I saw a post about Astrid, saying how fantastic is the way he talks with Hiccup: the way she bowed her head to find his eyes when he looked down to avoid the gaze of others. It ‘s beautiful, because she igets to his level, without stretching over it, as others have done over time, making him feel even smaller and weaker. It’s the act of someone who takes care of him, is a sign of affection and importance, especially by a person as proud as Astrid. She does not put Hiccup at a lower level, even when he himself is doing it, and in that case she is chasing him, stooping to retrieve him, and is extremely important as a sign of a relationship.
And now, look at Valka. I think that this scene is where she takes her role as mother, and not only as dragon expert, for Hiccup. She decides to go and talk to him in the most difficult moment of all, and of course you can expect she to do it, is his mother, but she JUST MET him, and now she has to try and talk to him when his father is just gone. It’s hard, it’s difficult, but she goes… And not only she avoids saying something obvious, like a sentence of consolation or a “I’m sorry”, but she gives him a real support, new strength, a reason to go on and be proud of himself, because the great man who has fallen, it was. Here, with her gesture, she does not look for Hiccup’s eyes, overcomed by grief… She grabs his face in her hands, and makes him look forward: and here, in this moment, Valka becomes an extremely strong and important mother figure. Here, with this speech and this gesture, she teaches Hiccup something extremely important, and far more relevant than a hug, a consolation, or a shared cry.
“Go ahead proud, because we are proud of you.
Do not hide away, because you can deal with anything.
Be strong, because we know you are.”
And I just LOVE this.
