The night before a camping trip of the Sparrow Scouts, Hilda finds a homeless Nisse and tries to help him. Meanwhile, Frida makes new, not especially trustworthy friends, and sightings of a mysterious black beast wandering around Trolberg keep increasing.
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The pocket dimensions Nisse live in don't get named here, and Hilda eventually starts referring to them as Nisse Space. The book series made as a tie-in to the Netflix show however reveals the name to be Nowhere Space.
- Adaptation Deviation: This episode, and the next, are based on "Hilda and the Black Hound", but the scenes are rescheduled; in the novel, the camp came first, and after that Hilda took Tontu to her home.
- Adaptation Expansion: The whole subplot of Frida joining the Marra was not in the graphic novel.
- Camping Episode: The Sparrow Scouts hold their annual end of the year camp this episode.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with David, Hilda, Frida and the Marra being confronted by the Black Hound while out at night in the woods.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Despite hanging out with Kelly and the Marra, Frida doesn't seemed to be happy with the arrangement. Even if it looked like she chose to be with them after Hilda told her to come back to her and David, she didn't actually have a say in the matter and that it is made clear that she only joined the Marra out of desperation for friends.
- A Dog Ate My Homework: While in Nowhere Space, Hilda finds her lost science homework there, and recalls how she had to tell her teacher it had just vanished.
- Door Slam of Rage: After Tontu leaves the apartment, as Johanna ordered him to, she slams the door behind him.
- Dramatic Drop: Johanna drops her grocery bag in shock when she comes home and sees the mess in her home.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Discussed; Frida informs David and Hilda she knows about the end of the year camping trip, since the title makes it pretty obvious when it will be held.
- False Friend: Kelly clearly does not have the best intentions in mind for Frida. She actively tries to keep Hilda and David from reconciling with Frida, or Frida going to the Sparrow Scout camp.
- Fantastic Racism: Hilda’s mom knows what Nisse are, and forbids Hilda from helping the one they saw in the streets since she’s convinced he must have been banished for being bad, and considers the Nisse all liars and thieves.
- Get Out!: Johanna tells this to Tontu upon finding him in the house, wrongfully thinking that he trashed the place.
- Horrifying the Horror: Even the Marra are scared of the Black Hound.
- I've Come Too Far: Although she doesn't say this, this is the reason Frida couldn't leave the Marra when Hilda tells her to.
- I've Got an X, and I'm Not Afraid to Use It!: Tontu makes this threat with a branch when Hilda and David encounter him in the woods, startling him.
- Invisible to Normals: Subverted; Hilda’s mom tells Hilda that Nisse are usually invisible, but when Hilda gets to talk to Tontu, he tells her this is not the case; they hide in a Pocket Dimension made up of all the unused spaces in a home; Nowhere Space.
- Multi-Part Episode: Connected with "The Black Hound" as part of the two-part season finale.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: David tells Kelly this to her face when confronting Frida and the Marra.
- Not What It Looks Like: Hilda tries this excuse when her mom finds Tontu in their house, and the whole place trashed.
- Oh, Crap!: David’s reaction to seeing the Black Hound behind him.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Kelly frequently does this. Justified since she can actually teleport.
- Pulling Your Child Away: When Hilda first sees the homeless Tontu, Johanna quickly pulls her away and warns her Nisse are untrustworthy.
- Real After All: While there are enough rumors about the black hound, any physical evidence is proven to be false (the picture in the newspaper for example was just a photo of a cat) and as such, Hilda doesn’t believe the creature is real. At the end of the episode, we learn it’s real.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: David tears into Frida and the Marra with one.David: I get if you don't want to hang out with me anymore. But why would you hang out with them? You're my best friend. You were always there to look out for me when I was scared. But I'm not scared anymore. (turns to Kelly) Especially not of YOU! What's so scary about a bunch of creeps with nothing better to do than talk badly about people behind their backs!?
- Scared of What's Behind You: While David is giving the Marra and Frida a good "The Reason You Suck" Speech, all of them suddenly back off and look scared. But not because David managed to intimidate them; the Black Hound is standing right behind him.
- Smash Cut: Also doubles as a Jump Scare. We get a really good one at the very end. As everyone cowers in fear now that the Black Hound is real, the episode abruptly cuts to the credits and plays "Hilda's Theme" for the last time this season.
- Secret Handshake: Frida and Kelly have one.
- Trash of the Titans: Frida’s room hasn’t improved any since the last time we saw it. Hilda’s house also ends up like this due to the two Nisse fighting.
- Undying Loyalty: Unlike David who seemed to give up on her when he believed she doesn't need to be saved from them, Hilda is not one to give up on Frida upon seeing her befriending the Marra, especially Kelly.
