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green

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Posts posted by green

  1. I missed the pain connection for the drugs.  I thought it was recreational.  Anyone else remember?  Is Ragnar really just a metaphor for America's problem with opioids?  Is that what we're being shown?  That unintentional (on Ragnar's part; I'm not sure about Yidu's) addiction to pain medication has been a problem for hundreds of years and detrimental to society?

     

    That's sort of -- clumsy -- even for this show.

     

    No, Ragnar was in big time pain and Yidu offered up her herbs to him.  They work but they are addictive.  If that matches modern day America, so what.  America's latest drug problem isn't some new thing that came out of nowhere.  Narcotics have always been with us.  This current wave is only new to TV reporters looking for something to report on I guess.

     

    Now if you think the premise is being handled clumsily in it's execution that is another story of course.  I think there have been a few clumsy missteps in this story line myself.  But I think it is good the show didn't have Ragnar healed the very next episode like a lot of TV series would do too.  Remember Thorsten?   His wound caused him to have to have his arm amputated.  There wasn't many choices if you were a wounded warrior back in the day and I'm glad this series is showing that.

     

    Upon further evaluation of the script, wonder if the Romans will eventually be engaged by the Northmen. Boy would that be a mistake! Would make for a great series finale.

     

    The Roman Empire fell about 400 years before where we are in history's timeline.  Aka mid 400's and we are now in the mid 800's.  And Ecbert pointed out in Season 2 that the people in England had basically lost all memory of the Romans ascribing the ancient ruins even then (and his still amazingly functioning bath house) to mythic giants instead.  One of the reasons the Vikings were so successful was that in the Dark Ages there was no great power in western Europe to unite their various peoples against raiders and invaders of all kinds including our intrepid Vikings.

    • Love 6
  2. I have no problems with the spin of the drug addiction plot because it's interesting and it has already been established that the Vikings are no strangers to hallucinogenics nor do they think they are taboo.  (Except, the difference is at Uppsala, the drugs were used in accord with religious experiences.  Ragnar's addiction to Yidu's leaves appears, at first, to be recreational and now damn dangerous to everyone around him.)

     

    I thought his addiction has grown out of his need for "pain pills" on the day.  That's how/why he started taking the betel nuts; his war wounds from Paris that have continued to plague him with intense chronic pain.  The "fun" part of the the betel nuts is icing on the cake of the primary pain killing need. 

     

    Also, what happened to the huge wall surrounding Paris? Did I miss something there?

     

     

    They weren't anywhere near Paris in this episode.  The battle took place miles and miles down river from Paris by the two defensive towers that were built per Rollo's recommendations at a strategic point in the Seine to prevent the Viking ships from getting anywhere close to Paris.

    • Love 6
  3. ^  Well the write-up does say Ragnar beaches the fleet and comes up with "an Ingenious plan."  Couple that with the title and not being at all spoiled myself that is all I can come up with putting 2 + 2 together.

     

    I kind of wish the write-up wasn't so detailed cause I can't help but click on the link.  I just can't.  Better if it was more like "Another person is voted off the island" or the Viking equivalent like "This week, more blood is shed".

    • Love 2
  4. And who was the dude that led the attack on the Viking women and children? <sarcasm>He was a stunning example of heroism, wasn't he?</sarcasm>

     

    That was Roland, Odo's chief lieutenant who is busy betraying Odo to the Emperor on the side.  And to be fair, all armies try and attack the rear of their enemy if they can.  In this case it destroys the Vikings' food store and spare weapon supplies and is a tactically sound strategy.  Yeah it involved a lot of slaughter of non-warriors but most wars usually kill more unarmed people than soldiers especially modern day wars.  Sad but true.

     

    I agree that we have emotional connection with the Viking characters we have lived with over 4 seasons now but still can support the Franks (and the Saxons before them ) being the victims defending themselves.  The only person I have zero sympathy for is Rollo.  He is a freaking traitor who only fights for the Franks not out of nobly wanting to save an innocent people from attack but rather because he sold his soul for power and name and fame.  The worst sort of scum of the earth.

     

    I like Wigstad (Wigstan? Wigsted?).  Okay Wiggy for now until I learn the spelling.  He is "opposite-Rollo".  He has seen what the bloody quest for power and fame has done and is dropping out of that stupid trip.  Good for him. 

     

    I tend to admire the characters who have the least interest in silly stuff like power and fame which is one of the reasons Athelstan was always my favorite.  Helga (glad she survived) is in that category too.  A good-hearted person who has perhaps the most common sense of any of the characters we've seen.  Love how her character has grown and deepened over the seasons.  And Judith in the sense she chose learning art over power when Ecberrt gave her a choice of a wish.  Hope Wiggy remains as a character in this show as I add him to this short list for now.

     

    I really like the Viking storyline minus "Aslaug in Heat" and the Wessex one.  (Loved the Wessex preview for next week).  Hope the Frankia one will stop taking up too much screen time now that Ragnar is "attacking down river" which means he is retreating back to the sea since that is down river.

    • Love 2
  5. http://vikings.wikia.com/wiki/The_Seer

     

    Here's the short version of the rest of your questions:  In Season 1 Kattegat was ruled by Jarl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne).  Siggy was his wife.  Ragnar killed him and became the reluctant king.  Siggy bowed to Ragnar with the rest and remained in Kattegat.  She hooked up with Rollo for self-preservation and became as scheming as her character on Glee. She played both sides of the fence.  Readers, feel free to make any corrections.

     

    Not a correction but just adding Ragnar was forced to kill the Earl since Haraldsen was gunning for him and nearly killed him earlier.  The Earl was too conservative and worried to risk sailing west to a "rumored" land named England and Ragnar was leading the faction that wanted to go there which was how the whole split started.

     

    What you saw in this last episode in the shoreline vision was Vikings circa Season One, around Episode Three or Four maybe.  Ragnar's old farm with Lagertha and little Bjorn and little Gyeda and Athelstan standing there in the springtime of Ragnar's life when all things seemed possible.

     

    I would so SO highly recommend downloading the first two seasons which, to me, are far better than these last two seasons. 

     

    The awesome chemistry between Ragnar and Lagertha when they were married is worth it alone.  And the beginnings is everything to understanding anything happening these last two seasons.  The reasons (albeit bad) behind Rollo's and Floki's behaviors are all rooted there.  And Ecbert's too starting in Season 2.  And of course Lagertha's as well.  And Athelstan is still my favorite character in the whole series.

    • Love 5
  6. Scot will reunite wuth Jason and Cydney so Tai will become ... the fourth in a 4 people alliance, exactly what he wanted to avoid when he voted Anna off. So stupid. Plus he has the idol so these people will manipulate him in a way so they use it to their advantage. I would not be surprised to see Tai become the new Erik...

     

    Tai never ever EVER was the 4th in the girls' "alliance."  And he never wanted to avoid being a 4th.  He would be more than happy to be a 4th in any alliance for the time being since he had no alliance period.  And being a 4th is a good seat of power actually.  Because something always happens along the way and the factions within an alliance court the "4th" anyway.

     

    You keep repeatedly saying he was the 4th in the girls' alliance but you never ever explain why you think he was.  They made it quite clear he wasn't.  They made it clear they were going to take him out before the tribal switch probably saved him.  He made it clear when the tribal switch was announced he thought just that too.

     

    And having the idol and making the merge with it is a good thing; not a bad thing.

     

    Will he win?  Probably not.  But that is all about him being too likable to have in the final three.  Not that he will get played by the Brawns or anyone else.

     

    His one threat is he has an idol.  But because of the superidol rule his threat could also become a plus to others so getting him out because he has an idol is canceled out by not getting him out because he has an idol that could become a superidol one day.  And only Scot knows that right now but his alliance has an idol too.  So they should be protecting him for now.

     

    So for now Tai is in a great position.  Because with the merge we move into the "challenge monsters" perceived threats and the top plotters and planners needing to take each other out asap.  Tai is neither so he should float along under the radar just fine and dandy for some time.  As the numbers dwindle he becomes a Sandra-like power vote.  Again the others won't want him in the final three next to them but I can see him making the final four or five at least.

    • Love 7
  7. I know Aethelwulf can be not so great but I don't think he deserves to see his dead momma's ring on his wife's hand knowing his daddy gave it to her as a token of his love/commitment.

     

    Since Ecbert said his wife died in child birth (Athelwulf's I assume) and that he has never used her ring since I would say Athelwulf wouldn't know what the ring was.

  8. Was Rollo supposed to marry Princess GrumpyFrank or did that turn of events come about after Ragnar left?  I find myself wondering why Ragnar is surprised to find that Rollo has gone native.  If Ragnar had any expectation of being welcomed back because he left his brother behind,married to the daughter of the king, then wasn't it a bit impolitic to slaughter the first Franks they encountered?  And don't even get me started on how quickly Rollo learned a new language.  Nothing makes sense.

     

    No, Rollo wasn't suppose to marry Gisla when Ragnar departed back to Kattegat.  Rollo and the remaining Vikings were left there it to keep the road to Paris open for next year's raid. The Franks approached Rollo with "an offer he couldn't refuse" long after Ragnar left.

     

    And Ragnar didn't leave Rollo in charge of the Viking guard outside of Paris.  He was wounded and it was Bjorn's decision.  Thus their argument over same that helped lead to Bjorn doing his turn at a wilderness TV series.  Remember Ragnar upset at Bjorn for his decision.  Bjorn defended Rollo saying he was his uncle.  Ragnar replied he couldn't be trusted because he was his brother implying he knew Rollo way better than Bjorn as in the Jarl Borg betrayal and Rollo's lifetime of being insanely jealous of Ragnar in general.  So Ragnar pretty much assumed to find what he has found.  It was Bjorn who looked most upset this episode screaming in Rollo's direction.

     

    Regarding Ragnar's drug of choice, I just read this elsewhere...  "omg He's not on opium people! lol I just previously stated opium isn't a hallucinogenic and is smoked. Yidu is giving him betel nuts. It's cut up, rolled into a leaf/vine and eaten. It's also known to turn your saliva red and is HIGHLY addictive [hence the reason for Ragnar's recent bright colored teeth and lips]"

     

    Yes I agree.  It was pretty clear last episode it was betel nuts because there was that scene in that episode where Harold introduces his brother to a distracted, knife throwing Ragnar who has super red lips and red drool running down his chin.

     

    I like that when Ragnar got badly injured at Paris from that fall off the wall and the wound before he fell that he didn't heal up the very next episode.  And that he was left with very bad chronic pain that has lead to a drug addiction dealing with same.  Right out of today's endless news stories and documentaries as well.

     

    And when I say "like" I mean it changed him forever.  He can never go back to being pain free and his "old self" which is how life is for real unlike on most TV shows where wounds and pain addiction are flavor of the week episodes.

     

    Some people above mentioned how Sigurd Snake Eye was "mean" to little Siggy.  I don't think he was mean so much as puzzled or upset or even alarmed.  He immediately ran back in as if to get his mother to help take care of the situation which is where both he and us got a little distracted as viewers as we see Norma nursing little Norman (whoops, wrong "psycho" kid) in bed.

    • Love 3
  9. I don't recall Lagertha confirming she was pregnant in this episode. On the contrary, it seemed like she was avoiding giving Ragnar a straight answer to mess with him.

    And yeah Ragnar looks for real hooked. He now has a real Achilles heel which was needed to make him human again and not always Superman.

    His vision along the river of his family and Athelstan from season one was both lovely and sad. I too would like to return to season one again.

    • Love 3
  10. Actually, I like Judith--and am fascinated with Eckbert--does he really love her, because it appears he does. It's not a believable story line with her touching scriptures only meant for monks, but hey--it's ok.  I like Wessex a hell of a lot better than Frankia,

     

    I've liked Judith from the get go and still do.  I think she is this season's version of Athelstan with the more advanced for her age pov.  I think Ecbert does love her for real ... as much as Ecbert is able to love.  She is his female Athelstan (the only other person he seemed to ever love) who gave him Alfred who is a combination of the two people he loved and his hope for the future. 

     

    Would he throw her under the bus for power?  Sure.  We just saw him throw God under the bus for same in this episode.  But he probably doesn't want to have to do that with her.  Wessex is getting very very interesting.  Love that whole story line big time.

    • Love 3
  11. Even Floki seemed stunned that Ivar axed that kid in the head though.  

     

     

    Yeah when you stun Floki like that you are one bada** little sociopath viking.  Aslaug's "it's okay, it's not your fault" was almost more creepy than the actual murder.

     

    I've never understood why people want more violence but complain about sex scenes, and I particularly don't understand people calling it "soft core porn" when it was quite tame, both by the standards of cable and this show. Sex was equally as important to Viking culture as fighting was.

     

    I hate porn; soft, hard or middling.  I hate all soap opera romance novel stuff.  I love all the battle scenes.  I love all the plotting scenes.  We all have different likes and dislikes.  So for me I vote that bathtub scene the worst scene in the entire history of the show.  It was boring.  It was gross.  And it lasted for hours and hours and hours and made me sleepy. 

     

    Thank goodness I managed to stay awake though for the two best scenes:  "Ivar the Little Bloody Sociopath" and "Lagertha Always Keeps Her Promises."   (Too bad her nice dress got all messed up with Kalf-stuff all over it though).  And I definitely didn't see that coming either.  Excellent scene.  Erlunder is so in the deep doo-doo he had better make himself scarce sooner than later.  And he has it so wrong that his now former wife will be spying for him.  Dude is batting below the Mendoza line at this point.

     

    Meanwhile I'm really liking how Bjorn (and the actor playing same) is starting to command the screen more and holds focus.  That is most promising for the show as it moves into the future.  Wonder who will be cast to play Ivar the Adult Scary Stone Cold Killer Dude.  (Axes, don't leave home without one).

     

    I still love all 4 of the Wessex group.  Athelwulf is more interesting since his fall from his values.  And unlike some of the posters here I really really like Judith.  Still love Ecbert the most.  Smiled at the candle going out with the palm of the hand bit as a shout-out to the well-known scene Robert Bolt wrote early in Lawrence of Arabia.  Liked his interaction with Queen Crazy where she doesn't trust him because the two of them are too much alike.  Yes they are but Ecbert does his plotting far more subtle-like.  Kwen should take notes.  Interesting we saw Alfred and Magnus together playing in King Alle's carriage right before he departed.

     

    Frankia continues to bore.  It continues to bring the show down though that horrible, boring, long, never-ending bathtub scene actually made those Frankish scenes come in as second worst this week.

     

    The actor playing King Harold hasn't impressed yet.  He needs to step his game up.  But love all the plotting going on in Scandinavia (as well as Wessex).   So is Floki with King Harold for real unlike his playing King Horik?  Will having yourself stretched out for days with ice water dripping on your head cause you to finally flip sides? 

     

    I noticed Helga didn't seem comfortable with Floki blabbing away with Harold in that scene where they meet.  She was also horrified at what Ivar did and was the only one to run over to the other child right away.  Helga continues to grow as a character as she grows conflicted.

     

    The bathtub scene was making this the worst episode ever but little bloody Ivar and big bloody Lagertha saved the episode in the end.  Love the return of Lagertha as "Earl Ingstad" (sp?) with her loyal female praetorian guard at her side. 

     

    Looks like next week the vikings are off to do what vikings do together.  Can't wait.

    • Love 4
  12. Tai has no strategy. 3 brain - 2 beauty - 1 brawn + 1 beauty on the way.

     

    This means, save the one beauty (Anna) with your idol. Get rid of a brain (Peter).

     

    What you have after Julia joins is:

     

    3 beauty - 2 brain - 1 brawn

     

    Even if you lose the next immunity challenges you still have the numbers to make it to the merge.

     

    Am I too smart or is there something I'm missing?

     

    Yeah I think you are.  Save your idol as long as possible.  Far better to save the idol and make the merge with it still with you. 

     

    They are down to 12 after tonight's vote.  With a final 3 that leaves 9 others.  How big is the jury usually?  Doesn't this mean next week is the merge?  I'm not spoiled.  I don't know.  But seems it is about this time in the game they usually do it, right?  So no one should be thinking of some new tribal alliance long term at this point.  Just surviving that TC shown tonight or at most one more challenge and possible (only if you lose) TC before making the merge.

     

    So I think Tai did absolutely the right thing.  He didn't blow his idol for nothing because now he has:

     

    (1) Saved the idol because the merge happens next.  Tai isn't seen an a immunity monster and can fly under the radar in a Sandra scenario with an idol in hand.  Or,

     

    (2) The merge doesn't happen until after another TC and his tribe wins so he is still safe like in (1) above.  Or,

     

    (3) There is one more TC and his tribe loses but the Brains start to break apart because 2 days has passed and this sort of thing can easily happen in that time span so Tai is no longer the target.  Or,

     

    (4) Worst case there is another TC and his tribe loses and the Brains stay together and go after Tai instead of the other "new" Beauty or Scot.  Tai has his idol to turn the tables.  He still gets to the merge and "disappears" as the plotters busily stab at each other and forget about him.

     

    Tai is shown to be in no alliance.  The idol is his only real ally.  It was huge he kept it.  He is no threat after the merge unless people find out he has an idol.  So far only Scot knows for sure and he sees using Tai and his idol in a possible superidol scenario so he isn't going to tell anyone yet.  Maybe the other two Brawns but I doubt he'd even say anything to them unless there is a need to know.

     

    Also Scot was seen to bond with Tai so Tai gives him an ally to use along with the other 2 Brawns but for his own agenda as in Tai seems loyal to him.  I see Scot keeping the heat off Tai for the next few eliminations at the very least.

     

    In other news Probst is one sicko thinking that weirdly unnaturally looking fake boob poker woman is someone anyone wants to see come back.

    • Love 8
  13. Fun! you have wonderful images in your head and they're brilliant!!! Keep bringing them on :)

     

    Well I saw a hunchback devil dwarf on the right poking at a woman with her large intestine hanging right below her neck on the right.

     

    Forgot to get this in a quote box but piewarmer I think said:  "And I swear I saw a lizard with lips."  I say twas strange it wasn't on that dude's back too.

    • Love 3
  14. Athelstan!  He was definitely the highlight of the episode.  I miss his voice of reason and ... well "mercy" on the show.  Glad for the cameo in this episode though.

     

    Way to go, Erlunder.  Give the Berserker your late daddy's ring so that Bjorn will know who to wreck vengeance on when he finds it on said future dead Berserker's body.  (No spoilers, just the fact the Berserker isn't in the title credits, hint).

     

    I knew from people here and wiki that Bjorn slaying the bear was a big deal in the sagas.  Glad they got to mark that off of Bjorn's bucket-list this episode.  And interesting they had the foresite to set all this up in season one was it or early season two where Bjorn wanted to test himself in the wilderness but Lagertha's lousy and late husband #2 forbade it.  Bjorn needed to do this testing because while doing well in the big battle with the Saxons and at Paris he always had his father having his back.  He has to earn his spurs for himself to be able to trust himself.

     

    And what a reaction from Ragnar when he "knew".  Pride yet sorrow as in the raven left Kattegat and flew off in Bjorn's direction meaning Ragnar knows Bjorn will start to ascend now which means he will start to wane.  The torch is passed type of moment.  And what the Seer predicted so long ago about the fame of father and son had to come back to him.

     

    In other news Aslaug doesn't want to talk about a certain Wanderer.  Especially in front of the kids.  Since it has been quite awhile and she hasn't become pregnant looks like she got no parting gift from the Wanderer either.  So much for producing a demi-god.

     

    Another good set-up for this season came in last.  Then we saw Athelwulf get more than a little intrigued during his "diplomatic" mission to Crazypants.  Especially when she showed him a whip.  Opposites attract too as in staunch but repressed Christian and happy hedonist "Christian" pagan.   Now if all comes together in that weird, crazy way that is the Dark Ages.

     

    Love seeing Judith doing something women couldn't do back in the day.  So much more fun innocently painting than intriguing and backstabbing and other usual nobility stuff of that ilk.  Ecbert seems to care for her too but he cares for himself number one and young Alfred number two.  I wonder if he thinks Magnus is a number three or failed to find any proof in his looks that either he or Ragnar was his father when he greeted him this episode.

     

    Meanwhile in Paris both Gisla and Rollo throw yet more hissy fits.  Yawn.

    • Love 3
  15. How was Eric lying?  The show did not show us he was in the least.  Instead we see him not fighting back even when attacked until he saw his wife and small child brutally murdered before his eyes.  Only then did he rise up and fight.  Eric was totally loyal to Rollo until it was too late.

    • Love 1
  16. Actually, Queen Crazypants did do the deed with Ragnar. Right after she peed on his wound. I just watched that episode again. That's not to say it is Ragnar's son. She does get around.

     

    Really?  I stand corrected than.  I guess I couldn't imagine a person, not even Ragnar, that wounded (and peed upon) having either the time or the energy to "satisfy" Crazypants.

     

    And yeah if Ubbe is 13 then he has already become a man as in Bjourn got his adult wrist torc right after he turned 12 in the very first episode of the series.  Twelve seems to be a pretty traditional age in most cultures then, and in more ancient times, to be considered a man. 

     

    You got to remember that 30 was middle-aged and 40 was old and only a minority even reached 40.  The modern era is the exception to the rule of man's history where traditionally armies would not be commanded by gray-haired generals but rather by younger men in their 20's and even late teens.  But for TV and films you can' t really tilt the age shown to be too historically accurate because most viewers aren't much into history and wouldn't believe the age differences between then and now so they would find it a bit too weird and unbelievable.

    • Love 4
  17. I'm not a constant TAR viewer, but I am loving this season! Which maybe just means I need to go back and watch earlier seasons because the consensus seems to be that they were much better?

     

     

    Check out seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5 for the "amazing" part of what The Amazing Race used to be about.  Season 5 was when the started with all the team vs team u-turn crap.  But it's Racers overcame that garbage it was so well cast.

     

    Back then you felt like you got to know teams as they had actual conversations going on and not just sound bites shouted out.  The music enhanced the Race; didn't drown it out or try to pump up everything happening like it was all life and death ever 3 seconds.  man is that annoying. 

     

    You saw some of the down time at pit stops when they were still allowed to "eat, sleep and mingle."  You had solid clock times on the screen.  They let the Racers out into the world more with more choices of where/how to travel to the next clue box and less on a short leash like they do now.   Sure there were some mactors that got into the Race even then but less (except season 4 which I didn't recommend of the first 5 seasons for that reason) and more real people like you and me.

     

    Season 1 is the pioneer season with some rough edges that got better a couple of episodes in but also teams that had NO idea what they were getting into so it was fun seeing how they had to learn everything on the fly.  Season 2 is my favorite though by a slim margin.  Seasons 3 and 5 (along with 1) are all closely right behind it though.

     

    And the teams seemed excited to be in the Race.  As opposed to the eliminated brothers this episode who just seemed totally apathetic the whole time.  Just seemed that after over 25 seasons they would have checked out some past seasons before going on the Race even if they were a recruited team that never saw the show before.  I'm guessing at the latter but when you enter an airport and stroll around and not rush to the counter it seems obvious to me you never saw a single episode before.

     

    The tasks this season just seem more important than the racing part.  That just throws the balance so far off.  It's sinking to Survivor's endless, endless, ENDLESS puzzles (not fire) represents life in this game levels at this point.  But without the ability to get to know the teams.  At least on Survivor they still do that.  Let you get to assign some personality traits and backgrounds to members of their casts and those members certainly do interact as well.  No more of that on TAR where "eat, sleep and mingle" disappeared when they weren't allowed to do same anymore ... dumb move. 

     

    And this season apparently everyone spends their entire life on YouTube and has no other traits, interests or real jobs.  And all but the two token parents seem to be in the exact same age range.  Maybe the one couple that came in third is a little older but in the main they are all so samey and impossible for me to tell apart in the main though the frisbee guys at least get some fresh air in real life.  No so much the others. 

     

    (Trivia:  The grandson of the guy who invented the frisbee was in TAR1 though the grandfather apparently didn't make any money from it because he thought it was a silly idea and something to do for fun with his friends was all.  And when his friends pressed him he apparently told them basically to go ahead and try to market it if they wanted but he wasn't interested in being in on any of it).

    • Love 8
  18. The legs seem very short and uncomplicated, to me. Were they always like this, or are they being edited in a way that just makes it seem like that?

     

    Legs on TAR have been getting shorter and shorter as the seasons go by.  Now it is just fly into somewhere and run around a little in that location then fly to another location.  No more driving yourself across Portugal and Spain and hoping the ferryboat to Morocco.  No more 12 to 24 hour bus and train rides.  No more "racing", just basically do in town tasks or "rural" tasks about a mile outside a city.

     

    Now we have a team eliminated that obviously has never seen an episode of the show ever.  I mean they don't seem to realize they have to hurry for airplane tickets last time.  Really?  That is TAR 101.  This time one of them doesn't even read the clue thoroughly even when he is "clueless" as to what to do next and where to go.  What to speak of not knowing the difference between the words "designer" and "vendor".  Guess he won't be following in his Mom's footsteps to Harvard.

     

    Can't tell any of the couples or female teams apart.  Only two male teams now and one has a bearded guy and the other a short guy with glasses.  That's all I know about them.  And there is a mother and a father assigned to offspring but can't recognize the offspring.  What a boring, camera mugging season featuring people I'd never want to meet in real life.  I hope no one wins this season.  Not that I would remember any winner within days of the last episode.

     

    In other news, Colombians are shocked to find out their national sport is no longer soccer.

    • Love 4
  19. Aslaug, don't ever dump on Athelstan to Ragnar.  You totally deserved worse than a slap.  (No domestic violence in play here.  Ragnar would have done that to anyone, male or female or robot).  What a treacherous, plotting villain she has become.  She should be Rollo's wife.  They have the same ambitions. 

     

    And no.  Ragnar didn't kill Helga's daughter.  He was trying to keep both alive.  Nor was the daughter and Helga living outside.  They were sitting in Floki's old boat shed when Ragnar found them with the food.  The boat shed was just a short walk from the cabin up on the hill.

     

    Looks like Bjorn just signed a contract with a cable network to star in the latest Alaska survivalist series.  Was expecting his scenes to cut over next to Sue talking about humans being part of the food chain.

     

    Magnus isn't Ragnar's son.  The closest he and Queen Crazypants ever got together was when she peed on his wound after that one battle.  Can't get pregnant from that last I heard.  But good point made above by PatsyandEddie that Magnus could be Ecbert's.  We saw that he "slept" with her that first meeting to the extent he finally had to stumble out of the bedchamber he was so exhausted.  Had to send in his guards to keep her satisfied as he went to get some real "sleep" finally.

     

    Great fight scene at the end.  People just didn't die with a punch or two either.  They were fighting and clinging to life in what felt like real desperation.  Felt very realistic and intense.  Well fought, acted and filmed.  Queen Crazypants going all Princess Leia with that line to Athelwulf at the end was just icing on the cake.

     

    So Athelstan 2.0 is some monk called Proteus of Twa  (?) or at least that is how his name sounded to me.  I like Judith a lot and I was pleasantly surprised she chose knowledge and skill over power.  That is very refreshing compared to almost everyone not Athelstan in this series so far.  Ecbert is playing her but hey not all of Ecbert's plans are going to go according to his wishes I hope.

     

    Adding to the growing characters is Odo's chief lieutenant getting more air time.  From helping Rollo massacre all of the Vikings to plotting against Odo.  Well I guess it is better then watching Rollo turn into a poofy-looking "noble" though again the Franks bore me. 

     

    How much more the episode picked up in Wessex over the Franco-snoozefest.  How much more it would have picked up with Lagertha and Kalf the latter of whom probably gained a year or two to his life by providing her with that little favor with the crossbow ambush of Einar et al.   I'd rather see how the two of them are getting along and where Erlunder fits in with all this since he led the crossbowmen in the ambush far more than Frankish court intrigue.

    • Love 4
  20.  

    Very curious as to why we never hear anything from or about Cydney.  There were 3 women on that tribe -- nobody at tribal asked her anything about whose version of the all-woman alliance scheme was correct. Why not?? Interesting that she made no move to back up either one of the women.  Weird that Jeff didn't probst (see what I did there?) to find out her take on it.

     

     

    I'm sure he did since people keep saying the average tribal council lasts 2 to 3 hours.  My guess is whatever she replied wasn't usable or didn't really "punch up" the edit for the TC segment.  Also I assume she hadn't really agreed to the all girl alliance since there were no cuts of her saying yes or even nodding during either of Jenn's talks with her.  Just cuts to her "looking" at Jenn in silence.

     

    About Alecia, she sure is dumb but also unintentionally funny so  I don't mind if she stays around for comedy gold.  Good that she worked on fire for 5 hours.  But also bad she worked on fire for 5 hours.  She had a flint kit.  Who works on fire for 5 hours with a flint kit?!?  (See "dumb" above).  Also the more you use that flint the more you wear it out which is also not good.  But she is set up edit-wise vs the "evil" bounty hunter so given that edit (I know no spoilers at all) I assume we shall see her outlast Mr Ugly Tatoos 'R' Us guy.

     

    People mention liking the beauty tribe.  Again I don't know any spoilers at all but yeah it is getting a winning edit from my pov which says to me the winner may well be on that tribe.  Probably one of the three young women I can't tell apart yet and probably never will.

     

    Another reason I say that is because the other male on the tribe we didn't see this episode (Nick?) has large potential for being a villain type as in the genre of the  insufferable egotist.  And given that we didn't even get shots of this weird looking, tall, ostrich-looking guy strutting around self-preening himself this episode there wasn't even any beginning of a set-up to tell his story yet which seems to indicate Beauty will remain strong next episode too.  Just feel good Tai vs The Tree (The Tree wins in a TKO) and Tai and the Cowboy clips.  Love Tai.  Can't see him winning but hope he lasts long.

     

    Joe is so the new Rudy.  No patience with the youngins' and their book stuff.  No way but his way.  No desire to chat it up with them.  No social skills.  Check, check, check and check.  Welcome back, Rudy.  But the no social skills one is weird given Joe was suppose to have been a hostage negotiator in the FBI.  "Hey punk, suck it up and come out with your hands-up or feel my wrath!" 

     

    But still that MIT young woman does overthink everything and gets upset over every little thing.  Between the need to cry all the time and the panic attacks is she long for Survivor?  Because to play Survivor you have to be able to "survive" Survivor.  She could use a little of the "suck it up" attitude.

     

    Love crazy lady.  Hope she lasts a long time if just to drive Doctor Cruel Jokes over the edge.

    • Love 2
  21. I'm not sure if you watched Lost, but a similar dynamic happened with that show. Too many characters, too many ancillary plotlines and by the end it got so out of control there was no way for the writers to wrap it all up in a satisfactory manner. The result was an underwhelming series finale.

    I'm hoping Vikings doesn't go down that road, but it's starting to toe the line just a tad.

     

    The difference here is that Vikings is based on real history so there will be a real endings and new beginnings because history never stops.  Whether the audience finds them underwhelming or not is another matter but the people here are following history's storyline, not going out in 12 different directions making up stuff for the sake of making up stuff, which to me is a very big difference.

     

    Yeah I always like earlier parts of series when everyone is hanging out together like Season 1 of Vikings but the whole series was started with the premise of telling the history of the era from the pov of the Vikings.  And as their population and power grows (despite the loss of endless red shirt Vikings as noted above) and as they expand, you can't help but have several threads going at once.

     

    whoknowswho, Rollo's rape of the slave girl occurred in the second episode of the show right before Ragnar, Floki, Rollo and a handful of others set sail on their first voyage to hopefully find this place called England and wreck havoc there.  Rollo wandered into Floki's open boat shed minutes before they leave, find's Floki's slave girl (not Helga, we don't see the girl in the show again after this scene) and pushed her down over the work table and did the deed as casual as if nothing is happening.  Not just the rape alone but that coupled with this off the hand attitude to the victim like nothing happened that mattered was chilling.  It also demonstrated a difference between how free Viking women were treated vs how a female slave of theirs could be treated right off the bat.

    • Love 1
  22. Well,  after learning that Clive Standen has been cast as the lead in another series it looks like dead Rollo this season, never mind actual history. I am disappointed. I wanted to see certain things play out true to history.

     

    Why?  The series is in the can for this season.  And you can always juggle acting schedules in the future.  I see no problem whatsoever.

  23. I thought that was a disjointed mess. I felt like there was a whole episode missing somewhere. Why end a limited run on a cliffhanger?

     

    I had no idea why Mulder looked like he did in the first episode all unshaven and weird but there were like 3 or 4 episodes when he looked all FBI-look.  I started to think the middle episodes were just dreams or something because I don't get how you go through them from episode 1 to episode 6 when those two episodes seem to be happening within hours of each other given how Mulder looked etc. 

     

    Or, if it was the other way, why weren't they running around in the middle episodes working on the junk from episode 1 that seemed so important at the time.  Or at least mention or reference it.

     

    There's filler, and then there's FILLER.

    http://previously.tv/the-x-files/the-x-files-limps-to-the-finish-line/"> Read the story

     

    Thanks for great re-cap.  I'm not the only one that found this episode totally weird I guess.

     

    Again, I will always have the were-monster-human to remember with joy.  The other 5 episodes capped off by this total dribble episode at the end ... not so much.

     

    Also cliffhangers went out like with the old century.  No one likes them.  They just piss off people.

    • Love 3
  24. Well I enjoyed the were-monster one.  Great writing, commentary on the human condition, wonderful wit etc.  By contrast this episode was a complete mess.

     

    So the show runner invented almost exact clones of the originals in the two younger agents complete with both women having red hair which seemed totally stupid.  Yeah they were in the last episode too but just posting for this episode.  This is in case either of the original actors can't be signed or are too expensive to bring back they have the minor league team in place? 

     

    As for making instant saline solutions cure-alls from DNA in hours ... come on.  All "science" on these shows is silly but this takes the cake. 

     

    This episode was terribly written gobbledygook and seemed totally out of place.  Made no sense they had spent some nice time meeting a were-lizard-human and such then suddenly back to the first two episode mess.  What happened to that crisis in between times.  Just jagged and silly way to put together episodes.

     

    Oh well I will always have the were-lizard-human to remember from this mini-series-whatever this was.

    • Love 8
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