Dragons: Race to the Edge Review: 4x12 and 4x13 "Shell Shocked: Parts 1 and 2"

Watching Astrid and Hiccup try to hide their relationship from everyone was amusing and led to an adorable scene. My favorite part about them in this episode was them confronting the fact that they can't let their relationship change how they treat each other, particularly when they're in dangerous positions.

One of the things I love so much about Hiccup and Astrid is their dynamics both as friends and a couple. It was nice getting to see them openly discuss needing to treat each other the same as before and growing together in that way. The fact that that could be explored in the finale is possibly the biggest reason why I'm thankful that they got together before the final episode of the season.

Often I can more or less figure out how a Race to the Edge episode is going to go before it's over, but even I wondered just a little about whether Viggo or Ryker was telling the truth. They're both so untrustworthy, and when you have little to go on but their word, you just don't want to trust either of them. It was a great way to establish conflict for the finale.

I wasn't expecting the season to end with Viggo's and Ryker's deaths. Of course, we have thought characters have died before only to see them alive later, but it would undoubtedly be difficult for Viggo to have survived falling into a volcano that erupted not long after. For right now, I'll lean towards him actually being dead. Ryker actually seems like the more likely one to still be alive to me, but I still think he's actually dead.

After watching episode three of this season, I thought that Krogan might make an appearance in the next season. After Viggo's and Ryker's deaths, I'm even more suspicious that Krogan might be playing an important role next season as a villain. It's largely a guess though, so we'll see.

We end the season with the rest of the group finding out about Hiccup and Astrid's relationship, which was a cute moment, and then the volcano erupts, which was an unexpected cliff hanger. I'm not sure what to expect from that in season five, but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.