Are the Hamishes Based on Book Characters? (HTTYD)
(Special shout-out to @yv-sketches and the link to this particular fanart here. I'll never stop looking at their book drawings, they're so good!)
Well met, my fellow Dragonmarkers! Here's another article for Character Comparison series, where I try to find a plausible, even possible, comparison between show and book characters of HTTYD.
Today, we'll be diving into the Hamishes. Very well-timed, considering what I had found recently.
Shout-out to @noctusfury and his article on the Hamishes and the Mystery of the Missing Portrait(s). Very good read.
Now, for those of you who haven't watched DreamWorks Dragons, or have forgotten who these two are, they are two of several Chieftains of Berk that is seen in the Riders of Berk episode "Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man".
The portrait below is supposed to be that of the two Hamishes.
It must be said, of course, that there is some debate about that due to an apparent error that was made during production and that the portrait of the 1st chieftain and his son (the top left in beginning picture) was the real Hamishes, design-wise.
You'll have to read the post in the link above, since that gets into greater detail.
However, we're not here for that. We're here for who the Hamishes are and who are their closest comparison, in MY opinion.
Hamish the First was Berk's most successful and wealthiest chieftain, having been a raider and pirate and accumulated for himself a massive hoard of treasure. We can assume that his rule was a successful one based on the only description we have of this historic figure.
His son, Hamish the Second, was a Hiccup, in reality, and, after his father's death, and, presumedly after he was coronated as the new chief, he built a labyrinth of traps and riddles to protect his father's treasure, hoping that his successor, a future Hiccup, would be able to find it.
It must be noted that this young man was a rather masterful riddler and engineer — to the point that NOBODY was able to even FIND the labyrinth, much less REACH the treasure. He was also assumed to have been a friend of dragons, since it would've been impossible to build it without their help. Plus, he also knew dragon characteristics and intentionally built the labyrinth to be impossible to navigate without a dragon (you most certainly wouldn't have survived the fall without one).
Now, it is my belief that the two Hamishes — and this is rather obvious given their backstories — are based on Grimbeard the Ghastly and his son, Hiccup the Second.
When you think of it, everything fits — albeit, with SOME differences.
For instance, they were kings (Hiccup a prince), while the Hamishes were just chieftains — that we know of, anyway, from their VERY SPARCE backstory (come on, DreamWorks, get it together!). Hamish the First died before his son, while Grimbeard lived sometime after Hiccup (for certain - ahem! - reasons). Hamish the First had a successful reign as Chief while Grimbeard's rule as King ended literally in flames due to his crappy parenting. Hamish the Second was the one who hid his father's treasure, when in the books, Grimbeard hid his own treasure for his future Heir to find. Hamish the Second was also a genius engineer/architect, while Hiccup the Second was not, though both were excellent riddlers and writers.
And, while not proven, it is assumed that Hamish the Second wasn't your typical Viking, while Hiccup the Second, despite being a Runt, was your Viking's Viking, but with brains, beauty, and brawn (if yv-sketches' sketches are to be believed lol 😂).
That being said, there were several similarities.
1) Both Hamish the First and Grimbeard had successful reigns for the most part and were best known for their pirating and attaining massive wealth.
2) Both fathers had Runts for sons, but loved them dearly (probably at the expense of their thrones).
3) Both leaders had treasures that Vikings, greedy to acquire the hoard for themselves, tried to find but failed and even lost their lives over it. In fact, in both instances, the true locations of the hoards were hard to find in hard-to-reach places, were booby-trapped, and had dragon guardians watching over it.
4) Both Hamish the Second and Grimbeard had a LOVE for booby traps and hard riddles.
5) In both the show and in the books, it's shown how both Stoicks were greedy for the treasure, but later realize that their greatest treasure was their sons (Hiccup the Third).
6) Both pairs were Berkians and Hooligans.
7) Both Grimbeard and Hamish the First felt confined on Berk and preferred going to other places.
8) Both sons had a great love and loyalty for their fathers, and both, respectively, have shown that through their actions.
9) Both sons have had an ambiguous imprint on history that can't immediately be seen at first glance.
10) Both sons loved dragons very much.
11) Both likely met fatal ends due to schemes for the throne and the treasure. (There is no portrait of Hamish the Second and his son, so it's possible that, like Hiccup the Second, Hamish the Second could've either lost his life or was exiled because of the dragons he was friends with or simply due to the schemes of those who wanted the treasure and throne of Berk.)
12) While the TV show would've never had this in their content for viewer reasons, it would be interesting if both Hamish II and Hiccup II shared similar childhoods of being abandoned and then taken care of by dragons, only to be reunited by their fathers later.
13) Both pairs were likely succeeded after their deaths-cum-disappearances by their respective Chuckleheads as Chieftains of Berk, respectively.
The Viking portrait on the right kinda looks like Chucklehead, doesn't it? 👀
Okey-dokey, I think that's everything. Interesting how I had a point for every Wilderwest King in the books. There are 13 points for 13 kings.
Anywho, that's all for this article.
What do you guys think? Let me know if you have anything to add that I missed or needs correction.
Thank you so much for reading and for your support. It's been VERY fun writing these posts for you guys! 😁
Long Live the Wilderwest!
— Companion of the Dragonmark
