Now that dragons are friends with Vikings, everything is great... Except Gobber, who made a living selling weapons, doesn't know what to do. Hiccup suggests that Stoick make him his right-hand man and share the workload, but Gobber's inadequacies shoot that down the first day. Hiccup then hires him to make the saddles for the dragons, but that also goes down in flames. Then Hookfang begins to run amok. Is this a job for Gobber?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Actually a Good Idea: Hiccup overhears that Stoick has a lot on his plate, wishing that there were "two of [him]", and Hiccup gets the idea of having Gobber act as his surrogate in some village matters. Not only would this cut down on Stoick's workload, but it would give Gobber a job now that his smithing skills have been rendered useless in an era of peace with the dragons. Stoick thinks it over and admits that it is not a bad idea. This is quickly proven otherwise, as Gobber's limited understanding of the job causes Bucket and Mulch to escalate their feud, sinks a ship and a baby girl to be named Magnus.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Snotlout runs to Hiccup for help when Hookfang seems to go on a rampage.
- An Aesop:
- Lying to spare someone's feelings doesn't do anyone any good.
- Just because your job becomes obsolete doesn't mean your skills are too.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Gobber's dragon saddles, which come equipped with horns, flamethrowers, and catapults. The catapults knock Barf and Belch out, and Fishlegs's saddle is too heavy. Astrid's is the most usable, but the horn scares Stormfly.
- Book Dumb: The twins; they can't count properly and seem happy to show it.
- Call-Back:
- Gobber's weapons are no longer needed because of the peace with dragons
- Hiccup refers to his apprenticeship with Gobber as a reason to put him on the Saddle Squad.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Gobber's issue in this episode is that he specializes in designing weapons for use against dragons. Unfortunately, getting him to accept that anything dragon-related does not require weapons is an exercise in futility. Then it turns out his talents make him a great dragon dentist.
- Day in the Limelight: It's about Gobber and how the village making peace with the dragons had rendered his dragon hunting equipment useless.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Gobber does this after Hiccup is forced to take him off the Saddle Squad.
- Epic Fail: Gobber as Stoick's righthand man. He names an ugly girl baby "Magnus," "settles" a score between two farmers by telling them to fight to the death and adds so much metal to ship repairs that it ends up sinking. He's relatively better on the Saddle Squad.
- Fatal Flaw: Gobber's inability to listen or change, even when it seems he's made a saddle that will work halfway. Fortunately, he's the best expert on dragon teeth.
- The Grotesque: Implied. The reason why Gobber named the Viking couple's newborn baby girl Magnus (instead of Hildegarde like they wanted) was because she "doesn't seem like a Hildegarde to me". Not only that, but Stoick actually tells Hiccup that he agrees that she looks like a Magnus. But, as chief, he has to respect her parents' wishes.
- Hope Spot: Hiccup seems to think Gobber will do a good job on the Saddle Squad after hearing him sing while working. The next day, the riders find out that the saddles are Awesome, but Impractical and Stoick orders Hiccup to fire Gobber.
- Hypocrisy Nod: Stoick demotes Gobber from being his right-hand man by assigning him to Hiccup, without actually firing him personally. Hiccup plans to let Gobber cause damage with saddles, until Stoick orders him to offer a direct dismissal. When Hiccup points out that Stoick didn't offer such courtesy, his father justifies it as a chief's need to delegate.
- Jerkass: Mildew rubs it in Hiccup's face how he put Gobber out of a job.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The dragons when Gobber tries to hold an academy session with them.
- Rampage from a Nail: Hookfang had a bad tooth, and it makes him lash out. Once Gobber pulled it, he returned to normal.
- Rump Roast: Snotlout gets his butt burned by Hookfang in an early scene, complete with running for the water trough. Apparently, that's the third time this week.
- Shoot the Dog: Subverted. It appears that Hookfang will have to be put down, but then Gobber finds the real problem.
- The Tooth Hurts: Hookfang goes on a rampage because of a toothache. After Gobber realizes the problem, he simply yanks out the half-hollowed out tooth instead of putting Hookfang down. This leads to him becoming a dentist for the dragons.Snotlout: Ah! You didn't kill him!
Gobber: For a toothache? What kind of lunatic are you? - This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Stoick calls on Gobber when Hookfang is on a rampage.
