| “ | Having a child is like allowing your heart to walk around outside your body. | ” |
| — Olivia explaining to Tom her feelings as a parent |
"Sting It On!" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of Dragons: The Nine Realms.
Synopsis[]
| “ | Tom must save his mom from the Hidden World when she goes exploring on her own and encounters a group of dangerous Speed Stingers. | ” |
| — Hulu |
Plot[]
In the Ice Realm, a pair of Snowtails flee speedy pursuers. When the pursuers catch the Snowtails and sting them with their tails, they become paralyzed. Meanwhile, Tom learns more about his ancestors from Olivia, but the happy moment is cut short when Olivia tells Tom he has to tell the other parents about the dragons. Tom objects that telling the other parents would cause the secret to be spilled to Rakke Corp. Olivia understands Tom's concerns but points out he doesn't understand the duties of being a parent and she doesn't have the right to make decisions for the other parents concerning their children. The conversation is interrupted by Sledkin arriving to announce that she is going on an expedition to the sinkhole again to search for dragonsite and she needs Olivia's notes from their last visit. After Sledkin leaves, Tom tells Olivia the sinkhole will lead Sledkin straight to Ice Realm and she'll discover the dragons. Knowing Sledkin won't stop until she gets what she wants, Tom offers to get some dragonsite from the hidden world and give it to Olivia so she can use it to keep Sledkin away, but Olivia rejects the idea.
The next day, the other riders learn about Sledkin's plan, but Tom decides to go through with his previous plan despite Olivia's objection. However, Jun reveals Olivia is nowhere to be found and Tom realizes she decided to go down on her own. He tells Jun and D'Angelo to stall the expedition, while he, Alex, Eugene, and the dragons search for Olivia. Tom's team searches the Ice Realm and Alex discovers something has been knocking the sensors offline. Plowhorn tracks Olivia's scent, and they find a damaged chunk of dragonsite and Olivia's hammer. Tom finds his mom but discovers she's paralyzed and only able to move her eyes and Alex finds the paralyzed Snowtails nearby.
Meanwhile, Jun and D'Angelo stall the expedition by tricking Philip into taking an online safety certification. Tom's team try to figure out what happened to Olivia, but they are suddenly ambushed by the ones who attacked her and the two Snowtails, a pack of Speed Stingers. The Speed Stingers quickly sting and paralyze Plowhorn and everyone evacuates to an ice enclosure where they can take cover. They get inside, but not before Plowhorn, Wu and Wei, and Eugene are all stung and cannot move (though Eugene can still talk). When Philip completes his certification and Jun further stalls the expedition by having Sledkin talk about a book she made describing her explorations.
Tom reads up on the Speed Stinger, but it doesn't tell him when their venom wears off or if it wears off at all. When the Speed Stingers appear to be gone, Tom considers make a run for the sinkhole exit, but Alex tells him the distance is too far for them to make it with half of them paralyzed. She points out their only advantage was the sensors, which the Speed Stingers deactivated and comes up with a plan to reactivate them and reprogram them to make them set off pings that would lure the Speed Stingers away. Alex and Feathers go out alone to reactivate the sensors, but she discovers they are more damaged than they thought. While waiting for Alex, Tom tells his mom that she should have trusted them to get the dragonsite instead of going alone and endangering herself. As he talks, he realizes he's feeling the same worry Olivia feels as a parent when he comes into the hidden world and promises to get them out of there and find a better way for them to protect the secret and stay safe. Olivia's paralysis begins to wear off, allowing her to speak again and tell Tom she loves him. Alex gets the sensors online just before the Speed Stingers find her and one of them stings her. Feathers brings Alex back to the enclosure and the latter instructs Tom how to use the sensor with her tablet before the venom kicks in and paralyzed her.
Back at ICARIS, Jun and D'Angelo run out of ways to stop the expedition and Philip and Sledkin leave for the sinkhole. In the Ice Realm, Tom puts the plan into place and distracts the Speed Stingers with the sensor, but they don't fall for it that long and find the group escaping toward the sinkhole exit. The Speed Stingers manage to sting both Webmaster and Thunder, leaving only Tom and Feathers left. However, Tom discovers one of the Speeder Stingers was paralyzed after being accidentally stung by one of their packmates during the chase and realizes they aren't immune to their own venom. He has Feathers use her cloaking to trick the Speed Stingers into stinging each other until only one is left. The final Speed Stinger retreats...but into the sinkhole exit. Sledkin descends into the hole hoping to find dragonsite, but is attacked by the last Speed Stinger and stung. Philip pulls Sledkin up and discovers she's paralyzed. When the Speed Stinger returns to the Ice Realm, Plowhorn and Wu and Wei recover from the venom and chase it off. Olivia, Thunder, and the Snowtails also fully recover and leave before the Speed Stingers recover.
That night, Sledkin is still recovering from the paralysis and D'Angelo explains that Philip thinks it was caused by a cave snake. Tom hopes that Sledkin didn't see the Speed Stinger since it was dark in the cave and the dragon moves too fast to be seen. D'Angelo asks Olivia for a blood sample to help create a Speed Stinger antidote and she agrees to help him later. However, she tells Tom that while she understands he can handle himself after seeing him in action, she can't keep the secret anymore and will tell the other parents about the dragons.
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
- Olivia Kullersen voiced by Julia Stiles
- Philip Baker voiced by Keston John
- Wilma Sledkin voiced by Carrie Keranen
- May Wong (mentioned)
- Buzzsaw (mentioned)
Dragons[]
Dragon Species[]
Locations[]
- Kullersen Fissure
- ICARIS
- Tom's Dome
- Research Station
- Visitor Centre
- Hanger
- Big Dome
- Hidden World
- Ice Realm
Objects[]
- Saddles
- Dragonsite
- Pencil
- Alex's Tablet
- Speed Stinger Antivenom (mentioned)
Flora and Fauna[]
Trivia[]
- Wilma is briefly seen without her vest on for the first time.
- Eugene not being able to move anything but his face could a reference to the episode "Frozen" where Snotlout went through the same problem.
- The Speed Stingers have evolved since the Viking era making them change their colouration and to hunt in broad daylight.
