Season 2 Summary

MAN THAT WAS AN AMAZING SERIES

Compared to the first one, the second season had a different vibe, the graphics were way better and they didn’t spend a lot of time developing characters, instead they gave more screen time to the characters that didn’t have the same privilege in the first season. Ruff and Tuff got their own episodes, Astrid and Snotlout got theirs and Meatlug too.

The story was way different. Knowing the fact that Berk has more enemies now encouraged me to watch more. Seeing as how that would’ve kept me motivated, and wanting for more. Knowing that Alvin had plans for capturing Berk, Dagur wanting to capture hiccup and kill toothless, and the screaming death just lurking around the corner kept me at the edge of my seat.

The way the things were getting introduced and problems getting solved involved a more mature approach, it’s as if the directors knew that the kids who were following the series up until now have grown up and change the content or rather the way they approached problems. Especially the ones wherein you put yourselves into other people’s shoes and empathize? These aren’t things that children at a young age should be dealing with yet. And when Stoick let go of Thornado, for the sake of other people, was a lesson that was very impactful even for me. I love the second season, I wish this was the one we started off with, but it would’ve felt different if it were.

My personal favorite episode was the last one, wherein they unite to beat the bigger evil in Dagur. Sometimes we have to let down our prides to help those at stake and let you petty differences be left in the past where it should be. Although keeping the lessons you’ve learned before, but realizing that other people deserve second chances as well.

If you told me I’d love the second season and I would be motivated to watch race to the edge at the start of the sem, I would’ve thought that you were joking. Boy am I glad to be wrong. The character development, the narrative, the problems they encounter and the way they solve them, the lessons learned after are worth every minute of my time. After every episode I feel like a better person, improved as well.

 

Magic for Beginners

As I read Magic for Beginners, it reminded me of my old favorite cartoon from Nickelodeon called Chalk Zone. Chalk Zone is a story about a boy who has magic chalk and can transport himself into the Chalk Zone world wherein he can draw whatever he needs or wants as long as he has his magic Chalk. He made a friend with someone named Snap who was his childhood drawing. In the same way, Magic for Beginners also has a two-way story that allows reality to intersect with fiction. The real world of Rudy and the world of Snap which is the Chalk Zone. Although their stories aren’t exactly alike, that was the first thing that came into my mind. The Library was the common thing that everyone liked in the story. Even if they had different personalities and attitudes, they were able to bond because of something common between them.

 

Reading Magic for Begginers was hard. It was difficult reading it for the first time, harder the second time, by this point, I had to take a break because I felt like there were too many things going on like a movie, within a movie, within a movie, within a tv-series. However, once I got the hang of it, it was a pretty good read. The show really revolves around Jeremy and his friends because of the hit series called, “The Library.” Like every other story including how to train your dragon, or Brooklyn nine-nine the longer the story goes, the deeper the bond gets developed. The story of Magic for beginners is different, its about a group of friends who are different but have a common thing that binds them. Because of the way television is right now, they can bring people closer together, when you watch a certain series with a friend, there will be references that only the people who have seen the show will understand. Considering this, it is possible to be left out if you don’t keep up with whatever everyone else is watching. Which poses a difficult problem for the people in Magic for Beginners as “The Library” does not have a specific time, rather it appears at an irregular interval. The narratives produced by the show were different and more interesting but nothing too crazy. Your typical solve your problems, drama, friends, and romance.

With the way TV is right now, you can broadcast both fiction and non-fiction things. Sometimes people use television as a form of escapism for their day-to-day lives. Despite what people say, television brings us closer together, something that a lot of people can relate to and not everyone is left out because at least one person has seen what you’ve seen as well. Despite my having a problem reading Magic for Beginners, the more I read it, the more I saw that it was interesting. Makes me realize that if I didn’t understand anything maybe it deserved more than just a single read.

 

Season 2, Episodes 13-20

Episode 13: Free Scauldy

In the episode of “The Night and the Fury”, Tuffnut was given more screen time and more responsibility than usual. In this Episode, it was Ruffnut’s turn to do so. They discover a Scauldron trapped underneath a pile of boulders on Changewing Island. Ruffnut’s hair was found to have fish oil in it, therefore allowing the scauldron to trust Ruffnut than the others. Because of this, she was able to train it and gained its trust enough to remove the debris on its wing. However, the changewings have sensed that the scauldron was weak enough to the point that they can take it down. The crew realized that the wing was broken. They made a cast and Ruffnut sacrificed part of her hair to make sure the splint fit on the scauldron. It was nice to see them enforce the fact that no one gets left behind even if the odds are against them, everything will be okay.

 

Episode 14: Frozen

I didn’t really get the point of adding this episode unless it was to showcase new dragons. It felt like the most obvious filler episode because they made fun of Snotlout while he was paralyzed. It was interesting to see a different breed though, especially one that didn’t fly and had paralytic capabilities

 

Episode 15: A Tale of Two Dragons

Snotlout and Astrid get into a fight as always while trying to clear mildew’s filed to get it ready to be used to plant cabbages for the upcoming season. However, The two always get into an argument when they get into a certain area in the field where their dragons go haywire. The cause of all this was miracle root, but the way Hiccup approached the problem was very interesting. He let Snotlout and Astrid swap dragons for a day to get a better appreciation for each other’s dragons. He literally put them in each other’s shoes. Something not even adults can do nowadays.  Sometimes, we do not get to appreciate the things we have/things that other people have unless we make a conscious effort to know what’s usually not there.

 

Episode 16: The Eel Effect

I loved this episode as we finally understood why the Eels had an effect on the dragons. Considering the fact that it was just law that dragons do not eat it, it was refreshing to give as a why behind the rule. While Eels are the cure to the Eel Pox, they cause dragons to have the same symptoms as a person with Eel Pox if it is ingested. Ruffnut and Tuffnut also displayed an insane amount of knowledge which no one expected and that gave me a good laugh.

 

Episode 17: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Trader Johann gets Tricked into delivering metal from Breakneck Bog by Dagur in an attempt to attack Berk leaving them defenseless when the time comes that the Berserkers invade. The scrap metal actually had eggs of Smothering Smokebreaths in them and they hatched while on Berk, therefore allowing the Baby Dragons to steal the weapons and leave Berk defenseless which allows Dagur to proceed on with part 1 of his plan. However, they were able to use the Smothering Smokebreaths against Dagur by taking all the metal that’s left from Berk and leading it to Dagur’s armada, thereby letting the Smokebreaths to take the metal from Dagur’s ship and leaving them defeated and defenseless. This episode made me feel like Dagur was more part of the plot and things were getting interesting as he was starting to mobilize.

 

Episode 18: Bing! Bam! Boom!

With Hiccup’s new invention that would allow him to hear from miles away, he hears a loud screeching sound. They followed the sound and discovered three baby thunderdrums that needed supervision. Hiccup wanted to train them but alas, to no avail. They only listened when Thornado was there. They tried to migrate them away to Dragon Island, but they were being targeted by the other dragons. Stoick did what any good chief and father would do and he let his dragon go, so that he could be the one to take care of the little ones. Stoick amazes me as he was able to make a split second decision and was able to figure out what he needed the most. Despite bonding with his dragon so much he knew what he needed to do.

 

Episode 19 – 20: Cast Out

These two episodes were amazing. This is where I could clearly see the Character development that Hiccup has gone through. Seeing how Alvin could have opted to not save Snotlout but clearly he was desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures that even includes asking your long-time enemy to help you fight a common foe. I loved how he saw the foreshadowing of the relationship between Stoick and Alvin with him and Snotlout considering the fact that they are very similar. Alvin and Snotlout want to do things their way but sometimes they have consequences. However, Snotlout did something against Hiccups orders and saved his life. Hiccup then realizes that sometimes doing something out of intuition is also a possible answer and you have to listen to the people around you as well. I loved how Stoick and Alvin were able to cast aside their differences in the end and was able to defeat Dagur together. Hitting two birds with one stone, Hiccup reunites the Screaming Death with its mother and everything went back into order.

The Precinct and the Island

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN BROOKLYN 99 AND DEFENDERS AND RIDERS OF BERK

Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the Riders/Defenders of Berk have more in common than differences.

First we have to note that the target audience is different. Brooklyn Nine-Nine target more mature audiences while Riders/Defenders target the kids. The way I watched them was different as well. Brooklyn Nine-Nine had me in so deep that I finished 5 seasons with 22 episodes in 2 days, so what is sleep? Was it worth it? Yes. Should I have done it? No. Riders/Defenders on the other hand was something new to me as it felt like I binged watched it, I guess you could say that it’s binging in moderation. To be honest, watching TV and analyzing every possible detail is a weird thing, at first you need to have a conscious effort while doing this, and then suddenly it comes naturally to you.

In terms of narrative, they both have a main character who is bubbly and wants the best for his team in Jake Peralta and Hiccup. The love interest which will be developed over time in Amy Santiago and Astrid. A head of the area in Captain Raymond Holt and Stoick. They have day-to-day problems and enemies that they want to overcome.

I first fell in love with the HTTYD Franchise when the movie went out. Ever since, I always waited for the next film even to the point of reading the novels, which to my surprise, was very different from the movies. The first movie left me awestruck, wanting to know more about life on Berk, I was able to see a few episodes of the series, but I never got hooked, I guess what I wanted was something else back then, but this time, I appreciated the lessons that Season One has taught me.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine was something else, I fell in love with a cold-open which was a different way to start a show. In particular it was the one where Jake Peralta sings “I want it that way” by the backstreet boys. Watching all 5 seasons, this specific cold-open didn’t happen ‘til Season 5 in the middle of the season. I guess seeing this cold-open was what motivated me to binge watch Nine-Nine. To find out which episode did this and what the content of the entire episode was. The search was fun and it was worth it.

Riders/Defenders on the other hand, I only started to love it towards the end of Season One and the start of Season Two. It was really hard to watch during the first season as the animation styles were different, but the story, comedic relief and plot developments made up for it. Season Two was amazing as the animation style changed to look more like the movie which fixed my initial problem, aside from that, Season Two also had multiple problems coming their way such as Dagur, the Screaming Death and Alvin the Treacherous.

The comedic relief provided by Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Riders/Defenders was fairly similar. It’s usually the characters which you know are stupid and have their moments of glory, like Ruffnut and Tuffnut, while in Brooklyn Nine-Nine we have the obsessed best friend of Jake Peralta, Charles Boyle. Ruffnut and Tuffnut have always had minor rolls in Riders/Defenders and on occasion some biggers ones. Likewise, the same happens with Boyle, in which there is rarely an episode that features him. Although, when they are shown we can see that they do what they can to help or in Ruffnut and Tuffnut’s case, get it over with.

Here’s the part that is really interesting for me. I see both of them being sit-coms, but I only have a problem with Riders/Defenders about continuity. Brooklyn Nine-Nine being a police precinct and all has a lot of crime coming and out, which makes it difficult to have an episode on continuity unless it involves like a drug-syndicate or mass murderer. Berk on the other hand, has day-to-day problems that are solved easily but has taken a lot of different routes to drag out the episodes. To give them the benefit of the doubt, it was designed for children whose attention spans are not as long as the adults watching it. There is, however an “extra” that keeps on repeating for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. His name was Doug Judy or more commonly known as the Pontiac bandit. He makes an appearance every season for the past 5 years. He was originally someone that was despised but was later loved by every viewer on the show. The person who I could think of that has similarities with Doug Judy was Alvin the Treacherous. At first everyone hated him, but certain situations happened that made him work with the people on Berk to get him back his island. During the last few episodes, I couldn’t help but empathize with Alvin as he was removed from his island and forced to ask help from his foes. The same thing happens in Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Doug Judy needs help from the Nine-Nine as situations come up to bother him like a serial killer or an adopted brother that wanted him dead. In the end, Alvin was able to fix their broken past with Stoic and they’re now allies, what could one ask for more?

Even if they are similar, they are very different things. I loved everything about Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and I learned to love everything about Riders/Defenders of Berk. The shows have taught me a lot of things especially in dealing with problems that I don’t usually have the ability to deal with, but at the same time they taught me that whatever happens there will always be people there to pick you up when you’re down. You should always be there for them because they will be there for you when you need them also.

I loved one from the start.

I learned to love the other.

 

 

Season 2, Ep 1 – 3

Episode 1: Live and Let Fly

A father will always act like a father especially when his is placed in dangerous predicaments. Stoick thinking that Hiccup would be in danger, placed a “No flying ban” on all of the dragons on Berk, well all except his, that is. When Hiccup found out this ban, he made a “Dragon Flight Club” which was meant to train after hours so that they can still remain in tip top shape. However, on one of their flights, the twins forgot to use their brains and was spotted by Stoick who was doing patrols during the same night. Soon they realized that everyone was better off on their dragons as it is and always will be the safest place they can be. Stoick was acting like a father and was overly protective but he couldn’t stick to his word which although was wrong, was understandable since he also had to think about the village. With all of this happening, Mildew planted whispering death eggs in a cavern system directly under Berk, which was interesting to see that Alvin has finally made a move.

 

Episode 2: The Iron Gronckle

We’ve all felt part of a group and we weren’t as important as the main characters or the people who actually knew what to do. Fishlegs was placed on the spotlight while they were chasing the Outcast ship. They asked him to stay behind because they thought that they’d drag him down. After this, Fishlegs and Meatlug did the most relatable thing that someone under stress, EAT, never have I related to a fictional character than this moment. We have the same defense mechanism. When meatlug vomited the mysterious concoction of rocks, it made for the best iron which could be useful as it was lighter and stronger than any of the metals that was currently available to berk. Hiccup realizes that he needs everyone to be part of the crew and apologizes to meatlug after an insane chase scene that involved flying weapons going to Meatlug. Everyone has a part whether big or small and you’re needed one way or another.

Episode 3: The Night and the Fury

The gang goes to Dragon Island to train without their dragons, seeing that they’re really good on them but if they ever get into a situation in which they don’t have access to their dragons so what will they do? However, when this training incident happened they met someone unexpectedly, Dagur was back and he was looking for toothless. The silent training that happened with all of the riders was useful as it was able to fool Dagur. The film took an interesting turn as no one saw it coming. Tuffnut had a bigger role to play compared to everyone else. Dagur figured out that Berk doesn’t kill dragons anymore, instead they ride them and the plot thickens.

 

Season 1 Summary

IT WAS DIFFICULT TO WATCH!! However, they did a lot of things right and a lot of the adjustments had to be made by me.

First off, the animation style was way different from the movie, so seeing it was like seeing a rip-off or budget styled series.  Second, they focused more on developing the characters, than the plot itself. This is understandable however, as in the movie, all they focused on was Hiccup and Toothless. It was pretty refreshing to see the other riders get more screen time than hiccup only. Lastly, Continuity wasn’t seen until the last part of the season up until the middle of the season and the end.

Overall, the first season was pretty difficult to watch, the animation style needed me to adjust quite a bit as it was obviously different, the way that toothless was animated and the way that the characters were drawn was quite the challenge for me to keep up with. However, once I was able to break through this problem, the show was fun to watch.

The character development was a treat considering that we got more interactions with people outside of the main cast, like Bucket and Mulch. These two were a big part of the show even if they weren’t a part in the movies. We got more insight as to why snotlout is the way he is because of the thawfest games, and we saw that the rivalry of Hiccup and Snotlout has been there since the days they were born. I loved the way that Stoick was reluctant at first to listen to Hiccup but soon understood that he wasn’t the only one that ran the island anymore but guided Hiccup to be the best chief he could be. The twins gave me the most laughs as they often had answers that didn’t make sense which was part of the comedic relief. Fishlegs showed that he can stand up to Snotlout if needed. Something that I associated with him was the archetype of the “Gentle Giant”. He’s the biggest of them but also the kindest and the meekest. When he snaps, boy, that’s a different story all together.

Finally, I’d like to talk about Continuity. There were only 4 episodes in the entire season that relied on two episodes to tell the story. Although the stand-alone episodes did their work, the episodes that had counterparts made me more invested in the story. I also felt like the 4 episodes were the only ones that developed the plot to an extent. Especially since these episodes were the ones that introduced and dealt with Alvin the Treacherous.

What I loved about the Riders of Berk is that despite it being a series whose target audience was children, it tackled problems that were present even in the lives of people who are older that haven’t had the chance to deal with them. The daddy issues, the trust issues, but the one thing I couldn’t get my head around was when something happened to the dragons, they barely suspected Mildew for it. I mean its that point in which you know that Mildew cannot accept change and he wants to get rid of the dragons every time he could, but everyone just shrugged it off every time he did something bad to them.

 

Season 1, Ep. 16 – 20

Episode 16: Defiant One

There’s always that one person in the group that refuses to listen and wants things done his way. Only thinking of himself and rarely anyone else. In this episode, Hiccup and Toothless go after Snotlout and Hookfang. They both get sucked into a vortex and are trapped because Toothless’ metal rod broke. They find out that they’re on Outcast island and with the understanding that they both need to work together to get out of there, they do. Despite it being a children’s show, Defenders of berk knows how to tackle problems that affect adults as well.

Episode 17: Breakneck Bog

In this episode, Hiccup finds that Trader Johann’s ship was shipwrecked in a place that was rumored to be haunted by a fog monster. With the knowledge that something important was on it, Hiccup wanted to make sure that whatever was important on the ship was, he’d be able to retrieve it and send Johann on his way. Hiccup and the gang heard stories about breakneck Bog, where people have been stripped to bones, but what they soon discover is that they’re just a bunch of dragons. Often, we fear the things we don’t understand, like the “fog monster” but when we do face it head on and figure out what it is, we figure out that it’s really not that bad.

Episode 18: Gem of A different Color

In life, we often have things we want that we can’t have or do not possess the means capable of attaining what we want. Which is why we rely on outside factors that supposedly do not have anything to do with us. Berk does not escape this. When Fishlegs finds a Gem of a Different Color, it was identified as the stone of good fortune. People were lining up to touch it so they can be blessed with the power of the stone or they were willing to trade a lof of their personal belongings just to get the stone. Much like everyone else, if we were presented with something that could help us further ourselves, we’d be willing to trade a lot of our things even it is at the cost of things that are important. However, they later discovered that they weren’t eggs of good fortune but rather changewing eggs which laid waste to the city.

Episode 19 – 20: We Are Family

Episode 19 played with my emotions as they were preparing for Bork Day, all the other dragons had more from their species they could interact with, except Toothless. When they figured out that Bork had more notes about Nightfuries that wasn’t in the book of Dragons, they did whatever they could to find them, however, this was all an elaborate trap setup by the Outcasts to capture Toothless and Hiccup. When they realized that it was a trap, it was too late and Alvin had Captured them. Episode 20 also made me empathize for Mildew because his only friend the sheep was taken away from him, which led Hiccup to help him. They were able to escape from their prisons and used the Dragons that were captured in cages against the Outcasts. However, while on the retreat, Mildew was left behind because he couldn’t hold on. But, we were shown a scene in which we found out that all of that was a setup so that Mildew can learn all that he can from Hiccup and help them with their dragon problem. The plot twist was really unexpected especially with the way things turned out in the show.

 

Episode 12 – 15

Episode 12:

Thawfest felt like a filler episode to give the viewers time to rest after the previous action-packed episodes 10 and 11. However, I realized how important it was and it took away the tiresome feeling that was dwelling inside of me. Hiccup was always the different from the others, but that’s what made him unique. When Hiccup actually had a chance of winning the Thawfest games, he did all he could to make sure he did. However, there was a part that made me feel like winning and making fun of Snotlout, Hiccup’s true character was lost in the process. Thankfully, Hiccup made the decision to let Snotlout win because the consequences of Snotlout losing was greater than the rewards that Hiccup would gain if he won. In the end, he chose to solve the problem in the most… Hiccup way possible and I was happy with the ending.

 

Episode 13 & 14:

When lightning strikes was an interesting episode because Mildew was the person who started the revolt against Toothless, I mean, it is Mildew for Thor’s sake and he’s been known to be a dragon hater. To us, the answer was crystal clear, as to why the lightning started to strike Berk more often, it was because of the giant metal perches that they put up for the dragons, but to the people of Berk, it was still a mystery. I remember it was mentioned that someone else had to be banished for it to be fixed, but when it was Hiccups turn, all he needed to do was to get struck by lightning and being the son a chief, it was pretty easy to be believed.

Episode 14 on the other hand was intense and mysterious at the same time. Toothless had a grudge with a Whispering Death. However, throughout most of the interaction, Toothless never allowed Hiccup to interfere because he wanted the Whispering Death all to himself. This made me realize that maybe facing your problems head on was not necessarily the best approach, but rather it is to ask help from the people who want what’s best for you, provided that you both know what you’re getting yourselves into. Sometimes, grudges should not be taken to the death because it leaves a heavier burden on you than letting go.

 

Episode 15:

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had chosen the worst time to separate as their dragon, Belch and Barf, needed two heads instead of one. This was also the time when the head of the Berserker Tribe named Dagur succeeded his Father who was… Agreeable. The dragon trainers had a special training session that allowed them to communicate with their dragons by using hand signals. Because of this, they were able to stage a dragon attack which led Dagur to sign the treaty while retreating. We all want something ours, and I cannot imagine how hard it is to share almost everything with a twin.

Episodes 6 – 11

Episode 6:

This is the first episode that had parts of the previous episode drawn into this one. I liked how Hiccup was able to turn the situation around when he was taken to dragon island. He found a way to get back to the dragons and was able to prove to Alvin that Dragon Conqueror and Dragon Trainer are different things. Because of this, all the dragons that were taken away were returned to their rightful partners. I think that throughout all this, Mildew’s credibility should be questioned as he is one of the only “traditional Vikings” left on the island while everyone has made a change to accommodate their new neighbors.

 

Episode 7:

I was excited for Episode 7 as Stoick would finally pair up with a dragon, however, I felt bad for toothless as he was the first one that Stoick flew with. Stoick’s approach to dealing with dragons was very “Viking like” and was clearly not how to gain a dragon’s trust. Stoick wanted a dragon that was as unique as toothless, but all of the other dragons couldn’t compare. However, a predicament has placed Stoick to have an encounter with a Thunderdrum who was as feisty as he was. Stoick later learns that the Thunderdrum was only stealing fish from boats so that it could feed its wounded friend. Stoick later gains its trust by fending off wild boars who picked up the scent of the injured baby tunderdrum. This moment made me realize that Stoick has finally dropped the old-ways and moved on to what’s current and that’s their lives with dragons.

Episode 8:

This could be the episode that I loved so much and I could relate to. People have certain expectations out of you, but in the end you know that you can’t meet them because you’re clearly different from how they see you versus how you see yourself. In this episode, Hiccup tried to prove himself to his father by finishing a task that not even Gobber and Stoick could figure out. In the end, the treasure was actually figuring out that Hamish II was actually the same as Hiccup. Sometimes being different is not necessarily a bad thing, but what matters is that you are true to yourself.

 

Episode 9:

The episode started with Hiccup saying that not everything new is a good thing. Which I can agree with, however, the problem with this mindset is that we treat every new thing as a threat when it can be used to help us. However, when Trader Johann came and gave everyone something to barter with, there was a special delivery for Mildew, which obviously isn’t good. Fast forward to the end when Mildew gets bitten by the Scauldron which ingested Dragon Flower, which then gets… extracted by Gobber to treat the dragons. I’m pretty sure that by this time people would learn to trust Mildew less, but I guess I can be proven wrong.

 

 

Episode 10 & 11:

Typical story of Hiccup trusting the new person that he meets and neglects what his closest friends would say and believing whatever the new person says. Essentially Hiccup is a fuckboy who finds this new girl and neglects his OG friends who were there from the very beginning. Heather turns out to be a spy for Alvin as he wants to learn the tricks of the trade from Hiccup in order to “Conquer” dragons. As Hiccups always said, you don’t Conquer them, you train them, and there’s a difference as trust is involved. Even with the book of Dragons in the hands of Alvin, they can’t use the book to its full potential. Astrid then takes over and saves the book and the parents of Heather and everyone goes back happy, healthy and most importantly, alive.

 

 

Riders of Berk: Episodes 1 – 5

 

          My initial thoughts when I started to watch the first episode were: First, the animation styles were very different. I needed to adjust to this new style, as it is very different from the original movie. Second, I had to tune out a lot of information. Since I’ve seen the second movie already, but I’ve barely touched this series, it was kind of hard to connect the two. Finally, the episodes all had stand alone plots, that would’ve made sense even if I didn’t watch the first few episodes. Even if it is a series, it felt like I could just pick a random episode that didn’t have part 1 or part 2 in the title and still be updated with the show.

For Episode One, it was entitled: How to Start a Dragon Academy. Despite having made peace with the dragons, the situation between the dragons and the Vikings of Berk, have not been in sync. Often times, they can be seen causing havoc around the town and this has been the main problem as of late. However, as wild as a dragon can get, one cannot expect it to be bent to the will of the people so easily. Instead, the solution to their problem was pretty interesting. Instead of making dragons obey them completely, they made use of the things that dragons do instinctively and capitalize on that. Despite this being a children’s show, I feel like Dragons: Defenders of Berk, still has lessons that can be applied to all ages. In this specific episode, it made me realize that we have problems in life that we can’t control, instead we ride the problem and take advantage of that situation.

For Episode Two, it was entitled: Viking For Hire. With Berk officially retiring from the Dragon-killing business, Gobber, their main man/Viking when it comes to making weapons has found himself in quite the predicament. He no longer has a use for his weapons and therefore has nothing to do anymore. He tried to help out with the errands of Stoick, but he lacked in the diplomatic area. In the end, Snotlout’s Dragon, Hookfang, has been throwing a fit ever since the episode started. Hiccup, however was not able to figure out what was wrong with Hookfang, and instead turned to Gobber for help. Gobber saw that it was a tooth problem, and then he figured out his calling. In this episode, it taught me that sometimes the opportunities that are for us, do not appear when we least expect it.

For Episode Three and Four, these were the two episodes that were quite boring for me. Aside from the fact that the dragon riders have figured out that the dragons that a possess a natural protective instinct, and the fact that Hiccup believed toothless was jealous instead of listening to what he had to say, there’s really nothing else worth mentioning about these two episodes. However, Episode Four made me understand that we cannot conclude things for other people, instead we must hear them out before deciding for ourselves.

For Episode Five, which was entitled: In Dragons We Trust.  We are met with Boots day, a day which people air out their boots to relieve the smell. The next day, a dragon is found with all the boots, with foot prints as evidence. The next day, the Great Hall has been vandalized by another dragon. To try to prove the innocence of the dragons, Hiccup organized a night patrol called the “Dragon United Monitoring Brigade or DUMB”. Not the smartest name, pun intended but it got the message across. However, as Hiccup pieced together the clues as to the first two dragon incidents, he discovered that they couldn’t be done by a dragon because they didn’t have the same characteristics as them. Then, Toothless was framed for burning down the workshop with all their weapons, which prompted Stoick to banish them back to dragon island. This is the first episode that didn’t have a resolution towards the end of the episode, instead it left me wanting to watch episode 6 immediately after because I wanted to know what happened.