PLOT A: Wow, the Plot actually did thicken…
Hiccup is finally captured by Alvin in the
forced “job” to train his unruly captured dragons. In an odd turn of events
Hiccup seeks the help of Mildew to free Toothless until….
Okay so, let me just start off by
saying “Holy Odin’s crap….”
I can actually say that the plot did thicken…like, a lot! But I’m getting
a little ahead of myself.
So here we have Hiccup has finally be
doubled crossed and turned into Alvin by a member of his own tribe. And is
given some pretty “attractive” options…train Alvin’s dragons or he kills
Toothless. Sounds like your typical villainous ultimatum, right? Wrong!
I’ve gotta say…I was getting a little
worried that Alvin wasn’t the sharpest weapon in Gobber’s weaponry, but these
last two episodes continue to impress me with his skills. Maybe it’s because
he’s got Mildew fully on his side now? But either way, Alvin must’ve
anticipated Hiccup being able to escape on his own…so he made it so that even
if Hiccup and Toothless got away, he still got what he wanted. And even at the
end, he knew just what buttons to push on Hiccup to make him charge for the
kill…”Stoick’s little runt” will do the trick to get Hiccup mad at you and
Alvin seemed to say that by no accident.
Then in comes Mildew…he’s a sneaky
little devil, isn’t he?
I’m sure some of you anticipated the
double plot twist of Mildew’s “change of heart” actually still being a trick
and he’s still working for Alvin at
the end…..but I certainly didn’t. It caught me completely off guard. I was
fully ready to accept the typical kid’s show cliché that when you have two
villains…one of them redeems themselves while the other doesn’t. But, hey, I
can roll with this too…it’s more intriguing to have Mildew double cross the double
cross (plus his evil laugh at the end is pretty much the funniest thing ever).
Just…the entire scheme of this plot
was so…perfectly executed. Everything was calculated, everything was
anticipated, Mildew and Alvin left no corner unchecked…it was genius! Even
Hiccup didn’t figure everything out yet…but I guess he will next season.
I can say, I like how even though
Hiccup’s been pretty cocky this season—he had his moment of fear in the last
episode but old habits die hard—still his naïve and overly trusting nature
still shines through in this episode. He felt sympathy for Mildew…we all did.
And why not? It really seemed like he was in a bad place and apologetic.
Classic example of giving someone a second chance and then they screw it up…but
then, when the second chance is technically a trap…well…whatever, it was well
done is the point!
Even the character lines—especially from
Hiccup—perfection! The “low hanging fruit” and “there’s a whole lot of dragon,
why don’t you grab some of that” are some of my two favorite Hiccup lines in
the franchise. (Not kidding).
On the negative, I felt like this plot
kinda ate up everything else, it was such a good turnout but, still, the plot
did eat up a lot of time…especially (as I anticipated) in the second act. A lot
of the Mildew and Hiccup searching for Toothless could’ve been shaved for time
to allow some of the other plots to get a bit more time…but still, with
calculated schemes such as this one…it’s worth its weight in gold.
Kind of reminds me of the Dagur plot
line in episode 115. It’s pretty darn perfect…so much that it ate up everything
else in the episode.
PLOT B: Hiccup and Toothless….Separated (cue the sad
cello music)
Hiccup and Toothless are kept in separate
quarters after being captured by Alvin…and while both manage to escape on their
own, finding each other is going to be the real challenge.
Had to happen sometime in the season,
right? And the prelude in the previous episode of learning the dragon calls kind
of dug us right into that hole.
Though…I wish I had more to say about
this plot other than the ending reunion was cute. Other than that…it was pretty
standard back and forth and barely missing each other kind of stuff.
They both escaped on their own…both
dodged some obstacles…and they found each other when Hiccup used the dragon
calls that were well established in the previous episode.
I think this plot could’ve used a bit
more quiet “I’m missing you” moments for the two to give it that emotional
substance and to really feel the hurt of the separation. It could’ve gone into
the corny side…but at least it would’ve attempted. And again, as I mentioned
above, the “the plot thickens” plot kind of ate up a lot of screen time for the
other plots, and sadly this plot had to shave off emotional depth to fit in the
airing time. A risky choice...but pacing problems aren’t something new in this
show.
Still, the reunion was cute enough to
make us all go “awww” (I know I did).
PLOT C: Kill Alvin, Volume 1
Stoick, Gobber, and the teens know that Hiccup
and Toothless have been captured by the Outcasts…and are on the move to get him
back.
Cause we all know Stoick would’ve gone
to hell and back to get Hiccup home.
I was really hoping for another Stoick vs. Alvin standoff, but I guess that’s
what season 2 is for. Besides, Stoick seemed more interested in getting Hiccup
safe and as far away from Alvin as possible, and rightfully so. At least
they’re keeping that point consistent. Stoick seems to have some kind of fear
when it comes to Alvin taking things….and him getting Hiccup is probably pretty
unnerving for him.
Again…this plot suffered a lot of the
same things that plot B did…not enough screen time and had to cut out the
emotional depth.
It was really crunched and chopped for
time it felt…even the bit with Trader Johann felt just thrown in there for
convenience. But it is interesting that Johann seems to have traded on Outcast
Island before, so…he’s been giving weapons to the enemy of his friends? Um…am I
the only one who finds that odd?
Still, It was nice to have everyone mobilizing to save Hiccup but
well…more screen time would’ve helped. Still, their plan we well thought out,
even the way they found out that Hiccup was on Outcast Island—via Gobber’s good
sense of….sense—was pretty crafty.
But character reactions were kinda
just…left out for everyone but Stoick and kinda-sorta Gobber. I was expecting a
lot more happy hugs and whatnot when everyone finally found Hiccup again, but
there simply wasn’t time for that. (But come on, where was the Father-Son hug
and twirl from episode 108 and 113???)
And I’m not entirely sure what the
ending of “the dragons took their training to a whole new level” is alluding to…so,
I guess I’ll have to wait until season 2 to find out.
Anyways, just as the previous
plot…good intentions, somewhat short-sided delivery.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
So, what’s a good phrase for this
episode? Well you know how you can have a closet filled with really good
stuff…but there’s just too much of it. Well the episode kinda reminds me of an
over-cluttered closet…but you like it because all the stuff in the closet is
good stuff.
Too much stuff…not enough space. I
guess this episode needed a space bag? (Media marketing pun anyone?)
Still, there was soooo much going on
here, there was so much to love about it! I just wish the pacing would’ve been
a bit better. A lot of things I mentioned for wrap up in the previous review
were kinda touched on…(some not) but none of them really felt concluded…which
given the unanticipated cliffhanger ending, I can say it’s okay. Though I did
like how they managed to get most of the new dragons into the finale…cleverly
done, though the battle with them ended too soon for my tastes.
I wasn’t expecting a double-double
cross from Mildew so Hiccup’s attitude is still going to need some adjusting
when he finds out “the truth”. Still…this episode—pacing problems aside—did its
job, and that was set up for season 2. Ironically since the previous episode
set up for this one…which simply set up for the next season.
I can say that this episode proved to
be a bit more on the rushed side than the fast paced site by a few hairs.
Nothing can compete with the fast paced plotting of episode 106, this episode
almost got there but fell back into the typical pacing problems…problem. And what
it lacked in really big action scenes it triumphed in “oh no they didn’t”
moments.
So….let’s look at our set up here
before wrapping this up….
We have a pseudo-happy ending mixed
with premonitions of a bigger battle looming in the main character’s
unsuspecting horizon. Hiccup is home safe, Toothless is still one of kind (for
now), Bork Week went off on a happy “we are family” note, but…Alvin is now
training a Whispering Death, Mildew (who is believed to be “captured” by the
Outcasts) is still working for them in a double-double crossing of affairs, and….Dagur
kinda left on a “I’ll be back to screw stuff up” note so…he’ll be back with his
“special sources”.
Defenders of Berk is going to live up
to its name…there’s a lot to defend that was set up here.
So, all that being said, a set up for
a cliffhanger is a pretty open ended way to end things so…it’s alright that
nothing feels concluded or finished. The promise of tomorrow (or…5-6 months from
now) still hangs in the air. And with cliffhangers like that my only complaint
is its gonna be a looooong summer….
(Oh, and check out the special FULL SEASONREVIEW!)
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