Defenders of the Nine Nine!

Being honest, when the semester started, I was quite excited when it was mentioned that we would be comparing Defenders of Berk with our favorite show. Then I remembered that I didn’t really have one; I decided to go with Brooklyn Nine-Nine because I was two seasons in and said why the heck not-I’m actually happy that I went with it.

During the time I would watch the two shows, I noticed many differences and many similarities as well. A major difference I noticed on the offset was how I watched these shows. I watched Defenders of Berk as a requirement, and I would binge watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine in my free time, but it doesn’t mean that I didn’t necessarily enjoy both tv shows. It is also very obvious that the shows carry to difference audiences-one being for the younger age group, another being for adolescents and the older age groups. Another obvious difference would be how Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a sitcom that uses real people, while Defenders of Berk is a cartoon, animated.

An obvious similarity on the other hand would be their episode lengths. Brooklyn Nine-Nine usually has their episodes at 22 – 23 minutes, while Defenders of Berk has it around there as well (or 20 minutes). I guess this is done to be able to cater to a wider set of audience given the consumption patterns that are prevalent. The shorter episodes kept me more entertained and it was easier to digest and take in because they weren’t so lengthy and intense. I will admit that at some points (some episodes) I got tense watching both shows, anticipating how problems would be resolved, but it would usually be resolved immediately within the 20 minute episode (or sometimes would carry over to the next slightly).

I also noticed that both shows are very episodic. Yes, watching them continuous would help you and give the characters more depth, but even if you watch them out of order, you would still understand what was happening because of how the episodes are patterned. Both shows introduce a problem (or several problems) at the beginning of the episode, then they are able to resolve it at the end of the episode.

Another similarity I did notice was the dynamic of the main cast. Both shows center around the main cast (although it does extend sometimes to a bigger New York, or in Defenders of Berk‘s case, the island of Berk) but they keep the conflict central to the main cast. Even if a problem arises outside of the main cast, it is always someone within the cast who finds a way to solve it.

Talking about the main cast, I would like to compare some characters from the casts of both shows.

I would first like to compare Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Stoick of Defenders of Berk. Now I know that Stoick is not necessarily in the ‘main cast’ or the barkada of Hiccup, but I think this is a good comparison to make. Captain Holt is the captain (duh) in charge of the 99th precinct, and he has assigned Sergeant Jeffords as kind of the next-in-line captain, and both in charge of a team of detectives. Parallel to this, Stoick is basically the captain (or the head) of the vikings on the island of Berk. These characters lead a number of people towards resolving issues, and are there to make life better and easier for others. The characters are strong male leader figures and all three have great influence over the people they work with. They all do not succumb to the iron-fist way of implementing their power, however when needed, they are strict and straightforward. Both of them like things done a certain way and often criticize ways that are done differently, but if it gets the job done, in the end they are accepting of it.

The next characters I would like to compare are Jake Peralta and Hiccup. They are both somewhat the stars of the show (although maybe in Jake’s case it is debatable because as stated earlier, both shows focus on the dynamic of the main cast so all are important). Both of the characters take on the role of learning from their mentors (Captain Holt and Stoick). Coincidentally as well, Stoick is Hiccup’s father, and as mentioned in the show several times, Jake sees Captain Holt as his father figure. 

Throughout the show, we also see a development in the relationships of Jake-Captain Holt and Hiccup-Stoick. Both these characters help navigate where the show is going next.

The next pair of characters I would like to compare are Amy Santiago and Astrid. Both these female characters are the romantic interests of our male leads (Jake Peralta and Hiccup). They are both more serious than their male counterparts, and actually complement them as well. They are both strong female leads. Both characters don’t give in to the damsel in distress type of lead who needs some type of ‘saving’. They are both strong-willed and also push the shows forward.

The next characters to be compared are Hitchcock and Scully and Ruffnut and Tuffnut. These two pairs of characters both do the same thing for their respective shows and are mainly present for comic relief. Both pairs do become important and more ‘used’ in some episodes, but for the majority of their time on the show, they are simply for more laughs.

Although I do know that both casts have more important characters as well, I just wanted to run down through the similarities of some of the characters.

I did realize that Brooklyn Nine-Nine tackles more contemporary issues through their episodes, and tackles them as we would in real-life (such as racism, discrimination and the like), while Defenders of Berk tackles problems within the make-believe world. This goes to show that the shows are situated within two very different realms and cater to two very different audiences as well.

What I do like about both shows is that you kind of know that Jake and Hiccup are the main characters and the other can be said to just be supporting ones, but as I said earlier, the shows really center in on the dynamic of the whole group; this brings the supporting characters forward and make them still very important to the storylines.

To be completely honest, I enjoy both shows because they are very light and easy to take in. I watch shows in my free time and I do it for leisure, so I don’t really want to be thinking too much when I watch my shows. I would recommend both shows to my friends (some younger/some older) because they are easy to watch.

Both shows don’t necessarily give me personal insights (even if Defenders of Berk did have some moral lessons–and Brooklyn Nine-Nine had some not-explicitly-stated-lessons as well). But I never really took them to heart because I guess upon watching both shows, I was just looking for a way to pass my time (and pass the class in the case of Defenders of Berk). Both shows weren’t necessarily relatable as well, but as I repeated, they are both very easy to watch. I did enjoy watching both shows and I enjoyed being able to compare the characters.

Magic for beginners

I chose this this book because after I reading the title, “Magic for beginners” I thought the book was all about just magic. I thought that this is just a tutorial book doing some magic tricks and we could just learn from it.  This was just not a book but I think that in this book there is a television that helped them to become a better person.

Moving on, I got confused reading the first paragraph “Fox is a Television character and she isn’t dead. But she will soon” so I read it again several times to know what was going on at the beginning of the story. So I did not really get what was going on so I continued to read the story but eventually I understood and got along with the situations in the story.

Talking about the characters, I think they have a ‘not good relationship’ because of how I interpreted it. The main character were dealing with uncertainty and  I think, they have no connection to each other.

In one paragraph, “In the Library everyone was invisible. You could not see the actors: you could only the books and the bookshelves…” I read this line and thought that the whole book was a metaphor. Continuing the page, I read many lines and words that were not appropriate. Like the line “… where the coin- operated wizards come to flirt and practice their spell” for me, this line was inappropriate. Upon reading this line, this was the time I thought the whole book was a metaphor because we all know that inside the library everyone is studying and we all know that every library is quiet.

The book was every interesting because I thought that reading this book was just magic and we all know that magic is a wonder and it lightens the world. I realized that the book had the theme of darkness. I realized this because of the words “dead body” when I saw this word I realized that the characters were drawing memories from the dead. This was not just a book that we read and we just tell story everyone but this was the book that we all experienced in our lives.

I think Kelly Link’s got inspired to write this book because she experienced loosing someone in her life and she needed someone or a friends to talk to. She needed someone to support her and her decisions that it would calm her mind. This story was a good because it had many lessons if you just put your imagination into it.

I really got what was Kelly Link’s was saying in the book because I also experienced what she felt. I think, she had this imagination that she could teach her readers that reality would just hit you hard. Her book was full of imagination and realities. Even though, I found her book kinda dark sided, I really enjoyed it because I know that in my life and reality all she said in the book will become reality.

Season 2; Episodes 4-12

(Some of the episodes here were weird because I used to see Stoick and Gobber in the series but in one of the episodes I did not see both of them and for me it was weird. Also, I noticed that in of the one episodes, the outcasts and Alvin were not mentioned. (this was the first time I noticed it))

Watching or doing new things are the stuff sthat I want to do because I can share and teach these things to other people Not only that, but I can also notice my mistakes in my life because learning new things is wonder full. Like my friend said, “Mistakes are always learnings”. in these episodes, there were many new things I saw and some were weird but funny.

Watching these episodes were amazing. I experienced and saw many new things and many new dragons. Because of these, there were many lessons taught here. And many surprisingly came back from season one and had a huge impact from the audiences.

I experienced the debut of the The Screaming Death dragon– it was a giant and strong dragon that could fly and swim and could destroy islands easily. Not only that, I also noticed the new blue dragon, Flightmare. And I think, this dragon was super amazing and I really love how the way it really glows blue it amazed my eyes. I also noticed that in one of the episodes, there were yellow dragons and it was the first time that Hiccup trained them.

All of these new stuffs were fun but I also noticed that coming back and surprisingly coming back out of nowhere was also fun. Like how in the first episodes, they met a baby Typhoomerang named Torch. One of the episodes, he came back and I really liked how he notices, Hiccup and his friends (I got kilig). Also, I really liked the return of baby Snoutlout, Gustav and he met a new dragon, Fangook. I really like how determined he was having the dragon and wanted to join the academy even though he is small and really fragile. But I think, Gustav would be really useful when he learns how to ride and train/ bond with his new dragon.

Like Mildew, he was a traitor to his own island because he hated dragons. He also want see the Island of Berk shattered into pieces. There were many occasions here that Mildew helped the outcasts and Alvin. Mildew was the man in-charged of planting the eggs of the dragons on Berk and he and Alvin taught that after the eggs hatched, the dragons would attack Berk and destroy it. I love how the film introduced Mildew, at first, i thought that Milder was only afraid that the dragons would destroy Berk because the island where he lives used to fight dragons but as the film keeps going I saw how he really hates his island and helps the outcasts to destroy the Island of Berk. I really love how Mildew was keeping the the film interesting (but sometimes I want to kill him already). Mildew was one of the main characters for me because I think, he adds more intensity to the audiences. There were many scenes that Alvin wanted to kill him but he was begging Alvin not to kill him because he would suggests new ideas to Alvin how to destroy Berk.

Like one these episodes, the film did not mention about Alvin and the Outcasts. For me it was weird because I used to wait for Alvin and the outcasts to go to Berk and fight with the dragons. I think in that episode, they were just giving the main characters their own indentity. Like how Astrid, wanted to defend Berk against the Frightmare. She also said that her uncle was not afraid of the new  dragon that is named the Flightmare, this dragon is a ghostly neon blue dragon. It shoots a blue liquid that paralyzes its targets, and it feeds on glowing algae in order to glow in the dark.. In that episode, it explains why in the first season and episodes, Astrid was really hard in training, i think, because she wanted to fight the Frightmare to defend not only Berk but also her uncle. In that episode, Astrid was the main center of attraction.

The film got more interesting when Alvin and Dagur teamed up to destroy Berk. They began to speak some terms and condition on how would they get after destroying Berk but Dagur already had an idea to break the terms. In the end Alvin noticed it and he did not want to get along with Dagur. This part was really entertaining because I thought that both of them would really destroyed Berk because both of them were the leaders of their tribe and the only thing that the Berk had was five dragons and so little troops.

I was also entertained in the The view of the Skrill pt2, because it showed me how difficult to handle new things, like how they melt the ice of the Skrill and Dagur wanted to train it and use it to destroy Berk.

For me these episodes were interesting to watch not just because of how the plot delivers the story. I love how many character were involved and there were new characters. I love how Gustav showed up and trained one dragon and took his guts and went to the island of Dagur. He went went there and saved hiccup. I also like how he always shout “Fire it up” it makes the audience feel something different from the movie.

To sum this all, there were many new things that happened to the movie. Many dragons that were difficult to train. Like the experience of Gustav during his training of Fanhook. I really want to continue this movie because every episodes and seasons, there are many lessons and learnings we take even though it is for children. As an audience, i was really entertained and I really enjoyed what I watched.

Defenders of Berk: Ep 18

There are different kinds of love in this world. The depth always varies from person to person, coming from different perspectives. An example would be Stoick’s love for his dragon, Thornado differs as to how Thornado loves his own teenage dragons (Bing, Bam and Boom)

I really love how Bing, Bam and Boom were destroying and disturbing the island of Berk because it was a new challenge for Hiccup and the island. Stoick wanted the three out of Berk so that they would not destroy the whole island but Hiccup refused and took the challenge to train these three dragons just to stay on the island and defend Berk for the future. Training dragons was not new for Hiccup but he has not trained TEEN dragons before. The academy tried to train them three but they did not listen (like teenagers) and still wanted to disturb the island of Berk. I feel that being a teenager, the three were having fun doing the stuff they did while they did not know that they were causing trouble. But who knew what they were thinking? They are wild adolescent dragons.  This was the first time that the academy would train teen dragons. I really got involved with the academy because it was challenging not just for them but also for Stoick and the island.

Thornado is a really strong dragon. I realized that in this episode it was focused on Thornado and the three adolescent dragons. I really loved the way they showed how caring and powerful Thornado was. Thornado was powerful because of how he treated and showed his strengths to his owner, Stoick. They were both a like because Stoick was the Chief of the island. They were sync together.

Yes, Thornado was a strong dragon. He screamed at Bing, Boom and Bam because they were annoying and they were destroying the island of Berk. But Stoick did not want more damage on the island so his mind was set and wanted the dragons out of the island. Then, Hiccup and Toothless showed the way to dragon island but unfortunately, after they left Bing, Bam and Boom, the three went back to Berk and started to destroy the island again. After this incident, Stoick was furious and he and the academy assisted the three back to dragon island and they saw that was happening and why the three dragons went back to Berk. The three were not accepted to the island and they could not protect themselves with bigger dragons.

Sometimes being small is also not good because sometimes the bigger ones use their strength to take over one place.

I got really emotional when Stoick, Hiccup and Fishlegs were coming back to Berk with their dragons looking back at Bing, Boom and Bang. So they went back and helped the three dragons. Then, Stoick and Fishlegs realized that, the three would never survive the wild without Thornado. Being a strong dragon, Stoick thought that they would need to have a good mentor (Thornado). So they left Thornado and the three dragons behind.

(I Started to cry because I remembered my younger adopted sister was left behind by her mother. It felt that my family and I were Hiccup and Stoick wanting to help the baby.)

I thought that having someone was special. Watching Episode 18, Big! Bam! Boom!, this gave me many insights because of what happened to Stoick and Thornado. There were many life lessons in this episode!

Season 2 ep 13-16

Approaching season 2 is very interesting. Being an athlete, watching episodes 13-16 were super solid, I could really connect this with my student- athlete life here in our university. Watching these episodes reminds me that having a team, we must understand each other and work together. On these episodes, there were many situation that they really have to work and understand together.

UNDERSTANDING one another

Having a team, all needs to understand one another; how someone can do it or what are their strengths and weaknesses. Like in the episodes, many of them did not know what was going on with their dragons until they found the dragon root– that causes their dragons to fight and they could not control them.

During the episodes, I learned that an individual needs to understands its strength. While watching the movie, I really saw how Hiccup and his friends know their own strengths. Like how Meatlug and Fishlegs pull out and put away the dragon root. This gave me a lesson that I should learn how to use conserve my strengths in everything I do. Given this example, they really know what are their strengths are.

Weaknesses were just one of the problem during the episodes. Everyone has their own weaknesses, but every single day they train and give more effort to improve and with the help of Hiccup, all of them were improving. Not only them has weaknesses but also the enemies. Like Dagger, even though his army outnumbered the island of Berk, his strategies were weak. He always wanted to capture the night fury without a good plan, all he thinks was having the night fury in his own hands. This example reminds me that I will be careful in every step I take.

WORKING TOGETHER

WORKING TOGETHER means that every member of the team needs to understand each other. Like in the episodes, working together at first is hard but when the team get used to it, it will just be easy keeping it up. There are many advantages if one team is working together, one can take the tasks easier and it will build up more character and chemistry in the team.

Having a good team, does not mean that there will be no problems, a good team means that they understand and work together. Having a problem inside the team means that, the team can overcome many obstacles even each member is fighting. A good team means that  the expression of a team’s values, attitudes, and beliefs about getting the work done. It determines whether, for example, the team’s focus is on fun, mastery, or winning or whether it promotes individual accomplishment or team success

All of these are just examples of what are going on during the movie. Without these stuffs, the movie would have be boring. Watching this amazing story of How To Train Your Dragon gives me an idea that in life we should really know what are our strengths and weaknesses. In real life we do not have any limitations, we just need to learn every single day from the movies we have watched.

Everyday we step forward, we learn, we commit a mistake, we stand up and get better.

Learning and Enjoying

LEARNING

It is true that learning is everywhere. How To Your Dragon is a film for children that they could get many lessons by just watching it. Like us, we were required to watch the film during class. At first, I thought it was a boring film to watch because the main target of the movie are the children but when we started to watch the movie on the very first day of class, I found it very interesting and started to learn many valuable lessons like being patient and have to listen to others opinions etc. Learning from a children’s film is one way how to communicate with children and by that we have to patient.

ENJOYING

Many teenagers thought that watching a children’s movie/film is a boring thing to do. Many teens, like us also watch and enjoy the film. While watching the episodes, it is true that we are entertained by the characters and the story. On the movie, I really enjoyed watching the twins  because they set the mood for me and they make me smile during the film viewing. Like how they just talk to Hiccup about non-sense things, bang their own heads and being the comedian of the group.

Enjoying the film means that you also appreciate the plot. While watching How To Train your dragon  it gives me aldrenaline because how the characters tell the story. Example of this is when Snoutlout went alone on a island and encountered not only the Whispering death but also he saw Alvin on the island with him. I got really nervous when I saw Snoutlout unconscious and almost got killed but Alvin saved him and returned him to Berk with his dragon. I really enjoyed these episodes because they really got me in my heart and it gave me tears.

It made me burst into tears when I found out that Alvin and Stoick were best friends before. It also got me because being one’s best friend, both of you should understand each other. Understanding means that no matter what is happening with the two of you, you should learn how to listen to each other no matter how hard it is.

We can also see that two of them could have history together because they are both good leaders but Alvin only knows much if compared to Stoick. Even though, they left everything in the pass, they still knows each other very well and took the opportunity to defeat the bad guy together.

To sum all of these,  we learn, enjoy and appreciate little stuffs like children’s movies. We all thought that we could not learn anything from the children because they are young. Like the movie How To Train Your Dragon, a children movie that we can all enjoy, laugh and sometimes feel a bit nervous because of the plot that we do not know. We all know that having the time to watch our movie series is enjoyable. But now, I know that we can all learn and have fun while we watch.

season review

 

The first season of the show is finally done! And I have to admit, at first, I wasn’t feeling 100% about watching a kid’s show. But that easily turned around, because the show proved to be quite interesting and enjoyable to watch. I gave it a chance because I thought maybe it would be similar to the shows I watched growing up.

I grew up watching (I assume like other kids) shows like Fairly Odd Parents, Spongebob Squarepants, and PowerPuff Girls. These shows had episodes that could stand alone, and you didn’t necessarily have to watch them one after the other because they weren’t exactly connected. You could watch episodes from the first season and then an episode from the second, and you would still be able to follow the show without asking much questions (To be honest, I don’t even know when a season started or ended for these shows!!)

Riders of Berk opened my eyes to what the children today are watching. The shows I grew up with focused on being funny, and bringing joy to children, but Riders of Berk does very something different. Yes it remains funny, and brings joy to kids, but it also imposes moral lessons throughout the show. I guess this is because children now watch tv and shows more than we used to, so they might as well be learning from it right?

I personally don’t think the show is very binge-worthy. I tend to binge-watch the shows I actually watch, because each episode leaves me wanting more answers to more questions, and because the episodes have to be watched in order, there’s a build of suspense and conflict. Riders of Berk isn’t necessarily like that; the episodes can stand alone and the conflicts are usually resolved at the end of the episode wherein they are introduced.

I also noticed, like in the shows I grew up watching, character development is still lacking. We saw how Snotlout’s character line developed then kind of reverted, and we begin to understand how static these characters are. It’s not like most adult shows, or shows for all ages wherein they give focus and importance to character development (which adds some plot twists here and there) and keeps the audience more engaged.

I think this TV series also is very limited but does very well given its limitations. The show is limited to begin after the first movie of How to Train Your Dragon, and is limited again to have its events end before the starting point of How to Train Your Dragon 2. We see that the show is limited in timeframe of events happening, and we see that it has to be consistent with the events that have occurred in the first movie, and have to be consistent as well with the events that (will) happen in the second movie. The show also has to make sure it doesn’t contradict with anything in the movies, yet add something different so that it isn’t “just the same thing.” I think that given its limitations, the show still does wonderfully in that it is still enjoyable to watch. I admit that sometimes I feel it’s kind of draggy, but then again I need to remind myself this is a kid’s show and is not really intended for me to watch. Overall, I am glad that Im enjoying the show more than I thought I would have.

s01e16-20 ; s02e01-e03

Finally. The last 5 episodes of Dragons: Riders of Berk were watched during class. I was eager and excited to see the conflicts resolved in the season, and which conflicts and storylines would be carried over to the next.

Throughout the previous episodes in the first season, seeing that this is a children’s show, I observed that the characters are now very familiar to the audience. The show then (like every other show) aims to develop these characters with the development of the show. It is also evident that throughout the show, certain characters are used to push the story forward more than others, and others are used for more of a comical relief.

In Episode 16, Defiant One, the protagonists are faced with Alvin and the Outcasts again, who are now showed to be highly dangerous, and rather scary. As we have talked about in class, we pointed out that the story moves forward with certain characters, and in this case, Alvin and Mildew push the story forward. We also saw the development (or we got to know) Snotlout more in this episode. We see his character development as the show develops, in that he was selfless and actually helped in saving Hiccup rather than just thinking of himself. Although Snotlout, along with majority of the characters in this show remain static or unchanging, this was a push to move his character forward with the story, but does not completely ensure that we won’t see Snotlout revert to his normal arrogant self. As in my other blogposts, we see here the importance of building relationships. This shows as a lesson in that we help our friends when they need us (which seems an appropriate lesson for the targeted audience of kids).

The next Episodes, Breakneck Bog and Gem of a Different Color, we see new dragons being introduced, making the world of dragons bigger and bigger. Introducing new types of dragons keeps the storyline fresh and ensures that we’re always seeing something new (since children naturally, and myself actually get bored easily). I get excited with the newer dragons coming out because we’ve seen the older dragons and we know what they can do, but these newer ones may as well still be being written as they are introduced in that we don’t know their full potential or capabilities.

But what stood out the most from these two episodes was that we see in Episode 18, Gem of a Different Color, Fishlegs takes a stand against Snotlout for trying to sell the eggs. We see Snotlout revert to his behavior of being selfish and arrogant; ultimately, we see that although the characters develop in a way or another, the show is still also very episodic in that the events in each episode (and the character development of each character) is only loosely connected and can stand alone. We also see here the importance of taking a stand against a friend. This lesson, especially for children, is important. The show did not explicitly show this, but it touched on it and I think it could have been further developed to drive the lesson home, but it’s good enough to ingrain in the minds of the intended audience.

This brings us to our final episodes of season 1– We Are Family Parts 1 and 2. I think it was pretty cool to divide the final episode into 2 to keep the 20 minute running time consistent, and it also veered away from how other shows would intentionally have a longer finale (or pilot episode). As stated earlier, we have characters who show up to move the story forward and in this case, Alvin and Mildew do in fact push the story forward. Their coming together created more problems and added that missing element to make the show kind of come together. When the two suddenly worked together, it personally left me wondering what troubles they would stir up and if this would increase. We see however towards the end that Mildew shifts over to the good side (very common in children’s shows and movies). The plot twist in the end gives viewers something to look forward to in the next season. It left quite a number of questions with me, such as, Would he switch back to the bad side? Was there really a change of heart and he’s now good? I guess the plot twist wasn’t necessarily something I expected, but again, it carried a good moral lesson for the intended audience and it actually adds depth to building relationships and the title of the episode itself.

The episode is entitled, We Are Family, and this would lead you to presume that Mildew would stay loyal to his tribe and family. But, I don’t really know if I’m over analyzing this, for me, it showed in some way, that we choose our family. I talk a lot about how this show focuses on building relationships and I think it was a great way to end the season. We saw a great number of relationships being built, and in the end we saw a family-of different blood and of different motives, but nevertheless, a family.

This left me looking forward to the second season.

In comparison to the first season, I immediately noticed that Hiccup does not voice over anything at the start and end of the episodes. He usually does, which gives us the insight or the moral lesson in the end (which I think is good to explicitly state and point out to children), but I think it’s also important to leave it unsaid, and for the audience to kind of figure out on their own what the lesson of the episode was.

I won’t really get into much detail of the first few episodes we’ve watched of the second season because I feel, like the first season, the events are still happening continuously. There are problems in each episode, and they are resolved. But I feel this season is different and I think the show is now beginning to create an appeal to the older audience. I mean, maybe the writers and creators want the childrens’ parents to be able to watch with them and not be completely bored out of their minds, right? I think this season has a lot of potential (and I hope it doesn’t disappoint). The first 3 episodes kind of introduces problems that aren’t necessarily resolved right away and this leaves me, and the general audience, anticipating when these problems will show up again, and in what manner-like will they kind of show up all at once and leave us in suspense through a number of episodes?

I’m excited to see the direction in which season 2 plans to take to push the story even further and we see that the second season has been renamed to Defenders of Berk rather than Riders and it kind of gives you a glimpse into the season in that maybe in this season, it’s not focused on showing how the vikings have relationships with dragons as their riders and deal with conflicts within Berk, rather, the season may begin to focus on how they, vikings and dragons together, have to deal with external conflicts that threaten Berk.

 

 

Episodes 6-15

Athletes are guided by a number of external forces and more often than not, especially in a team sport, they turn to their captains and coaches for guidance. Being an athlete myself, I am eager to pay attention to what my captain and coaches share with me. Watching Episodes 6-11 gives meaningful life lessons to the audiences. Like many episodes, these teaches me to be a good athlete. Like in seasons 6-13 , it really tells us that teamwork, trust and communicating to one another are just some traits that one athlete/person can have. Like Hiccup and his friends did when they met Heather– a beautiful girl who was interested to steal the ‘Book of the dragons’ and give it to Berk’s archenemy, the Outcasts.

TEAMWORK

Being an athlete, first thing that comes into mind is teamwork. Through teamwork it could lead us to a good positive outcome. Like In the movie and episodes, teamwork is always the key, defeating the outcasts, having a strong relationship with each other means you have a strong bond; Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly and so on. Having teamwork in this TV series is needed because they need to show their trust to the village and dragon.

TRUST & MISTRUST

Like in the movie ‘How To Train Your Dragon’, Hiccup trained his friends to train the dragon they wanted. Here we can see that the trust that they gained from each other. Like in episodes 6-15, they trust each other and they also gained the trust of Stoick, that he also trained and bonded with the dragon he saw and gained each other’s trust. Here in the episodes I could see the ‘trust’ of the characters because we all know that dragons are dangerous.

In the episodes, I also see that mistrust was also an issue because of this unknown girl named Heather. I really appreciated what Hiccup did by not judging Heather and accepting her in the village. But because of Austrud’s jealousy, she did not trust Heather and she told Hiccup what she felt after meeting Heather.

I could connect this of me being an athlete because we really need to trust ourselves, teammates, coaches and our guts. Like in the Episodes, trusting someone is really a big deal because we would not know what will happen next.

COMMUNICATING

Through communicating, teamwork and trust are taught and absorbed. I think the problem in the episodes was communicating. Though, they have trust and teamwork, they have to communicate more because the system of the village is not consistent because of the dragons. Like Mildow, he do not want the dragons in the island. Hiccup and his friends should talk more about the dragon to the village so that the villagers would have some issues with dragons. In episodes 10-11 ‘Heathers part 1’ and Heathers part 2, communicating and listening were important because Heather had a bad plan. If only Hiccup listened to Austrud, the book of the dragon was still in their hands.

For me, these three are important in the series. We all see the consequences and we can also see what are the advantages if we use these three. We all learn from the cartoon series and we can share what the lessons in our daily lives.

 

 

 

Chaos: brought about by dragons or internal conflict (Episodes 1-5)

When How To Train Your Dragon 2 first came out, I was left with quite a number of unanswered questions. There seemed to be a gap between the first and second movie. A major question in mind was how the dragons and vikings adjusted to living with each other, and how they harmoniously cooperated and went about their day-to-day lives. The show and season began with showing exactly the opposite of what How To Train Your Dragon 2 exhibited; there was chaos on the Island Of Berk because the dragons were destroying everything in their path, taking things from the vikings in the process. A number of villagers were left angry and upset because of the dragons’ actions. This opener showcased the natural behavior of the dragons which disrupted the lives of the vikings. Stoick was left to reconsider if living with dragons would work out, and Hiccup and Astrid were left to train the dragons to cooperate with the vikings.

As much as training the dragons to integrate with society was effective in helping to maintain the good behavior of the dragons, I personally felt that the dragons could have been eased into it better. Hiccup treats Toothless as a companion more so than as a tool, or convenience to help him get around. In comparison to the movie wherein we see the dragons as partners with its riders–vikings, here we begin to see the dragons being used to the advantage of the vikings. Dragons, although very powerful, are also very playful in nature, like your common household pet such as a dog or cat. To treat these creatures as such would have been a better solution in my opinion- nurturing them and caring for them, before teaching them a handful of ‘tricks.’

The show progresses into how Gobber, a viking who was the blacksmith of the town, crafting weapons for slaying dragons, ceases to have a job with use. So Hiccup feels some sort of responsibility to create different jobs for Gobber, which is of equal importance as his past job. Gobber was of course upset about his job having no use anymore and ventured into trying new things; he was not necessarily comfortable in the newer jobs offered, but he still gave it his all trying.

Although I may be overreading into this episode, I resonated most with 2 lessons or realizations I came to after this episode. First, I realized that sometimes we will feel out of place and that we are no longer needed somewhere and that it’s okay. It is not necessarily going to be a bad or good thing, but it could mean that society is progressing (in this case, dragons have come to their aid and are now being integrated into their society). The second and more important lesson I learned was that, “you don’t grow when you’re comfortable.” We see that Gobber was not very comfortable trying new jobs to find what would best suit him, but in the end he grew as a viking-as a person, trying new things that left him in rather uncomfortable situations.

The rest of the episodes, focus on Berk, but it also touches more on the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless. When Toothless is blamed for damaging the town by Stoick, leading him to make a harsh decision, Hiccup is pushed to find the real culprit- a show of the loyalty and relationship developed amongst the two. However, we also see how the other vikings still do not trust the dragons at all or completely, yet HIccup still believes in them and trusts them more than he does other vikings.

Going back to what I said on my insights to the film, it is seen here that relationships are still one of the most important things. The series so far has built on the relationships that the movie has introduced. Hiccup is often left conflicted on whether to maintain a good relationship with his father and side with him, or to try and do what’s best for everybody. Sometimes I often feel in his position, not necessarily having to decide things on that big of a scale, but being left conflicted with my own relationships. I often feel that I could handle some situations better, but like Hiccup, I think it’s about finding a balance of putting others first and knowing when to put myself first as well.