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Fridge Brilliance
- 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 monsters, 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!
- The battle between the White Alpha vs Drago's Bewilderbeast 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 No-Holds-Barred Beatdown by Stoick.
- A small one: Eret, son of Eret, is the (self-proclaimed) best dragon trapper/tracker in the world. What dragon does he get? Stoick's Rumblehorn, the best tracking dragon in the HTTYD universe.
- Eret is a very talented dragon hunter, but that's only a part of his ability as a natural dragon trainer. However, under Drago, he could never realize that talent because Drago suppresses anyone being able to control dragons but himself. Under Hiccup's (and Astrid's) influence, he realizes his talents as a trainer.
- Hiccup was born prematurely, enough for his parents to fear for his life at least. This explains his smaller size when compared to other vikings his age.
- After a while, premature kids catch up in terms of growth. This is why Hiccup's growth between films is so huge - Valka and Stoick are practically giants (Valka is stated to be 6'3 at full height, and going by that Stoick's at least 6'5), and so when Hiccup caught up, he caught up big.
- In the flashback, Hiccup is shown to already befriend a dragon. He's already changing people's minds (his mother) ever since he's a baby. More fridge? If his mother hadn't intervene or had things gone differently (ex. Stoick saved his wife first), it could be Hiccup that was taken, and become raised among dragons...
- The Red Death's control over the other dragons makes a lot more sense when one considers that it was probably an alpha, and thus able to enforce it's will on the other dragons if they tried to resist. It probably didn't do so earlier due to a combo of anger and bloodthirstyness. It's also possible that it was just the queen of that particular nest.
- In the finale, 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.
- 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 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 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 have 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 11th-Hour Superpower 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.
- Here's another interpretation of Stoick's obsession of finding the Dragon's Nest in the first movie: Since he didn't actually see Valka be "eaten by a dragon", he secretly thought (and hoped) that Valka might be in the Nest and alive. If this is true, then he would be right. He just had the wrong nest.
- Remember Hiccup's impersonation of Stoick of how he believed his father wanted a son who was an "extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts" and such in the first movie. It turns out Hiccup wasn't exactly off the mark, given how Valka later revealed that he was born prematurely.
- Toothless's behavior towards Cloudjumper (especially his delight at the regurgitated food during the feeding scene) is subtly explained when Valka mentions that Toothless is the same age as Hiccup — 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.
- It also puts Valka's discovery of Toothless' retractable back fins, and his unmasked delight, into context. He would have known they were there and how to use them from seeing others of his kind use them. As he was likely orphaned, he had no idea he had them.
- The Battle for the Glacial Sanctuary is a ginormous incident of Instant-Win Condition 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 Justified Trope 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 Defenders of Berk, who would be in no shape to fight. Can we hear it for Decapitated Army and We Cannot Go On Without You being justified?
- Taken further when you consider that, even after the other dragons succumbed, Cloudjumper and Berk'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.
- 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.
- When Valka first attempts to touch Hiccup, he backs away, not trusting her and being overall wary. It's only after a proper montage scene that they start to bond. After this, Valka tries to touch Hiccup again, hesitant, but this time he leans into it and is much more accepting. Hiccup and Valka just had their own 'Forbidden Friendship' moment, showing once again just how similar they are to dragons/how similar people and dragons really can be.
- Before Hiccup is 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 made chief. It's literally showing how Hiccup has 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. 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 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 if she didn't return.
- Stoick and his 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.
- Take a closer look at Valka's armor. Long curved spikes sticking out of head like a mane, black shadow around eyes, downward facing tusks, downturned mouth; it's the Alpha Bewilderbeast. Her staff even mimics the crooning song of the Bewilderbeast via its shaking sounds, hence why it calms down the dragons. Her armor is the same color as the ice it creates and is thus symbolic of their home and furthering the association with the White Alpha.
- Look at how Hiccup and Drago tame dragons: Hiccup uses his hand to gain their trust and tell them he's a friend, but Drago uses his foot to make them think of him as their master and to fear him. Now here's the interesting part: Hiccup lost his leg when he was saved by a dragon, but Drago lost his arm possibly when he was fighting with a dragon.
- 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.
- The first movie dealt with how dragons aren't mindless beasts and that they can be trained to befriend Vikings. In this movie we learn how different training methods can affect a dragon: Drago uses fear and intimidation causing the dragons under his control to do whatever he commands out of fear; Hiccup uses trust and his flame sword to tell them he's one of them and gains their loyalty through friendship.
- 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 Breath Weapon is far more intense than any other, hitting more like an artillery strike than a flamethrower.
- Here's more similarity moments between Hiccup and Stoick, with a side dose of Call-Back. 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-" [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 Big Bad is essentially the same plan he used in the first movie, the difference being how the others distracted the Big Bad.
- Look at the dragon names. Most of the dragons get names which evoke some kind of power (Stormfly, Hookfang, Skullcrusher) or an "ugly" name like the ones Vikings get (Meatlug, Barf, Belch). Presumably, this is a rule which holds for everyone, as Berkians have a habit of giving out ugly and tough names to their kids and just carried on that tradition with the dragons. Two dragons, however, have names which aren't ugly or tough at all - Toothless is kind of a ridiculous name, and Cloudjumper also breaks the pattern. Now look at who named those two dragons. Hiccup and Valka were always different, and this is extended to how they named their dragons!
- 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.
- Also, she is Scottish. Which explains why her attitudes differ from Stoick, and since her son is half-Scottish...
- Remember in the first film when Hiccup proclaims "I'm not one of them" and reaches his hand out to pet the Monstrous Nightmare which makes Stoick lose it and demand that they "Stop the fight!"? We learn that Hiccup's mother was just like him (refused to fight dragons) which Stoick believes is what led to her being kidnapped and killed. Seeing Hiccup doing just the same probably gave him some horrible flashback and fear that the same would happen to his son, resulting in said outburst.
- At one point in the first film, Hiccup planned to take Toothless and leave the island instead of facing and presumably killing the Monstrous Nightmare (later known as Hookfang). He decided stay and try to reason with the people of Berk instead of running off. If he hadn't been stopped, there's a very good chance he would have met Valka much sooner. Combining his interest in dragons with the need to get as far and fast away from Berk as possible, his meeting his mother was near-inevitable.
- Here's another Fridge Heartwarming moment; when Hiccup manages to wake Toothless up from the mind control through The Power of Friendship, Toothless didn't look so overjoyed because Hiccup was saving him, it was because he realized that Hiccup forgave him.
- 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 The Power of Friendship. 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 Mind Control. 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 Stoick) 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 their friendship grows even stronger.
- 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!
- This might be an obvious one, but Hiccup's insistence on talking to Drago instead of listening to his dad about how dangerous the guy is would probably stem from how Stoick and everyone else found dragons to be evil until Hiccup taught them otherwise. His reaction might not have simply been "peace is the solution" than it also was "oh not this again!" It would also explain his angry shouting while riding Toothless after his dad scolded him for flying off to meet Drago, as in "He still hasn't learned?!" (not to treat war as the answer/treat dragons/people as evil beings).
- Related, but Stoick may not be an expert on dragons, but he is an expert on people. He is the clan leader of one. Hiccup may be an expert on dragons, but he still doesn't understand human motivation fully.
- 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 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.
- In the series, we get to see a female Bewilderbeast, who like Valka's, is snowy white and has downturned tusks. So it's actually very likely that their beautiful pure appearance is the natural state of the species, Drago's just looks the way it does because it's so dirty and malnourished.
- The female Bewilderbeast seen in the series is also much smaller than the two seen in the second film, being only about half the size. Given how the Bewilderbeasts were shown fighting using their tusks and brute strength, it's likely male Bewilderbeasts grew much bigger than females, like with many animals such as elephants or moose where males are bigger as it gives them an advantage in physical combat.
- 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 its tusks: its tusks were likely disfigured and grew in a wrong shape from this unnatural strain.
- When Toothless fires the final blast at Drago's Bewilderbeast which breaks off its left tusk, note that the Bewilderbeast's mouth is wide open and preparing to fire: just like the Red Death was in the first film when Toothless fired the fatal shot into its mouth. Toothless could have easily killed the Bewilderbeast like he has previously to another alpha dragon: but by blasting off its tusk instead he instead shows mercy to the Bewilderbeast, as well as leaving it with a permanent reminder of its defeat.
- The battle between Drago's Bewilderbeast and Toothless shows their different takes on what being an alpha is:
- The former is a the widely misused term of an alpha - that they are supposed to dominate and control others.
- The latter is the actual and true term of an alpha - someone who protects those under their care.
Fridge Horror
- Stoick's story about how Drago killed all of the other Viking Chieftains 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.
- Did Hiccup ever reveal to the Hooligan Tribe how Stoick died? How a mind controlled Toothless killed him?
- All dragons in the village 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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!
- He did tell his men they'd meet up at Berk before leaving the Dragon's nest. It's very possible that his ships simply weren't fast enough to keep up with the dragons. Which of course means Drago's men are in for a very big surprise when they do get to Berk...
- 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 realize that certain other types of dragon (a Monstrous Nightmare perhaps) mightn't have been so merciful.
- 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 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.
- Valka mentioned that Toothless may be the last of his kind and from the TV series, Toothless appeared to not really care about finding other Night Furies with Hiccup. That leads to two scary questions: 1). What happened to the other Night Furies? and 2). If something did happen, i.e. mass murder, was Toothless present for all of it? Night Furies are pretty much the fastest, smartest dragons around; they are superb sharpshooters and are excellently camouflaged in the night sky (which the first movie implies is the only time they appear in nature). As Gobber puts it "No Viking's ever met a Night Fury and lived to tell the tale." So imagine how dangerous whatever has driven them to near-extinction must be...
- Drago wears a coat of black dragon hide.... Now what dragons do we know of that are black to blend in with the night.... Wonder how many of those dragons it took to make that coat...
- The Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare has black scales. Skrills have very dark purple 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.
- 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 like Hiccup himself.
- Drago wears a coat of black dragon hide.... Now what dragons do we know of that are black to blend in with the night.... Wonder how many of those dragons it took to make that coat...
- Toothless's behavior towards Cloudjumper (especially his delight at the regurgitated food during the feeding scene) adds a whole new layer of Fridge Tear Jerker. Dialogue indicates that Toothless might have been orphaned at a young age, shown when he attaches himself to Cloudjumper. This is because his real parents are either lost or dead.
- When you notice Toothless' momentary confusion after 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 Valka's dragons didn't get him out? Cold blood plus freezing water is not a pleasant ending combo...note
- Harsher in Hindsight when The Hidden World reveals that Night Furies are specifically vulnerable to cold, which makes that situation all the more dire for him.
- Now that it's showcased just how deadly Toothless' blasts are, it lends a scary effect to scenes such as the one right at the beginning where he uses his blasts to make Hiccup fly higher, or sends blasts right over his head to destroy mountains before Hiccup crashes into them. Even more innocent scenes such as their bonding moment from the first film makes you appreciate how quickly Toothless accepts Hiccup's company more when he could literally have killed him in a heart's beat if he wanted to.
- In the five years since the first movie, no one on Berk has seen from or heard of another Night Fury. 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?!
- There are species in nature that go extinct naturally, without the need for being driven to it. Some species don't reproduce often, some aren't suited for the environment, and others don't have lots of children. The Night Furies could have just adapted to not be very numerous to prevent competition, and a few bad years was all that was needed to carry them over the tipping point.
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World answers that question, and it's the usual answer: Man.
- The most common impression of the "hypnotized Toothless" scene is that Stoick intentionally 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 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.
- Valka tells Hiccup how his father had always been very proud of him and that he "never doubted" him, but believed he'd become "the strongest of them all", which um... clearly contradicts with what the first film shows. Either Stoick firmly believed that baby Hiccup would grow into a strong kid/teenager, but gradually lost faith the more he stayed his scrawny, awkward and weak self, or his losing Valka planted a bitterness in him that he eventually let out on his son. That or, with the mother simply gone, Stoick didn't know how to properly raise a child alone which unwantingly led to neglect and misunderstandings over the years, which may have also served as fuel to either one of the two above mentioned cases.
- What if Stoick aggressively confronting Brainwashed Toothless is what triggered him to attack? See it like this, the brainwashing was clearly strong enough to cause Toothless to act aggressive towards Hiccup, but Toothless took his time actually attacking, slowly baring down instead. It's already been established that Toothless has a stronger will than the rest of the dragons, and a very strong bond with Hiccup. He might've not been able to resist the controlling completely, but his loyalty and strong will might been completely focused to not actually harming Hiccup. Then Stoick, suddenly and without warning, leaps forward, aggressively yells, and draws his sword. This sudden aggressive display might've caused Toothless to instinctively become defensive, which in his aggressive brainwashed mind, caused him to attack.
- Nope, even before Stoick got close Toothless was already charging his laser shot. Pretty sure he would have shot either way.
- As Stoick runs to take Toothless' shot for Hiccup, he's holding a sword. On first viewing, you presume he considered killing Toothless before being killed, but according to legend, a Viking's greatest wish is to die sword in hand and enter Valhalla. It's possible to suggest that Stoick knew he was going to die.
- When Toothless ends up 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.
- It becomes even worse when you realize that Toothless has probably come to associate death with the entire disappearance of a body due to the Red Death.
- When Hiccup decided to 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 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, 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.
- On the flip side, if Hiccup did not go against his father's wishes, Berk would have been completely unprepared for Drago's Bewilderbeast and its ability to control dragons, the damage and casualties Drago having inflicted having been overwhelmingly worse in those circumstances. While not in his immediate sights at the time, Drago would have gotten to Berk eventually. Even more so, Hiccup never would have been reunited with his mother, Valka and Stoick never would have gotten closure with one another and Drago would have control over all of the dragons on Berk and possibly the rest of the Barbaric Archipelago.
