Vikings on History Channel

I've wondered if Aslaug will die in childbirth and if that comment was foreshadowing.

I watched the episode again over the weekend, with DF - he fell asleep the first time, and now I think King Horik never had any intention of helping Jarl Borg escape. I do think he still plans to betray Ragnar though. It looks like he had plenty of time to help him escape if he was going to. I mean Floki and Helga had a wedding and there seemed to be a significant amount of time that had passed in between imprisoning Jarl Borg and "Earl Ingstad" showing up...Helga was showing at that last dinner and was newly pregnant at the beginning of the episode.

Patricia Bracewell (historical fiction novelist) confirms what I was thinking last night when I watched S2E7 Blood Eagle. It wasn't a real thing. Phew.

mayqueen said:

Patricia Bracewell (historical fiction novelist) confirms what I was thinking last night when I watched S2E7 Blood Eagle. It wasn't a real thing. Phew.

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Holy crap, that's a lot of nitpicking. I guess if it's your expertise (Norse history/traditions/culture) then you're going to take the time to point out every little flaw.

For me, as a viewer, I'm 100% aware that this is not cannon to real life (events, culture or whatnot), but it's as close as I'm going to get.

To each their own, I suppose?

Aww, I love it, but then again, I write in that time period.

I think I've missed posting after the last two episodes. Has everyone else watched them? Season finale is in two days and I'm definitely not as emotionally invested this time around as I was at the season finale of season 1.

What did you all think of the last two episodes?

I thought they were awesome. I couldn't tell what was wrong with Ragnar's son? He called him the "boneless." I'm impressed that Aslaug saved the baby (and happy too).

I'm actually VERY invested in the finale, especially since I was all excited for a possible reunion between Athelstan and Ragnar (plus fam) and now King Horik has put a huge wrench in that.

I love this show. I even love the opening credits, especially the part where the crashing surf transforms into embers.

I'd like more Lagertha and more Siggy. I like all the strong female characters in this show, although they don't get enough screen time.

Why isn't there more love for Siggy in this thread? She's a little conniving, but she's not petty or mean. She had the highest status a woman in her village could have, and she lost it through no fault of her own. In the world of the TV show, she can't get her status back on her own because she's not a shieldswoman like Lagertha or the daughter of a legend, like Auslan. Siggy has to hitch her star to a man, but the pickings are slim. Ragnar was still in love with his wife back when he killed her husband, so Siggy picked the second most-powerful man, Rollo, thinking she could mold him. But Rollo is no Ragnar. That leaves poor Siggy frustrated and under-utilized. Then Donal Logue's character (love him as the king) got his hands on her, and now she's in a really bad position. Poor Siggy!

I have Siggy love. Trust me. I'm all about Siggy. She is an opportunist and loyal in her own weird way. And above all else, she's a survivor. She's always there for the other women--during childbirth, death, plague, war, etc.

Stiger05 said:

Aw, that's disappointing. I saw the trailers too, and thought it looked good. Like shadowferret, I was expecting more delving into the culture and traditions, etc, just in story form. Sad it's just a fiction show.

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More than a few guys I know who got into it in spite of these shortcomings because they are into exploring a time when men were encouraged to let out their barbaric, wild sides and not give even the smallest of damns about people's sensitivities and can't help but feel those days are long gone, at least in the United States, and feel regret over that. Perhaps for many of these kinds of viewers, that sort of feeling draws them to the show and trumps any objections they may have over accuracy.

I know it's probably really ridiculous to feel this way over a tv show but as much as I like Ragnar, and I really do, I feel like he betrayed ME on last seasons finale. So this season I think I expected him to get back in my good graces by reuniting with Lagertha and he hasn't done that. I've still really enjoyed the season but I feel a little more detached emotionally than I was last year.

That said, I'm looking forward to tonights episode and hoping it isn't a huge cliffhanger. Really hoping Siggy will do the right thing!

I just had the chance to watch the season finale last night and Holy Hel! I loved it...especially the denouement scene...chills.

I was so confused by Floki's behavior. I'm glad that got resolved.

Are people really hung up on historical accuracies in an historical fiction show? Why watch it? Not meant to be snarky, but if I wanted to watch a documentary, I'd go with that--not a dramatized version with obvious embellishments.

Loved the season finale! Now to wait for Season 3. Based on the finale and something I saw on Twitter, they've hinted at more explorations than just England. Cool.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Anyone watch it? Thoughts?

I DVRed it and watched the first 20 minutes of it. It's not what I was expecting. Appears to be just a story featuring Vikings. I was hoping it would be a documentary talking about their lives, culture, technology, maybe featuring new information learned from recent excavations and findings.

No. Just seems like a fiction tale.

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I've got Scandinavian blood so I was interested in it too. But kinda afraid because I love the Viking Culture and Beowulf is amazing to me. So no. I haven't watched it but I keep thinking about it. No one does Vikings, unless one is Marvel and then Thor is blond when he should be a red head. lol.

mayqueen said:

Patricia Bracewell (historical fiction novelist) confirms what I was thinking last night when I watched S2E7 Blood Eagle. It wasn't a real thing. Phew.

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We don't have any data to disprove it, either. There are, by the way, more than one Old Norse text referencing a ritual that involves the word eagle, and cutting a man's back; s.v. Knútsdrápa, and no, they're not all 12th century.

Then there's the iconographic evidence of the Stora Hammars stones in Gotland, Sweden.

There's still considerable debate among Old Norse scholars (by which I mean people who can read the primary sources in Old Norse), but they do generally agree that there was some kind of a ritual involving reference to an eagle (a symbol often used to refer to Odin), and cutting a man's back. Exactly what that ritual was and its purpose, like most of the Old Norse rituals, isn't really clear. It's also difficult to interpret the Skaldic reference in Knútsdrápa because, hey, poetry, more over, the saga reference in Orkneyinga is in language that suggests they're from an older poetic version. (Orkneyinga is a confusing mixture of myth, poetry, history, and outright fiction, more so than most of the sagas).

We really don't know, to be honest. There are all sorts of possibilities, including that more than one ritual has been conflated, or that an obscure poetic mythological reference has been over interpreted, or that, well, someone actually did something similar to someone else at sometime. If you do a literature search, there are quite a few dissenting opinions, but no one outright dismisses it as a ritual of some sort.

Season 3 Trailer!

I just saw the trailer for season 3! Can't wait!

Ah! I've been meaning to watch the series - I really need to start watching it. It looks very interesting!

fangirl moment.

Flaps arms....

I see lots of interesting possibilities.

omagerd ohmagerd ohmagerd!

Thanks for posting the link 00Pepper!

I really can't get over how grown up Bjorn looks now. I just watched an interview with him and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) and he looks so manly! I still think of him as a kid.

ETA:

ElaineA said:

omagerd ohmagerd ohmagerd!

Thanks for posting the link 00Pepper!

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You're welcome! I'm excited too!

I'm joining the fangirl party.

Showed the gf and she's freaking out too. Love this show.

Yes!! So excited for the new season.

It sometimes seems like the History Channel, as well as the Discovery Channel, are focusing more on presenting material in the most entertaining way they can as opposed to being primarily about the educational aspect. To me, at least, it sometimes seems like they have given up on the idea of being first and foremost educational television.

They have delved into historical fiction. They do not promote their dramatic series as "nonfiction" in any way. I still find plenty of documentaries on THC and H2.

I bugged my history major kid about not watching Vikings for months, so I finally gave in to Comcast and paid to re-watch Season 2. I made him sit with me to watch it last week before he went back to school. Seeing his interest go from a reluctant "It's okay" to "When are we going to watch the last 3 episodes???" was both hilarious (after all the time he'd poo-pooed the show) and satisfying.

I loved every second of the season the second (and in the case of the finale, 5th) time around. One thing that really stuck out after knowing what happens was how much they pack in every episode, without it ever feeling rushed or disconnected. Good storytelling technique, there. 'Course Ragnar's fjord-blue eyes do a lot of the work without him saying a word. Just sayin'...