How to Train Your Dragon is one of my favorite films of all time. So its sequel had a lot to live up to. I mean, the first one introduces us to a village called Berk under siege by a variety of dragons, as well as many colorful Viking characters, unlikely friendships, the loss of a limb, and a hint of burgeoning romance. Oh, and it also happens to be an almost perfectly symmetrical film in which the first half is repeated in reverse order in the second half, creating an absolutely stunning chiasmus.

Thankfully, How to Train Your Dragon 2 was up to the task to match the first film’s daring and creativity. It reintroduces us to Berk once again under siege by mind-controlled dragons, new interesting Vikings like Eret and Valka, unlikely alliances, the loss of a loved one, and a rekindled romance. Oh, and it also happens to be another perfect chiasmus!

A big difference between the Cinematic Chiasmus article I wrote for How to Train Your Dragon and this one is that I didn’t discover this chiasmus. Everything you’re about to read was written by an astute reader of mine named Jo.

Jo gave me an incredibly in-depth description of each point of the chiasmus in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and gave me permission to publish it here. And that’s what I’m going to do. Get ready for an emotionally powerful chiasmus.

The Chiasmus

Like some of my other Cinematic Chiasmus articles that have come before, keep in mind that these are not my words. All of the credit goes to Jo for providing these wonderful descriptions that show how the chiasmus unfolds in How to Train Your Dragon 2:

A. Hiccup describes life on Berk in a narration, the other Dragon Riders compete in a Dragon Race, and Hiccup and Toothless fly out in the wild, with the song “Where No One Goes” playing
 B. After Toothless wins a playfight, Hiccup and Toothless map out lands, and when Astrid arrives, Hiccup tells her that Stoick wants to make him chief
  C. Hiccup and Astrid find some dragon trappers, led by Eret, who are working for Drago Bludvist, who is building a dragon army (This is the first time Hiccup hears about Drago). Hiccup and Astrid escape with their dragons
   D. Hiccup and Astrid return to Berk, where Stoick is serving the citizens by overseeing the making of their custom saddles, and they tell him about Drago Bludvist and his army
    E. Stoick locks down Berk to prepare for war, and tells Hiccup that they need to protect Berk, but Hiccup argues that they should try to reason with Drago
     F. Hiccup and Astrid fly away from Berk, and towards Eret, so that he can take them to meet Drago
      G. Stoick tells Hiccup about the time he was at a meeting between the chiefs, and that he was the only one who survived when Drago burned it down
       H. Hiccup is temporarily separated from Toothless by a masked rider’s dragons
        I. Hiccup is shocked to learn that the masked rider is his long-lost mother, Valka, who was previously presumed dead
         J. Stoick and Gobber search for Hiccup and track him with urgency
          K. Hiccup’s mother, Valka, leads Hiccup into her hidden dragon sanctuary, and Hiccup witnesses its wonder
           L. Valka shows Hiccup dragons who were maimed by Drago and his trappers, and Hiccup tells Valka the story behind his and Toothless’ prosthetic parts, as well as how Stoick and the Berkians changed their minds about dragons
            M. Valka tells Hiccup about how she pleaded with the people of Berk to stop the fighting, and how Cloudjumper’s behavior towards Baby Hiccup proved to her that he’s an intelligent, gentle creature
             N. Valka is abducted by Cloudjumper (the incident which caused her to be presumed dead), and Stoick is unable to save her
              O. Valka introduces Hiccup to her Bewilderbeast, which is the Alpha of the dragons
               P. The Dragon Riders set out to find Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber. Assuming Drago has them, Astrid kidnaps Eret, and coerces him into taking them to Drago, by dropping him and catching him
                Q. Hiccup and Valka go out with the dragons for feeding time, bond by drawing maps and flying, and when they land, Valka asks Hiccup if they can start over with their relationship, which Hiccup agrees to
                 R. Thanks to Eret, the Dragon Riders and their dragons are captured, and are brought before Drago Bludvist, but Stormfly saves Eret’s life
                  S. Stoick finds Hiccup, and along with Gobber, takes Hiccup down a path to exit the dragon sanctuary
                  S. On the way out of the dragon sanctuary, Hiccup and Gobber watch as Stoick finds Valka and reunites with her
                 R. Eret helps the Dragon Riders escape capture from Drago, and they rescue their captive dragons, with Eret thanking Stormfly for saving him
                Q. Hiccup, Stoick, Gobber, and Valka talk over a meal, Stoick and Valka rebond over an old familiar song, and when they finish dancing, Stoick asks Valka if she’ll be his wife again, which Valka agrees to
               P. Drago attacks the dragon sanctuary, where Hiccup, Stoick, Gobber, and Valka are. The Dragon Riders arrive to help, and at one point, Ruffnut falls and is caught by Snotlout and Fishlegs
              O. Valka and Drago bring their Alphas to the battlefield (the first time Drago’s Bewilderbeast is shown), and the dragons fight for dominance
             N. Valka’s Bewilderbeast is killed by Drago’s Bewilderbeast, and Stoick saves Valka when she falls from Cloudjumper
            M. Hiccup confronts Drago, and tries to persuade him to stop his violence, telling Drago that dragons are kind, amazing creatures that can bring people together
           L. Drago shows Hiccup a stump beneath his prosthetic arm, which he got from dragons, and despite Hiccup’s effort, Drago refuses to change his mind about his war
          K. Stoick leads Valka and Gobber down from their vantage point to help Hiccup, and Hiccup witnesses the Alpha’s power that hypnotizes Toothless
         J. Stoick rushes to save Hiccup’s life from a mind-controlled Toothless
        I. Hiccup is shocked by the sudden death of his father, Stoick, who gave his life for Hiccup
       H. Hiccup is separated from Toothless, when Drago takes control of the dragons
      G. The Dragon Riders hold a Viking funeral for Stoick the Vast
     F. Hiccup and the Dragon Riders fly on baby dragons towards Berk in order to face Drago
    E. Drago arrives in Berk, and takes control of all the dragons, but the Dragon Riders return, and Hiccup frees Toothless from the Alpha’s mind control
   D. Hiccup gets back into Toothless’ saddle and leads an attack on Drago, while the Berkians cheer him on
  C. Drago’s Bewilderbeast traps Hiccup and Toothless in ice, but Toothless uses a new power to free them, and challenges the Alpha, which frees all the dragons, and this new army fires on Drago and his dragon, gaining the victory (This is the last time Hiccup sees Drago)
 B. The other dragons bow to Toothless, who is now their new Alpha after triumphing over the Bewilderbeast, the Vikings and dragons reunite, and Hiccup is made the new chief of Berk
A. Hiccup describes life on Berk in a narration, oversees the village, and competes against the other riders in a Dragon Race, with the song “Where No One Goes” playing

The Challenge

Okay, that was awesome. If the heart of the first film was Hiccup’s friendship and kinship with Toothless, then the heart of the sequel is Valka and Stoick’s love for Hiccup and each other. That’s why the turning point of this chiasmus comes when they see each other for the first time since Hiccup was a baby.

Stoick is focused on Hiccup for the entire film, whether it’s handing off leadership of the village to him or rescuing the young man from perceived and real danger. And while the romance element between Stoick and Valka is cut short, the few scenes they share together are definitely memorable and packed with love and longing.

And now I have something really cool to share. Jo didn’t just hand this chiasmus to me on a silver platter, but she also offered to analyze How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third film in the series, to see if it’s a chiasmus. I responded that I would take that on.

So that’s my next challenge.

I’m going to rewatch that movie and see if it works as a capstone to a perfect trilogy of symmetrical films. Will How to Train Your Dragon follow in the footsteps of the three Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, each one being its own chiasmus? We’ll find out soon enough.

I’m excited to share the results of this experiment. Wish me luck. And thank you to Jo for this amazing analysis. I couldn’t have done it better.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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