After a surprise attack on Berk destroys her home, Astrid decides to train an auxiliary dragon crew. As the training commences, Hiccup starts to worry that Astrid might not being dealing with her emotions healthily.
Tropes:
- Ascended Fanboy: Gustav finally becomes a real dragon rider, with his experience even getting him named leader of the Auxiliary Unit.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Tuffnut teaching Smidvarg and the other Night Terrors to roll over, shake and fetch slippers. Hiccup and Astrid point out that the Night Terrors defend Dragon's Edge, and house pet tricks aren't helpful in that regard.
- Badass in Distress: The riders at Dragon's Edge when Dagur pins them down. Even Stoick and Astrid get this when the Berserkers snag Skullcrusher in a net.
- Big Damn Heroes: Admit it, no-one thought that the auxiliary team would listen to Astrid and not bail the original team out of trouble.
- Blood Knight: Spitelout says that all the recruits have come to the right place since they like danger, including him. Even ''he'' is freaked out on seeing Astrid William Telling.
- Brutal Honesty: Hiccup tells Astrid that one dragon couldn't have made a difference in defending the village. He does agree with her that an auxiliary team is a good idea, though, since the dragons are the main line of defense.
- Bullying a Dragon: Astrid fails Gothi, who despite being frail is also a Village Elder and a wisewoman. She also has a mean smack with her cane, though Astrid doesn't receive it.
- Call-Back: Dagur attacked Berk knowing that "soft-hearted Hiccup" would return, and he tracks the flying dragons to find out where their base is. Savage has to remain a sycophant around him.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Snotlout gets excited when he sees his dad as a potential trainee, thinking he'll get to boss him around. Hiccup tells him that it's not going to happen with Astrid training the recruits, making Snotlout upset.Snotlout: The world owes me this!
- Comically Missing the Point: Tuffnut mentions that Dagur has a device that can shoot multiple arrows and asks if Dagur can give it to him for Snoggletog.
- Continuity Nod:
- This episode shows the realities of war, in potential casualties during surprise attacks.
- Astrid and Hiccup express concern that Dagur may soon find Dragon's Edge. He eventually does.
- *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": Snotlout says this after waking up. Hookfang knocks him into a wall, getting rid of his pain.
- Disappointed in You: Hiccup says this to Astrid about how she's treating the recruits. He knows that riding a dragon isn't easy, and making it harder only breaks the recruits' spirits.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Astrid is completely ruthless when training the new recruits, but Hiccup thinks it's just an excuse so Astrid has a reason to stay on Berk.
- Foreshadowing: Tuffnut says that the trainees coming are going to get their dreams crushed. Astrid starts acting as a Drill Sergeant Nasty to the recruits.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Invoked. Everyone calls out the twins for distracting the Night Terrors from their security detail.
- I Warned You: Everyone to the twins for training Smidvarg and the Night Terrors for "tricks" instead of defending the island.
- Kick the Dog: Astrid to her nicer recruits, including Bucket, who has a disability (half a brain eaten by a dragon).
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Several recruits run away after Astrid asks them to try out their William Telling.
- Moving the Goalposts: When Gustav completes his training routine perfectly, Astrid insists he do it again and then literally moves the target at the last second so he fails.
- Never Mess with Granny: Gothi on a dragon torches Dagur's ship. Even Dagur is perplexed by this.
- Ninja Looting: Ruff and Tuff help themselves to food, furniture, and even valuables at the burned houses.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Hiccup in an earlier episode had stopped Heather from killing Dagur for many reasons. In this episode, Dagur finds the Edge and attacks.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Spitelout's expression when Astrid does William Telling.
- Hiccup sees that Dagur has found Dragon's Edge.
- Percussive Therapy: Snotlout tries to flirt with Astrid under the show of comforting her, and she flips him over. Then she thanks him, since she felt better.
- Ramming Always Works: Stoick's Rumblehorn, Skullcrusher, can breathe fire like any other dragon, but the first attack they opt for against the enemy fleet is to ram through the hull of one ship, promptly sinking it.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The recruits defy Astrid's orders and come to defend Dragon's Edge, giving Hiccup's team the means to win.
- Shipper on Deck: Toothless, right after Hiccup awkwardly says he is going to sleep in the dragon training arena with Astrid.
- Ship Tease: Hiccup plans to spend the night with Astrid in the dragon training arena so that she won't be alone in an uncomfortable place. Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins then arrive to also show their support.
- Shout-Out: The motto Astrid has the trainees recite is similar to the one Gunnery Sergeant Hartman has the recruits recite:"This is my dragon! There are many like it, but this one is mine."
- Silent Snarker: The chicken does not like Tuffnut ignoring it.
- Similar Squad: Astrid's team uses the same set of dragons as the regular riders, except with two Monstrous Nightmares, since the citizens of Berk don't have a second Night Fury.Tuffnut: [regarding their Zippleback riding counterparts] Woah! it's like looking in a mirror, but you're better looking!
Ruffnut: Yeah! - Throwing Your Sword Always Works: When a trainee misses his target with dragon fire, he throws his axe at it instead. Astrid fails him for not following the instructions to the letter.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Astrid in this episode to the new recruits, failing them for arbitrary reasons and breaking their spirits. Hiccup calls her out for that.
- Wham Episode: The enemy discovers the location of Dragon's Edge, making it no longer safe and vulnerable to attack.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Astrid, Hiccup and Fishlegs call out the twins and Snotlout for not caring about security detail on Dragon's Edge, especially with Dagur on the loose.
- Hiccup calls out Astrid for wanting the recruits to fail and sabotaging them to have an excuse to stay on Berk. Gustav's example is the most prominent. He doesn't raise his tone, however, and says he understands why she's acting this way.
- William Telling: Astrid has Stormfly shoot an apple off of her head to demonstrate how in sync they are to the trainees. When she asks if anyone else wants to try, several trainees back out.
- You, Get Me Coffee: Astrid makes Gustav sweep out the arena for laughing at her.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Dagur's reaction when Gothi torches his ship.
