Heather Report, Part 2

Heather Report Part II is the 11th episode in the DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk series. It mainly features the character Heather, who was introduced in episode 10 Heather Report Part I. It aired on November 21, 2012. (at 8:00 on Cartoon Network). The dragon featured in this episode is a pink and olive-yellow Monstrous Nightmare, which is later tamed by Astrid.

Overview
After helping Alvin acquire the Book of Dragons and being proved as traitor, Heather is locked up in prison. Meanwhile, Hiccup and the gang devise a plan to get the book back from Alvin, that mainly involves Astrid impersonating Heather.

Plot
The episode opens with Heather running through the forest, seemingly trying to escape from something. She rapidly approaches a boat, but before she can reach it, it ignites into flames after being shot by Stormfly and Astrid, who are flying close by. The scene shifts then shifts to a prison, where Heather is once more thrown into a cell, the door quickly locked behind her. Astrid tells her through the bars of the cell that she can escape as many times as she wants, but she will never leave the island, implying that she has already escaped from the same cell multiple times. Heather protests, trying to tell her something about her parents, but Astrid stops her, and asks her rhetorically what had happened to her story about the pirates. Heather admits that she made up the story, but before she can say anything else, Astrid leaves.

The scene then shifts to Outcast Island, where some of Alvin's men are confronting a wild Gronckle, who appears to be guarding the Book of Dragons. One of the soldiers ponders ways to get the book, and discussess his ideas with another soldier. The other Outcast, apparently unintelligent, suggests getting the Book of Dragons to help them, only to be told that they're trying to get the book from the Gronkle. The first warrior convinces him to attempt to grab the book, stating that they've learned that Gronkles are actually very gentle. As if to prove his point, the Gronkle does not appear dangerous, as it seems to scratch a spot on its chin, its eyes large and puppy-like. The second warrior, convinced, slowly approaches, but before he can grab the book, the Gronkle steps on it, and snarls at him, before attacking. What happens is not shown, but it is implied that the soldier was badly burned. The first soldier is discouraged, but also attempts to grab the book himself, recieving the same hostile reaction from the Gronkle.

Back at the dragon academy, the riders are training with their dragons in preparation for a mission to recover the Book of Dragons from Alvin the Treacherous. Fishlegs and Meatlug are working on their technique, aided by Snotlout. Snotlout uses a small catapult to shoot a boulder at them, and Meatlug catches the boulder, swallowing it. Fishlegs then complains that the shot was rather close, and the two begin to bicker. Hiccup then attempts to make them stop, but severely stresses Fishlegs, by stating that they have only one opportunity to get back the book. During training, Hookfang becomes restless, and ignites into flames. Snotlout rushes over and quickly bends his horns to the ground. Hookfang then collapses, and appears to instantly relax and calm down. Snotlout explains to the others that Hookfang likes having his horns bent to the ground, and Tuffnut especially seems surprised by this. Ruffnut then points out that Tuffnut also likes having his horns bent to the ground, and tackles him, performing a similar maneuver with his helmet. Oddly, Tuffnut appears to enjoy this, proving her statement to be true. Fishlegs then tells everyone that all this training will be good when they have the book, but Alvin is not going to simply give it to them. Astrid walks over and tells them that he might hand it over to Heather, causing Fishlegs to ask if she had been eating dragon nip (This implies that dragon nip has an unusual effect on humans, and may cause them to act irrationally). Astrid quickly reacts, punching him in the stomach, and Fishlegs complains, asking why she always had to be so violent. Astrid retorts that the punch was not violence, but communication. Fishlegs once more states that he believes she had eaten dragon nip, and Astrid punches him in the stomach again.

The scene changes to night time, where the teens are waiting in front of a boat. Fishlegs appears to be very nervous, worried that their plan might not work, and begins to panic, but Hiccup calmly reassures him that their stradegy will work. After he says this, Heather appears from the woods, and the twins react with hostility. However, she knocks the twins off and then begins to speak, and they realize that it is actually Astrid in disguise. She gets on the boat and begins to sail away to Outcast Island, with Hiccup telling her to be safe, in a somewhat apologetic tone, possibly still feeling guilt that he had not believed her when she had told him the real Heather was a spy.

The episode then shifts back to Berk's prison, where Bucket is bringing in food for Heather. He then realizes that she is missing, and opens the cell door, stating 'Not again!' implying once more that she has escaped multiple times. However, the scene then shows that Heather is still in the cell, clinging to the ceiling. She attacks Bucket, and gets out of the cell, locking him inside, stating that she has to save her parents.

On Outcast Island, Astrid begins to approach the shore, but is forced to quickly duck into her boat to avoid being attacked by a wild Monstrous Nightmare that flies past. The dragon continues to fly away, but its actions quickly reveal that the dragons on the island are hostile. She lands on the island, and is greeted by Savage, who states that he thought she had been captured. She then loudly replies that she escaped, attempting to make her voice the same pitch as Heather's. She is startled when Savage tells the Outcasts to get rid of her, stating that they no longer need her anymore. Astrid then attempts to convince Savage that they do need her, stating that the book is useful only if one knows how to use it, and supporting her claim by telling them that she has been among the Hairy Hooligans, and has seen how they work with the dragons. Later, Savage reads the section in the Book of Dragons on Deadly Nadders, and attempts to tame one by appealing to its vanity. He approaches the dragon, and begins to awkwardly compliment it. He at first accurately compliments her, calling her a beautiful girl, but then, being unsure of her gender, asks if she is actually a handsome boy, stating he can't tell. This insults the Nadder, and she attacks him. He then agrees to let Heather assist the Outcasts in taming dragons.

Meanwhile, Heather wakes up Stormfly, who was asleep, and startles her, narrowly avoiding being injured by a volley of tail spines. However, once again, she successfully gains the dragon's trust and steals her, stating that they are going to find Astrid. Stormfly recognizes her rider's name, and quickly takes off towards Outcast Island (This implies that Heather may have been aware of the teen vikings' plan to retrieve the Book of Dragons).

Back in Outcast territory, Astrid (disguised as Heather) is trying to prove to Alvin that she is capable of controlling dragons. Alvin throws her into a caged ring similar to Berk's Dragon Academy, where she will be given a wild dragon to tame. Astrid faces a closed door, silently hoping for the dragon to be a Deadly Nadder. To her dismay, the dragon that emerges is a fierce pink and olive-yellow Monstrous Nightmare. Astrid, upset, mutters that this is the one time that she wishes Snotlout were present. She then makes several attempts to tame the Nightmare, but due to using tactics normally meant for Deadly Nadders (Not standing directly in front of the snout, and approaching towards the tail), she fails to do so. However, before the dragon can severely harm her, she remembers when Snotlout had stated that Hookfang, his Monstrous Nightmare, liked having his horns bent to the ground. She follows the same technique and this time, succeeds in taming the Nightmare, who then respects her and obeys her orders. She immediately takes up the Book of Dragons and makes an attempt to leave the island on the dragon, but Alvin stops her, asking her if she was going to leave her parents there. Astrid then realizes that Heather's parents were really captured, and were being used  to blackmail her into stealing the book. Alvin states that he will let them go if she gives him the book, but if she leaves with it, then he will kill them. Alvin sends Heather's parents over, and Astrid runs towards them and cries out,"Mom!, Dad!" before hugging them. They are temporarily confused, aware that she is not their real daughter, but Astrid quickly explains in a hushed voice that she's a friend of Heather's, and has come to help. Alvin once more demands for the book, and Astrid comes up with a plan to escape. She hurriedly tells Heather's parents to duck to the ground when she tells them to. She then turns to the Nightmare, and apologizes to it, before punching it on the snout, enraging it. The dragon ignites and shoots a ball of fire, but Astrid and Heather's parents duck, and it flies over them, almost hitting Alvin and his men. Astrid and Heather's parents then try to make a run for it, but the plan fails, and Alvin catches Astrid by her hair. He then becomes aware that something is wrong, as his hand comes away with an oily mark, revealing that Astrid's real hair color is not black.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the others are shown to be waiting in a burnt-down forest on the island for Astrid with growing anxiety. Fishlegs begins to panic, saying she is several hours late, and Hiccup reassures him, telling him that she'll be there, because she's Astrid. Astrid eventually arrives with Heather's parents, and Hiccup flies over on Toothless, the other teens staying behind. As they land, Heather's parents are at first frightened of the Night Fury, and Hiccup is confused, but Astrid then explains that Heather's parents were prisoners of Alvin. Just as Hiccup begins to suggest leaving, Alvin and his men surround them, and Alvin states that he's not surprised Hiccup came. The two exchange a few catches of conversation, before Hiccup gives a signal, and the other trainers reveal themselves.

The trainers and their dragons begin to battle the Outcasts. Unfortunately, there are too many warriors, and they slowly begin to lose. Some dragons were entangled in nets and ropes, and even Toothless' fire could not damage Outcast shields. However, just when it seemed that they might fail to defeat the warriors, Heather and Stormfly arrive to assist them. Soon the teens begin to carry out their plan, using the skills they learned while training. Meatlug swallows boulders shot at her, and sends them back as molten balls of fire, destroying the Outcasts' catapults, and Snotlout uses Hookfang to ignite Stormfly's tail spines, effectively making them like burning arrows. Alvin then becomes furious, and orders his men to shoot down the trainers with the catapults that still remain. One attack hits Astrid, and she falls off of Stormfly's back. Alvin then picks her up and carries her off, Hiccup being the only one to give chase. Eventually, Alvin is cornered at the edge of a steep cliff, and he threatens that he will toss Astrid over into the ocean if Hiccup does not surrender. However, the pink and olive-yellow Monstrous Nightmare that Astrid had tamed came to her rescue, and together the teens flew back safely to Berk, having carried out their mission and retrieved the book. Alvin, seeing how easily a dragon bonded to its rider, decides to stop going after the book, and to try to capture Hiccup instead, an ominous grin spreading across his features.

Back in Berk, Heather and her parents are boarding a boat to sail back to their home, and the teens apologize for not believing her. Heather then tells them that it's okay, as she would have had trouble believing herself. She thanks all of them for their help, and thanks Astrid most of all. Hiccup also tells her that if she ever needs help, that she can call them, and she promises that she will. With this, the Ship begins to sail away, with Heather watching the teens wave goodbye. Snotlout is shown to be standing apart from them, and makes a motion of writing on his palm, asking her to write him. Heather shakes her head slightly, with a smily on her face, gently refusing. Finally, Hiccup ends the story with his closing closing narration:

"Ever since dragons showed up on Berk, we've learnt to expect the unexpected. But every once in a while, something or someone comes along that surprises you. And when that happens, you kind of hate to see them go."

Trivia

 * This episode marks the second appearance of Heather. So far this is also her latest appearance in the series
 * It is shown that Astrid is stronger than the twins combined(shown when she knocks the twins on the ground).
 * Another hint of Astrids crush on Hiccup is shown in the form of her jealously of Hiccup spending so much time with Heather.
 * Heather's parents appear to be recolored background extras from Berk.
 * In this episode Hiccup finds out Astrids secret on how she improved Stormfly's speed (feeding Stormfly chicken)
 * This is the second time Outcast Island appears (the first time it appears is in the episode Alvin and the Outcasts)this time however it is shown longer and even the end battle between the Dragon Riders of Berk and the Outcast is on the island.
 * Outcast Island is likely smaller then Berk and also appear to be a barren island.
 * The Outcasts have there own version of the Dragon training arena though with a much cruder design then the Dragon Training Academy of Berk.
 * Snotlout has made its first actual interesting and helpful discovery about what Monstrous Nighmare's like and what can instantly calm an angered Monstrous Nightmare down(pin its horns to the ground).
 * Snotlout theorises that the Monstrous Nightmare achieves his Fire Jacket tactic by heating up his spit.
 * Alvins opinion of Hiccup has drastically changed. The first time he met Hiccup he referred to him as Stoick's little embarrassment. In this episode he offers him a partnership in his plan to use trained dragons to conquer world.
 * This episode truly banishes all possibilities of the Outcasts are not a war loving tribes. While there were already heavy signs that the outcast were a warlike tribe (their boat with the skull on top)Alvins revealed masterplan confirms this.
 * This is the time that Savage actually disagrees/argues with Alvin. Alvin doesn't seem to mind because Savage had a good argument (the book of dragons contained a lot of knowledge and its knowledge was likely to bear fruit eventually). However Alvin is likely right as getting the knowledge from the viking who was the first one to ever ride one is even more valuable and will bring results faster then the knowledge of the book of dragons.
 * Astrid uses Snotlouts newly discovered trivia that pinning an Monstrous Nightmares horns to the ground will instantly tame/ calm it down.
 * A bit of the Monstrous Nightmare's intelligence is shown as merely seconds after the tamed monstrous nightmare leaves his feral state he is immediately able to identify both friends and foes.
 * In this episode Alvin has seen three new things referring to dragon training. He witnessed the bonding(my made up term for it but its fitting right ?)a dragons immense loyalty to its rider and the ferocity with which a dragon will protect its rider.
 * The Monstrous Nightmare Astrid has to tame in the arena might be the one who Alvin shot down with the catapult in the episode Alvin and the Outcasts.
 * If you look closely you can see that when Toothless had to hold its fire he choked a bit.
 * It is unknown if the Outcast soldier who tried to get the book of dragons died or merely lost his honor his pride and his dignity.Also the fate of the two other outcast soldiers is unknown.
 * It is unknown if Savage killed the wild Gronckle or if he captured it (which seems more fitting considering they want to ride dragons.
 * It appears Stormfly will have a new dragon friend considering the fact that its unlikely a tamed dragon will leave its rider.

Animation errors and technical errors

 * When Hiccup and the teens ambush Alvin, the Book of Dragons is tucked in his pants, but in the next scene, it is tucked in his belt.