| “ | Tom: "It's over Leonard!"
Buzzsaw "Only my mother calls me Leonard. The name's Buzzsaw! |
” |
| — Buzzsaw reveals his true nature to Tom |
"Cold Open" is the first episode of the fourth season of Dragons: The Nine Realms.
Synopsis[]
| “ | The Riders discover a brand-new, frosty Ice Realm; once inside, they encounter Buzzsaw, who pretends to be a hurt hiker while trying to capture Thunder without the Riders finding out his true identity. | ” |
| — Hulu |
Plot[]
The episode opens with Tom frustratedly struggling to unlock the mysterious cylinder discovered after the Sky Torcher was driven out. Alex and Jun both try to convince him to get some fresh air, and to leave the cylinder alone for a bit. Tom initially refuses, insisting that he's 'not obsessed'. D’Angelo and Eugene leave to attend to dragons injured by the Sky Torcher, and offer to bring Tom along, but he isn’t convinced. Alex notes that there has been strange activity surrounding the small sinkhole in the woods. This eventually convinces Tom to go check it out with Jun and Alex.
At the same time, Tom's mom, Olivia Kullersen is seen in the lab, restlessly studying the green crystal Tom found. Carla and Hazel urge her to go outside for a walk, but she insists on staying and divulging its secrets (similar to Tom).
Alex, Jun and Tom reach the sinkhole. Tom isn't impressed at first, almost deciding to return to study the cylinder, but changes his mind when he witnesses a burst of snow being ejected from somewhere inside. The three make the collective decision to bring their dragons before returning to investigate. Back in the Hidden World, Eugene complains about wanting to lead the riders.
Meanwhile, Alex, Tom and Jun enter the Ice Realm with their dragons, and immediately begin exploring. Thunder accidentally slips on the ice in his excitement, rolling down a hill and away from the others. Tom and the others begin searching for him, worried. Thunder spots a fish, and picks it up after a moment of hesitation, triggering a trap to spring into place; a rope catches around his back leg, and he dangles from a tree branch. Buzzsaw steps out from behind a tree, revealing himself, reveling in his capture of the ‘Lightning Bird.’ While Buzzsaw’s back is turned, Thunder burns the rope away, freeing himself, before growling at Buzzsaw and then flies away when he hears the others. Buzzsaw then realizes that he's not the only human in the Hidden World.
Thunder meets up with the others, and Jun sees the torn rope attached to Thunder’s leg, and points it out to Tom, who makes the decision to approach Buzzsaw, telling the dragons to hide, until Alex points out that whoever it is probably already knows about the existence of dragons. The logger takes on the false persona of an injured hiker names ‘Keith’ in order to get closer to Thunder. Buzzsaw calls the dragons ‘strange creatures’, telling them they’re the first people he’s seen in weeks. The riders don’t fully trust him but realize they can’t leave him alone in the Ice Realm and stay with him while they contemplate what to do.
Eugene and D’Angelo are in the Flood Fang habitat, tending to the injured dragons. D’Angelo does most of the work while Eugene fantasizes about his leadership, and accidentally spooks the Flood Fang when he ignores D’Angelo’s warning. The dragon drenches D’Angelo in water, much to his annoyance.
Buzzsaw tells Alex, Jun and Tom that he was out hiking and stumbled into the sinkhole, remaining trapped since. He the feigns terror when he spots Thunder and acts shocked when Tom explains that the dragon is with him. Thunder growls at the logger, remembering their interaction earlier, but Tom calms him, telling Buzzsaw that he won’t hurt him. Alex remains mistrustful, accusing Buzzsaw of leaving a trap nearby, who pretends to be regretful, telling her that he was only desperate for food, and lies that his leg is broken. Jun offers him a back of cheesy loops, which he immediately accepts, tossing it into the air and perfectly cutting it open with a practiced slice of his hatchet, intriguing and unnerving the teens.
Tom takes Jun and Alex aside to discuss the problem at hand, leaving Thunder, Feathers, and Wu and Wei to watch Buzzsaw. Jun is worried that another person knows about the secret, but Tom argues that ‘Keith’ is stranded and injured. Alex retaliates by calling him ‘creepy,’ and emphasizes that she doesn’t trust Buzzsaw. Tom calls Buzzsaw 'odd,' but thinks his story makes sense, and feels obligated to help the hiker, while Jun wonders if they can trust him. Alex blankly states that she's seen the movie where three teens find an injured hiker with a hatchet, and that it 'doesn't end well.' Jun suggests trying to convince him to keep the secret.
Meanwhile, Buzzsaw takes the opportunity to take Thunder by surprise, sneaking up on the dragon with his hatchet to take his revenge but thankfully, Wu and Wei intervene. The two heads roar at him and force Buzzsaw to back up against the tree, but Jun stops them from attacking him. Buzzsaw lies and says that the dragons attacked him unprovoked, and that he ‘only wanted a closer look,’ calling the dragons ‘majestic.’
Tom goes with Jun's idea, and promises to fly Buzzsaw to a doctor, if in return he keeps the dragons' secret. Buzzsaw acts shocked at the idea of riding Thunder, and Tom reassures him that the dragon won’t drop him; at the same time, Thunder growls threateningly.
Buzzsaw intends to remain in the Ice Realm until he can finish Thunder off, and comes up with a hasty excuse to stay, insisting that his broken leg must be immobilized before they leave. Alex suggests they bring D’Angelo to help, and Jun agrees, leaving with Wu and Wei to find him. Tom once again reassures Buzzsaw that they won’t leave him in the Ice Realm as Thunder lights the campfire they had been building. Tom calls Thunder over, but the dragon appears to sulk, and doesn’t move. Alex expressionlessly stares at Buzzsaw, which appears to unnerve him. Tom moves over to Thunder, asking him what’s wrong. In response, the Night Light turns away with a growl. Tom sympathizes with him, telling him he understands why Thunder doesn’t trust Buzzsaw, but tries to explain that their best shot at him keeping the secret is if he grows to like the dragons. Thunder seems to understand but is still reluctant.
Tom walks back over to where Buzzsaw, Feathers and Alex are. Buzzsaw, in an attempt to find out more, starts asking questions. He asks the two how long they’ve had their ‘pets.’ Tom corrects him, telling him they see the dragons more as friends than anything. Buzzsaw then asks if all dragons can shoot electrical blasts like Thunder, to which Tom responds that every dragon has a different blast. Alex blankly tells him that Feathers’s sonic blast would rip his soul right out of his body and offers to show him. Buzzsaw questions if it feels scary to fly with the dragons. Tom confidently tells him that the dragons are incredible creatures, and that he thinks Buzzsaw will understand, once he gets to know them.
Tom then hopefully asks if Buzzsaw will help keep the secret. Buzzsaw asks if nobody else knows about the dragons, which Tom confirms. Buzzsaw pauses for a tense moment, in which Tom and Alex share a look, until the logger promises not to tell anyone. Buzzsaw tells the two teens that the fire is dying down, and suggests they go bring more wood to keep it burning. Tom immediately agrees, and asks Alex to come, who accepts but insists on bringing Feathers, as she doesn’t trust Buzzsaw alone with her.
Buzzsaw is once again left with Thunder. He smirks, and promises Thunder that after he’s killed him, he’ll be getting a dragon of his own, but when he reaches for his hatchet, he realizes it is missing. He turns around in surprise to see Tom chopping wood from the surrounding trees and pretends not to mind. Alex points out that Buzzsaw is standing on his ‘broken’ leg, to which he immediately acts like he is in pain, telling her he was trying to walk it off.
Alex tells Tom he can’t possibly be buying Buzzsaw’s lies, to which he tells her that he doesn’t have a choice. Alex whispers that she’s seen the way the logger looks at Thunder with a ‘deep-seated rage’ when he thinks no one is watching, and says he acts like they have a history, to which Tom replies that that’s impossible.
Tom notices words engraved into the axe handle and shows it to Alex: ‘Property of Leonard, Burne Lumber Company.’ Tom remembers that Buzzsaw had said his name was Keith. He returns the axe to Buzzsaw, addressing him by Leonard this time, to which the logger doesn’t react. Tom and Alex realize they were lied to and share a worried look.
Jun is searching for D’Angelo and is alerted to his location by her brother’s loud voice. Eugene is exclaiming that the Hobgobbler they were treating was menacing him. Jun lands in a hurry, and quickly fills the two in. Eugene realizes Buzzsaw’s identity and explains that if it’s the ‘psycho’ he thinks it is, then they’re in trouble.
Buzzsaw makes an effort to get Alex and Tom to leave him with Thunder again, telling them he’s starving at which Tom offers to bring him more food. Buzzsaw insists that Tom leave him and Thunder to ‘bond.’ Tom eventually agrees and leaves the two alone.
Thunder snarls at Buzzsaw, who brandishes his hatchet, exclaiming how good Thunder’s head would look above his fireplace. The dragon blasts the weapon out of his hand and chases him through the Ice Realm until he falls victim to a net the logger had placed prior to their meeting. As Buzzsaw revels in his victory, it is revealed that Tom and Alex had watched the whole ordeal while being hidden by Feathers. Buzzsaw tries to attack them with his hatchet, but Feathers blasts him aside with her sonic screech, triggering a rockfall of crystals. The group is unharmed, but they are trapped under the huge crystals.
Just when it seems Buzzsaw has won, Jun, Eugene and D'Angelo arrive, and scare him off. Buzzsaw assures Tom that their conflict is not over and makes a hasty escape. Webmaster uses his webs to lift the crystals off Tom, Alex and their dragons. Back in the lair, the group discusses what to do about Buzzsaw, and Tom realizes how obsessions took over Buzzsaw's mind, and realizes he can't let his determination to open the cylinder consume him. Then at the station, Olivia turns up the heat in the crystal's tank and it makes a chemical reaction.
Characters[]
Humans[]
- Tom Kullersen voiced by Jeremy Shada
- Jun Wong voiced by Ashley Liao
- D'Angelo Baker voiced by Marcus Scribner
- Alexandra Gonzalez voiced by Aimee Garcia
- Eugene Wong voiced by Vincent Tong
- Buzzsaw voiced by Haley Joel Osment
- Olivia Kullersen voiced by Julia Stiles
- Carla Gonzalez voiced by Justina Machado
- Hazel Gonzalez voiced by Angelique Cabral
Dragons[]
Dragon Species[]
- Night Light
- Mist Twister
- Gembreaker
- Featherhide
- Deadly Spinner
- Terrible Terror
- Flood Fang
- Hobgobbler
- Snowtail
- Sky Torcher (mentioned)
- Razorwhip (mentioned)
- Crystal Whip (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Kullersen Fissure
- ICARIS
- Research Station
- Lab
- Dragon's Lair
- Hidden World
- Crystal Realm
- Ice Realm
Objects[]
- Saddles
- D'Angelo's Medical Bag
- Alex's Tablet
- Buzzsaw's Hatchet
Flora and Fauna[]
Trivia[]
- This episode is the first time Buzzsaw learns of the Dragon Club's existence.
