Blindsided

"Astrid, you and I have been through everything together. You don't think we can handle this? Astrid, you have me, no matter what. Okay, whatever that means, whatever you want it to mean. I am with you. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always."

- Hiccup

Blindsided is the eleventh episode of Dragons: Race to the Edge, Season 4 and the episode that signifies the turning point in Hiccup and Astrid's blossoming relationship. It was released on Netflix on February 17th, 2017.

Overview
A huge storm hits Dragon's Edge causing the Dragons to get spooked and fly off but when Astrid is blinded, Hiccup must lead her to Stormfly.

Plot
At the start Hiccup and Astrid are trying to train the Triple Stryke and are not having much success. Astrid suggests that maybe the Triple Stryke is untrainable, and Hiccup responds that they are making progress and that they have dealt with way worse. Fishlegs arrives and says that Snotlout and the twins have just gotten back from patrol and that there are multiple storm fronts headed right for Dragon's Edge, and that they need to lock down the edge before the storms hit.

Astrid comes across Snotlout and asks him what he is doing and he says he is covering his 's'. Astrid tells him that he is supposed to be closing the dome and battening down the hatches. Astrid tells Fishlegs he needs to get the dragons into the stables quickly. Fishlegs responds saying he knows and that according to his calculations that the storm is very close. Astrid then tells the twins to get to the clubhouse and not move. Ruffnut asks who put Astrid in charge. Fishlegs replied that they voted her to be "Storm Warden". Tuffnut says he wants to rescind his vote, but Astrid tells him it is too late.

At the clubhouse Astrid asks Hiccup if he dropped of the food and water at the stables and Hiccup says he did. Astrid then asks Fishlegs if he locked the main doors to the stables, to which Fishlegs first says he did, but then is not certain if he did or not. At that Astrid rushes off to go check the stable doors. As she gets to the stables, it is struck with lightning and is set on fire, and things start falling from the ceiling. Astrid then goes into the stables and gets all the dragons out, but during the process a Night Terror gets trapped. Astrid frees the Night Terror but as she is headed to leave the stable a lightning bolt strikes right in front of her, blinding her and knocking her out, and spooks all the dragons who fly off. Hiccup soon finds her lying on the stable floor unconscious and a beam starts falling which Toothless destroys with a blast, and Hiccup gets Astrid on Toothless and they take her back to the clubhouse.

Back at the clubhouse Hiccup lays Astrid down onto the floor. Fishlegs asks Hiccup, what happened to her, to which Hiccup responds that he does not know as they found her like this, and that the stables were collapsing. Snotlout asks if Hookfang is okay, and Tuffnut asks if Barf and Belch are okay. Hiccup tells them that the dragons were spooked and they flew off, but he is sure they are okay and will be okay, and that right now he is worried about Astrid. Snotlout responds noting that Toothless is there, so everything is peachy for Hiccup, before adding that it was an observation. Just then Astrid wakes up and calls out for Hiccup. Hiccup tells Astrid that she is okay, and that he is right there. Astrid asks where, and says that she does not see him and asks why everything is so dark in the clubhouse. Hiccup tells her it is not dark in the clubhouse. Astrid asks Hiccup was he is talking about, and says it is pitch black. She continues by saying she can't see anyone and asks somebody to say something. Tuffnut says that Astrid's hair looks nice, considering the fire and the debris. Hiccup tells the others that he wants to talk to her alone, and the other riders leave.

Astrid asks Hiccup about what is happening to her. Hiccup says that whatever it is he is sure it is temporary. He mentions that Bucket lost his sight and adds that he got it back. Astrid adds that Bucket wears a metal bucket on his head permanently. Hiccup then can't come up with what he is trying to say. Astrid replies that he knows what she is trying to do and that she appreciates it. Hiccup tells Astrid that when there is a break in the storm they will fly to Berk and see Gothi, and then says that Astrid needs some rest. Astrid says no to that stating that they need to find Stormfly as she is out there all alone, and that all the dragons are. Hiccup tells her not to worry about that right now and just get some rest. Astrid asks Hiccup and Toothless to stay with her in the clubhouse until she falls asleep, to which Hiccup says he is not going anywhere.

The next day, Tuffnut gives Astrid the Thorston Blind Field Test, ask who her who is standing in front of her, which Astrid obviously knows Tuffnut is standing in front of her, and Tuffnut incorrectly says Astrid is fine. Astrid tells everyone that they can't worry about her right now as they need to worry about their dragons, mentioning that they are still out there and are obviously scared or else they would have come back. Hiccup replies saying that Astrid has a point and that they need to round up the dragons before the next storm hits. Hiccup then tells Astrid that he and Toothless will find Stormfly and not to worry. Astrid replies that she is not going to be left at the clubhouse. Hiccup tells her that her coming with him and Toothless is not an option. Astrid says she is more effective blind than some certain dragon riders are who are fully sighted. Hiccup tells her that he is putting his foot down, saying that there is no way she can fly in her condition.

Right after that the scene changes to Astrid riding on Toothless with Hiccup, and Hiccup whispers to Toothless to remind him to never put his foot down again. Astrid tells Hiccup that she can hear him and that she agrees. In a gust of wind, Astrid starts falling backwards off of Toothless, and Hiccup grabs her to stop her from falling off of Toothless, and tells Astrid that she has to hold on tighter. Astrid tries to apologize, but Hiccup tells her that she does not need to apologize, and tells her that he his actually glad that she is here with him.

Elsewhere on the island Fishlegs is looking for Meatlug, and carrying bauxite, and hears a dragon and thinks it is Meatlug. He discover that it is actually Hookfang. When Fishlegs tells Hookfang that it is time to get back to the edge, Hookfang lights his body on fire, and Fishlegs now knows what it is like to be Snotlout. Fishlegs tries to tell Hookfang everything will be fine but Hookfang strikes him and knocks him into a rock, and Fishlegs says that he now really knows what it is like to be Snotlout.

Meanwhile, Ruffnut is leading a blindfolded Tuffnut, who asks why he is blindfolded. Ruffnut tells him that we are now living with a blind person and that they owe it to her to offer their services as "seeing eye vikings". Ruffnut then tells Tuffnut to come to the sound of her voice, and keeps telling him he has a little further to go. Ruffnut moves out of the way and Tuffnut goes so far that he falls off a cliff, and lands on Meatlug.

Meanwhile, Snotlout is looking for Hookfang on another part of the islands. He calls out for Hookfang, and hears some rustling thinking it Hookfang but it is actually Barf and Belch, who charge right at him and knock him over.

The scene returns to Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless who are looking for Stormfly. Hiccup suggests following the stream down towards the beach but Astrid says they should go upstream since Stormfly would be trying to find her way back to the Edge. As Astrid heads that direction she trips over a rock and Hiccup dives after her and catches her, landing in an awkward position with Hiccup on top of Astrid with their faces not so far from each other. Astrid and Hiccup then stand back up, and Astrid then hears something, and it turns out to be her dragon Stormfly. Shortly after reuniting with Stormfly, Astrid hears something coming from above and the Triple Stryke appears and attacks. Hiccup tells Astrid to hide behind the rock formation that is ten paces to her left. Astrid replies that there is no way she is going to hide. Astrid tries to climb on Stormfly but Stormfly does not let her. Hiccup and Toothless then grab Astrid and get her out of harms way and put her behind the rock, and tells her to stay. Astrid at first refuses saying to Hiccup that he needs her to help fight the Triple Stryke. Astrid calls out for Stormfly and Hiccup tells her that Stormfly is with him, and that he can't fight the Triple Stryke if all he is doing is worrying about her. Astrid then reluctantly agrees to hide, and ducks behind the rock she is standing by. Stormfly and Toothless successfully drive off the Triple Stryke, after following Hiccup's commands to them, for now.

At that moment, elsewhere on the island, Ruffnut and Tuffnut are trying to move Meatlug by pulling on her tail. They decide they should stop doing that because they do not want to pull her tail and off, and that it would be very hard to explain it to Fishlegs. Suddenly, Meatlug starts acting weird, and Tuffnut mentions that Meatlug eats a lot when under stress. At that moment Tuffnut realizes she is going to blow, and Meatlug then spews out a whole bunch of lava.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island, Snotlout is trying to get Barf and Belch to move and take their heads out of the sand. Realizing that they are refusing, Snotlout sticks his head in the sand and is blown out of the hole and into a nearby tree.

Fishlegs at that moment, at some other place on the island, is being chased by Hookfang whose body is still on fire.

The scene returns to Hiccup and Astrid, and Hiccup suggests that they mount up and get back to the edge before the Triple Stryke returns. Astrid heads towards Toothless, and Hiccup asks her if she wants to ride Stormfly. Astrid tells Hiccup that Stormfly has made it clear that she does not want Astrid riding her. Hiccup tells Astrid that Stormfly was just protecting her, and adds that it was pretty cool if you think about it. Astrid tells Hiccup that she has a hard time finding anything cool in all of this. Hiccup responds by telling Astrid that he can't even imagine what being blind is like for her, and tells her that she is strong and invincible. Astrid responds saying that she is not that anymore, and asks Hiccup what if the rest of life is like this, what then. Hiccup tells Astrid that they will just deal with it, and that just because she is blind does not mean she is helpless. Astrid says that that is just how she feels. Hiccup replies with this:

"Astrid, you and I have been through everything together. You don't think we can handle this? Astrid, you have me, no matter what. Okay, whatever that means, whatever you want it to mean. I am with you. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always."

Right as Hiccup is thinking about kissing Astrid, Astrid hears something, which Hiccup does not hear, and shortly thereafter the Triple Stryke returns, and Hiccup grabs Astrid and they dive out of the way of the Triple Stryke's attack. Hiccup decides that the Triple Stryke has got to go, and tells Toothless to send out a distress call.

At that moment Tuffnut sees the distress call, and notes that Meatlug has had a lot to eat. Ruffnut replies after Meatlug gets into to gear to head to where the distress call came from saying to Tuffnut that Meatlug is very sensitive about her weight. Meatlug then grabs Ruffnut and Tuffnut and heads off towards where Hiccup, Toothless and Astrid are.

Next, Snotlout sees the distress call and tells Barf and Belch that playtime in the sand is over. He jumps at them and they move out of the way and he lands head first into the sand as his head goes a little way in to the sand.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs is still being chased by Hookfang, and when Fishlegs sees the distress call he turns around and tells Hookfang to stop. Fishlegs tells Hookfang that he may not be Snotlout but he is a dragon rider and as such he deserves the respect of one.

Soon, the twins riding on Meatlug, and Snotlout riding on Barf and Belch arrive at the place where Hiccup, Toothless and Stormfly are fighting the Triple Stryke. Ruffnut notes that they are getting their butts kicked down there. Ruffnut then demands Snotlout to give them their dragon back, and the twins hop on Barf and Belch, and Snotlout is thrown onto Meatlug. They all land and notice that Astrid is hiding, and Snotlout tries to say something to Astrid but she interrupts him, as she hears the same sound coming from the Triple Stryke before every attack, but the others can't hear it. Hiccup then yells to the twins and Snotlout that he needs their help with fighting the Triple Stryke. Astrid then calls for Stormfly after hearing the sound before the attack one more time. Snotlout goes in with Meatlug to attack but is knocked off of Meatlug and lands on the ground head first, with his head completely going into the ground, and Snotlout says that that is getting old. Ruffnut comments that Snotlout totally stuck the landing, and at that moment she and Tuffnut are knocked off of Barf and Belch and they land in the stream.

At that moment, Astrid who is now riding Stormfly instructs her to do a spine shot. Tuffnut, who has recovered from being knocked off of Barf and Belch, asks when Astrid got her sight back, to which Hiccup says she didn't get her sight back. Hiccup then asks Astrid what she is doing. Astrid says she has been listening to them getting their butts kicked, and she is sick of it, and adds that she has that dragon figured out. Astrid then instructs Stormfly to do another spine shot. Stormfly then lands and Astrid gets off and grabs two spikes and starts walking towards the Triple Stryke. Hiccup upon seeing this yells at Astrid to get out of there. Astrid tells Hiccup to be quiet and that she is dealing with it. Astrid bangs the two spikes she has in her hands multiple times and it distracts the Triple Stryke. Astrid then reached out her hand as soon as she was close enough to it, and it puts it's nose into her hand. Hiccup responds saying that that is how we get close enough to train it. Tuffnut tells Hiccup that Astrid just stole is move, to which Hiccup says it is not his move. Tuffnut then asks Hiccup why he did tell them that they could use the move. Ruffnut then asks how Astrid did that since she can't see a thing. Hiccup replies saying that she is using her other senses, and lists those specific senses. Astrid then says that she senses something big and out of control coming their way. Fishlegs and Hookfang land on the ground in front of the other riders, and Fishlegs yells at Hookfang that what he was doing is not respect.

Later that day, back at the Edge, Astrid and Hiccup are at Astrid's hut, where Gothi has joined them. Gothi unwraps what she wrapped around Astrid's eyes and Astrid's sight returns. Astrid says it seems like she is looking at Hiccup. Hiccup thanks Gothi for restoring Astrid's sight. At that moment Astrid wraps her arms around Hiccup and the two share a hug.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs and the Twins are working on training the Triple Stryke. Tuffnut mentions that the possibilities are endless in what they could do to Snotlout once they get the Triple Stryke trained. Fishlegs tells them that that is not what Hiccup and Astrid had in mind when they asked them to start training the Triple Stryke. Ruffnut responds saying, who is going to tell them, and says she won't.

A little later when the sun is setting, Hiccup and Astrid are sitting on the edge of the platform that is connected to the dragons stables, with their dragons playing around behind them. Hiccup scoots closer and asks Astrid if she is feeling okay. Astrid says she is fine, and tells Hiccup to stop worrying about her. Hiccup replies saying that he never stops worrying about her, saying that is just the way it is. Astrid responds by saying that that goes for her too. Astrid then asks Hiccup if she can ask him something, to which Hiccup says sure. Astrid then asks Hiccup if he was trying to kiss her back in the forest. Hiccup realizes she felt that, and says that he felt like maybe he got away with that. Astrid asks him why he didn't kiss her. Hiccup tells Astrid that the moment was not perfect, and he had thought about it a lot, and that when it happened it had to be perfect. Astrid then looked out at the setting sun, and then said that this moment seemed like a perfect moment to share a kiss. Hiccup agrees with Astrid that is the perfect moment to share a kiss. At that moment Hiccup and Astrid turn and move in for the kiss. Their lips meets and they share their first kiss as a couple. After the kiss, Astrid puts her arm around Hiccup and leans on him, and Hiccup puts his arm around Astrid, and they look out at the setting sun.

Trivia

 * This episode marks the first time in the RTTE series where Hiccup and Astrid share a kiss.
 * This is Hiccup and Astrid's first time kissing in private.
 * This episode is the second appearance of Sleuther, the Triple Stryke who returns to Dragon's Edge with the Riders at the end of Stryke Out.
 * The Triple Stryke's roar is similar to the call of the Mighty Eagle from the game Angry Birds.
 * The Romantic Flight cue is heard when Hiccup comforts Astrid after she says she feels helpless in her current state.
 * The cue is heard again when Hiccup and Astrid have a conversation about why Hiccup did not kiss Astrid when he had the opportunity, which finishes with them kissing.

Characters

 * Jay Baruchel as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Franchise)
 * America Ferrera as Astrid Hofferson
 * Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs Ingerman
 * T.J. Miller as Tuffnut Thorston
 * Andree Vermeulen as Ruffnut Thorston
 * Zack Pearlman as Snotlout Jorgenson

Dragons

 * Toothless
 * Stormfly
 * Meatlug
 * Hookfang
 * Barf and Belch
 * Sleuther