TV: Vikings

[glovesave_35]

Did anyone else think it was strange that after Ube's fight the king rode out all the way to East Anglia to show the Danes their new lands? Like, that is a long ass way and he had just been there with Ube and the others.

 

[Neutrinos]

The Iceland bits have been the worst part of this season. Not only is the place desolate and just looks awful, but the family blood feud story line just was never very compelling.

Floki finding the cross after saying he feels the gods was pretty hilarious.

We're also not familiar with any of the characters on Iceland except Floki, so I can't imagine many viewers are interested in their struggles, or care how it gets resolved

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Did anyone else think it was strange that after Ube's fight the king rode out all the way to East Anglia to show the Danes their new lands? Like, that is a long ass way and he had just been there with Ube and the others.

I'm just imagining time lag here and there. The show's just not concerned with how long a lot of those things really took, anyway. The Great Heathen Army rampaged through England for ten years irl but on the show it's like it happened over a weekend.

Also the Iceland stuff really sucks.

 

[peate]

I knew I'd seen the big guy in Floki's gang before. Copeland used to be The Edge. I finally woke up.

 

[Neutrinos]

What a terrible finale

Why didn't they just set the wall on fire and attack once it had burned down?

And why did Ivar's lady just stand around after admitting she'd betrayed him. He's a damn cripple. Run for your life, woman!

 

[Stad]

Finale was fantastic I thought, I already can't wait for season 6.

 

[alko]

What a terrible finale

Finale was fantastic I thought, I already can't wait for season 6.

 

[Neutrinos]

So, did Floki die in the collapse?

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Why didn't they just set the wall on fire and attack once it had burned down?

My wife and I said the same thing. They shot those flame arrows and we thought they'd use a bit of strategy...but nope. It's annoying that everyone else has to be dirt stupid if Ivar is the "clever" one.

And damn, that King Olaf guy was bloody useless, wasn't he? Middle of the battle, he's sitting in chair: "Oh, come watch people's heads being beaten in, this is where brothers kill brothers, etc etc etc..." Like, c'mon, dude. You could be doing just a bit more tactically there.

 

[Jussi]

My wife and I said the same thing. They shot those flame arrows and we thought they'd use a bit of strategy...but nope. It's annoying that everyone else has to be dirt stupid if Ivar is the "clever" one.

And damn, that King Olaf guy was bloody useless, wasn't he? Middle of the battle, he's sitting in chair: "Oh, come watch people's heads being beaten in, this is where brothers kill brothers, etc etc etc..." Like, c'mon, dude. You could be doing just a bit more tactically there.

I think the wall was so heavily built that it would taken ages to burn. Plus considering the time of the year(winter), they would would have been moist (frozen) and thus wouldn't burn very well. I would not put it past Ivar to also water the outer wall to make it less flammable.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

God what a craptacular season.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I think the wall was so heavily built that it would taken ages to burn. Plus considering the time of the year(winter), they would would have been moist (frozen) and thus wouldn't burn very well. I would not put it past Ivar to also water the outer wall to make it less flammable.

The banners caught pretty fast. Maybe not just wait for them to burn down entirely, but just weaken them enough to batter down more quickly...but I guess Bjorn brought the only wimpy battering ram. But they did know about catapults, so they could have built a few and knocked some shit down either near the gates or somewhere else as a diversion...or loop a few groups around the side during the battle or during the night...it's only a wooden wall after all, they had saws, didn't they?

But both battles of Kattegat have been pretty sorely lacking in any kind of strategy department. Ivar being the only guy allowed to be smart is a big limiting factor.

 

[Jussi]

The banners caught pretty fast. Maybe not just wait for them to burn down entirely, but just weaken them enough to batter down more quickly...but I guess Bjorn brought the only wimpy battering ram. But they did know about catapults, so they could have built a few and knocked some **** down either near the gates or somewhere else as a diversion...or loop a few groups around the side during the battle or during the night...it's only a wooden wall after all, they had saws, didn't they?

But both battles of Kattegat have been pretty sorely lacking in any kind of strategy department. Ivar being the only guy allowed to be smart is a big limiting factor.

Re: the catapults, Björn made it clear that they didn't want to hurt regular folks there. And it was Ubbe who saw the catapults in action, not Björn.

But I'm not sure if you've ever tried to lit a wood in the winter, it needs to be dry to light up quickly and needs a lot of help to stay lit. Cold and wet wood doesn't light up easily. Realistically, in those condition it would have taken ages to burn down.

 

[Neutrinos]

One thing that has always bothered me about these types of attacks is the lack of cover against the archers

They could've easily built that ramming pole to include an overhead shelter, thus, sparing quite a few lives

Lazy vikings, or lazy writers, I'm not sure who's to blame for it

 

[peate]

I'm still trying to figure out how they can differentiate friends from foes in all the action.

Worse season of the bunch by far. Ragnar's brief appearance at the end made me realize how he was a major reason it was better before. Ivar of course will be back for more insanity next year, and what a dummy his wife was for letting him off her; maybe she wanted it after he killed the baby.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

The little wife was ten pounds of crazy in a five pound sack herself...maybe she believed Ivar would spare her. Or thought the gods would intervene or something...anyway the character's gone. Can't know now.

 

[glovesave_35]

All things considered, I think it was an alright finale. I didn't quite understand the bit where Bjorn is standing with the sword, zoom in then zoom out and it's covered in blood and he's kneeling. Any thoughts?

I agree that they had very little tactics going on there with their siege. That wood would not have burned well though, so I can't quite get behind that line of thinking. Aside from the attack on Paris, the vikings in this show have used very little in terms of trying to be clever.

Does anyone else not like how Ivar is portrayed? I don't know if the actor isn't very good or he was asked to act the character a certain way. I find his speeches hard to watch and harder to understand how he rose through the ranks.

Lastly, isn't Kattegat the town? What is this kingdom if everyone is a king of that place? Seems like a duchy at best.

 

[Jussi]

All things considered, I think it was an alright finale. I didn't quite understand the bit where Bjorn is standing with the sword, zoom in then zoom out and it's covered in blood and he's kneeling. Any thoughts?

I agree that they had very little tactics going on there with their siege. That wood would not have burned well though, so I can't quite get behind that line of thinking. Aside from the attack on Paris, the vikings in this show have used very little in terms of trying to be clever.

Does anyone else not like how Ivar is portrayed? I don't know if the actor isn't very good or he was asked to act the character a certain way. I find his speeches hard to watch and harder to understand how he rose through the ranks.

Lastly, isn't Kattegat the town? What is this kingdom if everyone is a king of that place? Seems like a duchy at best.

I would imagine they know that snowy/frozen wood is not going to burn very well in wintery conditions. Anyone claiming otherwise has never tried doing that.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I would imagine they know that snowy/frozen wood is not going to burn very well in wintery conditions. Anyone claiming otherwise has never tried doing that.

Yeah, but they all did know about boiling oil, though. But the point I was trying to make was just that it's just annoying that the show is determined to show Ivar (and occasionally Ubbe) as the only ones who put any thought into their battles. Ivar builds concentric rings of defense, has traps, has a backdoor...contrast with King Harald. "We should attack two gates with great violence!" Yeah okay, Harry. Thanks a bunch for that.

 

[glovesave_35]

Yeah, but they all did know about boiling oil, though. But the point I was trying to make was just that it's just annoying that the show is determined to show Ivar (and occasionally Ubbe) as the only ones who put any thought into their battles. Ivar builds concentric rings of defense, has traps, has a backdoor...contrast with King Harald. "We should attack two gates with great violence!" Yeah okay, Harry. Thanks a bunch for that.

I agree with your overall point. It comes down to lazy writing. This show could be so much better but sometimes it feels like they just don't want to bother.

 

[timbermen]

I like that it gives you incentive to look stuff up, but remember the Vikings weren't a literate people. All the stuff we know about them were second-hand accounts after the fact, usually recorded by the people whose asses they'd been kicking for decades if not centuries. There's actually some speculation that the religion we ascribe to them wasn't in fact what they really believed. Swear by wikipedia.

But decent season opener, although I'm finding myself really not caring about Floki's new settlement in Iceland. Glad that we get to carry on the story.

You really need to read the Icelandic Saga's. A unique body of literature , the Sagas rank with the worlds great literary treasures. As epic as Homer , As deep in Tragedy as Sophocles and engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of the last millennium, theses stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norsemen and women who first settles Iceland and of their descendants , who ventured further west to Greenland and ultimately, the coast of North America. The Sagas are not typical heroic literature, but rather tales of flesh and blood people burdened with a heroic legacy. They should make a series out of the Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson . My favourite Saga , it spans 150 years. Written in the 13th century , they shouldn't change a thing. Stick to original writing.
Egil's Saga - Wikipedia

 

[timbermen]

I'm just imagining time lag here and there. The show's just not concerned with how long a lot of those things really took, anyway. The Great Heathen Army rampaged through England for ten years irl but on the show it's like it happened over a weekend.

Also the Iceland stuff really sucks.

Did you read the Icelandic Sagas yet? Do you read at all? These Saga's are the real deal , not the crap these garbage writers come up with on the Vikings.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Did you read the Icelandic Sagas yet? Do you read at all? These Saga's are the real deal , not the crap these garbage writers come up with on the Vikings.

Yeah, I read. Thanks.

 

[timbermen]

Yeah, I read. Thanks.

Read those Sagas , i guarantee you won't be disappointed. You'll see how badly the writers of this show have botched the real history. It's almost like they don't want admit a lot of the ideas they've had come directly from the Icelandic Sagas.

 

[TimeZone]

All things considered, I think it was an alright finale. I didn't quite understand the bit where Bjorn is standing with the sword, zoom in then zoom out and it's covered in blood and he's kneeling. Any thoughts?

I agree that they had very little tactics going on there with their siege. That wood would not have burned well though, so I can't quite get behind that line of thinking. Aside from the attack on Paris, the vikings in this show have used very little in terms of trying to be clever.

Does anyone else not like how Ivar is portrayed? I don't know if the actor isn't very good or he was asked to act the character a certain way. I find his speeches hard to watch and harder to understand how he rose through the ranks.

Lastly, isn't Kattegat the town? What is this kingdom if everyone is a king of that place? Seems like a duchy at best.

Im sorry, what? Alex has been one of the very few highlights of a pretty mediocre Season. He does a great job of portraying the unhinged, mentally unstable sociopath that is Ivar The Boneless.

Probably the strangest comment I've read in this thread.