Bad Moon Rising

Bad Moon Rising is the fourth episode of Season 2 of Dragons: Race to the Edge. It was released on Netflix on January 8, 2016.

Overview
After a strange creature bites Tuffnut, he believes he'll turn into a legendary Lycanwing dragon when the moon is full. Can his friends save him?

Plot
The episode starts out with the riders testing out Fishlegs' Gronckle Iron, but none of them can dent it or make a scratch on it. Stormfly is about to see how it holds up against a spine shot, when Tuffnut walks in, covered in leaves and twigs. He says they'll talk later.

Tuffnut lays out what happened. He tells them a creature attacked him, then left him for dead. Snotlout says that it was imaginary, but Tuffnut shows them a bite that the creature gave to him. The scene changes to Fishlegs looking through Bork's papers, the Book of Dragons, and the Dragon Eye for anything that could match Tuff's bite, but can't find anything. Gobber tells them about a dragon, the Lycanwing, that when it bit you, you turned into a dragon at the full moon. When Tuffnut freaks, Hiccup calms him down by saying it isn't real.

Gobber is at the campfire, telling the Riders about a little boy named Kessler who got lost in the woods and never came back, but on Kesler's birthday, a dragon that looked like Kessler would steal a sheep. Gobber then turns to Tuffnut and says that he shouldn't worry about turning into a dragon, he isn't displaying any symptoms. On Snotlout's insistance, he reads them aloud: Sensitivity to light (Tuff flinches at the torch), unquenchable thirst (Tuff rubs his tongue), fidgety arms (Tuff begins to move him arms around), and an overwhelming desire to eat fresh fish (Tuff goes over to where Barf&Belch are eating fish and starts eating). Tuff runs off.

The Riders are eating dinner when Tuff begins to give away his stuff. He leaves Macey to Snotlout (who throws it behind him after saying it was "So thoughtful"), he leaves his favorite bowl to Fishlegs (who recognizes it as his bowl), and he leaves Ruffnut to Hiccup, saying she's gonna need a new twin brother. Tuff says he's preparing himself for full transformation into a dragon, and he goes to say good-bye to Barf&Belch. He then locks himself up with his chicken.

Gobber returns from "talking" to Tuff, saying he won't talk to anyone. they look up, seeing Ruffnut ride Hookfang, and Snotlout sitting behind her, crying. When they land, Hiccup and Astrid gasp as Snotlout shows them his arm, covered in bites. Ruffnut explains that they've been gathering samples of bites to convince Tuff all this is just another of his fantasies. When Hiccup asks why Snotlout is doing this she says that he started this thing, and it's all his fault Tuff thinks he's turning into a dragon. Hiccup turns to Snotlout and says that he earned this one. As Snotlout and Ruff walk away, Fishlegs comes to tell Hiccup that he found the dragon eye lens that Hiccup found with Gustav. (in "Gone Gustav Gone") Hiccup and Fishlegs talk excitedly about it while Astrid noticeably rolls her eyes in the background.

Ruff lines up Snotlout and Tuff's arms to compare bites. None of them match, so they walk away to find more. The scene changes to show Ruff dragging Snotlout to the cage where Tuff is. Snotlout says that he is glad Ruff isn't his sister, to which Ruff replies, "No, you wish I was your sister. You think I'd be dragging your you butt all over the jungle risking your life if my brother wasn't the most important thing in the world to me? Think about that." And she continues walking. Tuffnut is trying to fly until Ruff says to line his arm up. Tuff asks what bite that is, to which Ruff replies it is sea snake. They argue about poison for a while, until Snotlout tells them there is definite poison and passes out.

Hiccup and Fishlegs light up the dragon eye and read about Lycanwing island. They grab Meatlug and go. Tuffnut talks to himself, saying he thought it was a joke, was just trying to mess with their heads, but it is a surprise to him too that the Lycanwing is real. He talks to the chicken: "How could I know? How could I know?"

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Fishlegs are at the island. They first get overwhelmed by bats, then enter the cave, Ruff takes Snotlout to Tuff, only to find out he has left. Ruffnut says that it is really bad, while Snotlout moans on the floor. Somewhere else, Tuff is growling between his words, talking to the chicken. When Tuff says that he feels like his senses are alive for the first time, he asks the chicken if he knows what he means. The chicken is multicolored from Tuff's view, and it speaks to him in a girl's voice. They walk off together.

Hiccup and Fishlegs explore the cave. They stop and Fishlegs closes his eyes when Toothless growls at a huge shadow. When nothing happens, Hiccup notices a statue with Dragon Eye lenses for eyes. Fishlegs opens his eyes, and they take them out. They fly back, catching Gobber who is closing up the stables. He tells them that Tuff ran away and Ruff went to find him.

Ruffnut and Snotlout are conversing in the forest, Snotlout groaning from the venom. Suddenly Tuff drops from the trees, saying he is Lycanwing. Snotlout runs away when Tuff runs off towards a cliff. Ruff follows Tuff, ordering him to come to her, while Snotlout is stopped by a strange rustling in the bushes, which attacks him.

Tuff is howling at the moon, hen talks to the chicken, saying that he has to go, and would never forgive himself if he ate the other Dragon Riders. Then, he thinks he would find them delicious as a dragon. The Ruffnut appears and pleads with Tuffnut not to jump off, and tries to convince him he is not turning into a dragon. They argue and converse for a while, until Hiccup and Fishlegs arrive and tell Tuff he isn't turning into a dragon, the Lycanwing was just a myth to keep people away from the Eye lenses. (Astrid arrives as well) Tuff doesn't belive them, but then Snotlout shows up telling them that he knows what made the bite, and tells him it is a wolf, and he caught him. Tuff sighs in relief, and starts to come to them, but the rock he is standing on crumbles and he falls. They all run towards him, but Toothless is fastest, and catches him. The haul him up, and Ruffnut hugs Tuffnut and tells him what an idiot his is. Then Hiccup asks where the wolf is, and Snotlout and him turn around, and the wolf is right there and it attacks them.

Transcript
The transcript for this episode is here.

Trivia

 * Tuffnut still has Macey from Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
 * This episode almost has the same premise as The Flight Stuff, when Snotlout is convinced he is dying but isn't.
 * This is one of the three episodes where the dragon hunters aren't there since their debut, the others being Snotlout Gets the Axe and Shock and Awe
 * The twins hug each other for the first time ever on screen in the whole franchise.
 * The Lycanwing myth is obviously based on Werewolves, which is ironic as the creature that actually bit Tuffnut was a Wolf.
 * There is evidence that Tuffnut stole Fishlegs's bowl.
 * Tuffnut becomes convinced that the world is a sphere, or at least oblong. This shows either a hidden level of intelligence or just typical Tuffnut insanity.
 * Snotlout is bitten by at least a Terrible Terror, Night Terror, Deadly Nadder, and a Gronckle.
 * He is also bitten by a Sea Snake, which is poisonous.
 * It is likely that he could've been killed by the venom. Luckily, Gobber somehow managed to avert that. In real life he would probably be dead.