Dragons Riders of Berk Reviews: Episode 19 - We Are Family Part 1

Well, last Wednesday Dragons Defenders of Berk finished its run. The season finale aired and there'll be no more How To Train Your Dragon related stuff until How To Train Your Dragon 2, and Season 3 in 2015. I'm not so sure what to say about the finale, but that review ain't gonna happen for a while yet. But what I am doing, is the season 1 Riders finale.

It's a happy day on Berk. Vikings and Dragons are hard at work, setting up some kind of event and for the first time in the series we see Vikings who aren't the main characters riding dragons. Hiccup narratically explains that Vikings have a strong sense of community, it's important to be a part of a family and to celebrate that connection. Which I think is Hogwash. Oh don't get me wrong, family is great, I guess. But family celebrations/get-togethers/dinners, I'm personally not a fan. But I guess me and Hiccup have major philosophical differences on this topic. 

We then see Gobber pounding nails into some strange large statue, the town watches in admiration and/or curiosity. Gobber then says "Happy Bork Week" to two villagers whose names coincidentally end with "us", Shamus and Magnus. Gobber then wishes a happy Bork Week to the statue of his great grandfather Bork. Bork is the Viking who wrote the Book of Dragons, and this is obviously a holiday celebrating that. 

Just as Gobber seems to be really enjoying his day, in comes Mildew to sweep any good feelings he had under the rug. Oh, not because Mildew said anything along the lines of "If only we had a man like Bork to kill all these dragons because they're a nuisance to me personally and I'm a crusty old fuck", Mildew just seems to have some strange superpower that sucks the happy feels out just by being in his mere presence. 

Oh, Mildew. FUCK MY LIFE!!!!!

Gobber is quick to remind Mildew that the days of fighting dragons is over and never coming back, and it's time for Mildew to roll over like the old dog he is and let progress run its course. But Mildew refuses to let society progress, he's a relic from a time long past and follows a tradition that has no place in this era of progression. He's an obstructive, crusty old fuck that ain't backing down till he gets his way. Somebody call the Republican Party, they'll want this guy ASAP. 

So after asking Gobber about Bork's dragon-gutting dagger that might or might not be foreshadowing, I don't know at this particular time, Hiccup is in the quarry making dragon noises with his hands. Just like you would do with a bird or wolves, only I'm not so sure Dragons vocalisations can be mimicked by humans. Though, seeing as Dragons don't exist is real life, this is kinda a moot point. Reality sucks. 

Anyway, Hiccup is making Dragon calls and Snotlout thinks this is boring and stupid. Fishleg's tells Snotlout to sit his punk ass down and wait for the calls to work. Snotlout sits down, and decides to fuck with Ruffnut and Tuffnut by flashing a light dot like you do with cats. 

I'm calling it, Ruff and Tuff are reincarnated cats.
It explains so much.

Hiccup tells Snotlout to knock it off, Snotlout reluctantly agrees because it was just so damn funny. But he's still bored as shit becuase nothing's still happening. Juts then, Toothless appears, responding to Hiccup's call. Snotlout is reluctant to say it, but he admits that was pretty cool.  Hiccup then asks Fishleg's to demonstrate his Gronckle calls. But Fishleg's gets caught up in the moment and rambles for 5 hours before Snotlout tells him to shut the fuck up and get to the point. Fishleg's makes some calls that bring Meatlug and a pack of Gronckle's to the Quarry. Astrid, being a very competitive person, beats that by calling her herd of Nadders in perfect formation. 

Tuffnut wants to ask Hiccup something important. Hiccup wants to know if it's actually something that's not a complete and utter waste of his precious, valuable time, and shockingly it is a legitimate quandary. He wants to know why they're dicking around with Dragon calls. Hiccup explains to him that they'd be useful if they ever get separated from their dragons, which Tuffnut doesn't get. It's like trying to explain how to tie your shoes to a toddler. Hiccup also mentions how his Dad wants a Dragon air parade for Bork Week. Ruffnut asks why they give a shit about a Dragon Killer, Fishleg's explains that Bork wrote the book on Dragon Knowledge and is the predecessor to their fields, so that's why they still celebrate his name. Snotlout then asks who Toothless is going to fly with during this parade. 

Does he have to fly with anyone?

Meanwhile, Gobber is throwing shit out of his attic, looking for a chest with all of Bork's old shit in it while singing a song of how Bork saved Berk then went Berserk. He finds it and is about to leave but finds Mildew blocking his way. He tells Mildew that the next time he sneaks up on him, he'll gut him and spill his entrails. Mildew says he needs Gobber to clean up his mess for him, he claims that his wheelbarrow broke and his cabbage is littered all over the road. Gobber tells Mildew to clean up his own mess, but Mildew just asks what happened to customer service. Gobber agrees and leaves Bork's chest and dagger to go deal with Mildew's cabbage. Mildew eyes the dagger and chest.

Hiccup and Toothless are on a hill overseeing the preparations for the Dragon parade, but Toothless is all like "You a'ight Dawg?" when he sees that Hiccup doesn't look too happy. Hiccup wishes that there were more Night Furies for Toothless to interact with. Astrid lands by Hiccup and informs him that she got the Nadders flying in perfect formation, Hiccup compliments her on a job well done. Astrid however notices something's gone fuckey with Hiccup's mood and asks him about it. Hiccup explains that all the other dragons have homie's to chill with, but Toothless has no one. Astrid tells him Toothless has Hiccup to chill with, and she also says Toothless looks pretty happy to her. 

Toothless you magnificent cute bastard! 

Hiccup isn't so sure about that though. Astrid tells him that Toothless will be fine, then tells him that Stoick wants to see him at the Great Hall and that he's got some serious business with him. Hiccup prepares for the worst. 

Hiccup goes to the Great Hall, which has been darkened for dramatic effect. Stoick, Gobber, Spitelout and a bunch of other nameless Vikings wait to receive him. Stoick tells Hiccup to come forward and hold out his hands, Hiccup is noticeably terrified. Hiccup tries to tell them that he can't stop Snotlout and the Twins from causing chaos 24/7. Gobber says this ain't about those dicks and their shenanigans, it's something good. Stoick gets pissed at Gobber for once again spilling the beans when he wanted to spill them.

Stoick explains that this is the first Bork Week since they've made peace with the dragons. So it has been decided that everything dragon related including Bork's work will be entrusted to him and the academy, the music ups the dramatic effect. Gobber shows Hiccup Bork's shit, his whole life's work, ideas, thoughts, even some delicious recipes. Hiccup is overwhelmed with happiness by being given this responsibility. Stoick says that Bork was their history and him and the Acadamy are their future, and he's trusting Hiccup with both. A very touching father/son moment among many. Gobber however, is finding it hard to part with his ancestor's shit. 

Gobber, clinging to it isn't gonna make it easier,
HAND IT OVER!!

But Gobber eventually lets go and tells Hiccup Bork's shit is his now. Hiccup takes it back to his house and looks through Bork's notes. Everything he ever observed about dragon's in in those notes, along with interesting drawings of his neighbours. So, Bork was a peeper? He sounds like quite an interesting guy. Hiccup however finds his drawings disturbing as shit and throws the book aside, only for it to reveal some kind of hidden piece of paper. Hiccup pulls it out and unfolds it, and its a bunch of pages about Night Furies and an Island that's crawling in em'. II don't know, there's something awfully suspicious about this. 

So Hiccup and the teens are off to find the Isle of Night. They're looking for Bork's cave which will have a map to the Isle of Night. They find a large rock formation and set out for some kind of cave. But then they hear something strange, but it turns out to be Snotlout attempting a Changewing call. Fishleg's however points out it's more like a Changewing having diarrhoea than an actual Changewing call and quickly corrects him. Snotlout then bets that Fishleg's can't do a Thunderdrum, a bet that Fishleg's destroys. After that little bit of theatrics, they find the cave. But they hear what appears to be a Thunderdrum. They think it's Fishleg's mimicking a call, but Fishleg's denies it, saying that his is much more authentic which insults the pissed off Thunderdrum right around the corner. They book it to the cave, but it's disappeared. Hiccup, Fishelgs and Astrid deal with the Thunderdrum while Snotlout and the Twins try to find the cave. Snotlout swears he saw it right where he's standing. 

Surprise Motherfucker!

A Changewing was blocking the cave, and it snatches Snotlout and starts beating him. As Astrid and Fishlegs are dealing with the Thunderdrum, Hicup and Toothless fly into the cave and find a map that leads to the Isle of Night. He tries to draw it, but the chaos outside causes the cave to start collapsing. Hiccup manages to get the map all drawn out despite the urgency of the situation. Outside, Snotlout is up shit creek without a paddle. He's being thrown around and slammed against the rocks by the Changewing and the Twins' intervention only makes the situation worse. 

Speaking of which, Hiccup is also up shit creek without a paddle and whatever he tries will only make his situation worse. The Thunderdrum blocked the exit out of the cave and the cave is collapsing, blasting would only bring the cave down on them. But Toothless reveals an ability he has that we never knew he had. he does some echolocation shit, kinda like bats have, and finds his way out of the cave. Astrid is amazed they managed to get out, but Hiccup is dumbfounded as to how they got out of that one. Hiccup then decides to go help Snotlout. 

?????
Uh,....... I got nothing.

Hiccup makes fun of Snotlout for the ridiculous predicament he's in, then blasts Snotlout out of the dragon's grasp. Snotlout is caught by Hookfang, and the teens head back to Berk. Hiccup tells the others about Toothless' totally awesome unknown ability. They're confused, but it doesn't really matter as we're following the plot about finding other Night Furies. 

Back at the house, Hiccup is reading Bork's notes. It turns out that Night Furies ain't down with being around other dragons. So Hiccup decides to go alone to prevent a tragedy. Wait a minute, Hiccup you fool! It's a ploy, trust me on this! But Hiccup heads off alone, despite my warnings. 

The others are waiting in the arena for Hiccup, but Hiccup ain't showing up. They find it hard to believe that Hiccup would leave em' hanging like that. Astrid goes to his house to find out, and finds Stoick carving a wooden duck that I swear I've seen somewhere before. Stoick tells Astrid that he's not sure where Hiccup is, so Astrid tells him she'll just leave a note for him in his room. She finds Hiccup's notebook with the map drawn in it. 

Hiccup and Toothless arrive at the Isle of Night and see what appears to be a Night Fury giving distinct Night Fury calls. Hicup lets Toothless approach but notices that something ain't right with this picture. But it comes too late as Hiccup and Toothless are captured by Alvin the Treacherous. They've been tricked with a fake Night Fury and a horn. 

You've just been punked!

Alvin demands that Hiccup train Alvin's dragons for him. Hiccup refuses, but Alvin thinks he'll get Hiccup to cooperate, and once he trains Dragons he'll destroy Berk with them. Hiccup tries to process how Alvin managed this, just as it cuts to Gobber knocking on Mildew's door and finding the old fuck gone. 

At the arena, Astrid and Fishlegs are packing up for the Isle of Night. Stoick flies in on Thornado and asks them where Hiccup is, then inquires what they're up to. Astrid tries to bullshit him and says they're just going on a training exercise. Stoick ain't convinced, and singles out Fishlegs who is a loose-tongued craven who spills the beans on everything at the first sign of pressure. Astrid makes an epic facepalm. Gobber comes in and tells Stoick he can't find Mildew anywhere.

Turns out Mildew is on the Isle of Night working with Alvin and the Outcasts. 

Even his sheep is helping them.

Hiccup wants to know just why the fuck Mildew is here. Mildew reveals that he put the map in Bork's notes, and led him into a trap. Mildew hates Hiccup and is loving every minute of finally outsmarting him, and to poor some extra salt in the wound he points out he did it all for the love of a dragon and advises to think hard about where he places his loyalties. Alvin pushes Mildew aside and tells the crew to raise sail and head for Outcast Island.

Shit just got real Yo!

Summary

A great part 1 to the season finale. Although it was kinda obvious that there would be no Night Furies and it was just a trick, and Mildew's part in it wasn't exactly subtle. I mean, that would be a pretty big deal in the series, and it's not something they'd waste in the TV show. But that's not what the episode was about, it was about just what length's Hiccup will go to for Toothless and how strong their friendship is. This was the first episode that really tackled that. 

Mildew's betrayal was actually a bit of a surprise to me, because I don't quite see the logic in it. Why would Mildew go over to Alvin when Alvin also wants to train dragons? I guess he realises that it's beyond his power to undo what Hiccup's done and instead decides that revenge against Hiccup will satisfy him? Well, it was still a great twist and his plot with Alvin shows their cunning as villains. And with that cliffhanger, the second part oughtta be good. 

9/10