Transcript for:
Hiccup and Astrid Relationship Lecture Summary (How to Train Your Dragon Series)

do you guys hear that   whoa this is the United States fair use  Doctrine meaning my comments and or criticism   of Universal's copyrighted material in this video  counts as transformative and is protected by law   might want to read it before you manually take  down my fair use video again on with the show it's that time of year I hate Valentine's Day with  every fiber in my being I get it it's kind of a   Trope at this point for people who've been single  their entire lives to have nobody on the holiday   of love to spend it with so they're staunchly  against Valentine's Day and walk around like a   depressed cynic for the entirety of it scoffing  at people running around with cards and flowers   and I totally get it it's like strolling down  the sidewalk with people holding neon banners   of Celebration but instead of them reading  Valentine's Day they all read International   everyone gets laid day except for you it sucks  figuratively literally it does not and that's   my problem but you know what I actually have  something to say to people like that which I   am one of them so I'm allowed to speak to  you in this way you are also over dramatic   it's unbearable it's like you can't handle  not being the center of someone's Focus for   a single day because your friends interests in  Focus lie Elsewhere for 24 hours where they're   just concerned with spending time with their  significant other over you I mean Jesus it's   like people don't don't have an individualized  day of the year where people celebrate the day   that you were born all of their attention is on  you that is literally the point of birthdays you   have one day of the year where your friends are  obligated to spend time with you and cherish you   and one day of the year where they are obligated  to not do that and that's Valentine's Day   unless you're like me and your birthday is  on Valentine's Day hi I'm Audrey and I want   to die to relieve the pain good God you think  after 23 years I'd think of some silver lining   at this point but there isn't one bottom line  is people who were born on Valentine's Day who   are single are not the first thing on their  friends Minds that day or even on their mind   at all because all they're thinking about is the  [ __ ] they're about to receive that they can get   literally any other day of the year like I did  not spend nine months marinating an associate's   womb for you to choose sneezing jizz for the  next two days over celebrating with me Sharon   this is gonna transition into me talking about  a fictional couple from a children's series very   soon I promise my point is I'm all for a day of  celebrating love and companionship and waddling   home the next morning smelling like chocolates  and KY slide but when the one day of the year that   people are supposed to think about you happens  to fall on that day as well and you're completely   outshined it's easy to get depressed which is why  in my own fandom corrupted Audrey brain I don't   consider February 14th to be the day of the  year that I fully celebrate love and courtship I   celebrate that day on February 17th and the reason  I do that is because February 17 2017 was the day   season four of dragons race to the edge dropped on  Netflix which marked the official start of Hiccup   and Astrid's relationship and the entire dragons  fandom exploded in a ball of happiness for one   fleeting day I'm not kidding it's like a national  holiday for us at least back when the fandom was   more active and yes I am a 23 year old woman  who celebrates the Day two fictional people's   anniversary takes place I wonder why I've been  single my whole life no as cringe as it sounds and   probably is I know that like 90 of the internet  is going to agree that these things are worthy of   being excited about I mean one drunken Millennials  will watch Love is Blind every single year and   they'll burst into tears if a couple they don't  even know personally break up with each other   at the altar and then run away like MJ at the  end of Spider-Man 2. I think my shipping of two   non-existent people is a bit less problematic than  real people's lives being ruined and humiliated   for the world's entertainment and if you're  more of a passive lover of the How to Train   Your Dragon franchise you might be thinking yeah  they're adorable I odd in movie three whenever   they got married and had kids of their own but I  made a bold claim in the title of this video and   that is that Hiccup and Astrid are not only the  best couple in fiction but what I consider to be   the best couple in all of history like ever and I  will be backing up those claims with every iota of   evidence that exists because if I can say I've  done one useful thing in my life it's memorize   every detail of every hickstrid interaction for  the entire franchise which spans out to a little   under 50 hours worth of content yeah that's like  the second most useless skill that I have but   today I'll finally be taking advantage of it For  Your Entertainment so Hooligans Dragon fans and   Spectators alike I encourage you to strap in as we  take a deep dive analysis into How to Train Your   Dragon's hickstrid and what makes them so perfect  I'll start off by giving an overly long more than   likely unnecessary rundown of every Hiccup  and Astrid romantic interaction in the entire   franchise and I do mean the entire franchise then  talk about some structural inconsistencies that   help to explain why their development can be so  confusing to understand at times and top it all   off with my take on how the Opposites Attract  and enemies to friends to lovers tropes worked   masterfully in the franchise to build one of the  most iconic romances in all of fiction and all of   time I have no sponsor for this video this is  probably where I'd put one if I did so instead   I'm just going to take this opportunity to plug  my patreon YouTube is kind of my full-time thing   now so the more financial support that I have  aside from it the more likely I'm going to be to   create good quality content in a more streamline  fashion for you guys I'm uploading unedited race   to the edge reactions every two weeks and as  of right now I'm about halfway through season   two there's also monthly exclusives video sneak  peeks you get your name in the credits of all my   public videos I have around 30 plus exclusive  videos over there that are not on my public   Channel right now so if you're at all interested  in supporting me and have the means to do so the   link is going to be in the description for that  you'd be helping me more than you ever know and   I'm incredibly grateful for all of you but with  all of that said let's begin our journey into   the story of hiccupaddock and Astrid hofferson  of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise and [Music] March 26 2010 marks the official U.S release  date of How to Train Your Dragon 1. in the spark   that would ignite millions of fans to love and  cherish the story of Viking Outcast hiccup for   years if not decades to come and with this came  the attachment to not only Hiccup and Toothless   as the main characters but love for all of the  World building and additional characters that   went along with them as per usual with an  inspirational coming-of-age story about a   social outcast it wouldn't be complete without the  obligatory Crush in developmental romance that we   often see in these stories fans of the film would  get just this in the form of Astrid hofferson the   fiery Brave definition of a perfect Viking Warrior  that couldn't have been more opposite than that of   our main character Hiccup and I should just say  this as a disclaimer before we get started Astrid   hofferson is one of if not my favorite character  in the entire franchise aside from Hiccup and in   no way in this video video am I trying to deduct  her character down to just being the prize or the   romantic interest of the main character I'll be  getting really in depth about her personality   and how it compares to hiccups later on during the  analysis portion of this video but in order for me   to really dissect her character as an individual  and talk about what makes her so compelling and   unique independently that would need to be its own  video entirely one that I would absolutely love to   make in the future but in this video today I am  strictly talking about her and Hiccup within the   confines of their shared relationship Astrid is  such a strong and capable character independent of   Hiccup but for the sake of this analysis all of it  will be within the context of being his romantic   counterpart and vice versa and also before we  get started I'll just get all my disclaimers out   of the way now in order for me to explain all of  their interactions and how those helped construct   what would eventually become their relationship  as the franchise goes on I have to very Loosely   give context to the plot of this story and how  their relationship fits into it however this   will not not be me explaining the entire plot of  the How to Train Your Dragon franchise along with   that because if I did this video would probably  be like two days long so if you're someone who   like I said earlier isn't that familiar with the  entirety of the Dragons franchise maybe you've   only seen the movies or even just the first one  I'm going to explain everything that happens with   them through the shorts and the television shows  as well for reference there are five short films   and eight television seasons of 118 episodes so  this is going to be quite an adventure for you   that being said I obviously cannot go into every  episode in extreme detail if it doesn't contain   much extra then I'll just be skimming over most of  those entirely but I'm gonna do my best to explain   their progression in a cohesive way so where even  if you haven't seen the TV shows before you'll   still be able to make sense out of everything  I'm saying however if you want to experience   the full effect of their relationship and just  the franchise as a whole if you haven't seen the   Cartoon Network series or the series on Netflix I  highly highly recommend you go watch it I actually   hold the opinion that the television shows while  still being made for kids and meant to be a fun   adventure are actually a better experience  in the long run than the films as they stand   on their own so if you enjoy the movies and you  haven't seen the shows I highly recommend going   and checking them out writers and Defenders of  Burke is available for streaming on peacock and   race to the edges available on Netflix when the  story kicks off for our lovebirds it is as you   can imagine in the classic enemies to friends to  lovers fashion not so smooth sailing hiccup is   The Loner Outcast Viking who Pines after Astrid  from afar as she is the true model of the kind   of Viking hiccup himself wants to be he also  has a very obvious physical attraction for her   as the first time we see her depicted in the film  it's almost introduced in a dreamlike manner with   a fire erupting behind her as she walks in slow  motion with what will eventually become Astrid's   light Motif or music cue plays in hick upstairs  at her dreamly I would also like to bring up that   in the script for the first movie during this  scene when we see Astrid for the first time   it's described as a slow motion explosion erupts  behind her framing her in a sexy ball of Fire Astrid was 15 in the first movie like did no  one okay and as we see in the beginning of the   film Astrid doesn't really acknowledge hiccup's  existence or at the very least she doesn't seem   too impressed by him but unlike the other teens  in the village who go out of their way to pick   on hiccup for his shortcomings Astrid kind of  avoids that we never see her partake in the   torment in fact in a very brief moment following  hiccup's opening monologue where he accidentally   destroys part of the village the other kids are  making fun of his failure as he walks past them   and we see Astrid look at him in sadness which  gives us the slight indication that she may feel   some type of sympathy for him and this next thing  isn't something I want to spend too much time   on considering it's not technically part of the  canonical franchise or whatever but in the first   movie there's a deleted scene that takes place  directly after the opening sequence that we see   in the Final Cut in its Hiccup and gobber working  in the Forge and the events that play out during   this deleted scene are just too spectacular  to not mention to you during the scene which   was storyboarded in like the dialogue from Jay  in America Hiccup and Astros voice actors were   recorded and everything Astrid enters the forge  to get her ax sharpened and Hiccup accidentally   breaks it while attempting to grind it because  he's too preoccupied looking up Astrid skirt yeah   you know this Apprentice thing is just my sort  of on the side I'm mostly here to bulk up there's   some iron and stuff become one with the steel  the funniest thing about this deleted scene that   I haven't even brought up yet is the actual name  for the scene is ax to grind tax to grind was a   very early scene in fact I think it was the first  or one of the first storyboarded scenes after we   had written the script which I get is you know  a saying for holding a grudge against someone or   whatever but given the context of what takes place  in this scene and the fact that he broke her ax   because he was staring at you know that just makes  it so much better the full scene is available on   YouTube I highly recommend you go check it out  it's just really fun to imagine that being in the   movie and Dean says it was cut because it ended up  being too long but admittedly it does kind of work   to discredit slightly all the points I'm about to  make about hiccup not just liking Astrid because   she's pretty but because she's the Model Viking  type that he aspires to be because like no he was   also just really horny for her and you know that  was a big part of it too following this opening   however we don't see the two of them have any  form of interaction again until the first training   sequence in the arena where the kids are being  taught to fight a wild gronkle hiccup appears   timid and fearful not only due to the danger but  also being forced to interact with Astrid for   the first time and we get the first exchange of  dialogue in the entire franchise between the two   of them oh I guess it's just you and me huh nope  just you iconic but we all know how the story of   How to Train Your Dragon one plays out from there  hiccup shoots down toothless befriends him and   in time begins learning more about dragons and  how they function and due to this knowledge he   begins to rapidly excel at dragon training which  makes him more popular among the other teens aside   from Astrid who quickly becomes very suspicious  about how he's able to acquire so many skills to   supposedly defeat dragons in the arena when she's  been working very hard to do so her entire life we   could also talk about the idea that considering  hiccup is the son of the chief and will one day   inherit the throne and be the ruler of birth that  this ties into Astrid's resentment whenever he   suddenly becomes more popular and renowned than  her because even though she didn't go out of her   way to torment hiccup like the other kids did she  was always still rather unimpressed with him and   his constant almost destroying the village more  than likely contributed a lot to that and the   reason I bring this up is because America Ferreira  Astrid's voice actress said in an interview when   promoting the second movie that Astrid's mindset  in the first movie was quote who is this guy why   should he get to be Chief when I've worked hard  my entire life but I personally don't believe that   a bulk of the resentment she manifested during  the first half of the first movie was written   to convey specifically that looking back you can  certainly work her disdain for the fact that he   would one day be handed the island just for being  the heir alone into her motivation if he really   wanted to but I think it had a lot more to do with  the fact that everything in movie one was taking   place during a very tumultuous time in Burkey  in society where their parents are constantly   leaving and putting their lives at risk to find  the Dragon's Nest and the kids are now being   trained because at any point their parents may not  return and there will be nobody left to defend the   island except for them and my point is supported  by this scene in particular taking place before   hiccup begins excelling in dragon training where  Astrid is attempting to subdue A Deadly Nadder   in the arena and has a very cutesy run-in with  Hiccup where they do the whole rom-com falling   on top of each other bit love on the battlefield  but the real significance of this scene is when   Astrid becomes Furious assuming that hiccup isn't  taking the training seriously and asks if it's all   just a big joke to him is this some kind of a  joke to you our parents war is about to become   ours figure out which side you're on this in my  opinion helps explain her reasoning for trying   to figure out what hiccups doing after hours each  day as he suddenly becomes better and better at   training even getting to the point where the two  of them are the last teens standing in the group   and Hiccup still defeats her meaning he's won the  approval of the village over her and he's been   selected to slay a dragon and earn their respect  in that regard which leads to hiccup planning his   Escape of the island in the tribe altogether with  toothless only to be stopped when he realizes that   Astrid followed him to the cove and she discovers  his secret this isn't something I hear talked   about a lot in the fandom but if Astrid hadn't  showed up that day to stop hiccup before he left   he would have just disappeared from Burke I just  find it really fascinating that it's never brought   up again like he was just gonna run away and no  one was ever gonna know what happened to him and   his father who's already lost his wife to dragons  would just be left with not knowing what happened   to his son and no heir to the throne of Berg and  he would just be alone that's kind of [ __ ] up   I mean I get that stoic was kind of borderline  emotionally abusive in the first movie but their   relationship was finally mending and stoic was  really happy for the first time and arguably   decades it just seems like a really screwed up  thing to do just to leave him I guess that's   another example of Hiccup taking after his mother  this is all kind of irrelevant but I do think that   it's really interesting that Astrid was the one to  literally ground him and keep him on Burke where   he needed to be even if she didn't know what she  was doing just yet which is kind of symbolic of   their relationship for the rest of the franchise  and not an aspect that I hear brought up a lot   it makes me wonder if it was just a happy accident  that it ended up like that and taking into account   some details of the first movie's production that  I'll be getting into later there's a good chance   that's the case but I would certainly not put  it above Dean debla the co-director and writer   of movie one to do that intentionally because  he's a narrative genius and admittedly a lot of   fan fictions do use that lost over plot point of  Hiccup almost leaving Burke as grounds to write   some really interesting fan fictions so I approve  all of this leads to the most hilarious scene   and subsequently the most beautiful scene in the  movie Astrid goes for a spin and romantic flight   after Astrid discovers Toothless in the cove and  realizes that hiccup has actually befriended the   Night Fury Astrid rushes back to the Village  to tell everyone but is kidnapped and dropped   in a tree by the dragon in his rider with no  other option hiccup is forced to change the   mind of this girl before she can run back and  tell everyone his secret and he's going to do   that by showing her that dragons can be trusted  but she's very justifiably enraged and skeptical   at this point which is not aided by her being  dropped in a tree and the fact that toothless   because he's annoyed with her behavior takes off  and acts like a maniac in the air solely for the   sake of him trying to get back at her but when  Astrid who is absolutely scared the [ __ ] out   of her mind apologizes to the two toothless levels  out in the beginning of romantic flight begins to   play out it's really hard for me to describe how  how truly impactful this scene is not even in the   terms of just take up an Astrid's relationship  but just in general this scene in particular   is not just my favorite scene in the entirety of  the franchise it is arguably one of my favorite   scenes in any movie ever John Powell's score is  euphoric the cinematography is breathtaking and   of any moment in the franchise that makes you wish  you could just leave reality and be transported   to the world these characters are living in this  scene without a doubt achieves that more than any   other and while all of this sappy detail may seem  irrelevant to the topic of Hiccup and Astrid's   relationship the idea that this magical moment  that stands out so greatly in the entirety of   the franchise is also the moment where the spark  of true genuine connection is formed between these   two characters which will eventually blossom into  the two of them devoting their entire lives to   one another is just unbelievably beautiful in  retrospect immediately following this dialogue   free scene Astrid admits that hiccup was right  about trusting dragons and it's made clear that   he successfully changed her mind this is followed  by toothless taking the compared to Dragon Island   to discover the queen before they return to The  Cove where Astrid employers take up to tell stoic   about the nest but hiccup refuses because he knows  they'll only want to harm toothless if they come   forward and even though Astrid encourages hiccup  to tell the adults about his Discovery he holds   his ground you want to keep it a secret  to protect your pet dragon are you serious yes this is in my opinion one of the most  underrated hickstrid moments in the   entire first movie because even though they  just had the whole romantic flight sequence   and Astrid gained a new respect for dragons in  their relation to Vikings this moment is where   Astrid for the first time gains a new respect  for hiccup because think about it for their   entire lives up until this point at least  through what we're shown and through what's   implied they've been totally estranged from  one another Astrid never knew or understood   hiccup well aside from witnessing all of his  failures and shortcomings as the son of the   chief he's always been the disappointing  failure of a future leader in the eyes of   Burke but in this moment right here where she  watches him hold strong and stand his ground on   something he wholeheartedly believes in we see  on her face her realizing that he isn't simply   The Village disappointment she always believed  him to be and it was this newfound respect that   she developed for him that I believe led to  what happens next that's for kidnapping me oh that's fur everything else there's nothing quite like watching your otp's  first kiss in hindsight knowing where their   relationship goes in the future and just  how much they'll grow to love each other   it's so wholesome and I have to gush over it  because that's what this video is for so the   following day hiccup prepares to go in and  fight and kill the Monstrous Nightmare in   front of his father in the village when  Astrid expresses her concern for hiccup   to stay safe he asks her if something does  go wrong if she will take care of Toothless   and make sure the villagers don't find him  and to this request she replies I will just   promise me it won't go wrong I debated talking  about this right now or waiting for my future   Astrid character analysis video to discuss  it but I think it's more relevant to her and   hiccups relationship so I'm highlighting it here  notice the difference in Astrid's appearance as   she approaches hiccup before his fight with  the monster's nightmare the hair in her face   which had been shown throughout the entire film  to be covering her eye is now pushed back which   is a very subtle way if the screenwriter is  implying that she's beginning to open herself   up to hiccup in a way she's yet to do with anyone  else and while this shift isn't super noticeable   throughout the first part of the franchise because  their designs don't really change until the gap   between Defenders of Burke and race to the edge  if you pay attention to Astrid specifically in her   design you'll notice quite a difference later  in the franchise from where we start off here   so definitely keep an eye out for that moving  forward and of course the event goes awry when   hiccup attempts to train the monster's nightmare  in front of the village rather than slay it and   the creature gets violent after being spooked  which prompts Astrid to go into total badass mode   and go into the arena and try to help pick up all  of this results in toothless rushing in to protect   his rider leaving him to be subdued by the angry  villagers and Astrid holds hiccup back during the   chaos again I know I'm skipping over a lot of  the big moments that aren't hickstrid related   that happen in the movie but I'm sort of banking  on a majority of the people who watch this video   to have at least seen How to Train Your Dragon 1.  although like I did say earlier in the video I'll   be skimming through virtually the entire franchise  and highlighting only the hickstrad so just try to   use your imagination and piece together all of the  vague depictions I'm going to give you or just go   watch the full franchise for yourself which again  I fully recommend following toothless's capture we   get one of the most significant hickstrid moments  in both the first film and through the entirety   of the franchise because as hiccup looks on  it his father and the other Warriors using   toothless to find the Dragon's Nest which he knows  is nothing but a death sentence Astrid appears to   I was originally going to say comfort him but  that's kind of the opposite of what she does   you must feel horrible you've lost everything your  father your tribe your best friend thank you for   summing that up but the reason this scene is so  significant for the first time hiccup is directly   questioned why he spared toothless rather than  just killing the dragon outright and receiving   all of the respect and approval that he desired  I couldn't that's not an answer why is this so   important to you all of a sudden because I want  to remember what you say right now and through   this interaction the audience sees for the first  time a moral compass emerged within hiccup a moral   compass that will remain present throughout  the entirety of his decisions within the   franchise I wouldn't kill him because he looked  as frightened as I was I looked at him and I saw   myself and it's because of Astrid in particular  that he finally accepts that his Destiny is to   become a peacekeeper in maintaining a sense of  morality is exactly what he's meant to do and so   she asks him what their next move is uh probably  something stupid good but you've already done that   then something crazy so what does hiccup do with  this newfound realization that it's his purpose to   protect dragons and maintain peace that's right  fly off to kill a dragon the size of a mountain   well the Red Death was unjustly manipulating  dragons to keep itself alive and be the big   bad Queen so I guess it wasn't a horrible  decision by any means there's a brief moment   when hiccups assimilated the rest of the teens  to befriend the dragons they've been fighting   and training all movie in order to go and save  their tribe looking for the nest where roughnut   tries to get flirty with him and all of a sudden  Afton pulls her away by the helmet you're crazy so what is the plan this is more of a gag than  anything but one that a lot of hickstrid fans   pointed out back when all we really had was the  first movie to go off of those 90 minutes were all   we had for Content so we were like look Astrid's  being protective of Hiccup and being jealous   whenever another girl is showing that she likes  him he uh we were really grasping at straws and of   course all of this leads to the big fight with the  Red Death where Hiccup and the other Riders take   on the giant Queen Dragon Save Toothless from the  tribe and destroy the nest once and for all there   is some smaller noteworthy moments between Hiccup  and Astrid during this climax such as the two of   them flying on The Deadly Nadder together hiccup  flying in to save Astrid after he frees Toothless   and catches her mid-fall and we get one of the  cutest moments in the entire first movie together this is also going to start a trend that we're  going to see throughout the rest of the franchise   where when the screenwriters need a hickstrid  moment implemented their go-to is to just have   Astrid fall from her dragon and Hiccup catch her  there are a lot of examples of that ahead but back   to the action this leads her to encouraging him  when he leaves her safely on the ground go Astra   then goes on to staying with the other berkeyans  as Hiccup and Toothless fight the Red Death In   The Clouds which comes down to the dragon causing  a huge explosion after crashing into the ground   and it appears that hiccup was lost in the Carnage  Astrid is visibly distraught with the rest of the   group when this happens but once stoic sees that  toothless had safe take up and calls out that he's   alive Astrid's tear-filled Rejoice is the first  that we cut to and this leads us to the final   scene of the film one that every hickstrid shipper  is very familiar with and oddly one that's caused   a lot of division in the fandom but I'll talk  about that a little bit later after waking up from   the events and discovering that he lost his leg in  the battle hiccup with the aid of Toothless steps   outside to see that Burke has come completely  transformed into a society that accepts dragons   and once he's finally praised by his father and  the other villagers Astrid steps in to punch him   just as she did in the Cove saying that that  was for scaring her but as was before punching   him was not the only thing that she had in mind  what what is it always gonna be this way this I could get used to it and with the two of them  having finally shared their first kiss on the   lips the film ends with Hiccup flying alongside  Astrid through the village of Burke followed by   their dragon riding friends as Hiccup and  Toothless fly into the clouds so all in   all when it comes down to the first movie as a  standalone the relationship between Hiccup and   Astrid can be viewed as follows shy Outcast  Pines for a beautiful girl who's opposite of   him in every manner the two inadvertently become  Rivals but when forced into a position where she   has to view things from his perspective she grows  a new appreciation for something she's been taught   to hate her entire life and through this develops  a respect for the boy as well this manifests as a   romantic connection as the two finally complete  the journey from Crush to Rivals to friends   to something a little bit more see isn't that a  great way to utilize the enemies to lovers Trope   yes it's a cliche but as a standalone film goes I  think they handled the relationship between hiccup   haddock and Astrid hofferson very well and now  that I've said that I can completely dismantle it   because as I said earlier the ending kiss scene in  the first movie was very divisive among fans like   Astrid was shown to be this really spirited fully  independent Warrior who seemed entirely detached   from the idea of suitors and romance and within  the span of a few days decides she's romantically   attracted to Hiccup and kisses him multiple times  and if you'd like to know whether or not I agree   with those claims the answer is yes I actually  do I feel that their relationship in the first   movie was rushed now I want you to keep that fact  in mind because I will be addressing it as well   as a multitude of other things later on in this  video following the recap and speaking of recap we   finally made it through the first movie in terms  of their relationship development and we have   all of this left so let's keep going why don't we  now that we're through talking about How to Train   Your Dragon one within the chronological timeline  of the universe the next installment of the   franchise is the short legend of the bowknapper  Dragon now there's a lot of debate over whether   or not bonapper is canon in the franchise or not  but considering a bulk of the fandom considers it   official in that it was released as a short  with the DVD edition of the first movie and   has the same quality of Animation so it was  clearly made with the same amount of devotion   a lot of fans are comfortable saying that it's  Canon all of this is kind of irrelevant by the   way because in this video we're talking about  Hiccup and Astrid's development and they have   virtually no interaction this entire short film  The Story of boneapper follows the teens helping   gobber hiccups blacksmith Mentor from movie  One Discoverer Dragon of Legend that's been   apparently stalking and tormenting him for his  entire life only to discover that the dragon is   in fact real and as I already said there aren't  any noteworthy hickstrid moments in this short   aside from something that you'll see becomes very  prevalent going forward in the franchise which is   essentially every time the group of teens is  together Hiccup and Astrid are typically always   standing or sitting beside each other which I  know seems like an irrelevant thing to point out   but there's a lot of evidence to show that this is  one of the subtle ways that the screenwriters will   hints at their oncoming relationship and just a  way of showing that they're closer than the other   characters are which is something we'll see a lot  when we get to the TV shows moving forward in the   timeline we land at yet another short film Book  of Dragons I'm not gonna spend really any time   talking about this short film because it's more of  a fun educational kind of thing to just inform the   audience about different types of lore within  the dragon's universe and the different types   of classes and things like that it even features  the main characters breaking the fourth wall and   talking to the audience like they're giving  a lesson and there's nothing hickster related   to see here except once again you can see them  seated beside each other in the opening and it's   also implied at some point in the short film that  Astrid really likes chocolate so that's cute but   changing things up a bit the next feature in the  chronological timeline is not only 100 Canon with   the events of it being referenced in Movie 3 even  but it also contains an abundance of hickstrid   and gives us a great indication of where the  relationship has picked up since the end of movie   one and that is the Christmas themed short film  Gift of the Night Fury the story follows Burke   as it gears up for its Christmas like holiday  snuggle tog and for reasons they aren't aware   of the Dragons they've come to care for and bond  within the village suddenly up and leave this ends   up being due to this time of year being their  hatching season where they all go to a special   Island to have their babies and in the short film  it is heavily implied that Hiccup and Astrid are   not just crushing on each other anymore but that  they're full on dating we can see this through   Astrid who's especially cheery for the holidays  wanting to make up New Traditions to bury the   sadness of everyone's dragons leaving and Hiccup  being the only one of the group to support this   in one of these Traditions leads to what the fans  consider to be one of the most hilarious hickstrid   scenes in the entire franchise which is Astrid's  yaknog Astrid in an attempt to cheer everyone up   creates an eggnog concoction that is so terrible  it makes snotlout cry from the pain once ingested   and while looking for hiccup she meets him in  the Forge and we get this exchange yeah happy   holidays from me to you thank you my lady what are  you up to the other funny thing about this scene   is that even though hiccup only refers to Astrid  as Milady twice in the entire franchise in this   short film and once in the second movie The fandom  just kind of decided that that is his pet name for   her despite them referring to each other as honey  and how to train your dragon homecoming and other   things throughout the franchise no her pet name is  milady which is very adorable and we get even more   cuteness when hiccup gets a mouthful of her yaknog  that is a really weird sentence out of context and   even though it's gross he holds it in his mouth as  she Rambles on and on and only spits it out after   she leaves so her feelings aren't her which was  probably the move to make all things culminate at   the end of the short after hiccup builds a tail  for toothless so he can fly independently and he   too leaves the island but once hiccup discovers  the island of the dragons and their babies all of   them return to Burke except for toothless  who is still missing this leads Astrid to   console hiccup holding his hand and thanking  him for what he did before they share their   second kiss on the lips in the entire franchise  but you really did a wonderful thing thank you immediately following this Astrid then noticed his  toothless entered the Great Hall behind Hiccup and   an exceptionally poor taste starts teasing him  about how horrible he must feel that his dragon   is the only one still missing but it's all in good  graces as she pushes him to see that toothless has   returned in the two reunite concluding the scene  and Astrid's appearance in the short entirely and   it ends shortly thereafter with a final flight  with Hiccup and Toothless alright so now having   gone over the events of movie one and the three  short films immediately following that if I were   to ask you if you personally believe that it's  implied that Hiccup and Astrid are romantically   involved with each other officially at this  point chances are you would say yes but do   not get too ahead of yourself because this is  the point where we diverge from what a lot of   the mainstream dragons fans are familiar with and  we get into the television series which starts at   writers and Defenders of Burke and again there's  always debate over whether or not the TV shows   are actually canon in the franchise to me and  a lot of other fans there's no doubt that they   do officially take place in the universe mainly  because the lore they add to the franchise is so   expansive but also because Dean has implied in  the past that the shows are Canon to the filmic   universe and later on when we talk about one of  the comics that's set between movies two and three   it was their intention to bring characters from  the TV show that we only see there into the comics   which were co-written by Dean himself so as the  self-proclaimed YouTube ambassador of the How to   Train Your Dragon fandom the TV shows are Canon  okay and also just to be clear I know I've been   going really in depth with the story of everything  so far like I said I wasn't going to the main   reason I've been doing that is because everything  that we've talked about has been condensed into   either a movie or a 20-minute short film so I feel  that context is necessary to explain those steps   in their relationship but there are 40 episodes  of writers and Defenders that were combined in 78   episodes of Race To The Hedge so I really can't do  that anymore again I'm approaching this video with   the mindset of talking to someone and explaining  to someone who has never seen a majority of the   franchise Hiccup and Astrid's relationship  development so I'll be providing context to   the narrative whenever I can but as I've said  a hundred times if you haven't seen the shows   for yourself I highly recommend checking them out  because it'll be a far better experience to watch   their relationship develop authentically over time  rather than just within this really hyper focused   YouTube video I'm essentially going to be skimming  over all the episodes where nothing happens   between them for the sake of time so without  further Ado let's talk about writers of Burke   writers of Burke is the first television season  of any How to Train Your Dragon related show and   follows the adventures of Hiccup and the other  Dragon Riders as Burt continuously adjusts to   life with the dragons encountering tribal enemies  and in general hiccup growing as a leader of his   team and because this gives the screenwriters  a much more extended amount of time to explore   Side characters and things that we just can't see  in a 90 minute movie this also means unlimited   potential to focus more on the developing  relationship between Hiccup and Astrid in theory   anyways the series kicks off with episode 1 how to  start a dragon Academy where we first see the Teen   Writers participating in a best trick competition  when it becomes Astrid's turn she turns to hiccup   in a rather flirtatious tone says this hey it's  my turn you might want to take notes let's go   following this interaction Hiccup and Toothless  participate in wow their other writers causing   Astrid to state that they are in fact still the  best I really want to highlight the interactions   we see between these two at least at the  very start of the series because I think   it's very noteworthy just for a comparison of  where we've seen them in their relationship so   far the entire episode centers on stoic  employing hiccup to get control of the   Dragons now that they consider Burke their  home because unsurprisingly a bunch of wild   dragons living amongst Vikings can lead to a  lot of chaos after a day of running around the   village doing exactly this hiccup lays in his  room exhausted and Astrid makes an appearance   Astrid perfect I don't look too beat up do I oh  great Dragon pity this moment is rather small   but it does go to show that when it comes to  Astrid specifically hiccup cares more about   what she thinks of him than the others might the  rest of the episode is spent with Hiccup and the   other writers coming up with Solutions on how to  keep the wild dragons out of trouble using various   techniques and we end with stoic giving hiccup the  arena to use as a Dragon Training Academy to which   Astrid playfully punches him as we saw in the  first movie and says spark Dragon Academy I like   the sound of that and with the series premiere  concluded we move on to episode 2 Viking For   Hire this episode is more focused on Hiccup and  gobbers relationship and Astra doesn't make much   of an appearance in relation to hiccup aside from  a brief moment when he's in danger of snotlout's   Rogue Monstrous Nightmare Hookfang and she tells  him to run but we change Pace a little with   episode 3 Animal House when we first see Hiccup  and Astrid they're sliding down an icy slope on   their dragons for fun showing that they do enjoy  spending time goofing off while alone together   however this act leads to an avalanche cascading  down the mountain and putting hiccup in danger as   toothless's tail fin becomes Frozen hiccup yells  at Astrid to go back and save herself but she   refuses reaching out to him in an attempt to pull  him to safety but the two of them are swept into   a crevice Astrid over here heck up I'm freezing  come here thankfully Toothless in Astrid snatter   Stormfly were able to block the oncoming snow with  their wings and save the two and the dragons blast   the ceiling until an exit is made they saved  Our Lives uh so so we're good now there's no ow   ow okay like of course that was cute and all  but here's the thing if we're looking at the   first few episodes solely under the observation  of hickstrid in their Dynamic you can see a bit   of a shift with everything else we've seen so  far in the franchise to where we see them now   at the beginning of the series such as hiccups  seeming perfectly comfortable with calling Astrid   pet names and their hand-holding in preparation  for a kiss and Gift of the Night Fury and yet   when the two of them are unintentionally holding  each other close to the point of just a generic   hug they act all awkward and put off in fact  in the following scene when Hiccup and Astrid   are describing how their dragons save them to  the other Riders this happens we would have   frozen to death you know what you could have  used your own bodies to keep each other warm   um who would do that that's crazy so at this  point it's apparent that there's been some type   of tonal shift in their relationship they seemed  to be dating or at the very least in that awkward   stage of teen romance type of intimacy with each  other and now they're acting like nothing's ever   happened between the two of them and you're  probably wondering why what's the reason behind   it if there even is a reason well there is and uh  it explains all of this but see this this is your   thought this is everything that you're questioning  at this moment and I want you to take this thought   and hold on to it because I will be addressing  it later in the video just sit tight despite the   suggestive moments at the beginning nothing  super notable happens for the remainder of   Animal House aside from Hiccup giving Astrid  and a specialty fawn's look when the dragons   come together to essentially reenact saving  the writers at the end of the episode like   they did previously it's their natural instinct  moving forward to episode 4 the terrible twos   nothing of note happens between the two of them  a very skateworthy episode in terms of hickstrad   but I do find this line from Hiccup worthy of  including when he's referencing dragons being   jealous over his affection toothless is jealous  which is great so my first girlfriend is a dragon   another thing we have in common oof thank you for  sharing Gober but I feel that this is notable for   obvious reasons even though it was mainly supposed  to be a gag line hiccup very clearly does not view   Astrid as his girlfriend which again is something  to keep in mind for later moving on to episode 5   in dragons we trust the dragons on the island are  officially banished by stoic after they spend the   entire run time ruining The Village's belongings  destroying the Great Hall and torching the Armory   leaving Burke without any weapons all of which is  later revealed to be staged as mildew a cranky old   villager who hates the dragons was responsible  for it all because of this Hiccup and the Riders   sailed to Dragon Island where they're forced to  leave their beloved Companions and Hiccup leans   close to Astrid as they watch them be abandoned  he then confides in her that he suspects mildew   is responsible and she encourages him to prove  it the story continues in episode 6 Alvin and the   outcasts as Hiccup and Astrid are wandering Berks  Cliffs discussing getting said proof and how much   they miss their banished dragons only for them to  spot a ship approaching the island and determined   that it belongs to one of Burke's most notorious  enemy tribes the outcasts left without any means   of Defense after their weapons being destroyed  stoic instructs Astrid to take the elders and   children to the caves to hide and Hiccup to sail  to Dragon Island and retrieve the banished dragons   as a last line of protection but before he can  leave hiccup discovers that Alvin the chief of   the outcasts is here looking for him because he  wants to find The quote-unquote Dragon Conqueror   instead of following the Warriors into the  forest like stoic had planned he would do Alvin   discovers Astrid's group on the beach and after  she attempts to assassinate him using an ax that   stoic told her once belonged to Alvin he begins  to physically assault her which draws hiccup out   of hiding and he announces that he's the one Alvin  is looking for tell me who's Your Dragon Conqueror   aye tell me leave her alone doing all of this  leads to Alvin taking hiccup to Dragon Island   to prove that he lives up to his name as a  dragon slayer and Hiccup takes advantage of   this and begins fighting the outcasts once  he and Toothless reunite meanwhile stoic and   the writers followed them and the other teens  reunite with their own dragons and continue the   fight alongside hiccup oh what took you so long  why did you miss me but in the battle a straight   catapult nearly hit Stormfly which causes Astrid  to fall from her dragon and land on Alvin's ship hiccup instructs the others to cease fire to avoid  harming a now captive Astrid but they're able to   rescue her by shooting fire into the surrounding  water which creates enough steam to mask their   attacks they defeat the outcasts with Alvin now  realizing that Burke doesn't just fight dragons   anymore they actually ride them the episode ends  with the group returning to Burke and Dragons   being welcomed back into society a more hickstrid  heavy couple of episodes nothing necessarily   romantic but it does showcase the concern that the  two of them have for each other when put in danger   which is the main source of a lot of fixtured  moments moving forward at least until we get   into official romantic territory moving forward in  the season we come to episode 7 how to pick your   dragon which centers on hiccup finding a dragon  for his father stoic to ride all of it begins with   Hiccup offering to give him a ride on toothless  to see how cool it is to fly dragons and stoic   really becomes obsessed with this and starts using  toothless without hiccups permission there really   aren't any direct textured moments in this episode  it aside from this scene in particular with Hiccup   getting Astrid's advice on how he should tell his  father that he can't keep using toothless because   young man the group gathers to see the reveal of  a father-son portrait that was made of stoke and   Hiccup to be hung in the Great Hall with the  other past portraits of Chieftains and their   sons but when the painting is revealed we see that  hiccup is depicted absolutely jacked in Astrid's   reaction to this is legendary whoa what happened  to hiccup who cares I would also like to say that   I've been very Loosely following the Astrid and  hiccups relationship page on the How to Train Your   Dragon Wiki during this video just to make sure I  don't miss anything a lot of this I was just able   to write down from memory because I'm a hickstrid  encyclopedia but for the sake of not having to go   back and re-watch all 118 episodes even though  I kind of did that anyways at this point in the   page when they're talking about this episode and  Astrid's reaction to the painting it says Astrid   replies who cares in an aroused tone and Astrid  is still 15 at the time of this show I feel like   that's a little bit noteworthy I guess I don't  have much room to speak I mean when I was 15   we had these depictions of Hiccup already and  I anyways hiccup confides an Astrid about how   much the false depiction of him hurt his feelings  and made him feel like a disappointment to which   Astrid assures that his father does accept him the  way he is he just accepts the painting more the   remainder of the episode is Hiccup and the writers  attempting to find an ancient Viking treasure as   a way to gain approval from his father because  Stoke had been the one to instructs the painter to   make hiccup look like that so he doesn't believe  that he's good enough in the eyes of his dad and   Finding the Treasure is his way of proving that  all right where do we start are you serious at   first she's not super on board with it but when  she hears hiccups reasoning for wanting to do it   she does support him so you're not gonna give me  a hard time about this oh I'll give you a hard   time every step of the way and after searching  the archipelago and finding numerous pieces the   map leads them to an underground chamber where  Hiccup and Toothless fall as the floor begins to   collapse around them and while the others leave  Astrid declares that she isn't going without   hiccup but Fishlegs tells her if they don't  there won't be anyone to get him out of the   wreckage asteroid is later shown to be commanding  the others to dig out the area where they saw him   fall in an effort to find him when stoic arrives  and begins helping their efforts meanwhile hiccup   fell into the final location containing treasure  where he picks between two objects and is granted   freedom the episode ends with stoic and Hiccup  revealing another painting this time with a true   depiction of Hiccup as he and his father look  on proudly moving on to episode 9 dragonflower   the episode is entirely void of any standout  hickstrid interactions aside from them being   shown flying together and expressing Mutual  concern when a new form of flower planted on   the island by mildew makes the dragons fairy sick  in following dragon flower we make it to episode   10 Heather report part 1. the first half of the  first two parter in the entire Series in this   two-parter is very significant because it is what  I and most other hickstrid shippers consider to be   the one and only two-parter or episode in general  in writers and Defenders of Burke that is higstrid   Centric even though it doesn't necessarily focus  on Hiccup and Astrid's relationship it it focuses   on a new character introduced in her role in  the story it's the two episodes where Hiccup   and Astrid's relationship has the most to do with  the overall narrative being told if that makes any   sense and the way they do this is by introducing  a new female character by the name of Heather who   quickly becomes the new sort of pretty girl  who attracts all the attention of the males   in the group hiccup included and The Story begins  with the Dragon Riders finding Heather shipwreck   on Burke Shores and she tells them a story about  how her native Island was under siege by Pirates   and she was the only person to escape hiccup  informs Heather that his father is the chief   and that he'll be able to help her but Astrid  is immediately skeptical of this girl and all   the things that she's saying to them and before  they take off Astrid reminds hiccup that they   have a date planned for the next morning to work  on their dragon speed for a course they've set   up at the Academy I I have in my script date  written in quotation marks they don't say date   in the show it's a meeting they call it a meeting  but for me it's date it's date in quotation marks   hiccup confirms that he's looking forward to it  and Heather ends up spending the night in his room   while he and Toothless sleep downstairs there are  a few romantically tense moments between the two   of them while this happens but in general hiccup  is only trying to be really hospitable and Heather   thanks him however as Astrid is feeding Stormfly  for the night she Witnesses Heather running about   Burke streets and this adds to her suspicions  that the girl may be up to no good the following   morning we cut to Astrid waiting patiently  for hiccup to arrive to their meeting and she   instead spots him taking Heather for a joyride  on Toothless and after cutting to the academy   where the other writers are waiting we see Astrid  is visibly angry about this Hey where's hiccup   giving a private lesson and I believe this  scene is significant for a few reasons chief   of which being it's the first time that we see  Astrid become genuinely jealous of the fact that   hiccups giving his attention to another female  aside from her but it's also where we're given   an indication that the other writers are aware of  some type of connection between Hiccup and Astrid   that goes a little bit deeper than friendship most  notably a line from roughnet after Fishlegs asks   Astrid if hiccup gives private lessons to anyone  and Astrid replies apparently just her uh-oh looks   like there's another hen in the rooster house  the other writer is being aware of Hiccup and   Astrid's relationship may seem kind of irrelevant  right now and for the majority of writers and   Defenders of Burkett is but I think it's important  to mention because it does play heavily into the   role of their relationship once race to the  edge comes around so we can at least deduct   that even though the writers are largely unaware  of the facts that Hiccup and Astrid have romantic   feelings for one another it's not like they were  around to when those kisses took place or anything   they at the very least are suspecting something  between the two Astrid assures that the others   are ridiculous for thinking that she's jealous but  when Hiccup and Heather do arrive she scolds him   for forgetting their meeting and he apologizes  claiming he forgot all about it I am so sorry   awkward oh Astrid is jealous of the pretty  one Astrid then questions whether or not   Heather slept well wanting to know if the girl is  going to mention the fact that she snuck out last   night to which Heather simply says that she did  and thanks Astrid in a smug manner all of this   culminates in Heather questioning the clamoring  males about the dragons and they disclosed that   the Book of Dragons holds all the information  about dragon training that they discovered when   Heather shows interest in the Book of Dragons all  of a sudden Astrid pulls hiccup to the side and   expresses her reluctance to share all of their  secrets with this girl that they barely know to   a checkup assures her that he does trust Heather  and in turn Astrid should trust him the remainder   of the episode sees Heather using the charm  she has over the male writers to get them to   disclose information on their respective dragons  which leads to her finding the Book of Dragons   hidden in hiccup's room which Astrid catches her  reading but once the two of them plus hiccup have   a confrontation about this Heather claims she was  only curious and Hiccup tells her it's okay and   when Astrid informs the two about the fact that  she saw Heather running around birth the night   prior Heather claims that she was only taking a  walk as she couldn't sleep because she was having   terrible nightmares about the Pirates attacking  her Village drawing even more sympathy and Trust   from Hiccup of course Astrid is furious that he's  brushing off her concerns and when she storms off   hiccup apologizes to Heather the following scene  only brings Astrid's suspicions to a Tipping Point   when she catches Heather feeding Stormfly chicken  to gain her trust when Astrid confronts her and   demands that she dropped the innocent act Heather  smugly remarks that Astrid is way too smart for   that and she leaves with a mocking remark yeah I  think your dragon likes me see you later Stormfly   later that night Astrid spots Heather sneaking out  of hiccup's house yet again and upon following her   discovers that she's communicating with Outcast  Warriors at one of Burke's Shores confirming   Astrid's suspicions that she wasn't to be trusted  the entire time Astrid rushes to hiccup to tell   him this but when the two of them go upstairs  Heather is feigning sleep and acts oblivious   this leads hiccup pulling Astrid outside to scold  her and even though Astrid affirms that what she   saw was real and that this is a serious issue they  need to take care of Hiccup believes Astrid must   have seen something else and she's the only one  acting irrational out of the group because there's   no way Heather could be working with the outcasts  but of course that is exactly what's happening as   the next morning Astrid barges into hiccup's home  to tell him that Heather stole Stormfly and is now   in route to Outcast island with the stolen Book of  Dragons the writers assembled to intercept her and   though hiccup attempts to apologize to Astrid she  tells him to save it until they can get Stormfly   back once the group catches up to her Astrid  leaps onto her dragons back and the two begins   sparring and as they Reach Out cast Island and  Astrid subdues Heather but the girl and the Book   of Dragons fall from Stormfly in the scuffle and  while Heather is rescued hiccup is unable to catch   the Book of Dragons before it lands on Outcast  island in the episode ends as they are forced   to retreat to Burke knowing that the book is now  in Alvin's hands moving straight into episode 11   Heather report part 2 we follow Astrid and Heather  as Astrid Returns the girl back to her cell in   Burke's prison after an escape attempt to which  Heather tells Astrid that the only reason she was   doing Alvin's bidding to begin with was because  he's holding her parents hostage and would kill   them if she didn't Astrid brushes this off to be  another one of Heather's lies and reconvenes with   the other writers to figure out how they're going  to retrieve the Book of Dragons when Fishlegs   points out that Alvin won't simply hand it over  to them Astrid suggests that maybe he'll hand it   over to Heather putting in motion the plan that  night for Astrid to disguise herself as Heather   in sail to Outcast Island I know it sounds kind  of stupid when all you have are like the cliff   notes version of this episode but chances are  Heather was just another disposable Pawn for   Alvin and he did did most of his communication  through his Warriors and his Warriors to her so   he probably wouldn't really recognize her face  and this scene really highlights the concern   hiccup has for Astrid as she readies for the  mission when they're discussing the plan of   action hiccup says that they'll be shadowing her  from above and when she says that she doesn't need   it he says it's just to make him feel better to  which Astrid looks at him fondly and the group   sent her off with Hiccup giving her a final  command to stay safe when Astra does make it   to Outcast Island she's instantly confronted by  Alvin's second in command Savage who welcomes her   back with open arms it's good to see you safe  and sound read it back but Astrid still posing   as Heather convinces them to let her live saying  that the book is useless without someone who knows   how to use it and when she goes on to meet Alvin  she convinces him to allow her to work with the   dragon of her own and prove her worth she ends up  achieving this with a monstrous nightmare after   training it using a technique that's not loud had  showed her earlier in the episode but before she   can escape with the book as planned Alvin still  thinking she's Heather taunts her by bringing out   her parents and claiming he'll kill them if she  escapes Astrid realizes that Heather was telling   the truth about being manipulated and chooses to  stay and try to spare their lives this leads to   the climax of the episode where the Dragon Riders  Alvin and the hostages converge in a fight for   the book ensues and the writers are miraculously  saved by Heather who throughout the runtime of   the episode had broken out of Burke's prison  and used her trust with Stormfly to fly back   to Outcast Island in an effort to save her parents  and help the writers however right as it seems the   group is getting away Alvin launches Savage from  a catapult pulling Astrid off Stormfly and she's   captured by Alvin yet again pick up faces them to  a Cliffside where Alvin threatens to draw bastard   over the side if hiccup does not surrender and  so hiccup gives Toothless the command do it bud   but at the last second Astra deals for hiccup  not to shoot as she is saved by the monster's   nightmare she bonded with earlier in the episode  leading to the writers successfully escaping   with the Book of Dragons and Heather's parents  the ending of the episode is a goodbye scene   between hiccup Astrid and Heather where Heather  hugs Astrid thanking her for all she's done and   completely curbs hiccup when he reaches for a hug  as well I think we've all been there am I right   no just me okay hiccup mentions that maybe they'll  see each other again someday and they bid her a   warm farewell and as she sails off Burke's Shores  with her parents Astrid gives hiccup a playful   punch on the shoulder which is pretty much akin to  her kissing him as we figured out and that marks   the end of the hickstrid two-parter in writers  and Defenders of Burke from this we see just how   jealous Astrid can get for hiccup's attention when  it really comes down to it which is something we'd   never seen before and we also see that when put in  the position hiccup is willing to kill for Astrid   he was about to blast Alvin's Soul straight out of  his body if that Monstrous Nightmare hadn't saved   her in time the reason I went so in depth with  the plot of these two episodes in particular is   because they actually play more into hickstrid's  later development than you may think and not in   the way you would think either because for those  who are familiar with the franchise you already   know Heather does return in the Netflix series  race to the edge when all the characters are   several years older and she actually moves in with  them and becomes a dragon rider herself and the   reason I think Heather report part one and two is  so fun to look back on is because she was really   the first Rift in their blossoming relationship  but in race to the edge not only do her and Astrid   become BFFs but she also becomes the number one  hickstrid shipper in the entire series and like   she plays Matchmaker with them and everything  it's spectacular so overall the two-parter had   the most long-term hipster development in  both writers and Defenders of Bert combined   now let's talk about the next episode where they  make out yes you heard me correctly now let me   explain why it happens and why I hate it so much  moving on to episode 12 thaw Fest the plot largely   follows Hiccup and snotlout's relationship as  the annual thoughtfest games come around which   is essentially an athletic competition among  the teens of Burke where they all represent   their families and Hiccup being as small as  he is has always lost a snaul out but this   year additional dragon writing categories are  instilled meaning hiccup finally has a chance   to beat him once all the physical categories  are completed with snotlout taking the victory   for all of them Astrid questions why hiccup is  getting so worked up over the games this year   and he expresses his desire to finally quiet down  snotlout's ego which Astrid agrees with but as   the dragon writing categories commence and Hiccup  begins overtaking snot loud as he predicted hiccup   starts to act cocky and arrogant in the same way  his opponent always would and Astrid is extremely   put off by his demeanor and when hiccup Revels  in the fact that snot loud is crumbling under   the pressure Astrid in disappointment and tells  him that she had always loved the fact that he'd   been a gracious loser in the past and now turns  out he's nothing but a lousy winner everything   culminates when hiccup is told by his father  that there's no pressure to win and he sees   that snotlout is under immense pressure from his  intimidating father to take the victory for their   family in this Revelation hiccup decides to throw  the final race as he realizes that snotlout needs   to win far more than he does once the village  celebrates not loud's Victory hiccup watches   with a smile until Astrid gives him her trademark  shoulder punch claiming she knows exactly what he   did when hiccup says that he has no idea what  she's talking about and that's not that was   just the better Viking today Astor tells him  that nobody was a better Viking than him today   and then she kisses him no one was a  better Viking than you today [Music]   now listen I'm the last person that you  will ever hear complain about a hickstrid   kiss okay I get it any extra it is better than no  hickstrad especially in the early days when their   hands being in close proximity was all we had for  sustenance but the problem I have with this kiss   is that it's never [ __ ] mentioned again they  don't bring it up for the remainder of the series   I will talk about why this irks me more in depth  when I get to the franchise and consistencies part   of this video but just know that as the world's  biggest textured shipper I am not a fan of this   kiss or what it implies for their relationship at  all moving on to episode 13 when lightning strikes   hiccup finds himself forced to leave the island of  Burke when the villagers blame toothless for the   various lightning strikes that are continuously  destroying the village with mildew claiming that   Thor must be angry with the Night Fury Astrid is  the person that hiccup seeks out before leaving   the island and though she's worried he assures  her that he'll be returning to which she in a   distraught tone tells the villagers that the  two have left once hiccup takes off later in   the episode when the villagers take toothless  hostage and plan to sit him out to sea hiccup   grabs Astrid's hand telling her to fly him to  the docks where the villagers are gathered and   once hiccup decides to prove that the lightning is  actually attracted to the metal that toothless is   wearing rather than the dragon himself Astrid  expresses even more concern are you sure you   know what you're doing sure that's a strong word  truly more of a punch I'll be fine go and weirdly   Astrid isn't seen for the rest of the episode  after this even after hiccup barbecues himself   which he survives obviously but yeah Astra doesn't  make an appearance again so moving on I guess to   episode 14 what flies beneath this episode has a  similar theme of Astrid expressing her concern for   hiccup as after toothless gets in a fight with a  whispering death and runs off it's not loud teases   hiccup distastefully about his Dragon being a  whim and when hiccup expresses that toothless   is vulnerable because he can't fly snotloud  asks whose fault is that to which Astrid very   protectively defends hiccups and whose fault is  that seriously did you just go there hey I call it   like you see it hiccup also spends the majority of  the runtime riding Stormfly along with her as they   search for a missing Toothless and later on she's  the one who attempts to help pull hiccup out of a   whispering death tunnel before he was attacked and  towards the end of the episode she calls out for   him in fear when he jumps off a cliff that's  a really weird place to end this episode out   of context but that's all the hickstrid moments  so moving on I guess with episode 15 twin sanity   we don't see a lot of hickstrid moments although  they do spend a majority of the run time together   working to hide the dragons from the view  of dagger the deranged who is the new Young   chief of the Berserker tribe that still believes  Bert kills dragons and would in the peace treaty   both tribes have with each other if it were  to be disclosed that they are now allies to   the creatures so Hiccup and Astrid work together  to keep roughnut and tough nuts Dragon barf and   belch from sight of dagger in the Berserkers and  help mend a feud between the two siblings moving   on to episode 16 defiant one we focus largely on  Hiccup and snotlab's dynamic once again although   we do get a cute moment between Hiccup and Astrid  in the beginning when snotlot leaves to fly deeper   into a storm despite the group's commands  and Hiccup contemplates leaving him behind foreign I'm going later in the episode Astrid helps  Aid the search for the two missing teens and   expresses worry when she finds toothless's  broken tail fin and at the end when hiccup   returns with snotlout Astrid gives him  a smile of approval and moving forward   to episode 17 Breakneck bog the plot follows  hiccup in the group searching for a treasure   chest that Burke's primary Merchant Trader  Johann was bringing for hiccup before he lost   his ship in the treacherous Waters of Breakneck  Bock the chest is significant because according   to Johan it contains something that belonged  to hiccup's mother who at this point in the   franchise everyone believed to be deceased when  the teens are traversing the deadly island and   the chest is stolen by a group of smothering  smoke breath dragons everyone turns to leave   hiccup behind except for Astrid put yourself  in his shoes shoe what if it was your mother and by the way the chest ends up containing a  stuffed natter that volca hiccup's mother made   for him when he was a baby which he threw into the  ocean when he was on a fishing boat as a child and   it happened to be found all these years later and  that stuffed dragon with hiccup's name embroidered   on it is the same one we see in hiccup's Crib in  the flashback in Movie 2 and in hiccup's arms in   the flashback of Movie 3 and again in How to  Train Your Dragon Homecoming on a table and   Hiccup shop and it completely originated from  this episode of riders of Burke which premiered   years before either of the movies mentioned so for  all those who say that the TV shows are not canon   with the filmic universe go suck a dick moving  on to episode 18 Gem of a different color there   isn't any significant hickstrid throughout the  episode although I do feel the need to highlight   the beginning scene where the teens are practicing  hand-to-hand combat with gobbers their instructor   and Hiccup and astrider paired together well I  don't think it's really fair for me to be fighting oh it's completely unclear if he said that because  he was trying to be a gentleman or if he just knew   that Astrid was 100 going to Pummel him but  either way it's fantastic to watch you okay   ever been better shoulders should pop back into  place in no time this again has really nothing   to do with anything but I will be referencing it  later when we recap a similar scene in race to the   edge and finally we reach the final two-parter  of writers of Burke We Are Family part one and   I'll just say this outright the final two-parter  of writers of Burke has basically no history in   it whatsoever save for a few moments but it does  primarily focus on Hiccup and Toothless and they   spend a good chunk away from the other Riders so  sorry the most notable moments would be Astrid   comforting hiccup when he expresses concern that  toothless may be lonely without other night furies   around during their bork week Festival where  everyone's working to put together formations of   dragons and groups but toothless is alone because  he's the only night fury Esther destroys hiccup   that toothless has him and he seems pretty happy  regardless of being the only night fury and this   isn't technically a hickstrid moment but later  in the episode when Astrid's searching for Hiccup   and walks into his house she finds stoic doing  his morning woodwork carving a duckling and she   asks him if she can leave hiccup a note in his  room which he's totally fine with I don't know   why but that scene is so wholesome to me moving  on to the writers of Burke season finale We Are   Family part two Astrid and Hiccup have actually  no interactions aside from her helping search   for him and Toothless on the fictional Isle of  the night that was nothing more than a ploy from   Alvin to kidnap Hiccup and they have one dialogue  exchange at the very end of the episode and that's   it he does smile while looking at her during his  ending voiceover monologue when talking about how   family isn't just what you're born into it's the  friends you make along the way which is really   nice but in general nothing substantial in the  romance Department between the two of them and   that concludes writers of Burke but we're only  halfway through the Cartoon Network series as it   sits because Defenders of Burke is an additional  20 episodes that takes place after a very brief   time Gap from where we leave them in writers  it's literally just writers of Burke season two I   they called it a different name for some reason  I'm cool with it obviously but sometimes people   get confused thinking they're two separate shows  which they aren't but you guys get what I mean   jumping right into episode one Live and Let fly  the plot follows stoic making the decision to   ban flying in an attempt to key pickup in the  Riders safe after the whole Alvin kidnapping   his son incident which sounds kind of stupid when  you think about the fact that they won't be able   to train on their dragons to defend the island but  I can also sympathize with him a little bit he did   almost lose his only son to a kidnapping so that  would freak me out too pick up an Astrid following   the news walk back to the Village together and  when toothless becomes sad that he can't take   their evening flight that he's used to Astrid  gives hiccup the coldest Comfort imaginable   poor chisless no family no night flying what's  left for him really the two spend a majority   of the episode together in a platonic fashion  as Astrid catches hiccup flying late at night   and the two decide that if they're going to  go against the order of the chief they're all   going to go against the order together and the  two of them spearhead Dragon Flight Club which   is a late night training group where the writers  sneak off to fly without the adults finding out   Hiccup and asteroid work with the other Riders to  keep a group of change wings from invading Burke   at the climax of the episode and it ends with the  band being lifted moving on to episode 2 the iron   gronkle no notable hickstrid moments take place  aside from the typical standing close to one   another and addressing the group as a pairing in  regards to fish-like situation in a similar vein   episode 3 The Knight in the fury doesn't see a  lot of the two together although at the start   hiccup announces that they'll be doing a training  mission of Astrid's creation and even though the   group groans because hers are always the most  difficult hiccup supports the importance of her   ideas moving forward to episode 4 tunnel vision  also sees very little hickstrid aside from her   aiding him and drawing away the screaming death  at the climax X in the two chatting alone at the   episode's end when he expresses to her his worry  that the giant dragon will one day return to Burke   going right along into episode 5 race to fireworm  Island we started out with the two of them teasing   one another during a training run where hiccup  loses her in a cave much to Astrid's displeasure   she's not gonna be too pleased with this and the  remainder of the episode is Astrid aiding Hiccup   and snotlout's efforts to save Hookfang as the  two of them validates not loud's emotions over   the potential loss of his Dragon moving forward  we make it to episode 6 fright of passage which   is essentially the only exclusively astrid-centric  episode in the entirety of writers and Defenders   of Burke which is kind of messed up if you take  into account the sheer amount of episodes that the   other characters have dedicated to them at least  in comparison but that's a gripe for the future   Astrid video I suppose let's look at the hickstrin  You could argue that fright of Passage by way of   being Astrid Centric is the most hickstrid heavy  episode in Defenders of Burke but not necessarily   in a romantic way in fact I'd say this episode  really focuses on their platonic friendship more   than anything which is definitely not a bad thing  after all they are still technically just friends   you know right yeah you know what I'm about to say  we'll get there the episode centers on a dragon   that only appears once every 10 years on Burke  the flightmare which attacks in conjunction with   arvindel's fire in Aurora Borealis type event  that always coincides with the flight mirror's   appearance and when Astrid was a little girl her  late Uncle Fearless Finn hoverson was said to be   Frozen with fear when attacking the creature which  brought shame upon the hofferson family now that   arvindel's fire is about to happen again 10 years  later Astrid is visibly distressed at this and   Hiccup dissuades the others from speaking about  it in front of her at Sunset Astrid declares that   she is going after the dragon and Hiccup will  not be able to stop her and when she tries to   reason with him by saying that she knows he's also  been dreaming about going after and training the   mysterious Dragon he claims that training dragons  isn't the only thing that he thinks about to which   he asks him if he's actually saying that with  a straight face a lot of people point to this   quote from this episode and attribute it to him  implying that he also thinks about Astrid and   I don't think that's what they were going for  per se but I fully accept that to be the case   eventually hiccup Astrid and Fishlegs determined  that if they're going to go after the flight mare   they need to be riding toothless because of the  nightly camouflage he provides so Hiccup and   Astrid Venture off as the dragon approaches Burke  but even though hiccup was under the impression   they were just observing the Dragon Astrid jumps  to the ground in an attempt to fight it to which   the dragon attacks spraying Astrid with a Mist  that paralyzes her as hiccup calls out her name   in fear yes it is taking everything in me not to  sing the Big Time Rush song right now so just have   this awful edit instead when the dragon comes back  around for the kill while Astrid remains Frozen in   the Mist hiccup rushes to her rescue pushing her  out of the dragon's path at the last second before   pulling her limb body onto Toothless and flying  her to safety where she regains movement they   determine that the mist from the flight mirror  must have been the cause of the paralysis and that   Astrid's uncle was never Frozen with fear but he  was paralyzed by the dragon's attack the pair then   decided to go after the dragon again in an attempt  to figure out why it's drawn to Burke specifically   only for hiccup to determine that the dragon  is actually following a trail of glowing algae   as its food source which is only illuminated  beneath the 10-year cycle of arvindel's fire   hiccup pushes Astrid to safety before the dragon  spots them where he explains all of this to her   and the two make it back to toothless who's  lost his camouflage and is now glowing himself   as an effect of eating the algae after narrowly  escaping the flightmare yet again the two are   met by Fishlegs and the three work to redirect  the river system drawing the dragon out to sea   before it has the opportunity to reach Burke and  wreak havoc Upon returning to the Village hiccup   declares to the villagers that they learned a  lot about the flightmare but most importantly   they learned that Fearless Finn hofferson was  truly Fearless to which Astrid Smiles at him in   gratitude with the hoverson name finally cleared  the episode ends with Hiccup and Astrid standing   side by side as the villagers can finally enjoy  arvindale's fire without fear of the flightmare   so nothing blatantly romantic taking place but  by virtue of it being an astrid-centric episode   you do get some cute moments between them more so  than the average episode I would argue a lot of   Hiccup acting concerned and protective over Astrid  and her holding him really close while flying on   Toothless in hiccup's desire to help Astrid work  through the burden she feels in regards to what   happened in her family's past is truly sweet to  watch and this brings us to episode 7 worst in   show no hickstrid moments to report apart from the  two briefly complimenting one another's creativity   in training however moving on to episode 8  Appetite for Destruction there are quite a   few noteworthy highlights to unpack the episode  begins with the two alone while flying through the   archipelago and playfully seeing which of them can  tag dragons more efficiently when hiccup manages   to catch a stray with his custom Shield she  complements him admiring how cool she thinks it   is when they begin noticing dragons they've tagged  on separate Islands congregating in places they   shouldn't be hiccup tells Astrid and the twins  he'll be contacting Fishlegs and it's not loud   for reinforcement using a new system he invented  which involves sending a terrible terror across   the archipelago with a message attached an Astrid  responds to this with if that happens I'll kiss   not loud on the lips and when fish legs and snot  lap do end up meeting the group due to the terror   male success hiccup MOX Astrid with a kissy face  and she threatens to kill him if he brings up what   she said so typical hickstrate flirtation at this  point you give your boyfriend pet names that's   cute I give mine death threats after realizing  that islands in the archipelago are straight up   disappearing hiccup leaves to investigate the  next location on the map and Astrid insists   on going with him in the case something more  dangerous is going on while together the two   discovered that the screaming deaths from the  previous season has returned and is responsible   for the islands disappearing as it Burrows beneath  them causing them to collapse into the ocean in   their attempt to evade the Angry Dragon that's  now aware of their presence Astrid saves hiccup   by throwing ink packets into the creature's eyes  causing it to fly away and she makes a just full   remark about her accuracy referencing the game  that they were playing at the beginning of the   episode the two reconvened with Fishlegs where  they determined that if the screaming death can't   be stopped it will eventually reach Burke later  hiccup takes to the air again in order to deter   the dragon and when Astrid demands to go with  him he tells her to stay behind to be a safety   net in case the screaming death gets past him  to which Astrid replies so you're leaving me by   myself uh hello man on a dragon here and after  hiccup leaves Astrid makes a remark about the   dragons being territorial which gives Fishlegs an  idea to stop the screaming death and he tells her   he could kiss her on the lips in Astrid's response  is fantastic no one is kissing me on the lips ever is that so this is probably the most meme worthy  clip from the entire Cartoon Network series only   for the sake of me 100 referencing it in the  future when we get to the point where Astrid is   so desperate for hiccups affection she gets pissed  off when he doesn't kiss her it's great you'll see   later the group ends up stopping the screaming  death with the help of the misplaced dragons and   for now Burke is saved from the Goliath Dragon  moving on to episode 9 zip will back down no   notable moments take place between the two apart  from Astrid offering to help pick up look for the   missing twins which he declines saying that  they're his responsibility this brings us on   to episode 10 of you to a squirrel part 1. and to  avoid going too heavily into yet another episode's   plot without it having significant impact on  hickstrid's relationship it'd be easier for me to   say that this episode really highlights Hiccup and  Astrid's mannerisms of pretty much always standing   closer together than the other riders in showing  concern when the other is in dangerous situations   some examples would be the two calling out each  other's names when they're attacked by the deadly   squirrel dragon hiccup putting Astrid in charge of  the the others while he's away and her insisting   he be careful when taking on the dragon who uses  lightning as an attack as it'll be more attracted   to metal and Hiccup and Toothless are wearing  far more of it than anyone else moving forward   to episode 11 of you to a squirrel part 2 and  Astra does not appear at all in the episode   so moving on next in the timeline we have episode  12 the flight stuff with no notable pictured aside   from them sitting very close to one another while  watching snot loud in the arena moving forward   to episode 13 free scaldy nothing to point out  with hickstrid yet again however a majority of   the episode Astrid is with snot loud who flirts  with her excessively when she decides to turn   the tables and pretend to be in love with him back  which scares the absolute bejesus out of him I've   been pretty much glossing over all of snoutloud's  advances towards Astrid in the franchise but yeah   he's still very much making passes at her every  chance he gets and will continue to do so which   doesn't really have any impact on hickstrad it's  not like there's some stupid jealousy episode with   a love triangle or anything like there was with  Heather because I think everyone's very aware of   the facts that Astrid wants nothing to do with  snotlout so there's no reason for anyone to get   jealous over anyone which I think was very smart  on the screenwriters part because an episode like   that would just be so annoying and moving on we  come to episode 14 Frozen I was about to make   a joke about DreamWorks doing it first so take  that Disney but this episode premiered like three   months after Frozen came out in theaters so I'll  go [ __ ] myself now nothing super notable happens   throughout the runtime of Frozen except for what  is the most physical affection the two have shown   since Animal House and writers of Burke wait no  it would be since the office they they kissed in   oh the kiss that they had in thaw Fest  literally means so little to me that I   forgot it existed well apparently Hiccup  and Astrid also forgot that it existed so   I don't feel so bad but anyways Astrid runs to  and hugs hiccup when she finds out he's returned   to Burke following the Speed Stinger Invasion  and from this we move on to episode 15 a tale   of two dragons while the episode is partially  astridcentric it more so focuses on the dynamic   between snot loud and Astrid with how often they  butt heads getting in the way of them doing their   work and Hiccup getting totally fed up with  the two of them nothing super notable happens   although when hiccup is confronting the two of  them separately he is noticeably more patient   with Astrid than he is with snot loud moving on  to episode 16 the eel effect Hiccup and Astrid   spend a majority of the runtime apart as he's  away Gathering ingredients for medicine while   the eel pox sickness runs rampant through Burke  although at the end of the episode we do see   that Asic Astrid was willing to wait outside in  the cold for him to return despite her illness   all right you should be indoors young lady  you'll catch your death of cold in this weather   moving forward we make it to episode 17 Smoke  Gets In Your Eyes where they spend a majority   of their time together as they investigate  disappearing metal throughout Burke which   is eventually linked to a smothering smoke  breath Invasion and she's eventually the   one who catches up to him and informs him about  dagger's incoming Fleet although I do feel the   need to show you this next clip from this episode  completely out of context scrap metal perfect I've   run out of things to pound around here whoa  beautiful thing I've ever seen scrap metal oh my God some of you know who I am absolutely  dying hearing those words come out of Astrid   hofferson's mouth and some of you are probably  very confused and it will be explained when I talk   about race to the edge but I have to say this was  the best unintentional years in advance Prelude   to a legendary meme I have ever seen in my life  moving forward to episode 18 Bing bam boom there   are no noteworthy hickstrid moments other than  Astrid continuously helping hiccup with the issue   of the baby Thunder drums and the two expressing  Mutual desire to relocate them and this finally   brings us to the two-part finale of the Cartoon  Network series with episode 19 cast out part one   and we immediately start out the two-parter with a  hickstrad moment where the writers are attempting   to complete a training exercise but due to a loose  catapult as a result of snotlout's negligence   Astrid Falls from Stormfly and plummets to the  ground to which hiccup catches her with only a   moment to spare hiccup then goes on to furiously  ground snot loud from flying yelling at him for   nearly getting Astrid killed Astrid approaches him  afterwards telling him that he didn't need to get   onto snow out just for the sake of protecting her  you didn't have to do that for me hiccup and this   brings us to the series finale episode 20 cast out  part two where Astrid is seen supporting hiccup   when he takes over his acting Chief following  stoeg's kidnapping at the hands of dagger which   by the way dagger has essentially taken over as  the villain of the show at this point and Alvin   has become their Ally I won't go into specifics  but he's the central antagonist now and will   continue to be into race to the edge so just FYI  Astrid goes on to express concern for hiccup as he   sets off to rescue stoic and follows his orders to  lure the screaming death to Outcast Island where   they successfully reunite the screaming death with  its mother defeat an imprison dagger and get stoic   home safely concluding Defenders of Burke with  one of hiccup's signature monologues as he flies   overhead admiring his Riders before flying off  into the sunset and that's the conclusion of the   Cartoon Network series despite being 40 episodes  and total with both seasons there really wasn't   any huge extra development it's not like there  were any episodes dedicated specifically to   their relationship the closest would be Heather  report but again that wasn't completely focused   on their development in general we see that the  two are still very shy especially whenever it   comes to physical affection do not hit me with  the thought Fest kiss I don't know why they put   that in there but it's clear their relationship  is very playful they're more friendly with one   another than they are with the other writers  and of the group they're the closest and put   the most trust into one another and they are very  protective and all of that will be a big theme   going forward I would like to spend a brief moment  talking about the writers of Burke Comics before   moving on completely which were eight separate  graphic novels that were said around the same   time as writers and Defenders I don't recall if  it's actually specified exactly when these Comics   take place in relation to writers and Defenders or  if they're just scattered throughout the timeline   of both seasons but in regards to hickstrid in  them nothing really noteworthy happens they do   have some small moments here and there much  akin to the show but there is one comic that   I would like to bring to your attention and talk  about briefly in relation to hickstrad and that   is the stowaway the reason I believe this comic  to be noteworthy is because it is the first and   only example in the entire How to Train Your  Dragon franchise of Astrid showing romantic   interest in a guy who is not Hiccup and it's this  teenage character who comes to Burke named Troyer it's spelled like this and he's basically like  this big hunky dude with long hair that comes in   and captivates everyone with his dragon training  abilities and he becomes romantically interested   in Astrid and she kind of returns the affection  and Hiccup gets pretty jealous because of it and   I would go more in detail about the story but it's  basically just the plot of Heather report copy and   pasted because Aurora ends up being a bad guy  who's only manipulating everyone to get control   of Burke except unlike Heather he doesn't have a  Redemption Arc because he's actually just a giant   douchebag and Astrid drops him into a barrel of  fish at the end of the comic saying all's fair in   Love and War which indicates that she did have  some type of romantic feelings with him if you   get what I mean the comic is fun to read but it  doesn't really have any effect on the franchise   and it's not like the characters ever mentioned  again but it felt significant enough to mention   that yes Astrid has shown interest in other  guys aside from Hiccup at least at some point   in the franchise and Hiccup was not happy about  it shocking I know and now that we're finally past   writers and Defenders of Burke this leads us to  the next short film in the overarching timeline   dawn of the Dragon Racers the short film very  briefly takes place with the characters aged up   around two to three years later from where we left  them off and the Cartoon Network series but prior   to race to the edge with them all still being on  Burke and a majority of the short is a flashback   to the characters shortly thereafter Defenders of  Burke's conclusion when they invented the sport   of dragon racing the short film starts off with  Hiccup and Toothless competing against snot loud   and catching sheep in preparation for the dragon  race that's about to happen and when he lands in   the arena after losing just not allowed he and  Astrid have this exchange one out of two ain't   bad and for what it's worth I always knew red was  your color ah the Astrid thank you I was talking   to toothless hey the disappointment on his face  he took that so personally the rest of the short   doesn't have a ton of hickstrid she does act  as his second in command when he takes over as   acting Chief when stoic leaves the island the  two are Partners in the early Trials of dragon   racing until Astrid breaks her arm in a crash with  snotlau she goes on to support Hiccup and Fishlegs   even though her injury leaves her out of the  games and the short concludes back in the present   day with the writers flying off for their dragon  race and with Dawn of the Dragon Racers concluded   we finally make it to the magnum opus of all  hickstrid content in the entire How to Train Your   Dragon franchise the Netflix series itself dragons  race to the edge the showrunner's goal with race   to the edge was to explore the gap between Movie 1  and Movie 2 even more extensively than they did in   writers and Defenders of Burke which means taking  the main six characters and having them explore   the world away from the confines of Burke and  in doing this one of the big themes they wanted   to explore was Hiccup and Astrid's relationship  because remember at this point in the timeline   they are not together yet depending on who you  ask anyway but we'll get there at the start of   Race To The Edge they are not together yet and  have never officially been a couple the executive   producers of Race To The Edge were art Brown and  Doug Sloan who were also showrunners of writers   and Defenders of Burke and in an interview prior  to race to the edge coming out they were asked   if there was going to be any romance Explorer  between Hiccup and Astrid in the new series   and this was their response is this series was  sort of of relationships where we see hiccups go   through will there be any romance there will be  I mean that yeah look when you start the sequel   they're obviously at a different place so you  know we don't lean too heavy into it because   our core audience is still kids so but being on  Netflix we're able because they're aged up too   we're able to to lean into a little bit so by the  time this these Seasons butt up against the the   sequel we'll definitely have set that up and just  to be clear race to the edge is a direct continue   writers and Defenders of Burke there's despite  them being on separate platforms the same   characters and villains do make Returns the show  is broken up into six seasons with 13 episodes per   season and this is going to be a bold claim  I know but I'm someone who thinks that race   to the edge is actually the best part of the  entire dragons franchise the film's included   it's easily my favorite part of the timeline and  while the hickstrid is a slow burn for sure it all   culminates in an exceptional payoff that is so  worth the wait and again I'll be skimming over   a lot of the plot of this show and only focusing  on the hickstrad but guys I highly recommend that   you watch race to the edge for yourself highly  recommend even if you just read a summary of   writers and Defenders of Burke to catch up and  understand the lore do it just do it I promise   everything I'm about to cover is so much better if  you experience it for yourself over the course of   the show but with that being said let's dive in  also just as a disclaimer Hiccup and Astrid and   race to the edge are now adults over the age  of 18 which means I can now make jokes about   them boning each other and not feel weird about  it which I will be doing excessively for the   remainder of this video we start race to the edge  with episode 1 dragon eye of the beholder part 1.   catching up with all the dragon Riders and what  they've gone on to do in the three years it's   been since the endpoint of Defenders of Burke in  general everyone except for Hiccup and Astrid have   moved on to other things aside from exploration  while hiccup is dead set on continuing to explore   the world and discover new dragons the first time  we see Astrid she's trying to catch him and tell   him something important and as the two make it  to a secluded sea stack Astrid tells him that   the search is over for her as well since she's  joining the Burt guard hiccup congratulates her   but is visibly disappointed by the news she  tells him that he should start thinking about   what's next for him and Toothless before she  flies off leaving him alone however the Dragon   Riders assemble together for the first time in  years when Trader Johann reports that dagger   has broken out of prison in his raiding ships in  order to rebuild his Armada as the writers make   it to an abandoned Shipyard dagger is enroute  to rob the treasure from they're attacked by   giant eel which scare away all dragons except  for toothless once the eels begin pulling the   ship down the writers manage to hold on but Astrid  Falls loose screaming for hiccups we're gonna live this results in toothless diving in the water  to save her and Hiccup returns her safely to the   boat as she thanks him later following hiccup's  exploration of a particularly guarded ship in the   discovery of the dragon eye he emerges to see  dagger has caught them and trapped the others   every day for three years I thought about you  Astrid this doesn't have much to do with anything   but when dagger sees hiccup for the first time in  three years he calls him a ladies man and possibly   gestures to Astrid behind him look at you all  grown up and quite the ladies man I'd wager which   just thank you dagger someone needed to State the  obvious hiccup is fine as [ __ ] in this show the   episode ends with Hiccup chasing after dagger for  the dragon eye only for dagger to fire a catapult   at the ship where the Riders are locked up and it  begins to sink which leads us to episode 2 dragon   eye of the beholder part 2. with Hiccup rescuing  the writers no substantial hickstrid moments aside   from Hiccup asking if Astrid in particular is  all right following an attack from the snow   wraith dragon later in the episode moving on to  episode 3 in Perfect Harmony we see the Dragon   Riders leaving Burke as a group for the first time  settling on an Island's they've never explored   pick up an Astrid sit beside one another while the  rest of the group relaxes in that night the two   are sitting close to the water as the others sleep  on the beach Astor tells hiccup he's right that   the unexplored world is beautiful and Hiccup says  and this is only the beginning Astrid who knows   what we'll find out here and as a history shipper  I think I've proved that much at least I do like   to think that that was a subtle foreshadowing  to their blossoming relationship the next scene   opens with Astrid smiling in her sleep until she's  awoken by hiccup to see the dragons are missing   yes they slept beside each other I wonder why  Astrid was smiling once the writers find the lair   of the death song a cannibal dragon that traps its  prey in a rock-like Amber coding the writer is one   by one become trapped in the substance and when  it goes for hiccup Astrid pushes him out of the   way sacrificing herself to save him hiccup goes on  to free the group and the episode ends with Astrid   declaring that they need to find an island to call  home moving forward to episode 4 when Darkness   Falls we see a few nods to hickstrid in subtle  ways such as hiccups seeming the most willing to   listen to Astrid's idea on how they're going to  build the base of operations and what I consider   to be the most telling sign of their close  relationship the fact that hiccup in designing the   final layout of dragon's Edge their base placed  both his and Astrid's Huts exceptionally closer   together than any of the other others it's also  revealed later on when we see the completed base   that Astrid has a door on the side of her Hut  where her bedroom is located and it's the door   that is in the closest proximity to where hiccup's  Hut is and it's never used in the show or anything   but that door became a big meme in the dragons  fandom like why would Astrid have built this side   door in such a specific location close to hiccups  Hut if he wasn't using it to sneak over at night   and Dick her down that's the only reason it exists  in the eyes of the fans moving on to episode   5 Big Man on Burke no notable hickstrid moments  apart from the classic always walking beside and   confiding in one another through the conflict  of the plot we see a similar feat in episode 6   gone Gustav gone where hiccup First instills Trust  and Astrid to look after the wannabe Dragon Rider   Gustav much to her dismay at being a babysitter  and in similar vein just not loud Gustav has a   hard on for Astrid but she thinks he's absolutely  gross later in the episode she offers to go with   Hiccup to rescue Gustav from dagger and express  his concern when he says he has to go alone but   he assures her he'll be safe moving forward to  episode 7 reign of fireworms we see Astrid teasing   hiccup for his stable boy title after roughnut and  toughnut find that they have an ancestral claim to   dragon's Edge Island at this knowledge they become  its rulers and assign everyone jobs and later when   Astrid is locked in the dragon's Edge Stables  that represent prison for breaking the twins laws   hiccup playfully mocks her what are you in for  funny the same sentiment is returned later when   hiccup finds himself in jail with her and Astrid  remarks so what you in for Astrid please what   just trying to be funny no significant moments  occur Beyond this but from this episode we see   that they do have a very playfully fun platonic  relationship episode 8 crushing it in episode   9 Quake Rattle and Roll are largely void of any  hickstrid interactions aside from the usual aiding   each other in conflicts and always being near one  another outside of whatever is going on and this   leads us to episode 10 have dragon will travel  part one also known as the episode where Heather   from writers of Burke makes a return the episode  begins with the writers back at Burke Gathering   supplies as hiccup hands Astrid two knives knives  that she later uses to prop up the dragon eye   to reveal information on a dragon that was seen  attacking one of Burke's ships the group Ventures   off to the location they believe the dragon to be  only to discover that the razor whip in question   not only has a writer but that writer happens  to be Heather she re-entry introduces herself   to the group and after she elaborates that she  found entrained windshear her dragon on her own   after her home Island and parents perished in an  attack the writers welcome her back to dragon's   Edge Astrid expresses her interest in how much  Heather has changed but hiccup expresses to her   privately that he doesn't particularly trust that  she's being fully honest with them given that she   was the one attacking Burke's ships moving on to  episode 11 have dragon will travel part 2 Hiccup   rescues Heather from attempting to attack dagger  after learning that she was looting Burke's ships   in an effort to redistribute to her Fallen Island  which dagger was responsible for destroying before   he was sent to prison years ago when Heather  returns to dragon's Edge she apologizes for   not being honest with them and Astrid pulls her  away so the two can have girl time as the two-hour   loan throwing axes in the forest Astrid brings  up hiccup's favorite battle tactic which prompts   Heather to ask what we all would if we were  in her position so you two were a thing right   foreign this is what I mean folks the Slow Burn  of Race To The Edge hickstrid was infuriating back   when it took six months for a season to come out  but it's moments like this looking back watching   this for the first time it made me so giddy it's  just the cutest thing what no just friends come   on I've seen the way you two are together thank  you again Heather remember when I said she was   eventually going to become hickstrid's number  one fan yeah this is the beginning of that   kind of cute I guess if you like that  unassuming heroic Dragon Rider type babe   just call it as you see it I would  let this man piss in my mouth Bullseye later in the episode when Heather  claims to know where dagger will be next she   turns to the writers for assistance but Astrid  is reluctant to go as she believes they're   less capable without hiccup who is currently on  birth though later she agrees to Aid Heather in   the group attack stagger's Fleet until hiccup  shows up yeah they do a whole thing where it   turns out that the reason Heather had adoptive  parents is because she was actually born into   Berserker royalty which makes her dagger's  sister I'm not going into extreme detail but   you need to know that for what happens later on  it's formatted to be a big twist the end of the   episode sees Hiccup and Astrid bidding Heather  goodbye as she leaves to figure things out for   herself and as she flies off hiccup apologizes to  Astrid that she's losing a friend after getting   so close with Heather to which Astrid puts her  arm around Hiccup and says but I still have you so yeah the most textured heavy episode of season  one hands down moving on to episode 12 the next   big sting Astrid shows visible concern when hiccup  brings the group to the top of a high point on the   edge with the intent of testing his new flight  suit by jumping off what are you planning on   doing here jumping unless someone has a better  idea ugh boys when his suit malfunctions Astrid   calls out to him and is later shown biting her  lip in fear as he tries after multiple attempts   even though he ends up succeeding it ends with a  crash and she catches up to him remarking that he   is done with this this is briefly a referenced  later in the episode when he mentions that he's   had recent inspiration with a new project and  Astra tells him that if he's referencing a second   flight suit she's going to lock him up to make  a few changes on a little something I've been   working on if you say dragonfly 2 I'm locking  you up and in a moment where hiccup considers   training a deadly Speed Stinger Astrid remarks  wait you're not actually thinking of trying to   train it are you what no no no I I I I could  never so the moral of this episode is hiccup   is reckless and would be dead if it weren't for  Astrid's concern thank you ladies and gentlemen   in moving on to the finale of Race To The Edge  season one we reach episode 13 total nightmare   the episode is mostly void a picture it aside  from her cheering him on as he and Toothless   beat a speed course the writers have set up for  themselves we see the two of them cleaning their   dragons as they discuss matters in private  and there's this moment where their hands are   literally one atom away from touching nothing we  have not come to expect at this point but shifting   gears a bit we head straight into the premiere  of Race To The Edge season 2 with episode 1 team   Astrid the episode opens with Hiccup and Astrid  on patrol around dragon's Edge until they return   to the group as a terror male arrives informing  them that Burke was just attacked by dagger and   upon arriving Astrid learns that her parents house  was destroyed by a catapult but thankfully they   were not home at the time Astrid reconvenes with  the other Riders at the Academy later that day and   when hiccup asks about her family she says they're  okay but sadly remarks that the house she grew   up in is gone when hiccup releases the writers  to go home and rest for the night he discovers   that Astrid intends on sleeping in the arena I  figured Stormfly and I would just bed down here   what a coincidence I'm sleeping here too it's  almost a great prompt for an x-rated fanfic until   the other writers say that they're also staying  at the arena and you just had to ruin it didn't   you that night Astor takes a walk by herself and  has a really great conversation with stoic about   what it means to be a warrior in the next morning  hiccup asks her with concern if she slept at all   and when he tells her they're about to leave  for the edge she admits to him that she plans   on staying at Burke hiccup is really taken aback  at this news and immediately tries convincing her   otherwise you're staying here when did you decide  this last night when I was talking to your father   we're warriors hiccup indicating that he would  be absolutely heartbroken if she were no longer   living at dragon's edge with him but when she  declares that she's staying to help train an   auxiliary team of writers hiccup agrees saying  it's a good idea and that he'll stay behind with   her just in case dagger circles back however  as Astrid trains the new Birkin Riders it's   clear she's trying to sabotage them so she has  an excuse to stay on Burke and protect her family   which hiccup points out to her in the following  scene and attempts to comfort her in saying he   understands but she can't be there to protect her  family every second of every day for the rest of   their lives much to his dismay however she brushes  him off and he leaves to check on the New Riders   at dragon's Edge claiming he'll be back in a few  days at the end of the episode after battling and   warding Dagger away from Dragon's edge with the  help of Burke's auxiliary team Astrid decides   to stay with the Dragon Riders after all I can't  protect Burke all by myself every second of every   day and this is where we leave the episode in  general a great look into Astrid's insecurities   and how much hiccup is willing to support her if  she'll only let him moving along in the timeline   we make it to episode 2 Night of the hunters part  one and if hickstered content Is Like Oxygen to me   the beginning episodes of this season are like  breaking the surface of water and taking in a   giant lung full of air after drowning that's  actually a really on point analogy with what's   about to happen in this next episode the episode  begins with Astrid taking an early morning flight   on Stormfly only to encounter Dragon Hunters  on the shores of dragon's Edge where we meet   our newest antagonist Riker grimborne Riker  spots Astrid and manages to capture Stormfly   leaving Astrid stranded in the ocean clinging  to nothing but a piece of Driftwood as the Ship   Sails off later that day we see hiccups standing  at the edge of the Stables scanning this guy for   her return which by Fishlegs account he's been  doing for some time now and even though Fishlegs   tries to make him feel better hiccup says he can  feel that something isn't right and declares that   they're going to find Astrid as the thunderstorm  rolls in Astrid remains stranded at Sea as Hiccup   and the others split up to search for her and just  as the waves become too powerful Astrid loses her   grip on the log and inexhaustion begins sinking  until we see hiccup dive through the surface of   the water and retrieve her unconscious body from  the sea back on toothless he holds her in his lap   screaming her name until she awakes in his arms  Street Astrid what took you so long oh thanks   Thor I really need to get my [ __ ] together  we're only in season two just wait till we get   to the sexual episodes no that is not just me  being Audrey there are legitimately episodes in   this children's show that are sexually tense I  have a whole list of them Astrid passes out in   hiccup's arms and holding her close he flies her  back to dragon's Edge the next morning when she   awakes she tells the writers what happens and  they set out to find the hunters also this is   kind of unrelated but at this point in the Astrid  and hiccups relationship Wiki the summary states   that when he rescued her from the sea and took her  back to dragon's Edge that he took her back to his   Hut and put her in his bed to sleep for the night  and no this is very clearly Astrid's Hut I I don't   know why it says that I kind of wish that was  the case because that would be cute but no that's   not what happens the writers are LED on a mission  back to the shipyard from season one where Astrid   furiously curses Riker for taking her dragon in  hiccup Comforts her once they devise a plan to   rescue Stormfly they begin attacking Riker's ship  only for Astrid to fall from toothless as they   Dodge an oncoming Boulder and though hiccup tries  to catch her she's pulled in by the huntership [ __ ] [Music]   the episode ends with all the writers aside  from Hiccup and snotlap getting captured by   Riker only to discover that Heather has teamed  up with dagger and the Dragon Hunters betraying   her Dragon Rider friends which ends up being a  fake out obviously but we'll get there despite   the major hickstrid Onslaught in part 1 as we move  on to episode 3 Knight of the hunters part 2. they   spend the entire run time away from each other as  hiccup devises a plan and eventually succeeds in   rescuing them in Astrid once free tells him they  have a lot to fill him in on moving on to episode   4 Bad Moon Rising it's largely void of pictured  interaction aside from this one adorable moment   when hiccup nerds out about a dragon islands with  new information they haven't looked at and Astrid   has this reaction I'm usually not so irresponsible  with Priceless artifacts fish likes we have got to   go see what's on it Astrid you're a queen moving  on to episode 5 snotlau gets the ax we get more   of hickstrid's playful teasing side as wins not  loud's father arrives to inform him and Astrid   that there's going to be a union between two  people in both of their families Astrid growls   at the fact that she has to attend the wedding  and this is hiccup's reaction so bad guy move on   you too hiccup what me nothing really  substantial happens between them this   episode although this line at the end is pretty  great well one thing's for certain no hofferson   will ever marry a Jorgensen Never Say Never right  Astrid never Astrid haddock rolls way better off   the tongue anyways moving on to episode 6 the  Zippleback experience Hiccup and Astrid have a   short moment in the beginning when she tries to  warn him about his damaged prosthetic leg before   he falls on his ass anyway and later in the run  time after hiccup is kidnapped by Riker and Dagger   when Astrid notices toothless is in the clubhouse  alone she claims that if toothless is here and   Hiccup isn't then he must be in trouble they have  a short discussion scene at the tail end of the   episode before it's not loud plows through  Hiccup and Astrid stands there watching yeah   this episode contains one of the biggest missed  opportunities with hickstrad in my opinion because   it's the episode where hiccup punches snot loud  in the face knocking him out you wanted this down or ah hold on can you imagine if Astrid  had been there to see that happen sod   and panties that's all I gotta say moving  on to episode 7 snow way out this episode   is actually fairly significant in Hiccup and  Astrid's relationship because it's the first   time since the two became friends in movie one  that we see them encounter conflict in their   relationship translation they fight the episode  begins with the writers assembling at the Stables   after a training exercise an Astrid who claimed  to be away at Burke emerges from the Staples oh   you are huh honestly sometimes it's hard to  tell Astrid you're back from Burke already   he sounded so happy to see her oh Astrid informs  the group that Trader Johann told her that Riker   and the hunters were seen buying winter equipment  and they determined that they must be planning to   infiltrate Glacier Island in order to get a  snow wraith tooth which acts as a key to the   dragon eye so the writers Venture there in order  to intercept them doing this and when Hiccup and   Astrid go off scouting he loses her in the storm  however this was intentional on her end because   she was actually going to meet Heather who she's  been secretly communicating with since they were   captured on Riker's ship and Heather told her  that she was only pretending to be a hunter in   order to act as a spy when Astrid tells Heather  that she feels guilty for lying to Hiccup and   that they should tell him the truth Heather deters  her saying hiccup cares too much and would only   try to pull her out later when Astrid rejoins the  group and points them in the direction of the snow   wraith cave Heather told her about hiccup scolds  her for leaving him in the storm as she claims   she got carried away hiccup tells her that she  can't just run off on her own like that because   he relies on her but you can't just go off on  your own like that Astrid I rely on you thank you okay he continues acting coldly towards Astrid  through the remainder of the mission until the   dragons are drawn from the cave and they face off  against Riker and his team and when Toothless and   Hiccup have wind shear in their shot Astrid yells  at him that Heather is on their side [Applause] what did you just say back at the edge Astrid  explains Heather's plan to the writers but hiccup   remains silent when Astrid begs him to speak he  remarks that they're supposed to be a team and   Astrid apologizes saying that without Heather the  hunters would have gotten the key to the dragon   eye and the episode ends with Hiccup still angry  at her claiming Heather better know what she's   doing for everyone's sake in my opinion this is a  great way to explore conflict between the two of   them while it doesn't really reference much going  forward I think it was a great way to show how   deeply hiccup relies on Astrid which makes him so  hurt by her lying to him and how much it troubled   Astrid being in a position where she felt she  had to do so and the fact that she just outright   states that she's never lied to him before and  moving forward this brings us to episode 8 edge   of disaster part one the episode begins with  Astrid vincing the hiccup about roughnut and   toughnut not taking their work seriously and this  is so great because out of context it just seems   like a conversation they'd be having about  their children or something then there would   be two crazy people in this conversation and we  probably wouldn't resolve anything are you sick   let me talk to the Twins and after  hiccup is sent away to help Trader   Your Dragon's edge with the twins much to her  obvious displeasure it is very possible that   some of the the animosity he felt towards her  lying to him is what made him so dismissive of   pretty much every complaint she had at the start  of this episode but to be fair he does give good   reasons as to why the people who are going  or going and she's staying behind such as the   ones leaving Having armor or their dragon being  immune to the Dragon Hunter arrows even still it's   something to consider and after hours of the twins  screwing up her work progress and getting into   Antics Astrid has a blowout with roughnut which  leaves her wishing hiccup was there to help her   hiccup where are you when I need you everything  culminates when the Dragon Hunters attack the edge   and kidnap roughnut while Astrid and toughnet are  forced to defend the base and protect the dragon   eye by themselves this leads us into episode  9 edge of disaster part 2. pick up an asteroid   spend a majority of the episode apart as hiccup is  still away helping Trader Johan however there is   this hilarious moment when her and tough nut are  trying to trick the Dragon Hunters into thinking   there are more people on Dragon's Edge than there  actually are and Astrid does this impersonation of   hiccups dragons anyway dragons are our friends  eventually while Astrid's in the middle of a   confrontation with dagger hiccup returns to the  edge and Wards off the hunters and Astrid punches   dagger in the face for commenting on such why does  he always have to make such a production out of   everything I really hate that guy in the episode  ends with Hiccup complimenting how well Astrid and   tough net were able to hold down the edge while  they were gone I feel pretty good skimming past   episode 10 shock and awe as it really doesn't  contain any significant interactions between   the two and this leads us to episode 11 a time to  Skrill this episode sees the return of the Skrill   dragon which leads Hiccup and Toothless scrambling  to find a way to stop it throughout this asteroid   shows consistent concern for him always offering  to help him fight despite him knowing only he can   be the one to draw out the dragon if he and  Toothless are alone later in the episode when   hiccup fails to execute his plan which leaves  this girl in the Hunter's hands Astrid is the   one who motivates him saying they'll stop the  hunters as a team she doesn't have a ton to do in   the episode but this is another great example of  Astrid always being hiccup's voice of reason this   brings us to the first half of the season finale  episode 12 maces and Talons part 1. the episode   begins with the writers in the middle of a dragon  rescue where they get into a fake altercation with   Heather in order to keep up her spy narrative  back at the edge Astrid confides in hiccup about   being worried for the girl questioning if they  should pull her out hiccup assures her that even   if they tried to do that Heather would never  approve of it and they do have a really nice   moment where they stare at each other very  intimately until the moment is obliterated   but it's not loud and tough night exactly should  never go for it you have to remember that [Music]   once Heather finally meets the true leader of the  Dragon Hunters Riker's younger brother Vigo pick   up an Astrid meet with her alone to discuss the  plan of action and we get this adorable moment   hiccup you're missing the point he does that from  time to time no no I don't let's be real they're   already a married couple like they bicker about  their children and I [ __ ] each other every four   minutes they're married the episode ends with  the writers attempting to scout Heather during   a mission alone with Vigo which leads us to the  season 2 finale episode 13 maces and Talons part   2. the episode begins where we left off with Astra  distressed that they didn't pull Heather out of   the mission sooner and Hiccup assuring her that  she wouldn't have let them back at dragon's Edge   hiccup struggles to come up with a way to defeat  Vigo and Astrid motivates him in a similar manner   to how she did in a time to Skrill but this time  hiccup dissuades the idea saying they can't go   about this situation as normal because Vigo is  unlike anyone they've ever faced before later   in the episode Astrid and Hiccup fly to vigo's  abandon ship alone and discuss their new enemy   before finding a Macy's in Talons board which  is basically just chests for Vikings really   sexy stuff hiccup explains what the game means  to Astrid and realizes it's a message from Vigo   saying if they don't play the game Heather will  be killed Astrid continues to be his support as   they venture to the Hunter's base in order to  rescue the girl and though they're successful   in doing so they lose the dragon eye to Vigo in  the process leaving hiccup in a state of Fury with   Astrid assuring him they'll get the object back  in the final scene of the season in this change   in hiccup's character brings us to season 3 with  episode 1 Enemy of My Enemy the season premiere   begins with Hiccup attempting to sneak out of  the edge early one morning with toothless only   to be caught by Astrid and scolded for trying to  go on a dangerous mission to look for Vigo on his   own this is where we learned that months have  passed since the end of season two and Hiccup   has been wearing himself ragged trying to get the  dragon eye back Astrid eventually relents saying   that if he's going then her and Stormfly should go  too he agrees but as soon as she rushes into the   Stables he leaves without her which ends up being  a total mistake as he eventually crashed Lanes on   an island swarming with hunters and he curses  himself for not listening to Astrid we get the   whole dagger Redemption Arc and the episode  ends with hiccups starting his Trek back to   dragon's Edge episode 2 crash course sees  virtually no interaction between the pair   but in episode 3 Follow the Leader we get  more hilarious examples of the two acting   as the group's parents as hiccup puts Fishlegs  in charge while he and Astrid are off exploring   is that what we're calling it now then  what was this doing in your saddle bag   uh just stick around for the Stinger there's  a reason I have this not the reason you're   thinking of but there is a reason later in the  episode Astrid tries to comfort hiccup when he   thinks he was too hard on fish legs and she AIDS  him in finding their friend in the Edge's caves   moving past episode 4 Turn and Burn as it's the  only episode in race to the edge where Astrid   is not present or mentioned whatsoever we make  it to episode 5 Buffalo Lord Soldier everyone   we've made it I know this has been very  streamlined for everyone watching this   video who's never seen or been familiar with the  TV show before but to put this into perspective   all of the media I've covered so far was released  over the span of like six years in total which   means for the people who were watching the shows  as they were coming out they had to wait a super   long time just to witness hickstrid in all of its  glory and with season 3 episode 5 of Race To The   Edge Buffalo and Soldier we finally get our first  hickstrid Centric episode and I don't mean it's   in the background while other narrative stuff is  going on no what happens in Buffalo Lord Soldier   has a direct impact on their romantic development  and that is the main focus of the episode and it   is beautiful to watch the episode begins with  Astrid out on patrol of the oceans surrounding   dragon's Edge until she stumbles upon a fishing  boat in when she goes to explore it more closely   she makes the horrifying discovery that it is  filled with sickly dead bodies before she can   leave one of the near-death fishermen reaches  out and scratches her arm when she returns to   dragon's Edge she tells the others what she found  and they determine that the bodies sound like they   resemble an old plague that wiped out Villages  centuries ago the scourge of Odin hiccup assures   them there hasn't been a case of the scourge  for centuries and Astrid removed herself from   the situation right away so there's nothing to  worry about noticing her discomfort however he   asks if she's okay and forcing a smile she tells  him she's fine that night Stormfly awakes hiccup   by bursting into his Hut in a panic where she then  leads him to Astrid's Hut where she sits in her   bed coughing and he notices the scratch on her arm  the following morning hiccup Paces around Astrid's   room as he and Fishlegs come to the realization  that she does in fact have the scourge of Odin a   disease that kills its victims in less than three  days when they retrieve gothy's medical notes   hiccup reads that there is a cure in existence but  it can only be made from the saliva of an extinct   Buffalo dragon hiccup assures that the dragon may  not be extinct and they need to leave and find   one immediately but when Astrid stands up to tell  everyone that they're overreacting she collapses   prompting hiccup to catch her in his arms as the  group watch in horror as she passes out completely   leaving Astrid on Dragon's Edge to rest the group  set out to find the buff Award with notes they'd   taken from the dragon eye and after searching the  island for a full day they discovered the dragon   but they quickly realized that they will not  be able to transfer the saliva home or get the   dragon to leave the island without attacking them  so it's not that rushes off to retrieve Astrid in   the entire time this is happening hiccup is a  complete wreck he refuses the idea of slowing   down he's constantly yelling at the other Riders  it's very clear how greatly Astrid's life being in   Jeopardy affects him when snotlout returns leading  Astrid and Stormfly the dragon lands on the ground   and Hiccup catches a now deathly ill Astrid in  his arms he promises her that they'll beat the   illness together as long as she keeps fighting  before he sits her down and quietly tells her   you need to stay with us I can't  imagine a world without you in it but nobody judge me we waited six years for  a moment like this but upon Astrid drinking   the Buffalo at saliva nothing happens and  they quickly determined that the antidote   is actually the saliva mixed with the herbs the  dragon eats which is why the buffalord refuses   to leave the island Overjoyed hiccup grabs  Astrid's hand and begs her to hold on for him   hang in there Astrid just a little longer please  for me but just when the proper solution is   created the group is suddenly attacked by Vigo  and the hunters who is quick to mock hiccup   over the fact that he won't be able to use the  dragon to save Astrid after a short fight scene   Vigo admits to hiccup that the fishing ship at  the beginning of the episode belongs to him it   was always his intention for someone to find  it and for the scourge to spread it's simple   really supply and demand I knew where to get the  supply if I could only generate the demand when   Vigo threatens to kill the Buffalo Lord if hiccup  attacks again hiccup relins telling Vigo that he   wins and he can take the dragon on one condition  that he's given the cure to save Astrid and Vigo   agrees as their enemy takes the Buffalo Lord  hiccup finally gives the antidote to Astrid   who responds positively almost instantly the  writers opt to go after the hunter to free the   Buffalo Lord but hiccup stops them telling them  that they're sticking to their deal but remember   the Buffalo Lord will not leave the island  without attacking so it immediately becomes   hostile once on their ship destroying it entirely  and returning safely to its home the final scene   of the episode is the writers returning to burn  the ship of the deceased Scourge victims bidding   them in honorable farewell and assuring the  sickness will not spread once again the other   writers fly off leaving Hiccup and Astrid alone  as she thanks him and we get this exchange it's   no big deal you'd have done the same for me I  can't imagine a world without you in it either there is so much we could talk about here  yes I get that it's a Trope to have the   female love interest in danger and the male is  a total mess trying to save her I get it but   I think there's a lot of nuances pertaining  to Hiccup and Astrid's relationship in this   episode for example hiccup The Peacemaker and  lover of dragons more than willingly giving   up a dragon in exchange for saving Astrid's  life a dragon that is otherwise extinct yes   it's likely he could have predicted that the  buff Lord was going to attack their ship and   Escape anyways but given the links that hiccup  has gone and will continue to go especially in   the later Seasons to avoid harming dragons  at all costs he was willing to sacrifice the   Buffalo Lord and possibly risk Vigo spreading  the scourge of Odin for the sake of supply and   demand all to save Astrid's life I think it  says a lot about how protective he truly is   of her in particular and also the phrase  I can't imagine a world without you in it   it's a whole package in and of itself because  we'll get more into this idea whenever I get   into the analysis portion of this video but I want  to leave you thinking about this question what is   hiccup's future without Astrid this was the first  time in all of hiccup's life where losing Astrid   was a very real and even likely possibility and  I think this episode is what really sparked the   Domino effects that will eventually lead them to  admitting their feelings for one another moving   forward to episode 6 a grim Retreat we see the  two of them acting as Leaders over the team as   Astrid expresses that hiccup may be working the  group too hard in his efforts to best the hunters   her and Fishlegs are the two who convince him that  they need a break and when the writers leave for   their little getaway she's the one who explains  that he should be less forceful with the group   and give them time to unwind which he admits that  she's correct we get more instances of them always   sitting a lot closer together than anyone else  in the group an Astrid fearing for hiccups life   after he falls into the ocean with toothless  after the Dragon is taken over by the Gamora   parasite but moving onward to episode 7 to Heather  or not to Heather we see The Return of hickstrid's   biggest shipper aside from me of course a lot of  this episode is centered on a blossoming romance   between Heather and Fishlegs after she returns to  the writers for the first time since the season 2   finale and by virtue of that there are some  hickstrid hints sprinkled in as well we see   Mom and Dad together in the beginning immediately  suspicious of their children working together to   achieve something for once and it turns out to  be them being nosy over an incoming Terror male   Fishlegs received from Heather when it's brought  up that the two of them have been communicating   for a while now hiccup brings up the idea of her  officially becoming a dragon rider and he invites   her to the edge she settles in with Astrid and  after brief discussion of dagger Heather questions   Astrid about her and Hiccup oh what about him  Astrid life is too short you need to express your   feelings stop wasting time you two are perfect see  this is why I [ __ ] love Heather she's doing all   the heavy lifting hickstrid for us and we got to  give credit where credit is due so this does imply   a couple of different things because we haven't  heard Heather and Astrid talk about hiccup in   a romantic context since half dragon will travel  part 2 back in season 1 which means that somewhere   along the way Astrid did convey to Heather that  she really does have feelings for hiccup either   that or Heather was just able to pick up on  it and is making an assumption which is pretty   suggestive as well like how hard does Astrid have  to be pining for a hiccup in private in order for   Heather to be lecturing her about just expressing  your feelings already this is also the perfect   segue to another brief observation I'd like to  make which is how insanely drastically the roles   have flipped in hickstrid's budding relationship  because at the start of the first movie hiccup   is obviously the one who's pining after Astrid  he was always super nervous around her she was   more popular than him it was very clear but in  race to the edge as the characters are now older   you'll notice that the exact opposite is taking  place even going forward there's never really a   moment that we see hiccup getting nervous around  Astrid except for like the episode where they get   together but you know what I mean in general  before they become a couple it doesn't happen   it's always Astrid getting embarrassed at Heather  implying that they would make a good couple or   Heather telling Astrid that she needs to express  her feelings and Astrid getting nervous about it   it's just a really interesting decision on  the part of the screenwriters it would have   been nice seeing hiccup give more hints that  he's interested in Astrid throughout race to   the edge and even in the episode that they end  up getting together and Hiccup just straight up   admits to her yeah I've thought about kissing  you all the time before now so it would have   been nice to see some of that as opposed to it  just being put solely on Astrid but I mean can   we really blame her for being so infatuated  with what is now this as her best friend if   I were Astrid that side door on her Hut would be  destroyed from overuse there isn't much mention of   the pairing for the remainder of the episode which  leads us to episode 8 strikeout here we see hiccup   when toothless get kidnapped and brought to a  dragon fighting arena where toothless is forced   to participate Astrid spearheads the search for  Hiccup and shows the most concern out of the   group for his safety when the two eventually  reunite she rushes to him giving him a hug big Thor you're okay I'm fine but as toothless  I'm worried about we gotta hurry at the end of   the action Astrid professes how worried she was  about him and when it's not loud jokes that he   wasn't worried at all Fishlegs mentions that  Astrid in particular would have killed him if   hiccup wasn't found episode 9 tone death doesn't  see much of the pair although while snot loud is   speaking to hiccup in the beginning asking if he  can put in a good word with someone this happens   what with who asterisk please I'm so over Astrid  you can have her wow thanks I appreciate that   anytime I'm a giver and this takes us to episode  10 between a rock and a hard place where they   spend a majority of the run time apart nothing of  note here moving forward to episode 11 family on   the edge we see The Return of a reformed dagger  which causes a lot of hostility on Dragon's Edge   Astrid is among the group to find their former  enemy and assume that he did something to hiccup   before the group confronts the both of them and  Hiccup finally admits that dagger and him have   made amends Astrid remains extremely skeptical  of dagger telling hiccup that it's possible he's   only acting as a spy for the hunters while the  Riders are busy preparing for a huge attack on   a shipyard they found but hiccup expresses his  trust in their former enemy saying if toothless   trusts him then he trusts him too the two share  a smile before walking to check on their guest   the two remain close as they discuss the urgency  to get dagger off the edge before Heather returns   only for her to show up immediately either after  in an altercation ensues at the end of the episode   when it appears dagger sacrificed himself to  save them from the entrapped Shipyard Astrid   dissuades Hiccup from going into help as it would  be too dangerous and Dagger was already gone this   brings us to episode 12 last auction Heroes and  though there aren't many moments between the two   through the majority of the episode once the  group is captured and their dragons are taken   by Vigo Astrid puts her hand on hiccup's  shoulder which he gently takes hold of as   the two share a look of affection later when  hiccup Dives after the chest containing what   he believes to be Burke's supply of gold Astrid  and Stormfly pull him from the ocean and he smile   at her in gratitude and finally we reach  the season 3 finale episode 13 Defenders   of the Wing part 1. the episode begins with the  writers attacking a hunter Fleet in an effort to   block an arrow from hitting Stormfly Astra  takes a shot in the leg which is extremely   brutally depicted by the way and probably  the wumpiest Astrid moment in the series love it after the mission is successful  hiccup notices Astrid limping and Heather   tells him what happened she got shot in  the leg what a hunter Arrow was gonna   hit Stormfly so I blocked it with  your leg it just grazed me I'm fine   after a confrontation with Vigo where the leader  of the hunters offers a truce hiccup tells him   he needs to take time to think about the decision  before Vigo taunts him with this oh how's astra's   leg healing well I trust time is of the essence  hiccup when the group traveled to the New Island   located just north of vigo's territory offer  Astrid saves Hiccup from a traveling blow dart   but the two are quickly subdued anyways once  Mala the queen of the Defenders of the wing   plays hiccup in the nest of dragons to prove his  good intentions Astrid is exceptionally worried   having to be held back by Mala and throck at the  end of the episode the two stand back to back as   the Defenders mistakenly believe that the writers  are responsible for their lava eating eruptodon   disappearing and the two are held at sword point  and this is where the season leaves off and we   finally reach season 4. also known as the season  where Hiccup and Astrid finally finally become   official and it is as beautiful as it sounds we  started off the season with episode 1 Defenders   of the Wing part two nothing super notable takes  place aside from Astrid being shot at with her   own ballista as the writers attempt to take the  edge back from the hunters and Hiccup warns her   in a panic before she falls Fishlegs is the one to  save her and they both work to stop the eruptodon   from activating the Edge's dormant volcano moving  forward to episode 2 Gruff around the edges no   notable hickstrid moments take place but we do  see Astrid with Bed Head which is fantastic and   this brings us to episode 3 Midnight scrum also  known as every hiccup whomper's wet dream the   episode begins with Hiccup and Astrid out picking  apples with their dragons when hiccup is attacked   by bounty hunters they manage to ward off the  attackers and they realize that Vigo has placed   a bounty on hiccup's head Astrid immediately  dissuades him from attending Burke's 400 year   anniversary party but hiccup insists that stoic  would kill him if he were to miss it the writers   fly to Burke for the celebration and in the midst  of the party hiccup becomes paranoid about bounty   hunters look in undetected he confides an Astrid  shortly after about how stressful things have   gotten and she places her hand on his urging  him to tell his father about the Bounty however   hiccup refuses and leaves for the night we then  see Astrid awoken by stoic rushing through the   streets of Burke yelling for hiccup who is nowhere  to be found hiccup awakes in a mysterious ship   bound at the wrists having been kidnapped by  two bounty hunters Astrid helped stoic lead the   search in tracking him down and after several  cycles of bounty hunters getting their hands   on Hiccup and abusing him in the lumpiest way  imaginable a mysterious man leads him to Riker   on slab near Island and a fight ensues when Riker  denies the Bounty Hunter payment before Astrid   and the others come to his rescue Astrid runs to  hiccup who lost his prosthetic leg in the fight   helping him to walk in their free to return to  Burke moving on to episode 4 not loud no notable   moments occur and the same can be said for episode  5 saving shatter Master although it is revealed   that dagger survived the sacrifice in season 3 and  he's back in the group this brings us to episode   6 Dire Straits where the plot Center around the  group having to remove a dangerous title class   dragon from Burke's channels after trade ships  are attacked and the village falls into a famine   The Writers come up with a solution that involves  hiccup traveling to the bottom of the ocean in a   diving bell and freeing the changed creature with  chain-wing acid the mission goes awry and Hiccup   nearly drowns before the title class Dragon saves  him Astrid helps pull him out of the bell and begs   him to breathe as he remains unconscious when he  does wake she kneels beside him placing her hand   on his shoulder as he holds hers in return  this brings us to episode 7 the longest day   no notable hickstrid moments although it is one  of the most entertaining episodes of the series love dirt I love dirt hahaha moving forward to  episode 8 Gold Rush there aren't any significant   moments either aside from Astrid showing concern  when the group is captured and Hiccup manages   to escape with toothless this episode also  contains the end of the Heather fishleg Saga   as she chooses to return to Berserker island  with dagger for those who are interested in   moving forward to episode 9 out of The Frying  Pan Astor tries to help pick up Min things with   fish legs when the two remain in dispute  over trying to help the Defenders of the   wing get their erupted on egg to the nesting  site in their treacherous volcano after the   two plus Mala enter the volcanoes Caverns on  Meatlug and failed to return as the lava Rises   Astrid and throck devides a plan to make it to  the caves using the diving bell but the chain   breaks at the last moment and the two become  stranded in the lava as Hiccup and Fishlegs   remain in the caverns Astrid collapses  from heat exhaustion into throck's arms   and he tells her that she needs to stay awake  for hiccups a hiccup addict and queen Mala when Hiccup and the group finally emerged from the  caverns they immediately come to Astrid's rescue   with Hiccup lifting her onto meat log and holding  her in his lap everyone manages to escape in time   and Astrid recovers from her condition as Hiccup  and Fishlegs make amends and this brings us on to   episode 10 twintuition the episode is mainly void  of moments between the two aside from a point when   during a battle on the Hunter's base Astrid Falls  from Stormfly and is caught and flown to safety by   hiccup the two share a Tinder look while on the  ground until Vigo traps the group at the climax   The Writers Do manage to escape and at the end  of the episode hiccup an Astrid ponder over what   the plan's toughnut stole could mean and ladies  and gentlemen it has been a long road there have   been UPS there have been Downs moments of joy and  utter disappointment but it doesn't matter because   we finally made it in The Following episode of  Race To The Edge Hiccup and Astrid become a real   genuine official romantic couple in season  4 episode 11 blindsided the episode begins   with Hiccup and Astrid attempting to train an  unruly triple strike that they saved in season   3 episode 8 strikeout when Fishlegs interrupts  to tell them a storm isn't coming and everyone   begins to prepare and congregate in the clubhouse  but when Fishlegs mentions he may have forgotten   to lock the stable doors Astrid runs to check  as she enters the Stables however a strike of   lightning causes the structure to catch fire after  freeing all the dragons trapped inside Astrid runs   for the exit before a strike of lightning hits  the entrance tossing her backwards and sending   the group's dragons off in a panic this sits  up Conflict for the remainder of the episode   as the blast of lightning leaves her blind  hiccup finds her unconscious in the stables   and gets her out before the structure collapses  back in the clubhouse Astrid awakes and the group   realizes she's no longer able to see hiccup  tells the others to leave and in private he   holds Astrid's hand and assures her they'll fly  to Burke and see goth eat the moment the storm   lifts When She lays down to rest she asks hiccup  if he'll stay with her until she falls asleep and   he promises her he isn't going anywhere just until  I fall asleep of course we're not going anywhere   are we Bud the following morning hiccup assigns  the group to go out and look for the spooked   dragons and while hiccup denies Astrid going with  him at first he is hilariously forced to relent   at Astrid's demand while flying hiccup tells  Astrid that he is actually glad that she came   with him and she hugs him as he smiles fondly  the truth is obviously I'm glad you're here later when they're trying to determine Direction  Stormfly could have gone Astrid trips over a rock   and Hiccup Dives to catch her now everyone please  enjoy hiccup Breathing heavily on top of Astrid   are you you you okay I'm I'm fine   we should probably get going yeah just when  they find a lost Stormfly the triple strike   appears once again and Hiccup carries Astrid  out of danger the scene continues with Hiccup   pushing Astrid to hide even though she wants  to fight eventually she relents much to her   dissatisfaction once the triple strike recedes  Astrid expresses how useless she feels now that   she can't see and Hiccup holds her hands telling  her they'll make it through this together and we   are gifted this glorious moment I am with you  there will always be a Hiccup and Astrid always do you hear that was it worth the blue balls even  toothless thinks it's [ __ ] do you hear that but   it's okay if you've ran out of wet dream fuel  because hiccup grabs Astrid and Dives out of the   way of the triple strike and they hold each other  for an adorably long time following this the other   writers catch up with them and Astrid manages  to train the triple strike using a clicking   technique she figured out as a result of using  her senses aside from sight in the following   scene gothi is seen on the edge and it's shown  that Astrid was able to recover from her vision   loss and she celebrates by hugging hiccup as two  more hickster shippers look on in glory and then   we get the scene the scene the scene we've all  been waiting for if I haven't made this extremely   apparent by now if you have not seen the show  and you're even remotely interested in watching   this play out on your own please stop right now  go watch it or at least go watch this clip for   yourself it's on YouTube and I obviously can't  show the entire thing here without this video   getting copyright claimed so please do yourself a  favor and experience it authentically Hiccup and   Astrid sit at the edge of the Stables overlooking  a beautiful sunset hiccup asks her if she's sure   she's feeling better after the incident and  when she says she's fine and that he doesn't   need to worry about her anymore he says that he  never stops worrying about her because that's   just the way it is and she says she feels the  same way about him he scoots closer to her as   she playfully nudges him then she asks him if she  can talk to him about something she then brings   up the moment from when they were in the forest  where hiccup attempted to kiss her and Hiccup   realizes that she did feel well was happening even  though he thought he got away with it Astrid then   asks him why didn't he go through with it and  this is his response it wasn't perfect and I   and I always thought that if it ever happened  and yes I've thought about it a lot uh it had   to be just perfect Astrid Smiles at him then  looks out onto the sunset taking advantage of   the beautiful moment and tells him that right  now feels like a perfect moment to her and   hiccup agrees and the two finally share their  first kiss as an official couple [Music]   the episode then concludes with the two of them  continuing to watch the sunset only now they hold   each other close as boyfriend and girlfriend hi so  this is Audrey like three weeks in the future from   when I film this I'm in the middle of editing this  video and I have more stuff that I want to talk   about which is not surprising because despite the  length it already is of course I have more I want   to say I really just want to emphasize how much  buildup and nuance and time truly went into this   scene of Hiccup and Astrid becoming an official  couple because it truly encapsulates every reason   I believe that race to the edge deserves to be  held in the same regard as the films at least   in terms of quality of the story and this is yet  another moment where I have to give the biggest   applaud imaginable to Art and Doug as well as the  creative team Behind these episodes because as the   characters themselves point out in this Scene It  could not have been done more perfectly even down   to the soundtrack you may be familiar with this  video video by Charles Cornell where he examines   the test drive scene from the first movie and  in a much more educated manner than I ever could   explains how both Hiccup and toothless's themes  are Blended together in that moment where they   form that Inseparable bond in Flight if that  sounds confusing at all just go check it out   because it's well worth the watch and the thing  that I find to be the cherry on top of this big   beautiful hickstrid getting together Sunday  is that in this moment in race to the edge the   exact same thing happens with Hiccup and Astrid's  themes now the race to the edge soundtrack has   never officially been released which I think  is a crime against humanity but in searching   for the official clip of the two of them getting  together for this recap I stumbled upon this video   of someone covering the music from that perfect  moment aka the hickstrid getting together and   blindsided scene in this video is what inspired me  to stop and make this edit into the video because   it was never something I had noticed before  until I was actually able to listen to the   cover of this track completely isolated I'll be  putting in Clips to prove what I mean but everyone   stop what you're doing right now and go subscribe  to Carissa because anybody who does covers of   unreleased race to the edge songs completely  by ear deserves more than 130 subscribers foreign [Music]   thank you [Music] again I know all this seems  pretty minuscule if you're someone who hasn't   been invested in the show for forever but this  took a long time nearly two years from when race   to the edge debuted that we had to wait for this  in one of the most frustrating Parts is the fact   that Hiccup and Astrid went from this place  in movie one where we believed them to be a   couple to what we see at the start of Race To  The Edge were any sort of romantic attraction   is just super embarrassing for the two of them so  the fact that we're finally given this cathartic   moment of the wait is finally over and they are  official there's no question anymore the two of   them are together the fandom went wild to say the  very least I did not scream when it happened I   did fall to my knees and yell Hallelujah I did  do that also this doesn't have much to do with   anything it's just a personal testimony of mine  race to the edge Seasons would always debut on   Fridays at midnight Pacific Standard time which is  2 A.M for me and this was back when I was in high   school and the seasons would always work out to be  around a little over five hours in length meaning   I developed a system where I went to sleep early  Thursday night then woke up around 1 30 a.m and I   was able to binge the entire season before I left  for school that morning and the reason I did that   is because I knew that if I went to school and  had to wait it out all day I wouldn't be able   to resist the temptation of looking at my phone  and going on Tumblr and seeing spoilers so I had   to consume it all right when it got released but  with this season the entire fandom had pretty much   figured out that you know something was going to  happen between Hiccup and Astrid they were finally   going to become official which I'll get more into  later when I talk about the marketing for race to   the edge especially with season four so when I  started watching season 4 at 2AM I only made it   through the first like four episodes before all  self-control went out the window and I looked at   Tumblr to see if people had skipped ahead to  see what could possibly be happening between   Hiccup and Astrid later in the season and I saw it  I opened the app and I saw the screenshot of their   first kiss in blindsided and it was a done deal  I skipped every single episode and went straight   to 11 just so I could watch it then proceeded  to watch the final three episodes of the season   on repeat for the entire five hours I'd built  in before I had to leave for school that day   which in hindsight I do regret just because there  were a lot of smaller but really cute hickstrid   moments throughout season four that I don't think  I appreciated as much since I had already skipped   ahead to when they are officially together so when  I went back and watched them they didn't mean as   much but it just goes to show how desperate  I and everyone else was to watch this happen   and I would like to extend a huge thank you to  Art and Doug for this the executive producers   because with everything they'd hinted at about  hickstrid getting together at the start of the   series they made it seem like it was going to  be way more in the background of things than it   ended up being even in that Roundtable interview  I mentioned earlier they say that they won't be   leaning 2 too heavily into romance because their  core audience is still kids which is a subjective   Viewpoint for sure but they were definitely  very aware of how badly the fandom wanted to   see hickstrid happen even pointing it out when  they were asked if they received dragon's fan   art in this interview and they were like no  we never get dragon fan art it's usually just   Hiccup and Astrid making out I'm trying to think  if anybody's ever sent in dragons I don't know I'm   sure they have not that I've seen I haven't seen  it though but they send in a lot of Astrid you   know it's always Astron heck I'm kissing they want  it so bad they just want them to get together so   whenever this episode happened and they finally  get together we still have an additional two   episodes of the Season remaining so theoretically  they could have pushed it to the side and focused   more on the central narrative like pretty much  everyone expected them to but instead they wove   hickstrid's new relationship into the plot of the  narrative in the most satisfying way imaginable   so let's talk about it by moving on to episode  12 Shell Shocked part one the episode begins with   Hiccup briefing the writers in Burke's Council  and a team on the upcoming mission to infiltrate   the hunters and finally retrieve the dragon eye  following the brief Astrid pulls hiccup aside and   says how proud she is of him he thinks her interns  saying that a majority of those ideas in the brief   were hers in saying that he couldn't have done  it without her but then he starts expressing his   worries that the plan won't go how they imagine  it will but she quickly quiets him assuring that   the mission will go smoothly in the two lean in  for a kiss it's gonna work [Music] oh my Thor   what do you two yeah get used to hickstrid being  [ __ ] blocked in these next two episodes after   Fishlegs leaves hiccup questions why they care if  the other writers are aware of their relationship   or not even though it does seem that hiccup really  wants to tell the other writers that they're now   together they both agree that there's too much  going on and right now just isn't a good time but   before they leave their little hiding spot Astrid  decides to give him a goodbye present [Music]   did you seriously think I'd leave here with just  a handshake this is the part that's so fun to me   yes it's great in and of itself that Hiccup  and Astrid are finally together but watching   them as they go through this secret lovers  stage is so [ __ ] adorable as they go on the   mission however they discover that the hunter  base has been ransacked and it turns out that   Riker betrayed Vico and took over project shell  fire for himself project shell fire referring   to the blueprint's toughnut stole in twintuition  the group decided to take Vigo with them as they   go to warn The Defenders of the wing but while on  the island they're attacked by an unforeseen Force   at Sea when the group go to investigate hiccup  is nearly hit with a fire blast in Astrid freaks   out suggesting he should go back and guard Vigo  Instead This is immediately followed by hiccup   flying close to her and telling her that they  talked about this and things between them need   to be business as usual because they can't risk  people finding out about their relationship but   snotla gets close enough to hear pieces of what  he's saying in this Exchange change takes place   we can't risk anyone thinking thinking what  nothing take it easy he said it he said it   if there couldn't be any more of a wink and  a nudge from Arden dug it how Obsessed the   fandom was over this ship their official ship  name was referenced in the show when I tell   you that the last three episodes of season four  are like the Holy Trinity of hickstrid I am not   joking when they return after being unable to  locate the source of the attack they find Vigo   to have escaped in their Retreat to dragon's Edge  Hiccup and Astrid discuss strategy in private and   Astrid apologizes for getting overly protective  during battle hiccup tells her that he's sorry   as well and that they need to put their personal  feelings for one another aside because they can   only protect each other so much Astrid says that  she understands in that she only briefly lost her   head and then it won't happen again and Hiccup  replies to this saying it is nice to know that   she cares about him and this is what happens if  you don't know that by now then [Music] laughs I know art and Doug don't want to give us  too much I get it I think they just really   got off on teasing hickstrid shippers and the  Temptation was too great The episode goes on   and after discovering Riker at Sea he tells the  dragon riders that Vigo was the one who betrayed   him caught in between two villains that they know  that they can't trust another attack on Berserker   Island prompts Hiccup and Astrid to go investigate  while the others stay behind and this is the point   that the other writers become suspicious of  something going on between the two they play   this up for humor mainly with the twins deciding  that it's because one of the two is terminally ill   in snotlout decides that it's because hiccup has  a gambling addiction that Astrid is trying to help   him conceal it's obvious I'm sorry you had to hear  it for me but hiccup is dying that's ridiculous   dying and she's trying to spend as much time as  she can with Hiccup so she can break it to him   slowly they're spending all this time together  because hiccup clearly has a gambling problem   and Astrid is trying to help him conceal it  and it's like yeah that's it never mind the   incessant moans you hear echoing Around The Edge  at night or the fact that all the surfaces and   hiccups had her covered in strange fluids all of  a sudden that was very clearly a joke by the way   but considering some of the things we see in the  next two seasons I wouldn't write that off as a   headcanon just yet pick up an Astrid soon discover  that project shell fire is actually a Titan Wing   title class Dragon that's been fused to a tactical  submarine that the Dragon Hunters are using to   attack back at the edge Hiccup and the group  ponder their next move knowing that they must   try to take down the hunters without hurting the  shell-fired dragon hiccup goes to clear his head   while Astrid promises to hold things down while  he takes his time and while away Vigo surprises   Hiccup and reveals that he's been holding on to  the dragon eye the entire time proposing that if   hiccup helps him take down Riker he'll give him  the dragon eye and Hiccup reluctantly accepts and   this finally brings us to the season 4 finale  episode 13 Shell Shocked part 2. the episode   begins with the writers expressing Their Fear of  trusting Vigo and Hiccup and Astrid lead him to   the Stables to be held in confinement later that  night hiccup delegates jobs to all the writers   in preparation for the shelfire's inevitable  attack on the edge and when everyone leaves and   the others ask if Hiccup and Astrid are coming  with them Heather has this response um I think   they need to discuss some final strategy alone  you get the hit the feeling Heather knows you   know the ailments I do so obviously this could  imply that Heather is aware of Hiccup and Astrid   being official now which would make her the only  person outside of the couple to know and given how   big of a shipper she was of them I have to assume  that Astrid would be especially excited to tell   Heather that her and Hiccup are now boyfriend and  girlfriend over any of the other writers for sure   I mean it makes sense as the group leaves them  alone Hiccup and Astrid Share A Smile as their   hands reach out to subtly touch each other moving  forward to the following morning the shell fire   attacks The Edge and the Riders take refuge in  their fortified huts and as Heather and Astrid   hide together we have this exchange I hope the  others are okay Astrid I'm sure hiccup is safe again nodding to the fact that Heather is  probably aware of their relationship see how   far we've come from her being like the first  big point of contention between the two of   them causing all that drama all those years ago  good for her following yet another attack later   in the episode hiccup struggles to figure out  the shelfire's weakness and in Saving Vigo from   a fire at the Stables decides that they won't be  able to stop the threat without the help from the   man who created it Astrid is extremely hesitant  about this decision saying it could all be part   of the Hunter's plan but hiccup makes the call  that it's worth the risk to stop the attack and   Astrid watches in concern as him and Vico fly off  then we get what is probably the most compelling   narrative element in the final two-parter as it  pertains to hickstrad because as Hiccup and Vigo   are flying out to sea the hunter provides small  talk to a very disinterested hiccup until he   starts hinting at something strange he makes the  comment relationships can be complicated can't   they and then tells hiccup that he can empathize  with his situation and we finally realize what he   he's referencing to be in love with a girl who  is your partner in battle not sure how I would   balance such a precarious situation The Scene  goes on with Vigo almost taunting hiccup about   how clouded his mind must be because Hiccup and  Astrid are in love in the middle of this very   dangerous situation and Hiccup ends up snapping at  him telling him he is focused on the mission and   his personal life is none of vigo's business it's  never really explained how Vigo came to figure out   that Hiccup and Astrid were officially together  it's kind of hinted at in the previous scene where   Astrid questions vigo's intentions so outspokenly  is where he may have picked up on it but Vigo is   known to be very intellectual and observant and if  you take into account how hiccup reacted to Astrid   being in danger all the way back to the Buffalo  Lord incident to Vigo taunting hiccup about Astrid   being shot in the leg back in season three it's  safe to assume that he's always suspected that   there's something going on between the two of  them and his stay on Dragon's Edge only confirmed   it and this is what I mean when I say that the  screenwriters really work textured's relationship   Into The Narrative of this this Final two-parter  in such a compelling way because now someone who   hiccup already knows he shouldn't be putting  so much trust into and has proven to be super   dangerous to them in the past he's aware about his  secret relationship with a girl he loves and at   any point that could be used against him as Vigo  inevitably ends up doing that's just my take on it   anyways there are a lot of people I would dare say  a fair chunk of the fandom who believe that the   reason that Vigo seemed so interested in Hiccup  and Astrid's relationship is because Vigo is   actually in love with Hiccup I know that may sound  really weird and crazy to people who haven't seen   the show but even as someone who doesn't believe  that's what the screenwriters were going for   there is a frightening amount of evidence that  points to that maybe being true especially in   the later Seasons that whole series of video on  its own one that I will probably never be brave   enough to make but take that information and  do with it what you want to or just go to AO3   whatever you're thinking it probably exists over  there once hiccup tells Vigo to drop the subject   He commands toothless to stop over the ocean  and pulls out a sword but Astrid interrupts   this telling him if he tries anything she will  kill him and Vigo tells Astrid to trust him then   drops the sword into the water this action is  later revealed to draw out the submaripper from   earlier in the season and since it's a natural  enemy of the shell fire the two begin sparring   giving the Riders the chance to finally attack  the Hunter's fortified submarine and Riker is   finally killed and I don't mean fake killed like  they do a lot in the show we never see him again   he dies for real it's pretty brutal actually in  the middle of all of this hiccup dropped Tobiko   off on the edge so they'd be more maneuverable  and Vigo tells hiccup that he's developed a great   respect for him but after hiccup leaves Vigo  Chuckles maniacally once the battle finally   concludes in the show fire dragon is freed hiccup  meets Fishlegs at the top of the Edge's volcano   because there was a whole subplot where the  strikes from the shell fire were hitting the   dormant volcano which was causing the lava to rise  to a dangerous degree and he was trying to stop it   using a baby erupted Dawn blah blah and just as  hiccup speaks to toothless that their nightmare   May finally be over Vigo makes his reappearance  are you sure about that hiccup there you go   well let me guess you want the dragon eye in  exchange for Astrid though it sounds so much   colder when you say it like that but yes Migo  holds Astrid at ax point and threatens to kill   her if hiccup refuses to return the dragon eye to  him hiccup quickly retrieves the object from his   saddle bag but just as Astrid is telling him not  to do it Vigo says this come now are you really   going to sacrifice your future all the wonderful  years you have ahead of you for that aha remember   the question I plagued you with earlier what is  hiccup's future without Astrid it's not just me   being obsessive analytical Audrey it's a real  concept okay one that I will be talking about   in extreme detail later in this video wow well  I guess when you put it that way no I'm not no with the dragon eye now destroyed   allegedly an Astrid free of vigo's grasp hiccup  finally has the upper hand of the situation but   before anything else can transpire the ground  breaks from beneath him and Vigo falls into   the volcano The Scene goes on as the two lovers  reconcile what happened and Hiccup declares how   much he truly relies on her and as per usual  he reaches out to shake her hand as a deal for   her always telling him what she's thinking  and in turn she pulls him into a kiss deal oh Changes Everything by the way if you  don't watch the show you wouldn't know   this in the intro to every episode hiccup  says the phrase this changes everything because that was the phrase that he used whenever  he discovered the functionality of the dragon eye   and what it brought them in terms of unlimited  Dragon knowledge this changes everything and now   that the Dragonite is destroyed destroyed as a  means of hiccups saving Astrid's life the other   writers react to their Newfound relationship with  the phrase this changes everything and after a   group hug from their elated friends the season  ends with the writers doing a flyover to make   sure the edge is secure and Hiccup and Astrid  clasp Hands in the Sky I mean the actual end   of the season is the volcano erupting moments  after before it cuts to black but just focus   on this greatness instead of all that death and  destruction all right we've made it through the   Holy Trinity of hickstrid episodes I swear I could  talk about this assimilation of Three episodes for   days on end and still have stuff I want to say  which maybe I have been how long until the video   is this gonna be yes the ending with Vigo holding  Astrid hostage can be seen as cliche it doesn't   make a ton of sense how he was able to subdue  her on the back of her own dragon practically   speaking the episodes aren't perfect by any means  but just looking at it in terms of what it means   for Hiccup and Astrid's relationship I think it  hits the nail right on the head we've never seen   any romantic relationship in the franchise be so  intricately woven into the narrative before in   looking at it from the perspective of someone who  waited nearly two years since the start of race   to the edges Premiere to get to this point it's  hard to describe in a simple way how important   the dragon eye was to hiccup because that object  had been his single driving motivation for Four   Seasons now it was the Catalyst for the war with  the hunters it's what they've been fighting to   keep and reobtain since the beginning of the show  so much that it's put the writers in grave danger   countless times drove Burke into a literal  famine hiccup got kidnapped and tortured by   bounty hunters for God's sake and even after that  he continued to try to get it back but the second   that Astrid's life is in Jeopardy he doesn't  hesitate to destroy it and that is precisely why   I believe that the screenwriters reincorporated  the term this changes everything once the writers   learned of their relationship because up until  this point the dragon eye had been hiccup's   number one motivation in race to the edge but now  that they're together and deeply in love Astrid in   the future that he holds with her has taken that  spot I mean admittedly all that kind of goes out   the window when it's revealed in season five that  the dragon eye was not destroyed but we'll cross   that bridge when we get there moving forward  to season 5 episode 1 living on the edge we see   that the writers are continuously combating the  erupting volcano as we pick up a few months after   the end of season four Hiccup and Astro don't have  a ton of interaction this first episode aside from   when they leave to retrieve Death Song Amber  and discover the now fully grown Dragon they   took care of in season 3 episode 9. The Dragon is  wounded by what appears to be Dragon Hunters but   it's unclear how this is possible considering the  hunter empire fell with Vigo is that a pun I did   not mean for that to be a pun but here we are  Astrid tells hiccup she'll stay with Garth The   Death Song so he can return and save the edge and  he gives her a kiss goodbye at the end when the   volcano is successfully sealed Astrid returns with  the dragon who ended up Surviving his injuries and   this interaction takes place that dragon has  a lot of fight in him he's not the only one   all in all it was nice in this season premiere  to see that they are still very much in love   and in a relationship in a totally not in your  face kind of way not that I'd be complaining   if it were with all the history we got at the  tail end of season four though you would expect   that it would be a while before we get another  episode dedicated solely to their relationship   but you'd be completely [ __ ] wrong because we  now move on to episode 2 sand busted also known   as the episode where Hiccup and Astrid become  officially engaged huh yes you did not mishear me   we first see hiccup as he's admiring a pendant in  his Hut saying that it looks just as he remembers   and when snotlout enters saying that he wants  hiccup to give it to him because he's looking   for junk metal to melt down hiccup says this  this is a junk it's my betrothal gift to Astrid   it means we'll be together forever we then cut to  Fishlegs entering Astrid's Hut as she frantically   searches for a gift for hiccup which she has not  picked out yet the ceremonial betrothal gift must   be exchanged six moon cycles from the first  announcement of a couple's well betrothal yes um so I failed math in middle school right um but  let's do some work here if the betrothal gifts   are to be exchanged six months in the future from  the first announcement of a couple's Patrol goal   and only a few months have passed between the  end of season four and the start of season five did hiccup propose to Astrid on their first date  or something this is the only context were given   as to how the betrotho even works we never  actually see the two of them discuss it it's   very likely that hiccup was just like hey I'm the  son of the chief if we date we gotta tell people   we're getting married and plus they'd been in love  with each other for years at this point I'm sure   they'd be eager to take that step quicker than  other people but still what the [ __ ] this is all   happening very fast five episodes ago they weren't  even together and now they're engaged hey you   won't catch me complaining and also given Astrid's  reluctance to jump into marriage as we'll see in   movie three it's also very likely that betrothal  is more of like a promise that one day they will   be married or like hiccup said more of a symbol  that they'll be together forever which is so   [ __ ] cute I cannot Astrid spins the remainder of  the episode stressed over trying to find something   to get hiccup which feels impossible because  what can she get him that he doesn't already   have who knows hiccup better than I do me good  boy this persists as the group fly to the northern   markets to investigate a report from Trader Johann  that his inventory and fellow Traders have been   mysteriously Vanishing Hiccup and snotlout split  away from the rest of the group to investigate as   Fishlegs hopes Astrid search the markets for a  betrothal gift as snot loud and Hiccup are away   snotlout retrieves the pendant from toothless's  saddlebag without hiccup noticing and tells him   that it would look better as a necklace that  Astrid can wear but as he's holding it and   Hiccup is telling him to give it back before  something happens someone runs by and steals it I'm guessing you want that back as not  louder and Hiccup make it to the beach   either a thief has just they're suddenly dragged  underground by a Dragon meanwhile Ashton should   be straighted as she can't find a single thing  worthy of buying for hiccup but when toothless   appears without him she knows something bad has  happened back in the cavern Hiccup and snot loud   awake to discover that the thief was actually one  of the bounty hunters that took hiccup in season   four but avoiding a spar hiccup tells them they  have to work together to get out before angrily   retrieving his stolen betrothal GIF back on  the surface Astrid and the group discover   hiccups prosthetic on the beach and she snaps at  toughnut for not taking the search seriously and   this is one of the most prominent themes of this  episode which is the sheer Panic Astrid feels at   not knowing where hiccup is or what happened to  him it really highlights their protective nature   and how greatly him being in potential danger  affects her and just how much the two rely on   each other Astra then studies a map the group  had purchased from one of the salesmen outlining   a cursed treasure pit on the island and out of  options decides to follow it back in the cavern   Hiccup and the others have an encounter with the  melted glass-breeding sandbuster dragon and once   the the creature Retreats we have a moment where  they're nearly found by Astrid but they're unable   to spot one another in this shot where we see  the two of them react in disappointment at not   finding each other is really the only point in  the entire franchise that we see this kind of   choice being made in terms of cinematography where  we break away from the standard and do something   creative and more avant-garde again a big nod to  how much Hiccup and Astrid have come to depend   on each other as I don't think such a unique  stylistic choice would have been made in the   first place if it didn't have such a deep rooted  meaning behind it as they attempt to escape the   cavern Astrid follows the map to its Last Detail  believing she now knows the location of where   hiccup may be and after a failed attempt on the  trapped groups end hiccup by some time using the   pendant as a light source which is the dragon's  weakness shortly after the ceiling is blasted open   by Astrid on Toothless and the group is brought  to safety the episode ends with Trader Johan   thanking the group for discovering the source of  the disappearances and Hiccup finally gives his   Patrol little gift to Astrid this is another one  of those instances where I highly recommend just   watching the full scene for yourself because me  describing it with minimal video reference will   simply not do it justice the clip is on YouTube  it is well worth the watch please go check it   out for yourselves taking out the now modified  pendant a choked up hiccup tells Astrid that the   object was his father's petrolo gift to his mother  and that stoic gave it to him so he could give it   to Astrid hiccup then tells her that she's part  of their family she always has been and he hopes   that she always will be Astra tells him that the  present is beautiful and absolutely perfect but   in full panic mode she admits that she hasn't  gotten him anything because she doesn't know   what she could give him but he cuts her off by  saying that she did give him a present Astrid   you got me the greatest gift in the world you you  just being here with me it's the only gift I need I [ __ ] hate you two these [ __ ] are the reason  I will never find love because of them this is the   standard I have set for lovers and it doesn't  exist in the real world aren't Doug I blame you   guys me being cursed is a Valentine's baby aside  this is your fault and to top off the sweetest   thing you will ever hear or witness in your entire  life as not loud haphazardly tosses a sword that   they found hiccup sweeps Astrid out of Harm's Way  before we leave them as they determine that the   sword belonged to the one and only Vigo grimborne  so yeah another hickstered heavy episode for sure   this is kind of the last fully hickstrid-centric  episode for a while but it definitely is not the   last episode of season five that we see some major  moments between the two moving forward to episode   three something rotten on Berserker Island  no notable moments take place between the two   aside from a hilarious moment where they giggle  at a guard pronouncing's not loud's misspelled   name and the expected always sitting together  or being close to one another this brings us   to episode 4 it's not loud Angels where again we  don't see much of the two apart from a moment at   the beginning where it's not loud says something  off-screen to Astrid that makes her so pissed off   that she storms to her Hut and grabs a weapon  when snotlout tells the writers what he said in   a whisper that the audience can't hear they all  have the same horrified reaction it's never said   what's not loud actually said to her to make her  so mad but snotlot's voice actor in the television   show Zach perlin was asked in an interview on  Burke's Grapevine what it was he said to Astrid   and it's not loud's angels that made her so mad  and Zack's answer is as follows oh boy my guess   would be something about hiccup's leg I would  say it has less to do with her and more to do   with who she likes I think she can take any amount  of BS from snot loud but I think he really knows   how to push her buttons and that's with Hiccup  which if true would be another great nod to how   protective she is over hiccup but the Phantom is  kind of collectively decided that it was actually   implied that's not loud asked Astrid if she was  on her period which would stay stand to reason   why we never actually hear what he said because  they can't just put that in a kid's show but I   mean what else would warrant that reaction from  Astrid and the others who instantly knew snotlout   needed to get the [ __ ] out of there before she  killed him he said what are you insane you should   go now it's literally the only chance you have  snow out makes leg jokes towards hiccup all the   time and Astrid never he asked her if she was on  her period end of story moving forward to episode   5 a matter of perspective we see a few notable  hickstrid moments including the only point in   all of season five that they share a kiss on the  lips the episode begins with Hiccup struggling to   figure out a project he's been keeping secret  from the other Riders as we hear from Astrid   when she knocks on his door and teases him before  saying he can tell them when he's ready we then   follow the writers as they go to Caldera K after  a message from The Defenders of the wing and we   learned that the Elder eruptodon has aged to the  point where its successor can now take over and   it must now travel to Anaheim which is basically  just a sacred retirement home resting ground for   dragons that no humans has ever seen or visited  because you know it's sacred but the twins sneak   off and the other writers are forced to follow  them the writers proceed to get trapped on the   island as statue-esque Sentinel dragons refused to  let them leave and they must now figure a way out   hiccup eventually observes that the dragons  are blind and by covering themselves in the   island fruit they can slip out undetected after  a brief altercation they managed to escape with   the help of the eruptodon before it returns to the  island as its final resting place the variant of   the episode sees Astrid and Hiccup together on  Dragon's Edge as she compliments how clever of   a solution he came up with then he tells her the  central moral of the episode which is looking at   things from different perspectives can lead you  to notice things you may never have seen before you know what I've had enough thinking to last  me an entire week I'm going to get some sleep   the episode ends with Hiccup entering his Hut  and with renewed enthusiasm he continues to work   on his secret project I think this episode is a  great example of the Casual hickstrid that a lot   of shippers were hoping to see because the grand  spectacle of them getting together was amazing   of course but just watching them interact as a  couple in their day-to-day lives holding hands   and kissing each other good night it's the kind of  stuff that we didn't think that we'd really get to   see in the show but luckily the showrunners took  advantage of all the run time that they had to   play with which is just one of my favorite things  about race to the edge in general but that's a   topic for another day moving forward to episode  6 Return of Thor Bone Crusher no notable higstrid   moments occur and this leads us to episode 7 Dawn  Of Destruction which in case you're curious ranks   number two on my list of Race To The Edge episodes  with the most tangible sexual tension and you're   about to see why the episode begins with an early  morning on Dragon's Edge where Fish Lake searches   for hiccup in the leader's Hut but he is unable  to locate him to which snot loud appears and we   have this interaction where is he no idea no one  ever sees hiccup now that he and Astrid are all I would like to say that there  is not a more blatant example of   Art and Doug looking directly at the fandom like   an episode of The Office Jim looking at the camera  because like I've said a hundred times a majority   of the fandom is crazy for hickstrid and they  were all well aware of this but I can't help   but believe that they added this moment just  to poke fun at us especially with snot loud's   next line not that they're a couple they don't  care about us anymore it's all about hickstrid we get it okay we know we're crazy and now we  make it to what happens to be a lot of pictured   shippers favorite most sexually charged scene  between the two ever depicted in the franchise   the sparring match Fishlegs and snotlout notice  moans coming from the arena yes I chose that term   deliberately what about it and we come to find  that Hiccup and Astrid are in a practice sparring   match fighting one another and everything about  this scene is perfect how happy the two of them   are how genuinely skilled they are at besting the  other how the other Riders and dragons are just   watching the whole thing go down also remember  way back in writers of Burke when I said I'd be   bringing up the hand-to-hand combat scene where  Astrid obliterated hiccup almost instantly can we   all take a moment to appreciate how skilled of a  fighter he's become the evolution is amazing and   spectacular and hypersexual although Astrid does  end up besting him but he doesn't seem too upset   about it call it a draw not on your life I got you  right where I thought what okay stop yeah yeah if   Astrid were stepping on me I'd have that reaction  too Fishlegs finally tells hiccup that Johan is   waiting for him at the dock in hiccup who's in  this Perpetual state of Joy rushes off with a very   Smiley Astrid which snotlout points out that all  Hiccup and Aster do anymore is hang out together   as if the rest of the group isn't even there at  johann's ship the trader tells hiccup that he was   unable to procure oil that hiccup had requested  for his secret project because Johan was too   busy [ __ ] some lady up north as I was otherwise  engaged with a northern native why is everything   in this episode so sexual Astrid goes on to T's  hiccup when she learns what the request was made   for oh right your secret project Astrid you stop  it you can God hit me with this sexually charged   sparring match in hiccups saying Astrid's name in  this low sexy tone within the span of two minutes   of each other I need a refractory period or I  won't survive so Johan gives hiccup the map to   find the oil on a secluded Island for himself  and much to the other writer's dismay he and   Astrid leave to obtain the materials by themselves  saying they'll be back in a day or two in doing   so hiccup willingly foregoes the annual Dragon  census Fishlegs was looking forward to it's not   allowed to straight up calls them out for blowing  the rest of the group off it's very clear he was   being truthful at the beginning when he said  that nobody ever sees hiccup anymore because   he's too busy with Astrid although given that he  was fake making out with himself while saying that   I can't help but feel that he walked in on exactly  that happening like Hiccup and Astrid in a total   heated makeout session because why else my mind  is going places it shouldn't so Hiccup and Astrid   finally Venture off leaving the other writers on  the Edge by by themselves while they go to procure   the oil that hiccup needs so if you wanted to you  could summarize this episode as Hiccup and Astrid   at their horniest ditch the rest of the group  to spend the night alone on an island full of   lubricant you don't have to I'm just saying  you could and once they arrive they question   whether or not leaving the others alone was the  right move with hiccups stating the last thing   he wants to do is not be a team player but at the  same time spending time with Astrid is important   to him to which she gives him a hug when he asked  her what it was for she says just for being him   and that she loves how sensitive he is because it  makes him a great friend a great leader and and   um a great boyfriend and this is the first time  in the franchise we hear her refer to him by this   title which I guess is a given considering they're  literally engaged at this point but it's still   nice to hear well as long as we're staying what do  you say we take a moonlit flight I thought you'd   never ask the following program contains nudity  and oh my God why are you even watching this   just run away this [ __ ] is going to give you  nightmares we can't warn you strongly enough do   you need a doctor of some kind what is the matter  with you so yes I after spinning her to hold her   close and Whispering seductively in her ear they  go on a moonlit flight even though the sequence   is very short they're seen laughing and yelling  in joy and just having the happiest time of their   lives being alone together a lot of people in the  fandom hold this scene as a sex metaphor which   I can see that you cannot in good conscience  look me in the eye and tell me that these two   did not do something sexual following this scene  they're alone on an island it's night time they're   surrounded by lubricant they're young and in  love they [ __ ] I'll just deem it Canon as the   certified fandom Ambassador they [ __ ] after this  scene the remainder of the episode sees the edge   being attacked by a new wave of Dragon Hunters  led by Krogan who happens to be the mysterious   bounty hunter from Midnight scrum back in season 4  who brought hiccup to Riker except Krogan has not   only trained his men to fly singed Tail dragons  that they've captured and manipulated he's also   partnered with take a wild [ __ ] guess Vigo  Grim born who's alive he survived falling into   a [ __ ] volcano because of course he did you  know he's teamed up with Krogan to take down   the Riders even though the two can't stand each  other which by the way I'm being dramatic I love   Vigo he's my favorite villain in the entire  franchise but this is such a cheap retcon the   remainder of the episode doesn't see a ton more  hickstrad the two do return in the midst of the   action and Hiccup apologizes claiming he should  have been there as the others are critical of   his decision to leave once again the variant  of the episode centers on the Dragon Hunters   successfully taking over the edge as Hiccup and  the Riders Retreat to The Defenders of the wing   for safety and it's revealed that Fishlegs managed  to save hiccup's secret project which happens to   be his attempt at building a second dragon eye at  this Astrid glares at him and he laughs nervously   which if you had almost died because someone was  manipulating you to get control of an object and   after narrowly avoiding that you find out your  boyfriend is working to recreate that object and   potentially put himself in danger again then you'd  probably be pissed off too moving on to episode 8   the wings of War part 1 we see the writers on  the Defenders of the wing Island and Astrid   attempts to ass kick up what their next move  should be he's very clearly discouraged over   what happened and queen Mala tells him that they  should take some time to rest Astrid assures him   that he'll think of what to do and in a later  scene expresses her confidence even more how do   you know that because hiccup haddock is the wisest  most talented and brave Dragon trainer on Earth   and he always comes up with it however Caldera K  as quickly thereafter attacked by the dragonflyers   forcing the group to relocate and eventually  seek Refuge back on Burke where stoic is quick   to prepare for war on the Flyers as well as their  singe Tales which is deeply troubling for hiccup   as he knows the singe Tales are not at fault he  departs the preparations to take time alone on a   sea stack where Astrid joins him in the two share  a Tinder moment discussing hiccup's concerns even   though Astrid expresses that she doesn't want  to hurt dragons either she tells hiccup that   in tough times tough decisions need to be made  in that it may not come down to being a choice   between the Flyers and the Cinch Tales the scene  in says hiccup mounts toothless however telling   Astrid that everything she's saying makes perfect  sense but while she has the stomach to do such a   thing he does not and he needs to find another  way he leaves her behind on the sea stack as he   Ventures off to find a new solution meanwhile  Vigo has been back at the edge searching for   and eventually finding the old dragon eye in the  volcano and I know that all of this sounds like   just the biggest cheapest retcon of season four is  ending and yet it is but there are reasons that it   happens because for those who are unaware race to  the edge was actually only supposed to have four   seasons and only between the gap of season 3 and  season 4 was it announced that two more seasons   had been greenlit art and Doug have mentioned in  interviews that it's pretty easy to tell that at   the end of season 4 they could have ended the  show there if they wanted to but because they   were approved for more episodes they had to really  think on their feet although as you can probably   imagine I'm perfectly fine with these retcon  because it means we get more dragons content   Vigo is the best villain in the franchise so  of course I'm happy to see him back so I don't   have much room to complain at all if it means more  How to Train Your Dragon content I'm okay with it   not that this brings us to episode 9 the wings  of War part two where we see hiccup on Storehouse   Island in an attempt to study the singe Tales  Behavior to search for weaknesses in Astrid   alongside stoic and the other writers fighting  to take back dragon's Edge Hiccup and Astro   don't have any interaction until the very end of  the episode after Astrid flies after Krogan only   to discover that Vigo is in fact still alive and  working with the hunters with the now recovered   dragon eye she takes this information back to  hiccup who expresses his worry at not knowing   where she was and she tells everyone what she  saw this brings us on to episode 10 no dragon   left behind and while it is an Astrid Centric  episode it focuses mainly on the relationship   between Astrid and Stormfly as her and hiccups  spend a majority of the runtime apart they do   share a few smaller moments such as him pulling  her out of danger as she rides toothless with   him along with him telling her to stay strong  when it's assumed Stormfly was poisoned moving   forward to episode 11 stuff nut the episode has a  few hints of the more casual hickstrid we've come   to appreciate although the beginning is quite  entertaining because the entire episode focuses   on throck from The Defenders of the wing coming  to dragon's Edge to take roughnut back to the   island so she can be his wife it has to do with a  life debt that happened back in wings of war that   I completely skimmed over but for context sake  that's what's going on here and when Astrid hears   that The Rock plans on just basically kidnapping  roughnut and forcing her to marry him even if she   doesn't want to she gets pissed off does she know  about this is that important are you kidding me   hey calm down Astrid loses it rightfully so  but it's great to watch I hate fish legs this   is more your area of expertise why don't you take  it however she seems to have calmed down about the   matter because later in the episode she's seen  with Hiccup talking to toughnut about ruff's   possible marriage and during this scene she's  casually helping hiccup with the construction   of the dragon eye too Esther then starts talking  about tuffnet's future in questions if he'd like   to have a wife in a family of his own someday  and as she says this she puts her hands on   hiccup's shoulder and he smiles up at her don't  you ever want to meet a beautiful Viking girl and   have a family of your own another adorable  moment of her not only helping him work but   talking about the future and having families  it's just so cute a stark contrast to this and moving forward to episode 12 searching  for Oswald and chicken the plot centers on   Hiccup and Dagger attempting to locate his  and Heather's long missing father who they   believed to be on the island of Anaheim we  don't see a lot of hipster interaction as   they spend a majority of the episode apart but  she does offer to stay behind and look after the   twins as hiccup thanks her and this brings us  to the season 5 finale episode 13 Sins of the   past again not a ton of hicksrid here as they  only meet again at the tail end of the episode   plot wise we see Heather becoming manipulated by  the Dragon Hunters in an effort to search for her   lost father who we discovered had long since  passed away on vanheim in the previous episode   dagger gives Heather a letter that their father  had left for her and as she tearfully reads it   Hiccup and Astrid watch this from a distance  what was in the letter closure ill so that's   not completely the end of the season because it's  revealed that Trader Johan is actually the big bad   villain orchestrating everything with the Dragon  Hunters and he's been lying to the Dragon Riders   and Burke for years now I get the major vibe that  they included this Johann twist villain thing as   a result of the two extra Seasons dilemma just  to make things more interesting I feel a certain   type of way about it but this isn't the video to  talk about that just know Johan is the villain now   and this brings us to the final season of Race To  The Edge which I don't remember if it was art or   Doug or a different member of the staff but it was  announced before the season premiered That season   six was going to contain the most hickstrid  out of any race to the edge season ever and um I don't know that I really agree with that  because to me the Holy Trinity of history at the   end of season four really makes that the magnum  opus of hickstrid content in this show for me but   that isn't to say that season 6 doesn't have a lot  of great episodes that include moments between the   two so let's dive in starting off with season six  episode one in plain sight Astrid actually only   appears for a few moments in the beginning of the  episode and she's not seen again until the very   end although the twins do have this interaction  when trying to determine if there's a spy amongst   the group what about Astrid why else would she  be with Hiccup except to spy on him ah it could   really be anybody roughnut you have working eyes  you were trying to [ __ ] this man in season one   two you have no room to talk the episode ends  with Hiccup learning of johann's betrayal but   they return to dragon's edge with the final  components needed to finish the second dragon   eye and using a newly obtained lens they learned  that with the use of five final lenses the king   of dragons will be revealed which makes the  final season a race between the hunters and   the writers who both have working Dragon Eyes to  obtain those lenses moving forward to episode 2   no bark all bite the two don't have a lot of  interaction aside from a moment following the   attack on Burke when hiccup assures the Riders are  okay and Astrid replies with a sweet smile at him   episode 3 chain of commands episode 4 Loyal Order  of ingerman and episode 5 a Gruff separation don't   have any significant moments worthy of analysis so  I feel alright skipping over them and this brings   us to episode 6 Mia more Wing which is the final  fully hickstrid Centric episode of Race To The   Edge and number one on my list of episodes with  the most sexual tension I really hope you guys   are strapped in for this one because I'm about to  introduce you to a whole new [ __ ] definition of   the word iconic not only does this episode contain  one of the biggest memes in the How to Train Your   Dragon franchise but it's also iconic for a whole  other reason that doesn't even have anything to do   with the plot that I'll get into in a bit I've  hyped this up as much as I possibly can so let's   talk about it the episode begins with the writers  on Dragon's Edge Gathering excess scrap metal   sorry Gathering excess scrap metal to deliver  to the armor Wing Dragon we saw in season 2. who   uses welded metal as a shield against predators  but as they're doing this dagger shows up with   Queen Mala of the Defenders of the wing and  the two reveal that they're getting married   again another one of the things that's been  kind of happening over the past few episodes   that I skimmed over after announcing this the  writers are very understandably in shock and   they Retreat to the clubhouse and Dagger and Mala  just make out in front of them we also see that   dagger evidently has a pain fetish because  Mala punches him and the two of them blush uh and he later begs her to hit him again and she  blushes got into the heck just happened however as the affectionate we see Astrid look at them  in Envy when snotlap questions why Hiccup and   Astrid are never that blatantly affectionate  towards one another hiccup claims that he and   Astrid have a different kind of relationship  one that's built on years of friendship but   before Astrid can respond to this she looks  at dagger and Mama sadly once again before   it reluctantly agreeing even though she's  clearly not being truthful years of friendship right yeah um years of friendship we didn't  cut to Astrid laying in her bedroom with a   sad look on her face seemingly thinking over  everything that just happened until she looks   at her betrothal necklace hanging on her bedside  and with a smile puts it on so it's obvious now   right Astrid's feeling like hiccup isn't being as  attentive to her as he should so she puts on the   necklace so he'll notice it and hopefully take  the hint that she wants more of his affection   yeah that's not what happens at all hearing  a knock at her door she runs excitedly to   answer it hoping to see hiccup but instead  finding the Twins and once the twins leave   oh hiccup shows up all right he appears on  toothless making small talk about dagger and   Mala as Astrid leans forward shaking the necklace  for him to notice as he continues to speak to her   she looks down shimmies at him again to draw his  attention to the necklace and hiccup's response   could put Shakespeare to shame yeah they  can't seem to take their eyes off each   other yeah no kidding so want to  deliver some scrap metal [Music] okay listen to me okay maybe this is just a you  had to be there a moment that all fandoms have   it's very possible that people watching this who  have no knowledge of the television shows will   think this is not funny in the slightest but I am  not exaggerating at all when I tell you that this   scrap metal line became one of the biggest memes  in the dragons fandom you know that Meme template   from movie three of Toothless doing the mating  dance and how popular that became in mainstream   culture yeah that's how popular the scrap metal  meme was for people in the dragons fandom [Music] oh [Music]   it's just scrap metal to my knowledge this meme  was started on some dragons themed Discord server   and if you're someone who was part of that can  we get married please and just to add insult   to injury this kind of goes into that sexual  tension thing I was talking about the entire   fandom is also in agreement that when Astrid bends  over and shimmy hiccup didn't notice the necklace   because he was looking at her tits instead I know  we sound like a bunch of horny Maniacs right now   but if you watch the episode as she shakes her  chest you can very clearly see his eyes move down   and look at two side by side Focus points before  laying on the scrap metal line which why would   anyone put that beneath him we saw a whole deleted  scene of him ruining her ax because he was staring   at her butt hey at least he's Shameless about it  so a very justifiably disheartened Astrid agrees   to go with him and we see them again on the armor  Wings Island where dagger dramatically professes   how much he hates being away from Mala which makes  Astrid huff and frustration then his dagger asks   hiccup to be his best man at his wedding it's not  loud and Astrid have this exchange hiccup hasn't   even chosen the best man Ah that's weird right  so he's referencing Hiccup and Astrid's future   wedding obviously and this would kind of again  conflict with movie three Astrid and her being   really hesitant to get married to hiccup but I  tend to think think that she was actually very   eager about marrying him and race to the edge but  him suddenly losing his father and becoming Chief   in Movie 2 may have altered her perspective a  little bit which is something that we'll talk   about later as the armor Wing appears Astrid pulls  hiccup aside and specifically asks him if he's   noticed anything different to which hiccup looking  right past her announces that he noticed a dragon   island lens fused to the armor Wings Metal Coating  obviously Astrid is extremely gutted by this and   after a short altercation with the dragon we get  the very inevitable hickstrid fight hiccup senses   something is wrong with her and after growling  at his ignorance Astrid finally points out her   betrothal necklace she brings up that she feels  invisible to him and he's more than capable of   noticing a lens on the armor Wing but he can't  even pay enough attention to her to notice the   betrothal necklace even though hiccup tries  to mend things the best he can telling her he   does care she brings up how dagger and Mala have  only known each other for a few months and yet   they can't stand to be apart from each other  we've known each other our whole lives hiccup   and I've never felt further away from you also remember this line from Astrid in Defenders of  Burke no one is kissing me on the lips ever and   now she's pissed because her boyfriend isn't  kissing her in public girl I love you after   another run-in with the armor wing and  an attack from the dragonflyers hiccup   under immense pressure he's left to find a  solution he looks to Astrid in desperation   as if silently begging her to be there for  him and finally relenting she approaches him   grabs his hand and with a smile tells him that  she's with him [Music] [Applause] I'm with you   I know this is of course a nod back to blindsided  in season four when hiccup professed his Devotion   to her in the forest okay whatever that means  whatever you want it to mean I am with you after   the two have made amends they managed to ward off  the Flyers and get the armor Wing to safety before   returning to dragon's Edge and take a while guess  what happens before the episode ends that's right   this is yet another instance of please watch  this scene on your own because my commentary   does not do it a fraction of Justice it deserves  this clip is on YouTube as well DreamWorks really   knows what the fans are looking for don't they  hiccup pulls Astrid aside and she immediately   apologizes claiming she was overreacting hiccup  shuts this down right away telling her that he was   the one who was definitely in the wrong and that  he should have noticed the necklace right away   but it wasn't about that because he's been taking  her for granted he tells her that he couldn't have   done any of the things he's accomplished without  her help and support and as he gives her back the   betrothal necklace she threw at him earlier  during their fight he tells her three special   words I love you Astrid hofferson with everything  I have and I always will [Music] I know you do   and as absolutely beautifict as this first verbal  Declaration of Love is Astrid unfortunately does   not say it back which I kind of get it is more  aligned with her character she's more reserved   when it comes to deep feelings and things like  that but she doesn't say it to him at all in the   franchise which I think is pretty disappointing  but regardless she's obviously forgiven him   and is back to being completely smitten before he  pulls her into what is arguably their most heated   kiss in the entire franchise we don't have to be  like them I mean we have a different kind of hope foreign just thinking about where hiccup was at  the start of the franchise when he was super shy   and awkward around her and now he's like sweeping  her into Fabio style kisses while she's blushing   like crazy my favorite part of these clips  is going frame by frame and just watching   the Split Second where hiccup's face turns from I  love you with all of my heart and I will cherish   you until the day I die to you are leaving this  island pregnant it even makes Mala the dominatrix   blush like come on and the episode concludes with  Hiccup and Astrid holding each other close as they   watch the sunset over dragon's Edge so that was  mi amor Wing one of the most iconic hickstrid   episodes of all time for mainly all of the wrong  reasons we got a classic meme out of it it's kind   of part of the fandom language that if you ask  someone to deliver scrap metal it translates to   you want to Bone them but you may be thinking  yeah okay the episode had a lot of fun hickstrid   moments but Audrey you say that it's the most  sexually tense episode in all of Race To The Edge   is it really more intense than Dawn Of Destruction  in season five where they were literally having a   sweaty sexy sparring match with each other I mean  yeah in me and more Wing there's a pretty heated   kiss and we see the characters visibly blush for  the first and only time in the franchise but what   makes it number one on your list and the answer  to that question is very simple and it comes down   to a factor that doesn't even take place in the  episode itself and that is the fact that season   six episode six of Race To The Edge is the first  and only episode in the entire television series   to be age restricted for adult content on Netflix  kids Yes you heard that correctly on the morning   of February 16 2018 race to the edge season 6  debuted and as per usual I watched the entire   thing in one sitting the moment it came out but  early that morning after having seen the season   perusing Tumblr for the fandom's reaction to all  of the final events that happened I noticed a few   odd posts talking about the fact that users who  access the show through a Netflix kids account   had to put in a PIN number in order to review  restricted content specifically for mi amor   Wing none of the other episodes a pin which only  appears when the content has been age restricted   for inappropriate reasons I know there's at  least one documented example of this that   exists on Twitter and I've tried to go back and  search Tumblr for the other posts because I know   for a fact this was an issue multiple people were  having this was not an isolated event but was six   years ago I could only find the one you'll have  to take my word for it but I distinctly remember   seeing multiple testimonies of people posting  about this and because I don't have a restriction   fan or anything on my account I can't test it  to see if it's still like that I imagine they   probably did lift their restrictions since the  episode premiered or you'd probably see more   people posting about that over the past few years  but what the actual [ __ ] if all the pain-fetish   references and Hiccup dead ass staring at Astrid's  boobs wasn't enough fuel for the fandom the   knowledge that the episode got a legitimate age  restriction set the community on fire and there's   no way it was due to violence there are so many  episodes where these characters just straight up   murder people and that's never been an issue  ever and there are so many more graphically   violent episodes than what we see in mi amore it  was due to the sexual content period so that is   why miyamorwing is ranked number one on my list of  sexually tense episodes because to put it simply   Astrid's boobs made history but finally moving  forward into episode 7 rough transition there's   a notable difference in the way the two interact  with one another as during the grand transition   Wing Maiden ritual the two class pans and look at  each other affectionately moving on to episode 8   Triple cross we see the two as they're having a  quiet picnic on the beach noting how great it is   to have time alone together before it's abruptly  ruined by the twins oh come on what do we have all right Fishlegs later interrupts with news  of a terror male and the two relent accepting   that their date has to be cut short when asteroid  expresses concern that the terror male allegedly   sent by stoic didn't sound like him hiccup tells  her not to worry actor don't worry I'll be careful   it turns out Astrid was right about the  terror male as hiccup learns Vigo sent   it and the episode goes on to detail the  Redemption and actual death of the former   villain when hiccup returns to the edge and the  others are made aware of what happened Astrid   Comforts Hiccup and leaves him alone in his Hut  before a maces and Talon sport moving forward to   episode 9 Family Matters the episode begins  with the two playfully fighting off a group   of flyers and freeing the singe Tales when  it's discovered that the downed singe tale   has remains of Death Song Amber on its wing the  writers leave to assure that Garth is safe on   the island they left him after discovering he  is still there and still safe they determine   the hunters are using an additional death  song as a means of capturing and subduing   singe tales and if they remove the death song  from their grasp they cut off the supply of   incoming dragons Astrid who since formed a deep  connection with Garf asks hiccup if the lonely   dragon can come with them to which he says  no asgarth is safer here end of story [Music] sorry eh I mean we all know who wears the  pants in this relationship but seeing it   play out is so great and it gets even better  because after determining where the targeted   Hunter Base is located Astrid again wants  to take Garth with them and Hiccup again   tells her no because it's not safe and  without saying a word she gets exactly   what she wants Fishlegs and meat lug will  be here taking care of the sage Tales so so we're all in agree and she's bribing him with  sex right I mean I'd give him two look at this   woman woman Garf however does end up being  a mistake because once he catches sight of   the other Death Song being Chained and abused  he attempts to go after it and gets captured   himself the writers attempt to free him and  complete the mission but end up barricaded in   a cave as the hunter subdue them and I just like  to point out that I'm not a huge fan of what the   screenwriters did with Astrid this episode  because it was her idea to bring Garf along   even though hiccup told her no because this  very thing that happens could happen and when   she apologizes for it in this scene hiccup tells  her it wasn't her fault this is my fault hiccup   if I hadn't forced you to bring Garf along  he didn't force me it was my decision which   no this was totally Astrid's fault I really  don't know what the point of all that was and   after they successfully free the singe tales in  both death songs at the end of the episode Astrid   runs to hiccup to hug him as they celebrate  the victory this brings us along to episode   10 Darkest Night Darkest Night is kind of a unique  episode and one that's gonna be difficult to talk   about in a streamlined way because the entire  premise involves stoic being Gravely injured   and indefinitely incapacitated after a hunter  attack and the episode is essentially just take   out feeling really guilty about this thinking that  his father was in that position because he left   Burke and the other Riders giving their versions  of what life would be like if they hadn't left   to explore the world and battle the hunters  it doesn't have a normal plot it's a what if   kind of episode it begins with Hiccup rushing to  Burke following the news of stoke's condition in   the villagers suggests that hiccup takeover as  acting Chief while stoic recovers or rather if   he recovers Astrid is the one to deliver this news  to him but he refuses claiming he don't give up on   his father so soon later that night after hiccup  sits alone in the Great Hall the writers enter an   Astrid tells him that he can't blame himself for  this we then get the various Renditions of what   snotlout Fishlegs and the twins believe life would  be like if they had never left Burke to explore   the world and this has literally nothing to do  with anything but I'm going to leave you with   these out of context frames from snot loud's  fantasy where Astrid is on her knees leaning   her extremely flushed face towards snotlouts  growing and he smiles down at her in satisfaction anyways our core audience is still kids the  sequence ends with hiccups snapping at the   group telling them that this is all his fault  because stoic would be okay if he had just never   shot down Toothless in the first place this leads  him to wander off as Astrid approaches him and we   hear her rendition of what their reality would be  like if he'd actually never shot down toothless   pretty much the remainder of the episode is this  what if scenario and it gets really convoluted so   I won't be explaining all of it but the hickstrid  moments go as follows snotlout enters the forge to   bully hiccup as he did in movie one and tells him  to hurry and finish the project he's working on   because it's his betrothal gift for Astrid it's my  betrothal GIF for Astrid and it has to be perfect   we don't actually see Astrid until the very end  of the what if scenario after hiccup makes peace   with the dragons in a different yet somewhat  similar way to movie one where she elbows not   loud before approaching Hiccup and hugging him  then we transition back to present day and I'm   just gonna say it I think Astrid was completely  wasted in this scenario I can understand them   needing to tell a story and only having a very  limited amount of time in this episode to get   across that message which is that hiccup is  exactly where he's supposed to be but they   truly in every sense of the term reduced Astrid  to nothing but just a prize for hiccup to win   in this fantasy I think they could have done a  way better job incorporating her into the story   especially since she was the one telling it but  anyways hiccup hugs Astrid thanking her and the   others for what they've done for him and the  episode ends with Hiccup promising stoic that   he won't give up on him before Astrid storms  inside and they are met with the sight of an   injured Heather claiming vanaheim is under attack  by the Dragon Hunters this brings us to episode   11 guardians of Anaheim we first see Hiccup  and Astrid as she offers to go fight the   dragon Hunters while he stays on Burke with  his ailing father but hiccup dismisses this   saying that if he stays behind the only thing he  can do is pray when they reach vanheim however   they're met with the horrific scene of slain  Sentinel dragons tipped off by a left behind   flyer hiccup Astrid and snotlout go to stop  the fleet of Flyers returning to inform Johann   of anaheim's existence but after their cover is  blown and Hookfang is injured they're forced to   retreat to a shipwreck for cover this is where  hiccup confides an Astrid about his Guild for   not making the correct decision but she tells him  that making mistakes isn't what's important moving   forward from those mistakes it's what really  matters another beautiful example of her being   his voice of reason which is a very prevalent  Factor come the final two films what's important   is that you keep making decisions that after you  fail you move forward where do you come up with   this stuff it doesn't really matter when the two  emerged to continue the fight Hookfang it's not   allowed to stay behind to recover and we get this  exchange looks like it's you and me then always   is that corny or probably nice though we live  for corny hickstrad also a beautiful callback   to their first dialogue Exchange in the franchise  oh I guess it's just you and me huh nope just you   looks like it's you and me then always the episode  ends as the Sentinel dragons are revived through   meat logs lava and the writers successfully  keep the hunters from returning to Johan and   this brings us to part one of the series finale of  Race To The Edge episode 12 king of dragons part   one the episode begins with the writers back on  Dragon's Edge following the Battle for banaheim   as they have finally procured the five lenses and  reveal what is allegedly the king of dragons this   is interrupted by Spite loud arriving to inform  hiccup that stoke's condition has worsened and the   Council of Elders on Burke have appointed hiccup  as acting Chief meaning the writers must now leave   the edge for good and return home we see in the  following scene the group packing their items   as Astrid Smiles at her betrothal necklace before  putting it safely away and once the writers start   complaining about the fact that they're now being  forced to leave dragon's Edge Astrid completely   snaps at them telling them they should all be  ashamed because yes they had their Adventures but   family always comes first and where hiccup goes  we go got it good now shut up and saddle up we   then see her enter hiccups Hut and apologize for  everything going on which is when he reveals that   he's made the decision to ignore the council's  orders and instead go on a final mission to stop   Johann for good Astrid assures that this is  what hiccup truly wants before she tells him   that she's proud of him and wherever he goes she  goes I'm proud and where you go I go thank you   for everything Astrid goes on to be his second in  command through the remainder of the episode as   they battle the hunters following the recovery of  the down dramillion they bring the dragon to the   Defenders of the wing to be treated and Hiccup  and Astrid are seen leaning their heads on one   another for Comfort following the Battle the  writers quickly discovered that the dremelion's   Dragonfire leads them to the true location of  the king of dragons and this brings us on to the   series finale of Race To The Edge episode 13 king  of dragons part 2. the episode begins with the   writers intercepting the dragon Hunter's attack on  Berserker Island as they and all of their allies   prepare to battle the fleet and spare the king  of dragons before sending everyone off to fight   hiccup grabs Astrid's hand as she hastily assures  him she'll be just fine we have a beautiful   moment between the two as she tells him if they  don't go on to fight the war will go on forever   and she holds his hands telling him how proud  she is of him before kissing him on the cheek [Music] just the tonal nuances of this moment between  them the Sparks of dragon fire falling from   the sky the score the way they look at each  other before leaving to fight the hunters it is a perfect way to show how much they've  come to love and trust one another since the   start of the show and before they knowingly walk  into what is the largest fight of their entire   lives it is such a stark contrast to where they  were at the beginning of the series and I think   the showrunners handled it masterfully now the two  of them do spend a majority of the episode away   from each other during the big final battle and  I don't want to go too heavily into the narrative   resolutions that take place because if I have  not made it clear enough I want all of you who   have not seen race to the edge to go watch it  for yourselves so I won't be spoiling exactly   what happens with this final episode but obviously  since the second and third movies are a thing you   can infer that Hiccup and the writers successfully  defeat Johann and the Dragon Hunters and in the   final monologue from hiccup we see stoic recover  the writer's packing and finally leaving dragon's   Edge behind and a certain wedding take place  as well dagger and mala's wedding to be exact   although you wouldn't realize it at first because  Hiccup and Astrid are too busy making out in the   middle of it as for the lovebirds [Music] no those  love birds their future seems to be pretty certain oh I'm not abundantly clear that I will never not  Embrace a hickstrid moment especially in race to   the edge but can someone please explain to me  why they're making out literally at the altar   while dagger is putting a ring on molla's finger  I get it they wanted to do the whole fake out in   terms of the composition of the shot with the  two of them and the Rings to trick the audience   into thinking that Hiccup and Astrid were getting  married even though everyone who's seen the second   movie prior to this would know that that's not  what happens but just the fact that the two of   them actually did this in the big finale ending  monologue that is awesome like they don't give   [ __ ] all the most important moment is someone's  life happening two feet away from us who cares I   want my tongue in Astrid's mouth and as you can  probably suspect at this point in similar vein   to the scrap metal moment Hiccup and Astrid making  out the altar of dagger and mala's wedding became   a giant meme in the fandom there was actually a  trend on Tumblr Following season six where someone   uploaded a PNG of them kissing in this scene and  fans made it a thing to Overlay it in the most   inappropriate situations imaginable I actually  reacted to it in a How to Train Your Dragon meme   review I did on patreon a few months ago and this  entire post is just kissing at daggered mala's   wedding but edited into the most inappropriate  situation like come on didn't they just break   from the franchise and start yeah my favorite  part of these is like they get so creative   you kind of have to look in the background to  see it oh wow this [ __ ] fandom why foreign why do they have them kiss at someone else's  wedding I'm not complaining about a hipster   kiss whatsoever I just want to know why just  iconic that is a really great descriptor for   anything history related and race to the edge it's  all just iconic and we finally in the show with   Hiccup and Astrid together smiling at their fellow  Dragon Riders before the group flies back to Burke   leaving dragon's Edge behind the place that Hiccup  and Astrid bonded fought laughed fell in love and   promised to dedicate their lives to each other for  all of eternity I'm sorry if this is starting to   sound like a Nicholas Sparks novel all of a sudden  I just cannot adequately describe to you how much   I love Hiccup and Astrid's relationship and race  to the edge even writing the script for this video   it took so long because I was skimming through all  the episodes to make sure I didn't miss anything   and I kept stopping to watch the two of them in  the show because it just genuinely makes me so   happy there are a lot of reasons why race to the  edge means so much to me a majority of of which   have to do with where I was in my life whenever it  was being released every six months as depressing   as this is going to sound most of the time knowing  that I'd get more time with the characters I love   and that I'd get to watch this beautifully  blossoming relationship between Hiccup and   Astrid that was sometimes the only thing that I  had to look forward to for months at a time I know   it's not a perfect show by any means and I'm not  here to talk specifically about it but in case you   were sitting there wondering why I am so invested  in this show in particular that's scratching the   surface a little bit but now we've made it past  all 78 episodes of Race To The Edge we are finally   ready to talk about the next piece of How to Train  Your Dragon content in chronological order which   is How to Train Your Dragon 2. in general Hiccup  and Astrid don't spend a bulk of the second movie   together but it does give us a great view into  how they interact with one another following   their development and race to the edge the film  starts as Astrid and the writers excluding hiccup   are participating in a dragon racing event  where stoic is seen cheering on Astrid and   when she eventually takes the black sheep sealing  her Victory stoic expresses his Joy [Applause]   that's my future daughter-in-law given the  context that we have from race to the edge   with them being canonically betrothed we see  that stoic is extremely proud that Astrid   will one day marry his son and be part of his  family and if that is not the most adorable   thing ever I don't know what is we then see  that Hiccup and Toothless are off exploring   mapping new territory and itchy armpit before  Astrid arrives and he addresses her as milady   afternoon milady Where Have You Been they go on to  have a playful conversation with her poking fun at   him as he eventually tells her that stoic and him  had a conversation about finally appointing hiccup   as the chief of Burke and while Astrid is elated  at this news delivering her trademark punch of   Pride that sounds like a WWE move or something  the punch bride hiccup explains that he doesn't   feel ready for the new responsibility claiming  that he'll have to stop exploring and give up his   freedom Astrid Comforts him anyway saying that  what he's searching for isn't out in the world   that he's going to find but rather it's already  inside of him maybe you just don't see it yet   yeah ignore the dragon spit that's  a whole other thing or maybe   never mind hi so this is Audrey in post coming  in because I forgot to mention something during   my analysis of the second movie not sure how I  really missed it but let's dive in one thing I   forgot to mention was that the braids that we  see in hiccups hair which we've seen all the   way back and raised to the edge were actually  put there by Astrid he doesn't particularly   like them according to all the sources I could  find but he wears them anyways because she put   them there smaller things like their character  design in the second movie I somehow skimmed over   he also has what appears to be a Nadder over  his heart on his armor in the second movie so   that's really adorable a lot of fans take that  as hiccups character design representing that   Astrid is always in his heart and I love that so  yeah I'm bringing it up now because I would have   gone crazy if I didn't mention it somewhere so the  braids and the natter yeah they're they're there   all right moving on the couple then go on to  discover Eric and the dragon Trappers destroyed   Fort as Astrid is shot down and Hiccup saves her  the two learn of Drago blood vest and his Dragon   Army through the Trapper and after a freeing  Stormfly flee back to Burke this leads to them   in forming stoic of the oncoming danger who panics  At The Mention Of Drago and his army and orders   the island to prepare for war hiccup feels that  he has the power to persuade Drago otherwise and   against his father's wishes he escapes the island  but not before kissing Astrid goodbye pickup don't   I have to this way but Astrid determined to stay  with Hiccup ends up following him off the island   and the two have a second interaction with Aaron  this scene hilariously depicts hiccup surrendering   much to Astrid's surprise as he clearly did not  inform her of the plan beforehand but his idea   to change the mind of air it doesn't work out so  well as the other writers show up and we learn   of stoic's true history with Drago following  the troubling flashback hiccup continues off   determined to find a peaceful solution and though  Astrid moves to follow him she's deterred by stoic   in order to lead the others back to Burke then we  get into what is the bulk of the story involving   hiccup meeting his long-lost mother volka still  at catching up with them and the war reaching a   Tipping Point all things that are not particularly  hickstered related but let's see what Astrid is   doing during this period unwilling to stay idle  while stoic doesn't return with Hiccup she leads   the other Dragon Riders to kidnap Eric and take  them to Drago's base believing hiccup could be   held hostage there this ends with the writers  getting captured themselves and we finally meet   Drago bloodfist Astrid realizing hiccup hadn't  been captured after all tells Drago that his   Endeavors are pointless because Hiccup and his  Night Fury will destroy their empire and Burke   will remain free from his reign in this backfires  in the worst way imaginable because this ends up   causing Drago to stop his preparations and put  his plan to destroy the Alpha dragon and Burke   in motion way faster than anticipated and as per  usual with things they do with the characters I   love that I don't think work very well I am going  to point them out and I absolutely she hated what   they did with Astrid here I get that they needed  a reason for Drago to attack right then and it's   fine that Astrid's the one to accidentally tip  him off but there's never a moment later on where   she takes responsibility for this yeah it was  going to happen eventually anyways but it would   have been really nice closure to see Astrid face  some type of consequences for what she did for   making this huge mistake that resulted in her  father-in-law dying well she did have to watch   her fiance lose his father so I guess that's  something she later catches up with Hiccup at   the battle at volka Sanctuary where he saves her  an arid from being crushed by a wall of ice and   she's told that hiccup's mother is in fact alive  what's your mother well now you know where I get   my dramatic Flair but of course if you've seen the  movies you know what happens next and that is the   death of hiccup's Father stoic at the blast of a  mind control toothless following stoic sacrificing   himself to save his son hiccup Mourns the death  of his father in the midst of the fight and Astrid   soon arrives not hesitating for a second to rush  over and comfort him after the dragons are taken   and the Riders are stranded on valka's island we  watch as the group give their Chieftain a rightful   funeral with Astrid being the one to command  the group to release their flaming arrows there   is some deleted footage of Astrid walking up to  Hiccup and placing her arms on him in consolation   during this scene but unfortunately that did not  make it into the Final Cut and in similar veins   to Astrid giving hiccup the confidence boost  he needed at the low point of movie One volca   instills a desire and Hiccup to keep doing what's  right which inspire fires him to go back to Burke   and fight Drago as soon as he announces this  Astrid Smiles at him and the group return on   the baby dragons the Battle of Burke and dragos  Bewilderbeast ensues and Hiccup successfully saves   Toothless from the Alpha's control as Astrid  cheers him on from the ground take him down   the fight leads to Hiccup and Toothless  getting encased in the bewilder beast ice   and Astrid upon watching this becomes tearful  but the two are spared as toothless harnesses   the powers of the alpha and Drago and his  bewilder beast finally Retreat into the   ocean The Village celebrates the Victory  and we get the awaited end of movie kiss   between Hiccup and Astrid she approaches him  telling him that she told him what he was   looking for was inside of him all along before he  playfully pulls her into a kiss come here you hmm also I think this is worth mentioning a few months  ago I did a video with Richard Hamilton who worked   really closely with Dean Deborah on the second  movie in particular and he informed me that Hiccup   and Astrid's kiss at the end of the second movie  was actually supposed to be way more intense and   more of a big moment but they got a note from  Dreamworks saying to cut back on the physical   affection and apparently this really disappointed  Dean because he was looking forward to making it   a bigger moment than it ended up being so yeah  that sucks ass death and violence approved two   people being in love get that on holiness inside  of my sight the second movie ends with Hiccup   being coordinated as chief of Burke and under  his command the village is rebuilt from the   destruction of the battle in the midst of this  ending monologue Hiccup and Astrid playfully fly   within the dragon races to which hiccup steals the  prized black sheep from her only to throw it in   her basket winning the game for his betrothed as  she sits beside him in the final shot of the film   so that was movie too did it have an abundance  of hickstrid not really they spend a majority   of the runtime apart but the scenes we did get  dedicated to the two of them such as the Itchy   armpit sequence and their interactions following  the climax were very well done and it was super   satisfying seeing how comfortable they've become  with one another showcasing how far they've come   since movie one and moving past the second film  yeah this is definitely not a reshoot or anything   because the sun came up during my nine hour  recording and the lighting got all [ __ ] up   the heart was not easy to replicate although I did  decide to go black this time what do you think I   kind of like it more Joan Jett is quaking moving  past the second film we aren't really ready to   talk about the finale just yet because there  are three Comics that take place between the   second movie and the third movie that we need to  discuss that are technically part of the canonical   Universe in fact they were co-written by Dean  debloa himself alongside Richard Hamilton the   first of which being the Serpent's Heir the comic  picks up basically immediately after the ending   of Movie 2 and we see the beginning progress  of restoring Burke and Hiccup adjusting to   life as Chief and just to get this out of the  way I won't be spending too much time talking   about these Comics because there really aren't  any hickstered moments in the first two but we   do see Astrid acting very similar to that of the  second movie and insisting that she helped pick   up on his mission to the island of Nepenthe even  his hiccup appointed her acting Chief a role she   instantly passed on to Gober just for the sake  of being with him no significant moments take   place between the two until the very end of the  comic where we see more examples of her supporting   Hiccup and his new role as she is appointed  the general of Burke so the two of them can   take care of their people side by side which is  100 nepotism at its finest but I don't even care   because there is not a soul on that island more  qualified to be General than Astrid hofferson this   brings us to the second comic in the gap between  movies two and three dragonvine the comic begins   with a short segment of the characters trapped  in a cave on a foreign island with treacherous   spider-like dragons keeping them inside during  this time the Group shares stories of their past   Chief stoic the vast and Astrid shares her own  account we see that the morning before she went   after hiccup at the beginning of Movie 2 she had  a conversation with stoic where he told her what   a perfect Chief she herself would make and even  lifted her up in Pride saying that he and volca   had always wished they could have a daughter of  their own and with Astrid and all she does for   Burke and for his son he finally has that daughter  to which volca in present day holds Astrid's face   saying how right her husband was the remainder  of dragonvine doesn't see a ton of Hiccup and   Astrid related material for the remainder of the  story we see her supporting him after encountering   a new tribe fighting alongside him while battling  the silk spanner dragons and we end the comic with   the two of them on a secluded beach enjoying their  time alone together as hiccup reflects on the past   again nothing too significant when it comes to  the first and second graphic novels but this leads   us to the third comic set between movies two and  three the fire tides and I can't show you pictures   of it because it hasn't released yet yes the fire  Tides was set to be released around Movie 3 back   in 2019 around the time that the franchise was  still very much active but Dark Horse didn't end   up approving it so it never got released and for  four years the story remained a complete mystery foreign until my channel came along and using  the audience power that I had I reached out to   Richard Hamilton and he agreed to do a video with  me where he tells the entire story of what the   fire Tides would have been and you can go watch  that video on my Channel right now I won't be   getting into specific narrative details in this  video because he explained it way better than I   ever could but the comic essentially focuses  on a story where Hiccup and Toothless become   lost at sea following a storm and Astrid is  forced to lead Burke by herself not knowing   whether or not hiccup is alive or dead there are  so many insane history moments that Richard told   me about even going as far as it being revealed  that Hiccup and Astrid have each other's names   tattooed on themselves here's the footage of  me finding that out we would also see that   um hiccup has a tattoo on his chest and  it's the runes that spell Astrid and   um shut up shut your [ __ ] mouth shut  your [ __ ] mouth are you kidding me   yeah hiccup gets shirtless in it as well we did a  whole fan art competition here's the winner this   is the official Canon depiction of shirtless  hiccup with his Astrid tattoo on his chest as   determined by Richard and I you're welcome but  the comic ends with Astrid saving Hiccup from   the ocean and they have a really spectacular  kiss and then they seek Refuge together as the   storm finally lifts again I'm leaving out a  lot of details so you'll go and listen to the   story yourself but those are the major hickstered  beats and the reason I'm even including the fire   tides in this timeline when it never actually came  out is because Richard does believe that there's   still a chance for it to be published someday  shout out to Ari on Twitter who's doing a daily   hashtag release the fire Tides campaign and while  I obviously have no merit in what this comic will   look like when and if it ever gets released I  promise everyone watching this video and in the   dragons fandom that if the graphic novel does  get written I will do everything in my power to   persuade Richard into including a line where we  finally see Astrid tell hiccup that she loves him   doing in God's work over here am I right and with  the gap between movie two and three filled that   finally brings us to the tail end of the franchise  with How to Train Your Dragon the Hidden World   the third film picks up a year after the events of  Movie 2 with the writers attempting to free a ship   of Trapped dragons and we see Hiccup and Astrid  fighting alongside each other as per usual when we   return to Burke we see that it's become extremely  overpopulated with Refugee dragons and Gober is   continuously pressuring hiccup to get control  of the situation he's made and what is garber's   solution to this problem Hiccup and Astrid getting  married flying off those Saddles I get married   hey at least he's thinking what we've all been  thinking for like nine years now we instantly   see that Astrid is opposed to the idea but in the  following scene of Hiccup overlooking Burke she   arrives and brings up gober's suggestion hiccup  immediately gets enthused about this assuming   she's referring to the two of them getting married  but she then clarifies that she was referring to   fixing Burke's population issue and take up  his very obviously disappointed Gods no we're   nowhere near ready for that no that's that's crazy  which as I said earlier when I was talking about   how eager it seemed Astrid was to get married to  hiccup back and race to the Edge versus the third   movie I think it has a lot to do with Hiccup being  in the role of Chief so suddenly in movie two and   his lack of self-confidence and having to do so  because the central message that Dean wanted to   get across with this third movie is that hiccup  doesn't believe that he's worth anything if he   doesn't have toothless around because before he  had toothless he was just the village failure and   it's through Astrid that hiccup realizes that  he is capable of being a great leader without   Toothless and it's only whenever he realizes this  that she believes they're finally ready to take   that next step in their relationship so after  discussing solutions for a bit Astrid grounds   hiccups rather Reckless idea of moving Burke  to the fabled Hidden World of dragons in hiccup   playfully suggests that maybe they should just tie  the knot because that would fix everything right I   mean I certainly wouldn't be arguing that at all  and then the two get into the most adorable play   fight that has ever happened in the history of  the universe following this scene is the discovery   of the light Fury which includes Astrid pushing  hiccup out of the dragon's blast and we get the   iconic light Fury vs bright Fury moment it's more  like a bright a light Fury yeah yours is better   probably well it's nice to see nothing has changed  since race to the edge hiccups change Tails so the following day the writers are discussing  the new dragon and when Astrid seems amused   by toothless being enamored hiccup  makes a jab at her he's in love   relationships are nothing but pain and misery I  don't think you understand I need more sarcastic   playful hickstrid in my life serious race to the  edge hiccup is sexy as hell but I need more dork   this scene is followed by a more light-hearted  plot line that's introduced where tough net   attempts to give hiccup advice on how to make  him more marriage material for Astrid this entire   storyline is meant to be a comic relief but it's  just basically tough nut insulting hiccup for the   entire movie but he does refer to Astrid as a  warrior Queen which I approve she's a warrior   Queen for Thor's sake after an attack on Burke  from grimmel the third movie's primary villain   hiccup is forced to make the decision to lead  the villagers away from their home Island so   they won't be a Target at the negative reaction  Astrid slams her ax onto the table yelling for   the group to hear hiccup out this results in  the population relocating to new Burke where   hiccup thanks Astrid for being his support the  night prior while in the Great Hall although we   do get this moment between tough nut and Hiccup  in relation to hiccup's voice can we lose the   whole honking Goose thing it's hard to imagine  wedded bliss with that going off every minute was that supposed to be a sex joke I'm taking  that as a sex joke we then see as toothless   gets close with the light Fury and desires  his own independence pick up crafting a tale   for him to fly on his own just as he did years  ago and Gift of the Night Fury to which Astrid   references and then admires as he builds claiming  she's impressed with him embracing change which   again plays into her desire for wanting to see  him realize that he's perfectly capable of being   a worthy Chief without toothless but he hasn't  made the Revelation just yet as he States it's   only temporary until toothless brings the light  Fury back before he kisses Astrid on the head and   leaves to give toothless his new tail and I think  that it's worth bringing up that at this point in   the film volka is off on a scouting mission to  make sure that they weren't followed and in the   deleted scenes of the third movie we actually see  that Astrid originally went along with volca at   this point in the film during which the women  talk about her potentially marrying Hiccup and   Astrid voices some of her concerns it's a big step  I mean I'd never get married just to get married   have you tried talking to him about it oh Gods no  he would just turn it into a joke even though it   wasn't included I think this is a great example  of showcasing more of Astrid's mindset when it   comes to marrying hiccup than we see in the Final  Cut and gives us a better idea of what Dean was   intending for Astrid's mindset to be during this  movie I see that on YouTube you make each other   better thanks but um he's so focused on toothless  he doesn't think he can do anything without him   and I'm not going to compete with a dragon once  volca returns however she informs the writers that   grimmel is tracking them and Hiccup determines  that they have to strike him first flying in   with astrodon Stormfly the group attempt a mission  but are unsuccessful and during this roughnut is   Left Behind when they return to Burke and see that  roughnut is gone hiccup's choices are scrutinized   by the villagers and the suggestion that toothless  may not return sends him into a rage to which   volka and Astrid have a really great scene  together where hiccup's mother tells her that   hiccup thinks that he has to lead alone because  stoic had to but hiccup doesn't realize the   strength that he has in Astrid and this is where  we hear Astrid's primary concern that I've been   referencing since discussing the third film but  he thinks he's nothing without toothless [Music]   and help him realize the truth Astrid then tells  hiccup that she'll take him to find toothless   which leads them to discovering the Hidden World  together and they find that toothless as the alpha   is in command with the light Fury at his side  this is of course devastating news for Hiccup   and the two are quickly saved from Wild Dragons by  toothless who is forced to leave and return them   to New Birth then we get a flashback to Young  hiccup with stoic who in tears while thinking   about the loss of his wife tells his son that  there is no greater gift to someone than love this   prompts hiccup to allow toothless to return to the  Hidden World with the light Fury when they make it   back to New Burke but upon roughnut's arrival in  the kidnapping of Toothless and the light Fury   by grimmel the writers are left without their  dragons and Hiccup is left without a solution   vodka Whispers to Astrid that hiccup will listen  to her and she bravely steps forward and this is   another very significant moment for the two's  relationship arguably one of the most important   in the franchise because this is where she finally  expresses to him that he is capable of being a   successful leader on his own in that even without  toothless he he's going to find a way to make   things right going as far as to say that she is  the person that she is because of him and we get a   wonderful parallel back to their scene at the low  point of movie One what are you gonna do about it   uh probably something stupid what are you gonna  do about it probably something stupid that's the   hiccup I know with the Newfound courage hiccup  declares to the group that they are going to get   their dragons back and to this tuffnut says now  that's marriage material at last faithful pupil   you are ready which I understand was supposed to  be a comedic part of the film but in this moment   tough nut is exactly right hiccup has finally  reached the point through Astrid that he is   capable of being just as great of a leader as  his father and that he isn't just the screw-up   that he was before he met Toothless and because  he now has this self-confidence there's nothing   stopping Astrid from believing that they're ready  to take the final step in their relationship the   movie continues as the writers using their Wing  suits battle grimmel and his Fleet and we get what   is probably the most sexually charged textured  moment in all three films combined [Music] oh this is what I'm talking about no other couple  in history could give each other [ __ ] me eyes   while simultaneously killing 12 people in an  explosion and making it look that sexy the   battle persists and after a near-death run-in  with grimmel Hiccup is Saved By the Light Fury   and the dragons return to the island with their  Riders Astrid holds hiccup upright as he's lost   his prosthetic and basking in the victory he  holds her close knowing the two of them will   be okay following this is the heartbreaking  goodbye scene between Hiccup and Toothless   along with the other Riders and their dragons and  watching from their new home the characters stand   by as their dragon's Retreat to a safer World  leaving hiccup behind to lead his village alone   like the chief he was always destined to be and  after nine long frustrating beautiful painstaking   years waiting for this moment to come we watch  Hiccup and Astrid on their wedding day Astrid   nods to hiccup knowing this is exactly where  they belong as gothi mends their hands and   a sacred cloth and the two share their first  kiss as a married couple becoming the chief   and chief diss of Burke as their Village cheers on  in celebration [Music] also shout out to this guy   preach brother preach we watch as Hiccup and  Astrid look over their Village as rulers a   parallel to Toothless and the light Fury in  the Hidden World and as the group gathers on   a cliff side hiccup holds Astrid close and we  transition into the epilogue and here we see   Hiccup and Astrid 10 years in the future as fully  grown adults with two children an eldest daughter   and a son as the family venture to the hidden  world's entrance to pay their old friends a visit   after a close encounter with a now wild Toothless  the dragon recognizes his lifelong companion and   Hiccup and Astrid introduce their children to The  Wonder of dragons they experience for themselves   years ago and we leave our beloved couple as  they soar through the sky on their respective   dragons showing their children what it was like  when dragons and humans existed in peace and as   the Family Rides through the clouds in unbridled  happiness the How to Train Your Dragon franchise   finally reaches its Bittersweet conclusion I'm  sorry I'm just thinking about the fact that I'm   gonna have to edit this and actually watch and  showcase case the ending of the third movie which   I can't do without bawling my eyes out so I try to  avoid it at all costs but with everything wrapped   up it couldn't be more clear that the third movie  in every sense gave hickster the conclusion they   deserved everything from the reluctance to take  the final step to hiccup realizing that he is   capable of being a strong leader with Astrid's  support to them marrying and finally having a   family of their own just think about where we  started with these two everything that we've   seen with the two of them and where we leave  them at this conclusion it is perhaps the most   well explored romantic relationship in all of  Cinema and I get that the wedding was kind of   inevitable so it's like are you really that  surprised by it but again just the fact that   we waited nine actual years for movie One in 2010  to movie three in 2019 just to watch this happen   Dean did state in a director's commentary of the  Hidden World that it was always his intention with   the franchise to include a viking funeral and  a viking wedding so this was clearly something   that he'd been planning for years he was well  aware of how bad the fans wanted it and by God   did he deliver but that actually is not where  the recap ends because we still have one final   short film to cover the second Christmas special  and the final piece of media in the chronological   timeline that includes our beloved characters How  to Train Your Dragon Homecoming this Christmas   special takes place a few months before the  epilogue at the end of movie 3. and focuses   on the haddock family at The Snuggle Talk holiday  we begin with Hiccup describing to his son nothing   yes that's actually his name don't ask me why it's  something the fans have always thought was a dick   move nothing nothing come on hiccup he describes  to nothing how he makes toothless's favorite meal   every snuggle talk as a way to remember his  friend and Astrid Smiles at him following this   however we see that their daughter Zephyr has  actually developed a fear of dragons due to the   depictions in stoic's Old Dragon manual hiccup  speaks with Astrid after the incident expressing   his concern that their kids will fear dragons just  as their parents did and Astrid brings up the idea   of reintroducing a snuggle tog pageant to show the  children of Newburgh how humans and Dragons became   friends Astrid then Comforts him as he expresses  how much he misses Toothless and Hiccup questions   of Toothless ever misses him also it's kind  of important for me to mention that while this   short is adorable in every sense and it gives us  a glimpse into the lives of Hiccup and Astrid and   their children and that's something that literally  every hickstrid shipper has been dreaming of since   the start of the franchise it kind of also maybe  ruins the ending of movie 3. because as the short   progresses it's revealed that toothless does Miss  Hiccup and and after his babies sneak away to new   Burke Toothless and the light Fury travel there to  retrieve them and he has an encounter with Hiccup   and in particular his effort which if you take  into account how toothless behaved in the epilogue   of Movie 3 that doesn't make a lot of sense he  acts like he hasn't seen humans in a decade and   it kind of ruins the impact a lot of fans feel  this way and I completely understand that but to   me it's the price we pay to see the haddock family  and all of its cuteness and plus they tried to   explain it because toothless never actually sees  hiccup in the short because he's hidden behind   a mask so it gives me the hint that they were  at least self-aware of this issue and tried to   make up for it in whatever ways they could the  short progresses as Hiccup and Astrid persuade   gobber into planning for a snuggle tog pageant  depicting how dragons and humans came to make   peace and through various trials and tribulations  they make it to the point of performance I didn't   mention this earlier but Hiccup and Astrid in  this short film do refer to each other as honey   which is such a married couple thing to do and  I absolutely adore it maybe more big picture   honey honey I don't know if I want to go through  with this however talking about this short film   strictly within the context of hickstrid is kind  of difficult because what do you classify that as   are there children part of that because in that  case the entire short is just a hickstrid gold   mine as we watch them act as parents to their  two young children to me obviously watching   the two of them being a mother and father and  interacting with their kids is 100 hickstrid   content we see Astrid praising their daughter  for being inventive followed by her showing her   colors as the more strict parent by keeping them  out of trouble we watch hiccup work tirelessly on   the pageant for the sole purpose of showing his  daughter that dragons are friendly and nothing   to be afraid of and we get so many adorable  moments between the children themselves like   nothing mimicking the attitude of his older sister  to her being protective when the pageant starts   to frighten her younger brother the short wraps  up with Zephyr professing her Newfound love for   Dragons as Hiccup and Astrid walked with their  arms linked and Hiccup goes on to declare that   she was right with her idea all along the two  hug in the family plus gobber go back to their   home to celebrate snuggle dog Eve together but  before the credits roll Hiccup and the family   catch sight of the flying dragons above Newburgh  and watch together as Astrid mentions that it   might be time to pay them a visit we then see the  scenes from the third movie's epilogue Play Over   the credits on the final depiction of Hiccup  Astrid and the family they've created so in   general this short film while kind of ruining  the impact of movie 3's epilogue was insanely   adorable you can tell the crew was just having  fun with what they knew was going to be the last   depiction of these characters you have really  humorous elements that poke fun at moments   throughout the franchise and even a self-aware  jab at that major criticism the franchise always   had where the older characters all have accents  while the younger characters don't and they make   fun of this by insinuating that accents in this  universe are kind of like a gene that you inherit   because Hiccup and Astrid's son nothing has a  very prominent Scottish accent like stoic had   me take place I don't need a fishing pole die I'll  just but the refreshes in the only heat and fun   fact nothing in this short film is voiced by Craig  Ferguson's son Craig Ferguson being gover's voice   actor and for those who are wondering how old  their kids are supposed to be in the script for   Movie 3 Zephyr is listed as five while nothing is  three but in homecoming there's literally no way   that they're actually that young and there were  reports of Dean telling a fan at a How to Train   Your Dragon Expo I think that Zephyr is actually  eight and nothing is five which would more align   with what we see of them in homecoming maybe they  were originally younger but when the short was   introduced they aged them so they could be more  cognitive like that would make the most sense to   me anyways so since Hiccup and Astrid got married  around the age of 22 Jesus Christ I'm 22 when I'm   recording this I feel like a [ __ ] infant right  now but we can reasonably infer that Astrid got   pregnant with Zephyr within the first year or two  of them being married and I'm expecting an influx   of fan fictions taking that time frame and doing  what they please with it oh my God the recap is   officially over I don't know whether to celebrate  or cry because there isn't more content for me to   cover that only took 200 pages and 45 000 words  there are some other miscellaneous type things   that I could bring up that aren't technically  Canon but they're still cute a majority of which   related to the various How to Train Your Dragon  video games such as rise of Burke in School   of Dragons there are a lot of cute interactions  between them in the mobile game such as Hiccup and   Astrid having this conversation where he asks her  for help with something and she responds saying   that she'll help him with anything that he needs  but when hiccup says it's about expanding the   Mead Hall Astrid replies with sure but that wasn't  what she had in mind when he was asking for help okay there's also this mission in School of  Dragons called spreading the love where Astrid   mentions that at the start of her and hiccup's  relationship they would write each other love   letters saying all the things that they were too  embarrassed to say out loud to each other and she   does clarify that this was more of her doing it  because hiccup is just naturally good at saying   his emotions out loud and she isn't but just  imagining Astrid and race to the edge leaving   hiccup notes telling him how much she loves  him I can die happy now I originally planned   for the analysis portion to take up a majority of  this video but I won't be surprised if we're in   like the last fifth of the run time with what I  have left to cover so now we've gone over every   single hickstrid interaction in the franchise  in chronological order but as I'm sure that   you've probably picked up on if you're for some  reason still tuned in that I pointed out a lot of   inconsistencies in their relationship especially  on the earlier end of the timeline a lot of hold   that thought I'll address it later yeah now  I'm addressing it I'm finally addressing it   for example why did it appear that Hiccup and  Astrid were an official couple in the first   movie and into Gift of the Night Fury but then we  get to writers and Defenders of Burke and they act   super shy around each other like they aren't in a  relationship then we get to race to the edge where   they act like nothing romantic has ever happened  between the two of them what the [ __ ] is going   on it's very odd and it's something that a lot of  fans have a tough time understanding rightfully   so if you suspend your disbelief you can kind  of brush it off as well they were shy as young   teenagers so the earlier kisses don't count  but is that really what happened or is there   something else going on fortunately I am here to  Enlighten you with the answer to that question   and the answer lies within the timeline not the  chronological timeline as we've already covered   the timeline in which every single piece of media  was released because while the chronological   timeline looks like this the actual order in which  everything was released looks like this we start   with movie one then the short films then writers  and Defenders but then following that is dragons   2 then dawn of the Dragon Racers and then race to  the edge the comics were released kind of around   the same time that the later seasons of Race To  The Edge were coming out then we have Movie 3 and   finally homecoming at the very start of the recap  when talking about Hiccup and Astrid's kiss in   movie one I mentioned that I wasn't a fan of the  fact that they rushed the relationship between the   two of them but there's actually a good reason  as to why that happened and that reason is   they thought they were done Chris Sanders and  Dean devlaw were brought onto the production of   the first movie believing that they were making a  standalone adaptation and that that was going to   be it there were never meant to be any sequels or  shows stimming off of the first How to Train Your   Dragon movie so when you have that context  in play the fact that Hiccup and Astrid's   relationship flourished so quickly actually makes  sense because if they hadn't included that scene   at the end of the two of them kissing it would  have been essentially robbing the audience of   a cathartic moment between the two translation  it would have left us with blue balls because   they thought the first movie was all that there  was going to be Hiccup and Astrid were shown to   be in a relationship by the end but once the film  did so well at the box office DreamWorks was like hey Hey Dean can you um can you do that again we  like money to which Dean agreed on the condition   that he was able to make the franchise a Trilogy  so thinking about this production wise the short   Gift of the Night Fury would have been made  probably in conjunction with wrapping up the   first movie and since Hiccup and Astrid were  together at the end of the first movie that's   how they're depicted and Gift of the Night Fury  so that makes sense but what about writers and   Defenders of birth they act shy around each  other for a majority of it and then they have   that really spontaneous kiss and thaw Fest  what the [ __ ] is happening well writers and   Defenders of Burke aired from mid-2012 to early  2014 meaning the series concluded just around   the time the second movie was set to be released  and in the marketing for the second movie Dean   mentions to several interviewers that Hiccup and  Astrid have been together for five years so given   that it's implied in the second movie that they've  been dating since the end of movie one and this   was technically true for a while doesn't that  imply that they were also together throughout   the entirety of the Cartoon Network series fans  were left very confused about this as Defenders   of Burke wrapped up and it was never revealed so  taking to Twitter fans asked a member of the show   running staff who directed multiple episodes John  Sanford and when he was asked if Hiccup and Astrid   had been dating for the entirety of the show his  response was although we didn't focus on it yes foreign excuse me the [ __ ] did you just say so Hiccup  and Astrid despite all the moments of them acting   awkward around each other we're dating the whole  time what about race to the edge why aren't they   a couple at the start of that show then a lot of  questions and I have a theory that may explain   them because at this point in early 2014 it's  safe to assume that race to the edge was not   in development yet or at the very least it was  in the extreme early stages of development for   reference the first season would Premiere in the  summer of 2015. and as I mentioned earlier early   2014 was around the same time that the second  movie was being promoted and Dean was implying   that Hiccup and Astrid had been dating for five  years AKA since the end of the first movie which   would be in line with Gift of the Night Fury and  everything aside from the Cartoon Network show so   I'm of the belief that one of two things happened  with this tweet because Dean was not involved with   the creative production of the Cartoon Network  show so either the show Runners genuinely wanted   to make it so that Hiccup and Astrid had been  dating throughout all of writers and Defenders   and they as John says in this tweet just chose  not to focus on it or what I kind of feel like to   be the more likely option they didn't intend for  Hiccup and Astrid to be dating throughout all of   writers and Defenders but since the second movie  was coming out and Dean was telling everyone that   they've been dating for five years this member of  Staff in an effort to avoid confusing reports just   told this fan that hickstrid had been together and  they just chose not to focus on it I mean I say I   believe the latter but I can actually see it from  both sides on one hand it's likely that because   the platform this show happened to air on was  broadcast television they were under a lot more   restrictions with showing things like romantic  affection in that round table with art and Doug   discussing race to the edge in the transition  to Netflix they do mention that because the show   is now on a streaming platform that they're able  to show more romantic content and that does make   logical sense if you think about it because with  broadcast television a really controlling parent   who lets their child flip through channels at  random could just pop in on an episode of writers   of Burke and if it contains something overtly  romantic that they deem inappropriate they're   likely to complain about it to the studio allowing  it on television for kids which is never good for   those companies but with a streaming service  you have to actually seek out the things that   you're watching you aren't just flipping through  channels at random and the content always comes   with warnings as to what's included in the show  so taking that into account it does support the   theory that Hiccup and Astrid were implied to be  together throughout all of writers and Defenders   of Burke but if that were true all the awkward  moments between them still don't make any sense   there was that line about hiccup saying that his  first girlfriend was a dragon so he didn't view   Astrid as his girlfriend clearly we saw them  being really comfortable around each other and   gifted the Night Fury I highly doubt that they  would revert back to that awkward teen romance   stage when they're supposed to be moving forward  in their relationship unless it was for the sake   of the broadcast television restrictions that I  theorized it's likely we'll never know the actual   truth as to whether or not they were intended to  be official in the Cartoon Network series but it   also doesn't really matter that much because once  race to the edge came around art and Doug needed   physical therapy for how fast they backpedaled  on that sneaky little tweet also about this   tweet I would just like to say that while I was  a huge fan of dragon since the beginning of the   franchise in 2010 I didn't become a super mega  fan until the second movie came out in the summer   of 2014. that's when I found out that there was a  television show and by then it had already wrapped   I spent the entire summer binging it and from then  on I was hooked and here we are but my point is   I was able to binge the entire Cartoon Network  series in a couple of weeks as opposed to people   who had to wait the entire two years for every  episode to come out but the fact that one of the   showrunners would just casually go on Twitter and  be like oh yeah they were together the entire time   that is so unbelievably [ __ ] up just think about  it if I had sat through the three years of Race To   The Edge premiering and Hiccup and Astrid never  ended up getting together and after the final   season aired one of the show Runners just casually  tweeted out oh well actually hiccup and Astron   were together the entire time we just didn't  include it at all I would want to beat someone   up I don't know how fans who were religious  Watchers of writers and Defenders of Burke at   the time of it airing dealt with it but anyways  when rumors began circulating in late 2014 that   a new dragon show was in production one that took  place before the second movie while the characters   were aged up very little was known about what it  would consist of aside from a few very vague facts   such as exploration of Hiccup creating his flight  suit the Dragon Blade and his budding relationship   with Astrid eventually it was revealed that the  show was going to be called race to the edge   and it was going to premiere on Netflix to which  art and Doug began their promotion they did that   round table that I've been referencing all this  video but they made it clear that they weren't   going to focus too heavily on Hiccup and Astrid's  relationship however since they now had hours upon   hours of content to produce that filled the gap  between movies one and two they made the decision   to explore Hiccup and Astrid's relationship  during this time frame which means starting   from the two of them not having officially dated  whatsoever in choosing to explore their romantic   Journey one slow step at a time long story short  art and Doug had the option to make them a couple   at the very beginning or use the six seasons to  their advantage and give us a slow burn and they   chose the Slow Burn it's possible that they  did this because narratively they have more   to play with and they really wanted to explore  the relationship between these two characters or   they may have just done it as an effort to keep  fans watching every season because it gave them   something to look forward to or maybe it was  a combination of the two and when I tell you   that they took advantage of how crazy fans were  going to see Hiccup and Astrid get together I mean   they played us like a damn violin the first three  seasons were largely void of Art and Doug talking   about hickstrat specifically when they were asked  about it in interviews they would give very vague   responses such as you'll see the beginnings of  it with things like them standing closer together   than the other writers them acting fearfully when  one's in danger and eventually it will become a   big part of the story so all of those moments  of Hiccup and Astrid being closer together than   anyone else or their hands almost touching  but not quite those were all very deliberate   days of the showrunners hinting at what was  to come and fun fact before season 4 came out   and hickstrid was official art and Doug went on  an episode of Cake Wars to judge a How to Train   Your Dragon themed cake making contest and upon  judging the finalist they had this to say about   the cake containing figurines of Hiccup and Astrid  honestly looks like it was plugged right out of   our show even to the point of Hiccup and Astrid's  hands that they're almost touching but they're not   quite touched out you little shit's new exactly  how hard you were teasing us and I [ __ ] love   you for it I just realized that there's a very  slim chance that art and Doug will actually see   this video someday you guys are great but come on  you tortured us and you know it there were other   moments of hickstrid marketing before they became  an official thing in the show one example would   be this dragon's Mega fan video that DreamWorks  uploaded hickstered up close and personal which   was basically just two child actors DreamWorks  had who discussed various race to the edge topics   and they made one over hickstrid talking about  the evolution of their relationship so basically   what I'm doing in this video but condensed  to six minutes with a lot less sex jokes there there I remember when this video came  out someone on Tumblr posted screen caps of   it with the caption these children are acting but  this is my life and that is so [ __ ] real this   video came out prior to season three premiering  but hinted at the fact that Hiccup and Astrid   would be keeping their relationship a secret in  the future rest assured that there's a lot more   in store for hickstrid in Seasons three and four  their relationship will continue to evolve as they   must hide a secret of their own you know what hats  off to DreamWorks for making this it's awesome to   look back on knowing what ends up happening  hold on is there credits in the description foreign did Richard write this wait I didn't notice  this the first time I recorded this wait hold   on I need to text him that'd be [ __ ] awesome  if he did but back to the release of the race   to the edge seasons one significant thing to  mention in the premiere schedule for race to   the edge is that the seasons would always be  released six months apart from each other that   is until season four was set to come out but for  some reason it wasn't being released six months   from season three's Premiere which had been in  June of 2016. and fans were left completely in   the dark because January of 2017 rolled around  and we were given nothing in fact it took fans   going to Twitter and asking one of Race To The  Edge's screenwriters if he had any information   on it because we had no idea what the [ __ ]  was happening he informed us that it was being   delayed for a while it was never revealed why  but I imagine it had to do with the fact that   troll hunters came out in January of 2017 and  DreamWorks probably just didn't want two big   premieres happening in the same month I guess also  the screenwriter who gave us this information was   John tell again who is a total Chad he's the  one who wrote me a more wing for God's sake   although him and I have a very complicated  relationship because he's now the executive   producer of the nine Realms and let's get back  to hickstrid before I get depressed so season   four came out in mid-February instead February  17 2017 to be exact and you know how I said art   and Doug had always kind of avoided the topic of  pictured when it came to preparing for a season   release well the promotion for season four went  from zero to a hundred with that so fast it's   not even funny art and Doug would go on to do  an interview with the everything geek podcast   in preparation for season four and when asked  specifically what fans had to look forward to this   season this was their response uh they can look  forward to a first with pickup and Astrid yeah it's a really great episode It's called  blindsided uh it's uh in the uh the latter half   actually right before the final two-parter um  and uh it's a really really cool episode with   the two of them I will say that and it's well  worth the way yeah but it kick-starts everything   to pick up an Astrid leading up to uh the second  movie you know where you find them in the second   movie and and it's not just gonna just happen  and that's it we are going to deal with their   relationship yeah in in many ways going forward  and until the end of the season it's it's uh you   know it's something that will become a big part  of the series The Season also coincided with the   week of Valentine's Day and since it happened  to be the season that Hiccup and Astrid really   did get together in they took full advantage of  that I'm talking banners I'm talking Facebook   promotion post where the two are referred to  as lovebirds they even made race to the edge   themed Valentine's Day cards and one of them  included Hiccup and Astrid with the caption   we go together like hickstrid but most notably  on Valentine's Day 2017 three days before the   season was set to Premiere this video was posted  to the How to Train Your Dragon Facebook page I am Jackie Sandy schumacha I'm Mary Kate Glenn  hi I'm Phoebe my name is Leslie I'm Angela [Music]   the video is titled the time has come and it's  a compilation of fans reactions to what ended   up being that scene in race to the edge season  4 where Hiccup and Astrid kiss and become an   official couple at the end of Blindsided the  video was promotional so they don't show the   actual kiss obviously but what they do show is  the quick second of footage where hiccup's hand   is holding hers along with the completely  elated reactions of all the fans watching laughs that's exciting it's uh it's gonna be good it  probably is going to give the fans what they've   been hoping and wanting it's really sweet  it's really cute it's exactly what I hoped   for finally in fun Story Valentine's Day is my  birthday as I established rather pessimistically   at the beginning of this video which means the  promotional video was released on my birthday   and I [ __ ] you not I remember exactly where  I was whenever I saw this for the first time   11th grade American history fourth period 11 A.M  sharp I actually had to leave and get up and go   to the bathroom just to scream into my bundled up  jacket I was so excited I swear to God the joy and   anticipation I experienced in that week leading  up to season Four's Premiere I don't think I'll   ever be able to replicate that feeling in my life  in fact I saved something that I want to show you   guys because I haven't embarrassed myself enough  this video it's dusty okay ignore the piss stains   on the side but this is a calendar that I made for  the week leading up to Feb February 17 2017. this   is legitimately six years old and I still have  it but look at this [ __ ] I literally calculated   all of the hours of the week that I had to spend  doing [ __ ] I didn't want to do like work six   hours Sunday was a it was a free day but then I  like got called into work I guess I was writing   inspirational quotes on every single day Tuesday  was my 17th birthday Valentine's Day I had to go   to a dental surgery consultation to get my wisdom  teeth out but that's that's ignore that then we   get to Thursday the day before I woke up at 3 30  a.m so I'd be tired that night and fall asleep   early and so we make it to Friday the release  of season four wake up at 1 30 and I wrote you   made it in all caps with many many exclamation  marks but that's not even the best part because   look at this at the bottom I wrote race to the  edge countdown with an h and a little hearts I was so happy oh I will never experience  Joy like that ever again I don't want to   hear anyone for the rest of Eternity say that I  did not earn my title as the Phantom's official   hatred expert and number one shipper okay I am the  Ambassador for a hickstrid if this doesn't prove   it then nothing can anyways my point in saying  all of this to counteract for the season being   delayed and to capitalize on how much they knew  fans were looking forward to pick up an Astrid   getting together the showrunners took advantage  of it all in promoting season four and good on   them because holy [ __ ] did it work hickstered  remains pretty prominent in the promotion of   future Seasons as well of course not as prominent  as season four but now that they were official it   wasn't a big secret that art and Doug had to hide  anymore with all of that said the inconsistencies   between Hiccup and Astrid being together than  not being together then being together again   it makes a lot more sense it really came down to  the franchise not being released in chronological   order and when they were making the earlier  stuff they had no idea that they were going   to have all this other later stuff greenlit so  as a fan who's hyper aware of these production   issues I'm able to look past the inconsistencies  in their romantic development but if you really   wanted to make sense of it in the confines of the  story just look at it like this all of Astrid's   early kisses with Hiccup were just her way of  saying that she's really proud of him and they   were spurred on by an impulsive desire the two  were too shy to admit their feelings which led   to them growing more and more used to having  a platonic relationship and by the time race   to the edge came around they were so deep in that  mindset that getting together was a long and very   slow process the official moments the two of  them become boyfriend and girlfriend for the   first time in the franchise is race to the edge  season 4 episode 11 blindsided so there you go   I hope that insanely long explanation gave you  Clarity instead of just making you more confused   Okay so we've done the recap we've talked  about the inconsistencies we've talked about   how promotion took advantage of their relationship  now let me discuss the final point of this video   which is why Hiccup and Astrid are the best  couple in history watch this be the shortest   segment I know if it's [ __ ] going to be when  you think of classic romances in fiction chances   are the idea of opposites attracting comes  to mind instantly the rich and the poor The   Adventurous and the shy it's only natural because  as the rules of narratives Go characters who are   opposites not only generate the most friction  resulting in interesting things happening but   they're also most likely to carry traits that  the other is lacking and by virtue make them   better because of it so how does that work with  Hiccup and Astrid we saw where they both stood at   the start of the franchise hiccup the son of the  chief who is gangly weak the complete opposite of   what a viking should be and we have Astrid she's  strong she's popular she's a fantastic Warrior and   every regard at surface level it seems that these  characters are opposites and putting them in the   same scenario would cause friction and we do see  examples of this with their training sequences   along with Astrid's introduction to toothless but  going even deeper than that there's one thing that   the two of them have in common and that is the  fact that they are both missing something for   hiccup he's missing a sense of purpose he doesn't  feel that he's capable of being a chief or even   someone The Village will respect one day it's  through his Discovery in slow befriending of   Toothless that he's able to begin understanding  what his real purpose might be and that is to be   a peacemaker and for Astrid she's also missing a  sense of purpose not in the sense that she doesn't   know why she's a warrior that's made very clear  as hiccup tells her in Movie 2 she's always known   exactly who she is but Astrid's primary trait  has always been loyalty and it's been her goal   throughout her entire upbringing to be the best  warrior possible to keep those she's loyal to safe   but she never took this responsibility as anything  other than an obligation she took it in stride and   became the best she could be but she's never shown  to be truly happy in this position she doesn't   seem to enjoy the pressure of keeping the village  safe or the grueling training she puts herself   through it isn't until hiccup shows her the truth  about dragons that she's given something she's   never felt before a desire to protect those she  cares about not because she feels obligated to but   because she truly feels love for them the Romantic  flight sequence is the first moment in the entire   film that we see Astrid with a genuine smile on  her face it almost seems like she's experiencing   this sense of happiness and fulfillment for  the first time in her entire life like there   is finally a reason for everything she subjects  herself to and that reason even if she doesn't   realize it at first is hiccup this growth that we  see from the two of them Works in tandem as they   become closer and as the franchise progresses it  becomes more and more apparent there's a deeper   meaning behind Astrid being the first person that  hiccup opens up to about the dragons yes it means   that the pair's relationship is instantly formed  around a mutual trust and understanding but it   also forms a connection between the two of them  that they simply can't experience with anyone   else because in that romantic flight sequence the  two of them unknowingly received the very pieces   of themselves they had always been missing for  Astrid it was happiness and a reason to dedicate   her life to protecting others and for hiccup it  was his reason to keep fighting because remember   hiccup was about to leave Burke and even following  his discovery of the nest he still very much could   have chosen to do that but instead he chooses  to stay and face the uncertainty of fighting for   peace and the only reason that happened was Astrid  and the best part is neither of them realize this   immediately not even in the first movie or the  earlier shorts or television episodes they slowly   come to realize this in the years that they spend  together which is why by race to the edge they're   shown to be so incredibly protective of the other  that's why their Mutual agreeance in Buffalo Lord   soldier that they can't imagine a world where the  other isn't a part of it is so impactful because   what do their worlds truly look like if the other  isn't there for Astrid a life without hiccup would   mean reverting back to the lifestyle that she led  before they made peace with the dragons where she   saw her role as a loyal Warrior as nothing more  than an obligation instilled in herson's birth   yes she would fight for birth until her dying  breath but what was she truly fighting for her   sense of purpose as cliche as it sounds is love  if hiccup is in her life then she has a reason to   fight and that reason is to protect love but if he  wasn't then she would just be another warrior with   nothing to truly protect and with Hiccup I believe  it's even more significant because Astrid without   him would just be another Warrior going through  the motions but with her willpower she would be   more likely to accept that as her role as she did  in movie one and even though she wouldn't be happy   she would still thrive in it but I ask you again  the question that I imposed many times throughout   this video what is hiccup's future without Astrid  hiccup is in line to be chief of Burke meaning he   has a whole list of obligations that completely  put astrids to shame he has to lead a village   which in Movie 1 absolutely hate him he has to  protect that Village even though they treated him   so poorly he has to provide for them in all sorts  of ways including in heir to the throne meaning he   has to marry and have children someday he has to  face enemies dragon attacks that were the result   of his mother allegedly getting killed and he  has to take all of this on believing that he   will never live up to his father who is nothing  but entirely disappointed in him and even after   he makes peace with the dragons and becomes  Berg's hero these obligations are still very   much there these are all responsibilities that he  never asked for he was simply born into it which   is why I believe among other reasons hiccup  was so desperate to avoid being Crown chief   of Burke for as long as possible but through all  of it even before they were romantically involved   who who was his number one supporter who stood  by him unconditionally Astrid and it's through   falling in love with her over the course of all  those years that he began to realize that if she   stayed beside him those obligations began to feel  less and less like obligations she was everything   in a leader that he felt that he wasn't she was  strong commanding willing to do whatever it took   to protect the people of Burke the two of them as  leaders couldn't have been more perfect through   her he'd have someone to lean on someone to lead  Burke with someone who's willing to have children   with him and provide an heir but if Astrid had  been taken out of that equation his future would   be virtually non-existent especially considering  the eventual Dragon departure for the Hidden World   and that's why I drew so much attention to this  line from Vigo and Shell Shocked part 2 when   he was threatening Astrid's life come now are  you really going to sacrifice your future all   the wonderful years you have ahead of you for  that this is the reason hiccup was so willing   to continuously sacrifice everything important to  him the second Astrid's life was in danger Astrid   is quite literally hiccup's entire future and  the love that he has for her means more to him   than any other Obsession or moral obligation and I  don't believe this is just my crazy fangirl Theory   whatsoever the creative minds behind the franchise  were well aware of this and emphasized it all the   time the line from Vigo being a great example  of this as well as Astrid's Central purpose   in the third movie confirmed by volca stating  that hiccup's true strength lies within Astrid   or as the Hidden Worlds producer Brad Lewis stated  alongside Dean at the third movie screening at the   Toronto International Film Festival back in 2018.  the strength of Astrid sharpens hiccup's sword really you couldn't think of a less suggestion   okay I don't really have a way to confirm this but  I I can't help but imagine the entire Auditorium   of people they were speaking to erupting in  laughter at that point and if they hadn't   and I had been there I would have been the  one you would have you would have heard me   I wouldn't have cared sharpens his sword goddamn  I had such a great thesis going in that tangent   totally blew it literally literally blew it just  to wrap all of these points up Hiccup and Astrid's   Journey doesn't just provide the audience of the  franchise with a cute romance for people to gush   over when they show affection or profess their  love for each other it's much more rooted in the   individuality of both characters because quite  literally if you took one of them away from the   other they wouldn't be a whole character anymore  they wouldn't be everything that makes them the   happiest most fulfilled best version of themselves  they would only be reduced to their obligations as   a warrior and as the future chief of a tribe but  together they become Unstoppable leaders who can   take down any enemy or any challenge that stands  in their way and they've done it time and time   and time again their transition from Rivals to  friends to lovers to husband and wife gave the   audience an opportunity to love and cherish these  characters as much as they love and cherish each   other and it's through their undying loyalty and  their effortless ability to make the other not   only complete but the best version of themselves  they can possibly be that make hiccup haddock and   Astrid hofferson of the How to Train Your Dragon  franchise the best couple in history [Music]   foreign [Music] that was a long one I'd like to say I'm tired but  I actually feel pretty good talking about hickster   just gives me energy I feel like I just ran a  marathon and I could run 10 more if I needed to   but in all seriousness I know this video probably  feels a little excessive I got pretty deep and   existential during parts of it people can laugh  and cringe at me if they want to it's something   that makes me happy and it makes a lot of other  people happy as well so I'm certainly not going   to feel ashamed talking about it it may sound  dramatic but whenever you have an example of   a really healthy happy relationship in media and  you as a child aren't exposed to that in your real   life but you have that fiction to hold on to it  can really make a difference in your development   in setting standards for relationships in the  future I mean it goes both ways it also gives   you really unrealistic expectations that men as  sincere and amazing as race to the edge hiccup   actually exist in real life you want some you  lose some I guess guys I could really go on for   days about this fictional couple I know I'm  gonna post this video and there are going to   be a million things that I kick myself for not  mentioning I mean I could get into how spending   literal years invested in watching them develop  and grow into a couple as the films and TV shows   progressed truly added to the experience to such  a huge degree that you feel like you're growing   up alongside the characters as you experience your  own trials and tribulations of love and navigating   the world alongside them and it just makes you  that much more connected to them in their story   I could talk for hours about how Astrid's what  if scenario and darkest night just completely   annihilated her character's potential in what  I actually believe hiccup's life would be like   if he never shot down toothless but all of that  is a topic for another day I legitimately wrote   a [ __ ] PhD linked dissertation over a fictional  couple how's your 2023 going so far so anyways I'd   like to officially declare Hiccup and Astrid's  anniversary as February 7 17th from here on   out a lot of fans hold February 22nd as their  anniversary because that's the day the Hidden   World released in theaters in the US and they  got married in that movie but I think February   17th works so much better because season 4 race  to the edge was released universally all at the   same time so from now on don't celebrate the Day  of Love on February 14th wait an additional three   days and give the best couple in history the  respect they deserve and let Audrey celebrate   her birthday without being depressed for once  God damn it if you're still watching this video   I am very impressed but please consider  subscribing if you have not already check   out my patreon if you're interested in  exclusive content and meanwhile I'll be   sitting here waiting for my doctorate in the Arts  of hickstrid to arrive in the mail following my   submission of this noveling thesis and they  said I'd never amount to anything [Music]   thank you thank you okay so I had to Google Lou brands for that  joke early on in the video because I've never   bought any so how would I know and there's  a Lube called [ __ ] juice and its primary   feature is that it is vagina scented if you  thought for a second I was above actually   checking out something so stupid for the  sake of a joke then welcome to my channel oh it's on my fingers is this  what chlamydia smells like