Why Stoick Had To Die

Before I explain, here's a little scene we will never see due to Stoick's death:

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup hailed his friend as he methodically chose fish to put in a basket for Meatlug's evening repast, "Can I spend the night at your house?"

"Uh, sure. I'll ask my mom to make crabcakes." Fishlegs straightened, a fish in each hand, looking puzzled.

"Did you have a fight with your new mom?" That was Tuffnut.

"She's not his new mom, she's his old mom who liked dragons better than him." Countered Ruffnut.

"Whatever. Did your parents kick you out?" Tuffnut persisted.

"No! I just want to give them some privacy tonight – maybe for, uh, a few nights. They've been apart for 20 years…."

"Oh, I get it," said Ruffnut.

"I don't," said Tuffnut.

I explained this plot point briefly in my review of HTTYD2, but it has generated such ire, to the extent that negative comments may interfere with the film's gross, that it warrants its own rant piece.

No-one wants Stoick to die, let alone be killed by Toothless. His death and funeral are so excruciating to watch that they make repeated viewings challenging. Each time (and I've seen HTTYD2 nearly a dozen times) we get to the wonderful Stoick-Valka reunion, a highlight of the film, I start to tense up in anticipation of the pain in the next scene. It's akin to ripping off a fresh scab that is never given time to heal over and scar: Just when I begin to come to terms with Stoick's demise, the wound is re-opened.

Stoick is a beloved central character, and it seems cruel for him to die just after reuniting with his wife after 20 years of presumed celibacy. Thinking himself a widower, he had no obligation to be faithful to Valka. If he had wanted another woman in his life to help raise Hiccup whilst he was busy chiefing, he would have remarried, or as chief had his pick of the women in the village for light dalliances, but one gets the impression that he was nursing a broken heart the whole time. So, I wanted them at least to have one night together. Yes, they got a kiss, a song, a dance, and group hug, but ……. 20 years! It had already been a long day, and sleeping in the cavern, with Bludvist's invasion occurring at dawn the next morning, would have made sense temporally. But, the film is PG, and there is a sense of urgency about keeping the story moving. I can understand why they opted to rush from Valka's decision to reunite with her family into the battle that destroys those giddy plans; I just wish on a personal level that they'd had one night alone together first.

But sex and romance aside, the central theme of this instalment is Hiccup's coming-of-age, his ascension to the chiefdom. He can't embrace the role of chief whilst his father is still on Berk. Can you see Stoick deferring to Hiccup and letting him make his own mistakes? Or the villagers refraining from appealing to Stoick when they disagreed with Hiccup's decisions? Peaceful transitions of power between living leaders are a feature we associate with modern democracies – one of the first took place in the U.S. in 1801, nearly 1,000 years after HTTYD – not hereditary monarchies. Yes, elderly or infirm monarchs have sometimes abdicated in favour of their younger and fitter offspring, but it's not a practice that is easy to reconcile with Viking culture in general or Stoick's larger-than-life presence in particular.

Also, until Hiccup facilitated peace with dragons five years prior, the Viking lifespan was battle-limited. You don't see many grey-haired Berkians aside from Gothi and (probably not first to the front lines) Mildew. That could change if Hiccup maintains the peace, but the image of an arthritic and liver-spotted Stoick whittling quietly into his dotage is antithetical to his character. And as much credit as we must give Stoick for his ability to embrace change, there is a certain feeling of rightness in Hiccup having his father by his side for the first 20 years of his life, in the dragon-fighting days, teaching him the old ways, and now having his mother advising him for the next 20 in the new dragon-friendly age. Having the whole family together would have been wonderful – you can see it in Hiccup's eyes when his parents reunite – but the story required a new leader for a new era.

Remember, this is the middle film of a trilogy; as self-contained and satisfying as it may be on its own, it is inherently transitional. Hiccup has been brought up short in his self-perception: Getting people to change and keeping the peace is not going to be as easy as it has been so far, but he has inherited some tools for the job. He can no longer take the dichotomous stance that he is opposite his father in every way. Reality is more nuanced. He takes after his mother substantially but he is, as Gobber noted, "every bit the boar-headed stubborn Viking" Stoick ever was. When he states through tears at his father's funeral that he did not think he could ever be that brave, that selfless, we in the audience grasp the irony as no-one could have been braver or more selfless than Hiccup in his battle with the Red Death. He needs to learn and grow as chief now. As Stoick said, he's ready.