Post: #26

Post: #27

I don't watch much TV but I am enjoying this series.

Post: #28

I'm halfway down season two now and all I can say is that season 2 is even better than the first. There's less drama and religious crap and this season has the masculinity oozing from the screen.

I find this show lots better than Game of Thrones which I'm also following. That show has too many storylines and uninteresting characters and the liberal political correctness is getting worse every season.

I love how Vikings keeps the plotlines simple and deepens the characters. Less is more. The nature and the way that the show is edited makes it very powerful.

Spoiler alert.

Ragnar son has the worlds most beta game. He walks up to a (slave) girl and asks her two questions: where for you life? and do you have a boyfriend?

Made me laugh and think of the rvf

Post: #29

I finished the finale last night.
I love the show.. Been watching it since it first came out


I don't really wanna talk about it though since I know a lot of people haven't seen it

Post: #30

Big fan of this show since working with a dude a few months ago who recommended it.

There are pros & cons (as already highlighted) but it's well done all up.

What was most interesting to me is that the lead Ragnar is played by Australian male model Travis Fimmel, who you might remember laying about in his jocks for Calvin Klein in the 90's. Don't wanna post the pic due to no homo triggering

I much prefer to see him using his time & masculinity for a decent acting role than his previous incarnation. In a lot of ways, while there will be obvious comparisons with GoT, I am liking this show more than the latter.

Post: #31

Dig the show aswell. Gonna save the last season for my next long distance flight.

However, the usage of languages in the series might be confusing for some watchers.
Lot of switching there.

And in what language are the Vikings speaking in? To me it doesn't sound like any of the current Nordic languages.

Post: #32

Mild Spoiler Alert

The girl-power thing is going completely overboard in the third season. What started off as 100% male raiding bands on the British isles are now fully integrated armies featuring man-slaying axe-wielding females. Some of these latest battle scenes devote ~30% or more of camera shots to Viking women kicking ass as part of the general melee.

What's more ridiculous, apparently the Vikings had special forces, and these special forces are 100% female! I'm talking about the scene in one of the last few episodes of Season 3 where a band of Viking women infiltrates enemy defenses and opens the initial breach for the larger Viking army to exploit. And no, they don't do it by using feminine guile/innocuousness to sneak in; rather they are just depicted as being extremely stealthy and lethal!

This shit is really starting to detract from my enjoyment of the show. I used to enjoy watching the battles somewhat, but now that literally 30% of the Viking army is women, I struggle to not roll my eyes during the fighting scenes. Dark age warfare was carried out with sword, axes, and shields in massed formations. Your effectiveness as a combatant was basically 80% about the body weight you could put behind that shield and axe, and the remaining 20% about courage and skill. Even today, with fire-arms serving as a powerful equalizer, women are completely useless as front line troops. To portray them as playing an integral role during dark age battles that were about pure brute strength is mind numbingly retarded.

Post: #33

Just finished watching season 3. What a finale!

Still I must say that season 3 is a bit like season 1 with way more religious nonsense and drama. I also found the use of the soft lens technique highly annoying. I don't remember this much use of it in season 2. Or any use of it actually.

I was less annoyed by the woman fighting. It is unlikely that they can do that well in battle but on the other hand, those days were very different from now. Women used to be tougher (especially those viking women) and not the little princesses we have today.

Also, its television and not be taken that seriously. It can't be any worse than 100 pound Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribean or 90 pound Angelina Jolie in Salt (damn, she was skinny in that flick)

I noticed that in season 3 the vikings abandoned their shield wall technique and nearly all battles were open battles. I found that weird, they wouldn't just give up a well working technique like that.

Post: #34

(04-27-2015 07:52 AM)Spike Wrote:  Just finished watching season 3. What a finale!

Still I must say that season 3 is a bit like season 1 with way more religious nonsense and drama. I also found the use of the soft lens technique highly annoying. I don't remember this much use of it in season 2. Or any use of it actually.

I was less annoyed by the woman fighting. It is unlikely that they can do that well in battle but on the other hand, those days were very different from now. Women used to be tougher (especially those viking women) and not the little princesses we have today.

Also, its television and nor be taken that seriously. It can't be any worse than 100 pound Keira Knightley in Piratesvof the Caribean or 90 pound Angelina Jolie in Salt (damn, she was skinny in that flick)

I noticed that in season 3 the vikings abandoned their shield wall technique and nearly all battles were open battles. I found that weird, they wouldn't just give up a well working technique like that.

Because of this thread, I did some online research and found a pretty good source for information on the role of women in Viking society (http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles...omen.htm).

Here is the tldr summary: Vikings were red pill. The women were tough and responsible for everything in the home, the men were responsible for everything outside it. There is no evidence whatsoever that women would participate in combat and it is very unlikely.

Here are some quotable bits:

Quote:Although our sources of information are limited, it's clear that the roles of men and women in Norse society were quite distinct. Norse society was male dominated. Each gender had a set of expected behaviors, and that line could not be crossed with impunity. I think it just as unlikely that a man would weave cloth as that a woman would participate in a Viking raid. Women did not participate in trading or raiding parties (although they clearly participated in journeys of exploration and settlement to places such as Iceland and Vínland). Women's responsibilities were clearly defined to be domestic. Members of either sex who crossed the gender line were, at very least, ostracized by society. Some cross-gender behaviors were strictly prohibited by law. The medieval Icelandic lawbook Grágás (K 254) prohibits women from wearing men's clothes, from cutting their hair short, or from carrying weapons.

On one hand, a woman was, by law, under the authority of her husband or father. She had only limited freedom to dispose of property belonging to her. She was prohibited from participating in most political or governmental activities. She could not be a goði (chieftain). She could not be a judge. She could not be a witness. She could not speak at þing (assemblies)

Quote:The day to day responsibilities of women included: food preparation and serving; housekeeping and laundry; child care; milking and dairy chores; and clothes making, from spinning and weaving to cutting and sewing. The dividing line between men's and women's responsibilities typically was located at the doorway to the house; women were in charge of everything indoors while everything outdoors was the responsibility of the men.

Quote:One common role of women in the sagas is as an inciter. The goading scene is a classic in the saga literature. Women frequently goaded men to act, to take revenge, when the men might otherwise have been content to do nothing. The women are much harder than the men, even more eager to protect the family's honor. Perhaps this is due to the woman's passive role, which prevented her from acting herself.

In chapter 116 of Brennu-Njáls saga, Hildigunnur incited her uncle Flosi to avenge the killing of her husband Höskuldr by flinging her husband's bloody cloak onto Flosi's shoulders. Clotted blood from the cloak rained down on Flosi. He responded, "Cold are the counsels of women." Flosi later took revenge for Höskuldr's death by burning Njáll and his family in their home.

Quote:It was considered shameful in the extreme to harm a woman, and examples in the sagas of such violence are rare. In chapter 48 of Brennu-Njáls saga, Gunnar, in a fit of rage, slapped his wife Hallgerður in the face. He did this when he discovered his wife had stolen food from a nearby farm during a famine. (Theft was abhorrent in Norse society.) Hallgerður said she would remember that slap and pay him back.

Some years later, in chapter 77, Gunnar was attacked in his home by vengeance seekers. He kept the attack party at bay with a shower of arrows from his bow. When his bow string was cut by one of the attackers, he asked Hallgerðr for two locks of her hair in order to make a new one.

"Does anything depend on it?" she asked.
"My life," replied Gunnar.
"Then I remind you of the slap you once gave me," and she refused to give him the hair.
"Each has his own way of earning fame," said Gunnar.

Gunnar was eventually overcome by the attackers and killed.

Women were excluded from these kinds of attacks on a household. It was a grave dishonor for a man to injure a woman, even accidentally, in an attack on a household. And if, for instance, a house were going to be burned to kill the occupants, women and children were allowed to leave without injury. In chapter 129 of Brennu-Njáls saga, Flosi invited the women and children to leave Njál's house after it had been set afire. Many chose to leave, but Njál's wife Bergþóra refused, saying that in marriage, she promised to share the same fate as her husband. They both perished in the fire.

Post: #35

Season Four Trailer:





see you in a year.

Post: #36

Just finished season 2 that I got from a buddy. Mindblowing! Winnick for sure looks like Scarlett. And I thought Game of Thrones was good, this is way better.

Post: #37

Who is ready for season 4 though?

Post: #38

Right here. Never miss an episode. Though they take a few historical liberties and promote some sjw agendas (e.g. way too many shieldmaidens), there's only so much one can do to change viking history. Anyhow, can't wait!

Post: #39

(04-25-2015 11:27 PM)Chaos Wrote:  And in what language are the Vikings speaking in? To me it doesn't sound like any of the current Nordic languages.

Could be authentic Old Norse. They're definitely using the peculiar modern Icelandic terminal-r at times (a trilled r overlaid with a soft h). Old Norse and modern Icelandic are quite similar as I understand it - easy to see them simply "casting" the modern language in that role.

I'll second the observations about Travis Fimmell as an actor. He doesn't even have to say anything, just twitch his eye or flash that unsettlingly psychotic half-smirk. His performance (along with Skarsgaard's) makes the show worth watching, whatever it's flaws in storytelling and dialogue and historical accuracy.

As for plotting, I'm not sure if it's intentional but the show seems to present its story much the way the actual sagas work - many sagas are simply chronicles of what this or that Norseman did, and so like the show are just a recitation of events. Very few use the familiar structures and conventions of Western literature and historiography, which were just emerging at the time the sagas were recorded. So while you may get exaggerations and contrivances to enhance the characters and make the story more exciting, you don't get recurrent motifs, metaphors, allegory, or other literary devices. They're more literal than literature, more documentary than drama.

Post: #40

Off topic. Is there a thread on Power and Empire? Power>Empire.

Post: #41

Season 4 starts tonight? Awesome.

Post: #42

I've also come to enjoy this show more than GoT, and the season 3 finale was pretty amazing.

Like you guys, I am put off by the increasingly pervasive role of shieldmaidens, especially considering the fact that there is very little historical evidence to support such nonsense. The few accounts that do exist point to the fact that women taking up arms in battle was far from the norm, and perhaps only happened a handful of times during extreme circumstances. They certainly didn't play important roles in viking warfare on a regular basis. Thus, some of the recent battle scenes have been pretty cringeworthy. Unfortunately it will probably just get worse moving forward.

Still, I'm enjoying it very much for what it is...an entertaining show with excellent casting and filming/editing, plus a compelling story line. Can't wait for season 4 to start!

Post: #43

I thought shieldmaiden was just something the women did when participating in a celebration. Like shriners in a parade.

Post: #44

Love this show. It's production values are so high and it's casting, plot and screenplay are all top notch.

I love the opening sound track as well.

Really looking forward to the new season!

Post: #45

Really like the opening track as well. It is a great show, funny that they are not trying to be historically accurate, on History channel...

My prediction is that Athelstan is still alive, He is going to have revived days later after being burried and start converting the heathens.

Post: #46

Season 4 starts February 18th. I'm ready to see if Rollo betrays Ragnar again. Trying to steal Ragnars ever growing glory after he conquered the impenetrable city of Paris.

If Rollo does I think it will lead to his downfall to show jealousy and dishonor among men leads to weakness and negative outcomes. Rollo may seek an alliance with the King of England to take out Ragnar as well since both will have 2 separate kingdoms to rule without Viking interference.

I agree that Athelstan will rise from the dead as he is obviously a symbol for Christ with his earlier crucifixion.

Post: #47

It's baaaaack. Going to watch the first episode after work later.

Post: #48

Thank the gods

Post: #49

(02-19-2016 10:16 PM)Sourcecode Wrote:  Thank the gods

Post: #50

pretty good first season 4 episode. I think a lot of actionable shit is gonna happen this season. More blood,...