This article is about one of the episodes from the Netflix-exclusive television series.
You may be looking for the graphic novel series of the same name.
The Draugen is the second episode of the second season, and the fifteenth episode of the Hilda TV series, was released on December 14th, 2020 on Netflix.
Synopsis
A quest to uncover secret information about Erik Ahlberg leads Hilda on a high-seas adventure with the Wood Man that lands them in a boatload of trouble.
Plot
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| This section contains spoilers of an episode, movie, or book. |
Hilda wants to go to the docks, but finds the street closed because Erik Ahlberg has given orders to close all the Vittra tunnels under the city. Hilda, angered that Ahlberg presents himself as a hero but only makes things worse, decides to ask the Rat King if he knows some secrets about Ahlberg that she can use to discredit him. In return, the Rat King wants Hilda to bring him a cod sandwich from the Salty Maiden.
To her surprise, Hilda finds the Wood Man in the Salty Maiden. He has just won a game of Sea Bones against some sailors. The Sailors don’t take kindly to their loss, and Wood Man’s obnoxious remarks only anger them more. Despite Hilda’s attempts to diffuse the situation, she and Wood Man end up getting thrown in the trash. At least Hilda finds the sandwich for the rat king. Wood Man tells Hilda that he plans to go out to sea and find the Draugen; spirits of drowned sailors who wander around for all eternity on their ghost ship, never to be reunited with their loved ones on land. Hilda thinks Wood Man wants to help them, and volunteers to come along. Wood Man agrees, because he just won a sailboat and needs Hilda’s help to sail it.
They set sail, but Wood Man complains that no Draugen will show up since it’s nice, sunny weather, and Draugen prefer storms. Fortunately, Hilda spots a Weather Spirit, and angers him into creating a storm. It works, and a Draugen ship shows up. Hilda and Wood Man climb on board. They are greeted by the Draugen, led by captain Abigail. However, they have no interest in going back to land, since there they’d be ordinary ghosts. Also, it turns out Wood Man wasn’t planning to help them, but just wanted a coral sextant from them for his home. Abigail decides to shanghai Wood Man, Hilda, and Twig into her crew, so she has the three tied up and ready to be dropped overboard so they will drown or get eaten by the Salt-Lions.
Fortunately, Nicholas, a Draug who likes to follow rules, can’t resist to point out a loophole; Hilda and Wood Man can win their freedom by beating the Draugen in a race. The Draugen ship at first easily gets the upper hand due to its ability to fly, but Hilda is able to turn the tide by apologizing to the weather spirit that she angered earlier. Thus, the storm clears, and a strong wind helps Hilda and Wood Man win. They reach the harbor first, but since Wood Man still has their sextant, the Draugen keep chasing them through Trolberg, scaring many citizens and attracting the attention of Erik Ahlberg. Realizing the Draugen used to be Trolberg citizens, Hilda quickly goes to her home to pick up the rune stick she got in “Chapter 9: The Ghost”, and then lures the Draugen to the cemetery. There, she summons the ghosts of the graveyard residents, who immediately recognize their long lost relatives. The Draugen are happily reunited with their families and disappear into the graves with them. Their ship vanishes.
Erik Ahlberg takes the credit for freeing Trolberg of the Draugen ship, and Hilda is unable to argue with him since she still has no secrets about him. She gets the Rat King his sandwich, but unfortunately he can’t help her; even his best sources couldn’t find any dirt about Ahlberg. Hilda realizes this will be harder than she thought.
Featured Characters
Humans
- Hilda
- Johanna
- Erik Ahlberg
- Gerda Gustav
- Peg legged sailor
- Bearded sailor
- The sailors at the Salty Maiden
- Unnamed captain
Creatures
Deer-foxes
Ghosts
Draugen
Trivia
- This is the fourth episode where Frida, and the third where David does not appear, both for the first time since Chapter 11: The House in the Woods.
- Early in the episode, a construction worker tells Hilda she has to take "Kittelsen Road" to get to the docks. This is a reference to Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen, who is famed for his portrayal of trolls and ghouls from Scandinavian folklore, including The Draugen.
- The song played during the end credits is "Let The Tall Ships Sail".