History YMMV / Hilda

** [[spoiler:Despite having a positive relationship with her father Anders, Hilda is shown to have abandonment issues due to him being absent for most of her life. Many fans believed their reunion could serve as a source of drama, but it only happens for brief moments. Even when Anders tries to speak up about his regret, Hilda tells him that they need to save it for later, which many fans saw as a wasted heart-to-heart moments]].

** [[spoiler:Despite having a positive relationship with her father, Hilda is shown to have an abandonement issues regarding Anders for him being absent for most of her life. Many fans believed their reunion could serve as a source of drama, but it only happens for brief moments. Even when Anders tries to speak up about his regret, Hilda tells him that they need to save it for later, which many fans saw as a wasted heart-to-heart moments]].

** Hilda [[spoiler:is shown to suffer from daddy and abandonment issues in ''The Mountain King'' and season 3 due to her father being absent for most of her life, which could've been a potentially great source of drama and tension between her and her father in season 3. However, outside of a couple of moments in "The Forgotten Lake" and "Strange Frequencies", this is not explored much, with Hilda having an [[AngstWhatAngst otherwise positive relationship with her father despite his actions]]. When Anders does try to talk to Hilda about his regret for abandoning her at the watchtower, Hilda simply brushes him off, telling him they'll talk about it another time, which many saw as a wasted opportunity for what could've been an emotional heart-to-heart between them]].

** [[spoiler: Hilda’s father Anders was one of the biggest mysterious in series, and when finally makes an appearance, many fans were disappointed that he appeared in only two episodes and lacks of sufficient impact on the story, especially because he was absent for most of Hilda’s life. While he as a character not outright despised, given the short length of season, fans wished he could’ve elaborated more and take on a more active role in story]].
** The mysterious cloaked shadows stalking Hilda in Season 3 [[spoiler:turn out to be her maternal grandparents, a fairy and a human who were forced by to live in Fairy Country to save Johanna's life and were largely erased from Johanna's memories by Hilda's grandaunt to save her the pain of losing them. Unfortunately, due to Johanna's [[LaserGuidedAmnesia missing memories]], their impact as characters is almost entirely limited to the final episode, which despite being [[ExtraLongEpisode triple the length]] of a normal episode, spends the first third on the rescue of Hilda's father, and the last third on Hilda and Joanna escaping Fairy Country, giving the pair little time to interact with their daughter, and even less time with their granddaughter, who's never met them before and never will again]].

** The mysterious Fairy Isle is built up throughout season 3, with Johanna and Astrid having unexplained connections to it. The finale reveals it to be [[spoiler:[[LandOfFaerie a magical realm where fairies live]] and from whence all magical creatures came. Two of the fairies happen to be Johanna's parents, one of which was born human. The implications of this place's existence, its inhabitants, and the fact that Johanna and Hilda are part-fairy have little consequence, as this all revealed at the end of the series]].

** [[spoiler: Hilda’s father Anders was one of the biggest mysterious in series, and when finally makes an appearance, many fans were disappointed that he appeared in only two episodes and lacks of sufficient impact on the story. While he’s not entirely despised, given the short length of season, fans wished his character could’ve elaborated more and take on a more active role in story]].

* GrowingTheBeard: While ''Hildafolk'' remains charming in its own right, the second book -- ''Hilda and the Midnight Giant'' -- is regarded to be a massive improvement over it, as it has greater and more dynamic artwork, a more cohesive narrative, and would establish the tone, atmosphere, and structure that later books in the series would build on. Series creator Luke Pearson regards it to be the moment the series truly establishes its own identity.

* GrowingTheBeard: While ''Hildafolk'' remains charming in its own right, the second book -- ''Hilda and the Midnight Giant'' -- is regarded to be a massive improvement over it, as it features greater and more dynamic artwork (though the designs wouldn't be solidified until the third book), a more cohesive narrative, and establishes the tone, atmosphere, and structure that later books in the series would build on. Series creator Luke Pearson regards it to be the moment the series truly establishes its own identity.

* TheWoobie: Johanna is this. The series has ''a lot'' of moments, where something bad happens to her: [[spoiler:she nearly died as a baby, lost her parents at age of ten when they traded their own freedom for her survival, and at same time most of her childhood memories were erased,]] apparently had a fallout with her husband, had her house and car destroyed, her daughter constantly lied to her about getting into life-threatening adventures, [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking struggled with getting gigs on her graphic designs]], had her soul nearly stolen and had her daughter kidnapped and turned into a troll. Everyone should agree that her overprotectiveness of Hilda is ''not'' misguided at all.

** With the Peabody Award winning series, ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', with the premise of both shows about a protagonist dealing with the supernatural as well as lore for witches. In addition, many of the characters have many traits in common: Frida and Luz are witches-in-training, Luz and Hilda have a thing for befriending magical creatures and looking for adventure, as well as Eda and Johanna being motherly figures to the respective protagonists. There has also been crossover fanart of the main characters such as [[https://www.deviantart.com/mew-me/art/Relaxing-Witches-899209401 Amity and Kaisa relaxing]] or [[https://www.deviantart.com/riadorana2/art/Luz-Noceda-And-Hilda-Play-Time-865200275 Hilda and Luz hanging out with elves]].

* ItsShortSoItSucks: Season 3 only consists of 8 episodes instead of 13 episodes like seasons 1 and 2. While this is understandable, as the third season is more serialized compared to the previous two seasons, some feel the season's short length is a detriment and prevents many of the new concepts and characters from being as [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot fleshed out as they would've liked them to]], though some prefer it more due to being focused on plot beyond anything else.

** From "The Witch": know when your fears are rational and when they aren't. Kaisa ought to have been more scared of [[spoiler: the Void]] than about facing her teacher.
** From The Fifty-Year Night: don't touch your neighbors' mail.
** A few from "The Ghost":

*** Even if you are right about someone, when that someone is already angry, sometimes it's best to shut up and not poke the bear. Even if David was right about Frida not being perfect, his teasing remarks only make her angrier than she already is and would ultimately cause the two to fight several times, straining their friendship in the process (until they reconcile in "The Black Hound").
** From "The Draugen": Don't jump to conclusions and publicly accuse someone of a misdeed without solid evidence to back your accusations up. You're just gonna embarrass yourself and look like a fool otherwise. Even if Erik Ahlberg is a {{Jerkass}}, Hilda's attempt to accuse him as a shady figure at the graveyard ultimately backfires on her due to lacking sufficient evidence that she could use against him.
** From "The Eternal Warriors": Fighting smart and strategically will often get you much further in a battle than relying solely on strength and brute force.

** From "The Draguen": Don't jump to conclusions and publicly accuse someone of a misdeed without solid evidence to back your accusations up. You're just gonna embarrass yourself and look like a fool otherwise. Even if Erik Ahlberg is a {{Jerkass}}, Hilda's attempt to accuse him as a shady figure at the graveyard ultimately backfires on her due to lacking sufficient evidence that she could use against him.

** On the season 3 poster, many fans have noticed that one of the locations featured on it bears a striking resemblance to the place Victoria Van Gale ended up in at the end of "The Windmill", leading many to theorize that she'll play a role in some form. [[spoiler:They were correct, as the strange radio frequencies in "Strange Frequencies" are revealed to be from her and she reappears in person in "The Fairy Isle"], eventually playing a cricital role in the climax where she saves Astrid.]]

** Many fans theorized that the Bellkeeper is Hilda's dad due to his hair having faded streaks of blue, him loving cucumber sandwiches like Hilda, and his seemingly friendly attitude towards trolls. That said, there are no indications that he is Hilda's father.

** On the season 3 poster, many fans have noticed that one of the locations featured on it bears a striking resemblance to the place Victoria Van Gale ended up in at the end of "The Windmill", leading many to theorize that she'll play a role in some form. [[spoiler:They were correct, as the strange radio frequencies in "Strange Frequencies" are revealed to be from her and she reappears in person in "The Fairy Isle"]]

* ShipsThatPassInTheNight: Johanna/Kaisa is a very popular ship amongst fans, despite a complete lack of interaction. This likely comes down to them being amongst the most prominent adults in the show (particularly in season 1), with Kaisa being one of the more helpful adults to Hilda.

** Hilda has this for most of her adventures, with a few exceptions. The first episode has a troll chasing her for dangling a bell around its nose, and she describes it as "traumatic" but moves on. Alfur even lampshades it in season two after [[spoiler: a time-traveling adventure goes wrong]], pointing out [[spoiler: they saw themselves die, ''twice''. Yet Hilda is more wistful and considering it a productive day]]. This makes sense given that Hilda is a thrill-seeking adventurer, often seeing these dangerous and traumatic experiences as being "such as the life of an adventurer".

** Hilda has this for most of her adventures, with a few exceptions. The first episode has a troll chasing her for dangling a bell around its nose, and she describes it as "traumatic" but moves on. Alfur even lampshades it in season two after [[spoiler: a time-traveling adventure goes wrong]], pointing out [[spoiler: they saw themselves die, ''twice''. Yet Hilda is more wistful and considering it a productive day]]. This makes some sense given that Hilda is a WeirdnessMagnet who frequently enjoys going on adventures and interacts with the wilderness on a daily basis, while also seeing these "traumatic" experiences as being "such is the life of an adventurer".

** Hilda has this for most of her adventures, with a few exceptions. The first episode has a troll chasing her for dangling a bell around its nose, and she describes it as "traumatic" but moves on. Alfur even lampshades it in season two after [[spoiler: a time-traveling adventure goes wrong]], pointing out [[spoiler: they saw themselves die, ''twice''. Yet Hilda is more wistful and considering it a productive day]].

** Why exactly [[spoiler:did Phinium and Lydia abduct Anders at the end of "The Job"? Was it to rescue him from being attacked by a troll? Or was it to lure Hilda back into Fairy Country, [[BatmanGambit knowing that she would go back to search for her father?)]]]]

%%Do not add Base Breaking Character, Broken Base, The Scrappy, or Overshadowed By Controversy examples for season 3 until six months after its release per-Administrivia/NoRecentExamplesPlease (May 7, 2024).

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Frida. Some see her arc towards the end of Season 1 as a welcome change of pace, giving attention to make her more than just "Hilda's friend", but many found it to be unnecessary and flimsily-written while also making her out to be nothing more than a petty, selfish brat with an inability to get over herself, up to the point where she pushes away her own friends. Others could see what they were trying to do, but felt her callous treatment of Hilda and David, coupled with her brief FaceHeelTurn, warranted a more layered apology than "I was acting like an idiot". A third party argues that her parents are the cause of her attitude due to their constant demands of perfection from their daughter.
** Hilda's father [[spoiler:Anders considered to be one, as some fans doesn't take kindly his parental neglect of Hilda, because of his adventure-seeking persona, but he still tries to be around her longer than he can and gets better in the finale]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Frida. Some see her arc towards the end of Season 1 as a welcome change of pace, giving attention to make her more than just "Hilda's friend", but many found it to be unnecessary and flimsily-written while also making her out to be nothing more than a petty, selfish brat with an inability to get over herself, up to the point where she pushes away her own friends. Others could see what they were trying to do, but felt her callous treatment of Hilda and David, coupled with her brief FaceHeelTurn, warranted a more layered apology than "I was acting like an idiot". A third party argues that her parents are the cause of her attitude due to their constant demands of perfection from their daughter.

* ItsShortSoItSucks: Season 3 only consists of 8 episodes instead of 13 episodes like seasons 1 and 2. While this is understandable, as the third season is more serialized compared to the previous two seasons, some feel the season's short length is a detriment and prevents many of the new concepts and characters from being as [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot fleshed out as they would've liked them to]].

* SacredCow: The show is widely regarded as one of the best western cartoons of the late [[Main/TheNewTens 2010s]] and [[Main/TheNewTwenties early 2020s]] thanks to its strong writing, gorgeous art style, and well-developed characters. While the show is not entirely above criticism, any major hate towards the show will be met with backlash from defensive fans.

* TheWoobie: Johanna is this. The series has ''a lot'' of moments, where something bad happens to her: [[spoiler:she nearly died as a baby, lost her parents at age of ten when they traded their own freedom for her survival, while most of her childhood memories erased,]] apparently had a fallout with her husband, had her house and car destroyed, her daughter constantly lied to her about getting into life-threatening adventures, [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking struggled with getting gigs on her graphic designs]], had her soul nearly stolen and had her daughter kidnapped and turned into a troll.

*** Also in "The Fifty-Year Night", [[spoiler:Hilda ends up interacting with her future self at the nightclub when the Time Worm appears, which could've led to some interesting interactions and maybe even a time-traveling adventure with the two selves learning from each other, especially since future Hilda is noticeably OlderAndWiser than her past self, going as far as to call out her past self for messing with time, presenting an opportunity for past Hilda to learn from her future self. However, they only briefly interact a couple of times in the nightclub before Future Hilda gets swallowed up by the Time Worm, wasting the opportunity altogether. The circumstances that led her to the past to begin with are also never revealed]].

** Despite the third season [[spoiler:introducing Hilda's father Anders, he doesn't get to interact with Johanna much at all, and shockingly little is touched upon on their relationship outside of hints making it clear that things are very sour between them. Given that the season is partly focused on exploring Johanna's backstory, it would've made sense to explore her relationship with Anders in more detail.]]