To Heather or Not to Heather

To Heather or Not to Heather is the seventh episode of Season 3 of Race to the Edge. It was released on Netflix on June 24, 2016.

Overview
After learning that Fishlegs has been secretly communicating with Heather, the gang invites her to the Edge to convince her to join the Dragon Riders.

Summary
Snotlout and the twins are seen chasing a Terrible Terror near the Edge. It heads over towards Fishlegs' hut. Hiccup and Astrid follow them as they know how unlikely it was that the three were training. The three tackle Fishlegs in his hut and pin him to the ground. Hiccup asks what they're doing as the Terrible Terror flies off, and Tuffnut notes that Fishlegs has been getting a lot of Terrible Terror messages lately, and the three were curious who's been sending the mail. Fishlegs surprises the group when he reveals the person he's been communicating with is Heather. He shows them a barrel full of Heather's letters, and the Riders are eager to read them much to Fishlegs' embarrassment.

The Riders are surprised by how depressed and unlike Heather the letters are sounding. Fishlegs reminds them that Heather would be in a tough state after what she's been through, and wants to help her in some way. Hiccup suggests they make Heather a Dragon Rider, and most of the group agrees with the exception of Tuffnut, who thinks she's to inexperienced to join their ranks. Hiccup agrees with Tuffnut and suggests they invite Heather over for a few days to help with the Deadly Nadder migration and then they'll vote on whether she deserves to join them or not.

The next day, Heather arrives and is greeted enthusiastically by the other Riders. Astrid asks Heather why she didn't return with them in the first place. Heather tells her that she needed some time alone after the last incident, and is grasping the fact about being Dagur's sister and worries about sharing a few similarities with him. Astrid reassures her, and the two tease each other about their romantic interests.

At night, Heather prepares a yak-meat dinner for the rest of the Riders to enjoy. They are interrupted by incoming Nadders from the migration, and Hiccup invites Heather to join them. Heather claims that she and Windshear (who's acting hostile towards the other dragons) will only slow them down. The Riders go off to assist the Nadders as Fishlegs stays behind to give Heather a tour of the Edge and shows her where hut should be built if she were to stay. Heather enjoys Fishlegs' company and returns his interest, but soon they get interrupted by Meatlug and Windshear, who are fighting each other. The Riders are confused as to what's causing it, as Meatlug's usually not aggressive. Hiccup arrives to alert them of more Nadders, this time managing to encourage Heather to come with them despite her hesitation.

The next day during the Nadder migration, Astrid takes the lead, while the others surround the Nadders in a formation following Hiccup's orders. Windshear acts aggressive towards the Nadders and attacks Tuffnut. Heather decides to fly back to the edge to see what's wrong with her dragon as the others successfully steer the other Nadders.

Back at the Edge, Hiccup and Toothless meet up with Heather and her dragon. Windshear appears to be doing better, as she acts friendly towards Toothless. Hiccup informs her that they would like for her become a Dragon Rider and offers to help train Windshear.

Hiccup and Heather ride their dragons high in the air to practice formations. It appears to be going smoothly, but a cocky glance from Toothless sends Windshear over the edge and she knocks Hiccup off of Toothless. Heather manages to steer Windsheer downward to catch Hiccup, and Hiccup uses his wingsuit to fly down and rescue Toothless before he hits the water.

Back at the Edge, Hiccup tells Heather that she'll improve, but Heather's made up her mind. She decides that Windshear's too dangerous around the others, so it's best that they leave.

Later, when Heather's about to leave, Fishlegs arrives to her location to try and convince her not to leave. He doesn't want them to have a long-distance relationship, but Heather knows that Windshear is too overprotective of Heather to change even with Hiccup's training. Fishlegs then gets an idea of what to do about the situation, and asks Heather to trust him.

Back at the Nadder migration, the Riders struggle to control the Nadders and the situation worsens when Dragon Hunters arrive. The Riders try to escape, but Hookfang gets caught by a rope made of reinforced steel. Fishlegs and Heather appear on the scene, but riding each other's dragons. Despite Heather's hesitation, Fishlegs tells her that Windshear will protect her as long as Windshear's near her, no matter what dragon Heather's on. Heather and Meatlug attack the ships, and the Hunters aim their projectiles at them. Windshear quickly retaliates by taking out the weaponry and the men on the ships. Fishlegs and Windshear rescue Snotlout and Hookfang from the trap, and the Dragon Riders take out all the Dragon Hunter ships successfully.

Back at the Edge, Heather makes Yak-chops for the Riders again and decides to stay with them this time. Thanks to Fishlegs' actions, Windshear is more easily integrated with the other dragons. Hiccup then gets a Terrible Terror with a message from Dagur, who wants the Riders' help to find his sister. While Heather worries about her deranged brother's future actions, Hiccup assures her that the Riders will protect her now that she is one of them.

Transcript
The transcript for this episode is here.

Trivia

 * Heather and Fishlegs are confirmed to have mutually reciprocated romantic feelings for each other, much to Snotlout's dismay.
 * Heather becomes an official Dragon Rider and stays on Dragon's Edge.
 * At the end of the episode, Tuffnut speaks in Spanish.
 * This is the first time Heather has appeared in an episode that did not feature a main villain.
 * This episode makes a number of references to the first film, the Riders and Defenders of Berk series:
 * When Hiccup admitted not to feel any different if in Heather's shoes, Snotlout unnecessarily corrected him with the word just shoe and pointed at his prosthetic, referencing how the former lost his left leg at the climax of the film.
 * Ruffnut mentioned the Red Death, the main antagonist of the first film, the Whispering Death(s) and the Screaming Death from Defenders of Berk.
 * This episode, along with Family on the Edge, name was revealed before the second release of Race to the Edge on imdb.com.
 * Though for this episode, it was first called "To Be Heather or Not to Be".