Category: fantasy

A Shadowhunter Random Fandom Update

It should surprise no one at this point that I get (easily) distracted by fanfiction. Partly because it is easy to read, since it’s on my phone and can just open it up for a few minutes at a time. I can switch between multiple stories and multiple fandoms at a moment’s notice. I can change what genre I’m reading depending on my mood. And it is super easy to re-read stories.

So, the reason that I am not more diligent on getting through my TBR pile is I am still reading Shadowhunter fanfiction. (It also helps keep ideas fresh for one of the stories I am working on.) So I thought I would share what has been playing in the background of my brain for months now (note: some of these may not be for everyone depending on their preference, and I am totally okay with that):

Takara_Phoenix has literally hundreds of stories for Shadowhunters. I’ve come to enjoy their triple pairing of Magnus/Alec/Jace. They will also pair Jace up with several other characters. Many of the stories are Alpha-Beta-Omega verse (which is why I now have standards when it comes to those kind of stories and why I didn’t like A Pack for Autumn.) Shapeshifting shows up a lot, as does the notion of soul animals (which I’ve come across in a few other fandoms).

I particularly love their The Lost Soulmarks story. Some of the descriptions of Jace just sit right. There is Finding William Marcus Herondale and The A and O of Love. Lust and Love is rather good, as is Demon on Your Shoulder. The Turned Double Agent is the mob-AU that I never knew I wanted to read, but I’ve returned to it several times; Gangster’s Paradise is similar. And They Were Roommates, Dancing with the Monsters in the Night, Stay for Breakfast, My Heart Down the Hall are all rather sweet. The Barista and the Fashionista is rather fluffy. There’s a pirate-AU that is fun and that theme is hit on in a few compilations as well. Do Not Touch is a similar theme to Lost Soulmarks. The Incubus and his Ace has some fluff and lots of happy endings. There’s a trilogy of Magnus and Jace getting together and a trilogy that of owl-inspired stories and a very smutty trilogy (not that there is not smut in just about all of these stories). Not All That Glitters is Gold takes a bit of a twist, as does The Morgenstern Heir. There are several stories that tie in to episodes of the show.

lawsofchaos is an excellent fanfiction author. They’ve really built a world around their stories, adding some characters and details about the Shadowhunter culture. That is most shown in their Consular High Warlock Magnus Bane series and Dona Nobis Pacem. I adore in somno veritas (in sleep lies the truth); Max makes an appearance! For Every Bird There is a Stone is a bit heart wrenching. Though if you want to shed a few tears, there is Greater Love Hath No Man. Stone Can Be Broken also evokes some tears.

Some of their stories tie in with Aria_Lerendeair, such as One Luminary Clock and Never Judge a Shadowhunter by Their Scent. And Dies Dolorem and A Nephilim, Made. I highly recommend their stories as well. Most especially The Golden Trio-A Trinity of Trouble. There are a couple lighthearted stories of what Magnus does with all his money, like paying taxes. Alec fixes some things in A Trueblood in More Than Name, and Magnus fixes things in Magnus Bane, the Great Destruction. Ten Not-Dates and Domesticity are rather cute and Love Him Like He Deserves is sweet, as is Could My Soulmate Please Take a Nap and The New York Shadow Market. Alec Lightwood is a Good Doctor is another mob-AU that I didn’t know I needed until I read it. (Which possibly gives me a short story idea; but I need to finish my proper stories first.) “At Least I Didn’t Sleep with Kant!” is hilarious. There’s also a president-AU series. I also adore the A Vampire, His Parabatai, and a Warlock Walk Into a Bar… series.

MoonlightBreeze has several lovely stories and I’m still exploring their work. Same with Nadja_Lee.

I don’t quite have all of the stories I’ve read listed out like other fandoms. But those first few authors are the ones I keep returning to. If you wish, I hope you enjoy them. If you’re not your cup of tea, go out and find out what is! And sometimes you surprise yourself! Enjoy the random fandom update. I will try to work on my other projects.

“Oh what, do you want an apology? Is that why you’re pouting, big babyboo?”

How to Train Your Dragon 2

This movie truly expands the world of How to Train Your Dragon.  It did come out before Race to the Edge, which was how they were able to bridge the gap so well.  For those of us who are coming off the end of RTTE, it’s a few years later, a total of five years after the events of the first movie.  The teens are settled back on Berk.  They’ve made dragon racing more elaborate (as detailed in the short we watched before RTTE, Dawn of the Dragon Racers) and the whole village has turned out to watch them.  Hiccup introduces “this is Berk” and explains some of the changes made, even more than we saw in RTTE (someone was busy once he returned).

The dynamics of the team have changed a little more.  Both Snotlout and Fishlegs are interested in Ruffnut, though she’s not showing a preference between the two and Astrid even points out to Snotlout that Ruff tried to bury him alive.  His come back?  It was only for a few hours.  Stoick cheers on Astrid in the race, remarking to Spitelout that she’s his future daughter-in-law (we witnessed their engagement in RTTE).  However, Hiccup…is nowhere to be found.  Gobber figures that Stoick chased him off.  Astrid manages to win the race as Hiccup’s voice over comments that all of his hard work has paid off, and the world got a lot bigger.

We catch up with Hiccup and Toothless shooting across the ocean.  Toothless climbs and Hiccup starts his new trick, decked out in a new flight suit and full helmet [most likely to improve aerodynamics].  Hiccup sets Toothless’ tail to glide while Hiccup falls off.  They free fall for a while, then glide on their own.  Toothless has to try to catch Hiccup when the Viking gets in a little trouble with an oncoming sea stack.  Toothless catches him, but it’s a bit of a rough landing.  We see Hiccup’s new leg, which can change which kind of foot he has.  Hiccup’s not too phased by what happened, more excited to be out doing something, finding a new land.  He and Toothless joke around and Toothless wins by collapsing on the Viking and licking him.  “You know that doesn’t wash out!”

They’re joined by Astrid and Stormfly.  The two dragons bound off to play and Astrid helps Hiccup with his map.  He reveals that he’s hiding from his dad because Stoick brought up making Hiccup chief soon.  Astrid’s excited for her boyfriend.  Hiccup is not.  He’s still figuring out who he is; Astrid has always known.  She’s a warrior; she’s like Stoick.  She leads the team when Hiccup is not there (and will make a good chieftain’s wife).  But Hiccup is not his father and he never knew his mother.  He still wants to explore more.  He wants to find more Night Furies for Toothless.  Then he spots smoke in the distance.

The couple checks the scene out and discovers a mound of ice blasts, but they’re interrupted by trappers catching Stormfly.  Hiccup has also improved his sword since RTTE and uses it to great effect.  The blade retracts, but also lights on fire.  They meet Eret, son of Eret, and his trappers, who work for someone named Drago Bludvist (briefly mentioned at the end of RTTE).  Eret thinks that the person who destroyed their fort and stole their trapped dragons works with Hiccup.  This is the first Hiccup has heard of this, but he’s not keen on the news that Drago is building a dragon army.  For now, they free Stormly and fly back to Berk.

Stoick is thrilled to begin training Hiccup as chief.  Hiccup forcibly has to stop his father and tell him about Drago.  Stoick knows Drago and instantly switches modes to defend the island.  Everyone is grounded, no one is allowed off the island.  He starts closing up the dragon pens.  Hiccup wants to go out and find Drago and keep the peace, what he sees as his duty.  Stoick disagrees.  Drago is a man without conscious or mercy.  He must prepare his son for war.  A chief protects his own.  Hiccup manages to fly out with Toothless and Astrid follows him. 

They find Eret again and Hiccup turns them in, intending to hitch a ride to Drago (also showing off how he uses Zippleback gas as a distraction).  Hiccup figures he can change Drago’s mind.  [He’s managed in the show to change so many enemies’ minds; Alvin, Dagur, Viggo.  He changed Stoick’s mind.  Hiccup believes this is his path.]  That notion gets knocked about when the rest of the team, along with Stoick and Gobber show up.  Ruffnut is instantly attracted to Eret (it’s a little creepy).  The argument between father and son starts back up.  Hiccup is trying to prevent a war.  War is what Dragon wants, Stoick answers.  He tells the young adults about a gathering of chiefs where Drago promised he alone could keep everyone safe.  The rest of the chiefs laughed him out and he shouted “see how well you do without me!” and the place erupted in dragon fire.  Stoick alone escaped.  “Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with,” he warns his son.  Hiccup still wants to try and manages to fly off again.  Stoick orders Astrid to take the rest of the team back to Berk.  He and Gobber track down Hiccup.

Hiccup lets out some steam, but is surprised when a new dragon with a strange covered rider rises from the clouds.  The dragon has four wings and is larger than Toothless.  Other dragons come up and whisk Hiccup off of Toothless, who falls into the water.  Water dragons eventually take Toothless away, but Hiccup is yelling at the strange rider that Toothless cannot fly on his own, he’ll drown.  Hiccup is eventually let down amongst a herd of dragons, but he uses his flaming sword to calm them down, show the dragons that he’s one of them.  The other rider is intrigued, but steps in before Hiccup can touch a dragon.   Hiccup is relieved when Toothless is brought in and hugs his friend.  Hiccup wonders if this rider is possibly Drago?  Or the stranger who took Eret’s dragons?  The stranger approached Hiccup but backs up when they catch sight of a scar on Hiccup’s chin.  The stranger knows Hiccup’s name.  They take off their mask; the stranger is a woman.  “Should I know you?”  “No, you were only a babe.  But a mother never forgets.” 

Skullcrusher finds Hiccup’s helmet and gets a scent; they’re on the trail for Hiccup.  Gobber points out to Stoick that Hiccup is twenty and a Viking, off course he’s stubborn.  Stoick remarks that Hiccup’s mother could never stay still either.

Hiccup’s mother, Valka bounds away to show Hiccup something and he follows [it reminds me of the scene from the Lion King where Rafiki is showing Simba something.]  Hiccup has questions. Where has she been for twenty years?  She got carried off by a dragon, what happened?  Well, she lives in a dragon sanctuary.  She’s helped rescue and tend to hundreds of dragons.  They all live under the protection of the Alpha, the King of all dragons (a Bewilderbeast, and what the antagonists were searching for at the end of RTTE).  Valka takes a look at Toothless and remarks that he’s the last of his kind and is Hiccup’s age, which must be why they get along so well. 

She asks about Toothless’ injury and assumes it was Drago.  Now it gets awkward.  Hiccup admits he shot Toothless down, but “you got me back, right bud.  You couldn’t save all of me, could you?  You just had to make it even.  So, peg leg!”  He admits Stoick was able to change after what Hiccup did.  Valka doesn’t believe Hiccup.  In her day, Berk was a land of kill or be killed, but she couldn’t kill dragons either.  Then, one night, a dragon broke into their house while Hiccup was in his cradle.  Valka went to defend him, but found Cloudjumper being thoughtful and kind.  He was startled, which left the scratch that scarred on Hiccup’s chin.  When Stoick burst in, Cloudjumper took off with Valka, leaving a burning hut behind with Stoick and Hiccup.  Hiccup is still trying to take everything in; “it’s not every day you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante, dragon lady.”  Hiccup meets the Alpha and finds out that all dragons listen to the Alpha; they are under his control as well as his protection.  Well, the baby dragons listen to no one.

When Stoick and Gobber don’t return with Hiccup in short order, Astrid worries they may have been captured, so she takes the team to find Eret again and once again find Drago.  In finding Eret, Stormfly plays fetch with the trapper.  He finally agrees to take the Berkians to Drago.  “Works every time,” Astrid remarks about her dragon.

Mother and son continue to bond.  They fly with the dragons and Hiccup shows Valka his map.  She draws another map for him, which prompts Toothless to draw in the snow (an echo of the first film).  Hiccup shows off his flying suit, proving to be truly like a dragon.  Until Toothless has to rescue him again.  Hiccup’s still a daredevil and is thrilled even after Toothless dumps snow on him.  Valka shows Toothless and Hiccup that there are a second set of finds on Toothless’ back that would help with tight turns.  Valka realizes, “all this time, you took after me?”  She asks to start over with her son.  He agrees.  And then wants Valka to come with him and speak reason to Drago.  She also refuses, more concerned with protecting the dragons from Drago and his men.  She will protect her own (an echo of Stoick saying a chief protects his own in regards to Vikings.)

Astrid and the team make it to Drago’s camp and are taken prisoner.  Stoick and Hiccup aren’t there, but Drago manages to bend Hookfang to his will, more through brute strength and fear than understanding like Hiccup.  He claims that he alone controls dragons.  Well, the Berkians have a surprise for him.  There’s another ‘dragon master,’ Hiccup, son of Stoick the Vast, heir to the chief of Berk.  He will come rescue them on his Night Fury and take down Drago.  He chuckles.  Now he knows he needs to attack Berk.  When Drago orders Eret to be killed, Stormfly protects him, to his astonishment.  When the young adults are about to walk the plank, Eret returns the favor and helps them get free.  They search for their dragons and Eret thanks Stormfly.

Since neither of his parents will listen to him, or try to help him, Hiccup plans to set out for Drago on his own.  He’s stopped by Stoick and Gobber who have arrived.  Well, now Hiccup has another surprise for Stoick.  He’s stunned silent when he catches sight of Valka.  She expects him to shout, demand why she stayed away from them for twenty years.  “Stop being so stoic, Stoick!”  Instead, the first words out of his mouth are “you’re as beautiful as the day I lost you.”  Who knew that Stoick could be so soft and romantic?  They kiss and all are happy with the reunion.  This is the first time in Hiccup’s memory that he’s had both of his parents present.  Stoick even sings a song to Valka, The Dancing and the Dreaming.  She joins in and they dance around.  They’re ready to be a family again.  Gobber will cook.

Their happiness is interrupted by distress from the dragons.  Drago has found the sanctuary.  Everyone mounts up.  The team escape with their dragons and start setting fire to the traps, rescuing other wild dragons.  Fishlegs and Snotlout both save Ruffnut when she falls off Barf and Belch, (they attempt to look majestic…mixed results I’d say.)  Astrid and Eret ride Stormfly together and then Hiccup bursts in.  When Astrid asks what he’s been up to, “oh, just catching up with mom,” as Cloudjumper and the Bewilderbeast emerge.  Now they know where Hiccup gets his dramatic flair.  [The music is awesome here.]

Valka ends up on the ground and goes after Drago.  Drago reveals that he too has a Bewilderbeast Alpha, that controls his dragon army.  So Bewilderbeast faces off against Bewilderbeast.  Stoick steps in to defend Valka and then faces off against Drago, in a mimic of the fight going on behind them.  Ultimately, Drago’s Bewilderbeast kills Valka’s.  Then he sets it to kill Valka.  Stoick rushes off to save his long-lost wife.  Hiccup is the next to face Drago.  Drago’s surprised by Hiccup’s size and comments that Stoick must feel shame that this is his son.  Hiccup ignores that comment and retorts that this is Drago’s effort to rule the world.  He remarks that dragons are kind and can bring people together.  Drago doesn’t believe it; he knows their cruelty; he shows Hiccup where he lost an arm and wears a prosthetic.  Hiccup theorizes that Drago needs dragons to conquer other dragons, or is it other people?  Control those who follow him and get rid of those who won’t.  Drago admits Hiccup is a “clever boy,” [but with none of the genuine admiration that Viggo had for Hiccup, even at the height of their war against each other.]  Hiccup presses that the world wants peace, and he can show Drago.

Drago has his Bewilderbeast ignore Valka and take control of Toothless.  Then orders Toothless against Hiccup.  “He who controls the Alpha, controls all,” and that true strength is strength over others.  Stoick realizes the change and runs back to his son [he’s almost lost Hiccup how many times?  He’s lived with this fear for twenty years; it’s been just the two guys.]  Toothless advances on Hiccup and Hiccup can’t get his friend to snap out of it.  Toothless prepares a blast and Stoick knocks Hiccup out of the way at the last second.

The music shifts and we all realize what occurred.  Astrid rushes to her fiancé’s side and Drago strides away.  Toothless comes back to himself and tries to nuzzle Stoick.  Hiccup brushes him away with angry words.  Valka comforts Hiccup; it wasn’t Toothless’ fault.  “Good dragons under the control of bad people do bad things.”  Drago then takes control of Toothless, who is having difficulty flying.  When Hiccup hears his friends cry, his angry vanishes and he wants to go after Toothless, but all of the dragons are flying off to follow the new Alpha to attack Berk.

Stoick is laid out in a funeral ship, Gobber speaks the farewell words to “a warrior, a chieftain, a father, a friend,” and Hiccup leads everyone (including Eret) in lighting the funeral ship alight.  Many of his friends, who we’ve seen act tough, shed tears.  Heck, I cry during this scene every time (not helped by bagpipes playing).  [And we wonder for a moment if all will be well; Stoick told Drago it takes more than a little fire to kill him.]  Hiccup addresses his father: “I’m not the chief that you wanted me to be.  And I’m not the peacekeeper I thought I was.”

Valka tells Hiccup he was born early; wee, frail, fragile.  She wondered if he’d survive, but Stoick never doubted.  “He always said you’d become the strongest of them all.”  And words of wisdom for her son: “You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon.  Only you can bring our worlds together.”  Hiccup doesn’t have to choose.  This is who he can be; who he was born to be.  Chief, like his father.  Dragon lover, like his mother.  [But with a Hiccup flair thrown in.]  [And oh, the art is beautiful here, where Hiccup stands in front of the light from the funeral pyre.]

I was so afraid of becoming my dad, mostly because I thought I never could. How, how do you become someone that great, that brave, that selfless. I guess you can only try.

His theme comes back as he turns to his friends and declares “a chief protects his own,” echoing his father’s statement earlier.  Then he tells them they’re going back.  They’re going to stop Drago.  And he’s got an idea.  A crazy one, but then all Hiccup ideas are crazy.  They ride the baby dragons to Berk; they won’t get controlled by the Alpha.  They’ll get Toothless back and kick Drago’s…that part gets cut off.

Drago arrives at Berk with his Bewilderbeast and takes control of the dragons there, then announces to the village that their chief is dead.  And Hiccup is nowhere to be seen.  But they cheer come the dawn when Hiccup rides in with the rest of the young adults.  There are ice chunks now in the village and Drago is still in front of all the people.  Hiccup sends his friends to distract the Alpha so Hiccup can get close to Toothless.  They use the sheep launcher and Fishlegs even responds to its growls with a giant horn.  They’re briefly successful, but Hiccup does get close to Toothless.  Drago warns him that the Night Fury won’t miss a second time, after noting that the lad is hard to get rid of (yeah, several people in RTTE found that out.)  Hiccup pleads, “you’re my best friend,” and understands that Toothless didn’t mean to hurt Stoick.  Toothless would never hurt Hiccup.  After several blinks, Toothless is back!  [And cue awesome music!]  He knocks Drago off and then falls without someone to control his tail.  Hiccup dives after him.  The pair right themselves before they crash and take off.

Hiccup makes sure to cover Toothless’ ears and eyes.  “You and me as one,” he tells his friend.  Astrid and the rest of the Berkians cheer Hiccup on.  They separate again so Hiccup can surprise Drago and knock him off the Bewilderbeast.  But now Toothless and Hiccup have to meet back up and they’re approaching a large dragon tail again.  But the new fins help and Toothless catches Hiccup properly.  They land and Hiccup faces Drago, but the Bewilderbeast shoots his ice at the young Viking.  Toothless jumps around him and covers him, but they’re encased.  Drago thinks he’s won.  But the ice glows blue and bursts apart.  There are bright blue spots on Toothless who roars loudly at the Bewilderbeast, still covering Hiccup.  He spreads his wings (as many animals do to appear more threatening) and challenges the Alpha, as Hiccup notes.  “To protect you,” Valka adds.  Toothless’ barrage on the Bewilderbeast breaks its hold on the other dragons, who fly around to Toothless’ side and also begin blasting the Bewilderbeast.  In the chaos, he loses part of a tusk, even while Drago shouts for him to take back control.  Hiccup joins his dragon and tells Drago that this is what it truly means to gain a dragon’s loyalty.  Drago loses his metal arm in all the firepower and the Bewilderbeast sinks back into the water.  We don’t quite see what happens to Drago, if he manages to ride with the dragon or something else happens.

The rest of the dragons, led by Cloudjumper, bow to their new Alpha, Toothless (who looks very pleased with himself).  Hiccup thanks his friend.  The moment is lightened when Toothless licks him again.  Hiccup takes the time to pass Skullcrusher to Eret; he’ll need someone to look after him.  Astrid joins her fiancé and the two share a kiss.  Gobber and Gothi come to stand next to Hiccup.  Hiccup kneels for Gothi to place a symbol on his forehead in ash.  Gobber announces to the crowd “the chief has come home!” and all cheer.

We see the village rebuilding, removing the ice, and even starting on a statue of Stoick.  The young adults are dragon racing again, with Hiccup joining in.  His narration tells us his view as chief:

Those who attacked us are relentless and crazy, but those who stopped them, oh, even more so.  We may be small in numbers, but we stand for something bigger than anything the world can pit against us.  We are the voice of peace and bit by bit, we will change this world.  You see, we have something they don’t.  Oh sure, they have armies and they have armadas, but we…we have…our dragons!

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel in Lord of the Rings and Hobbit, Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, the evil stepmother in the live action Cinderella, Marion in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, the antagonist in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and portrayed Elizabeth I in two movies amongst dozens of other roles.  She’s won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and three SAG awards) joins the cast as Valka, and Dijmon Hounsou (he’s Korath in the MCU and appeared in Eragon) is Drago, while Kit Harington (best known as Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, I also watched him in Pompeii and Testament of Youth) is Eret.

It’s a toss-up between this and the original for my favorite movie of the franchise.  I adore the soundtrack to this movie.  I think I will definitely detail some thoughts on all of them in my wrap up blog in a few months.  I will note that we hear bagpipes more in this soundtrack than the first.  There’s still the humor we love from the first movie, but it is a little more of an adult story.  Especially with the death of Hiccup’s father.  Did not see that coming the first time around.  As noted by the fandom when Hiccup takes off his helmet at the beginning of the movie: we were Neville Longbottomed by a cartoon character (nerdy kid matured to be good looking.) 

I also dearly love the character growth shown in Race to the Edge that plays into this film.  Hiccup faced challenges during their life at the Edge; he grew as a leader.  He became a peacekeeper, always trying to show how dragons and people can live together.  His friends support him as a leader.  Astrid is unquestionably his second in command; we see that in this movie as well.  They follow her to Drago’s camp.  They follow Hiccup back to Berk.

Hiccup and Astrid are absolutely sweet in this movie.  They’re settled as a couple.  Astrid can tell most times what Hiccup is planning on doing and often follows and supports him.  She gives him wise counsel that what Hiccup’s searching for in his life isn’t out in the great beyond, it’s in his heart.  Hiccup easily wants Astrid along; he doesn’t argue when she finds him at Itchy Armpit.  He doesn’t send her away when he tries to persuade Eret to take him to Drago.  He’s not ashamed to initiate a kiss with her in front of the entire village at the end of the film.

Even in Race to the Edge, Hiccup was not keen on becoming chief of Berk anytime soon.  He didn’t want to do it when Stoick was very hurt.  He doesn’t want to do it now initially.  He’s twenty; he still likes a life of adventure (we saw that even at the beginning of RTTE).  But he will step up.  He will do what is right for his people; a chief protects his own.  And for Hiccup, that includes dragons as well as Vikings.  He is a mixture of his parents, a lover of dragons, and a leader of Vikings.  And Berk has grown to trust and follow Hiccup.  They cheer when he comes to protect them from Drago.

This movie expands Hiccup’s family dynamics, with the reemergence of his mother, who has been gone for twenty years.  The trio were blissfully happy for a few hours.  And then Drago destroyed that.  Hiccup will only ever know having one parent.  His gained a mother, but lost a father.  He lost the parent who raised him.  He lost the parent that saw him through his trials and being an awkward kid and teenager, to coming through fire (literally) to change how their village and surrounding area views dragons.  Stoick did not hesitate to protect Hiccup, leaving his long-lost wife to run after his boy.  Many antagonists that Hiccup has met along the way comment that Stoick the Vast must be disappointed with his son.  Known as the dragon master, but so skinny and unimposing.  It’s Hiccup’s heart that is great.  Hiccup remarks at the funeral that he’s scared to take over his father’s position; he knows he’s not his dad.  Some fanfic authors have explored the growing pains that Valka and Hiccup go through after the film; getting to know one another after so long apart from each other.

I do have a bittersweet memory attached to this movie.  It came out about the time a friend from faire went into hospice.  She was an incredibly sweet woman, made sure to tell me as a newbie, peasant cast member, that I don’t have to bow and wait for the royal cast members to interact if they’re not paying attention.  When I found out she had passed, I went to see this movie as something to do.  Luckily, a coworker was also at the movie the same day and I managed to not cry through the entire movie.  Still love the movie, but the funeral scene always twinges a bit more.

This film is a great addition to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.  Drago did pose a bigger threat to Hiccup and Berk because he had the literal army, both in men and dragons, to back up his claims.  He has control of a Bewilderbeast and manages to land and attack Berk.  He’s impervious to Hiccup’s persuasion.  Hiccup has now met someone he cannot charm (well, he found a few towards the end of Race to the Edge.)  Hiccup and his riders take on a literal army in this film, far more numbers than they have before.  But they’re twenty now, not teens.  And they have Stoick and Valka to back them up for a bit, plus a Bewilderbeast on their side.  The battle still boils down to Hiccup taking on the main antagonist and this antagonist doesn’t roll over for the pride of Berk.  His Bewilderbeast kills the other.  He takes control of the other dragons, which our heroes have not encountered. 

However, good does triumph over evil.  And it is due to love.  Hiccup may have initially been angry at Toothless for the death of his father, in those first few moments.  But as soon as Toothless was in trouble, Hiccup wants to rescue his friend, his best friend.  Hiccup’s love for Toothless, and Toothless’ love in return for Hiccup bring the pair back together and together they triumph over the Alpha and Drago.  Toothless is tiny compared to the Bewilderbeast, but he doesn’t hesitate to get between his opponent and his boy.  His roar brings the other dragons to his side and then acknowledge him as their new Alpha.

Up Next: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and a few ending shorts.  After that will be a longer wrap-up of the fandom in general and my take on the music of the franchise (that may be a bit longer coming)

“Whatever it is, I bet it’s the twins’ fault.”

First, my deepest apologies for the lengthy delay.  You may be aware that I managed to get distracted my new-to-me fandoms last year.  There are still some projects connected with those that I need to work on, but I am really going to try to finish the How to Train Your Dragon portion this year.  I do thank everyone who has been reading these posts in the meantime.  I am…astounded.

Anyways, on with the show!

Season Four: Race to the Edge

The second part of Defenders of the Wing opens the season with Hiccup managing to convince Mala that Viggo has used the Dragon Riders.  They were all tricked.  Mala agrees to go with Hiccup to save the Eruptadon, though she also threatens to kill him if anything goes wrong.  She starts to realize how well Hiccup and Toothless works together and marvels at their harmony in flying; it’s rather magical.  They find Viggo’s ship and attack.  But there’s no Viggo and no dragon; another misdirection.

No, Viggo is at Dragon’s Edge, with the intention of using the Eruptadon to destroy the Riders’ base going through the crust of the dormant volcano.  (Apparently a classic Maces and Talons move.)  Hiccup and Mala make it to the Edge to attack Viggo there, Mala having great fun taking out several of the Hunters.  She now understands that Hiccup and his friends are not enemies to dragons and that he recognizes the good of the many outweighs the good of the few. 

With some help from Gronkles on the island, the lava is stopped from getting to their headquarters.  The Dragon Riders and the Defenders of the Wing are now officially allies.  The village even puts up with the twins’ antics, though undoubtedly pleased when the Riders head back to the Edge.  Viggo is displeased with the outcome; he had been expecting a victory.  Hiccup keeps interfering with his plans.

We then find out that Ruffnut and Tuffnut have a cousin named Gruffnut, who comes to visit the Edge.  Tuff is excited.  Ruff sees Gruff for who he really is and is not happy of the influence he has on her twin brother.  Gruff tends to tell tall tales, that Tuff falls for.  The others make him come clean that he’s trying to take one of their dragons in order to pay off a debt.

The Riders think they’ve seen the last of Gruffnut, but he pretends to be Tuff and takes his dragon.  But Chicken knows the difference and warns the dragons.  Tuff manages to escape from being tied up by his cousin and goes with Hiccup to rescue Barf and Belch (Gruff is also now stuck with Ruffnut).  Tuff even makes use of Hiccup’s Dragon Fly suit and fights Gruff.  Gruff is sent packing and Ruff and Tuff continue to happily annoy everyone else on the island.

 Midnight Scrum is one of my favorite episodes; I oddly love my heroes in a bit of peril.  The episode opens with Hiccup running from bounty hunters.  Turns out, Viggo has put a price on his head.  But Hiccup doesn’t want to tell his father right away, partly due to the fact that a big anniversary celebration is coming up on Berk.  He doesn’t want to distract the chief.  Astrid urges Hiccup to share the burden.  That idea gets knocked on its head when Stoick tells Hiccup upon their arrival on Berk that the “needs of the many outweigh the need of the few.”  [Yes, Dragons is now quoting Star Trek.]

During the celebration, Gobber praises the youth as “some of the youngest Berkians had the guts to step up and take a stand.  The time has come to look towards the future, Hiccup and the Dragon Riders!”  They then put on a dragon show, but the stress of the bounty starts getting to Hiccup and he overreacts to some strangers.  Astrid advises him again to tell Stoick, yes he’s the chief, but he’s also your dad.

The next morning Stoick goes looking for Hiccup and cannot find him.  That’s because during the night a few bounty hunters were lucky enough to catch Hiccup unawares, knock him out, and get him on a boat.  Those two indeed got lucky, because otherwise, they’re incompetent.  Hiccup makes a break for it, but does not find his friends above deck.  Instead, it’s Savage, Alvin’s old second in command.  He’ll be glad to deliver Hiccup to Viggo.  Hiccup fights smart against Savage, but he’s saved when Throk arrives.

In the meantime, Stoick has gathered the Riders and is riding Toothless, searching for his son.  Astrid talks to him about the bounty.  Why would Hiccup not share this information with Stoick?  “He’s Hiccup.  Sometimes, his pride’s bigger than his brain.”

Throk is overpowered by a mystery cloaked man who chains Hiccup up to take him to Viggo.  But they find Ryker instead and the sack of gold is actually a sack of rocks.  The mystery man won’t release Hiccup for that.  The man must now fight the Hunters and Hiccup gets a chance to escape and use his flaming sword.  The man and Hiccup get knocked off a cliff and the man clings to Hiccup’s leg.  Hiccup is able to knock his prosthetic leg off and the man goes tumbling.  But when Hiccup slips, he’s saved…by Ryker.  “Viggo wants to kill you himself”.  [Getting a bit grim for a children’s show, though this may be geared more for teenagers and young adults.]  Stoick and Toothless have been tracking Hiccup and find him just in time.  Stoick faces off against Ryker; “you put a bounty on one of us, you get all of us.”  He knocks out Ryker, but the man wakes up in time to throw a knife at a retreating Hiccup (helped by Astrid.)  It doesn’t land because he’s knocked out by Hiccup’s leg, thrown by the mystery man, who then jumps off the cliff to remain mysterious.

On their way back to Berk, Stoick counsels his son; they are allies, peers.  The people of Berk depend on them to keep them safe.  To do that, they cannot keep secrets.

Snotlout has his own issues with his father’s teachings in Not Lout.  Snotlout is desperate to prove himself to his father, maybe not overtake Hiccup (though I’m sure Spitelout would enjoy that), but be a stand-out second.  He messes up an attack, but still tells Hiccup he wants to lead the Dragon Riders when Stoick makes Hiccup chief.  The teens are indeed looking to the future and making their own plans.  Hiccup warns Snotlout that he cannot force his way into a leadership position; everyone has their own strengths.  Snotlout should look for his.

Hiccup also shows his strength as a leader and gives Snotlout the lead on a practice mission.  He still messes up and decides to ground himself.  However, when he’s on the ground, he realizes that the mission the rest of the Riders are flying into is a trap and takes off after them.  He swoops in, messing up their plan, but revealing the trap.  Snotlout then takes charge and they accomplish a better mission.  Afterwards, Hiccup tells Snotlout that he’s proud of him and asks what Snotlout wants to do.  Snotlout decides he doesn’t want to be exactly like his dad.  But that makes him not so different after all.

The Riders return to the Defenders of the Wing island in Saving Shattermaster.  They find out that Mala and Throk were saved from Hunters by a mysterious figure.  On a fun note, it’s time for Snotlout to face a serious of trials to become Mala’s king, after he saved her life earlier.  Snotlout is not pleased with the trials, but Hiccup leaves most of the Riders there with him to keep him safe, and takes Heather to investigate whoever saved Mala and Throk.

That new mysterious man is actually Dagur (note: not the same mysterious man who kidnapped Hiccup; he had been at Viggo’s auction, so definitely not a friend).  Dagur also does not initially appear to be a friend; he seems to be with the Hunters.  Heather attacks him, and Dagur has to reveal that he’s trying to work with the Hunters because he’s trying to save his dragon, Shattermaster.  Thus, Hiccup has to remark to Heather at one point: “shall we rescue our brother?”  Heather’s not so keen.  “I’m going to kill him,” is her response.  She ends up saving him and makes her big brother be the distraction so they can get his dragon.  He tells Heather that once everything has settled, he will return and answer any of her questions.

Dire Straits is another of my favorite episodes.  The trade routes are getting disrupted to Berk, a giant whirlpool is claiming ships.  Berk needs trade in order to survive, especially since they lost their stockpile of gold to Viggo at the dragon auction.  Stoick has the Riders investigate.  It’s a Submaripper dragon, very large, and very territorial.  Hiccup makes use of his Deathsong amber goggles to investigate under the water.  There are dragon-proof chains holding the Submaripper dragon in place.  But Hiccup can’t hold his breath long enough to free him.  They have to come up with another solution.

He makes a diving cauldron and uses Deathsong amber as a lens.  Hiccup takes the risk himself, though Fishlegs is on standby.  When they make their final attempt, Viggo starts an attack to rile the Submaripper up.  The Riders don’t want to hurt the dragon, since it’s not it’s fault.  Under the water, Hiccup manages to free the dragon, but the winch to bring up the diving cauldron is damaged in the attack.  Toothless dives down to save his rider.  Hiccup tries to send Toothless away, but his friend refuses.  Hiccup admits he’d do the same.

The Submaripper helps out the one who helped him, and brings the cauldron to the surface.  Hiccup is eerily still for a minute once they get him out, but he eventually coughs up the water.  He’s weakened and can’t fly after Viggo, but the other Riders are more than pleased to do it for him.  Except they’re foiled again, because Ryker is using Seashocker dragons to escape.

Trade does return to Berk and the village is saved, thanks to Hiccup.  He still feels at fault, since it was his plan that lost Berk it’s gold and it’s his enemy who is doing this to Berk.  Stoick gives wise words to his son.  Viggo has shown his true colors now; “only a coward endangers innocent women and children as a means of intimidation.”  Bravery will triumph over cowardice.

We get a bit of a breather with The Longest Day.  It’s the time of the Midnight Sun, when Berk experiences two weeks full of days of sunlight [it is an actual phenomenon that that part of the world experiences, which, kudos to the team for putting that detail in].  Stoick is pleased because Berkians become very productive.  But that long of a time awake, makes people a little loopy, being so sleep deprived. 

Hiccup gave his Riders a very easy task for the day: wash their dragons.  Well, Fishlegs ends up paranoid, Snotlout has mood swings, Ruffnut and Tuffnut hallucinate, Heather can’t balance, and Astrid is giddy.  Hiccup, meanwhile, is on Berk with Stoick, discussing plans to deal with Viggo.  Hiccup’s first plan is “wipe the psychopath off the map, kaboom!”  Eh, kaboom is not exactly a full plan.  Okay, he wants revenge.  He wants the Dragon Eye back.  Stoick insists that Hiccup needs a plan.

The teen does manage to find a new dragon, well, one large dragon that has a squadron of smaller dragons that cling to its wings to provide firepower [reminds me a bit of guns on a warplane].  He ends up quoting Dagur while he figures out how to deal with the dragons: “trappers trap can trap the trapper.”  That’s when he knows he’s losing it.  When he returns to the Edge, he finds that the dragons have dumped their riders into a hole to get some sleep.  Toothless follows suit.

Hiccup starts trying new moves with Toothless during Gold Rush, telling himself he’ll rest when Viggo’s gone.  His plans are derailed when Dagur returns, searching for his father.  The tales that Dagur killed his father to take over the Berserker tribe were lies.  Oswald had gone on a trip and never returned.  Dagur wants his sister to join the search, and he has news for his “brother,” Dagur knows where Viggo hides his gold.  It will be the perfect strike against Viggo.

Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout end up captured and discover that Viggo’s new ships are metal underneath the wood, essentially making them dragon-proof.  Until Shattermaster shows up (to the theme played on bagpipes, very cool).  The Riders get free, Hiccup quickly jumping on Toothless.

Later, he realizes that the gold was hidden in Viking ruins on the island.  The hint had been there were no ruins on the map.  Heather decides to accompany Dagur on his trip to find their father, but manages to give Fishlegs a kiss before they leave.

Mala returns again in Out of the Frying Pan; the Eruptadon has laid an egg, but it needs transported to its ancient hatching site inside the volcano.  But the Eruptadon is very old and spent a lot of energy bringing about the egg.  So Hiccup volunteers to help Mala with the egg.  As does Fishlegs.  But the two, who usually work on the same wavelength, are now disagreeing.  Time is running out.  Mala tries to run off with the egg, dodging small dragons that attack her.  Fishlegs and Hiccup realize that the smaller dragons are actually guardians of the eggs and are meant to take the egg to its site.

Throk and Astrid descend into the volcano as the lava rises, hoping to rescue Mala, Hiccup, and Fishlegs.  But Meatlug can’t carry them all.  Luckily, the Eruptadon comes to their rescue.

It starts with a broken Macey in Twintuition.  Hiccup won’t fix her/it in the middle of the night.  But Tuffnut doesn’t want to fly all the way back to Berk either.  Instead, Tuff and Ruff head to the Northern Markets and encounter lots of Hunters.  And decide it’s a good idea to claim they took out Hiccup.  Through their escapades, Macey gets stolen, the twins find Viggo and discover he’s working on a Project Shellfire.  Then Viggo sees Macey and is smart enough to recognize the Gronkle Iron mace and knows that the twins are on his island.  Tuff is actually brave and goes for the project plans instead of his mace, but he gets Macey back in the end (after Viggo tries to drown the Riders.)

The Triple Stryke dragon returns in Blindsided, with Hiccup now trying to train Sleuther.  Their training is interrupted by storms rolling in (not that it was going well to begin with).  Astrid checks on the dragon pens and lightning strikes, causing a fire.  She’s knocked out in the commotion and the dragons fly off.  Hiccup rescues Astrid and they find out when Astrid wakes up that she is blinded.  Hiccup promises to stay with Astrid.  But, Astrid being Astrid, she wants to help find Stormfly and the other dragons and will not take ‘no’ as an answer.  “I’m putting my foot down,” Hiccup tells Astrid.  Two seconds later, they are both on Toothless.

Hiccup is also desperate to protect Astrid, particularly since she is vulnerable without sight at the moment.  “Of course she’s not going to hide, what was I thinking, she’s Astrid,” he grumbles.  At one point, he does get Astrid behind a rock because the Triple Stryke is all riled up now.  “You, stay,” he orders.  Astrid obeys, for now.  Then she catches on to a sound Sleuther makes before making a strike.  She uses that sound to distract Sleuther and they get all the dragons calmed down…and back with their proper owners.  Now, they have a way to train the Triple Stryke and Astrid does get her sight back.  She gives Hiccup a hug and they go sit together.

Earlier, Hiccup assured Astrid “you have me.  Okay, whatever that mean, whatever you want it mean.  I am with you.  There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid.  Always.”  And Hiccup had been ready to kiss Astrid, but it wasn’t quite the right time.  Astrid brings it up as they sit, watching the sunset.  Hiccup wanted it to be the perfect moment.  Well, now seems pretty perfect.  Indeed it does, and the two young adults share a kiss.  (So romantic!)

The two-parters Shell Shocked finishes the season.  The Riders are on Berk, preparing for Hiccup’s plan to attack the Hunters.  They’re joined by Berk’s A-Team as well as Heather and Dagur.  Hiccup and Astrid share a secret kiss; they haven’t told their friends yet.  All the dragon riders carry out Hiccup’s plan, but find the Hunters’ camp destroyed and Viggo in a hole, happy to see Hiccup.  Stoick would rather punch the man who has threatened his people and his son, but Hiccup holds him back.  Viggo says that Ryker has turned on him and betrayed him.  He plans to wipe out the Riders and their allies using Project Shellfire.  Viggo offers to give Hiccup more information if they will help him take out Ryker.

Hiccup has to act.  He brings Viggo with him and sends others to check on their allies.  Fishlegs gets to see the hatched Eruptadon baby and knows to keep the baby safe.  Viggo then manages to escape during an attack at the Edge.  Hiccup and Astrid have to learn how to balance their care for each other and being in danger.  Ryker runs up a white flag and talks to Hiccup, spinning the same story as his brother, that Viggo betrayed him.  Ryker is willing to give Hiccup the Dragon Eye in exchange for Viggo.  Now Hiccup is a bit confused on who to believe.

Meanwhile, the twins and Snotlout realize something is going on between Hiccup and Astrid.  The twins believe Hiccup is dying, but Snotlout thinks he has a gambling problem…so no one correctly guesses.  They do find out what Project Shellfire is.  It’s a ship on a dragon.  And Hiccup of course, goes after it, but it swims too fast and dives too deep.

Viggo shows back up, with the Dragon Eye, and Hiccup happily locks the man up.  Ryker uses the Shellfire to attack the Edge’s volcano, again.  Fishlegs brings the baby Eruptadon to help eat the lava.  Hiccup is a noble hero and won’t let Viggo die in a fire, hoping he’s not making the biggest mistake of his life.  Viggo, trying to be Hiccup’s friend and advisor, notes the conundrum Hiccup is in, to be in love with a girl who is his partner in battle.  It looks like Viggo is going to stab Hiccup, but the knife is dropped in the water to bring up the Submaripper, who attacks the Shellfire.  The two dragons are natural enemies.  Viggo continues to sweettalk Hiccup: “we may be adversaries, but my respect for you is beyond what I can put into words.”  [And I kind of respect Viggo, as a villain, for respecting Hiccup as a worthy adversary, for not simply dismissing him as a young kid with no brains.]

Dagur now bonds with the Triple Stryke, and Hiccup continues to call the crazy man his brother [a bit sweet.]  Ryker goes down with the ship and for a moment, we think all is well.  Until Viggo shows up with a captured Astrid, demanding Hiccup return the Dragon Eye.  Is the young man willing to “sacrifice your future, all the wonderful years ahead” for the Dragon Eye?  Hiccup throws the Eye into the volcano.  Viggo falls and Hiccup is ready to grab him, but it’s too late.  Now, it’s over.  Finally.  Definitely.

Hiccup and Astrid share a sweet moment, and then a kiss, witnessed by everyone.  Fishlegs remarks, “this changes everything,” (which is the catchphrase of the show, used in the opening).

And nope.  Not over.  The volcano erupts.  End of season.

Another season full of adventures, and the storyline is getting tighter.  There are still side excursions, but the focus is on the battle going on between Viggo and Hiccup.  Hiccup is gaining allies.  Dagur is firmly on his side, as is Heather, even if we don’t see them every episode.  There are now the Defenders of the Wing and we learn a lot about them this season.

I like how Stoick is dealing with Hiccup now.  Hiccup and Stoick are both leaders; Hiccup has proven himself as a leader of the Dragon Riders, is keeping an outpost going.  Has made allies of his own, as well as enemies.  But he’s holding those enemies at bay.  However, Hiccup is still young and needs to learn when to depend upon all his allies and recognize that he can go to his father for advice, as a leader, not simply father and son.  And Hiccup is shaping up to be a worthy heir to the chiefdom of Berk.  While he lives away from the main island, he is still worried about the people.

Viggo is ramping up his actions against Hiccup because Hiccup keeps thwarting him.  Again, he takes Hiccup as a serious threat.  Not like Alvin the first time; oh, Hiccup is small and skinny, he’s such a disappointment.  No.  Hiccup was brave enough to face a dragon and befriend it.  Hiccup has grown as a character and his opponents grow as well.  Viggo tends to come off as classy; he has multi-faceted plans, he treats this as a game of Maces and Talons (kind of like chess), and he tries to teach Hiccup lessons.  Now those lessons have bigger consequences.  Hiccup has a bounty put on him, Viggo goes after Berk.  Stoick is now involved in this fight.

Not surprised that Ryker and Viggo seem to turn on each other.  There has always been a power struggle between the two.  Ryker is the older brother, but Viggo is the one in charge, supposedly brains versus brawn.  But both want Hiccup dead.  Ryker was fine with taking Hiccup from the mysterious man because Viggo wanted to kill him.  When their plans no longer align, Ryker still attacks the Edge.

The twins still have their moments of brilliance.  Snotlout is maturing, a bit, but really just trying to figure out what his role is in the Riders.  Fishlegs becomes sweet with Heather and it’s reciprocated.  And Astrid and Hiccup finally, officially get together!

Next Time:  I have a schedule I’m going to try to keep this year, to finish the How to Train Your Dragon section by the end of the year.  But I’m also going to try to work on completely a full draft of two major stories I’m working on (all to feed into the larger fantasy series I have planned).  Hopefully, a schedule will work.  After Dragons, there will be Chronicles of Narnia, and then finish it off with Lord of the Rings.  I do actually have some further plans after that, but we will see how everything works out.

Thank you again, for hanging with this blog series, it has grown larger than I first imagined and I am simply grateful for every view I get.

“No, it’s about your good heart.”

So, I have finished Reign, which has kept me from several other projects (such as Season Four of Race to the Edge), but mainly because it’s lead me to writing my longest story yet and the greatest interest I’ve had in writing something in years.

So here are some of my thoughts and reactions to the show:

First, what many people argue and what kept me from watching it for several years (the show is older than I originally thought; but I wasn’t really watching CW as a channel when it was on), is the historical inaccuracy.  They’re right.  A great many liberties are taken.  There’s an age lift (though they might be portraying them at the correct age, but since the actors are older, I tend to read it as the characters are older…and considering some of the scenes shown, the network should believe the characters are older).  I’m personally fine with the age lift. 

The costumes…I tried watching the show once about a year ago and couldn’t get past the first episode because the dresses were so wrong.  I’ve since read that the budget was tight the first season, so they literally used prom dresses…we can tell.  The men’s costumes are fairly typical for a historical series, lots of leather, but female viewers tend to like that (guilty).  Costumes did get better as the series went.  I do rather like some of Lola’s dresses.  Catherine has some gorgeous dresses and Mary’s get better in season four.

In addition to historical inaccuracy, they forget about geography some times.  They never actually name what castle the French court is residing in; I think the fandom has named it Fontainebleau.  It’s often commented to be about two or three days from Paris.  Fine.  Then, in season four, the writers claim that men can make it from Edinburgh in Scotland to London in England in a single night.  Even more, they can get there, kidnap someone, and return to Edinburgh by morning.  Then return him the same day.  Nope.  Not possible.  (And we are expected it’s supposed to be a single night because Elizabeth is not more concerned, nor sent search parties after the man.)

As for characters, Francis and Sebastian quickly became my favorite.  I quickly loved their brotherly relationship; they’re close despite one being legitimate and the other illegitimate (they will certainly make it into my brothers in fiction essay).  And Bash never truly wants to usurp Francis’s place.  (As noted below, I disliked the love triangles.)  They’re best when they’re working together and supporting each other.  That hug at the end of Season 1!  Loved by all! 

I have mixed feelings about Catherine.  The actress did a superb job, because you root for her, even though she does absolutely terrible things.  Her love for her children triumphs over all.  As with many other relationships in this show; I like it when the characters work together.  She’s a nicer character when she supports Mary.  Still does horrible things because she thinks it’s helping, but they often come back to bite her.

Clarissa is not my favorite character and it’s more the working in the shadows.  I’m not sure how she’s motivated; I don’t think you can trust her.  Mary seems to, but that’s not a smart idea; don’t trust someone you don’t know or can’t see.  Of course, she tries to hurt her younger brothers after gaining their trust.  I also don’t always trust Nostradamus.  He has good intentions, but relying so heavily on visions and prophecies brings chaos.  I certainly don’t trust Diane, especially when she’s trying to get Bash legitimized. 

There are times I like Mary; she’s a strong queen and someone who doesn’t take what is thrown at her lying down.  However, she also makes some dumb choices.  I am not fond of any of the love triangles that pop up throughout this show.  Mary can’t seem to make up her mind on whom she wants to love.  She and Francis work well together, when they actually decide to work together.  I would have been happy to watch just their love story; and once Francis was crowned, there’s plenty of political drama that they did not need to add personal drama.  King and queen can disagree about how they want things done and that’s suspense.

An argument I have between Mary and Francis; Mary doesn’t like that Francis wants to put the needs of France first.  However, she does the same thing for Scotland.  Honey, you can’t have it both ways.  You’re each the sovereign of a different country, so your priorities are going to differ.  As with Bash, Francis makes a great team with Mary when they settle down, but the show is determined to throw hurdles in their way constantly.  The scene in the field where Francis proposes is utterly romantic.  Several of their scenes get hot and heavy.  And then it all goes to pot shortly after that.

The plotline with Lola and Francis comes out of nowhere and is a monumentally dumb idea.  They both know things are out of whack at the moment, but let’s do this thing that has potential consequences.  And now they have to deal with those consequences.

The first episode feels off from the rest of the show at times.  They had Bash give odd looks to the camera that made one wonder if he was plotting something as well.  That luckily went away.  I was utterly taken by the show by the fourth episode, when Bash came back wounded (don’t ask).  I was intrigued by the pagan plotline and think they could have done more with it, but the show had too many storylines they were trying to juggle.  (However, gives me lots of ideas for stories of my own.)

Henry going mad was an interesting plotline because it brings added danger to everyone.  He tries to kill Bash, more than once.  He oddly ends up working well with Catherine, which is nice, but still odd because we don’t know what’s going on.  And there are dead girls to contend with.  He’s so consumed with glory and gaining control of England.  Then he wants to kill Francis, his heir, and marry Mary.  So Catherine and Mary want to put an end to him.  Franics argues, until he realizes how dangerous his father is and takes the responsibility himself and rides against his father.

I have mixed feelings about the pairing of Bash and Kenna.  They seem good for each other, because Bash comes to care for her, even though he’s also focused on defeating the Darkness.  Some of their scenes are steamy.  And Kenna encourages Bash that he is enough, just himself; he doesn’t always have to prove himself.  Having Pascal around humanizes her, because she’s typically selfish.  Then…that plotline gets destroyed in the second season.

I never trust Narcisse, even when he tries to do something good.  I almost want the relationship between him and Lola to work out, because maybe she’ll bring the good out in him.  Nope.  Still is a complete jerk.  Yet, he oddly pairs with Catherine well.  Except they can’t trust each other enough to go far.

The triangle with Louis of Conde was unneeded.  A love triangle almost destroyed Francis and Mary before, so what do they do?  Bring in another one.  I mean, at first, I thought he was a nice guy, helping out his cousin.  But then I want to hit him as the season goes on.

The rape scene and plotline in the second season was unnecessary.  Yes, it brings drama, but all it does it throw Mary towards Louis.  She already has the mindset that if Francis won’t do what she wants, she’ll go to Louis to get it.  Not a good idea.  The only decent thing out of that scene was Catherine’s support of Mary.  I don’t know if it could have been avoided if Francis had told Mary the truth about his father’s death earlier; he was on the cusp of it at the end of season one when Mary sent him to Lola.  And he was on the cusp of it when he broke her heart by telling her he was upset she wasn’t pregnant.

I expected Mary’s pregnancy to Francis to last longer than one episode. Even though I knew, historically, Mary and Francis never had children, I was still happy that Mary was pregnant. And to have her miscarry so suddenly and so soon after it’s introduced was a bit heartbreaking. Catherine’s response was a bit funny, barging into their room with things for Mary.

Claude was genuinely affectionate with Francis and I wish we saw more of that.  And not the weird previous relationship between her and Bash.  However, her storyline with her mother was interesting, and played into the ghosts Catherine started seeing, same as Henry.  Once Claude settled down from trying to make Bash uncomfortable, they worked well together uncovering the truth of her sisters’ death.  And Diane’s back, and still making a mess of things.  Am I surprised that Catherine took the opportunity to kill her?  No.  I do like that we start seeing Bash and Catherine work together and be nice to each other.  (Diane’s death will surely become a problem later.)

Louis has a brother Antoine, who also needs hit.  The whole issue with their oldest brother being killed, they think by Bash, is never fully solved.  They think it’s Bash.  Bash admits it may have been him, but I’m not wholly convinced.  Antoine also tries to break up Bash’s marriage.  So it’s not wholly Kenna’s fault, but she’s still fairly selfish and is more concerned with nice things.  She also did not trust Bash enough at the end to be honest with him and instead tries to trick him.  Like, she had to have known it wouldn’t work well.  I had wanted the marriage to go well for Bash, for his sake.  For something happy and good in his life.

Which leaves the door open for Delphine.  Who I also don’t trust.  I am grateful for her powers when she saves Bash; which that scene was a total shock and I just sat silently for a few minutes when it went to commercial (and wished my mother would stop talking.  I have not recovered emotionally yet, leave me be).  But she strongly claims she is not a witch.  Honey, you can mystically heal people; yes it has a price, but magic often does.  You have visions.  You can bind yourself to someone, which was just a bit creepy.  I have no problem with you being a witch, just, admit it.  Don’t be frightened of it, but take advantage of the power.  You can’t have it both ways.  Is she a better match for Bash than Kenna?  Maybe.  That plotline needed better developed just the two of them.  But Bash is so often investigating things for Francis.

Odd as it sounds, Catherine kidnapping Lola and John and making Francis think John is dead goes a long way in bringing Mary and Francis back together.  Mary doesn’t attempt to take to Louis’ side and is instantly by her husband’s side and quite willing to help in whatever way she can.  Thankfully, John is safe, and Narcisse finds Lola and her child.  Though I do think the reveal that Franics is still not wholly well goes far in Francis’s desire to easily reconcile with Mary.  And a pairing between Catherine and Elizabeth I is not for anyone.

Catherine gets her comeuppance for that in the beginning of season three, easily getting captured and taken back to France to be thrown in the dungeon.  But Francis’s lingering illness makes that beginning of the season heartbreaking.  Charles has certainly grown up in the few intervening years and then grows up with the events of the season.  Hurrah for Narcisse doing the decent thing and helping Charles and Claude.  Now he has Francis’s permission to pursue Lola.

I like that England began to play more of a role in the politics and drama of the series.  There are still some historical inaccuracies, but Elizabeth I did have a very well-known affair with Robert Dudley.  (I don’t think it resulted in a child, miscarried or not.)

That dance in episode three is utterly beautiful and utterly heartbreaking.  The tune is Stay with Me, which suits the mood, and is so pretty played on violin.  The choreography is perfection.  I wish we had more scenes like that throughout the show.

Delphine saving Francis, even at the possible expense of Marie de Guise, gives us a spot of hope.  We’re happy; Bash has a love interest, Francis and Mary can plan a future.  Even Greer is happy with her new career, and having favor at court again.  Francis plans to whisk Mary away to Paris for a romantic getaway, then they stop to be a happy couple.  And it’s utterly ruined by the attack.  Even though I knew it was coming, I cried when Francis died.  The heartbreak that everyone plays; gosh, look at Bash’s face, and having to carry his brother away.  Placing the sword and crown on his casket.  Mary kissing the casket farewell, after her screams.  Not a dry eye at the end of that episode.  Then a few episodes later for Catherine and Bash to bring his casket back in order to clear Catherine’s name.  The audience knows that Catherine would never kill Francis.  And Catherine telling Mary not to look.  We’re not so happy with Narcisse after that.

Now Mary has to marry again, for the sake of her crown and country.  Most of the French court is still nice to her, even Catherine.  A pox on Narcisse for trying to force her out.  Don Carlos is kind for a moment, then manipulative.  I didn’t initially trust Gideon Blackburn, but he turns out so kind, and Mary is so sweet to his daughter.  Mary even saves Elizabeth’s life from a Vatican plot and gives Robert Dudley back to Elizabeth, even at the expense of sending Gideon.  Mary just needs a hug at the end.

It’s a tangled mess when Catherine takes a lover who turns out to be a killer, but being blackmailed into nonaction.  Her actions against Claude are terrible, but at least Charles is behind Claude (and Claude using what she learned from Leith was great).  Christophe was creepy from the moment he came on screen.  He attacks Delphine and later kills her.  I may not have trusted Delphine, but I didn’t want her dead; poor Bash.  Then he has to confront her killer.  And then confront Catherine.  Gosh, the heartbreak for him.  He’s already confessed he still has feelings for Mary, and will follow her to Scotland to continue to be in her service and protect her.

They’re shipwrecked on the shores of Scotland and Narcisse is not impressed and leaves Mary as soon as he honorably can.  Bash is almost killed, but we get to meet the Druids.  (Though that bit with the snakes was…gross and a bit weird.)  And find out that Bash may have a connection to them as well.  Mary gets revenge for Francis by killing the clan leader (John Barrowman, who is Scottish and is Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who).  Except, now she has to deal with John Knox, who dislikes female monarchs (not something I knew about the man) and even tries to get James to disband the monarchy.

James Stuart is probably portrayed nicer than he was in life.  I was fine that; I’m familiar with the actor from Good Witch and several other Hallmark movies where he tends to play royalty.  Actually, the number of Hallmark men who are in this show is just shy of absurd.  Torrance Coombs (Bash) is in Royally Ever After, Jonathan Keltz (Leith) is in Once Upon a Prince.  Will Kemp (Darnley) is in three movies with Lacey Chabert: Love, Romance, & Chocolate, The Christmas Waltz, and The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango, amongst others.  Steven Lund (Luc Narcisse) is in three of the Heart Around the Table movies [fairly new, and Torrance Coombs is the male lead in the fourth] and at least three other Hallmark Christmas movies.

It’s Knox who arranges word to get to Lola that Mary wants Elizabeth assassinated.  Mary gave no such word, but Knox doesn’t care; he just wants both women off their thrones and Protestant men put in their places.  Lola is caught and her friendship with the queen does not save her from being executed.  Narcisse was there, hoping to rescue his wife, and is forced to watch her beheading.  Mary is devastated.  Her only companion left is Greer, who returns to Scotland after Lola’s death.  She brings her young daughter (from a fling with a privateer.  Her husband is rescued from prison, but ultimately finds other companionship.)

I was terribly sad when Bash left.  I understand the actor left to pursue another show, but story wise it seems so odd for him to travel all the way to Scotland to be by Mary’s side, then leave her.  I mean, at least, they try to explain it with him pursuing his own supernatural talents.  Then, he’s mentioned in the fourth season that he’s had a vision, which he passes on to David Rizzio that Mary may have love, or an heir that will unite Scotland and England, but not both.  David oddly comments that it’s Bash’s spirit that leads him to Mary.  Uh, does that mean Bash is already dead?

This news just affirms that Mary will marry Darnley, who has a claim to the English throne himself.  Elizabeth fears this and even allows Gideon to return to Mary and propose marriage.  Again, they’re so sweet together and happy.  But Mary is afraid that the match will make her a prisoner in England.  So she breaks Gideon’s heart.  In England, Gideon ends up close to Elizabeth and the queen is kind to his daughter, particularly her last few days before she passes. 

I want to smack Darnley on a constant basis.  He’s arrogant and flippant and a jerk.  He’s only concerned with his position and not helping Mary as the current monarch.  He has a few charming moments, which is how Mary is able to conceive a child, but then the man goes along with a plot to rid the court of Bothwell, whom Mary has grown close to (admittedly, the man is handsome, and a right spot kinder than Darnley).  When the council can’t get their hands on Bothwell, they stab Rizzio in front of a pregnant Mary (that is historically accurate).  Mary does help Darnley escape the castle because she figures the other members won’t stand behind him long.  Then, the man, after several pledges to protect her, leaves his pregnant wife in the woods, alone. 

Meanwhile, in France, Catherine’s eldest daughter, Leeza (actually Elizabeth, but goes by a nickname so as not to be confused with Elizabeth Tudor) visits from Spain.  Yet, she wants Spain to have more influence in France and since Charles has been traumatized by an attack from the Red Knights, he’s not a strong king.  He gets better, with a bit of help from Claude’s new husband, Luc Narcisse.  Luc is actually a decent guy, unlike his father.  He tries to be understanding of Claude’s state of mind after Leith was killed.  Though, Leith returns, briefly.  He survived, but can’t stand that Claude is now married, so he leaves, hoping they all might find new happiness.  (Nothing can be straightforward, can it?)

Catherine is not happy that Leeza is home, or what changes she tries to make.  Catherine is trying to keep hold of the regency, though that too slips from her grasp.  Leeza eventually leaves, but also has instructions that Charles’ younger brother, Henry (who oddly looks older than Charles now), should take the throne.  That pits the two brothers against each other.  Further complicated by Charles’ female companion, Nicole.  Nicole is fairly kind, but wants more out of life than her humble beginnings.  She pursues Narcisse, who goes along with the affair so she’ll help control Charles.  Then, Henry arrives and is interested in Nicole, who is interested in return.  Then…Charles wants to marry her.

Catherine arranges for her death so the boys will unite against Spain.  Which involves making a deal with a witch…you know, for someone who spouts that France must remain Catholic, Cathreine sure makes use of magic a lot.  That whole deal, and Narcisse’s involvement just becomes last episode weirdness.  We finally see Catherine’s other daughter, Margot.  They almost seemed to be setting up another season, but the show definitely ended.

Narcisse briefly returns to Scotland to exact his revenge on those responsible for Lola’s death.  He castrates Knox, especially angry that Mary is not able to legally capture him for his wrongdoing.  He also arranges for Gideon Blackburn to die in Elizabeth’s arms, so the queen will know the loss of love.  Elizabeth is still not keen on marrying, so she makes use of Francis Drake (that is partially historically accurate; they mess with timelines again).  Then she has to prepare for the Spanish Armada.

Mary continues to have problems in Scotland; she almost dies in childbirth, but Bothwell calls her back.  That tender scene with Bothwell, Mary, and her newborn son is sweet.  And interrupted by Darnley doing something stupid.  A little later, what do we expect from the man who abandoned his pregnant wife in the woods?  He leaves his newborn son in the woods, on the word of the vision of his dead lover.  Darnley was killed and history points to Bothwell, possibly with Mary’s knowledge.  Just, not only a few days after her son’s birth.  Hurrah for seeing her brother again, for about ten minutes.  Mary asks for Elizabeth’s help and the time skip of two decades shows that that did not end well.  Yes, Mary was prisoner in England for many years before she was ultimately executed.

I do love the final scene, reuniting Mary and Francis.  Since this show portrays their love story, as up and down as they wrote it, I was happy to see Francis again.  Maybe their time in the afterlife will be better.  There’s a montage of bits through the seasons while Mary smiles to be back with her love.

In general, I liked the show.  I have to suspend my knowledge of history for a bit.  But the characters are compelling.  And I wanted to know how the twists and turns worked out.  I agree with a comment I read that the show might have done better if they had tossed the historical connection out and just placed it all in a fantasy universe.  Will I watch it again?  Yes.

There are some YouTube mixes that I keep going back to, that mainly deal with the brotherly relationship between Bash and Francis; they do tend to be a bit bittersweet, considering how their stories end.

Say Something by Ariana moreau

See You Again by LongMayYouReign

Brother (Kodaline) by Julia Defávari is wonderful.  The music has been used in other videos for other brotherly relationships [which leads to more videos and all influence the essay I will someday write]

Hey Brother by Dragon Wishes is also in that category.  [Side note: there’s an excellent version of this song done by D’Artagnan]

Some of the fanfiction stories I keep going back to:

The Favourite Son by Beserk

I really like It takes a boy to live but it takes a man to pretend he was there by lorarawr

I’ve Got You, Brother by MarieBloom is rather nice

My Brother’s Keeper by OUATLovr is good as well, there are more chapters in the version on fanfiction.net.  The author has several other stories for Reign as well.

I have read several of MissWhitneyBex’s stories, which are modern takes and they’ve honestly given me ideas for modern takes on my story, but I usually end up wanting to hit her characters for being making consistently stupid choices.

“Hi, I’m looking for a one-legged Viking and a Night Fury. Tell me where they are!”

As promised, the actual posting:

Season Three: Race to the Edge

Enemy of My Enemy starts with Astrid catching Hiccup and Toothless sneaking out, intending to go on a recon flight alone.  She tells Hiccup it’s far too risky and points out it’s been months since the Viggo episode (bit of fourth-wall leaning there, love it).  Hiccup appears to agree and let Astrid come, but as soon as she goes to get Stormfly, he and Toothless fly off alone.  Hiccup is eager to test out Toothless’ new tail and really enjoys the flight, until they come across a ship with seemingly unconscious men.  More like a trap.  Toothless gets hit with an arrow, but Hiccup manages to get them to an island.  He has to hide his dragon and keep him safe.  Hmm, maybe Astrid had a point.

Someone is secretly helping Hiccup.  And to everyone’s surprise, it’s Dagur.  Who swears he is not there to hurt Hiccup.  We’re all a bit skeptical.  Hiccup remains calm, though weirded out and wonders if he’s in an alternate archipelago.  Turns out, Dagur went through a major learning experience, discovering he was dispensable to Viggo, then getting stranded on the island for months alone.  All that alone time has given him time to think, though he’s still got his crazy laugh.  Dagur is calmer for the most part and also wants to do right by his sister.  Heather is blood, which makes her closer to Dagur than even Hiccup (still weird).  Dagur continues to be helpful to Hiccup, with knowledge of the antidote to Dragon Root.

It’s Dagur who counsels Hiccup on seeking revenge and obsession.  It’s a dark road to go down.  Paranoia is a terrible existence, the older boy tells his ‘brother,’ and it’s not Hiccup.  However, the guards discover the young men.  Dagur protects Hiccup and Hiccup even defends himself with a mace, lifting it with ease (remember back at the beginning of the first movie and he could barely lift an axe?).  But Hiccup is still mistrustful of Dagur and when it appears that the antidote may not be working, Hiccup attacks Dagur.  They fall in front of guards again and again, Dagur tries to protect Hiccup, especially when it looks like the Hunters will brand the younger man.  Dagur manages to get free and has to leave Hiccup.  The younger man shouts after his adversary “I hate you!”

But Dagur holds to his word to help Hiccup and comes to the rescue on Toothless.  And now he understands the crazy stunts the two pull and is impressed, and queasy.  The two shake hands and go to destroy the Hunters’ ship.  They’re separated and Dagur sails off alone, eager to find Viggo himself and rid the archipelago of the man.

The Fireworm Queen arrives on the Edge, looking for Hookfang in Crash Course.  She persuades the dragons to come to Fireworm Island.  But it’s not a hunter threat, it’s a creepy new dragon that’s eager to destroy her nest.  Fishlegs pulls out his dragon cards to figure out what the new dragon is (similar to fantasy cards…I guess.  Not quite into that), calling is a Cavern Crasher.  This thing oozes mucus out of its body to allow it to squeeze through impossibly tight cracks; it’s also wicked fast.  All accurately pointed out by the twins; they do have their moments.  Hookfang and Snotlout stand with the Fireworm Queen to defend her nest while the other riders try to figure out how to get rid of the new dragon.  They dry out its mucus and it runs off.  Hiccup even praises Snotlout for his actions, this after he encourages the twins.  He’s becoming a good leader.

This gets tested a bit in Follow the Leader by Fishlegs, who was put in charge of the twins and Snotlout.  But they walk over him and he doesn’t put up much resistance, instead daydreaming (in a different animation style) of being renowned by Berk and Hiccup and named the next leader of the Dragon Riders when Hiccup starts training to be chief (by a more Scottish sounding Hiccup).  When Astrid and Hiccup return to the Edge and find things on fire due to the rambunctious riders, Hiccup expresses his disappointment in Fishlegs.  This sort of thing can’t happen out here; they’re on their own and Viggo is certainly a threat. 

So Fishlegs wanders off and discovers a new cave with some interesting finds, such as a sword and writing on the wall.  He also discovers albino Night Terrors, who seem to make him their new leader when he closes an opening that was letting too much light into a big cavern.  They like him so much they don’t want him to leave.  Meanwhile, Hiccup is feeling guilty, that maybe he was too hard on Fishlegs.  Meatlug alerts the other riders to Fishlegs’ plight.  Fishlegs helps all of them get out of the cavern, with a little help from his favorite Terror, Darkvarg.  They close up the hole, so the Night Terrors can’t get out.  Then Fishlegs and Hiccup both apologize.  Fishlegs points out that Hiccup leads by example, not fear.  Hiccup also admits he struggles with containing the twins and Snotlout as well.  The friends then eagerly geek out over Fishlegs’ discoveries.

Hiccup is working on his ‘Dragon Fly Two’ in Turn and Burn.  Toothless is not amused, even when Hiccup talks about the precarious situations that it gets his rider into that he also has to rescue him from.  Snotlout and Hookfang want to help their leader, but end up lighting Hiccup’s hut on fire.  Before Snotlout and Hiccup can truly get into an argument, Stoick arrives, to speak to Snotlout.  Spitelout is driving the chief nuts, now wanting to improve everything.  Stoick feels they are out of Spitelout’s place in the tribe, or station in life.  His relationship with Spitelout is very similar to Hiccup’s relationship with Snotlout [a lot of the fandom hold that Snotlout and Hiccup are cousins, which is inspired from the books, from what I’ve heard].  Spitelout’s main idea is an off-Berk secret cache.  Now that man hasn’t been seen in a month.  Stoick has come to get Snotlout to help look for his father.  Hiccup joins them.

The men find Spitelout’s building and dragon traps, but not Spitelout immediately.  They do discover a new dragon, a Singetail, which Spitelout appears to save them from.  Stoick and Spitelout argue and Stoick appears to have a double standard.  “Stoick is allowed to take whatever ridiculous chances he likes.  It’s the rest of us who have to stay in line.”  Hiccup tries to get everyone back on track; they can work together to drive the Singetail off and save the storehouse.  His suggestion, since it is an unconventional dragon, is to fight it unconventionally.  They soon discover the dragon can also fire from its belly.

Fed up, the chief lays down the law and both sons hesitate to follow their fathers.  Hiccup talks to his father, pointing out that Snotlout and Spitelout both just want to prove themselves to the Haddocks.  They fly back to the storehouse to find more Singetails.  Hiccup realizes that the fires the one has been setting have been a call for back up.  Spitelout agrees to give up the structure, though Stoick does save the ‘S.’

In Buffalord Solider, Astrid is checking the perimeter and comes across an abandoned ship.  It’s filled with bodies, mostly dead.  One that still has a bit of life in it scratches her arm.  She and Stormfly quickly fly back to the Edge.  Her description of the bodies reveals that they died from the Scourge of Odin, a deadly plague that “swept through the archipelago centuries ago, wiping out entire Viking villages.”  Tuffnut’s solution is moldy bread [which is technically how penicillin was discovered.]  Astrid doesn’t mention the scratch.  It’s Stormfly who gets Hiccup in the middle of the night when her rider becomes very sick.  Astrid still protests there’s anything wrong with her, until she faints into Hiccup’s arms (we love Hiccstrid!)

Everyone works together, Snotlout having flown to Berk and back with Gothi’s notes.  There is a cure for the Scourge, a solution made from the saliva of a Buffalord dragon.  Except, those were hunted to extinction during the last plague.  The twins start seeing a pattern in Dragon’s Eye notes and help discover a map to the Buffalord.  The team sets out to find the dragon, Hiccup using Flightmare Algae for tracking and Deathsong amber glasses he was working on to see in the bright sunrise.  There’s one dragon left.  Pretty calm, but when the riders try to fly him back to the Edge, it freaks out and puffs up.  Very well, they’ll get the solution and take it back.  But it evaporates too quickly.  Thanks to the twins, they also figure out that the saliva must be mixed with the herbs that the Buffalord eats.  Snotlout retrieves Astrid.

She falls into Hiccup’s arms (and we hear a quiet, slow version of Romantic Flight) and he pleads with her to hold on.  “I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”  Hiccup is prevented from getting the cure for Astrid by the arrival of Viggo, Ryker, and other Hunters.  This was all part of Viggo’s plan, to create supply and demand; Astrid just stumbled onto his test ship.  Hiccup at first refuses to let them take the Buffalord dragon, until Viggo and Ryker are willing to kill it.  Hiccup then begs for enough of the cure to save Astrid, “that’s a loss I’m not willing to take.”

Hiccup is able to cure Astrid and keeps his word that Viggo may take the dragon.  But Hiccup also knew that the dragon would not travel with Viggo.  The Hunters are forced to release the dragon, who flies back to his island and peacefully eats his herbs.  The riders give the boat a proper funeral [which echoes a scene that comes up in How to Train Your Dragon 2, so if you’ve seen that movie first (which came out before the show), this is a very poignant scene].  Astrid then tells Hiccup, “I can’t imagine a world without you either.”  The couple is well on its way to becoming an official couple.

The riders work together in A Grim Retreat to produce Gronkle Iron.  They have a production line going.  Except, they keep at it all day, which drains everyone.  Most of the riders want a vacation.   Hiccup is more concerned about having the iron for weapons and defense against Viggo.  Even Astrid counsels Hiccup that they need rest in order to perform better.  She and Fishlegs find a nice island that they can visit and pick up more sandstone even.  Stoick and Gobber arrive to keep an eye on the Edge, and babysit Tuffnutt’s pet ‘Chicken.’

The teens enjoy an afternoon of swimming.  At night however, the dragons turn feral, except Toothless.  They all have to hide from their dragons; Snotlout at one point annoying Astrid so much she tells him “if you don’t shut your piehole, I’m going to leap out and plead with them to eat us both.”  Hiccup eventually figures out there’s something in the water that’s affecting the dragons.  Tuff throws salt when he runs out of weapons against their attacking dragons, which actually causes the dragon to stop.  Tiny bugs leap out of the dragon; grimora.  They are parasites that affect dragons.  Salt drives them out, so they have to find a saltwater source.  Toothless gets infected for a second time and traps Hiccup on top of a cliff.  They both fall off, into the water, but there is a plasma blast.  Could Toothless have fired on Hiccup?  A minute later, the grimora fly out and Toothless and Hiccup burst out of the water.  Hiccup now agrees that they will take breaks as they need so he doesn’t work them too hard and have to repeat the incident.

When arriving back on the Edge, the teens find out that Stoick and Gobber both think that Chicken was eaten by the other and have found replacement chickens.  Chicken is of course fine.

Everyone is suspicious of the notes that Fishlegs keeps receiving in To Heather or Not to Heather.  They find out they’re from Heather and urge Fishlegs to have her stop at the Edge.  Everyone also wants to ask Heather to join the dragon riders permanently.  But Heather worries she has the Berserker insanity in her.  Hiccup is quick to assure her she is nothing like Dagur.  Heather also spends time with Astrid as two warrior women.  Until Heather brings up the subject of Hiccup; she feels that the two are perfect for each other and they should stop wasting time and express their feelings.

Heather and Fishlegs are rather cozy; Heather was more open in her letters to Fishlegs and readily agrees to take a tour with the young man, much to Snotlout’s dismay.  Their mood is ruined once Meathlug and Windshear start fighting.  Windshear is not used to spending so much time around other dragons, or other people being so near her rider.  Hiccup is willing to work with Heather and her dragon, again, in the hope that Heather will stay with the riders.

There is a skirmish between Hunters and Riders; Fishlegs and Heather end up switching dragons and that seems to work.  Windshear will still protect Heather, but not attack the riders’ dragons.  Heather decides to stay.  The mood is ruined when Hiccup receives a letter from Dagur, asking for his help to find his sister.  Hiccup promises that Dagur won’t find Heather.

Styke Out centers on dragon fights run by Ryker and other Hunters.  The matches have low attendance since one champion outperforms the other.  When Snotlout and Hiccup go to rescue dragons, Hiccup is trapped by a knock-out gas and ultimately taken to the dragon fights, where Toothless as a Night Fury will be a new star and drum up business.  Hiccup is also chained alongside the dragons.

Hiccup ordered Snotlout to go get help and Snotlout is very keen to get Hiccup back.  The twins decide to become Thorston and Thorston, Sleuths Extraordinaire.  What works better is using Heather’s knowledge of the Hunter organization.

Hiccup watches Toothless’ match against a Razorwhip and urges his dragon not to kill.  After winning that match, the Night Fury will face the Triple Stryke champion dragon.  Ryker finds out about the match and warns his underling, who won’t call it off, that if the Night Fury dies, he faces an unhappy Ryker and Viggo.  Ryker also wants Hiccup.  Said Viking the meantime, befriends the other dragons, though very carefully.  “Call my old fashioned but I prefer not to lose another limb.”  (Yay, the lad has some self-preservation.)  Again, Hiccup urges Toothless not to kill the Triple Stryke, though the dragons are evenly matched, and is freed by Astrid shortly afterwards.  Toothless shows the other dragon mercy and the rest of the dragons are set free.  Ryker is forced back and the other riders chase the crowd away.

The Triple Stryke, which Tuffnutt suggest be named ‘Sleuther,’ follows them back to the Edge.  All the riders are happy Hiccup is back, though Fishlegs points out that “Astrid would have killed you (Snotlout) if we hadn’t found Hiccup.”

I like that this episode focuses more on Toothless as a strategist and a glimpse what a Night Fury might be like in the wild.  Hiccup still uses his brains to help dragons, but this wasn’t a problem to be solved from the air.  It’s also a bit sweet that the riders all care so much about Hiccup that they get very angry when trying to find him.

The riders rescue a dragon egg in Tone Death.  It’s a very cute dragon when it hatches.  Until it starts screaming, and spitting amber.  It’s a baby Deathsong.  Hiccup still wants to train it.  Heather figures out the way to calm the baby, named Garff now, is to sing to it.  Commence all the different riders singing their lessons; it’s rather hilarious.  But they decide it’s best to take the baby to be with its own kind.  Things are a bit tense, hoping that the adult Deathsong will bond with a baby not its own.  Garff has to echo that dragon’s song back and forget what the riders taught it.

Hiccup is also working on a new gadget; a flaming sword using Nightmare gel he calls Inferno.  [Spoiler, this is a prototype to one he carries in the second movie.]  It’s inspired by figuring out that a lit dagger will cut through Deathsong amber.  He excitedly talks about modifications with Astrid, who comments “that will be the last we see of him for a week.”

Between a Rock and a Hard Place has the riders tracking a convoy of marble blocks.  Turns out that the Hunters are using Catastrophic Quakens to mine the marble.  Viggo is using it to create an impenetrable roof for his hide out.  But the mining has made the island unstable.  Hiccup does get to show off his different tails for Toothless, but Fishlegs is a big help.  They free the Quakens, then use them to tear down Viggo’s roof (you can hear a bit of the battle theme in the background).  Viggo is extremely displeased with Hiccup after that stunt.

When the riders return from a practice run at taking out a fleet, they find Dagur at Dragon’s Edge in Family on the Edge.  He’s come in person to ask Hiccup for a dragon so he can find Heather.  Hiccup and Toothless owe him; he saved their lives.  Hiccup points out that Dagur also tried to kill them.  Well, maybe deep inside, Dagur didn’t actually want to kill them.  Hiccup eventually relents, mainly so Dagur doesn’t go wandering around.  Dagur hugs his “brother,” and calls him “small and cuddly.”  We agree with Hiccup, that Dagur should never say that again.

Hiccup on the side has to get Heather to leave so the siblings don’t see each other.  He picks a sturdy and safe dragon for Dagur, a Gronkle.  Also not terribly dangerous and less of a threat to the riders.  Dagur still names the Gronkle ‘Shattermaster.’  Dagur is an enthusiastic student, but tries to do too much too fast.  He ends up barreling into Hiccup and breaking his prosthetic leg.  Hiccup takes Shattermaster to get a spare.  While they’re gone, the other riders find Dagur with Toothless and fear he’s done something to Hiccup.  Hiccup shows up to set them straight and admits he didn’t tell them about Dagur saving his life because he honestly doesn’t know how he feels about it.

There is still their plan attack on Viggo’s shipyard.  Astrid finds it very strange that Dagur shows up right when they’re getting ready to strike.  And unfortunately, Heather returns early and finds Dagur on the Edge.  She is not happy.  She calls Dagur a spy.  Points out that he set her adrift as a child and killed their father.  Dagur pleads that he is trying to change.  He decides to leave since the riders don’t trust him.  But he comes across Hiccup’s plans.  He guesses what Hiccup’s attack plan will be and calls the young Viking gullible.  Astrid sees them and Dagur agrees to be locked up, though he warns Hiccup that if anything happens to Heather on the mission, he’ll hold Hiccup personally responsible.

Dagur then escapes and heads out for the shipyard.  Heather races after him, intent on killing him.  Dagur starts the attack and reveals that it was indeed a trap.  He flies alone into an ashy cloud where explosions go off.  The rest of the riders have to hang back.  Hiccup wants to go save him, but Astrid stops him.  It’s too late.  Hiccup is genuinely upset that Dagur is dead.  On the Edge, Heather finds a letter her brother left for her.  He has her “tell our little brother” (that is kind of sweet) to hit Viggo’s auction and release all those dragons.  He also wants to set the record straight; he never killed their father.  He just used his disappearance so the tribe would think he was tough enough to be chief.  It starts to rain, but the letter gets wet from Heather’s tears.  All accompanied by bagpipes and mournful music.  I wanted to shed a few tears myself.

They take Dagur’s advice in Last Auction Heroes and have Trader Johan steal a map for them to the next location.  Hiccup goes to his father to ask for Berk’s cache of gold to get Snotlout into the auction.  He tells his father, “Viggo Grimborn is the most ruthless Viking we have come in contact with…. No dragon will be safe and eventually, he will set his eyes on Berk.”  Snotlout is the only rider that Viggo hasn’t seen.  He’ll still go in disguise and Gobber will go to keep an eye on the gold.  Snotlout enjoys his assignment of being a rich businessman a bit too much; he’s gleeful to order other people around.  The riders sneak in in the belly of Johan’s ship, with their dragons as the bait.

Eventually, the riders are caught, though Heather and Astrid make a kickass double team.  Viggo intends to sell Toothless, as the only Night Fury in existence.  There is a stranger at the auction, keen to buy the rare dragon.  Viggo brings Hiccup out so he can watch.  Gobber comes to the rescue, with his new dragon, Grump.  He fights Ryker to protect Hiccup.  Astrid is the one to saves him, but Viggo still gets away with their gold.  Hiccup thought they had a chance to get it back, but Viggo switched the chests.  The other riders tell Hiccup to look on the bright side, they saved the dragons.

The season ends with the first of a two-parter Defenders of the Wing.  The riders continue to rescue dragons.  But now, Viggo wants to meet.  All of the riders, even Hiccup, is aware that this can be a trap.  He lets Heather and Astrid come to the meeting spot with him, which is full of blue oleander, which is poisonous to dragons.  Viggo calls Hiccup a worthy opponent and wants to offer a truce.  They divide the map.  Everything north of the line, the Hunters will have free rein, the riders may stay to the south, and neither side will cross the line.  Viggo even signs his name to the map.  He has no desire to rule the world, unlike some [big old hint drop].  He’s a business man and all this fighting is bad for business.

After the meeting, Hiccup notices that there is an island he doesn’t recognize as Viking or Hunter just inside the line on Viggo’s side.  Hiccup is trying to work out what Viggo is thinking.  So, they need to investigate this island.  At first, all seems fine, though there is a large statue of a dragon.  Then, the riders start disappearing and getting drugged.  They eventually meet Mala, Queen of Defender of the Wing Island and her right-hand man, Throk.  (Ironically, Mala is voiced by Adelaide Kane, who plays Mary Stuart in Reign, along with Ivy Belfrey/Drizella in the last season of Once Upon a Time.)  Mala thinks that Viggo sent the riders to their island, that they are Hunters.  They’re enslaving their dragons.

But when her Defenders try to release the dragons, they don’t fly away.  Instead, Mala holds a trial and asks Hiccup questions.  Tuffnutt does not help matters when he points out things that Hiccup has done, like shooting down Toothless and crippling him.  Hiccup tries to argue that they could be allies against Viggo.  He is willing to earn their trust.  But Mala feels that the map Hiccup carries makes him guilty.  Hiccup again will do anything to save his friends and their dragons.  He bets their lives he can train a dragon in front of Mala.  Of course, there are three Speed Stingers, but Toothless comes to his rescue.  Mala trusts the dragon and releases the riders.

She explains that their island is home to a volcano and their Great Protector.  An Eruptadon eats the lava and keeps them safe.  But they find the Great Protector gone, with evidence that Hunters had attacked.  Now Mala is angry that Hiccup has led the Hunters right to their home and taken their treasured dragon.  Mala vows to kill Hiccup. 

And that is how the season ends!

I like how the storyline is advancing.  There are new challenges for the characters.  They learn to work together and everyone has a skill to bring to the group.  I of course like that Hiccup and Astrid are growing closer.  Astrid still is the voice of reason in their friendship and continues to act as his right hand.  Snotlout, while still reckless, is tempering it a bit.  He wants to be helpful.  He listens to Hiccup more.  The twins are crazy, but do we expect any different.  Stoick listens to his son as a leader and again, as the future chief.

As I commented in Season 2, Viggo is a smart opponent.  Hiccup has his victories, but he can’t easily outsmart this man.  Viggo has to work harder to counteract Hiccup.  I like that Dagur is now on Hiccup’s side.  Honestly, the boy doesn’t need that many enemies, and a Berserker is a good weapon in the arsenal; he’s got crazy ideas and enough guts to back it up.  As showcased by taking the suicide mission.

The Defenders of the Wing will be a great group to keep an eye on.

Up Next: Season Four

A Continuing Historical Fandom Update

First, another apology for the delay in posting Season Three of Race to the Edge. It will actually be posted imminently. However, as stated in the last Random Fandom Update, I’ve been distracted by Reign. About halfway through the series at this point (I’m aware of most of the highlights.) However, it sparked a massive amount of inspiration and creativity with certain elements. Love several of the characters and some of the fantasy elements play well with ideas in my head. And thus is born the longest piece of fiction I have ever written (actually, longest anything I’ve written). At the time of this posting it is 37,000 words. Making it officially novella length. And it’s not complete. It’s shaping up to be the sequel to the book that I should be working on, which itself is the fourth in a series. – I cannot explain how my brain works, I just go with it. It’s a continuing saga.

“I see nothing has changed.” “Yup, same story, different year.”

Dawn of the Dragon Riders

This was released as a short with the second movie, but takes place between the end of Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge.  The riders are catching sheep and then start discussing how Dragon Racing was started [which spoilers, opens the second film].  They all wear face paint and Astrid comments to Hiccup that “red is your color,” but is speaking more to Toothless [note how Hiccup wears a red tunic in Race to the Edge].  Snotlout’s sheep catapult apparently took 32 attempts to perfect and thus he argues that he created the sport.

What really happened is that Stoick had the teens help Silent Sven gather up his sheep, and as the other riders tend to do, they made a competition out of it.  Stoick then has to go on business to Loki Island for wood for their fleet and leaves Hiccup as ‘acting chief,’ and with strict instructions to begin preparations for the annual regatta.  Hiccup remarks how the regatta comprises of boats sailing slowly across the harbor, arguing that they could start a new, exciting tradition.  Stoick holds to the regatta; their clan has been doing it for ages as a way to blow off steam instead of fighting each other.

Fishlegs is the only one really excited for the regatta.  Meanwhile, Hiccup walks in on Tuffnut planning on catching more sheep.  When he tries to put a stop to it, explaining that they need to work on the regatta, Snotlout, in all his brilliance, retorts “Who made you acting chief?”  “Stoick.”  “Well, who made Stoick chief?” and everyone gives him a look.  Hiccup asks Astrid for back up, then has to face the village when they excitedly cheer on the riders chasing sheep; one even remarking “this is better than the regatta!”  So, Hiccup allows one more race to settle everyone down, though he works on making teams and baskets, then figures they’ll all be ready for regatta work afterwards.

Snotlout crashes into Astrid and hurts her arm.  Hiccup finally talks Fishlegs into joining him when they find out that Meatlug is seasick and sinks their boat.  However, Stoick returns early.  Seeing how excited the village is, he decides to switch to dragon racing and adds some more ideas, such as the face paint to give it a warrior feel.  Astrid will be the referee and keeps an eye on the riders.  It comes to a tie breaker, involving the black sheep.  Fishlegs and Hiccup find one in the well, but Snotlout has returned with one.  Tuffnut rubs his face on the sheep, revealing it was painted, so the results are overturn to crown Hiccup and Fishlegs as the winners.

So, Tuffnut argues he invented the game, well, definitely the cheating.  Hiccup insists they all invented it to keep peace, though it was Snotlout who made the sheep launcher.

Race to the Edge: Season 1

This show was developed by Netflix (though I have them on DVD in case of no Internet connection, or Netflix ever drops it) and was actually done after the second movie, but chronologically takes place before.  It features an entirely new intro and utilizes music from the second movie.  The series starts with the two-parter Eye of the Beholder, which sets the stage three years after the showdown with Dagur (making our main characters all around eighteen). Indeed, Dagur actually ends up escaping the Outcast prison and is bent on revenge on Hiccup.

Meanwhile, Hiccup is still doing stunts with Toothless and remarks he needs his own set of wings when they end up separating and plummeting for a minute.  The narration of “this is Berk,” is back, explaining the time jump and showcasing the new parts of Berk.  The riders have moved on to new tasks; the twins pledging to cause all the chaos they can in the name of Loki.  Snotlout is a weapons’ tester, and Fishlegs is educating the children, talking about Hiccup and Toothless as the new heroes of Berk.  Astrid catches up to Hiccup, who is eager to do more exploring; except they’ve covered the area directly surrounding Berk, more than once.  Hiccup says “this can’t be all there is.”  Astrid tells Hiccup she has joined the Berk Guard, so all of his friends have moved on to new jobs.  But Hiccup still yearns to explore.  He says as much to his father that evening.

Their evening is interrupted by news from Johann that Dagur has escaped and he is more berserk than ever.  He also holds a map to Johann’s graveyard of ships, where he hides all his treasures.  He warns the Berkians of the “Reaper” ship, which is full of booby traps.  The other riders eagerly join Hiccup to head off Dagur; they plan to steal the treasures first so Dagur can’t use them to purchase a new armada.  Their way is impeded by giant eels, which chase most of the dragons off.  While they wait for them to return, they separate to gather treasure.  The twins find jewels, Fishlegs finds maps, charts, and books, and Snotlout finds a chest of blond hair [which was actually prized by Vikings.]  Hiccup heads over to the “Reaper,” determined that the most valuable items will be there.  And if the ship is that booby trapped, it must be hiding something important.  He jokes of the benefit of a metal leg when a trap springs around it and he prefers Toothless’s plan of simply blasting the door open.  They also discover a dragon skeleton aboard the ship; so this place was no friend of dragons.  Hiccup takes an object from the captain’s room because it must be dangerous to dragons and thus really cannot fall into Dagur’s hands.  A giant axe falling makes sure they rush back to the deck of the ship, only to find that Dagur has captured the other riders.

Dagur is certainly more unhinged after three years in prison, attempting to flirt with his brother.  But he’s busy with an army to build and revenge to plot.  Astrid sends Hiccup after Dagur, but Dagur was expecting that, so he arranges for the ship to be sunk, causing Hiccup to have to choose between going after Dagur and the strange new item, or saving his friends.

Part Two immediately picks up with the riders’ predicament.  And a new challenge is that the cage is made of dragon-proof metal.  And the giant eels are back.  They manage to escape and their dragons come to the recuse, so Hiccup chases after Dagur and gets the strange item back.  Gobber tries to help the teens figure out what the item is, which Hiccup has named the Dragon Eye, though Tuffnut bears the brunt of the mistakes.  While they’re at Gothi’s she recognizes a mark on the item that came from a Snow Wraith dragon.  Hiccup persuades Gothi (who may have scribbled something not kind about him, but Gobber wouldn’t translate since Hiccup is the chief’s son) to go with them to get the tooth they need to unlock the Dragon Eye, saying that didn’t she once want to see what is out there and find answers to questions not thought of yet.

The Snow Wraith attacks during snowstorms, able to sense heat signatures, which the teens do try to use to their advantage.  Luckily, when it attacks Gothi at one point, she makes to get a tooth stuck in her staff.  Hiccup is now able to unlock the Dragon Eye.  And it doesn’t do much to start, until it catches the light of a dragon’s fire, then it presents images on the wall.  “This changes everything,” Hiccup remarks (and this line is used in the new intro.)

Hiccup excitedly shows the riders his discovery in Imperfect Harmony, explaining that much of it is in a different language and the maps show areas beyond the boundaries of their archipelago.  Next, Hiccup goes to the council, pleading that he wants to explore the new areas.  Spitelout brings up that they have been at peace for several years and they shouldn’t go looking for trouble.  It’s more important to hunt for Dagur, than new dragons.  Stoick agrees that peace is important, but dragons are important to Hiccup and what would any of them do for something like that?  How far would they go to get it, what would they risk?  Besides, they couldn’t stop the boy if they tried, he might as well have their support.  The council agrees and Stoick sends his son off to find what is pulling on him.  And when he’s done, Berk will be waiting for him.  He also tells Toothless, “take care of my boy.”

The other riders again join in, shouting “into the great beyond!”  They get discouraged after a while and Hiccup encourages them by saying “nothing that’s worth anything comes easy.”  They have to fly though a bit of a storm, but the cloud covers break and they see new islands below them.  A strange sound comes to them and their dragons head down to an island.  It’s idyllic, but come morning, all the dragons are gone.  While searching, Toothless comes across the riders and quickly pulls Hiccup’s leg to follow.  The prosthetic leg.  Which comes off, but Hiccup appreciates Toothless’s enthusiasm.

A Thunderdrum comes along while Toothless and Hiccup are flying and screams at the other teens.  Hiccup comes back to chase the dragon off and tries to say he is going back up, but everyone shouts “no,” and Snotlout adds “I will take your other leg!”  So they all go together and find a pile of dragon bones, then find pieces of amber, and finally, dragons trapped in the amber.  A large shrieking dragon makes an appearance, which they name the Death Song.  Its cry draws dragons in, then it spits amber at them to trap them, then eats them later.  Toothless tries to take on the Death Song, but he’s soon trapped, as are the other riders, though Astrid pushes Hiccup out of the way.

He comes across the Thunderdrum again and manages to get it to trust him.  They return to Hiccup’s friends, where he has an idea to spread Monstrous Nightmare gel on the cocoons, then make a spark so they break open.  They also free a baby Thunderdrum, which why the adult one had stuck around.  All the dragons work together to relocate the Death Song to a cave.  The riders eagerly continue on their adventure; it’s the most fun they’ve had in years.  They will try to find an island of their own to make into a base of operations.  Into the great beyond!

That search continues in When Darkness Falls.  Apparently, they keep coming across an island full of boars and once, Snotlout even tries to use Hiccup’s leg as a weapon, though they’re rescued by their dragons in time.  Eventually, they come across a perfect looking island.  The riders start planning what their outpost is going to look like; Hiccup just wants them to set up camp for the night.  Astrid wants it defensible, Snotlout wants an “S,” Fishlegs wants it to be zen, and the twins wants a boar pit.  They sleep next to their dragons that night and Tuffnut wakes to an odd sound.  He does come across a chicken, but also a large dragon.  The rest of the riders don’t immediately believe him, mainly since he shouts “chicken roar!” to warn them along with his phrase “I am hurt, I am very much hurt!” (first appeared in the first movie).  Tuffnut goes looking for the dragon again, and Ruffnut accompanies him, ready to declare herself the winner of the “Thorston challenge” if Tuffnut is making it up.  Hiccup pleads to go with them to get away from the others arguing about the outpost.

The giant dragon indeed shows up, though they realize it’s a lot of little dragons.  The twins capture the light-colored leader.  Hiccup allows Tuffnut to name it “Smidvarg,” though they call the rest of them Night Terrors.  But Changewings soon move in and harass the other Night Terrors.  The riders figure out that the small dragons work together to look like a large version in order to scare off predators and all work together to chase off the Changewings.  The riders befriend the Night Terrors and Hiccup comes up with a single idea for the outpost, incorporating everyone’s wants.  Everyone has their own spot and then there’s a clubhouse in the center, along with a training arena and stables.  He calls it Dragon’s Edge.

The riders return to Berk at Stoick’s request to relocate a Scauldron, but the plan goes awry in Big Man on Berk.  Fishlegs is now possibly allergic to Meatlug.  Gothi determines that they should hypnotize him in order to get him over the allergy.  Snotlout takes it as an opportunity to suggest a new personality to Fishlegs.  When he wakes, he ignores Meatlug and is now all about heroics and being a super Viking named ‘Thor Bonecrusher.’  Snotlout gets a crush on him, but Fishlegs is fairly dismissive.  The other riders want Fishlegs back, but since he broke Gothi’s staff, they have to figure out another way. 

Fishlegs goes after the Scauldron, with Snotlout and Hookfang.  Meatlug ends up saving Fishlegs, but then the Scauldron chases Meatlug.  That fear snaps Thor back to Fishlegs.  The riders end up being successful in their job to relocate the dragon.  And unfortunately relocate Stoick’s new axe, which ‘Thor’ had taken.  Turns out, Fishlegs was allergic to the new wax Gobber was using on the saddles (his earwax, everyone is suitable disgusted).  Snotlout gives a kiss to Fishlegs, saying ‘Thor’ broke his heart.

Gustav Larson, now sixteen, shows up at Dragon’s Edge in Gone, Gustav, Gone, ready to join the Dragon Riders.  Hiccup is busy checking out the Dragon Eye and so the other riders pass the teen around (he also has a crush on Astrid) and he causes chaos.  He eventually comes across the Dragon Eye and thinks it’s a treasure map, taking it in order to find the treasure and prove his worth to the other riders.  Hiccup finds him before he gets killed on an unstable island and explains that the rules are different out at the Edge.  They’re far from Berk and other help, so they can’t be reckless.  And to Hiccup, Gustav has just proven he’s not responsible enough to stay at the Edge.  He’ll talk to the teen more in the morning.  But Gustav takes off and gets captured by the Berserkers.  He promises information to Dagur in return for a hot meal.  He also promises the Berserker chief the Dragon Eye and a treasure.  Hiccup arrives and trades the Eye for Gustav, but Gustav stays with Dagur, citing better treatment.  Hiccup understood what Gustav was doing and has the other riders meet him at the island in order to save Gustav and the Dragon Eye.

The episode ends well, with Hiccup promising that Gustav will be ready to join the riders, someday.  Gustav also needs to get back to Berk before his mom worries too much.  Hiccup also managed to find the treasure chest on the island they had been looking for amongst the chaos and discovers another lens for the Dragon Eye.  Meaning there are more out there.

The Dragon’s Edge census is interrupted by the Reign of Fireworms, with a possible migration of the fire starters hitting the island.  But the teens can’t focus fully on the problem because the twins discover a “namey rock;” a claim stone that Stoick and Gobber verify as authentic and states that the twins are the direct Thorston descendants of the founder of the island, making Dragon’s Edge their island.  The twins are thrilled and have ridiculous plans for the island.  Hiccup just wants to make sure it doesn’t burn down.  He figures that they should play along and let the twins try to rule and when they discover it’s harder than it looks, they’ll be begging for help.  Which they ultimately do when the island is almost engulfed in fire.  Before the others will help, Hiccup enforces that the island will be equally claimed by everyone, they’re all equal rulers. 

The Night Terrors help out by forming a Fireworm Queen and Hiccup helps lead them away from Dragon’s Edge.  And the claim stone matter is settled when Meatlug eats the rock, so everyone dances while chanting “it’s our island!”

The teens deal with a new dragon problem in Crushing It.  A Rumblehorn has been causing destruction and they haven’t managed to capture it yet.  Gobber comes to the Edge with news from Berk; Stoick is as ornery as a dragon and driving everyone crazy.  Hiccup heads back to talk to his father, and Gobber will help fortify the base.  He ultimately builds a defensive wall.  Hiccup finds Stoick by “following the sound of the angry Viking,” and even Gothi writes some choice words about the chief, which Hiccup can’t repeat.  Hiccup finds his father shining Thornado’s saddle and realizes his father is missing his dragon friend.  So he invites him back to Dragon’s Edge to help with the Rumblehorn.

They arrive after the Rumblehorn has passed through and toppled a tower onto Gobber, making the one-armed, peg-legged Viking rather loopy.  Stoick witnesses his son issue orders (like a chief in the making) and agrees that this wild dragon is fast, smart, and elusive.  He’s a worthy adversary, the chief declares and helps his son search for the beast.  They do make an attempt at capturing the dragon, but the Rumblehorn takes off, with Stoick hanging on to a rope.  Toothless catches the falling chief.

Stoick and Hiccup note that the dragon is an excellent tracker, yet also doesn’t hurt anyone.  Stoick feels that the dragon is trying to tell them something.  He manages to get back on the Rumblehorn and rides the dragon out to sea, to discover a giant wave is coming right for the base.  The teens reinforce Gobber’s wall, and the Rumblehorn helps Stoick topple a sea stack to protect everyone.  Due to how well the Rumblehorn tracks, they name the new class the Tracker class and Stoick names the dragon Skullcrusher since he’s a protector, a leader, and hard-headed; a lot like Stoick.  He’s gained a new companion and reminds his son that while he may miss Thornado, he also misses Hiccup.

It’s Fishlegs’ turn to check out the Dragon Eye and he comes across information about Dark Deep, the ancestral home of the Gronkles in Quake, Rattle, and Roll.  Hiccup agrees to go with Fishlegs in case he would need help.  When they find the rocky island, there are few Gronkles about.  They’re chased by a boulder that turns out to be a gigantic dragon: a Catastrophic Quaken.  It’s been chasing the Gronkles away, and they’ve moved to the Edge.  The teens know they can’t stay, but Hiccup isn’t sure how to get rid of the Catastrophic Quaken and maybe, that’s just the natural order of things.  Snotlout instead suggests fighting dirty and when Fishlegs doesn’t like Hiccup’s answer, he agrees to lessons from Snotlout.

He stands up to Hiccup, arguing that they do need to go back to Dark Deep.  He gets Snotlout to go with him, but Snotlout is freaked out by the size of the giant dragon.  Luckily, Hiccup and Astrid followed.  Fishlegs uses his new courage to stand up to the Catastrophic Quaken.  Turns out, the giant dragon was scared and defensive, which is why it scared off the other Gronkles.  But when they realize it just wants friends, they return.  Fishlegs is also reminded that he is not Snotlout and doesn’t have to act like the other rider.

There is a mysterious rider and dragon that have been attacking ships in the two-part Have Dragon, Will Travel.  The riders are back on Berk, stocking up on necessities when Stoick gets the news.  Hiccup insists it wasn’t them, so they go to investigate.  They figure out from the barbs its left that the dragon is a Sharp Class, like Stormfly.  They use the fire from Stormfly to discover more information and conclude that it’s a Razorwhip they’re looking for.  They do find the campsite and the mysterious rider manages to capture the other riders until Hiccup and Toothless chase them, discovering that it’s Heather.  She’s been living on her own for years and came across an injured Razorwhip that she nursed back to health and named Windshear.  Hiccup offers their help; at the very least, she should come back to their base.  Astrid likes how intense Heather has gotten and remarks that they’ve all grown up.

Hiccup also tries to talk to Heather about the ships that she and Windshear are attacking, arguing that there has to be another way.  That night, Hiccup follows Heather when she leaves.  She visits Trader Johan and Hiccup wrangles the information out of the long-winded man (even threatening trade sanctions, two words that the trader dislikes).  He finds out that Heather’s village and family were decimated and Heather has vowed revenge.  She goes after Dagur and his new dragon-proof chains wrap around her and Windshear and start pulling her in.  The episode breaks at that point.

And immediately picks right back up in the second part.  Hiccup and Toothless manage to save Heather and Windshear, though Dagur shouts something about a family reunion, since his so-called “brother” is there.  On the way back to the Edge, Hiccup once again tries to talk sense into Heather; her mission is suicide, and while she may be comfortable doing whatever it takes, is she willing to sacrifice Windshear?  Heather claims she is destined to be alone.  The parents she knew, that were killed by Berserkers, where her adoptive parents; she was separated from her birth family as a child.  She has vague memories of her father, and a horn to remember him by.  They arrive back at the Edge and Toothless manages to get the other dragons to leave Windshear alone.  Astrid takes Heather out from some girl time to compare their axes.  It’s Heather who brings up the question to Astrid whether she’s a thing with Hiccup. Astrid insists she is only friends with Hiccup.  Well, Heather notes, Hiccup is cute.  Astrid admits yeah, if you like that “unassuming, heroic, dragon rider type.”  Meanwhile, Heather admits she likes Fishlegs; Snotlout is off-putting.

While girl talk is happening, Hiccup gets a look at Heather’s horn.  It bears Stoick’s crest.  He flies back to Berk.  Meanwhile, Heather goes back to Trader Johan, with Astrid’s company, and gets information on where to find Dagur.  Heather plans to go after him again and asks for the riders’ help.  Astrid insists it must be a capture mission, not killing.  They’ll leave a map for Hiccup to find them.  Back on Berk, Hiccup explains the situation and point blank asks his father, “is Heather my sister?”  He arrives to stop Heather from killing Dagur and explains what he found out.  The horn bears Stoick’s chief seal because it was a gift to the child of another chief, Oswald the Agreeable.  Heather is Oswald’s daughter, making her Dagur’s sister [this is something Dagur had to have known; hence the “family reunion” quip].  He gets free in the confusion and while the other riders get ready to leave, he asks Heather to stay.  She eventually flies off, but Dagur seems pleased with the idea of Heather joining him one day.  Astrid asks Heather to stay, but the other girl needs to work things out.  Hiccup apologizes to Astrid; he’s sorry she’s losing a friend.  Astrid still has him though, she points out.

Hiccup shows off his latest invention in The Next Big Sting, the Dragonfly One, his own set of wings.  Useful, if he ever gets separated from Toothless in the air.  There’s an updraft at the cliff he’s standing on and figures it will help him with gliding.  He gets three tries in before he wrecks the contraption and Toothless is not wholly pleased to continually rescue his rider.  Astrid even insists he’s done.  The riders then find an injured, young Speed Stinger.  They splint its leg, then decide to take it back to the Edge to recuperate.  Snotlout is not pleased.  Fishlegs manages to work and rehabilitate the Speed Stinger, but it gets agitated when the other riders show up.  They also discover that this pack of Speed Stingers have evolved to have webbing between their toes so they can cross water (and we see the larger pack doing such).  Astrid then threatens to lock Hiccup up if his new project is “Dragonfly Two.”

Snotlout and Ruffnut decide to take the Speed Stinger back, but end up crashing, then getting surrounded by the pack.  The Speed Stinger protects them, considering them to be its new pack.  They hold off the main pack long enough and Snotlout even bonds with the Speed Stinger.  But Hiccup insists its best to let the Speed Stinger go back to its pack.  In the scuffle, Hiccup does in fact show off a new glider, using the idea of webbing.

The riders turn a new drill into a competition, as they always do, in Total Nightmare.  Toothless and Hiccup work on beating a closing dome and are successful, due to the Night Fury’s speed [accompanied by theme music].  The twins live for the drama.  Snotlout takes his turn, but Hookfang gets distracted and fights Snotlout.  He puts Hookfang in a pen overnight, but Hookfang gets out.  Snotlout finds him and discovers he’s visiting a female Monstrous Nightmare.  Fishlegs also ponders if Hookfang could be going feral, considering Hookfang won’t leave the female.

The other riders round up other Monstruous Nightmares to tempt Snotlout back to riding, but he refuses, and there are no other dragons he wants to try.  If he can’t fly Hookfang, he doesn’t want to fly any other dragon (and the other riders feel the same way).  So Snotlout quits and plans to return to Berk.  When he goes to say goodbye to Hookfang, he finds his friend injured.  He also finds eggs in the cave behind the female Monstrous Nightmare.  Worse, there’s a Titanwing Monstrous Nightmare.  Toothless manages to scare it off, but Snotlout knows that it will have to be Hookfang that beats the Titanwing in order to protect the female.  “He’s crazy!” Astrid exclaims.  “He’s Snotlout,” Hiccup retorts.  Snotlout goes to beat the dome, but purposefully loses, getting trapped with the Titanwing.  The enclosed area works to Hookfang’s advantage and they tire the Titanwing out.

Thus end the first season of adventures for the dragon riders.  I love this series.  I love seeing the characters older and taking on adult responsibilities.  This series does an excellent job of fleshing out the characters; we’re already seeing some of the other teens take center stage for an episode.  We witness Hiccup growing into a leader and Astrid becoming his second, clearly shown in Dawn of the Dragon Racers.  Snotlout is even maturing, showing that he truly cares about Hookfang and won’t ride another dragon.  The twins are as crazy as ever, with Tuffnut adopting the chicken as a pet…the chicken is not amused at Hiccup’s attempts with Dragonfly One.  I adore the humor of the series.

There’s the twist with Heather being Dagur’s sister.  That was not something I originally saw coming and the writers did well to tie back in to Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berk.  I did think for a minute, the first time watching the episode, that they were going to make Heather Hiccup’s long-lost sister, following the steps of many fanfictions.  So I’m glad they made her Dagur’s sister instead and that will be something that comes into play in later seasons.

Up Next: Season Two

“Trolls exist! They steal your socks! But only the left ones, what’s with that?”

How to Train Your Dragon

As with some other fandoms, I came a little late to this one.  I vaguely recall the commercials advertising this film first coming to theatres and ignored them.  Then, I was bored on a break from college and decided to give it a shot…and instantly fell in love.  And, really, should we be surprised?  It involves dragons (fantasy) and Vikings (history).  I also utterly fell in love with the soundtrack.  I can listen to it on repeat for weeks.  [There will be a separate post about the soundtracks for all three movies.]

I have actually already notated this movie [and not sure where the notecards presently are], because I have started an essay on this film following the hero’s path as laid out by Jospeh Campbell.  Still need to finish the essay…

The film is actually based on a series of children’s books by Cressida Cowell, inspired by her summers spent on an uninhabited island in Scotland.  I have not read the books and considering that the films have deviated from the books and how desperately I love the movies, I don’t think I will go back and read the books at this time.  The movie features the voices of Jay Baruchel (he was in Sorcerer’s Apprentice with Nicholas Cage) as Hiccup, America Ferrera (known now for Ugly Betty and the Barbie movie [neither of which I’ve watched, but I have seen her speech from the Barbie movie] as Astrid, Gerard Butler (starred in 300 and Phantom of the Opera [see my post on that movie for my opinion]) as Stoick, and Craig Ferguson (the late night comedian of Scottish descent, who also voiced Lord MacIntosh in Brave) as Gobber.  The cast is rounded out with Jonah Hill as Snotlout, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (he makes a brief appearance in Pitch Perfect, as well as other comedy movies that I am not going to watch) as Fishlegs, and David Tennant (the beloved Tenth Doctor, Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter, Crowley in Good Omens, he voices Scrooge McDuck in the new DuckTales cartoon, and other countless roles) as Spitelout [Snotlout’s father].  This also means that the Viking adults are Scottish [Vikings did settle in Scotland and some clans could trace their ancestry to the Norse] and the teens are American.

Toothless actually makes an appearance in the DreamWorks intro; if you look closely, the shape of a Night Fury blocks out some stars for a second.  Then Hiccup starts narrating that “This is Berk…”  We learn that their pests are not like other places; they have dragons, who are in the middle of raiding their village.  This is why the Viking tribe has been on Berk for generations, but every house is new.  “We’re Vikings, we have stubbornness issues.”  Hiccup rushes outside to help, but keeps getting told by the villagers to get back inside.  Even the chief, Stoick the Vast picks up the scrawny teenager and orders him away from the action.  Gobber, the village blacksmith, takes the lad to the forge, where Hiccup is his apprentice.  Again, the teen is desperate to go out and attempt to kill a dragon so his life will get better, just like the other teens: Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Astrid (note the romantic swell in the music when Hiccup sees her in front of a fireball).  As Gobber puts it, the lad has already made an impression, in all the wrong places.  Hiccup uses mechanical inventions to make up for what he lacks in typical Viking toughness, but they end up backfiring.  Gobber tells his apprentice, “you need to stop all this.”  “You just gestured to all of me,” Hiccup bemoans.  He’s then ordered to stay put while Gobber helps the village. 

Once Gobber leaves, Hiccup sneaks out the back with his bola catapult and starts searching for the elusive Night Fury to shoot down.  Hiccup is actually able to track the outline of the dragon in the fireball that the dragon sets off, pulls the trigger, and actually hits his target!  But the only one to see him is a Monstrous Nightmare.  Stoick has to rescue him from the large dragon, and once the beast has used up his shot limit, takes it on barehanded.  But Hiccup has already caused enough damage and the chief is not impressed.  Oh, and Stoick happens to also be Hiccup’s father.  Gobber once again takes hold of the lad and leads him back to his house so the other Vikings can clean up.  Hiccup is aware that he is a disappointment to his father (mimicked in a hilarious accent); all Hiccup wants to be is one of the Vikings.

Stoick plans to take several other adults to search for the dragon’s nest, to put an end to the raids once and for all.  When they hesitate about joining their chief, he states that those who stay behind will have to look after Hiccup; then everyone joins in.  Stoick asks his friend Gobber to remain behind and start training the teenagers.  Gobber also insists that Stoick finally give in and allow Hiccup to train as well.  Stoick points out that since the boy could crawl, he’s been different.  Gobber comes back with the fact that Stoick can’t stop the boy, only prepare him.  Hiccup’s probably already out there now, into mischief.

And in fact, Hiccup is out there, searching for the downed Night Fury.  (Notice that the boy is left-handed.)  What’s more, he finds the dark dragon.  With his little dagger, he’s ready to kill the dragon and present its heart to his father, finally earning respect and acclaim.  But the dragon’s green eyes pin on Hiccup for a minute, before closing and accepting its fate.  After that, Hiccup can’t go through with it.  He cuts the ropes that have entangled the Night Fury.  The beast quickly pins him, once again glaring at the small lad.  With a roar, he scares him, then takes off.

At home that evening, Stoick informs Hiccup that he is leading another expedition and Hiccup will finally get his wish to be put in dragon training.  Only now, Hiccup knows for sure that he can’t kill a dragon.  Stoick doesn’t listen to Hiccup, insisting that his son “walk like us, talk like us, and think like us (meaning the other Vikings).  No more of this.”  “You just gestured to all of me.”  Stoick wheedles a deal out of his son and leaves.

Hiccup is not terribly enthused to enter training and the other teens aren’t enthused to have him, but Gobber attempts to put knowledge in their head.  The twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, are a few yaks shy of a herd; Snotlout is boastful and keeps trying to impress Astrid; Fishlegs is knowledgeable, but frightened; and Astrid just wants to complete training and join the fight.  She even points this out to Hiccup; it is time he decides what side he’s on.  But now Hiccup starts thinking.  Gobber told them that dragons always go for the kill.  So, why didn’t the Night Fury?  Hiccup goes searching for the dragon again and finds him in a cove.  The dragon is having trouble flying and Hiccup realizes, when he goes to sketch the beast, that he’s missing part of his tail.  When Hiccup reads the dragon manual that evening, the only information on the Night Fury is that it’s believed to be the “unholy offspring of lightning and death itself,” and never engage this dragon.  Your only chance is hide and pray it doesn’t find you.  Meanwhile, all other dragons are termed extremely dangerous, kill on sight.

Hiccup goes back to the cove again, with a peace offering of fish.  The black dragon is imposing as it approaches the Viking teen and growls until Hiccup tosses away his dagger.  Then sits there like an adorable black cat waiting for its treat.  Hiccup notes the dragon appears to be “toothless” when it approaches, then teeth appear as it swallows the fish.  When the dragon notices that Hiccup has nothing, it regurgitates half the fish and stares at Hiccup until he eats it, then even attempts to mimic Hiccup’s lopsided smile.  But he scampers off when Hiccup attempts to touch him.  So Hiccup patiently follows him, hoping to wear him down.  Then Hiccup starts sketching again and the dragon is interested, again, mimicking the human.  Hiccup carefully backs up over the large squiggle and ends up right in front of the Night Fury.  Hiccup holds out his hand again, and turns his head away, hoping that the dragon will trust him.  He hesitates for a second, but bumps his nose against the human’s hand.  Then scampers away again.  [All over the wonderful Forbidden Friendship track]

Training continues and Hiccup continues to get more ideas.  When he’s told that a downed dragon is a dead dragon, he knows he needs to help Toothless fly out, so he designs a new tail for his new friend.  More fish helps calm the dragon down on his first attempt to put on a tail fin.  It works…sort of.  It won’t stay open and they eventually crash.  This does nothing to dampen Hiccup’s spirit; it’s just back to the drawing board.  While he’s with Toothless, Hiccup learns more about dragons, which helps him in the training ring.  They don’t like eel.  They have a spot they loved to be scratched.  There is grass that is like cat nip to them [it’s called dragon nip in the subsequent series].  The other teens are happy to hang out with him now, though Astrid is suspicious.  Even the rest of the villagers are starting to pay attention to Hiccup, so he has to sneak off in order to work with Toothless.  He eventually devises a rigging system, saddle, and vest so he can use foot movements on peddles to help Toothless’ tail.

Stoick returns with the other adults, unsuccessful.  The villagers are pleased to tell him they don’t miss the nuisance Hiccup was.  Stoick asks Gobber if Hiccup is gone.  His friend eventually tells him that yes, Hiccup is gone most afternoons, but it’s to get away from his fans and his parenting troubles are over (because yes, Stoick probably wonders for a minute if Hiccup ended up dying).

Meanwhile, Hiccup is going on a test flight with Toothless [again, the soundtrack is amazing!]  He’s got a little cheat sheet, which works until the wind tears it away.  The two become separated, but Hiccup manages to get back in the saddle and now it’s up to instinct to fly together.  And it works.  They make a great team.  Hiccup remarks to his friend when they take a break, “everything we know about you guys is wrong.”  Stoick surprises his son in his workshop that evening, pleased that with Hiccup doing so well in the ring they finally have something to talk about.  Except not really.  So Stoick gifts his son his first Viking helmet [yes, they have horns, which historically they didn’t, but this is a fantasy world with dragons interacting with humans and a young lad creates a catapult, so we’ll forgive them], which had been half of his mother’s breastplate.  That’s of course, after Stoick claimed that Hiccup had been the worst Viking for years and he’d almost given up on him.

Exam day comes for the teens and it’s down to Hiccup and Astrid.  Hiccup really rather not win the competition because the prize is to kill a dragon in front of everyone.  But he also won’t let Astrid hurt the other dragon, so he accidentally wins.  Afterwards, Astrid comes across Hiccup, who is getting ready to leave Berk forever with Toothless.  Astrid and Toothless frighten each other and Astrid gets ready to run back to Berk and tell everyone: “da-da-duh, we’re dead.”  Toothless picks up Astrid and drops her on a tree while Hiccup attempts to explain.  She’ll listen to him only if he gets her down.  So she climbs aboard and instead of taking the Viking girl down gently, Toothless teaches her a lesson.  Hiccup’s not pleased, at one point dryly commenting, “and now the spinning.  Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile” [that part is my text notification on my phone].  Once Astrid apologizes, Toothless slows down and takes the pair up into the clouds (the soundtrack changes to Romantic Flight, and the artwork is stunning.)

Toothless hears something and they soon find themselves in a herd of dragons all flying somewhere…their nest.  Which is ruled over by a gigantic queen that eats all the food that the dragons bring back to her.  And the occasional dragon as well.  She’s as large as a mountain and almost captures our heroes, who manage to fly away in the nick of time.  This complicates matters.  Hiccup manages to stand up to Astrid and tells her he’ll come up with an idea because he won’t kill a dragon, but he’s also got to protect the other villagers from the gigantic dragon at the nest.  Astrid punches Hiccup first for kidnapping her, then gives him a quick kiss on the cheek “for everything else.”  (This echoes her finding Hiccup earlier and twisting his arm for the lies and then dropping her axe handle on him for everything else.)  She stands by Hiccup’s side when he gets ready to enter the ring the next morning.  He pleads that she keep Toothless safe in case the worst should happen to Hiccup.

Stoick jokes to the crowd how Hiccup was a hiccup, though he’s the most surprised and most proud of his son.  “Today, my boy becomes a Viking.  Today, he becomes one of us!”  Hiccup then enters the ring with his large shield, helmet, and pulls out a small dagger.  But he soon sets them aside once the dragon is released and slowly approaches the Monstrous Nightmare, telling the dragon he is not one of the Vikings and trying to show everyone, including his father that these beasts are not what they think they are.  But Stoick is worried for his son and shouts for the fight to be stopped.  The loud bang sets off the dragon and Hiccup has to try to run away.  Astrid manages to get in and distract the dragon.  Stoick gets her out, but Hiccup is always a step behind.  In the cove, Toothless hears Hiccup’s shouts and claws his way out, running to the rescue of his friend.  He blasts his way into the ring and takes on the Monstrous Nightmare (remember, Toothless can’t properly fly without Hiccup to help with his tail).  Eventually, the other dragon backs off and Toothless protects Hiccup.  Then the Vikings start descending in and Hiccup begs Toothless to leave.  Stoick runs towards the dragon and his son, armed and ready to kill the black beast, but Toothless takes him on.  Hiccup shouts “no!” to his friend, and the dragon swallows his blast, but is soon pinned.  Astrid holds Hiccup back from going after Toothless.  Stoick throws his son into the great hall to have a talk.

Again, it’s one where they don’t really listen to each other, though Hiccup admits he should have told his father the truth earlier.  He begs for his father to be angry at him, but spare Toothless.  Stoick is more concerned about the Vikings who could have been hurt.  Hiccup finally yells at his father that while dragons have killed hundreds of Vikings, Vikings in turn have killed thousands of dragons; they defend themselves.  He also lets slip the knowledge of the nest and the queen, and that only a dragon can find it, but pleads with his father that this is not a dragon he can win against.  “For once in your life will you please listen to me!”  Stoick shoves his son aside and declares “you’ve thrown your lot in with them.  You’re not a Viking.  You’re not my son.”  Both are shocked at the way the conversation went, but Stoick presses on, chaining Toothless and gathering the ships so they can wage war on the dragons’ island.

Astrid approaches Hiccup, not exactly giving him a pep talk, but demanding an answer on why Hiccup was the first Viking in three hundred years who wouldn’t kill a dragon.  She points out he’s the first to ride one [some of this will actually play into the second movie].  Hiccup admits that when he looked at Toothless, he saw himself; the dragon was just as scared as the Viking.  She asks what will Hiccup do now.  “Probably something stupid.”  He’s done that.  Then something crazy.  And crazy being getting one of the other dragons out.  Astrid brings the rest of the teens who agree to follow Hiccup.

Stoick soon finds out, once the mountain is cracked open on the island and the other dragons have dispersed, that Hiccup might have been right about this dragon.  Everyone starts to run, but the large dragon (the Red Death according to other material) burns their ships.  He sends Spitelout with the rest of the Vikings to the other side of the island while he distracts the dragon.  Gobber joins him.  Then there’s a flash at the dragon; Hiccup has arrived with the teens to save everyone.  He gives orders like a leader [note how the animation takes into account the wind in Hiccup’s hair]; even Gobber admits to Stoick that his son is as stubborn as his father.  Astrid drops Hiccup to free Toothless, but the pair are soon sent into the water.  Stoick dives down to save his son, then goes back for Toothless.  The two eye each other for a second, but Stoick is able to break the lock.  Toothless pulls them both up and goes over to Hiccup, who quickly sets about mounting the Night Fury.  Stoick apologizes to his son and tells him he doesn’t have to go fight the dragon.  “We’re Vikings, it’s an occupational hazard” (calling back to a line Stoick said earlier in the movie).  Stoick admits he’s proud to call Hiccup his son, and lets him go.

They save Astrid from falling (the other teens are rather funny at this point) and set her down, then race into the sky, drawing the Red Death up.  Toothless’ blasts in the dark clouds look like lighting down below.  One of the Red Death’s blasts begins to take out Toothless’ new tail.  Hiccup settles on diving down, tearing up the Red Death’s wings, then blasting into her open mouth at the last second.  Which works…until they’re trying to escape the aftermath.  Her large tail knocks Hiccup out of the saddle and Toothless’ tail isn’t working properly.  We see Toothless dive after an unconscious Hiccup as he falls into the fire.  [This sequence is all-around brilliant, including the soundtrack.]

When the ash settles, Stoick goes looking for Hiccup.  He comes upon Toothless, eyeing the damaged rigging.  With tears in his eyes, Stoick apologizes to Toothless in place of his son, admitting what has happened is his fault.  Toothless opens his wings to reveal Hiccup wrapped in his legs.  The boy is alive!  Stoick is grateful and Gobber makes a comment about Hiccup being mostly there.  We next see Hiccup waking up, with Toothless bounding around the house.  When he goes to rise, something makes him pause.  The bottom of his left leg is now a metal foot.  Toothless helps his friend to the door (and there’s a poignant scene for a second showing that Hiccup’s loss now mirror’s Toothless’).  He opens it to discover dragons have made Berk their home alongside Vikings.  Everyone joyfully greets Hiccup.  Turns out they just needed a bit of this, Stoick gestures to his son.  Astrid even hits him again for scaring her, then a longer kiss.  Gobber gifts his apprentice with a new saddle and tail for Toothless so Hiccup can continue flying.  His new foot, which Hiccup may tweak a bit, hooks into the pedals to control the rig.  The other teens cheerfully join Hiccup in flying around Berk (even mimicking the flyby scene from Top Gun with an adult Viking spilling his mug as they go by).  Hiccup’s narration bookends the movie, recalling that “this is Berk,” though now it’s their pets that are different.  “We have…dragons.”

Overall, this film is beautifully written and beautifully animated.  The characters are very lifelike, particularly with the way they speak.  I adore Hiccup because he’s utterly sarcastic.  There are also so many depths to this film.  It’s a film about family, about friendship, about discovering one’s self and accepting it.  It’s an underdog story; the least Viking-like kid saves the day.  His inventions are actually good; he just needed the chance to prove it.

There is the poignant friendship between Toothless and Hiccup.  Just think about that; a dragon befriends a human.  Befriends the human that shot him down.  Then spared him.  Then saved him.  No wonder Toothless dives in to save Hiccup.  And Toothless is utterly adorable.  He has a lot of cat qualities.  And by the end, you just want to hug him.  A little tidbit…the hesitation Toothless shows in the “touch” scene was actually an animation error.  But it looked so perfect, it was kept in the film.

There are other little shorts that follow the first movie, like “Legend of the Boneknapper,” where the teens go on an adventure with Gobber to save him from the scary and possibly mythological Boneknapper dragon.  It ends well, with Gobber’s belt buckle being the missing bone for the dragon.  There’s the “Book of Dragons” feature that explains how the Book of Dragons came to be written.  The dragons they name will be shown in the subsequent series.  There’s even a feature on “How to Find Your Dragon,” where the host shows that there is evidence that dragons are not as far-fetched as many people fear.  Elements exist in nature and many cultures spanning the globe have myths and legends about dragons.  [It’s a topic I want to research at some point.]

Then there is “Gift of the Night Fury,” which was actually released on DVD.  It’s a cute Christmas-type special, with the Vikings celebrating “Snoggletogg.”  It’s the first year with dragons around and everyone is excited.  Until the dragons leave.  Hiccup decides to make a tail for Toothless that doesn’t require Hiccup around.  Toothless takes off and all Hiccup can do is hope his friend will return.  Fishlegs hid Meatlug, but Hiccup discovers the dragon and is taken to a crescent-shaped island where the dragons have gone to lay and hatch their eggs.  Back on Berk, the teens discover that Meatlug also laid eggs.  Astrid decides to distribute the eggs to cheer everyone up.  Then discovers that eggs explode (her just repeating “the eggs explode” several times is hilarious).  Everyone is disheartened until Hiccup arrives with their dragons and the new babies.  But Toothless wasn’t among them.  Toothless sneaks in during the celebration and pukes up Hiccup’s helmet, that had been lost to the ocean.  The next morning, Toothless also smashes his new tail and wants Hiccup back with the old style.  Very heartwarming for the holidays.

Up Next: Cartoon Network started a series Riders of Berk (oh yes, we’re covering the whole fandom here)

“Diabolical combination of Lancelot and Superman”

A Random Fandom Update

I always manage to lose track of how many posts I’ve made and how long I’ve been blogging.  I’m now over two hundred and twenty posts and coming up on my six-year anniversary and it remains incredible to me.  I recently had to look back through my posts for something and was shocked at how much I’ve actually covered.  When I started, I didn’t really think I would be blogging for this long.  I’ve got some topics I want to do deeper dives on because I’m really passionate about them, so those will take more time.  But this is also a thank you to everyone who has joined on this journey.

In between blog posts, I’ve been working, of course, but I’ve also been reading and watching other shows. 

I’ve been reading some mystery series, mostly book-centric.  There’s the Secret, Book and Scone Society series by Ellery Adams, though I’ve only gotten through two so far.  And A Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton (not surprised I’m liking those).  And I’m almost caught up with the Bibliophile Mystery Series by Kate Carlisle.  I’ve read some memoirs as well, but I still have a lengthy list of to-be-read books as well.

I recently finished the All Souls’ Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, which contains A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life (gifted to be by a family member) and recommended by said family member and another friend (who got me started on the show).  And I 10/10 would highly recommend these books [that is where this post’s title came from]!  They are a wonderful tapestry of science, magic, and history.  My cousin has lent me the next book about Marcus and the guide that Harkness has published; that will be fun to dive into.  I’m sure I’ll get even more ideas and help for my series.  I’m eager to get back to the show.

In the meantime, my thoughts on the most recent season of Bridgerton: SPOILERS for the book series!

Well, it’s certainly deviated from the book, which is the growing trend in Netflix’s adaptation.  Colin and Penelope’s story is fourth in the series, but they’ve upstaged Benedict (also a consistency in the show).  They increased the drama of the secret of Lady Whistledown’s identity.  I’m obviously not opposed to the match between Colin and Penelope and I’m glad that someone appreciates Penelope for herself.  I’m not opposed to her wardrobe this season, that was even part of the book.  But the costumes became a bit much this season.  Cressida is like a Regency Barbie.  The shapes are shifting very far from Regency era (i.e. Kate’s dresses were not always flattering and yet she was stunning in what they put her in last season).  I also don’t mind the arrangements of pop songs into string pieces.

As much as we find Lady Featherington annoying and blind to her youngest child, she did make points that were historically accurate.  As harsh as the remark she made to Penelope that “ladies do not have dreams,” it’s not that outrageous for that period.  A woman’s duty was to marry and care for her husband.  Her husband has dreams and she supports them.  We, as modern watchers, want Penelope to have her own dreams, and for her husband to care about them just as much and to support her.  And I don’t mind that the family becomes more supportive and happier at the end.  Lady Featherington admits she is proud of Penelope and Penelope even supports her sisters.

And sadly, Benedict keeps getting sidelined and they took away his art.  I certainly hope his story is next (which we have to wait two years for).  It was nice to visually see Francesca and John meet and I was looking forward to her tale with her second husband, but not sure how that will go with changing the gender (the sticking point is going to be, Francesca wanted children and John died young, so Michael was eventually able to give her children).  Overall, I’m game for genderbending characters and the trio that Benedict ended up in worked.  I’m a bit upset of how far the show is stepping away from the books.  However, his talks with Eloise are adorable.

Dear Netflix, we like Jane Austen etc, so the formula works, why are you changing it?

For now, I am going to work on my fantasy series (hopefully aided by some ideas that have popped in my head recently), and then jump into How To Train Your Dragon (it’s hard for me to pick between this series and Lord of the Rings which series I love the best).

We Have Claimed These Characters as Our Own

The series as a whole is the best-selling book series of all time and the movie series is the third highest-grossing in history behind Star Wars and the MCU.  Single books held records for being the fastest selling.  With Harry Potter being around for over twenty years and the kind of people who got interested in the universe, there should be no surprise that there are a lot of fan theories out there.  Same as Marvel, I’ve got a whole board on Pinterest devoted to “Potterverse”

These are the headcannons that fans have created that I totally support:

We want a Marauders movie, or story, or book…anything.  What was the last straw that made Sirius run away?  How did they make the map?  How did Filch get it?  What made Sirius tell Snape about the Whomping Willow?  What made Lily agree to date James?  Proof they weren’t just a bunch of jerks.  When did Peter switch sides?  Proof he was a friend and not a tagalong fanboy.  (Cast: Ben Barnes as Sirius, Andrew Garfield as Remus, Karen Gillian as Lily, Aaron Taylor Johnson as James)

What name did baby Harry say first?  (It’d be hilarious if it was Sirius or a version of Padfoot)

They became Animagus for their friend and told no one.

Prank wall covered in notes and photos

Pairing Sirius and Remus

James covers for Remus as prefect during full moons.  McGonagall totally supports this.

Sirius and Lily friendship.  Lily and Remus friendship

Lily’s friendship with all the Marauders, and individually

The Potters taking Sirius in

How did James and Lily fall in love?

James and Lily’s Patronus are complimentary (stag/doe), while Severus and Lily’s are same (doe).  Love and obsession are not the same.

James Potter was more than a bully.  A fully fledged person with a host of emotions.  James changed for Sirius when he ran away, it just so happened that it coincided with Lily noticing and agreeing to go on a date.

When Lily Evans told James Potter she wouldn’t go out with him because he was a bully, he stopped bullying people and redeemed himself.  When Lily told Severus Snape she wouldn’t go out with him because he called her a racial slur, he went and joined a racist terrorist group.  Conclusion: James Potter handled rejection much better than Severus Snape did.

The bravest things James Potter did were secrets

What if James had transformed into his stag form to take on Voldemort on Halloween night, and trampled him to death.

The novel idea that Severus and James actually work together so no one else can ask Lily out; they take care of the competition.

Or Severus and Regulus stand in front of Remus when other students try to mess with him (for instance, the other Marauders are serving detention)

We respect McGonagall.  She is as golden as her reputation.  Imagine if she had raised Harry; he’d be super polite and probably managed to kill Voldemort when he was eleven.  She also cares greatly about her students.  The Marauders would have had Transfiguration questions about becoming Animagus and posed them to McGonagall.  Yes, she got Harry a broom first year and just told Ron to replace his wand second year; but it was more giving a gift to a child who had been neglected and trying to get a family to recognize their youngest son.  She’d be a more reasonable and responsible headmaster than Albus.  Also, her sass to Umbridge.

McGonagall mothering students who need her, like Sirius.

An idea that McGonagall and the Weasleys start a program for students who are not safe at home.

Note that students get out of McGonagall’s way when she draws her wand.

James standing up to McGonagall for Sirus and Remus when Severus makes a crack that they’re privileged, and James hit Severus for it.

Harry being raised by Sirus and Remus [there are wonderful fanfiction stories out there]

We all hate Umbridge, even more than Voldemort.  (Because we know people as bigoted as Umbridge)

Dumbledore knowingly put children in danger.  And we realize that Dumbledore is manipulative and abusive, and not infallible. 

I thought Albus was a great mentor the first time I read the books; I cried at his death in Half-Blood Prince.  By Deathly Hallows, I was probably starting to lose faith.  But as I’ve matured and thought of other points of view, I’ve changed my mind.  No, he’s not a terrible person.  He was just convinced he was right and he was the only one who knew what was right and what needed to be done.  And he failed Harry.  He allowed a child to be miserable to years when he could have changed the situation and then let the child go back, so that by the time the child has grown up, he doesn’t know how to be around his blood family because they’ve hurt and dismissed him.  Great for self-esteem; but maybe that was what Dumbledore needed in order for Harry to willingly allow himself to die.  Keep him dependent on Dumbledore for information and answers, but limit how much he’s allowed to know.  Dumbledore is by far not the most evil character in the story, that lies with Umbridge and Voldemort, but he’s not a shining gold star.

Dumbledore collects outcasts: expelled half-giant, young werewolf, repentant Death Eater.  But Sirius was a rebel, not an outcast.  He knowingly chose his path and chooses the price, refuses to be used.  So Dumbledore abandons him.  Knows Sirius loyalty lies with Harry, not Dumbledore, and has no use for someone not willing to follow his orders without question.  Harry is outcast because of abusive family, which is where Dumbledore knowingly placed him.

What if Remus yelled at Dumbledore for Sirius and then quit?

An AU where Remus keeps his job.  When Umbridge comes to make rounds two years later, no one will say a bad word.  Draco won’t mess up his OWL.  Snape won’t say anything against his potion making.  Everyone behaves because the student to get Lupin tossed out will be ruined and face the wrath of Hermione Granger.

I’m on the side of Severus Snape was not the greatest guy.  He bullied a child for many things that were not that child’s fault.  You think Harry can help he looks like James?  Or he has his mother’s eyes?   Snape only cared that Voldemort was going to murder a family and one-year-old boy when he found out it was Lily.  He only wanted to rescue Lily, not her family.  He was Neville’s worst fear.  He got Remus fired and also set an essay while he was off hoping that the students would realize he’s a werewolf.  He may have had a hard job, being a spy in two camps and keeping his true allegiance a secret, but he damn well could have been a nicer person!  Saying he did it all for Lily doesn’t really absolve him of treating her son and other students abysmally.  And admittedly, Alan Rickman portrayed the man splendidly and actually made us feel sorry for the man.  No one could have played Snape better (and we have lost a gifted actor).  Snape is a complicated man, period.

Lily kicking Severus’ butt in the afterlife.  And probably Petunia’s as well

Fred Weasley joins the Marauders in the after life

Gordon Ramsey would be a better Potions professor than Snape.  He’d support kids and call Dumbledore an “idiot sandwich”

There are dozens of other options Harry should have named his son rather than Albus Severus.  For instance, Remus Arthur “you were named after two men who looked out for my safety and cared about my well-being out of altruism and decency rather than because I was a tool for them to use or because I was someone’s son.  And one of them is your grandfather and presumably you mother got some influence on naming you.”

(And seriously, this whole business of the Slytherin one being the bravest man you’ve ever known?  Like, what about Remus, who taught you the Patronus Charm?  Or Sirius breaking out of prison to save you?)

Or, if they had triplet boys and name them James, Sirius, and Remus.  That would be the last straw for McGonagall.  She’s McGonagone.

Decent Slytherins: Slughorn, Andromeda Tonks, Narcisa Malfoy…none of them bullied children

Magical Home Ec

Muggleborn witches and wizards bringing Muggle ideas to school, pop culture.  Pens.  Coffee.

The Houses: “Luna Lovegood did not confront and suffer at the hands of Death Eather for Ravenclaw to be the House of smart snobs.  Cedric Diggory did not die for Hufflepuff to be a forgotten House of underappreciated witches and wizards.  Regulus Black did not sacrifice himself for Slytherin to be condemned as the House from which all evil and selfish wizards and witches come from.  Peter Pettigrew did not sell out his long-had friends to Lord Voldemort for Gryffindor to become the golden House wherein no one can do wrong.”

Separated into Houses due to learning styles.

Remember, Slytherins value traditionalism, Hufflepuffs value hard work, Ravenclaws value creativity, wit, individuality, and Gryffindors value chivalry.

Gryffindors use magic as a weapon, but responsibly.  Hufflepuffs share magic to benefit others.  Slytherins are cautious, keep magic to selves.  Ravenclaws push the boundaries of magic.

Hufflepuffs find beauty in life.  Ravenclaws find wonder in life.  Gryffindors find excitement in life.  Slytherins find hope in life.

Gryffindors don’t care about rules, they care about justice.  Slytherins are ruthless, but they care about rules.  Ravenclaws hate rules, they prevent creativity.  Hufflepuffs emphasize equality.

House bravery: Gryffindor is doing the thing, suppressing the fear and overcoming it.  Slytherin is doing the thing because the goal outweighs the fear and risk.  Ravenclaw is doing the thing because it makes sense despite the risk.  Hufflepuff is forgetting to be afraid because the thing is so important that the risk doesn’t even matter.

Helga Hufflepuff created a secret room which would help all students, called many things, today known as the Room of Requirement

Slytherins protect younger students during the battle since their common room is removed from the fighting.

House unity.  Playing evening Quidditch games against each other.  Mixing tables after the war.  Slytherins have comfort Hufflepuffs.  House exchange programs.

Slytherin Triwizard champion.  Slytherins stand up to Umbridge.  Join Dumbledore’s Army.  Fight against Death Eaters in the Ministry.  Take in Muggleborns.

Harry is intelligent.  He’s good at magic.  Perfectly capable of becoming a terrifying Dark Wizard, times when he seems alarmingly near that point.  But he chooses not to.  Ability to love, accept love, understand love, yes, all important.  But it’s not because he’s an incorruptibly pure hero with an unprecedented fountain of love in his heart, in the end he chooses friendship and family.  Deliberately exchanges his life for the people of Hogwarts.

Harry is more sarcastic in the books

Harry’s life summarized: “Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid.”

Ron truly outdid his brothers.  Bill’s a curse breaker, Ron destroyed a Horcrux.  Ron freed the dragon from Gringotts.  Ron rose in status due to being friends with Harry, then married Hermione, literal Minister of Magic.  Ron drove a car to school one year, helped discover the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, meetings in Room of Requirement.

Ron offered a stranger half a sandwich.  He sacrificed himself for Harry and Hermione at 11 because even then he thought they were more important.  He was Harry’s first friend, the first thing Harry ever had resembling a family.  He took care of Harry and Hermione when they were too busy taking care of the rest of the world to worry about themselves.

“Shoutout to George, Fred, and especially Ron Weasley for realizing that Harry was stuck in abusive and unhealthy household, and in spite of massive trouble they knew they could get in, taking immediate steps to personally see him removed from that environment, something no adult in Harry’s life did.”

Charlie Weasley the next Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

Charlie Weasley bringing dragons to the final battle

Weasley appreciation: Try having a couple Weasleys illegally on the airwaves, one destroying Voldemort’s Horcruxes, one protesting at Hogwarts, one running loose in the government, one housing escaped prisoners, and one getting foreign support!  More children than they can afford?  Try more children than you can effectively stop!  Would you like to pick an opponent based on which Quidditch position they excel at, or do you wanna roll the dice and go with one of the brothers who got 12 OWLs?  Those are your only two options because the Weasleys are EVERYWHERE and the weak link is NO ONE.  Glorious.  Iconic.  Every Weasley has red hair, freckles, and a drive to destroy the concept of blood purity at all cost!!

Characters (particularly the Weasleys and Hermione) recognizing and helping Harry out with PTSD

We want Harry to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, not Auror.  All of them becoming professors; Hermione starts as Transfiguration, then becomes Headmistress.  Ron is the new Flying Instructor.

Hermione returned to Hogwarts to complete her seventh year [this might have actually be verified by Rowling; I don’t remember.  Don’t care.  We claim it]

Nine-year-old Hermione reading Matilda

What if when Scabbers was stuck as a cup, he transformed back into Peter Pettigrew?  McGonagall would have had that handled.

Where do you think magical blood came from?  Cross humans with Fae and other magical beings.

Hagrid appreciation: He’s a better person than Snape; even after having his secret revealed without his consent, and taking the fall for Tom Riddle’s crime in school, was still a good man and supported the trio.

Similarities to James and Sirius’ friendship and Harry and Ron’s: Dursleys abused Harry, Blacks abused Sirius; Weasleys loved and cared for Ron, Potters loved and cared for James; Harry runs away from Privet Drive hoping never to return again, Sirius runs away from Grimmauld Place hoping never to return; Harry basically moves in with Weasleys, Sirius moves in with James while still in school; Whalburga Black blasted Sirius off the family tapestry, Dursleys wanted to erase Harry from lives and memories; Ron comes from old pureblood Gryffindor family, same with James; Harry didn’t want to be in Slytherin and ended up in Gryffindor, same with Sirius.  Harry and Sirius are lost boys and James and Ron are their anchors and support systems.

Note, Sirius did not know the Dursleys were abusive.  And Sirius grew up in an abusive house and if he had known for a single second that his godson was facing the same thing, he would have rescued Harry.  And Harry was more worried about his godfather’s safety and freedom than his own health.  To Dumbledore: “people don’t like being locked up!”

Sirius has PTSD

Don’t think about the fact that Sirius saw James’ and Lily’s bodies

Don’t think about the fact that Sirius spent more time in Azkaban than he did with James

Sirius fell behind the veil; but before his body hit the ground, a set of strong and familiar hands caught him.  Beyond-the-veil James like “What in the world are you doing that you’re falling into the afterlife.”  Sirius like “…definitely not battling Death Eaters with your kid…”

Bellatrix used red light: Stupefy.  If Sirius had not fallen through the veil he would have lived.  Hence why Harry can’t come to terms with his death (in the books; in the movie she does use Avada Kedavra and it’s a green blast).

Someone pointed out that Helena Bonham Carter played the moment after Sirius’ death with remorse for a second.  We applaud her

Dapper and suave Sirius, a gentleman who looks good in full black tail, a charmer

Sirius is the one adult in Harry’s life that prioritizes Harry’s safety and happiness over literally anything else.  In turn, Harry is far more open with Sirius than any other adult.  Sirius listens to Harry’s thoughts and feelings patiently and without judgment. [And this is why I hate that Rowling killed him off…well, if you think about it, with Dumbledore being the paragon of good in her eyes, there’s no room for an actual decent character who would help Harry and not kill him]

Harry knew what he was losing when he lost Sirius.  His parents were abstract; he was too little when they died to fully remember them.  A dull ache.  Sirius was someone who loved him, rooted for him, always come to help, the beginnings of a home and proper family.

If Hagrid and Dumbledore had let Sirius take Harry, Sirius would have never gone after Peter.

Headcannons about Regulus.  Having a complicated relationship with Sirius, still caring about his brother.  Coming out of the cave in Half-Blood Prince thinking Harry is James and wondering about Dumbledore.

Sirius protecting Regulus as a child

Regulus keeps an eye out on Sirius after his death.  Tries to talk sense into him during the whole Pettigrew debacle.  “You do not want to duel Bellatrix!”

What if Regulus was the Death Eater spy turned potions master instead of Snape?  Seeing Remus again.  Seeing Sirius in the third book.

What if Malfoys found Harry at platform, rather than Weasleys.  But Harry still manages to make Draco and Ron friends.

Draco and Harry pairing

Draco and Harry the two sides to the same coin, caught up in something much bigger than themselves, as children.

Draco refusing Dark Mark after fourth year.  Running away.  Lupin finds him and rescues him from danger, brings him to Sirius.  At first Sirius angry for treatment of Harry, but recognizes himself in Draco.

Teddy Lupin’s Patronus is a werewolf

Harry meets Susan Pevensie

Harry and possibly Nevill converting Grimmauld Place into a children’s home.

What if Petunia, or both Dursleys had cared a little more about their nephew?

What if Petunia was magical (and hid it)?  Or if Dudley had a magical child?

Harry fights the Dark Lord, but still scared by angry women…well, when those women are Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley.  If you manage to make Luna mad, watch out.

Mary Poppins attended Hogwarts.  Mentions Walt and Wonka.

The funny notion that Voldemort made a seating chart for the Death Eaters

Hermione creates Lupin’s Law that helps werewolves.

3 things the Harry Potter fandom universally agree on: 1) Umbridge is awful.  2) Maggie Smith is the perfect McGonagall.  3) Everyone should be slightly bothered by DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE

In addition; book Ginny is 100 times better than movie Ginny.  Where was Peeves in the movies?  And Voldemort’s death in the movie was stupid [the battle in Order of the Phoenix was more interesting]

Why the readers disliked the Nineteen Years Later epilogue: we’re millennials; we were satisfied that our young heroes won.  But then there’s a time skip and they’re all happily married with children; they’re financially stable and content, and that is not something we can honestly believe.  We don’t see that in our own futures and we’ve grown up with these characters, we don’t see that happening for them.  An aftermath where they deal with the trauma and fallout, we can believe.  Trying to make it and discover what the future holds; we’re on board.  Trying to fix society, we know all about that.  But who says we want to be exactly like our parents?  “In a world about magic, JK Rowling finally broke our suspension of disbelief by having them all hit middle-class and middle-age contentment and expecting a fanbase of teenagers to accept it.”

Honestly, the book would have been alright ending right before the epilogue, with Harry repairing his wand, planning to get some sleep, hoping that Kreacher will bring him a sandwich, saying “I’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime.”  Satisfying and hey, you let your readers come up with their own endings.  Fans do that for every other book and movie.  There will always be more to the story, but the epilogue just made us mad.

People talk a lot about how Harry Potter taught them about friendship and bravery and love overcoming evil, etc, and of course that is important.  But, Harry Potter taught an entire generation of kids that news media can’t always be trusted to tell the truth, that the government can often be corrupt or incompetent, that the legal system isn’t always right, that the people in power don’t always have your best interests at heart.  That bad things sometimes happen to good people, that your heroes aren’t always as perfect as you think they are, that even those with the best intentions can be wrong, that everyone can make mistakes and that often in order to make things right, it takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

I’ve also found as I read fanfiction and see all the headcanons that have emerged on Pintrest about this fandom: Rowling, we have claimed your characters.  They are ours now.  And we will continue to create a more in-depth world for them.  And answer the questions you left dangling.

I have read supplemental material over the years; Harry Potter and Philosophy got me interested in the Pop Culture and Philosophy series and I went on to buy several other editions.  There was even a second Harry Potter edition put out.  The Magical World of Harry Potter is an excellent reference book for general magical research.  Harry Potter’s Bookshelf and Harry Potter and History were not as interesting as I hoped.  Calling All Witches! is a cute book about the women of Harry Potter.  Because of Harry Potter, I did read Alan Rickman’s memoir, which was a bit eye-opening, and Tom Felton has put out a memoir as well.  There are countless other guides out there and “unauthorized” companions and such that the sheer volume makes me shy away.  I’ve also read my companions and that is quite enough for me, thank you.

Again, there will always be a place in my heart for Harry Potter.  I’ve enjoyed re-reading the books, listening to the soundtracks again, watching the movies again and seeing the actors grow up.  There are iconic characters now that are not leaving culture anytime soon.  A whole generation was introduced to the likes of Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, and the other adults.  We are sad at the passing of each actor and actress that was involved with the movies as they pass.  These books gave me hope of publishing my own series.  It was fun to read a series about someone my age being the hero.  I was enraptured by the world-building as a teenager.  I still would love to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida (okay, I’ll visit while I stop at the How to Train Your Dragon land they’re opening soon).  I will never say I hate Harry Potter, though I may be disappointed with the direction things have gone.  We’ll file this under “childhood nostalgia” with Free Willy and Incredible Journey.

There are of course other Harry Potter fanfictions that I’ve read, such as

Erasing the Future by moxteminator, where Harry goes back in time to change events after things go wrong against Voldemort.  It does not include information found out in Deathly Hallows.

There’s also An Aunt’s Love and What’s Right (and partially year two, but I believe it’s been abandoned by this point) by Emma Lipardi.  In An Aunt’s Love, Petunia actually cares about Harry and makes some changes after Sirius’ death.  What’s Right is another time-travel fic, where Harry goes back in time to set things right and it’s got the interesting addition of becoming friends with Draco and his family; they’re a little more sympathetic.  And some hilarious quotes!  I do recommend them.

There was a site when I first got into fanfiction called The Sugar Quill.  It is no longer active, but there is supposedly an archive of their stories done as captures.  Most of the stories are not canon compliant and go off the beaten path, but they’ve got some zingers.

But I still hold that the best Harry Potter fanfiction I have personally read (and was so happy to find out my cousin has also read it, yay, share the love!) and is miles better than Cursed Child is A Marauder’s Plan.  Warning, if you do plan on reading this, there are SPOILERS Ahead!  As already mentioned, it involves Sirius a lot more.  He makes the decision to stay and help Harry during the events of the Triwizard Tournament (yes, he still gets entered, no way out of that).  Sirius gets custody and gives Harry a loving home.  We learn so much more about the Wizarding World (and yeah, it makes better sense than Rowling’s version).  We learn more about Sirius’ backstory and even James’.  There are more character dynamics and different character relations, like pairing Harry with Hermione.  It incorporates all the vital information from later books (like Horcruxes and Hallows) and the Voldemort issue gets resolved.  The issues with Dumbledore get addressed, Snape remains enigmatic, and other side characters get to step into the spotlight more, like McGonagall.  Draco gets an attitude adjustment.  We see more of Remus and Tonks.  Heck, even Bill is more in this story.   Harry gains power, magical and political, but also gets to be a teen at times.