Snotlout Gets the Axe

Snotlout Gets the Axe is the fifth episode of Season 2 of Dragons: Race to the Edge. It was released on Netflix on January 8, 2016.

Overview
Snotlout and Astrid must deliver a special battle axe to a family wedding, but when an Armorwing derails their plan, they have to work together.

Plot
The episode starts out with Snotlout knocking down targets, which symbolize Dragon Hunters. Snotlout ends up on the ground as expected by the riders. Spitelout (Snotlout's dad) lands and tells Snotlout to loosen his grip. He explains that the Jorgensons and Hoffersons are going to get married, and Snotlout is given the duty of being the axe-bearer, the ceremonial axe, as there has never been a union without it. Snotlout was the 4th choice in the family to get the honor. As Spitelout departs, he adds that Astrid and Hiccup were chosen to represent their families and they had to go, too. After Fishlegs tells the twins he'll tell them about union ceremonies, Hiccup and the others depart.

On the way, Snotlout tries to convince Astrid and Hiccup that nothing he has ever done has ended in disaster. They contradict him by recounting previous events: When Snotlout brought the Changewing eggs to Berk, nearly destroying the village (Which Snotlout says is Fishleg's fault); the time where Snotlout released the Skrill from it's ice block, also nearly destroying the village (Twins' fault); the time Snotlout crash-landed both himself and Hiccup on Outcast island (Act of Thor). Snotlout mimics his father, "No axe, no wedding boy-o,", when he drops the axe. In an attempt to retrieve the axe, Hiccup drops into a power dive, but is unsuccessful. However, Snotlout is determined to find it, so they land on the nearest island to search for it.

The scene changes to show Hiccup cutting through bushes on their search for the axe, which they spot embedded into a chunk of rock. However, in Snotlout's attempts to retrieve it, it is revealed that the 'rock' is actually a dragon covered in armor, which immediately begins attacking Snotlout, Hiccup, and Astrid. Still determined to get his family's axe, Snotlout climbs onto the dragon's back, but as he begins to yank at the handle, the dragon angrily tries to shake him off. The dragon takes flight, with Snotlout still on board, forcing Hiccup and Astrid to fly up after them with Hookfang in the lead. They pursue the dragon, but it fires at them as they get close. Hookfang fires back at the dragon as a diversion, but the dragon still manages to shoot at Stormfly, narrowly missing her. However, the blast effects Stormfly's vision, forcing her and Astrid to land. Astrid yells a warning to Hiccup, but the dragon still manages to fire at Toothless's eyes, causing them to crash into the ground. The dragon lands and fires a long shot towards Toothless, who is immediately protected by Hiccup when he uses his Gronckle-iron shield to deflect the blast. Hookfang fires at the dragon when it tries to charge at them, much to Astrid's approval, but the dragon immediately takes off, throwing Snotlout off its back into nearby bushes. Still determined to retrieve the axe, Snotlout immediately sets out to follow the dragon with Hookfang on his heels. Astrid is unwilling to go after them, pointing out that "It's his mess. Let him clean it up." But realizing that both Hiccup and Toothless didn't agree, she relents to help.

The scene shifts to Fishlegs as he teaches the twins the about union ceremonies. Realizing that neither twin has any table etiquette, Fishlegs decides to move on to the actual ceremony. He has Tuffnut stand as the officiator with a script of the tradition Viking union words while he and Ruffnut stand in as the bride and groom. Tuffnut recites the actual words, but as Fishlegs and Ruffnut 'dance' as part of the ceremony, Tuffnut recognizes the script, having trained with the town officiator on Berk and was actually qualified to carry out union ceremonies. The 'dance' comes to an abrupt end when a horrified Fishlegs realizes that this means Tuffnut actually married him to Ruffnut, and since Viking unions are forever, the marriage cannot be dissolved.

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Hiccup, and Astrid discovered the mysterious dragon in a small clearing filled with small heaps of scrap metal and armor. Hiccup dubs the dragon as "Armorwing" after seeing how it melds the metal to its own customized coat of armor. Seeing as none of them were able to get close enough to pry the axe from the dragon, Snotlout devises a plan to go to Breakneck Bog to train and bring back some Smothering Smokebreaths to help them get back the axe before the dragon welded it to its armor.

The scene shifts back to Meatlug and Fishlegs, who desperately searches through books, trying to find a way to dissolve the Viking union between himself and Ruffnut. However, he is interrupted by Ruffnut, who decides that she and Tuffnut are not only moving in, but also redecorating his home and getting rid of his own personal possessions to bring in their own.

At Breakneck Bog, Astrid reminds Snotlout that it is impossible to train Smothering Smokebreaths. This does not deter Snotlout, who believes that they are his only hope to getting his axe, since they love metal. They find the Smokebreaths nest and begin looting from their stash, but quickly retreat when the Smokebreaths return. With their dragons carrying as much metal as they could in their claws, the group escape the nest with the Smokebreaths chasing after them. Snotlout declares this as the best idea he's ever had (true), to which Hiccup remarks that his bar isn't that high (also true). When Snotlout attempts a retort at 'Hiccup's bar', he has trouble justifying his argument and finally says, "Shut it, Hiccup."

The scene changes to Ruffnut yelling about a fish-gutting station. She pushes out Meatlug to make room. Fishlegs stays outside for a while trying to comfort her, but is called back inside by Ruffnut. Tuffnut declares that she wants Fishlegs to learn to ride Belch.

Meanwhile, the others lure the Smokebreaths to the Armorwing's site, where they eagerly begin tearing the metal from the heaps outside, which lures the Armorwing from its cave. It starts attacking the Smokebreaths, which are immediately attracted to it's coat of armor and immediately set their sights on tearing it apart. One of them manages to pry the axe free, but instead of bringing it to Snotlout, it takes off passed him. Astrid and Stormfly fly ahead and funnel the stray Smokebreath toward Snotlout, who is successful in snatching the axe from it. However, back at the site, Hiccup observes that the Armorwing has no scales and needs the makeshift armor for protection, meaning that if the Smokebreath tore it apart, the dragon would be defenseless. Hiccup devises a strategy to gather various pieces of metal and get close enough to the Armorwing's blasts to heat the pieces so that they would meld together. Astrid and Stormfly are almost blasted when Snotlout and Hookfang dive in to deflect the blast, saying that they owed her one. Snotlout catches the Smokebreaths' attention by pointing to Hiccup and Toothless, both of whom have created a huge ball of metal as bait to lure the away from the Armorwing. The Smokebreaths eagerly seize the metal ball and depart from the site.

Toothless, Stormfly and Hookfang offer scrap metal to the Armorwing, who accepts and melds them back to its armor, thus proving that they had earned its trust. As its nearing sundown, Snotlout flies ahead to Berk for the marriage which Hiccup and Astrid promised to catch up. However, when he arrives after nightfall, he discovers the site in completely disarray, and his father, Spitelout, is the only one present. Hiccup and Astrid arrive moments later and both offer to take the blame for his lateness. Snotlout refuses and goes to talk to his dad and goes into a short tirade on how he had risked both his friends and his own life to bring the axe to the ceremony, only for his father to admit that there wouldn't be a union ceremony and that it was a good thing he didn't bring the axe on time. An argument had broken out at the rehearsal dinner and it had gotten ugly. Spitelout declares that he's proud that he could count on his son all the same. All is well.

On their return to the Edge, Hiccup is shocked to see Tuffnut riding Meatlug. They ask for an explanation, to which Tuffnut responds, "Hiccup, meet the Ingerman-Thorstons: We're a model of the modern viking family." To his explanation of accidentally marrying Fishlegs and Ruffnut, Astrid breaks it to him that he was unable to perform Viking unions. Snotlout adds that he never completed his training because the officiator had jumped off a cliff halfway into his first lesson (which he found funny). Fishlegs appears from inside and is both excited and disappointed that a new dragon had been discovered without him. Tuffnut informs him that he is unable to marry people after all, so the union is dissolved. In joy, Fishlegs declares that he hadn't been so happy since his wedding day, only for Ruffnut to appear beside him for a short, awkward silence before she nuzzled his nose, then slapped him in the face. Touched, Fishlegs then tells her that his door is always open.

Afterwards Hiccup says that no Hofferson will ever marry a Jorgenson. While Snotlout insists to "never say never", Astrid firmly states, "Never."

Transcript
The transcript for this episode is here.

Trivia

 * This episode features a new dragon species, the Armorwing.
 * This is the first time that Hiccup's last name, Haddock, has been mentioned in the TV series. As of this episode, all of the main characters' last names have been mentioned.
 * The Smothering Smokebreaths return in this episode. This is the first time they appear in an episode that doesn't have Trader Johann in it. This is also the first time they do not go after Hiccup's leg.
 * Hookfang uses his Wing Blast technique he learned in A Tale of Two Dragons.
 * The events from Defiant One, Gem of a Different Color, and A View to a Skrill, Part 1 are mentioned.
 * The Haddocks (Hiccup's family) were the only one in this episode not in some relationship with another rider's. CIP: Hofferson-Jorgenson; Ingerman-Thorston.
 * According to Ruffnut, Silent Sven's wife has a fish-gutting station.
 * When Tuffnut says 'It's all coming back to me now," he could be quoting the famous line from Celine Dion's song 'It's all coming back to me now'