S03.E02: The Wanderer

[green]

No, I am definitely referring to Floki's wife. I don't remember when or where, but someone said that she was Floki's slave and no one seemed to dispute that at the time, so I accepted that. Whether it was correct or not, that is what was said.

Helga is referred to on the wiki simply as Floki's lover who he later marries.  No mention of being a slave ever.  And the official cast list has the following:

 

Helga - Maude Hirst

Floki's Slave Girl - Amber Jean Rowan (she is the one that Rollo raped)

 

Think the poster you read just got these two mixed up is all since the slave girl was seen at Floki's boat building shed before Helga appeared on the scene.  Easy to do.  There hasn't been any reference in the show that I ever remember where Helga was referred to as a slave or former slave.  If she was I would assume the show would have mentioned that a lot.

Edited February 28, 2015 by green

[Lugal]

 

Isn't he the guy in the gold armor guarding the rainbow bridge between Thor's home world and everywhere else (including earth) in the Marvel "Thor" movies?  I presume that means he is viewed in Norse mythology as one of the more powerful servants to Odin with some special "all seeing" skills.  I didn't know impregnating random Vikings was one of this hallmarks but hey, if every single Greek god and demigod can get freaky with humans, why not the Norse ones?

Heimdall is the god who guards the Bifrost (the rainbow bridge between Asgard and Midgard) and is always keeping an eye out for attacks of the giants on Asgard.  He carried the Gjallarhorn which he will sound at Ragnarök.  There is a legend that Heimdall went out amongs humans and slept with various women and created various social classes in Norse society.  He did cliam one of the boys as his son who became a great warrior.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

I do not trust him.  This flirtation will end in tears.  Preferably his.

 

If they play Lagertha for the needy chick I am going to be pissed.  She can have fun with Ecbert....but I don't see her getting misty or playing the Norse Alanais Morrisette.

[VillaVillekulla]

Old English and Old Norse were separate branches of Germanic and had been growing apart for several hundred years.  That said, it would have been easier for a speaker of one to learn the other than it would have been for one to learn Latin or Old French.  In the coming centuries, Norse settlement in England would have a huge influence on the language.  It is sort of funny to be able to pick out a word here or there that hasn't changed since Old English.

There is also a theory (hi, linguistics major here!) that Old Norse and Old English would have been virtually mutually intelligible; that is, that speakers of one could basically understand speakers of the other, except for the odd word here and there. I think the reasons that Vikings as a TV show didn't go with this theory -- and you can be almost sure they have some language consultants working for the show, so it has probably come up -- are because a) it would take away from the plot if everyone could understand everyone all the time and no one could scheme in his own language and then say something else to the people on the other side, and b) it would honestly read as unbelievable to the audience. It would seem so unlikely that the vikings could just show up and start talking and the English could understand them -- I mean, what are the odds, right? Even though there is historical basis for this kind of thing being possible, it would just seem too convenient for the purposes of the show, and people wouldn't be able to suspend disbelief.

Edited March 1, 2015 by VillaVillekulla

[green]

Heimdall is the god who guards the Bifrost (the rainbow bridge between Asgard and Midgard) and is always keeping an eye out for attacks of the giants on Asgard.  He carried the Gjallarhorn which he will sound at Ragnarök.  There is a legend that Heimdall went out amongs humans and slept with various women and created various social classes in Norse society.  He did cliam one of the boys as his son who became a great warrior.

 

Thanks for that info.  Especially the legend about sleeping with various women.  That would kind of fit especially if one of the offspring is said future great warrior.

[Ravenya003]

I don't know that it's actual shipping of Lagertha and Ecbert that's going on (at least for me, it's not) as much as enjoying the story and chemistry of the actors.  I assume someone is going to get screwed over badly in the end, but right now it's just fun to watch.  Ecbert is coming off as rather oily and self-serving in his courtship and Lagertha clearly is enjoying the attention even I don't think she fully buys it.

 

 

This is it exactly for me. Take that scene when Ecbert puts the necklace on Lagertha - the way he carefully pulls back her hair and stares at it in his hands before moving away... I highly doubt that level of detail was in the script, which means it's all down to Linus Roache. He seems to be playing Ecbert as genuinely smitten, even if the scripts later contradict him. But for now at least, I like seeing this rather arrogant know-it-all king in thrall to someone else. 

[Lugal]

There is also a theory (hi, linguistics major here!) that Old Norse and Old English would have been virtually mutually intelligible; that is, that speakers of one could basically understand speakers of the other, except for the odd word here and there. I think the reasons that Vikings as a TV show didn't go with this theory -- and you can be almost sure they have some language consultants working for the show, so it has probably come up -- are because a) it would take away from the plot if everyone could understand everyone all the time and no one could scheme in his own language and then say something else to the people on the other side, and b) it would honestly read as unbelievable to the audience. It would seem so unlikely that the vikings could just show up and start talking and the English could understand them -- I mean, what are the odds, right? Even though there is historical basis for this kind of thing being possible, it would just seem too convenient for the purposes of the show, and people wouldn't be able to suspend disbelief.

I've heard of this theory and even some of the Norse sagas mention a time when English and Norse were intelligible. I think it comes down to when North and West Germanic split, which would proabbaly be three to five hundred years before the show is set.  I think most of the differences would have been phonetic.  Which would explain how Ragnar was able to learn Old English so quickly.  Plus, with all the Norse loanwords that flooded into English, they may have become more intelligible over time.

 

I agree that having everyone be able to understand each other would come off as unbelievable.  Reality is unrealistic.  Plus we language geeks would not have the fun of hearing Old English and Old Norse being spoken.

[Haleth]

It was making me crazy that I couldn't place the actor playing the wanderer, but I knew he was a bad guy. Of course! He was Martin Keamy on Lost! No doubt now that he is up to no good.

[ChromaKelly]

When Athelstan was blessing the house, there was a man and a woman who put a statue up and the man gave him the stink eye. What was the statue? And what religion were they? I thought maybe Jewish? But I don't know what the statue would be.

[jnymph]

Whatever happened to Horik's son, whom Ragnar let live after killing the rest of his family?

Holy shit I almost forgot about him! His presence seemed to suggest he was going to be significant .....so it's weird he hasn't been around.

When Athelstan was blessing the house, there was a man and a woman who put a statue up and the man gave him the stink eye. What was the statue? And what religion were they? I thought maybe Jewish? But I don't know what the statue would be.

Not 100% sure but wasn't that a statue of Odin?

I took it as the man suggesting Odin was his "real" God & who the hell was Athelstan kidding by pretending he was a follower of Christ.

That was my take anyways.

Edited March 1, 2015 by jnymph

[WatchrTina]

I had basically the same take.  I assumed the people who asked for the blessing were some of the locals who had been recruited to work for the Vikings and that when they realized that Athelstan was a monk they asked for the blessing.  But the guy who brought in the statue I assumed was one of the Vikings, bringing in a statue of Odin as if to say "OUR gods will watch over this settlement, not yours."

Edited March 2, 2015 by WatchrTina

[Perfect Xero]

Now that I know crazy princess's story, I can't blame her.  I hope she gets a chance to get her hands on her brother.

 

Ragnar and his head mobile boat was all kinds of horrible awesomeness as was the imagery of the Mercian soldiers taking one look and immediately fleeing for the hills in the background while rapey brother stood in the foreground and continued to insist they would fight.

 

The brother who raped Kwenthrith was her older brother, who Kwenthrith killed before coming to Wessex, which led to her uncle making a grab for the throne.

 

The brother who was present here is her younger brother and she's steadfastly insisted to Ragnar that he's only acting against them because her Uncle/advisers have poisoned his mind against her. Which is why she was calling out for him to stay and promising that she wouldn't allow him to be harmed and he said something to the adviser about loving her when he was convincing him to leave.

[ChromaKelly]

I had basically the same take.  I assumed the people who asked for the blessing were some of the locals that had been recruited to work for the Vikings and that when they realized that Athelstan was a monk they asked for the blessing.  But the guy who brought in the statue I assume was one of tVikings, brining in a statue of Odin as if to say "OUR gods will watch over this settlement, not yours."

Thanks! That makes sense. I got thrown off by the man's hat and the woman's head scarf.

[Lugal]

When Athelstan was blessing the house, there was a man and a woman who put a statue up and the man gave him the stink eye. What was the statue? And what religion were they? I thought maybe Jewish? But I don't know what the statue would be.

It was a statue of Thor like the Eyrarland Statue

[jnymph]

I had basically the same take.  I assumed the people who asked for the blessing were some of the locals who had been recruited to work for the Vikings and that when they realized that Athelstan was a monk they asked for the blessing.  But the guy who brought in the statue I assumed was one of the Vikings, bringing in a statue of Odin as if to say "OUR gods will watch over this settlement, not yours."

 

Actually, that makes perfect sense.

 

Anybody think Thorstein is not long for this world ?  Poor guy, after enduring the amputation.  Ugh.

 

I rewatched the episode "Boneless" this weekend and there were some tie-ins to this episode.   For example: Princess Kwenthrith mentioned the older brother raping her. (as Perfect Xero mentioned above) and also I noticed Judith (that's King Ecberts' DIL right?) was a different actress.

She met Athelstan in "Boneless" but didn't appear to have the hots for him at that time.  Hmmm.  Maybe she was still in the honeymoon phase with whatshisface.

Edited March 2, 2015 by jnymph

[thegreathoo]

Lagertha wants another child, she is staying in Wessex, this thing with Ecbert shall occur. I like Ecbert, he is gentle with her.

I'm numb to hacking and severed heads but the killing of innocents gets me, children, villagers. I know it's the show's mo. I also wish the battles were plot devices rather than superhero fodder, Vikings are undefeated. That's just stupid. I wish important characters would die and plot would take twists through battles won and lost.

[jnymph]

 I wish important characters would die and plot would take twists through battles won and lost.

 

I am thinking this will happen yet.

[Bongo Fury]

... Vikings are undefeated. ...

 

Ragnar and friends lost the battle against King Eckbert, when King Horik was inpatient and walked into the trap that Eckbert had set.

[green]

I'm numb to hacking and severed heads but the killing of innocents gets me, children, villagers. I know it's the show's mo. I also wish the battles were plot devices rather than superhero fodder, Vikings are undefeated. That's just stupid. I wish important characters would die and plot would take twists through battles won and lost.

 

I don't think it is the show's mo as it is history's mo.

 

And we had some major characters go down so far.  King Horik and all his family except his son, Erlander.  Jarl Borg.  Earl Harldson (sp?) and his daughter.  Ragnar's daughter.  Several of Ragnar's closest companions from his early raids on as in One Eye and the guy who volunteered to sacrifice himself at Uppsala (Leif was it?).  And it isn't looking too good for poor Torstein right now.  But let us not kill off real historic people before their time because there is fiction in this for sure but also some very very real history as well.  There are real historical characters here who have to do some real historical stuff yet.  So the plot is driven by real history which I love.

 

And what Bongo Fury said about the biggest battle they fought so far where Horik/Ragnar lost to Ecbert/Aella with a shout-out to Julius Caesar's tactics.  Also the first battle of Kattegat was lost to Jarl Borg with Rollo, Siggy and Aslaug and her brood all hoofing it out of Dodge.  King Horik's troops got routed when Ragnar sailed off to reclaim Kattegat which was when Athelstan was captured.  And the first battle with Jarl Borg (opens Season 2) was a stand-off until Rollo decided he couldn't fight his brother after all and Ragnar preached a compromise on the spot while Floki lay wounded and One Eye lay dead.

[PityFree]

This is a very superficial observation, I know, but the actress playing Siggy was so radiant and lovely this episode! I am not sure what she is doing, but wow I want to find out and do it myself. She is even more beautiful than she has been in past seasons. Helga glowed, too. (I am glad she might have a larger part this season.) Aslung, on the other hand, is looking rough. I never found her pretty, just striking, but she looked haggard. I wonder if they have new makeup people.

[Babalooie]

PityFree,  Aslaug probably is supposed to look haggard from all of those disturbing visions and all of the children she has to take care of.  Typical housewife.

[jnymph]

Typical housewife.

New Bravo series : Real Housewives of Kattegat

[millennium]

I agree with you but that severe head mobile with Ragnar grinning was masterful. Before I realized what they were I was thinking how beautiful and peaceful the ships looked gliding through the water.

Am I the only Eclbert disliked? I think he is creepy and his attention to Lagertha is creepy, the way he stares at her and such. Ick. I am not sure he is sincere either, I think he s trying to manipulate the situation and poss Ragnar off.

 

Ragnar grinning was a "hell, yeah!" moment.

 

I don't understand how anyone could imagine Ecbert and Lagertha together.   He's so unctuous.   Ecbert is called a king, but what have we seen him do  to earn the title?   In stark contrast, we have Ragnar, "the farmer who became a king."   Ragnar is worthy of Lagertha.  But Ecbert?  A court jester by comparison.   A dabbler.   A charlatan.   He relishes the clothes and the crown and the other creature comforts.   He likes getting his way.   But he is soft and spoiled.   A politician, not a warrior.   He lingers behind to suck-up to Lagertha while Ragnar sails upriver to risk his life in battle.  

 

Ecbert loves none but himself.   Lagertha he sees as just another possession to acquire.   I hope the Vikings kill him.

Aslung, on the other hand, is looking rough. I never found her pretty, just striking, but she looked haggard. I wonder if they have new makeup people.

 

She's not the same princess who strolled into Ragnar's camp in that glorious fur coat a few years ago.   She looks like she has spent her days bearing children in a Viking village.

Edited March 5, 2015 by millennium

[WatchrTina]

 

the actress playing Siggy was so radiant and lovely this episode!

I agree she is lovely but she is the one actor I regret being cast in the show.  Almost every other face is brand new to me so it was like hitting a speed-bump when I saw her.  To this day my mind still screams "What is the nymphomanic from Nip/Tuck doing in Kattegat?"  It isn't fair.  I have certainly seen Donal Logue (King Horik) in other work, but for some reason that doesn't bother me.  Only Siggy sticks out in my mind as an anachronism.

 

 

we had some major characters go down so far. . . Several of Ragnar's closest companions from his early raids on as in One Eye

Alas poor One Eye (a.k.a. Arne, played by the fabulously named Tadhg Murphy).  You'll be saddened to know that he was reincarnated in 1715 as a one-eyed, black-hearted pirate on season 2 of Black Sails where he didn't last long after pissing off that show's resident BAMF.  Severed heads -- they're kind of a leit motif in shows like Vikings, Black Sails, and Game of Thrones aren't they?

Edited March 5, 2015 by WatchrTina

[pasdetrois]

 

Lots of stuff in this ep about a woman's place and problems.

Same shit, different century.

 

As portrayed by the actress, Princess Crazy Pants annoys me. Way, way over the top portrayal, even for an incest story.

 

I don't trust Ecbert. He wants to get into Lagertha's britches and take advantage of her position. Not be her One True Love.

 

Floki usually annoys me, but this episode seemed to integrate his whimsical thuggery a little better.

[Perfect Xero]

Ecbert is called a king, but what have we seen him do to earn the title?

Score military victories over the Viking forces by employing actual tactics, take Rollo captive, then use him as leverage to negotiate peace with Ragnar, protecting many of his people from being raped and murdered by the vikings?

[millennium]

I suppose.   He still seems unworthy of a warrior woman like Lagertha.   I don't recall, have we seen Ecbert engage in actual bloody battle like Lagertha, Ragnar, etc?  

[Amerilla]

Seems like a lot of this season is going to be about the clash of cultures, so I feel like a lot of Ecbert's attraction to Lagertha is because she's foreign and exotic to him. I don't think he'd playing an angle and I don't think he's insincere about his attraction - but I also think he'd drop her like a hot potato if his natives start getting restless about the presence of the foreigners suddenly in their midst.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Kevin Durand can wander into my village, then fall into my bed.

ANYTIME!

[GreyBunny]

" Floki's the kind of guy you want in your corner, I think, although maybe a far corner that isn't downwind of you."

You do want him downwind. If he's upwind then whatever he's gotten into is wafting down to you.

[Captanne]

I don't want Floki anywhere near me.  Let alone in my corner.

[Kalliste]

Glad I'm not alone in thinking Thorunn looks like Billie Piper. I was thinking more specifically as Rose in Doctor Who and that they're just as bad as each other! I also think a Viking episode of Doctor Who would be great!

On 3/1/2015 at 8:10 AM, Ankai said:

No, I am definitely referring to Floki's wife. I don't remember when or where, but someone said that she was Floki's slave and no one seemed to dispute that at the time, so I accepted that. Whether it was correct or not, that is what was said.

I also thought Helga was Floki's slave in the beginning... I just went through and found the scenes in Season 1, Episode 2 and it is definitely another person. They actually look very different when you can go back, the only thing they have in common is blonde hair really.

Rollo is somewhat less rapey in the later seasons it seems (well up until this point).

On 3/2/2015 at 6:14 AM, Haleth said:

It was making me crazy that I couldn't place the actor playing the wanderer, but I knew he was a bad guy. Of course! He was Martin Keamy on Lost! No doubt now that he is up to no good.

I couldn't either and then when I saw it mentioned here it was Kevin Durand I thought "oh... that guy". I can't stand his character on LOST :P I hope he's better as the Wanderer.

I laughed thinking Ragnar would get back to Wessex and find out Lagertha had decided to marry Ecbert and how pissed he would be. Hopefully the story doesn't go that way and also that Ecbert isn't playing her too.

Is this the first time we've seen Althelstan show romantic attraction to anyone? They never did explain if he was still celibate after losing his faith back in the first season.

[green]

6 hours ago, Kalliste said:

Is this the first time we've seen Althelstan show romantic attraction to anyone? They never did explain if he was still celibate after losing his faith back in the first season.

When Ragnar was going to offer Athelstan as a human sacrifice in Uppsala he was given a woman to lay with I believe.  Or maybe that was just the sacrifices that were excepted since the Norse priest spotted the little cross Athelstan still kept hidden on him and ruled him out leading to one of Ragnar's great lines about how it looked like Athelstan's God came through for him after all.

After the early Season 2 time jump one of the first scenes we see all the people hanging out in the long house and there is a casual joke made at Athelstan's expense regards women or something like that and we see Athelstan in the shot drinking with everyone with women or a woman seated next to him and laughing at the comment too.  Like that was a long time ago in the past and he is long past that view point.  I think the implication was that he had integrated into Viking society and drifted away from his monkish Christian roots quite a bit by then and was probably sleeping around where and when he wanted.  At least that was how I took it.  But no he never seems to have been interested in any one woman.

[purist]

23 hours ago, Kalliste said:

I also think a Viking episode of Doctor Who would be great!

There was one last year: The Girl Who Died. Synopsis:

Quote

Captured by Vikings, the Doctor and Clara must help protect their village from a deadly warrior race: the Mire. Outnumbered and outgunned, their fate seems inevitable. So why is the Doctor so preoccupied with a single Viking girl?

[Kalliste]

58 minutes ago, purist said:

There was one last year: The Girl Who Died. Synopsis:

oh right.. I tend to block out anything to do with Clara. I forgot about how that whole storyline began. Let me clarify. I want a good episode :P Although, remembering, that one wasn't so bad.