Defiant One

"The life of a Viking can be difficult, harsh and stormy. Nobody could make it through alone. Eventually you will have to rely on someone. Unfortunately, we do not always get the chance to pick that . . . someone."

Defiant One is the sixteenth episode of Dragons: Riders of Berk. It aired on the February 20. It is preceded by Twinsanity and is succeeded by Breakneck Bog.

Overview
Hiccup, Toothless and Snotlout are stranded in dangerous lands due to a waterspout. As they struggle to find their way back, they realize that they are on Outcast Island. Since Toothless' tail fin was damaged by the waterspout, their only hope is for Hiccup and Snotlout to work together, whose personalities just happen to be the ones that couldn't be any more different.

Plot
The episode opens with the teens flying over a stormy ocean. Hiccup struggles to see through the wind. Snotlout complains about being out here. Hiccup reminds him it's their first dragon search and rescue mission, to which Snotlout points out he sees a lot of searching but no rescuing. Hiccup points out his father said the ship went south, but Snotlout says they should go north. He defies Hiccup and says he will no longer listen to him. He and Hookfang veer off course and fly in the opposite direction. Hiccup breathes a sigh of relief and smiles broadly to see Snotlout is gone, but his joy is short lived as Astrid gives him a look that says, "You know you have to go after him." He agrees to go get Snotlout while the others head back. Upon following Snotlout, Hiccup sees a massive waterspout, and Snotlout flies directly towards it! Hiccup tries to warn him of the danger, but Snotlout ignores him, and comes far too close to the massive vortex. Hookfang spins out and is sucked in. He struggles to escape but is thrown spiraling away. Snotlout loses his grip and flies around in the waterspout. He calls for help, and Hiccup dives in with Toothless to try to save him. They catch him, but before Toothless escapes the powerful winds, his tail is ripped to shreds. He, Hiccup and Snotlout rocket out of the sky toward a nearby island. They crash into the ground, and the screen cuts to black with a thud.

The rest of the teens arrive safely on Berk. Stoick and Gobber meet them and tell them the boat returned. Tuffnut says Stoick should've told them that before they left and quickly tries to blame the comment on his sister when he sees Stoick isn't amused. Stoick asks where Hiccup is, and Astrid informs him Hiccup turned around to get Snotlout. Tuffnut makes another stupid comment, and he again blames it on his sister who this time punches him. Gobber tells Stoick not to worry and reminds him how hard it is to get Hiccup off of his Dragon.

The episode returns to island where Toothless was last seen crash landing with the two boys. After Hiccup regains consciousness, he looks around calling for Toothless and Snotlout. He finds Toothless lying in a small dip in the barren landscape and runs up to him. The two exchange relief and joy upon finding one another. Hiccup notes the connecting rod is ruined on the tail-fin. Snotlout yells to Hiccup from high up in a tree and orders him to get him down. Toothless sends a small blast in his direction and knocks him free. Hiccup asks if Snotlout is hurt, and Snotlout, in return, tells him to "Go... suck... rocks." Hiccup and Toothless both are fairly unhappy to have Snotlout back. Snotlout calls for Hookfang, but he can't find the missing Dragon. Hiccup tries to console him and tells him they'll find Hookfang. He notes now they really need to find a way to get out of here. Later that evening, Hiccup constructed a new, yellow, emergency tail-fin and attached it to Toothless. Snotlout rummages through Hiccup's satchel. Hiccup takes the badly bent connecting rod and tries to straighten it with a rock but only hurts himself in the process. Snotlout fusses at Hiccup for not packing any food. Hiccup points out Snotlout holds a biscuit he packed. Snotlout says the biscuit isn't sufficient, but as the two argue more heatedly, Toothless pops his head in and happily gulps the biscuit down himself. This only makes Snotlout angrier, but Hiccup ignores his insults and bends the connecting rod. Snotlout walks up, takes the connecting rod, insults Hiccup's weakness, and snaps the rod in half, thinking he wanted two pieces. Hiccup is annoyed at this, and points out the rod was their only way of getting home. Snotlout tells him to just get a new one, and Hiccup tells him they have absolutely no idea where they are. Toothless growls at approaching voices. The boys and dragon hide, and see two Vikings inspect the area. Hiccup recognizes one of them as Savage the Outcast, and announces with despair he now knows where they are: They are stranded on Outcast Island.

The next morning the two boys walk down a steep embankment on the rugged terrain of Outcast Island. Lightning strikes overhead, and the sky is ominous and overcast. Hiccup vents disbelief and nervousness at the thought of being stranded on this island. Snotlout walks behind him happily munching on purple berries. Hiccup turns around and notices this. He suggests Snotlout shouldn't eat them, but Snotlout ignores him and angrily shoves Toothless away when the dragon sniffs at the fruit. Hiccup tells him the berries could be poisonous, but Snotlout tells him they're going into battle, and they need to keep their strength up. Hiccup turns and walks again while sarcastically asking how Snotlout really thinks the two of them are going to take on the whole Outcast army themselves. Snotlout replies with "Abtholutely!". Hiccup notices his horrible lisp and turns around to see Snotlout with a badly swollen tongue. He angrily reminds him he warned him about eating the berries. Snotlout, who's still unaware of his tongue's condition, is pointed to a puddle by Hiccup. Snotlout realizes with horror he now looks hideous. Hiccup offers to help him with something out of his satchel, but Snotlout nervously asks "Thatchel?". Hiccup realizes Snotlout left his satchel behind. He points out with annoyance if anyone finds the satchel the two of them are dead because it has the Berk crest on it. Snotlout tells him to relax and no one will find it. The scene shifts to Savage, who picks up the satchel and happily thinks about how Alvin will respond to seeing Berkians are on his island.

Back on Berk, Stoick worriedly looks across the stormy sea. He turns and says the boys have been gone for days, and he reminds Astrid she said they were right behind her. She suggests they must have needed to land to wait out the storm. Gobber and Fishlegs point out a burning dragon flying towards them. Astrid recognizes it as Hookfang. The angry and terrified dragon lands next to Stoick who calms him with a touch to the snout. Astrid and Fishlegs note if Hookfang is here, where are Hiccup, Toothless, and Snotlout. Stoick tells them to get their dragons. They're going to find them.

Back on Outcast Island, Alvin the Treacherous attempts to train his dragons. A wild Deadly Nadder is in the ring. It attacks and wounds many outcasts. Before it clamps its jaws onto the head of one soldier, Alvin grabs it from behind. He spins it violently around, says he likes this one because of its spirit, and tosses it roughly back into one prisons cell. He angrily shouts, "Will I ever get these dragons to do what I want!?" Savage walks in and tosses him the satchel. Alvin is pleased and says, "Ho-ho, the Berk crest! Is it my birthday?" Two outcasts ask each other what Alvin likes for a birthday gift, and Alvin yells at them to "Stop Gossipin'!" He sends his troops to scour the island and bring him the owner of the bag alive, for now. ..

Hiccup and Snotlout are on a high ledge overlooking the outcast village. Hiccup looks through his spyglass. He locates the forge, and says they'll wait until the blacksmith leaves. When he does, they will sneak down and make a new connecting rod. Snotlout isn't paying attention because he sticks his swollen tongue into a bowl of some sort of liquid. He tells Hiccup it's disgusting and he saw Toothless spit in it. Toothless gurgles happily as Hiccup explains Night Fury saliva actually has incredible healing properties. However, he said it with a mildly sarcastic-sounding tone, so he may have just told Snotlout that because he found it funny. Snotlout remarks it still tastes like yak pies.

The rescue party flies over the ocean by this time. Stoick gives orders. Gobber rides the still flaming Hookfang. He gladly notes how well his iron skivvies protect him. Hookfang picks up his master's scent, and they fly off in that direction.

It's night back on Outcast Island. The boys walk toward the forge, and Snotlout makes a considerable amount of useless noise as he enjoys his tongue again. This frustrates Hiccup, but just then a large Monstrous Nightmare bars their path. Snotlout mistakes it for Hookfang and calls out to it. It turns around and violently blasts him into a rock. Toothless attacks it, but Hiccup calms him down. Hiccup reaches out and calms the Monstrous Nightmare, but the noise attracted Outcast soldiers. They try to attack the boys, but are slightly delayed by the Nightmare who blasts fire at them. They drive it off and pursue Hiccup, Toothless, and Snotlout. Hiccup gets Toothless to lure them away, and the Outcasts are fooled into following him. Hiccup says they will make another attempt when Toothless returns, but Snotlout refuses and tells Hiccup he almost got them both caught. Hiccup angrily replies the only reason the Outcasts know they were there is because Snotlout left the satchel with the Berk crest on. Snotlout replies Hiccup brought the satchel with the Berk crest on it to Outcast Island. The two continue arguing until Hiccup offers to hear one of Snotlout's ideas. He's unable to answer the request, and is only able to look angrily at Hiccup. Hiccup, happy to win that section of the argument walks towards the returning Toothless saying, "Precisely as I suspected!" He congratulates Toothless on his pulling his own weight, and that makes Snotlout more furious, calling Hiccup smug. Hiccup gets angry at this accusation while Snotlout insults Hiccup's intelligence, bravery, killing the Red Death, training the dragons, and even his metal leg. Hiccup snaps as Snotlout crossed the line with that last one, but tells Snotlout to deal with it as Hiccup is all he's got. Snotlout storms off saying he doesn't need him. Hiccup encourages him to leave and tells him he doesn't need him either.

Back with the riders, Fishlegs notices something in the water. Astrid uses Stormfly's tail to get it, revealing to be Toothless's tail. Fishlegs immediately panics that without his tail, Toothless can't fly. Stoick tells the others to fly close to the water to find the boys.

At the Outcast forge, Hiccup slips through the bars but Toothless is too big. Hiccup tells his dragon to stay hidden. However, a wild Gronckle that is on the roof attacks Toothless, knocking them both into a small gorge. As Hiccup puts the finishing touches on the rod, Savage and two other Outcasts show up and capture him, as well as knocking the connecting rod out of his hand. As they leave, Hiccup looks back for Toothless, but only sees the lava from the Gronckle. Without his dragon, Hiccup is being taken to Alvin. Toothless continues his fight with the Gronckle by avoiding its shots. Once the wild dragon is out, Toothless fires two plasma blast to send the Gronckle flying. Sensing Hiccup is in trouble, he tries to climb out of the gorge, but it's too steep. Toothless picks up on Snotlout's scent and follows it out of a mouth in the gorge.

Snotlout is at the edge of the island and constructed a makeshift raft, remarking Hiccup wasn't the only one who could come up with a good idea. It works until Snotlout gets on, and it sinks. Walking back on shore, Snotlout says to himself it was good Hiccup didn't see that. He's surprised to see Toothless. Thinking Hiccup is nearby, Snotlout remarks he still doesn't need him. When Hiccup doesn't show up, along with Toothless's strange behavior, Snotlout realizes the dragon is trying to tell him Hiccup needs his help, and the two head toward the blacksmith forge.

Upon reaching the forge, Snotlout walks in and calls for Hiccup. He notices the connecting rod on the ground and picks it up. The blacksmith appears and tries to attack Snotlout with his axe. Toothless sticks his head through the bars, but is unable to help Snotlout. Snotlout uses the connecting rod to parry the blacksmith's blows and kicks him into a pile of shields. He turns around to look cockily at Toothless, but the dragon sees the blacksmith sneak up behind him. Toothless roars, and Snotlout barley dodges the Outcast's blow. The blacksmith now wields a massive mace, and he disarms Snotlout. Toothless sees this and uses a small plasma blast to send the connecting rod flying back to Snotlout. Snotlout kicks the blacksmith towards Toothless who violently headbutts him across the room and knocks him out in the process. Snotlout leaves the forge and notes he and Toothless make a good team. He foolishly teases he might not return Toothless to Hiccup which causes Toothless to growl. Snotlout quickly apologizes, and the two of them see Hiccup being escorted up the cliff side path. Snotlout jumps onto Toothless and the two of them head off to rescue Hiccup from his captors.

As the Outcasts bring Hiccup up the path, Savage turns and asks him where the rest of his party is. Hiccup, in calm and cheerful sarcasm replies: "No it's me, it's just me. Taking a little vacation; I hear Outcast Island is beautiful this time of year." Savage isn't amused and counters Hiccup's sarcasm with an intimidating: "Oh, Alvin will get it out of you. In fact, he'll enjoy it, but trust me, you won't," which scares the boy. Alvin looks on gleefully with his spy glass as Hiccup is led closer, and Alvin orders his men to prepare the dragons for training. As the Outcasts escort reaches a ravine, Snotlout and Toothless prepare to attack. Snotlout causes an avalanche of rocks to bar the front of the path, then gives Toothless a signal to do the same with the back. The two of them leap down upon the captured Outcasts. Alvin looks on angrily, grabs an axe, and runs towards the battle. Snotlout uses the connecting rod to temporarily down Savage, but the other Outcast pin him against the wall with spear attacks. Toothless claws this Outcast aside. Snotlout throws the connecting rod into the Outcast soldier who holds Hiccup. It slams into the soldier's face, and he loosens his grip on Hiccup. Hiccup picks up the rod and gives him a good smack in the face. Hiccup runs happily up to Toothless, but the battle isn't over. Savage recovered and he charges Snotlout from behind. Toothless saves Snotlout by shooting Savage back with a plasma blast of moderate strength. Savage is stunned, and when he stands up he is intimidated into a retreat when he sees his opponents looking angrily toward him. Snotlout runs after him and mocks him while Hiccup fixes Toothless's tail using the connecting rod. Snotlout runs right into Alvin as he chases Savage, but Toothless grabs Snotlout and the group soars up into the air. Alvin and his Outcasts try in vain to shoot Toothless down, and the Hooligans make their escape. Alvin seethes with frustration at losing yet again to a ninety pound boy.

Hiccup and Snotlout have a friendly moment considering they actually worked well together. The two boys' appreciation for each other has been deepened. They run into the rest of the Dragon Academy who are relieved to find them safe. As they fly back to Berk, Hiccup's closing narration ends the episode.

"Sometimes the last person you want to rely on is the one you end up being stuck with. Now being stuck with Snotlout was no picnic, but who knew how much I could rely on him?"

Trivia

 * Gobber is seen riding Hookfang when the gang goes in search for Hiccup, Snotlout and Toothless. This is the first time Gobber has rode a dragon by himself.
 * The back side of Fishlegs' map is the treasure map of Hamish II from Episode eight, Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Young Man.
 * When Snotlout battles the blacksmith he uses the metal connecting rod for Toothless's saddle, instead of one of the many weapons around him. Even after he drops it, he picks it up and continues using it, instead of getting a real weapon.
 * After Hiccup puts his hand on the snout of a wild Monstrous Nightmare it helps protect them when the Outcasts shoot arrows at them. This has happened before in Episode 11 "Heather Report, Part 2" when the Monstrous Nightmare Astrid was training came to her rescue. Coincidentally, both Nightmares have the same color scheme.
 * This is the second time time Hiccup has been captured.
 * Hiccup gives Snotlout a bowl of some sort of liquid to heal his swollen tongue. He says that it is Night Fury saliva. Hiccup claims it has good healing properties, and Snotlout's tongue actually does heal. Though it is fairly certain that Hiccup was making this up to get back at Snotlout, and the effect of the berries he ate just wore off.
 * Gobber has a pair of iron underpants.
 * Snotlout wasn't wet when he got out of the ocean after his raft sunk.
 * This is one of the clear moments from the events before Race to the Edge were the hidden depths of Snotlout's and Hiccup's relationship is shown.
 * Snotlout is immediately willing to set aside his differences with Hiccup as soon as he realized Hiccup was in danger.
 * This shows that Snotlout cares for Hiccup's safety, or at least respects him.
 * Hiccup and Snotlout are able to work together with precision during the fight scene.

Transcript
The full transcript can be found here