Defenders of Berk
The second season of the cartoon, though is lumped under “Dreamworks Dragons” in imbd. It’s not quite specified how much time has passed between the end of Riders and now, though it’s not long; I’d say less than a year. I think that Hiccup’s hair is depicted just a smidge longer. And it should be noted that the tone has changed just a bit; they’re now the “defenders” of Berk, rather than just riders.
This comes through even in the first episode, Live and Let Fly. Hiccup is having the riders practice what they should do if ever captured by Alvin – say your name and where you live and that is it. Fishlegs is not the best under pressure; he doesn’t like the dark. Then Stoick comes along and grounds all the dragons and puts a ban on flying. No patrols, no training. The riders complain to Hiccup and he resolutely says he will never call the chief ridiculous; it’s just Stoick being an overprotective father. Hiccup does argue with Stoick that they only way they will be able to fight back against Alvin is on top dragons. Stoick insists he won’t rick the teens. His son argues that the safest place for him is on Toothless.
What do all teens do when told not to do something? Go behind the adults’ backs and do it anyway. Hiccup created “Flight Club,” and the first rule of Flight Club is there is no flight club (which just confuses the twins). They have to keep their skills sharp in order to defend Berk. Hiccup’s even added features to his shield. Meanwhile, Stoick has Gobber make him a new saddle because the ban on flying obviously does not apply to the chief. Then the two groups eventually meet in the air as Alvin attacks Berk. Stoick readily coordinates with Hiccup to take on the ship. Which is really just a distraction for Mildew to sneak ashore with a few Outcasts to plant Whispering Death eggs.
The teens continue to be an important part of the defense against Alvin in The Iron Gronkle. During patrols, Fishlegs routinely falls behind the rest of the riders. One day, they stay behind on the beach and Meatlug eats a bunch of different rocks. Fishlegs has to tickle her with a feather to get her to regurgitate when she gets sick. The lava cools into a remarkable metal that makes light and strong weapons. Hiccup even adds it to his shield. Now, Fishlegs and Meatlug are busy in the village with Gobber. Until they run out of the wonderous “Gronkle Iron.” The other teens also discover that Fishlegs played a role in their patrols, like keeping track of where they’ve been. They all learn a lesson and the secret recipe of Gronkle Iron remains a secret (since Fishlegs can’t remember the proper combination of rocks to recreate it.) They manage to drive away an Outcast ship (that was sneaking in to check on the eggs, including an exceptionally large one.)
Astrid arranges a training mission on Dragon Island during The Night and the Fury, where the riders are to camp out without their dragons in order to work on stealth and defense. Tuffnut ends up being elected to remain with the dragons. Hiccup soon finds out that the Berk riders are not alone on the island; Dagur has been camping out, searching for the Night Fury after Hiccup “rescued” him during its attack on Berk. So, great idea, Dagur wants to search for the elusive dragon with Hiccup, whom he now calls “brother.” The dragons escape from Tuffnut and Dagur and Hiccup also start coming across the other teens. They eventually spot the Night Fury and Hiccup uses his shield (it transforms into a crossbow!) to take out Dagur in order to save his friends and also ends up revealing that they don’t hunt dragons anymore on Berk, they rider them. Dagur goes on about the “trappers’ trap can trap the trapper” (this will pop up throughout the rest of the seasons) and reveals that he is not alone either; the Berserker armada has been offshore. Dagur demands of his men that no one else hurts Hiccup; that is reserved for Dagur. Our riders escape, but Dagur just laughs maniacally behind them.
Tunnell Vision starts funny, with the riders and Stoick attempting to catch Gobber so he can be bathed. It takes a dramatic turn when they discover that Berk’s wells have run dry. Hiccup goes down in order to investigate and finds there are tunnels now crisscrossing beneath the village. He then comes across the eggshells of the Whispering Deaths and the Outcast crate and deduces what has happened. Then the dragons start terrorizing the town, though they get chased away pretty quickly. Only for a giant white dragon to emerge, a Screaming Death they term. The scream disorients the riders’ dragons, but Hiccup insists on taking it on. Stoick is able to help with Thornado, but Hiccup continues to put himself in the most dangerous spot. He and Toothless manage fancy flying and get the Screaming Death to smash into a rock stack. The Whispering Death siblings come to help their large counterpart. Hiccup lets them go. Luckily, the wells refill, but Hiccup knows what Alvin’s plan was and knows that they haven’t seen the last of the Screaming Death (that last shot of the dragon attacking the screen as the episode ends is a little creepy).
Snotlout is determined to train longer and harder than the other riders in Race to Fireworm Island, which ends up with Hookfang becoming exhausted and losing his flame. Spitelout is not the most comforting, suggesting that Snotlout should just get a “new sword,” or replace Hookfang if he’s no use. But Snotlout actually cares for his dragon and will do anything to save him. The riders end up gathering small fireworm dragons and use them to find their home island, where their queen and nursery resides. Snotlout risks the wrath of the queen and steals one of the cells, thinking Hookfang needs it. Hookfang, pasty grey by this point, summons up enough strength to save Snotlout and the queen stings him in order to restore his flame. Snotlout is now determined to allow Hookfang enough rest to recover and keep him safe.
We learn a bit more about Astrid’s family’s history in Fright of Passage. Every so many years, Aurvandil’s Fire (the aurora borealis) shines in the sky, signaling the return of the Frightmare dragon that glows and causes people to freeze. Astrid’s uncle was once known as Fearless Finn Hofferson, until he went up against the Frightmare, thus tarnishing the Hofferson name. Astrid is determined when the Frightmare returns this year that she will take it on and regain her family’s honor. Hiccup is a little hesitant to take it on, telling her “no one loves a new and terrifying dragon more than me,” but maybe they should think about how they should take it on. Astrid calls his bluff that he doesn’t want to learn about the dragon and possibly train it, retorting that he should tell her with a straight face that he thinks about more than dragons. So they follow the path and discover that the lights in the sky illuminate glowing algae that the Frightmare eats, which causes it to glow, as well as any other dragon. Also, it’s mist paralyzes people temporarily. They figure out they need to cut a new path to the river to send the Frightmare out to sea instead of through the village. (The twins and Snotlout deal with an emergency bunker while the other riders deal with the dragon, and Hiccup starts having to cut off bad words from his friends).
Fishlegs and Snotlout butt heads in Worst in Show, determined that everything is a competition and they have to outdo the other. In order to figure out who is the best dragon trainer, all the riders will train a Terrible Terror; whoever performs the best wins. Hiccup keeps insisting that it is not a competition but none of his friends listen to him. While Fishlegs is busy training his new dragon, he ignores Meatlug. Hiccups’s Terror is Sharpshot and excels at target shooting. Astrid’s Stealth is indeed stealthy, while the twins simply butt heads (hence naming them Head and Butt). Snotlout’s just likes to bite, which Fishlegs’ Iggy is good at retrieving. But the Outcasts have also snuck into Berk and almost get away with Meatlug. The Terrors help get her back and Fishlegs spends quality time with her afterwards. Hiccup and Toothless destroy the Outcast ship.
The riders attempt to track dragons to their respective islands in Appetite for Destruction, but they soon start showing up on the same island. They discover that the original islands are now gone or severely destroyed. The Screaming Death is back and making a path of destruction towards Berk. The riders wrangle the wild dragons to make a stand and drive the Screaming Death away. Gronkles stabilize Dragon Island, but Hiccup continues to be wary that the large dragon will come back to Berk someday.
Gobber sets the riders to dismantling dragon traps around Berk in Zippleback Down. The twins don’t pay attention so Tuffnut ends up trapped in a net in a tree. Ruffnut is bad at directions and takes forever to get back to the village. In the meantime, the weather is dry and Stoick warns the teens against stray sparks from their dragons, it may start a fire. Which is of course what happens. A Typhomerang comes across Tuffnut and they manage to bond since Tuffnut just roars back at the dragon. Barf and Belch have already had their fun by bumping the teen around in the net. Hiccup and Toothless finds Tuffnut and realizes that the friendly Typhomerang is Scorch from last year. Everyone manages to escape the wild fire and Scorch even spins the fire out. It takes the twins the rest of the evening to get Tuffnut out of the net.
We then come to the two-parter A View to a Skrill, where the riders discover the Berserkers are attempting to free a Skrill dragon from an ice encasement. The Skrill is the symbol of the Berserkers and is a dangerous lightning dragon that is a match for a Night Fury. Of course, Snotlout and the twins manage to free the Skrill. Snotlout gets hit by lighting from the dragon for his trouble and babbles for the next day. Now they have to keep this dragon away from Dagur who will surely use it against Berk. Of course, the Berserkers manage to attack at that point. Toothless and Hiccup take on the Skrill; it gets sent into the water, and the twins see Alvin retrieve the dragon. They follow the Outcast back to his island, where Hiccup tracks them down. They see that Alvin and Dagur plan an alliance in order to defeat Berk, but each side plans to double cross each other. Alvin won’t let Dagur have the Skrill until Berk is defeated. Dagur intends to dispose of Alvin in order to take his Skrill, and also destroy Berk. Tuffnut manages to sneak in and get this information and the three come up with the plan that if there is no Skrill, there is no alliance and thus no invasion of Berk.
So, Hiccup and Toothless free the Skrill. Except Dagur manages to get the Skrill and attacks the Outcasts and fires on Alvin, laughing all the while. Savage joins Dagur. Again, Hiccup and his Night Fury go against Dagur and the Skrill. They get Dagur into the water and when the Skrill fires, he’s electrocuted. The riders manage to trap and refreeze the Skrill.
The Flight Stuff is lighter-hearted. True, Snotlout thinks he may be dying for part of the episode, but no one else believes him. He insists on training Gustav as his replacement. Gustav finds another Monstrous Nightmare that he names Fanghook (wherever could he have come up with a name like that, we wonder). Snotlout teaches Gustav what he knows and the boys struggles a bit, but it’s rather funny. And Hookfang demonstrates who is really in charge of that partnership. Hiccup is more concerned about Dagur and gets word that the Berserker is planning on test firing a new weapon. This turns out to be a trap, but Snotlout talks confidence into Gustav so they can save Hiccup and Toothless. “You want experience, this is how you get it.” “You can do it and you will do it.” Shows some more depth to Snotlout. And turns out it was the twins pranking Snotlout into believing he’s been seeing the give sign posts of Valhalla. The riders agree that Gustav will be their junior apprentice backup replacement rider. He’s to send Fanghook away until he’s better trained, which Gustav does, but we see the dragon return once the other riders have left.
Ruffnut manages to befriend a trapped Scauldron in Free Scauldy. The Scauldron is trapped on Changewing Island with the run rising and drying it out. Scauldy likes the smell of the fish oil in Ruffnut’s braids, so she keeps him calm while Hiccup, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs free his wing. Then they attempt to splint it while Changewings move in. Ruffnut cuts her braids to be the last piece of rope so she can save Scauldy. While those four are having an adventure, Snotlout bugs Astrid, so she gives him a taste of his own medicine and flirts back, which just scares the young man.
Berk goes through their worst freeze in Frozen. Hiccup is going nuts inside and when Stoick informs him that Johann is lost at sea, he begs his father, “if you care for me as your son, let me leave.” Hiccup quickly takes off on Toothless and they notice that the sea has frozen all the way to Berk. Johann is stuck on his ship in the ice. When they fly back to Berk, the village is deserted. Well, Fishlegs scares them. He stayed because Meatlug was frozen on his roof. The ice bridge has let Speed Stingers onto Berk, who are small, flightless dragons, but incredibly fast and their tails are able to paralyze Vikings temporarily. The rest of the village takes refuge in the cove where Toothless and Hiccup bonded. Stoick was paralyzed while protecting the food supply. The riders, with Snotlout aided by Gustav, plan to capture the leader of the Speed Stingers and lead the herd away from Berk. Toothless is fast enough to dodge the little dragons and Hiccup’s metal leg comes in handy, as well as his shield. Stormfly is stung during their escape, so Barf and Belch are to keep watch while Hiccup takes the Stingers. They burn the ice bridge to keep them from coming back.
Astrid and Snotlout argue during a Screaming Death attack drill, which causes damage in the village. Stoick orders the riders to get Mildew’s cabbage field ready for planting in Tale of Two Dragons. The two continue to argue during this task and worse, Stormfly and Hookfang get involved. Even Toothless joins in their fight, Hiccup pulling back on his friend, remarking “you’re supposed to be breaking up the fight, not winning it.” Hiccup goes to Stoick for advice on how to settle things between Astrid and Snotlout. The chief advises tricking the two into working together; the alternative is letting them beat each other into submission. It starts off fine, until the dragons attack each other again. Hiccup has the two switch dragons. Both Snotlout and Astrid learn some strengths of their temporary companions. When they try to work together again, they stand in front of their dragons to keep them from attacking. Fishlegs figures out there is dragon root in the field, which Meatlug is immune to, but it makes the other dragons aggressive. Astrid and Snotlout work together while Fishlegs removes the root. They learned things but are happy to switch back to their dragons.
There is an outbreak of eel pox on Berk in The Eel Effect. The teens are tasked, since Stoick is sick, with getting the ingredients for the cure. Unfortunately, it involves an eel, which most dragons hate. Hiccup volunteers him and Toothless to get the eel. Toothless has to dive into the water and eat an eel in order to save Hiccup. Which in turns makes Toothless sick and increases his shot limit. Hiccup tries to reason with his friend, but Toothless runs off, though he does show concern after he knocks Hiccup out. Fishlegs is sent after Hiccup and helps capture Toothless while wild Typhomerangs move in. The rest of the riders get sick on Berk, with the twins conducting science experiments and Snotlout starts demanding dragon rights. Fishlegs and Hiccup make the remedy for Toothless, which makes him barf up the eel and seems to cure him. They return to Berk with the remedy.
Trader Johann brings a shipment of scrap metal to Berk for Gobber in Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, along with a mace that Tuffnut falls in love with. Except, metal starts disappearing overnight in Berk. There is an odd smoke and it tries to carry Hiccup off. This clues the riders in to the fact that they now have a nest of Smothering Smokebreaths from Breakneck Bog on Berk. With their weapons carried off, Stoick fears an attack. Which proves right when Dagur arrives with an armada. Hiccup and the riders set a trap for the dragons and lead them over Dagur’s armada, dropping the metal and the dragons also take all the metal on the boats, including the nails, destroying the fleet just in time. Dagur calls out to Hiccup at the start of the battle “pucker up Hiccup, you’re about to kiss my boots!” Then shouts at the end of the battle “You will kiss this boot!” [Yup, still obsessed with his “brother.”] Hiccup makes Johann take the metal back to Breakneck Bog.
The riders have to deal with three adolescent Thunderdrums in Bing! Bam! Boom! They cause mayhem in the village and only Thornado is able to make them obey. But Stoick has him busy with chief business. The teens struggle to train the young dragons. Stoick then orders them to find a new home for the Thunderdrums. When they finally get them left on an island, the other wild dragons move in. Stoick realizes he has to leave Thornado behind in order to let the adult dragon protect the youngsters. He does what any father or chief would do, though he will miss his companion.
The season ends with another two-parter: Cast Out. The riders are continuing their training, this time with Gobber helping out. Hiccup calls for a retreat, but Snotlout won’t listen. He causes a catapult shot to go wild and hit Astrid. Hiccup manages to catch her before she’s really hurt, though she wants to punch Snotlout. Hiccup has had it with the flippant rider, so he suspends Snotlout from the academy. They can’t count on him. Hiccup once again asks his father for advice, while they both have ice blocks to their head. Stoick points out “someday you will be chief” and he can’t always be a leader and a friend. Snotlout has flown off and manages to find a wrecked Outcast ship. Along with the Screaming Death. Snotlout ends up rescued by Alvin the Treacherous, who flies the lad back to Berk, only to be imprisoned. When Hiccup visits Alvin, the man offers the teen a proposal. He’s willing to change and help Berk take on the Berserkers.
In the meantime, Dagur puts dragon root in the dragon academy and lets the dragons out. Guards try to surround Hiccup and Dagur demands the Night Fury. Stoick comes to the aid of his son and Alvin comes to help Stoick (let out by Snotlout). Dagur manages to capture Stoick and makes off with the chief. Alvin now acts as advisor to Hiccup, warning the backing Dagur into a corner will not end well. With Stoick in enemy hands, Hiccup is now the acting chief, backed up by Astrid. Gobber even helps Hiccup and explains how Alvin and Stoick used to be friends, until Stoick became chief and Alvin didn’t agree with how he was doing things. Alvin disobeyed an order and so Stoick cast him out. Their relationship is similar to the one Hiccup has with Snotlout.
Fishlegs then brings word that the Screaming Death is on its way. Hiccup orders the riders to take care of the Screaming Death while Hiccup will go after his father. Alvin will show him a secret way on to Outcast Island, helped by Mildew. Hiccup realizes that the Whispering Death Mildew is taking care of is the mother of the ones from Berk, including the Screaming Death. He sends word back to Berk. The riders will lure the Screaming Death to Outcast Island with dragon root.
Toothless ends up captured, but Alvin and Hiccup work together to free him. The arena begins to collapse; Toothless saves Hiccup and the riders arrive. Dagur realizes what Hiccup intends to do and tries to hold the mother Whispering Death hostage. Snotlout fires the right shot and frees the mother to reunite with her offspring. They roar at Hiccup, but leave. The exit narration returns for the first time this season, with Hiccup summing up that sometimes being reckless is courageous. Alvin and Stoick make peace and Alvin takes Dagur to the prison on Outcast Island. Hiccup and his friends will continue to train, learn, and protect dragons.
This season we see the teenaged characters come into their own more. Snotlout does actually care about his dragon and he even cares about Stormfly when he rides her. We peek beneath Astrid’s warrior exterior and see her as a small child. We also see her support Hiccup. The twins are still primarily comic relief, but they also start to branch out. Tuffnut bonds with Scorch, mainly cause he’s willing to roar back and even talks to Barf, the head his sister tends to ride, so they may form a bond as well. When they’re sick they do proper science experiments, though they still want to throw each other off a cliff. Fishlegs is the one who keeps them organized and is incredibly knowledgeable about dragons. He helps develop Gronkle Iron, even if it’s not perfected yet. Whenever there is dragon root, Fishlegs takes charge.
Hiccup grows as a leader. The village starts seeing him as a leader of his peers. When Stoick is concerned about fire weather, he passes responsibility of the riders to Hiccup to keep in line. Stoick gives him the chance to train adolescent Thunderdrums, and ends up allowing Hiccup to run attack drills with the riders that involve the village. He straight up tells Hiccup he will be chief one day and during airborne attacks, follows Hiccup’s lead. Hiccup also asks and accepts advice from his father and other adults. He doesn’t dismiss Alvin’s warnings once his father is captured by Dagur. We know he already listens to Gobber and sees him as a mentor.
Even the antagonists are fleshed out. Savage actually has ideas, though he will cower and let whoever is in command take credit. While Dagur is certainly deranged, he has actual goals (that we don’t want accomplished) and sees Hiccup as an actual adversary rather than a nuisance or target practice. Alvin even is redeemed. He’s not a perfect man, but he comes to see a better way to accomplish his goals. It’s better to ally with Berk than with Dagur. He saved Snotlout and could have easily left the young man to be eaten.
I love the depth this show demonstrates. These are more than one dimensional characters. We see teenagers start to become adults and work towards a future. They are leading the way in showing that humans benefit from having dragons in their lives.
Next Time: We dive into Race to the Edge
Dreamer in the Mirror 