I love Astrid so much as a character because she WAS the first one to change her mind. She was the best warrior yes, but she did that because that's the only one she knew how to protect Berk. But as soon as she saw another way, she immediately took it. Because yes, she believed in Hiccup and that meant SO MUCH. Enough for him to STAY and fight. Legit her being the FIRST one to believe in him LITERALLY saved everyone. Cause Hiccup was about to DIP.
It's so significant that she was the one to change her mind. I don't thin anyone else could've done it but her, cause I think she and Hiccup BOTH love Berk yes, but Astrid, given that she had no other outlet to stop this war, was about to do anything as well to protect it, including killing dragons.
It's understated so much how Hiccup and Astrid's relationship in the first movie is so significant for the future (I mean this beyond shipping btw) Cause Astrid being Hiccup's ALLY, was MORE significant for him than her being someone he's romantically involved with. She was his ally FIRST, and THAT to me was the BEST thing she could've been to him at the time.
I love Astrid in the first movie so much because it shows what she's willing to do to save Berk, and I'm not saying Hiccup DIDN'T want to save Berk, but not for Astrid changing her mind BECAUSE of her love for Berk, Hiccup REALLY would've left just like Valka... Who know what would've happened with him after that. And we see this VERY CLEARLY in the single best thing Astrid's been characterized in this franchise: Gift of the Night Fury.
in GOTNF, we see Astrid at her BEST after HTTYD1, we get to see her relaxed and actually active in trying to cheer everyone up, we get to see her TRUE personality in times of PEACE, and those are GREAT, she's so cheerful and active and PRESENT. SHE came up with Yaknog, SHE came up with the egg presents, SHE was decorating the village. We see her devotion to Berk and her loyalty and see her be HERSELF because of herself. I love her so much there (and yes even in HTTYD2 we get to see some of that cheerful personality and I also love that tbh)
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Ok, so I’m a bit disappointed that Toothless is the only Night Fury. But that doesn’t stop me from liking the movie. I heard some people complain that they wasted what’s been set up in the franchise; more Night Furies. But I think that they’re forgetting they hinted that Toothless is the only one of his kind two times in the second movie. I’m a bit sad that they’re endangered, but I feel like what makes Toothless special is that he’s one of a kind.
Funny, because I don’t think it had been set up at all? The likelihood of more Night Furies, I mean. In fact, they did a bit more than hint that Toothless was the last Night Fury... it was kind of a huge part of his background since movie one.
And yeah, it’s sad. It sucks that his kind is pretty much confirmed extinct after him... but he made a hell of a mark on the world :)
What didn't you like from Astrid in the new LA movie?
Hi anon, spoilers I guess??
So... I already talked a lil bit here about it, but basically (and this is not a diss of Nico and her acting) I have a problem with the line delivery, direction, changed or added dialogue and the lack of Astrid's EMOTIONS. I think in the LA she was just so emotionless and neutral, I didn't buy her anger towards Hiccup, she was FAR more passive in her emotions despite being portrayed as this "leader" and STRONG independent woman™. She actually didn't have that much animosity towards him, which I think she SHOULD HAVE cause she had every reason to in the OG.
Already talked about how I HATED the "I'm going to be chief" addition like no only because it's a clear girlboss feminism moment but because it LITERALLY GOES NOWHERE! It adds NOTHING to her character or motivations to protect the village, it adds NOTHING but making her look even MORE of a girlboss AND it adds nothing to her competitiveness even, if anything it makes her look selfish cause she's motivated then by some delusion of grandeur and personal glory instead of who she is, which is a protector of her people first and foremost. She doesn't CARE about personal glory, she NEVER HAS. Her wanting to be Chief out of nowhere makes her look like something she's not, SELFISH. She MAY have come from nowhere and she MAY want to be the best but that's because she cares about being the best FOR the protection of her people. She's could be bossy yes but unless it's a battle strategy, she doesn't have a plan for the FUTURE, just the NOW until Hiccup makes her see a COMPLETELY OUT OF THE BOX new way. It feels like she just lacks that KICK Astrid has in the OG. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of her character and her relationship with Hiccup and by consequence Hiccup's character himself. They took his actual leadership and decision making and gave it to HER in a flaccid attempt to be more progressive, this happens at the end btw where they actually gave Hiccup's lines to Astrid instead when he's the one giving instructions and has a PLAN. FEMINISM!
Astrid is a very emotional, hardheaded and focused, the only thing she cares about was the village and carrying on the torch. Like, Astrid in the first movie is an angry lil gremlin and I ADORE her for that in particular, she's not this untouchable deity (she might seem like that to Hiccup and that's what makes it cute) but she's just trying her HARDEST, she gets dirty, she's sweaty, she's a jock and she gets so messy... and that was sorely lacking. Not every strong female character has to be a LEADER, a BOSS, a CHIEF. Astrid is assertive yes but she's a SOLDIER. She has stated it multiple times. She has no problem following a leader as long as she believes in their cause. THAT'S what makes her great. Her ideals and her sense of protection don't CHANGE, but what made her such a great character is that despite being hardheaded and more VIKING-LIKE than Hiccup, she was willing to see a change because her ONLY motivation was also to bring peace to her village no matter what.
This weird thing happened where they made Astrid more friendly towards the gang?? which No??? She was BROODING, FOCUSED. She had no time to goof off, she took things seriously ALWAYS. She was a loner for a reason, she trained on her own, was on her own. The rest mostly followed her because she was the best in the village, especially Snotlout. She really did NOT care for them, ALSO RUFFNUT DEFENDING HER FROM TUFF (they gave him the "yeah we noticed" line to HIM instead)?! 1. She doesn't NEED defending! She's ASTRID and legit NO ONE in the gang antagonized her BUT Ruff which to me had more depth that Tuff ebing the one antagonizing her out of NOWHERE and 2. They even took that LITTLE bit of Ruff's insecurities that give her DEPTH and made her an Astrid suckup like holy SHIT. NO!
In the scene of Book of Dragons, she actually STAYED with Hiccup, like???? why? They made Hiccup actually INSIST on talking to her, more confident, when he wasn't! He KNEW he had no shot and was FUNNY, dry and sarcastic about it, that was the point. But in this scene in particular is dumb cause he was already SO SURE of dragons when at that point in the story he wasn't even sure himself yet, so him pushing that idea onto ASTRID made even less sense. She was 0 interested on antagonizing him at that point and didn't have a reason to in the OG because she didn't care for him at first, he was nothing but a nuisance and didn't see him going far BEFORE he started being good in class. Astrid had NO REASON at all to antagonize Hiccup and even LESS for suddenly "wanting to be chief". That whole scene to me was JARRING.
[A LIL TANGENT HERE! Everyone kept giving Hiccup shit for having privileges being the Chief's son which was NEVER a point in the OG and it DID make Hiccup look and ACT as even more of an entitled brat... which COULD'VE been a nuanced discussion but to me it was a pointless addition... cause they NEVER hated him for that in particular. Like sure he got away with somethings but that was never a point of contention. Now it is and Hiccup doesn't look like he's being mocked by the village for being small and weak but for being a privileged asshole which is a BAD change imo, like his journey was never to "humble himself" it was to grow to be the leader in what he believed in no matter the cost, and the cost was THIS HUGE ASS VILLAGE full of BIG powerful vikings which he was NOT and THAT was why he had SUCH impact.... So ALL that was gone in the LA....]
Another thing I HATED was in the Kill Ring scene how they totally CHANGED the dialogue between Hiccup and Astrid. Like?!?! Instead of Hiccup saying "if something goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless" WHICH IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AND ASTRID RESPONDING FIRMLY "I WILL" IT SHOWS HOW WILLING SHE IS ALSO TO PROTECT TOOTHLESS! IDK WHY they changed that cause it strips their allyship SO MUCH! and it pissed me off. Instead Hiccup asks Astrid to not get involved because Stoick adores her or smth (when that was NEVER established before even in the live action), like they make it about STOICK liking Astrid and protecting HER instead OF TOOTHLESS WHICH IS THE REASON HICCUP WAS WORRIED IN THE FIRST PLACE! They completely forgot about him and how HE needed protection. This is BAD fanservice and I hate it. I think A LOT of Hiccup and Astrid's interactions that were added misunderstood what made them WORK in the Original. It's so painful to see how you can take a perfectly good dynamic and make it BAD. I HATE that Astrid was used just to pop up some girlboss feminism instead of what she actually was. She was an angry teenage girl that had every right to be mad at Hiccup and then became a powerful ally FIRST and a friend.
Now tbf there WAS a line in the LA where she did state that she cared about protecting the village, but sorry all the negative stuff completely trumps that. SIGHS.... Sorry I just HATE how Astrid was handled.
AND AGAIN this is not a diss on Nico, she already gets enough vitriol as it is, I think she's fine as an actress and clearly GORGEOUS, and she may say she understands Astrid in interviews but sadly that's not the same as actually BEING Astrid (again sorry but the lack of emotions in her facial expressions and her ANGER I can't overlook, it was far too neutral in her facial expressions) I think that's mostly the directing, the dialogue and line delivery. Tho all the acting was not great tbf (I particularly didn't like Gobber he lacked just so MUCH of his charisma), this is a problem for ALL the ppl in the cast. Like I think Gerard Butler was the best among them like obviously he's a seasoned actor but still that's not saying much when the dialogue is so painfully bad...
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I find it super unfortunate that the HTTYD team had this super amazing concept in their pockets like THE NIGHT FURY, and it became such a great mystery that they really didn’t know what to do with at the end… there was just so much mystery and wonder about this species that was superior to any other and had massive intelligence and agility and everything! And Toothless being the only one they ever encountered and we never find out an actual compelling reason. Or maybe that WAS the point: to NEVER KNOW, to keep them a mystery and that would keep it interesting. Maybe we should’ve never known… Maybe there was so much more to the Night Furies, maybe they come from another completely different continent or smth…
But NOPE, they went for the cheapest most boring ass answer: “oh yeah btw all night furies were actually killed by this one random dude who’s such a non character, but look how badass he is! he wont tell us how he did it and his reason is a last ditch effort to connect him to the MC except it doesn’t. Also apparently he’s super famous and that creates a huge retcon in the entire franchise! Oh and don’t ask why the Night Furies don’t live on the Hidden World, a safe heaven for all dragons no human has ever touched because we DONT have an answer!”
Like??? Way to take an amazing concept and make it so bland and unemotional. I’d rather not have an answer to where are all the Night Furies than that garbage…Toothless and the Night Furies deserved better than to have that punkass bitch as their main “villain”💀💀💀
I was so mad he dared called himself the “Night Fury killer” bitch? Trying to be such hardcore wannabe he legit ruined the entire franchise lmfaooo 😭😭
WHY ASTRID'S CHANGES IN THE LIVE ACTION HURT HICCSTRID
Very long post ahead.
I will be VERY real rn. I am a very hardcore Hiccstrid shipper but I HATE stupid pointless fanservice. And in the LA, there’s so much and at that point in the story is really dumb… It fundamentally changes what made them great in HTTYD1, Especially Astrid.
I talked about it here in my Astrid review, but the way those two scenes in particular misunderstood their core dynamic which SHOULD BE ALLIES FIRST AND THEN ROMANCE.
Their scenes felt just so weird to me. Hiccup is an utter simp and not in the good way… He lets Astrid be even meaner to him. Astrid herself feels so much meaner while getting her OG ending is jarring. She legit threatened him to take his house like hello?! Why would she ever say that? Besides the obviously stupid decision to make her want to be Chief out of nowhere and super OOC, making her hate him for being “privileged” adds such an inconsistent and horrible layer to their “romance”. Cause now Hiccup just takes it… Hiccup may have been weak and meek at first but he was NEVER a pushover. And Astrid having a new "motivation" to hate him is a misunderstanding of her character.
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)
Hiccstrid is great yes, not only because of how they started but because of what they became. I truly appreciate their friendship and ally-ship so much. I love a LOT of their romance and I think it's actually really mature, so it pains me to see ppl reduce it to its bare minimum...
