History Fridge / HowToTrainYourDragon2

* Hiccup and Toothless against Drago and his Bewilderbeast is symbolic on many levels. In essence of the two sides of dragon riding, good and evil. The duel of camaraderie versus subservience, friendship versus fear, loyalty versus intimidation. Drago primarily fought through his beast, giving it orders. Hiccup and Toothless flew as one. Besides the fact that they need each other, what made it powerful was that each brought something to the fight. Toothless is easy to figure out - speed, flight, plasma blasts. Without Toothless, Hiccup would of been unable to stop Drago, but without Hiccup, he would have just been subjected to the control again once freed even assuming he could fly alone. Just as Hiccup needed Toothless to hurt the Bewildebeast, Toothless needed Hiccup to protect him from it's control, hence covering his ears and the blindfold. Together, they were able to strike it enough that Toothless could use the EleventhHourSuperpower to win. In short: Drago simply threw power at it and otherwise let the dragon do everything. Hiccup and Toothless worked together, dragon and Viking as one, doing something that neither could do alone. Just like how they freed the dragons from the Red Death five years earlier.

*** The Titanwing Monstrous Nightmare has black scales. Skrills have very dark scales. Cavern Crashers have black scales, and are immune to fire. And how many dragons could die to make a coat? Um... one? Dragons tend to be ''very large.''

** To expand on this, Drago and Hiccup both parallel and oppose each other, and so do their dragons. Drago lost his left arm to a dragon, and uses his leg to force them into submission; Hiccup lost his left leg when saved by a dragon, and uses his arm to befriend dragons and earn their trust. Drago's Bewilderbeast was shown completely helpless without Drago to give out commands, whereas Toothless requires Hiccup to operate his tail fin but everything they do they do together, cooperatively. But during the climax, Hiccup had to tie Toothless' eyes to block off Bewilderbeast's hypnotic gaze; this made Toothless just as reliant on Hiccup as Bewilderbeast was on Drago. Also, while Drago's Bewilderbeast did nothing to protect Drago from blasts beyond its own physical presence, Toothless actively protected Hiccup from Bewilderbeast's attack. Drago's Bewilderbeast lost its left tusk when it attacked Berk, while Toothless lost his left tail fin while participating in attack on Berk during the first movie. Drago's Bewilderbeast controlled other dragons by force, whereas Toothless earned respect of Berk's dragons.

* Toothless's plasma bolts are purple-white in color, and purple is the most energetic color in the visible light spectrum. This is a small reflection of the fact that Toothless's BreathWeapon is far more intense than any other, hitting more like an artillery strike than a flamethrower.

* How long would Toothless last in that ice water if Valka's dragons didn't get him out? Cold blood plus freezing water is not a pleasant ending combo...[[labelnote:note]]IRL, low temperatures aren't exactly lethal to cold-blooded reptiles, as many can simply hibernate to wait out colder temps. That said, given that dragons in-series have been shown having very active lifestyles and also generating heat, they may not exactly be "cold-blooded", but that [[FantasticScience bears a whole different discussion]] entirely.[[/note]]

* The battle between the White Alpha vs Drago's Bewilderbeast [[NotSoDifferent is a direct parallel to Chieftain Stoick and Drago's fight]]. A battle between two "Good" Alphas vs two "Bad" ones. Both Stoick and the White Alpha are fighting to protect their love ones/nest and both died via killed in action while the opposing pair are both considered "evil". The movie even alternates between showing the two Alphas and Stoick vs Drago. Of course, the foil Drago plays to Hiccup and the Berkians in terms of dragon-human relationships page is also present here as, despite Drago's Bewilderbeast defeating Valka's, Drago himself is more-or-less subjected to a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Stoick.

* Here's more NotSoDifferent between Hiccup and Stoick, with a side dose of CallBack. In the first movie, Stoick's plan to take care of the Dragon Nest was "Find the nest, destroy it", the 'old Viking fallback' in Gobber's words. Hiccup's plan for Drago? "Get our dragons back and kick Drago's-" [[CurseCutShort [Ice Floe Interrupt]]], and Gobber having a similar reaction to Stoick's plan. Even better when you realize that saving Toothless and taking out the BigBad is essentially the same plan he used in the first movie, the difference being how the others distracted the BigBad.

** ''The Hidden World'' reveals that yes, Night Furies are indeed extinct except for Toothless. And who is responsible? Someone far, ''far'' worse than Drago, and a disturbing lot [[NotSoDifferent like Hiccup himself.]]

* How long would Toothless last in that ice water if Valka's dragons didn't get him out? Cold blood plus freezing water is not a pleasant ending combo...

** Also note that Drago's Bewilderbeast has tusks that curve upwards, unlike the White Alpha's. Remember that the chains used to pull Drago's ship are attached to shackles on ots tusks: its tusks were likely disfigured and grew in a wrong shape from this unnatural strain.

* Eyes play a huge deal when it comes to the Alpha taking control. Toothless can fight off the song, but he can't fight off the Alpha's eyes. Hiccup eventually manages to help him fight off the influence, with heaping spoonfuls of ThePowerOfFriendship. However, there is something more than just the bond between the two that we know of based on the growth of their friendship from the first movie. Pay attention to the eyes, and remember Valka's story about the night Cloudjumper took her away. She thought she saw her soul in the dragon, and we see her reflected in Cloudjumper's eyes--specifically, his pupils. Now skip ahead to the penultimate scene between Hiccup and Toothless when the Alpha is controlling the latter. We can see Hiccup's reflection in Toothless' eyes when they dilate a couple of times in his attempt to break free of the MindControl. However, he doesn't really throw it off until he looks into Hiccup's eyes and sees himself reflected in Hiccup's pupils. In a weird way, it is symbolic of Valka's first, up close interaction with Cloudjumper: what should have been a hostile confrontation (Hiccup's anger at Toothless' killing Stoik) was instead filled with tenderness and an attempt to reach out, after which an understanding is achieved. Fuelled by this revelation, Toothless fights off the Alpha's control effectively, and through it [[EleventhHourSuperpower their friendship grows even stronger]].

* Stoick's story about how Drago killed all of the other Viking Chieftans with armoured dragons lends a horrifying new perspective to his furious reaction to Toothless in the first film. Think about it for a moment-yes, he always had seen them as dangerous creatures, but the idea of someone using them as allies-soldiers even? Now remember his expression when he sees Hiccup first trying to bond with the Monstrous Nightmare in the ring...and then when Toothless smashes through the cage, covered in a saddle and straps. It could be that Stoick feared that Hiccup might end up like Drago, using dragons to impose his wished on the surrounding area...and puts his rage in an all too plausible light.

** Beyond that, how stable would the tribes be without their leaders? What if Drago's PEOPLE army is made up of the Viking villages left without a leader, and Berk only survived Drago coming after it because whenever Drago approached with a (much younger) bewilderbeast, he lost dragons to the local powerful queen on dragon island. Drago may have been planning to visit every single nest in the world with his Bewilderbeast after it takes supremacy over all dragons, and then Berk would have been toast anyway. So in a way, the Red Death saved Berk from DRAGO.

** Taken further when you consider that, even after the other dragons succumbed, Cloudjumper and Ber's dragons remained free; while Cloudjumper is probably a 'sub-Alpha' due to his time with Valka, Berk's dragons were not part of the White Bewilderbeast's pack, but were instead part of ''Berk's'' pack, which would likely regard Toothless as their Alpha. The Bewilderbeast had to specifically focus on Toothless alone to take control of him at first, and only managed to control him and the rest of Berk's dragons when Toothless was likely emotionally affected from Hiccup's rejection.

* In the flashback scene, when Cloudjumper approaches the infant Hiccup, it soon becomes a moment of heartwarming when it is surprisingly gentle with him. However, you realise that certain other types of dragon (a Monstrous Nightmare perhaps) mightn't have been so merciful.

* A small one: Eret, son of Eret, is the (self-proclaimed) best dragon trapper/tracker in the world. What dragon does he get? [[spoiler: Stoick's Rumblehorn,]] the best tracking dragon in the HTTYD universe.

* In the finale, [[spoiler: Toothless challenges Drago's Bewilderbeast and manages to break its hold on the other dragons despite not showing any ability to exert control. Hiccup then defiantly tells Drago that this was what it truly meant to command the loyalty of dragons. What makes this brilliant is that it's foreshadowed from the moment the audience is introduced to ''Valka's'' Bewilderbeast. The online materials note that the huge behemoths, though capable of exerting a hypnotic call, do not assume status of Alpha dragon by virtue of being a Bewilderbeast. A dragon becomes one by proving itself in combat and being capable of protecting its fellow dragons; it just so happens that for Bewilderbeasts this end is usually easily achieved. Watching the one that Valka had become allied with makes this clear- it never once exerts any kind of control over the dragons in its realm. It had earned their ''respect'' and they bow out of honor instead of fear; even Toothless did so on his own. When it comes time for Toothless to challenge the recently crowned Alpha, by doing enough damage to rattle its control over the pack he was able to show them; that ''he'', like their previous Alpha who never forcibly took control over them, would do everything in his power to care for the pack and was worthy of leadership and loyalty.]]

* Hiccup and Toothless against Drago and his Bewilderbeast is symbolic on many levels. In essence of the two sides of dragon riding, good and evil. The duel of camaraderie versus subservience, friendship versus fear, loyalty versus intimidation. Drago primarily fought through his beast, giving it orders. Hiccup and Toothless flew as one. Besides the fact that they need each other, what made it powerful was that each brought something to the fight. Toothless is easy to figure out - speed, flight, plasma blasts. Without Toothless, Hiccup would of been unable to stop Drago, but without Hiccup, he would have just been subjected to the control again once freed even assuming he could fly alone. Just as Hiccup needed Toothless to hurt the Bewildebeast, Toothless needed Hiccup to protect him from it's control, hence covering his ears and the blindfold. Together, they were able to strike it enough that [[spoiler: Toothless could use the EleventhHourSuperpower to win]]. In short: Drago simply threw power at it and otherwise let the dragon do everything. Hiccup and Toothless worked together, dragon and Viking as one, doing something that neither could do alone. Just like how they freed the dragons from the Red Death five years earlier.

* The Battle for the Glacial Sanctuary [[spoiler: is a ginormous incident of InstantWinCondition when you realize that the free dragons and Berk's riders were ''winning'' against Drago. Even Drago himself was being beaten down by Stoick and the Glacial Sanctuary dragons had gained the upper hand against their heavily armored counterparts and were beating the crap out of his human army. Then the White Alpha Bewilderbeast died, and suddenly they lost the battle. What makes this Fridge Brilliance is that it's a JustifiedTrope because of the Bewilderbeast's ability to control dragons - with their alpha alive, the good dragons were protected from it both socially with a clear leader and physically with it being able to 'control' them as it's followers. Once it died, Drago's Bewilderbeast Dark Alpha asserted full control and the only ones left were the human [[WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk Defenders of Berk]], who would be in no shape to fight. Can we hear it for DecapitatedArmy and WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou being justified?]]
** Taken further when you consider that, [[spoiler:even after the other dragons succumbed, Cloudjumper and Ber's dragons remained free; while Cloudjumper is probably a 'sub-Alpha' due to his time with Valka, Berk's dragons were not part of the White Bewilderbeast's pack, but were instead part of ''Berk's'' pack, which would likely regard Toothless as their Alpha. The Bewilderbeast had to specifically focus on Toothless alone to take control of him at first, and only managed to control him and the rest of Berk's dragons when Toothless was likely emotionally affected from Hiccup's rejection]].
* [[spoiler:The parallels of Hiccup and Toothless saving each other in the climax. In the first film, Toothless dives to save an unconscious Hiccup from the Red Death's fire; in the sequel, Hiccup dives to save a conscious Toothless from deadly ice spikes of Drago's Bewildebeast.]]

* Before Hiccup is [[spoiler:officially made chief by the Elder]], Astrid makes his dragon fin pop out from his back. He doesn't reel it back in when he gets [[spoiler:made chief]]. It's literally showing how Hiccup has [[spoiler:the heart of a chief, and a soul of a dragon.]]
* It's strange that they are only six teenagers in Berk, which seems to be well populated with both adults and kids. Then after watching the second film do you realize the obvious fact that Cloudjumper was not under control of the Red/Green Death. [[spoiler: Valka states that the dragon never meant to harm her and thought that she belonged in the home of the bewilderbeast.]] This means that the bewilerbeast was his alpha at the time. This was when Hiccup was a baby. At the time around Hiccup's (and all the other teens) births Berk was under attack from both the Red/Green Death's dragons, and the White Alpha's dragons. It wasn't a very good time to be making babies. After [[spoiler:Valka's kidnapping]] she put a stop to the dragon raids on the White Alpha's side just like Hiccup did with the Red/Green Death's. Suddenly, the dragon raids weren't so bad and people had more time, and felt safe enough, for more baby making. It also could be part of why she thought Hiccup and Stoick were safer [[spoiler: if she didn't return]].

** To expand on this, Drago and Hiccup both parallel and oppose each other, and so do their dragons. [[spoiler: Drago lost his left arm to a dragon, and uses his leg to force them into submission; Hiccup lost his left leg when saved by a dragon, and uses his arm to befriend dragons and earn their trust. Drago's Bewilderbeast was shown completely helpless without Drago to give out commands, whereas Toothless requires Hiccup to operate his tail fin but everything they do they do together, cooperatively. But during the climax, Hiccup had to tie Toothless' eyes to block off Bewilderbeast's hypnotic gaze; this made Toothless just as reliant on Hiccup as Bewilderbeast was on Drago. Also, while Drago's Bewilderbeast did nothing to protect Drago from blasts beyond its own physical presence, Toothless actively protected Hiccup from Bewilderbeast's attack. Drago's Bewilderbeast lost its left tusk when it attacked Berk, while Toothless lost his left tail fin while participating in attack on Berk during the first movie. Drago's Bewilderbeast controlled other dragons by force, whereas Toothless earned respect of Berk's dragons.]]

* Toothless's plasma bolts are purple-white in color, and purple is the most energetic color in the visible light spectrum. This is a small reflection of the fact that Toothless's BreathWeapon is far more intense than any other, hitting more like a artillery strike than a flamethrower.

* Valka's accent is confusing. Presumably it's Scandinavian, but it's actually a Scottish once. Her accent sounding different makes her sound foreign, thus making her stand out even more from everyone else. Also, it's possible she hadn't spoken to a human in years, or even to the dragons much (Cloudjumper knows his name, so presumably she did speak enough to name him and maybe teach him some verbal commands). This might be the first time she's said more than a few words at a time in two decades.

* Here's another Fridge Heartwarming moment; [[spoiler:when Hiccup manages to wake Toothless up from the mind control through ThePowerOfFriendship, Toothless didn't look so overjoyed because Hiccup was saving him, it was because he realized that ''Hiccup forgave him.'']]
* [[spoiler: Eyes play a huge deal when it comes to the Alpha taking control. Toothless can fight off the song, but he can't fight off the Alpha's eyes. Hiccup eventually manages to help him fight off the influence, with heaping spoonfuls of ThePowerOfFriendship. However, there is something more than just the bond between the two that we know of based on the growth of their friendship from the first movie. Pay attention to the eyes, and remember Valka's story about the night Cloudjumper took her away. She thought she saw her soul in the dragon, and we see her reflected in Cloudjumper's eyes--specifically, his pupils. Now skip ahead to the penultimate scene between Hiccup and Toothless when the Alpha is controlling the latter. We can see Hiccup's reflection in Toothless' eyes when they dilate a couple of times in his attempt to break free of the MindControl. However, he doesn't really throw it off until he looks into Hiccup's eyes and sees himself reflected in Hiccup's pupils. In a weird way, it is symbolic of Valka's first, up close interaction with Cloudjumper: what should have been a hostile confrontation (Hiccup's anger at Toothless' killing Stoik) was instead filled with tenderness and an attempt to reach out, after which an understanding is achieved. Fuelled by this revelation, Toothless fights off the Alpha's control effectively, and through it [[EleventhHourSuperpower their friendship grows even stronger]].]]
** [[spoiler: One possible reason Hiccup could only break Toothless free from the Alpha by touching his nose: The Alpha only controlled via sight and sound. But left taste, touch, and scent. Taste is connected to scent. So, Drago shot himself in the foot by letting Hiccup recreate that initial touch from the first movie! Hiccups touch and scent was enough to break the control and then the above Fridge Brilliance KEPT him free, even after Hiccup isn't touching him!]]

* Apart from eyes and sound, there appears to be a third component the Alpha uses to control other dragons. Pay attention to his head when he [[spoiler:directs his song at Toothless, his whiskers vibrates just like they were antennas sending out a signal, while Toothless' ears and fins vibrates and twitches in return as he appears to "receive" it.]]

* Stoick's story about how [[spoiler:Drago]] killed all of the other Viking Chieftans with armoured dragons lends a horrifying new perspective to his furious reaction to Toothless in the first film. Think about it for a moment-yes, he always had seen them as dangerous creatures, but the idea of someone using them as allies-soldiers even? Now remember his expression when he sees Hiccup first trying to bond with the Monstrous Nightmare in the ring...and then when Toothless smashes through the cage, covered in a saddle and straps. It could be that Stoick feared that Hiccup might end up like Drago, using dragons to impose his wished on the surrounding area...and puts his rage in an all too plausible light.
* [[spoiler:Did Hiccup ever reveal to the Hooligan Tribe how Stoick died? How a mind controlled Toothless killed him?]]
** All dragons in the village [[spoiler:also get controlled]], and who's to say they haven't killed anyone before Hiccup came? There's a lot of destruction when Hiccup arrives.
* [[spoiler:Since Stoick was the ''only'' chief to survive Drago's dragon attack, obviously all the others died. So, did they have families waiting for them to come back?]]
** [[spoiler:Beyond that, how stable would the tribes be without their leaders? What if Drago's PEOPLE army is made up of the Viking villages left without a leader, and Berk only survived Drago coming after it because whenever Drago approached with a (much younger) bewilderbeast, he lost dragons to the local powerful queen on dragon island. Drago may have been planning to visit every single nest in the world with his Bewilderbeast after it takes supremacy over all dragons, and then Berk would have been toast anyway. So in a way, the Red Death saved Berk from DRAGO.]]
* [[spoiler:We didn't see Drago's human crew when he invaded Berk with the dragons. That means during the last scene, all of the men died during the dragon attacks. Drago orders the survivors to follow him to Berk via ship as he takes point with the dragon army, riding Toothless. When Hiccup is looking out into the ocean at the ending, he's not only looking for Drago and the Bewilderbeast. Even as they rebuild Berk, /he's waiting for the friggin' armada Drago left behind!/]]

* [[spoiler:We didn't see Drago die. He's a roaming mad man still alive. Yes, he doesn't have an army, but Drago is still a threat.]]
* Even though [[spoiler:Hiccup understands and fully accepts it wasn't Toothless's fault for killing Stoick, remember that Hiccup will always have ''in his mind'' that his best friend shot his father. '''Right in front of him'''.]]

** When you notice Toothless' momentary confusion after [[spoiler:Stoick's death]], it's likely he never even met his parents or had parental figure before he met Cloudjumper.
* How long would Toothless last in that ice water if [[spoiler: Valka's dragons]] didn't get him out? Cold blood plus freezing water is not a pleasantly ending combo...

* In the five years since the first movie, no one on Berk has seen from or heard of another Night Fury. [[spoiler: Valka, who has spent the last 20 years living among dragons]] believes that Toothless may be the last of his kind. This begs the question: who or what was powerful enough to wipe out one of the most powerful dragon species around?!

* The most common impression of the [[spoiler:"hypnotized Toothless" scene is that Stoick intentionally [[TakingTheBullet took the bullet]] for Hiccup. However, pay close attention and you'll see that Stoick raises his sword towards Toothless while pushing Hiccup out of the way. He was going to fight Toothless; the blast took him by surprise.]]
** Worse yet if [[spoiler:Stoick might have thought he'd have to kill Toothless if it was the only way to stop him. Hiccup would have lost someone dear to him either way.]]

* As Stoick [[spoiler:runs to [[TakingTheBullet take Toothless' shot]] for Hiccup, [[FreezeFrameBonus he's holding a sword]].]] On first viewing, you presume [[spoiler:he considered killing Toothless before being killed]], but according to legend, a Viking's greatest wish is [[spoiler:to die sword in hand and enter Valhalla]]. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation It's possible to suggest]] that Stoick [[spoiler:knew he was going to die.]]
* When Toothless ends up [[spoiler:killing Stoick while under the Bewilderbeast's control]], he shows confusion at both the sight of Stoick's body and how Hiccup and Valka reacted to it. Considering how in the first movie he saw most dragons die by being eaten he likely didn't realize what happened.

* When Hiccup decided to [[spoiler:confront Drago rather than wait for him to arrive like his father wanted]], Astrid willingly came with him. If Astrid did not come with him and if Hiccup did not fly off to parts unknown after fighting with Stoick, she would not have led the other riders to Drago. If she did not face Drago [[spoiler:out of fear for Hiccup]], Drago would not have learned about Hiccup and Berk's pact with the dragons. If Hiccup did not fly off and eventually meet Valka and have just gone back to berk, Stoick would not have needed to track him at the Dragon's Den. If Stoick did not meet up with him and Valka at the Dragon's Den, Stoick would not have been at the battle against Drago's forces. If Hiccup did not do '''all of that''' and not try and reason with Drago, [[spoiler:Stoick would not have been killed by a brainwashed Toothless in trying to save Hiccup and he would still be alive. If it was not for Hiccup, his father would not have died.]]

* Hiccup's dragon philosophy is actually a compromise between Valka's and Stoick's dragon philosophies (and is very similar to Stoick's post HTTYD 1 philosophy). Valka believed the Dragons were truly wonderful creatures and against killing them even before she had evidence that they weren't all vicious monster's, where as Hiccup only started to see them differently when he DID have evidence and Stoick flat out had to take a (justified) clue-by-4 to the face. Also Valka firmly believes there are no evil dragons, just evil humans, and shunned human society for twenty years choosing dragons over humans. Stoick will always choose what's best for Berk, even if it comes at the expense of dragons. Hiccup leans heavily towards conservation of dragons like his mother BUT has been shown willing to kill dragons as a last resort if lives are on the line, something Valka would probably never do ''but his father would!''

* Valka notes to Hiccup that he was born too early, and [[AdultFear everyone thought he was going to die.]] [[GoodParents (Except for Stoick, at least.)]] Premature babies are well-known to have complications, so this would definitely explain why Hiccup spent childhood to adolescence being [[TheRuntAtTheEnd so scrawny and awkward;]] all the health issues that baby-Hiccup dealt with must have slowed down his growth for a while.

** ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld'' answer that question, and it's the usual answer: [[HumansAreBastards Man]].

* Valka's accent is confusing. Presumably it's Scandinavian, but it's acctually a Scottish once. Her accent sounding different makes her sound foreign, thus making her stand out even more from everyone else. Also, it's possible she hadn't spoken to a human in years, or even to the dragons much (Cloudjumper knows his name, so presumably she did speak enough to name him and maybe teach him some verbal commands). This might be the first time she's said more than a few words at a time in two decades.

* Toothless's behavior towards Cloudjumper (especially his delight at the regurgitated food during the feeding scene) is subtly explained when Valka mentions that Toothless and Hiccup are the same age -- 20 -- and is probably the last of his kind. That means that Toothless was an orphan as a young dragon, so of course he would attach himself to Cloudjumper the same way Hiccup gets attached to Valka.

* This one also counts as Fridge Heartwarming: Why did Stoick take off his helmet after seeing Valka for the first time in 20 years? In the first movie, during the "breast hat" scene, he tells Hiccup that the helmet he [Stoick] wears his helmet because it keeps her [Valka] close. So, after seeing Valka again, he doesn't need to wear the helmet to keep her close anymore.

* Hiccup's dragon philosophy is actually a compromise between Valka's and Stoick's dragon philosophies (and is very similar to Stoick's post HTTYD 1 philosophy). Valka believed the Dragons were truly wonderful creatures and against killing them even before she had evidence that they weren't all vicious monster's, where as Hiccup only started to see them differently when he DID have evidence and Stoick flat out had to take a (justified) clue-by-4 to the face. Also Valka firmly believes there are no evil dragons, just evil humans and and shunned human society for twenty years choosing dragons over humans. Stoick will always choose what's best for Berk, even if it comes at the expense of dragons. Hiccup leans heavily towards conservation of dragons like his mother BUT has been shown willing to kill dragons as a last resort if lives are on the line, something Valka would probably never do ''but his father would!''

** [[http://ashleybenlove.tumblr.com/post/90674858451/10scheherazade01-can-i-tell-you-how-important This article shows how it's important.]]
** Another one about Stoick' beard: the ends are covered in tiny braids. We see early in the second movie that Astrid apparently likes to weave tiny braids into Hiccup's hair as a gesture of affection, but she also does it specifically when she's trying to reassure him. Stoick's beard was filled with tiny braids by Valka years ago for the same reason: as a gesture of affection and reassurance.

* [[http://portablethemepark.tumblr.com/post/89020555177/how-the-finale-of-season-2-sets-up-hiccups-tragic The reason for Hiccup's tragic mistake.]]