Race to the Edge review
Overall Race to the Edge was surprisingly enjoyable but the continuity issues can’t be excused this time around.
If you are going to place RTTE between the first two movies, it should at least respect the established canon material. It should not stomp all over it.
There have always been continuity errors within the TV show but fans let them slide since the future was uncertain. Dean Deblois was still in the process of writing the second movie. The TV-show writers had very little to go on. The continuity problems were unavoidable.
That is not the case here.
Race to the Edge is supposed to bridge the movies. It is suppose to explain how things came to be as seen in the second movie. Fill in the gaps. While RTTE is highly entertaining and enjoyable to watch, it has already failed to live up to its purpose.
Hiccup and Astrid are confirmed as longtime boyfriend and girlfriend of 5 years in HTTYD 2. And it shows. The butterflies are long gone but there is deeper love and understanding between them. It’s all glaringly obvious to the viewer. RTTE is supposed to take place 1 year before HTTYD 2. In RTTE Hiccup and Astrid hardly even share a simple friendship let alone something special and profound.
It is incredibly hard to believe that in such a short amount of time, Hiccup and Astrid go from friends who hardly ever interact in RTTE to the best friends who love each other in HTTYD 2. (Looking away from the fact that the relationship in HTTYD 2 was supposed to have had 5 years of build up.)
Is my assessment premature? Maybe.
We have only seen ¼ of RTTE but in that ¼ we have learned more about a supporting non-movie character than characters who are incredibly important to us. We have gotten more development in 2 episodes between Hiccup and said character than between him and the girl he is supposed to wed by the time of HTTYD 2.
So all in all:
Is RTTE worth watching? Yes. It's really good if you look away from all the continuity issues and the less than ideal treatment of certain characters.
Should RTTE count as a bridge between HTTYD 1 & HTTYD 2? No.
Is it okay to introduce new characters and give them background? Yes.
Is it okay to let the new characters take over the plot and force the actual main characters into the background? No.
Should our expectations for Hiccup and Astrid’s relationship be affected by the first 13 episodes? Yes. The next 13 episodes are supposed to build upon these first episodes.
Is it still possible to fix the Hiccstrid relationship? Yes. Hiccup has braids in his hair. If they grasp onto that detail instead of ignoring it like they have done so far they could fix everything.
Is it likely that they are going to fix Hiccstrid’s relationship? Probably not.
On another note, the characterization of Stoick was… questionable at times. Stoick being explosive toward Fishlegs’ over an axe felt out of character. He may a big and strong-headed Viking but the way he continuously kept losing his cool was very uncomfortable to watch.