Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant

Chapter 2: The Midnight Giant is the second episode of the first season and the second episode of the Hilda TV series, released on September 21st, 2018 on Netflix.

The episode is adapted from the second half of "Hilda and the Midnight Giant", with some new scenes added.

Synopsis
Hilda reaches out to a sad and lonely giant while her mum, worried about the threats they've received, mulls over a move to the city of Trolberg.

Plot
Johanna still wants to move to Trolberg, and convinces Hilda to at least take a look. Hilda complains about her head itching; the cause turns out to be tiny mittens; Angelina evidently gave birth while hiding in Hilda’s hair. Johanna collects them in a box.

That night, Hilda has trouble sleeping. She sees the mysterious giant from the previous night again, and grabs her sketchbook, but the giant walks off again. Not wanting to let him escape again, Hilda jumps on a woff and gives chase. She manages to jump on the giants head and get his attention. When asked why he keeps coming to her house, the giant tells Hilda he is waiting for a friend that was supposed to meet him here. He hasn’t seen any other giants, and Hilda tells him he’s probably been stood up. Saddened, the giant returns Hilda to her home and leaves.

The following day, Johanna and Hilda visit Trolberg. They find a house that’s available, and check out the school. Here, Hilda meets Frida and David for the first time, but everything about the school mystifies her and she remains convinced Trolberg is not the place for her.

Upon returning home, Hilda and Johanna are visited by the Wood Man again. When Hilda asks him about the giant, he simply brushes off her question and leaves, but Hilda is determined to learn more. She follows him all the way to his home. After a while, the Wood Man gives in. He gives Hilda a book about Giants of Old, and tells Hilda the giant she saw belongs to a kind that hasn’t been seen in a long period of time. From the book, Hilda learns that the giant she met is named Jorgen, and he was the last giant chosen to guard the Earth from the top of the highest mountain in the north. The other giants left the Earth when humans settled into the valleys and got into conflicts with the giants, who frequently accidentally stepped on the humans’ homes. Hilda feels sorry for Jorgen that he apparently guarded the Earth for millennia, never knowing his fellow giants had left.

The following day, Alfur arrives to take Hilda to the Elf King, whose castle is near the top of a snow covered mountain. Hilda tries to save time by riding another woff, but the creature shakes her off. Fortunately, they land near the Elf King’s castle. The King is outside, but panics when he sees Hilda and quickly retreats into his castle. Angered, Hilda shouts at him, causing an avalanche. The avalanche exposes a previously hidden cave. As Hilda enters the cave, it’s revealed the entire mountain is actually a female giant, and the cave is her ear. While the giant slowly awakens, the entire mountain begins to tremble and the royal palace falls off. Hilda saves it just in time.

Hilda realizes the giant she just awoke must be the friend Jorgen was waiting for, and confesses to her that she told Jorgen she probably left him. Fortunately, Jorgen hasn’t given up yet and returns, catching Hilda as she falls off the female giant. Jorgen and his girlfriend finally reunite, and she tells him what became of the other giants.

Now that she saved his life, the Elf King is prepared to bury the hatchet and allow Hilda and Johanna to live side by side with the elves. Hilda signs the peace treaty and everything seems fine, until Jorgen accidentally crushes Hilda’s house when he and his girlfriend walk off to join the other giants in space. Now homeless, and having experienced first hand how it must be for the Elves to live alongside much bigger creatures that constantly step on their homes, Hilda realizes she and her mom have no choice but to move to Trolberg. The Wood Man comes to say goodbye, and Alfur quickly arranges the proper papers so he can come to Trolberg with Hilda and report about city life to the Elves.

The episode ends with Hilda, Johanna, Twig, and Alfur settling into their new home.

Humans

 * Hilda
 * Johanna
 * David
 * Frida

Creatures

 * Wood Man
 * Woff
 * Nittens

Deer-foxes

 * Twig

Elves

 * Alfur
 * Elf King

Giants

 * Jorgen
 * Illus
 * Sigmund (flashbacks only)

Trivia

 * The female giant is never called by her name in this episode, like in the original graphic novel. Hilda's Book of Beasts and Spirits reveals her name to be Illus.