#httyd analysis

anyway, old norse warrior traditions were deeply rooted in duties of honour, law and vengeance. this latter pillar was seen more as a duty and even had a special name, hefnd (ᚼᛁᚠᚾᛏ, “right of vengeance”). rather than a personal vendetta guided by one’s own morals, it was a solemn and binding obligation, one that was tied to one’s kin and tribe, and the memory of the slain. the sagas, our primary sources of knowledge on old norse history, are filled with accounts of men who made vows to avenge a father, brother, spouse or friend. 

in the HTTYD universe, we can even consider that it’s one of the reasons why the berkians are so keen on exterminating the dragons: it is their right, for many of them have fallen to those beasts, as stoick himself puts it. therefore, it’s a continuous cycle of death and revenge justified by customary, borderline religious rites, mostly tied to odin worship (who was not always portrayed as a just god, mind, but this discussion is for another post, otherwise i would be filling this with academic jargon and footnotes).

what is most important here is to know that hefnd, by its societal and cultural construction, was expected, and we can see that in berk as well: dragon-slaying is what makes berkians be berkians to begin with. so, back to the toothless and hiccup’s first meeting scene...

can we really say that hiccup thought he was executing hefnd here? yes!

other than his speech format resembling a heitstrenging (ᚼᛁᛁᛏᛋᛏᚱᛁᚾᚴᛁᚾᚴ, “a vow of strength”), which was a promise made while a man stood before a beast (slain or about to be) and swore to perform great deeds, generally including the killing of a specific foe, there’s another detail in hiccup’s speech*:

* (p.s breaking a vow of strength would, by custom, bring immense shame upon the man and his entire family.)

hiccup says, “then i’ll cut out your heart and take it to my father.” this isn’t just a tough-sounding line; it’s a direct reference to old norse heroic literature. the act of taking an enemy’s heart for revenge is a motif found within the epics, though it is a rare and extreme example of vengeance, not a usual practice. 

the most famous and oft-cited instance doesn’t come from the icelandic sagas, which tend to be more grounded in historical reality, but from the legendary material, specifically the tale of hervor in the hervarar saga ok heiðreks. in a particularly gruesome part, a character named hjálmar defeats the champion angantýr and the other berserkers, but is himself mortally wounded. the saga describes hjálmar asking his companion to cut out angantýr’s heart and to take it with them.

another and perhaps even more famous instance is found in the myths surrounding sigurd the dragon slayer of the völsunga saga: in some versions, he takes reginn’s heart rather than his head. 

hiccup is most likely taking inspiration from these two tales, even if they were not common traditions by the legal and social norms of medieval scandinavia. it comes with the fact of it being the mark of a legend, not a typical man: hjarta (ᚼᛁᛅᚱᛏᛅ, “hearts”) in norse thought carried memory and identity, so piercing/crushing/eating another being’s heart was like taking their entire spirit, submitting them to you (as seen in snorri’s edda with loki) or vanishing them forever. taking a heart, since it carried memories, names and the breath of soul, therefore, was a symbolic act of complete annihilation.

so in this scene, hiccup is trying to perform, to live by the great names. so much so that he changed the position of his blade: in this scene, when he’s seconds away from slaying toothless, he supports his trembling right hand (representing what is expected of him) with his left (representing himself). hiccup, who is already seen by his own people as “not viking enough,” is consciously acting, trying to prove to himself he can fit in, wanting to be a vinstri no longer. he wanted to be víss (ᚢᛁᛋᛋ, “a man”/“a right man”). 

here, it’s important to note: the daily world of the norsemen was built for the right-handed. most tools, from axes for splitting wood to tools for carving bone or wood, would have been crafted with a right-handed grip in mind. a vinstri would have had to adjust, either by using his non-dominant hand or by using tools in a way they were not intended. oftentimes, a vinstri would even be denied participation in some daily tasks and battles, being ostracised and outcasted if they could not adapt. why, you ask?

tactical techniques, battle arrays and, most importantly, the participation in skjaldborg (ᛋᚴᛁᛅᛚᛏᛒᚢᚱᚴ, “shield wall/rampart of shields”). this was the greatest challenge for left-handed warriors, because shield walls relied on a warrior holding his shield in his left hand, protecting his left side and the right side of the man next to him, while his right hand, holding a spear or sword, would then be free to strike. this discipline was what made it possible to create the o so famous unbreakeable barrier we see referenced in movies, comics, etc. left-handed warriors were either placed on the flanks of the formation, so that their unique stance would be less of a liability, and therefore trained to become one of the starting, warcrying soldiers, or they were placed in the skirmishes with bows and arrows instead. if they were not physically apt enough, they were simply denied on the battlefield.

and, as it’s shown in the first movie, hiccup was completely rejected from any participation in action; his lack of technique and his scrawniness are brought up again and again throughout the first movies and well deep into the series. battle was part of an identity, and it was required for you to be a víss.

so, once again: here, he is performing. he wants to be a regular viking so, so bad, and he knows this is his one true chance.

but he’s not like them! his left hand literally stops him.

it’s not that he couldn’t kill a dragon; he clearly could, had the physical opportunity and even the will to do so. he never stuttered while declaring his heitstrenging, and he seemed to perfectly understand his right of vengeance with his tribe as well. it’s just that hiccup didn’t see an enemy in the night fury in front of him.

if he could not see toothless as his enemy then and there, was it even his right to kill him? hefnd is a right reserved only for enemies, those we do not see as kin and that are dishonourable. if he could not see toothless that way, then what honour was there? was this even the right way of becoming víss? are legends built this way?

the short answer is that, yes, some legends are built that way. shame and honour walk hand in hand: egill’s saga is a lot similar to hiccup’s story. he fails socially many times, he’s often described as arriving too late or uninvited and he constantly insults himself in a comedic manner. but despite shame and embarrassment and feeling like he is not víss, he takes his chance anyway, killing others to try and prove himself (often in spaces where he doesn’t even need to be violent, like halls and feasts). a lot of characters do that in old literature to try turning shame into honour, paradoxically painting one as the other. it is a constant struggle to belong at the cost of another.

throughout HTTYD1, hiccup had been debating over the status he would gain if he were to kill this or that dragon; yet, in that single moment, with toothless scared and thinking that would be his end, hiccup finds that he does not want to become that kind of legend.

it is a choice. it is goodness. it is shame. it is everything that egill, sigurd and other heroes do not do.

“i did this.”

he cuts toothless’ ropes down with his left hand. can you guess which hand he used to try and calm down hookfang, too? 

in more than a metaphorical sense, he’s making history with his own hands. he is choosing to be more than an ordinary “viking” (or what he perceives as one, even if some chronicles sing about people needing someone like him). rather than performance, rather than following berk tradition blindly, he’s risking everything to pave the right way, even if that means that’s with what is left of him and that he’ll never really belong anywhere.

Astrid saying "He's never where he should be"

is very important, cause this shows how Astrid really sees Hiccup at first. Someone that is not VIKING LIKE and is a nuisance. He SHOULD be viking like but he isn't, he's not doing what he's supposed to be and he's not really trying in dragon training at that point. Astrid's disliking of Hiccup stemmed STRICTLY from the fact that Hiccup didn't take his position as Berk's future seriously, she just wanted to protect her village and Hiccup was clearly a liability WITH HIS INVENTIONS that caused more harm than good and THAT'S why he was looked down upon, NOT BECAUSE HE WAS PRIVILEGED. It's SUCH a pointless and dumb change that EVEN IF Astrid came from nothing as she said in LA, it would still make no sense. Now listen, THIS LINE right here could potentially mean that Hiccup being cut some slack could be related to being the chief's son, YES. I'm not saying that Hiccup didn't get special treatment by Stoick cause if it was anyone else? Stoick probably would shipped them off a long time ago. But understanding why Hiccup was there has more to do with the fact that Gobber insisted to Stoick, and the more he got older, the more he needed to protect himself somehow. Putting Hiccup in training is something that would've happened sooner or latter whether he liked it or not. Hiccup's arc was never about "humbling" himself or "recognize his privileges" he was bullied because he was weak and non viking ffs like PLEASE stay focused... Him being the Chief's son was never an actual point of contention for Astrid OR the gang.

Pointing out the real reasons Astrid hated him is very important cause she left him well enough alone for the most part even tho she was mildly annoyed he was a liability to their safety (which is what Astrid cared more about, "Our parent's war") stuff started changing AFTER his success, cause Astrid is prideful yes, she wants to be the best warrior, in her core she's still human and she did get jealous Hiccup of ALL PEOPLE started winning cause of UNUSUAL UNVIKING LIKE methods.

Their added scenes in the Book of Dragons and in the Kill Ring absolutely make my blood boil. Not all new Hiccstrid scenes are good just because they’re Hiccstrid.

In Book of Dragons LA scene, he’s actively insisting on Astrid that dragons may be good when at that point in the story he was NOT SURE HIMSELF YET. In the OG Hiccup was ALWAYS VERY cautious. This added scene is so weird to me because yes, why would Astrid listen to him? AND threaten him?

The fact is that Astrid in HTTYD1 left Hiccup well enough alone because she really didn’t care about him until after he started “cheating” in her eyes. They skipped the forge scene where that point is driven further:

“I normally don’t care what people do but you’re acting weird”

Astrid being sus of Hiccup is important because she NEVER CARED for him at first and THEN she started to notice that he was acting weird. And with GOOD REASON, unlike everyone else, Astrid didn't look for the easy way out, EVER. Astrid was methodical, logical and yes viking-like aggression when fighting but most of all FAIR. She EARNED her place and she wanted Hiccup to do the same. She may have not seen a new way yet, but at that point in the story, the methods Hiccup was using might as well have been cheating.

Cause yeah, “No one just GETS as good as you (Hiccup) do, especially you (Hiccup)” "Are you training with someone?" She could sense that Hiccup was getting better out of NOWHERE and his methods were clearly... dishonest for lack of a better word in her POV. like we KNOW that isn't true in Hiccup and the Audience POV since WE know what's happening, but SHE doesn't. She followed Hiccup around for weeks and he was acting super sus and evading questions, clearly hiding something. That alone made her fume. Like Hiccup being an Astrid simp the whole movie is just so... superficial. At first we KNOW he was shooting his shot but LATER, AFTER TOOTHLESS, he's mostly nervous around her because SHE WAS ABOUT TO FIND OUT HIS SECRET, his priorities change. He's focused on a far more important thing.

HICCSTRID AS ALLIES FIRST

As I talked here, The Cove scene is so much more deep and important to Astrid becoming an ALLY to Hiccup first. She realized that she needs to protect Toothless.

That's why in the Kill Ring LA scene, I got so angry when they BOTH completely forget about HIM and they make it about ASTRID and her reputation and I absolutely HATED their new dialogue. Astrid didn't need to VERBALIZE she was going to support Hiccup. I don't know if they are allergic to subtlety but her saying "I will be with you whatever may come" was already a given in the last scene. SHE was the one that asked Hiccup "What do WE do?"

And something that DID make my blood boil is how Hiccup cared MORE about Astrid's reputation and her relationship with Stoick (something that was not even shown before even in the LA movie) OVER TOOTHLESS SAFETY?! No. Just no. THIS is cheap ass simping fanservice and I hate it. WHY would Hiccup care about Astrid's reputation in THIS VERY MOMENT? When he's about to expose himself to the whole village about dragons? Why did he suddenly forget he's doing this because of TOOTHLESS and his discoveries about dragons and making the world peaceful?? It also doesn't help that we didn't even SEE a scene with Stoick and Astrid together, it was just TOLD to us that suddenly Stoick always wanted a girl? and that he adores Astrid?? like? show not tell... great. And then because we don't even see a single scene with Astrid and Stoick in the LA, when Stoick suddenly gets super mad at Astrid for helping Hiccup, he's like "AND YOU!" pointing at her, like? why you mad bro? why do u feel betrayed? as if you had ANY interactions with her... but I digress...

What actually happened:

THIS right here, has MORE MEANING than Hiccup wanting to "protect her reputation" and not wanting her to get involved in the LA?? like? again, why would he say that here and not the previous Cove scene when she said she was going to support you? Why make this dumb change in the worst time possible?

Skipping these lines to me is criminal to the FOUNDATION that is their relationship. Both Hiccup and Astrid in the first movie are very interesting in the sense that them becoming allies to me is far more important for the plot than them being a couple. The very base of their relationship SHOULD BE protection of their people and dragons and how THAT is the what aligns them both. I don't want to have changes on their characters if it means romance (and this goes for RTTE as well cause I do NOT like a lot of what they did with Hiccstrid there), that's not why I ship them, it's because they work so GOOD as allies FIRST.

Removing this dialogue that is SO POWERFUL undermines so much not only Hiccup's relationship with Toothless but also Astrid's actual ROLE as an ally. Astrid is not a good ally because she's a die hard for Hiccup at that moment, she's a good ally because she's ALSO protecting Toothless AND WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES AS WELL to protect him in case anything goes wrong. And because her being the very FIRST one to changed her mind, her support is super important to Hiccup- THAT'S why he stayed, NOT because he has a crush on Astrid or viceversa.

Hiccup needed an ally FIRST, not a girlfriend. He was completely alone, he was about to leave, and Astrid being the first one, regardless of if he had or not a crush on her, is valuable to him because he not only admired her but he respected her. She was the model viking, and if he can change her, he can try to change everyone else now that he has backup. Sure he liked Astrid but romance is not in his priority list, especially after Toothless, and quite frankly, it wasn't on Astrid's priority list either. What unites them first and foremost is their drive to protect, and once Astrid saw that in Hiccup, she saw a new side of him; not the weak nerd that messed up and didn't seem to care about being a proper viking, but a protector, which is what made her respect him.

Hiccstrid as a ship is very very fun to explore and analyse but when u actually take into account WHY they started that way and why they work... The Live Action not only changes Astrid but in consequence it changes Hiccup and Astrid's relationship and what makes them good, and to me THAT is what suffers the most in their dynamic. All their scenes to me felt so weird and with 0 build up and chemistry. I don't like fanservice if it has to change the characters for them to work... I HATE Hiccstrid fanservice because in the LA it gives them MUCH more focus than Hiccup and Toothless's actual bond, and the Kill Ring scene is the proof. And god how I hated that dialogue... I don't want them to be putting Hiccstrid above what makes HTTYD great and that is HICCUP AND TOOTHLESS'S BOND. PERIOD. (Something rtte and httyd3 also suffer for btw but that discussion is for another day)