Hiccup and Toothless end up saving Barf and Belch after the twins put the dragon in danger with one of their games. Unknowingly, Hiccup has activated a life debt with the dragons, causing Barf and Belch to follow him around. In the meantime, dragon hunters have sneaked onto the island and are targeting Hiccup.
Tropes:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Toothless chuckles at the twins' "last leg" joke.
- Badass in Distress: The dragon hunters kidnap Hiccup without breaking a sweat, tie him up and plan to interrogate him for "every piece of dragon knowledge." Barf and Belch fortunately manage to save him and repay their debt.
- Bad "Bad Acting": The twins claim this about Hiccup, but the schemes to win back Barf and Belch fail because the twins tend to not account for topography. Hiccup does his best, all things considered.
- Bag of Kidnapping: Hiccup gets a sack shoved over his head before being hauled off.
- Brick Joke: The episode starts with Hiccup and the riders building a watchtower. When Dagur captures Hiccup, he mocks how the north side could use a watchtower.
- Bullying a Dragon: Snotlout challenges Hiccup to a fight at the twins' request, calling him a coward when Hiccup refuses. Hiccup, after giving Snotlout a warning, promptly decks him with one punch.
- Calling Your Attacks: A variant; Dagur says "oh boys" when he shows off a crossbow, which gives Barf and Belch time to torch it.
- Crying Wolf: Because the twins have been trying to put Hiccup in distress so as to get their dragon back, he only reacts with irritation when someone puts a sack over his head, ties him up, and carries him away. He gets an Oh, Crap! look when he realizes that Ryker and Dagur kidnapped him.
- Death Glare: Hiccup gives several in this episode: to Barf and Belch, to the twins for setting Snotlout on him, and to Dagur for mocking the lack of a watchtower.
- Didn't Think This Through: Staying at Hiccup's for the night, Barf and Belch observe Toothless' night ritual of breathing a circle of fire to warm up the area he's about to sleep in and attempt to replicate it themselves. Since they are a Zippleback, this ends up creating a huge explosion.
- Enforced Method Acting: In-universe, the twins set Snotlout on Hiccup without telling Hiccup to get a "genuine reaction."
- Exact Words: One dragon hunter tells the other that they're gonna wait till Hiccup's not guarded by two dragons in order to capture him. When they do, he was being unknowingly guarded by Barf and Belch (a single Zippleback).
- Failed a Spot Check: While kidnapping Hiccup, the dragon hunters fail to notice the Zippleback that was following the young heir.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Downplayed, but Toothless noticeably acts with annoyance at Barf and Belch doting on Hiccup. Kind of a literal example too, as Toothless is a dragon with green eyes, which actually makes him a green-eyed monster.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy:
- Played for Drama when the twins are put on patrol duty, but their dragon is following Hiccup around. This allows the dragon hunters to knock out the Night Terror on duty and sneak onto the island as Hiccup tries to get Barf and Belch off his back.
- Dagur mocks how the north side of Dragon's Edge is unguarded and laughs at how the riders could use a watchtower there.
- "Hey, You!" Haymaker: When trying to challenge Hiccup to fight him, Snotlout starts by delivering one of these.
- Hypocritical Humor: Following Dagur invoking The Guards Must Be Crazy, Barf and Belch promptly torch the ship and rescue Hiccup without that much effort, and the hunters didn't anticipate that someone would notice a missing Hiccup.
- It's Probably Nothing: When Hiccup is walking alone to think, he hears the Zippleback following him. He then rolls his eyes, only to get jumped by the dragon hunters.
- I Owe You My Life: Essentially how Barf and Belch treat Hiccup and Toothless for the whole episode. Gobber says that Zipplebacks always behave this way when they feel that their lives have been saved.
- Just Between You and Me: Dagur explains to a captive Hiccup that they're going to use all his dragon knowledge to go to all the islands that the Dragon Eye details, and if Hiccup refuses, then Ryker will be happy to torture him.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The hunters retreat when all the dragon riders come together and chase them away.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The dragon hunters when Barf and Belch attack their ship.
- Never My Fault: The twins don't acknowledge that they are the reason their dragon has a life debt to Hiccup, and they blame Hiccup for the schemes not working.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The twins doing their crazy stunts with Barf and Belch endanger their dragon and leads to Barf and Belch owing a life debt to Hiccup.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Hiccup only punches Snotlout when the latter calls him a coward for refusing to fight.
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: Snotlout gives one after Hiccup punches him hard and knocks out several teeth.
- Not Me This Time: When Hiccup tries to enter his house, he gets a load of fish dumped on him. He initially wonders who would do this... before saying, "Why am I even asking?" and immediately blames the twins. It was actually their dragon.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Hiccup, when he realizes that no-one is guarding the island.
- The twins, when Hiccup knocks out Snotlout with one punch.
- Hiccup again, when he realizes that the dragon hunters, not the twins, kidnapped him.
- Rule of Three: The below mentioned Running Gag happens like this.
- Running Gag: Hiccup keeps damaging his prosthetics for varying reasons, thanks to Barf and Belch, and goes through all of his spares.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Snotlout after Hiccup punches him.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: After Hiccup says that kidnapping him is the worst plan the twins have come up with, he quickly sees that the twins didn't kidnap him; Dagur did. What's more, Dagur points out that his plan worked perfectly since Hiccup is now their prisoner.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Hiccup only wants to fend off the dragon hunters, not kill them.
- Took a Level in Badass: Hiccup is no longer a "fishbone." He knocks out Snotlout with one punch, blocks a dragon hunter's blow, steals an axe, and defends himself quite well when it's one-on-one. Something seen in a rewatch, but Hiccup punched Snotlout with his right hand; Hiccup is left-handed. Hiccup was holding back!!
- Unwanted Assistance: Barf and Belch may have good intentions, but Hiccup is irritated at how their attempts to please him backfire, and of the strife that ensues between him and the twins. He's happy when they rescue him in the end, however.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?:
- Snotlout asks this while they're building the watchtower, since the dragons can kill any invaders. Hiccup invokes Thou Shalt Not Kill in response.
- Ryker, after seeing Hiccup, Barf, and Belch work together, says "I've had enough of this" and knocks down Hiccup with one blow, planning to cut him down. The Zippleback proceeds to interfere.
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Hiccup after he thinks the twins have kidnapped him say that it's their craziest plan yet, only to get an Oh, Crap! expression on seeing Dagur and Ryker instead.
- Worth It: Subverted. The twins lament that seeing Snotlout decked was not worth losing their dragon, awesome as it was.
- You Know I'm Black, Right?: When Hiccup starts complaining about how a wooden peg leg isn't a real leg, Gobber has to remind him that he has a wooden peg leg.
- You Were Trying Too Hard: The twins and Hiccup's attempts to release Barf and Belch from their life debt. They forgot that several people want Hiccup dead, and after giving up on endangering him, he promptly gets kidnapped.
