Dragons Defenders Of Berk Reviews: Episode 3 - The Night And The Fury

The teens of the Dragon Academy are gathered around Astrid and Hiccup, Hiccup explains that the next training exercise was Astrid's idea. The others immediately begin to complain like whiny bastard children. Even the dragons are voicing their opinions, they're all like "No fucking way Jose'!". Astrid is confused, but Fishlegs tells her that her training exercises are too damn hard. Astrid doesn't seem to think so, but the others make of list of ridiculously tough shit she made them do like Hand-To-Claw combat, Spine Dodging, Bear Wrestling, Longship Hauling, and Lava Swimming. Astrid points out to Tuffnut that the last one is pure bullshit, but Tuffnut would actually prefer that to Hand -To-Claw combat. 

Astrid however thinks this exercise will be a walk in the park, all they have to do is get from one cave on the East side of Dragon Island, to a cave on the West side. The others mutter their approval for this walk in the park, until it turns out to be a walk in Downtown Detroit. They have to accomplish this could-have-been simple feat at night, with no camping gear and no dragons. The others continue their whining and think this is a bunch of bullshit. They demand to know what the point of this exercise is. Astrid tells them it's to work on their stealth skills and wild dragon defense. Hiccup backs her up, saying that they know how strong they are with their dragons, but they have to be prepared for when they meet untamed dragons without their own dragons. It'd be just like the good old days, I'd imagine.

Clearly you've forgotten what life was like before Dragons.

So the teens land on the Eastern shore of Dragon Island, but Hiccup says they'll need to ditch the Dragons and someone will have to puss out of the drill to take them to the West cave. That way the dragons won't fight their battles for them, as they demonstrate when some punk ass Nadder thinks he's tough shit. Hiccup looks for a volunteer to skip out on a long aggravating night. He shouldn't be too short of volunteers. Fishlegs eagerly tries to get the job, but Tuffnut yells louder. Fishlegs claims he's the right one for the job because of the sheer vastness of his Dragon knowledge, Tuffnut says that's just because he gets all of it from a book. Tuffnut, he feels them, in his stomach. Hiccup agrees with Tuffnut and coerces Fishlegs into going on the drill with irrefutable logic. 

 So the teens all bid farewell to their dragons for the night. Toothless however is not so ready to be stuck with Tuffnut, even for a night. Hiccup tells him he can't believe this shit either, but he has to man it out and accept Tuffnut as the boss. A role Tuffnut is all too happy to have. Hiccup reminds the group that this ain't about heroics or speed, this is about stealth and dealing with Wild Dragons should they come across one. Fishlegs is complaining to himself at the back. 

Fuck this drill, fuck this island, fuck this rock,
fuck my life, fuck everything!! Fucking, fuck, fuuuck!

Fishlegs tries to brush it off, claiming he's "formulating a plan". Hiccup tells him to man up, Fishlegs continues to complain to himself, then pisses himself when his lantern goes out. 

At the Western part of the Island, the dragons are settling in for a good night's sleep. Tuffnut however is not the least bit tired, he's fired up for an all nighter. The dragons are not however, especially if it's an all-nighter with Tuffnut. Toothless is so not cool with this idea that he tries to ditch, but Tuffnut stops him from doing so. Tuffnut reminds him of the mission, no dragon help and that also means Toothless, and also reminds him that he's the boss. Toothless smacks him and sends his ass flying into the cavern wall, the other dragons are highly amused. Tuffnut's head is glued to his helmet however, so he's stuck on the wall and asks Toothless to help the big boss honcho, Toothless blasts his ass out. 

Elsewhere, Astrid is moving quickly. She makes an unnecessary ninja flip, and runs into the same punk ass Nadder from before. Astrid's all like,"Bitch please, at least try and give me something challenging." She toys with the punk ass Nadder, and when it finally releases its spines she dodges every single one of them. The punk ass Nadder is taken back by Astrid's display of badassery. Her sass convinces him to back down. 

Snotlout is elsewhere, boasting to himself about how awesome he is. When he strikes a pose for the camera, he falls into a pool of water. He then proceeds to get his ass kicked by Terrible Terrors. 

Ruffnut encounters a Monstrous Nightmare, she tries to reassure herself that it's more afraid of her then she is of it. But low, she is definitely more afraid. She tries making turns since apparently Monstrous Nightmare's are bad at turns. But she's too stupid to know the difference between left and right and runs in circles right back into its jaws. 

Fishlegs is still complaining to himself about how cold and miserable he is. He hears a noise, and his bladder releases. He asks who's there, and blames Astrid for being out here and that his death will be on her hands. A Typhoomerang reveals itself while he isn't looking, and the camera cuts away to Hiccup before it assumedly eats Fishlegs. Two Gronckles are duking it out for some unknown purpose, Hiccup throws them a couple rocks and mocks their predictability. He then sees a campfire in the distance. 

Campfire?! What the fuck?! This is about stealth dammit!

Back at the Western cave, Tuffnut is telling the dragons some lame ghost story. The dragons look like they're trying to fall asleep, but can't because Tuffnut tells his lame story rather loudly. When he lamely builds up to his ultra lame ending, he points at Meatlug for the lame conclusion. Tuffnut is met with the cricking of crickets. Toothless has had quite enough of Tuffnut's lameness, who doesn't even have the the common courtesy of being quiet enough so Toothless could at least sleep through it. Toothless attempts a prison break, but Tuffnut randomly appears to bar his path. Toothless goes back into the cave, Tuffnut tries to relate to Toothless about missing his other half. He tells Toothless he feels his pain, only then he remembers that he actually prefers it when Ruffnut is in imminent danger recalling the time Ruff was on fire. He just watched and was laughing it up. Then he starts some nonsensical rambling about massages and doing his duty, but its so lame that Toothless falls right asleep. Tuffnut decides that's not actually a half-bad idea, and goes to sleep as well.

Back at the camp, Hiccup calls out Snotlout's name as this does seem like something Snotlout would do, even if  it's just to spite Hiccup. Suddenly some strange figure ambushes Hiccup, he looks up and..........

Oh, fuck me.

It turns out to be Dagur the Deranged, the mentally unstable chief of the Berserkers. Probably the last person Hiccup wanted to unexpectedly run into. Dagur however seems rather happy to see Hiccup, alive that is. Hiccup makes a subtle joke about being alive the last time he checked, and comments that he hasn't seen Dagur since his last visit on Berk. Dagur brings up the "Dragon Attack" back on Berk when Hiccup "saved" Dagur from a Night Fury. Dagur makes a re-enactment of the event but when he thinks about it he realises he doesn't know what happened after he fled. He sticks his sword in Hiccup's face and wants to know what Hiccup's doing here. Hiccup is rather on edge, and simply repeats Dagur's question. Dagur then decides he doesn't want Hiccup to answer, as he thinks he's got it all figured out. Hiccup's not looking forward to what Dagur has in mind, but Dagur comes to the conclusion, as the music builds for dramatic effect, that Hiccup is here............................. to hunt dragons. The dramatic music comes to a comedic halt, Hiccup looks uneasy but in a state of relief goes along with Dagur's conclusion in a perfectly executed comedic moment. 

Dagur wants to know what happened to the Night Fury, Hiccup is desperate for some bullshit to get himself out of this and tells him it got away. Only that's probably the worst thing he could possibly say, as Dagur thinks that's great news. He comes up with a new plan, him and Hiccup are going to hunt the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself and they ain't gonna stop until it's head is mounted on a wall. Hiccup tries to object, but Dagur pulls him down to the fire to howl with him. Hiccup's in the shit now, as he needs to keep up the guise that Berk doesn't train dragons, but now he might possibly have to kill a few tonight. 

After a little break, Dagur and Hiccup are sitting on a log and Dagur is explaining what happened after he left Berk. Ever since he left he hasn't been able to stop thinking about Hiccup. Hiccup thinks that's totally gay, but Dagur claims it wasn't about Hiccup personally, it was about Hiccup and the Night Fury. To Dagur it was like Hiccup knew the dragon, was inside it's head and rattling it's cage (well, he ain't too far off there, but he doesn't know that, yet). After a comment about Hiccup being muscularly challenged (something I swear I'm going to be using in everyday life now), Dagur says that seeing that made him want to know dragons too. So he went to Dragon island to learn about them one by one. 

The Deadly Nadder got this in the leg.
It was AWESOME!!

The Monstrous Nightmare.
Look at him, not so monstrous now, are you?

And don't even get me started on the Gronckle.

You bastard child!

During Dagur's little school session, he hears a dragon roar and reacts quickly, crossbow in hand. Hiccup compliments the crossbow, Dagur says its his hunting weapon of choice. When he sees what Hiccup carries, his Gronckle Iron shield, he's very confused. He comments that it's very ornate and that his sister had one like that. He himself never felt the need to hide in combat, then makes some weird ass laugh like he's on crystal meth or something. Dagur is getting more unstable and Hiccup is growing more uncomfortable the longer this goes one. 

Hiccup then asks Dagur how long he's been out there for. Dagur thinks he might have been there for days, weeks, or months. At this point he doesn't know because it's all a blur when he's on the hunt, he needs to stay focused. And I can't do justice to Dagur's awesomeness or hilarity by writing about it, so I'm not even gonna try. 

Hiccup thinks that maybe Dagur should take a little break, but Dagur ain't quitting until he kills the Night Fury. It's on the Island and he can feel it. He asks if Hiccup feels it too, but Hiccup just feels awkward. Dagur tells him he brings the funny and to gear up for a Night Fury hunt. He also calls Hiccup brother while he's at it. 

And the randomness continues.

So Hiccup and Dagur start their hunt. Eventually Dagur hears a dragon stomping in the distance. Dagur thinks it's the Night Fury, but Hiccup thinks its too big. Turns out it's just a Monstrous Nightmare. But Dagur decides he's gonna take it down anyway, just for fun. But Hiccup ain't having any part of Dagur's one-man genocide and fucks up Dagur's shot before he can loose the bolt. Dagur is pissed for Hiccup doing so, but Hiccup pulls another excuse out of his ass, claiming the Night Fury would have smelled it and fled. Dagur falls for it and comments on what an unlikely, formidable team they are. Hiccup thinks likewise. 

Back at the Western cave, Tuffnut and the dragons are sleeping. Tuffnut is having a dream about somebody stealing his blanket. Toothless hears a Monstrous Nightmare outside and decides to ditch Tuffnut and the cave. He rallies the other dragons to join him on his shenanigans. Tuffnut wakes up to find the dragons gone. He takes it upon himself to drag their asses back to the cave, and he warns the dragons that it's on. If Dagur weren't on the island, this would simply be a relatively harmless setback for the drill. 

Dagur and Hiccup are still on the hunt. Dagur pulls Hiccup behind a rock and tells Hiccup to listen. Dagur thinks the Night Fury is close, Hiccup tells him it's probably just a Yak, but Dagur ain't taking no chances. He aims for a bush, makes a scary face and laughs maniacally, Hiccup is ready to fuck up his aim again.........

You know what, shoot anyway.

Snotlout is rather happy to see Hiccup after the shit he's been through during the night. He tells Hiccup that the place is crawling in Wild Dragons. Hiccup reminds him that the Island is called 'Dragon Island'. Snotlout notices Dagur and asks him what he's doing there, Dagur only replies by getting his name wrong as he seems annoyed Snotlout is here. Hiccup tells Snotlout his bullshit story about Dragonhunting only for Snotlout to be noticeably confused. Dagur however just calls Snotlout stupid instead of looking further into Snotlout's confusion. Hiccup tells Snotlout to go along with the bullshit, or else their dragons are getting stuffed. 

Tuffnut is still looking for the Dragons. He finds a sleeping Zippleback and thinks it's Barf and Belch, but it's actually a wild Zippleback. Toothless and the other dragons are still exploring the island looking for their riders. 

Fishlegs is alone and frightened, he jumps down a ledge and is wary of anything that might try to get him. He backs into Snotlout and screams like a bitch. Hiccup however manages to calm him down and tell him that Dagur is joining them on their Dragon Hunt. Snotlout backs up Hiccup's bullshit, except not nearly so subtly. Dagur notes that his definition of alone and Hiccup's are very different. But he decides that Fishlegs could be useful. 

After a little shot of Toothless and the other dragons hot on their trail, Dagur tell Hiccup that they're a lot alike which actually isn't so far from the truth. Dagur is like a mirror image of Hiccup, what he could have been if he had gone through with killing Toothless. Though Dagur lists the more practical similarities; They're both born leaders and sons of chiefs who had to be eliminated so they could gain control. Hiccup respectfully disagrees with the last one, his dad hasn't been eliminated from anything. Dagur says he could be eliminated easily though, Hiccup just has to say the word. He shoots his crossbow into Fishlegs lantern to explain what he'll do when Hiccup says the word. With the music in the background, this is a legitimately haunting moment.  

Their looks say it all.

  
Dagur hears rustling in the bushes ahead, he signals the group to kneel for cover. Astrid appears out of nowhere behind Snotlout and makes the 'Shut the fuck up!' gesture. Snotlout however doesn't know the meaning of 'shut the fuck up' and says 'wow' rather loudly. She smacks him in the face then somersaults out of there.  Dagur's attention is on the bush however. He asks Hiccup which of his bonehead friends is it gonna be this time. His answer comes from a purple bolt of Dragon Fire. Toothless appears behind the bush, Dagur praises Hiccup for leading him to the Night Fury. 

As Dagur lines up his crossbow with Toothless' face, Hiccup says he wants to do it. Dagur complains that he saw it first, Hiccup grabs the crossbow and argues that he led Dagur to it only for Dagur to snatch it right back and tell Hiccup that he brought the crossbow and all Hiccup brought was his useless ornate shield. Dagur pushes Hiccup aside and is ready to shoot Toothless, but a trio of Terrors attacks him, fucking up his shot. Hiccup signals for Toothless to get the fuck outta there. Astrid chastises Dagur for fucking up her Terrible Terror hunt but Dagur tells her to go eat a dick, as he's hunting a god damned Night Fury!

Terrors ain't shit compared to a Night Fury ho!

Dagur asks Hiccup if he left anyone back on Berk and goes to retrieve his crossbow bolt. Astrid asks Hiccup if Dagur said what she thinks he just said, Hiccup tells her that he did indeed say what she thought he said. Hiccup for probably the first time on the show (can't recall anytime before at the moment) doesn't have a plan. He tells the others to get their dragons and get the fuck outta there, which isn't even a plan at all. Hiccup's gotta keep up the bullshit about Berk not training dragons but nothing less than Toothless' death is going to keep the lie alive. Dagur's got Hiccup by the balls and he doesn't even know it. 

As the others go off to find their Dragons, Dagur and Hiccup chase after Toothless. Dagur is confused why Toothless doesn't just fly away. Hiccup's desperate for some kind of bullshit that'll get him out of this situation without killing Toothless and without provoking the chief of a powerful tribe. He suggests that the Night Fury wants them to follow and that they should give up. Dagur however is unphased,  he says that a trappers traps can trap the trapper. Hiccup asks what the hell that even means, but even Dagur doesn't even know what it means. 

After the teens have found their dragons and the Twins, Dagur and Hiccup have chased Toothless all the way to a cliff at the edge of the island. Hiccup once again tries to bullshit his way out of this, but Dagur has another trick up his sleeve. He tells Hiccup that he didn't exactly come to the Island alone either, he brought his 50,000 man armada along as well. He plans to push Toothless off the cliff and let the armada finish the job. Hiccup tells him that isn't very sporting, but Dagur doesn't give a flying fuck about sporting. He wants to kill the Night Fury and wear its skull as a helmet. 

Then, in the singularly most epic and greatest moment in the entire span of the series, Dagur advances on a helpless Toothless with an epic rendition of the main theme upping the drama of the scene as Hiccup has come to the point of no return, he either keeps the peace between Berk and the Berserkers or he loses his best friend. 

Fuck this shit!

In the end, Hiccup chooses Toothless. He tells Dagur that he won't let him kill the dragon and calls Toothless over to him. When Dagur sees Toothless' saddle, he realises that's he's been had and made a fool out of by Hiccup and Stoick. Hiccup tries to be reasonable with Dagur, but Dagur is ready to rip Hiccup's throat out. Toothless stops him from doing shit though. Dagur tells Hiccup they could have been brothers but now they're enemies, when Hiccup blows that off Dagur looks noticeably hurt by it. Hiccup tells Dagur he can go to war if he wants, but they've dragons, so he'd better come prepared. 

As Hiccup and Toothless fly away, Dagur pulls out a bola and grounds them. With Toothless incapacitated, Dagur moves in for the kill, only for Hiccup to block his attack with his Gronckle Iron shield. This leads into the most epic fight in the series and one where Hiccup actually has to physically fight and where the shield is also revealed to be a foldable crossbow. That shield just gets more and more awesome every episode. As the fight starts to move in Dagur's favour, Toothless gets free and blasts Dagur's ass. Dagur gets to his fleet and Hiccup orders the others to get back to Berk even though Snotlout thinks the six of them can take on 50,000 men. 

Dagur is back with his fleet, and one of his lackey's wants to kill Hiccup for lying. Dagur won't allow it though, he wants Hiccup for himself. And even then not until he has Hiccup's Night Fury. Hiccup and the others head back towards Berk. 

Well Astrid, we came for a difficult drill, and we ended
up starting a war. All in all a successful day.

Summary

Holy fucking shitbonkers, I think this episode is about as good as the show can get. There were plenty of great episodes before, but this one tops them all. Everything in this episode was perfectly executed and paced. There was not a single joke that wasn't spot on or missed the mark, even Tuffnut was hilarious when he was guarding the dragons. His interactions with toothless were just golden. The drama was also spot on, Dagur and Hiccup's interactions were gut-busting and the pacing of their storyline was perfect. Dagur was a fucking riot, and the more unstable he got the more uncomfortable Hiccup got. And Hiccup eventually had a make a important leadership decision in whether to keep the peace or save his best friend.

Dagur is definitely a better villain than Alvin, or at least a hell of a lot more entertaining. And for the first time in the series, Hiccup wasn't making some sarcastic jape at the villain's expense like with Alvin. This time he was actually in a state of vulnerability, he didn't know what to do and he was uncomfortable and even scared. But Dagur at the same time seemed to legitimately enjoy Hiccup's company and like the idea of him and Hiccup being brothers in arms and was noticeably hurt when the truth was revealed, actually manging to make him a bit likeable. 

This episode was just perfect, and I'd even say was on the movie's level if it wasn't for the animation (which is still pretty damn good even for this show). It's the best episode yet and I'm not sure if they'll top this one.

10/10