Let’s continue our journey to the Edge with Season 4 episodes 7-9
The Longest Day
The usual batch of 2 dragon hunters come a cross an injured dragon on a shore
It’s the fortnight of the midnight sun, and we’re on day 8, days 1-7 are usually productive but lack of sleep usually starts getting to people about this time. Because of this Hiccup has sent his crew to the edge with the simplest task of washing their dragons. Remember the times when just getting to the edge would’ve eaten up most of that time? Me neither.
The twins are experts on sleep deprivation because they had an insomniac cousin because of course they did. Astrid seems to be suffering from Euphoria, Heather’s co-ordination is shot, Snotlout’s mood is all over the place and Fishlegs is a bit more paranoid than usual. The twins are immune because the plot demands it.
Hiccup asks his father to borrow the Auxiliary Riders but is a little light on the details as to why he needs them. Stoick works out pretty quickly that he wants is to get revenge on Viggo and his forces for their attack, and whilst that might sound tempting, Stoick reminds Hiccup that a cycle of revenge will only intensify things. A lot of Stoick’s character development takes place off-screen, he’s gotten a lot wiser since befriending dragons.
Whillst Stoick agrees that the Dragon Eye needs to be recovered, he says Hiccup should come up with a viable plan to do so. Whilst cooling off his head, Hiccup hears a dragon call, coming to the island from earlier, now with a destroyed hunters' ship. It seems the injured dragon from earlier was playing possum to lure hunters into a trap.
In spite of this, Hiccup insists on keeping an eye on them, in case there are still hunters around. After a brief return to the edge of no real note. Hiccup is trapped in a canyon with Toothless with the dragons from earlier still in pursuit, back at the edge, the twins either are pretending to have succumb to the lack of sleep or actually have succumbed.
OK, so they’re herded towards a dead end with a massive dragon who they appear to be subservient to, with the smaller dragons flying under the wing, like a fighter jet. He calls the smaller ones shadow-wings and has to come up with a plan to get past them. Back on the edge the dragons have had enough and get the crew underground, in the dark where they can sleep.
Hiccup enacts his plan, using a series of the traps to thin the Shadow-wing ranks. And with Toothless’ help they evade the others and manage to escape so Hiccup can join the others at the edge and sleep.
The episode itself is fine, nothing more to note, it’s a cooldown episode after the major events of the last one. It’s just a little light on substance for my taste
Rating 6/10
Gold Rush
We get another flight with Toothless, reminding me just how barren the scenery looks. Hiccup returns and while Heather tells him to take a rest, Dagur shows up out of nowhere and says he knows where Viggo is keeping his gold, including Berk’s. They are to head out to recover it, with Dagur taking some for himself as he hopes to travel with Heather to find their father, who he didn’t kill. Heather is less sure about this which she confides in Astrid as they head to the Island
It’s abandoned, or so it seems but there’s a track that leads them to a dragon-proof storehouse which the burst into thanks to Dagur and Shattermaster but it’s empty, it was a decoy and thanks to some deductive work, they realise it was carried to the real facility by hand. The group split up with Fishlegs accompanying Heather and Dagur, because he doesn’t really want Heather to leave the Island
With little luck finding the gold, Hiccup and the rest of the crew eye a group of convenient hunters, turns out it was a trap, and the 4 are captured along with their dragons. Making matters worse the ship hulls are dragon-proofed so the others’ attack doesn’t work. But as was proven Earlier, Dagur can pierce dragon proof armour using Shattermaster.
Their attempt also successfully helps bond Dagur and Heather. And thanks to a talk with Viggo, Hiccup works out that the gold was hidden in plain sight as some supposedly ancient ruins. Why they would do this is beyond me but...
Heather decides to leave with Dagur, and Fishlegs accepts that.
Season 4 has seen the tide turn against Viggo as he becomes more and more desperate and puts more and more on the line. I quite like this episode
Rating 8/10
Out of the Frying Pan
Hiccup and Fishlegs are talking about modifications to the sword so can stay alight in harsh climate. And apparently the Twins invented Pig-Latin, who knew? They get a message from the Defenders of the Wing saying Mala needs help.
OK, so premise of the episode, a full 5 minutes in, the eruptadon has had an egg, the only egg it ever produces in a lifetime. But it’s now too weak to take it to the birthing site in the volcano, and the lava inside is rising now the protector is to weak to protect it. It’s up to Mala, Throk and the Riders to deliver the egg and quickly.
Hiccup and Fishlegs both believe their dragon to be the best for the task but when they butt heads, Mala rules in Hiccup’s favour. In fairness speed being of the essence does put the Night Fury at a distinct advantage, as it’s much faster and more manoeuvrable. Both he and Toothless get outfitted for the flight and that means more toys for kids to buy. Unfortunately it doesn’t work, Toothless’ tail gets a splash of lava and nearly burns off.
So, time to try plan Fishlegs? Failure with Toothless at 7:48, it takes to 10:05 before they do it with Meatlug. They make it past the lava that stopped Toothless into the caverns, but inside the caverns are more dragons. And they’re very interested in the egg, the fight is uncomplicated but the dragons win and carry the egg away, in part because Hiccup and Fishlegs disagree again.
On the surface, Throk is tired of waiting and the twins have a plan, involving the diving coffin they used against the Submaripper. If they re-enforce it, it could last a few moments in the lava and allow into the tunnel without their dragons. Their semi-arguing continues and I’m just waiting for Mala to talk some sense into them, but she just moves ahead instead.
Throk and Astrid’s attempt to get into the caverns doesn’t work, and they fall into the lava, whilst the protection of the submarine is holding, the heat gets to them and Astrid passes out. Hiccup and Fishlegs realise the dragons they’ve been fighting actually want to help the Eruptadon egg and give the egg up to them, barely escaping before lava floods the cabin.
Of course, there’s still the matter or Throk and Astrid and whilst Astrid is rescued, it’s clear Meatlug can’t also hold Throk’s weight. Fortunately, the Eruptadon has healed enough to save him as well. We see the lava cover the egg and the birthing sight, where it will soon hatch.
It’s a solid return to the Defenders but honestly, I would’ve given it more credit if Throk really had gone here, he’s a character unique to the show, so they have full control over his destiny and it would’ve been a noble out for him.
Rating 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment