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I was just thinking one day when this weird thought came to me: just how awkward would it have been if, in the 20 years that Stoick thought Valka was dead, he had remarried? How would their reunion be different? What would have happened once Valka got back to Berk? Just a random idea that I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on.

RealHousewifeofBerk

13 Aug 2014, 00:33

I was just thinking one day when this weird thought came to me: just how awkward would it have been if, in the 20 years that Stoick thought Valka was dead, he had remarried?

Well, if Stoick did remarried. Hiccup would have had a very different life. Either for the better or the worst
I am not so sure about Stoick, but I wouldn't have liked him as much if so. His long time commitment to Valka is the very essent that shows what man Stoick is, and what Hiccup would most likely turn out to be, which is very important for a hicstrid person

I wouldn't like Stoick as much, either. The fact that he stayed devoted to Valka after she was presumed dead for twenty years is simply amazing. It's inspiring. If he had remarried, I think their reunion would be pretty awkward for everyone, Hiccup included. On the other hand, Stoick remarrying could've helped Hiccup. He'd have had someone else to talk to- someone who would probably be a little more understanding (no offense, Stoick!) than his father was. Still, at the end of HTTYD 2, which person would Hiccup call his mother? It's kind of confusing.
Stalka for the win!
(mostly because they have some really adorable scenes haha)

It would have been awkward for me to if stoick got married again before the reunite with valka. But I like the fact that he was faithful to her all the years he thought she was dead. That says something about him. But I also noticed that when stoick started whistling to valka the look on hiccups face was showing him a side to stoick he has never seen. And when stoick and valka started singing and dancing, hiccup never saw that side of them.

RealHousewifeofBerk

13 Aug 2014, 00:33

I was just thinking one day when this weird thought came to me: just how awkward would it have been if, in the 20 years that Stoick thought Valka was dead, he had remarried? How would their reunion be different? What would have happened once Valka got back to Berk? Just a random idea that I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on.

Congratulations - you just created a more interesting and believable relationship in your idle thoughts than the one in a major motion picture that took about four years to make. Admittedly, that's not particularly difficult in this instance, but still, kudos for being better than professional writers in any area.

Okay, possibly I'm being a little bit harsh on DeBlois and co. here. Ultimately, the reason why Stoick hadn't remarried by the time of the first film is because having a mother in there would just have made the film overly complicated. Gobber serves pretty much every purpose that the hypothetical mother or stepmother would have served in the film, plus adds a great deal more.

Still, they could have had Stoick remarry between the first and second films in order to create some conflict between him and Valka. Yes, it would have been something artificially added to create conflict, but when you get right down to it, that's HTTYD 2 in a nutshell, and all things considered, one can't really argue with the results in and of themselves (and that's coming from me).

Besides, literally any conflict between a good guy (or girl, for that matter, though I appreciate there wasn't really time to do much of anything between Valka and Astrid) and Valka would have been better than the creepy situation we get where no one seems to be able to act like a human being around her. You could have had her engaging in a long-winded argument about what colour Toothless's prosthetic tail fin would be, and it would still be an improvement.

Whitefang

13 Aug 2014, 03:08

I wouldn't like Stoick as much, either. The fact that he stayed devoted to Valka after she was presumed dead for twenty years is simply amazing. It's inspiring. If he had remarried, I think their reunion would be pretty awkward for everyone, Hiccup included.

While I don't know how Vikings approached marriage (not that that would necessarily have any bearing on the world of HTTYD), I know that modern western society (along with Biblical-era Jewish society, and likely some others) have a "til death do you part" clause of some sort in there. In other words, I really fail to see how Stoick not remarrying is a particular act of loyalty or devotion to Valka. That's not to say that he didn't stay devoted to Valka - heck, he's still got the helmet (though that connection isn't raised in HTTYD 2, for reasons I can't possibly fathom), but there's really nothing in that that would stop him from remarrying. Nor do I see any indication that he stayed unmarried because of Valka. More likely, he just didn't find someone else that he wanted to marry. Heck, as I recall, he would have been 40 or so when Valka "died". Add in some time to move on with his life, and he's not exactly a spring chicken.

And what exactly is wrong with some awkward situations, if done well? Conflict is the lifeblood of stories, and that applies just as much to the relationships between the good guys as it does to any big bad villain.

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On the other hand, Stoick remarrying could've helped Hiccup. He'd have had someone else to talk to- someone who would probably be a little more understanding (no offense, Stoick!) than his father was. Still, at the end of HTTYD 2, which person would Hiccup call his mother? It's kind of confusing.

It's not confusing at all; the hypothetical woman who raised Hiccup would be his mother in every way that matters. Valka is little more than genetic material and a nine-month storage facility. Well, actually that's being generous, but since we don't have an accurate number, I'll go with that. Heck, even in the actual timeline of the films, Gobber has been way more of a parent to Hiccup than Valka was.

Alternatively, if you want to see how this would work in practice, watch The Land Before Time 8, a movie that dealt with that rough concept surprisingly well. Yes, I'm completely serious: a Land Before Time sequel had a more interesting and believable familial relationship than anything involving Valka in HTTYD 2. I'm not entirely sure whether that's a compliment to the former or a criticism of the latter. Heck, I suppose it could be both.

............not appreciative of the sexist reduction of women to their reproductive functions, but anyway...................

Anyway, in my opinion, if Stoick moved on, Valka couldn't really blame him. It was, after all, essentially her decision to never try and come back to her family in all those 20 years. There are a lot of reasons why they obviously decided not to give him a second wife (the main one being the first movie was never originally intended to be the first of a trilogy and they got rid of his mom in the first place for being too extraneous to the plot so what would the point be of adding a step mom................) but if he had, in some alternate universe where the movies are more realistic and have all the time in the world to divulge in a myriad of side characters and subplots, it would be understandable. For the first 15 years of his life, Hiccup was a pretty awful son by viking standards, and I could see Stoick remarrying just for the sake of having more children, and possibly a better heir. But I have no doubt that Stoick would still always love Valka, and it would be very awkward years later when they finally reunite. I can't even begin to imagine how you would deal with that situation.

I do think it says more about Stoick's character and faithfulness that he chose to never be with anyone else for all those years in honor of the wife he'd lost.

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............not appreciative of the sexist reduction of women to their reproductive functions, but anyway...................

For what it's worth, I have essentially the same views on deadbeat "dads." It's raising the child that makes you his or her parent, not donating some genetic material.

Eret

13 Aug 2014, 16:29

............not appreciative of the sexist reduction of women to their reproductive functions, but anyway...................

I'm sure Cartoon Freak wasn't trying to be sexist, just honest. Look, Valka was barely there to raise Hiccup, only for probably a few months. He/she didn't mean it like that's the only thing all women are good for, he/she only meant in the case of Hiccup and Valka.

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Heck, as I recall, he would have been 40 or so when Valka "died". Add in some time to move on with his life, and he's not exactly a spring chicken.

According to the HTTYD website, Stoick is 50 in the second movie, so he would have been 30 when Valka disappeared.

Eret

13 Aug 2014, 16:29

Anyway, in my opinion, if Stoick moved on, Valka couldn't really blame him. It was, after all, essentially her decision to never try and come back to her family in all those 20 years. There are a lot of reasons why they obviously decided not to give him a second wife (the main one being the first movie was never originally intended to be the first of a trilogy and they got rid of his mom in the first place for being too extraneous to the plot so what would the point be of adding a step mom................) but if he had, in some alternate universe where the movies are more realistic and have all the time in the world to divulge in a myriad of side characters and subplots, it would be understandable.

I agree.
However I do prefer the whole single parent agenda being simple and clean; it keeps the theme of the story focused.

RealHousewifeofBerk

14 Aug 2014, 14:08

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Heck, as I recall, he would have been 40 or so when Valka "died". Add in some time to move on with his life, and he's not exactly a spring chicken.

According to the HTTYD website, Stoick is 50 in the second movie, so he would have been 30 when Valka disappeared.

That also means that Stoick got Hiccup when he was 30! Same age when my dad got me