!
While stranded on Outcast Island, Hiccup and
Snotlout find that they have no way to get home without a new connecting rod
for Toothless’s tail. But getting one means going to the Outcasts’ smithy, and
of course they get caught….
I find it funny how in this episode
Alvin’s just kinda minding his own business, living his own “nasty life”. Like
it’s one of those “on a normal day on Outcast Island” kind of deals. It was a
refreshing change of pace to have Hiccup kinda barge in on Alvin’s day rather
than the other way around.
Still, since this plot is pretty
meshed with the A plot, it’s hard to analyze it as a standalone. But nonetheless,
Alvin was more than ready to take advantage of the fact that Hiccup was there,
and even managed to get him captured him this time.
But what I really enjoyed was that
this episode finally showcased something I’ve been mentioning for a while.
Hiccup’s impulsive actions that boarder simply looking in the face of danger
and laughing is all because he puts way too much trust in that as long as
Toothless is there…he’s immortal and untouchable. In this episode, we see just
how defenseless Hiccup is without Toothless or someone to rescue him there. Did
the Outcasts even break a sweat carrying him off despite Hiccup trying to put
up a fight? Nope.
It’s nice to see that Hiccup does have
a weakness when in dangerous situations, and it’s definitely his size. Like
Alvin said…he’s 90 pounds. Alone, I’m sure if Hiccup thought enough he could
outwit the Outcasts. But in terms of fighting them off on his own, he’s a
goner. Finally the mighty Hiccup has a weakness, and it was perfect to have
Snotlout step up and showcase that he does actually one up Hiccup on
something…self defense. Snotlout’s actually very capable of defending himself
and at least that’s a consistent plot point from episode 112 and an excellent
callback to the book series version of Snotlout.
And those fight scenes? Brilliant!!!
Wonderfully choreographed and reminded me a lot of the excellent fight scenes
in episode 106. Plus, they did it all with a connecting rod!
Either way, this Alvin plot seemed
much like a set up, as mostly all the Alvin plots do. We all know he’ll be
back…and by the number of episodes we have left in the season, I suspect he’ll
be back very soon….
PLOT C: Everyone looks for Hiccup and
Snotlout (it’s that simple)
Realizing that Hiccup, Snotlout, and Toothless have not returned with the distant storms brewing over the water, Stoick, Astrid, and everyone else go looking for them.
Haha, should I even call this a plot?
It was more like a series of cutscenes….but either way, they had some honest to
Odin good dialogue. And finally some funny lines from Ruffnut (though I find it
odd that they decided to use a random going to bathroom joke for Ruffnut since
she’s a girl…how does she just go in her helmet in midair? That’s actually
probably a joke that would’ve worked better for Tuffnut, ironically…but if it
get’s Ruffnut in the comedic spotlight, I’ll take it!).
So…yeah, they couldn’t have this
episode without the others going to look for Hiccup and Snotlout, but the other
plots were pretty dominating so we only got limited time with the rest…which,
that’s just fine by me. The spotlight was in all the places in this episode.
For what it was worth though, this
plot was filled with necessary scenes that avoided being boring by throwing in
some funny dialogue.
But also, did anyone catch Stoick’s
little moment in calming down Hookfang using Hiccup’s tactics. It’s a rather
small moment but pretty powerful! Stoick’s learning from his son and
successfully applying his dragon training techniques. That’s definitely note
worthy!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This was pretty much a brilliant
episode! One of the best out the season!
It had great character moments, a good
Alvin plot with a change of pace from the norm, great dialogue, nicely paced,
and did I mention great character moments? Oh and did I also mention great
dialogue? (Yes, BlackRose…you did). I mean, come on, tell me one person who
doesn’t rank the “go suck rocks” line as
one of their favorites in the
franchise? Cause I know it’s one of mine now!
I really can’t say much negatively
about this episode, actually…I can’t find anything wrong with it at the moment.
It was pretty flawless!
Honestly these episodes in the second
half of the season just continues to impress me more and more in providing
consistently brilliant episodes in a row with their carrying over plots,
wrapping things up, and really getting more into the driving forces of the characters
that we’ve been craving, and definitely stepping more out of the box with the
plotlines.
I’m definitely excited for the “creepy
episode” next week, but as for this episode, I don’t see why it shouldn’t rock an
A+!
Previous || Next
