WARNING: The following contains spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, in theaters now.
After two movies and a TV series, the adventures of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), Toothless the Night Fury and the Vikings of Berk come to a close with the franchise's third chapter: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
Despite losing his dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler), Hiccup charges forward as Berk's aspiring chief, with his mother Valka (Cate Blanchett), girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera) and his best friends helping to preserve their human-dragon utopia. However, with overpopulation proving an issue, Hiccup takes everyone to find a new home, only to end up under attack by the deadliest dragon hunter ever, Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham). The finale pushes Hiccup to his heroic limit while changing the very future of Toothless and the dragons he now rules.
The Fall of Grimmel
Grimmel proves to be quite a cutthroat character, doing whatever it takes to kill all dragons. His big plan involves using a Light Fury (a white, female version of Toothless) as bait to lure Hiccup's dragon in -- a move that would attract the other dragons to the hunter from the Hidden World, a safe haven at the edge of the world where all dragons reside away from hateful humans.
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The final battle sees Grimmel track down the vikings' new home and capture Toothless and his companion, just as she was about to accept Hiccup as her family. Grimmel takes to the skies with his trophies and deploys his own brainwashed army of dragons for a massive aerial battle with Astrid and the rest of Berk's dragon riders. Hiccup climbs aboard Grimmel's airship and frees the Light Fury, but with the injured Toothless plummeting towards his death, Hiccup instructs the Light Fury to save her soulmate.
Hiccup and Grimmel end up in a deadly freefall of their own, but with Grimmel holding onto Hiccup's artificial leg. The hero detaches the limb, which results in the villain falling to his death. Just as Hiccup is about to hit the ocean too, the Light Fury unexpectedly swoops in to rescue him and take him to Toothless, proving she may very well be the fastest dragon alive. Toothless and Hiccup embrace, happy to see each other safe and sound.
The Great Exodus
With the heroes emerging victorious, the franchise takes its most tear-jerking turn yet. Hiccup finally lets go of his selfish ways, realizing Toothless (who's the alpha and leader of all dragons) has to take his species away to the Hidden World so he can look after them.
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Hiccup understands the love Toothless is feeling, not just for his kind but for the Light Fury as well, and he also realizes that he won't be alone, as he has his mother, Astrid and the rest of the vikings. Finally stepping into Stoick's shoes as a truly selfless leader, he bids Toothless adieu as the dragons all head off to their new paradise.
The vikings are sad about the exodus, but they know deep down it's the best move for everyone, as the dragons have run their course trying to coexist with humans. The Hidden World offers them a home that the known world never could, and they all watch the beasts head off into the sunset.
Family Is Forever
The final sequence quickly runs through Hiccup and Astrid's marriage, and cuts to what seems to be a boat ride for their honeymoon. As it turns out, though, the scene is actually a flashforward to decades later where Hiccup, Astrid, their son and daughter are heading to the Hidden World -- a location only Hiccup knows.
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There, they're greeted by Toothless, who hasn't forgotten his best friend, as well as the Light Fury and their three dragon offspring. With the mischievous baby dragons in tow, they all celebrate by taking to the skies as one happy, reunited family, rejoicing in each other's presence in one of the franchise's most endearing and fuzzy moments.
As the film ends with everyone enjoying their time in the clouds, Hiccup vows his people will keep the dragons' new sanctuary a secret until the world is finally ready to welcome them back in peace.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, written and directed by Dean DeBlois, the film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Kit Harington, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T. J. Miller, Kristen Wiig and F. Murray Abraham, is now in theaters nationwide.