This is the first of my posts with SPOILERS. If you haven't seen HTTYD3 yet, don't read this post. I'll be diving into numerous important scenes and discussing the plot as a whole. What I want to tackle is the issue of whether or not HTTYD3 replaces the core heart of the franchise (which has thus far been the strong friendship between Hiccup and Toothless) with romantic love.
It's a pretty common notion that to be happy, you have to have a significant other. If you don't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, you are missing out. The idea that any meaningful friendship needs to blossom into romantic love is pretty main-stream, so did HTTYD3 go down that path? After all, Hiccup and Toothless have always shone very brightly as the franchise tested and strengthen their friendship, but HTTYD3 sees that friendship ultimately sacrificed as Toothless leaves and mates with the Light Fury... while Hiccup stays and marries Astrid.
So, to be blunt, if this was the primary message of the film, that everyone eventually grows up, gets married, and has to let go of childhood friendships, I would be TICKED. However, I think behind the veneer of the plot of HTTYD3 lies a beating heart that portrays Hiccup and Toothless's friendship as the strongest aspect of this last chapter. I'll lay my arguments below.
First off, I do not believe Toothless leaves, in the end, to be with the Light Fury. I also do not think he was planning on never coming back before Hiccup went to find him in the Hidden World. Toothless does fall HARD for her. He's infatuated, and it's extremely cute. She's a beautiful character who was extremely well executed... so even though the film makes it feel like she and Hiccup must compete for Hiccup's heart, I still came away liking her. That being said, we don't really get any clear indicator that Toothless plans to leave and not come back during the middle of the film.
However, in the end, he DOES leave with her. So, is she the cause? Is he leaving so he can be with her because she is a wild-untamable dragon?
No.
The Light Fury is not un-trainable. First, she returns to New Berk and finds Toothless after he runs away, which shocks Hiccup and fills him with hope that she will stay, and that Toothless has succeeded in winning her over. Second, she saves Hiccup from certain death, catching him after he has sacrificed himself in order to ensure that Toothless will live (which is one of THE BEST scenes in the franchise). She has gotten to like him. She coos at him, and he says that she has finally warmed up. The Light Fury would be willing to stay on New Berk. Hiccup and Toothless could be together, and it's not like she or Astrid would pull them apart.
So why does Toothless leave?
I believe Toothless leaves not out of "love", but out of a selfless responsibility. Both he and Hiccup now have a people to protect, and the battle with Grimmel has made it painfully clear that humanity will hunt the dragons and attempt to use them. Toothless is the only dragon, as the Alpha, who can truly keep this from happening. He has the authority to lead them away. This protects the Berkians from unnecessary conflicts with cruel warlords, and it keeps dragons from ever being enslaved again. Toothless had to watch as his ability as alpha placed all the dragons he cares for into jeopardy. He ordered Cloudjumper into a cage! The weight of Toothless's role could not have been made heavier on his shoulders.
So... this is why the separation clearly hurts them both so much. Toothless does not WANT to leave, and Hiccup most certainly does not want to see him go. But they sacrifice the thing that means the most to them: they give up being together. That invincible bond... it's broken (at least for a long, long time), and both friends must live apart for the good of all. It's extremely selfless... just shockingly so.
However, I have one last nail to put into this coffin. Go back to the flashback of Stoick at the fireplace. As a young boy, Hiccup sees his father struggling to deal with the loss of his wife. Stoick then explains to Hiccup that love is the greatest thing in the world, but it comes at a great cost. Now, with all the romance in the film, you could think that the cost of love is losing friends, but that is CLEARLY not how this theme plays out.
Hiccup never says "I love you." to Astrid... not that I recall. Toothless doesn't leave Hiccup because the Light Fury is unwilling to stay. But Hiccup does say "I love you." once in the entire film, and that is to TOOTHLESS. It's a pure, selfless, amazing love that exists between friends. There is no sexual element, nothing chemical... just a bond between hearts that surpasses the normal selfish desires and put one's needs below the desires of another. It's AMAZING.
And this love between a boy and his dragon, this is the love that is costly. Stoick is dealing with the loss of Valka, and the cost he talks about is the immense pain that everyone will eventually face when we lose someone we love. The cost Hiccup and Toothless pay to protect their people is the cost of their friendship, and because they loved each other so very dearly, this cost was unspeakably great. Hiccup cries significantly more in this film than he ever has, and it is because he is losing the most precious thing he ever obtained: the love of a true friend.
So, I like the romance element! I'm not against it, and I love that both characters form families! It was very refreshing and very mature. I would not want them to leave each other only to live in misery... it is nice that they do have others who they love and care for deeply. However, at the end of the day, How To Train Your Dragon is a trilogy about the amazing friendship, the amazing love, and the incredible cost that a boy and a Night Fury paid in order to protect everything good and pure in their worlds.
And I do have opinions on what the flying scene at the ends means, but I will save that for another post! Special thanks to Glory and Toothlesslove for discussing this topic with me beforehand. It really helped me formulate my thoughts on the matter!
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