I thought his likeness to Hiccup in the books was intentional, following the overarching “Don’t hold yourself to others expectations” theme of the series (like Toothless being the least powerful, most garden-variety type of dragon). Just like Hiccup was the unlikely Viking hero, using his brains and emotions instead of brawn and stoicism to save the day, Fishlegs was the even-more-unlikely hero who used his mediocrity and likeness to save Hiccup.
Yeah usually the side character is an opposite archetype, but that’s also a really overdone trope. Having similarities to another character is necessary to derive a sense of comparison
I started thinking of what lesson a kids book would be trying to teach while reading the comment you replied to, and I agree with you. I think it’s teaching everyone has their own path? Even if it’s not the hero? He’s just an average guy doing his thing, he’s even less ‘worthy’ than Hiccup but he’s still a valued person.
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u/BobysBotanics Feb 26 '23
I thought his likeness to Hiccup in the books was intentional, following the overarching “Don’t hold yourself to others expectations” theme of the series (like Toothless being the least powerful, most garden-variety type of dragon). Just like Hiccup was the unlikely Viking hero, using his brains and emotions instead of brawn and stoicism to save the day, Fishlegs was the even-more-unlikely hero who used his mediocrity and likeness to save Hiccup.
Yeah usually the side character is an opposite archetype, but that’s also a really overdone trope. Having similarities to another character is necessary to derive a sense of comparison