S04.E18: Revenge

[MrsR]

They did, but they make it hard to recognize the actors and they are very expensive to make so movie and tv crews forego them.

5 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Random thought, why do none of the Vikings wear protective headgear?

[Primetimer]

No drugs and rock 'n' roll this week, but man, they really bring the sex and violence.

View the full article

[Babalooie]

Quote

I loved those hand movements that Floki was making this episode.  First, as they were getting ready to fight, and later when he was watching Aelle getting blood-eagled.  

That's the Floki version of Tai Chi.  Maybe Gustaf Skarsgard does Tai Chi in real life.  Seems like something he would do.

[thuganomics85]

Damn, Aelle got fucked up!  The Lothbrok Boys were not messing around!  I was disappointed that we actually didn't get to see the battle though (budget issues?  Kind of reminded me of some of the early seasons of Game of Thrones, where they kept having battles off-screen), but I at least got to enjoy Aelle's overconfident smirk get wiped from his face, once he saw more and more of them coming.  Hate to say it, buddy, but Judith warned you!

Overall, felt like mainly a filler episode, with characters moving around and plot-lines getting setting up for future episodes (and seasons.)  Bjorn is still being an idiot and sleeping with Astrid (missed out on a nice sacrifice too!), but both Torvi and Lagertha have already figured it out, so I don't see that ending well.  Especially for Astrid.  Have you met, Lagertha, Astrid?  Of all the people to cheat on, you do it to her?  Talk about playing with fire.

Ubbe marries Margrethe, but is totally cool with sharing her with Hvitsek.  At the same time.

Ivar and Bjorn are clashing over who gets to be top of the Lothbrok Bros!

Turns out Harald's main motivation to be the king was to impress some kind of princess, only to find out she married an Earl instead.  Have a feeling this won't stop him from still trying to pull one over on the Lothbroks.  Sounded like this Egil guy found some kind of weakness in Lagertha's defenses.

Ecbert can't even tell Aethelwulf that he loves him?  That is cold!  I so think Ecbert is on his way out.  He really isn't looking good.

Props to the fellow who willing let himself get sacrificed to appease the Gods.  You're the real MVP!

[Ohwell]

Princess Ellisif to Harald:  It's not you, it's me.

[ghoulina]

28 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Princess Ellisif to Harald:  It's not you, it's me.

Halfdan to Harald : She's just not that into you.

[LilWharveyGal]

31 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Princess Ellisif to Harald:  It's not you, it's me.

It's not me, it's my hat.

[nowornever]

This episode felt rushed and, as some one else said, kind of all over the place.  There were too many storylines- Bjorn and Astrid, Harald and Ellisif, the pre-raid sacrifice, the Ubbe/ Hvitsirk/ Margrethe threesome, who gets to be in charge, Aethelwulf and Ecbert, Aelle getting his comeuppance, and Floki/ Helga/ the kidnapped child.  Too many balls in the air right now, and I hate it when shows start to develop a story, then just drop it (like Porunn and little Siggy, Aethelwulf and Judith's missing child, etc) 

[magdalene]

The Ubbe, Margerethe and the brother menage a trois makes no sense because sons are important to Viking males - especially for Ubbe who hasn't had any sons yet. He would want his first son to be his for sure.

Harald seems the kind of guy restraining orders were invented for.

Edited January 19, 2017 by magdalene

[Lamima]

So the earl who volunteered to be the sacrifice was NOT princess Ellisif's husband?

[PatsyandEddie]

No, it was the earl who presented her with the sword earlier. 

[Son of the Norse]

Two words to describe the last few minutes of the episode....

 

Bad Ass!

[Ravenya003]

Not the greatest episode, probably because they're trying to limit the budget so they can splurge on later episodes. Which means that instead of shots of the Viking fleet, and the biggest heathen army ever known, and the brothers landing dramatically on the shore, we get soapy melodrama. The big problem with the brothers/slave girl threesome and the Bjorn/Torvi/Astrid/Lagertha triangle and the Dudebro Nice Guy who didn't realise that the princess's "I want to marry a king" was a polite way of letting him down easy, isn't that it's weird and icky, but that I just don't care about any of it.

Can we have the old Bjorn back? Cause I really miss the quiet, introspective, comparatively decent guy we've had prior to the last handful of episodes? I can handwave a little alpha male chest pounding as a necessary attempt to get his ambitious younger brothers in line, but all the rest of it? Treating Torvi like shit? Complete indifference to his children? Sleeping with his mum's girlfriend? Who IS this guy?

Skipping the entire battle was a bit of an eye-roll, but ... well, I gotta say I kinda felt a bit sorry for King Aelle. I know that he deserved it but ... I dunno, I can't help but feel a little bad for him! (Yeah, I know I'm about to get a list of bullet points as to why I shouldn't).

On a minor note, great casting on Aelle's wife and other daughter. Are they actually related, because they sure look it. Also, a great little performance from the Viking sacrifice. Why do they always have to kill off the cute ones? Maybe it's just because I've seen Rogue One recently, but he looked liked a younger Diego Luna. 

Ivar's fascination with the gruesome stuff was on point, especially in comparison to his brothers' huge grins. 

[LittleIggy]

Lagertha looks every inch a queen. And I love her owl!

Harald and his brother are the nastiest looking things. I bet they smell as bad as they look! No wonder the princess didn't want him.

What was in the preview? Sucks they didn't show it at the end of the episode. I had no desire to watch "Six" (even if Walter Goggins is in it) to see the preview.

Edited January 20, 2017 by LittleIggy

[Jeebus Cripes]

3 hours ago, Ravenya003 said:

Can we have the old Bjorn back? Cause I really miss the quiet, introspective, comparatively decent guy we've had prior to the last handful of episodes? I can handwave a little alpha male chest pounding as a necessary attempt to get his ambitious younger brothers in line, but all the rest of it? Treating Torvi like shit? Complete indifference to his children? Sleeping with his mum's girlfriend? Who IS this guy?

Word. Not digging Bjorn's new attitude at all. I'm also still waiting for the two brothers who aren't Bjorn and Ubbe to do something, anything, to make me not actively wish they didn't exist on the show. 

RE The Heathen Army: The sight of Floki alone would have made me shat my pants. That black paint and his imposing stature was scary as all hell.

[rozen]

If it drags on like this, Bjorn will be irritating. But I'm willing to watch him regress a little. I mean, his character honestly never had time to indulge in this kind of childish behavior because it would get him killed. Now he's more secure in his position, and his mother is out of danger (and just punk'd his great expedition by taking her vengeance). He's secure enough to have a delayed adolescence, I don't find that too out-of-character. And if he's stupid with women? Well, he takes perfectly after Ragnar in that regard. Nothing will be more awkward than Ragnar giggling and stuffing his face while proposing to Lagertha that he take Aslaug as another wife. 

Those boys have been running a train on Margerethe for a while, and she's still not pregnant. So she either has some mystical fail-proof method of birth control, which means she will get pregnant by Ubbe alone when the time comes, or she's barren and there are no legitimate children coming anyway.

Haha, game over Aelle. Just emphasized what a badass Ragnar was to hand himself calmly over to a horrible death. You were no king, Aelle.

Aethelwulf...bro, I dunno. He deserves a tavern full of mead after that. 

Edited January 20, 2017 by rozen

[Haleth]

I thought a lot of the episode was over the top:  The sacrifice with ethereal Lagertha (complete with owl).  The gasping and moaning of Astrid while the sacrificial guy gasped and moaned.  The blood eagle.  Ecbert being startled awake with his paranormal sense of Aelle being killed.  Aethelwulf whining about his daddy issues.   Ubbe and Hvitserk sharing Ubbe's new wife.  C'mon, the show is better than all this cheesy stuff.

19 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

Did we know Aelle could speak Norse?

Was that Norse or did the brothers understand Aelle's Ye Olde English?  (I love when the the script calls for the Saxon characters to speak 9th c English.)  I was put off that there wasn't a language barrier but I guess it would have ruined the scene with all the Ragnarsons shrugging "I don't know what he said.  Do you?"

There is no way Aethelwulf would have heard about the GHA landing so quickly.  The battle would have been long over by the time news arrived.

There are 2 episodes left?  I guess those will deal with the Ragnarsons seeking revenge in Wessex.  You should have listened to your son, Eckie, and killed that little shit Ivar.

15 hours ago, LilWharveyGal said:

It's not me, it's my hat.

That was a nice hat!

[The Kings Foot]

On 1/19/2017 at 9:27 AM, ghoulina said:

This episode was hard to watch. I'll admit I'm kind of a prude outside of my own personal life, but I watch enough adult fare to be used to sex stuff by now. What's unsettling is watching two brothers share the same woman. A son banging the girl who sleeps in his mother's bed every night. It's like they just threw historical and cultural accuracy to the wind and hired HBO to give us all an incestuous sex romp. Pass. 

And for those who noted the lack of violence in Spain - may I present you the human sacrifice and Blood Eagle? I'm actually really desensitized to violence and gore and all that, so I'm not sure why I was so unsettled last night. Maybe it was just too much visual sensory overload for one night? AElla is no Jarl Borg, that's for certain. 

I guess I was hoping to see more of The Great Heathen Army in battle. I LOVED the shots of that massive hoard on the battlefield. Ivar, especially, looked super menacing in his chariot and black mask. But then - boom - we've got AElla and the battle is all over. I get that that's why they really went there. And I know the history, and that there's a lot more to cover going forward. But I just feel like a lot of the story has been rushed since Ragnar's death. 

I'm also kind of pissed because the show is really making me start to hate Bjorn. And I always really liked him; he was always so loyal to his mother. Now he's having her girlfriend on the side and treating Torvi (who is an incredibly loyal and badass woman) like shit? What was with that goodbye? Astrid gets a side hug, but all Torvi gets is a shoulder shrug? "You're my baby mama....so....I guess take care...." Just really disappointed in what they've done here. 

So Harald Finehair is a stage 4 clinger. Obsessing over some princess who could not BE less into him. Halfdan needs to take him out for a beer and teach him how to pick up on signals. 

Is it just me, or is Ecbert becoming older and older by the episode? He was the very definition of doddering, to me, last night. And having Judith standing there cutting his meat - she seems more like his daughter than his lover. I was creeped out by them for the first time. And as much as I've never liked Aethelwulf, it was pretty devastating that his father couldn't/wouldn't tell him that he loved him. 

Overall, not my favorite episode.

Yup, it was a great honor. Many Vikings lived that way - not only not afraid to die, but proud to do so for their people. I thought, while disturbing, it was a very well done scene. And I agree that the sex back-and-forth added nothing and kind of ruined it.

Which is one of the main reasons why this storyline felt so off to me. My husband is well versed in the sagas and has read the Poetic Edda a dozen times over, and shared his knowledge with me. And I really do not feel like wife sharing was something that really went in on in their society. I could buy it when she was still a slave girl. But now they're married, and hopefully going to be having children. Norse societies were patrilineal, and Vikings were very obsessed with their legacy and their bloodline. There's no way a man would want any question over a son his wife gave birth too. 

There's also no case that I can think of in any of the sagas of a man sharing his wife, especially with his brother. The gods all had just one wife, one husband, etc. It just seemed like something scandalous to titillate the viewers. 

Wife sharing was an accusation made by the Christians but modern scholars speculate they misunderstood and exaggerated Viking divorce practices.

[Babalooie]

Quote

Was that Norse or did the brothers understand Aelle's Ye Olde English?

Does anyone here know what language was actually being spoken in the blood eagle scene? 

[tennisgurl]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

That was a nice hat!

All I was thinking that whole scene was "I want that hat!" through that whole scene!

Damn Aelle. This is what you get for underestimating the Great Heathen Army. I loved when the Bishop and Aelles faces when they saw the army, and their increasing "oh crap". I don't like the guy, but getting blood eagled and nailed to wood while seeing Ivars grinning mug as you die is a crappy way to go.

This episode was more like some good scenes in a crappy episode. The sacrifice scene was fascinating (the guy playing the sacrifice was great), and I always think the human sacrifice scenes are so alien and strange, I find them to be haunting. Well, the parts of the actual sacrifice was interesting. The cuts to Bjorn and Astrid totally killed the mood (no pun intended) with their pointlessness. What even is this? I love Bjorn, why are they screwing him up? Why are they having him screw around with stupid Astrid while screwing over his mom and poor awesome Torvi? Whats the point? I would have rather had him hook up with that harem girl if they had to show that Bjorn having his Ragnar inspired quarter life crisis.

I cracked up at Floki telling Helga that the kid she stole is obviously not doing well, and she should focus on the girl and not following Floki to battle. Damn Helga, when even Floki thinks your acting weird...

The "I hear your god is a carpenter, well so am I" line was classic Floki. Maybe Flokis hatred of Christianity has always been professional envy!

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Harald and his brother are the nastiest looking things. I bet they smell as bad as they look! No wonder the princess didn't want him.

I can't believe that Harald didn't have sense enough to sneak out to the horse trough and freshen up a bit before going over to the princess.

This is a bit OT but speaking of nasty: I've seen other Viking shows/movies (I remember seeing it in The 13th Warrior and Antonio Banderas' character looked like he was about to throw up watching them do this) where they blow their noses into the washing and drinking bowls.  I saw Ivar doing it this episode.  I guess snot has some healing powers?

[ChromaKelly]

Ugh, I hate the Bjorn/Astrid thing! I've always liked Bjorn and I thought he was great with Torvi. It's all so WTF and out of left field. I wasn't sure if the Bjorn/Astrid sex scene was taking place at the same time as the sacrifice or if it was Bjorn thinking about it while the ritual was going on. 
I agree that the Earl was a cutie but he looked to modern and not Viking-like.
Ivar is getting more menacing and it's disturbing me that I find him really attractive. 
Lagertha looked so regal. I love the owl, even though it makes no sense really. 
That blood eagle was much more horrible than the Earl Borg one. Ragnar was almost mystical-looking when he carried it out, and Borg took it like a Viking. 
Yeah.. I'm also not digging Ubbe and Hvitserk sharing the wife. I could see sharing a servant or slave, but not a wife. Not sure what's up with that or why the show is making that choice. Maybe to set up a rivalry?

[Stratego]

1 minute ago, ChromaKelly said:

Ugh, I hate the Bjorn/Astrid thing! I've always liked Bjorn and I thought he was great with Torvi. It's all so WTF and out of left field. I wasn't sure if the Bjorn/Astrid sex scene was taking place at the same time as the sacrifice or if it was Bjorn thinking about it while the ritual was going on. 
I agree that the Earl was a cutie but he looked to modern and not Viking-like.
Ivar is getting more menacing and it's disturbing me that I find him really attractive. 
Lagertha looked so regal. I love the owl, even though it makes no sense really. 
That blood eagle was much more horrible than the Earl Borg one. Ragnar was almost mystical-looking when he carried it out, and Borg took it like a Viking. 
Yeah.. I'm also not digging Ubbe and Hvitserk sharing the wife. I could see sharing a servant or slave, but not a wife. Not sure what's up with that or why the show is making that choice. Maybe to set up a rivalry?

Lagertha's comment to Astrid when she entered the bed should have answered your question.

[ChromaKelly]

1 minute ago, Stratego said:

Lagertha's comment to Astrid when she entered the bed should have answered your question.

I must have missed it. 

[ShannaB]

10 minutes ago, ChromaKelly said:

Ivar is getting more menacing and it's disturbing me that I find him really attractive. 
 

It's a bit disturbing to me that I am feeling quite cougarish.

I have to agree with those who have said that this episode felt very disjointed.  I am guessing that we are seeing some 'padding' while getting glimpses of the transition of power to Ivar and Alfred.  It will be interesting to see how Hirst handles Bjorn stepping back for Ivar to lead.  Maybe Bjorn is injured?  If so, then Ivar would be the obvious deadly choice.

The one thing I would love to see is a smile on Ecbert's face when told the Heathen Army is on his door step.  It would be a nod to Ragnar as in 'well played old friend'.  The last 2 episodes will have to have a lot of set-up for the next Season with Ivar and Alfred playing chess with real life.

I do feel sorry for Aelle's wife and daughter because they are the innocents who will suffer greatly due to his pompous stupitity

[bluvelvet]

I assumed they were speaking old English, Bjorn has been to Wessex before and I assume Ivar picked up something when he travelled there  with Ragnar. I got the sense the others didn't understand what Bjorn was asking Aelle. 

Also Aelle went out like a punk, begging and pleading and offering up gold and silver. Goes to show how tough these Vikings were, no screaming while being tortured to death. 

[whoknowswho]

Count me as yet another not happy with this episode.  Seems I don't like many of them recently. Totally bored with the whole sex thing--I get it, they were a permissive society. They liked to share, fine, stop giving it so much screen time.   Bjorn has lost what tiny bit of like I had for him.  We watched it on demand yesterday, and I found myself looking at my computer more than the TV screen, not because anything bothered me particularly, but because it's been done.  

But why--why give us these women whose main purpose seems to be sexual outlets for men--like Margarethe?  I wasn't paying attention really when she got married--and asked my husband did she marry Ubbe, or Hvitserk, 'cause I totally thought it was Hvitserk. And I was wrong. 

I didn't really even watch the sacrifice, because we've seen it so many times so many ways. Nothing will ever replace in poignancy or impact, Leif dying at Upsalla for Athelstan.  That episode rocked me. This one did not.  

So Astrid and Bjorn skip out on a very important ritual of Lagertha's--did they think it would go unnoticed? No, it didn't.

I zoned out during Aethelwulf's, "Daddy, don't you love me?" sketch. Seems way, way too modern--this was the Dark Ages, not As the world turns. I highly doubt he and his king would be having such a conversation--it seemed like filler. Will he ultimately kill his father?  I guess that's possible if the Great Heathen Army doesn't get him/them first.

I was looking at the time, and at the army assembling before Aelle--and the last thing I expected, was his blood eagling this episode. I really expected a battle so when it jumped to him begging for my life--I was shocked. 

Now, Aelle was no Jarl Borg, to be sure.  He didn't "take it like a man", he screamed and understandably so. The episode with Jarl Borg, was almost like art--it was stunning and disturbing and almost beautiful at the same time. The gong in the background, Borg spitting blood but making no sound--Ragnar's speech previously that he would spread his ribs "Like the wings of an eagle"  in my mind's eye, after not seeing it for several years, that scene just  pops into my head.  

King Aelle, despite me hating him, as he was slowly hacked to pieces during the very dying minutes of the show--assaulted me but didn't have the same effect as Jarl Borg, this was just a bloody, screamy awful death. Which he deserved I suppose.  But then they had to show us what until then we've only imagined and has been 1000X more terrible because we have only imagined it--lungs outside a person's body--hanging with little blood on him and looking like an angel--I would have preferred not to see that. Ivar, the slithering serpent--was as terrible as I can imagine. I did notice Sigurd, while the other boys smiled--he looked horrified. 

[ghoulina]

12 hours ago, Jeebus Cripes said:

RE The Heathen Army: The sight of Floki alone would have made me shat my pants. That black paint and his imposing stature was scary as all hell.

Wasn't that great? He looked like a true giant. I loved it. 

 

5 hours ago, The Kings Foot said:

Wife sharing was an accusation made by the Christians but modern scholars speculate they misunderstood and exaggerated Viking divorce practices.

I concur. I was just discussing it further with my husband last night, and we were talking about how a lot of conceptions people have/had of the Vikings may have been due to Christian perceptions of them, and exaggerations based on their own morals and standards. Christians were the ones keeping a lot of the history, so we have to remember that things they recorded might be a bit biased. I'm not saying Vikings were pure as the driven snow, but given the importance they placed on their legacy and lineage, I don't think wife sharing would be a very prudent idea. 

 

1 hour ago, bluvelvet said:

I assumed they were speaking old English, Bjorn has been to Wessex before and I assume Ivar picked up something when he travelled there  with Ragnar. I got the sense the others didn't understand what Bjorn was asking Aelle. 

I thought it was OE as well. It seems a lot more plausible that Bjorn would be able to speak that, than that the obtuse AElla would have picked up Norse. 

[LilWharveyGal]

Whatever language it was, it amused me that the words for "gold" and "silver" have remained the same.  I guess money really does talk!

[nodorothyparker]

While Christianity has its own traditions for martyrdom, Aelle's hopes for heaven weren't wholly dependent on being able to stoically endure torture and execution without making a sound.  Before blood eagling Jarl Borg, Ragnar made a point of explaining to a younger Bjorn and then reminding Borg that he would forfeit his entry into Valhalla if he screamed or fought it.  So regardless of whether Ragnar actually believed in it or not he met the requirements for an honorable death that would get him there, which of course Aelle never understood when he was trying to break him to get him to beg or atone.

In hindsight, yeah, they probably were speaking Old English.  On initial viewing I kept thinking it had to be Norse because Floki was involved and all of the sons seemed to be following what was said.  The only words I recognized in any of it were "gold and silver" too.  But now it does seem more probable that Bjorn picked up some English on his previous trips to Wessex and Ivar on his recent adventure with Ragnar and that they might have passed on a little to the others.  Usually the show does a better job of making it clear when they're switching languages and who understands what.

[SherriAnt]

5 hours ago, ChromaKelly said:

Ivar is getting more menacing and it's disturbing me that I find him really attractive

His eyes looked like they were glowing under that helmet and watching AElle die, and it was sexy af!!

On ‎2017‎-‎01‎-‎19 at 7:19 AM, nodorothyparker said:

how many of the Vikings were wearing their big heavy furs on the battlefield

I kind of thought they wore them to look bigger and more menacing. Weren't they already taller than the average? Add bulk to that and it looks like an army of giants.

[nodorothyparker]

They're clearly using whatever special effect lighting they used to use to make Ragnar's eyes pop on screen on Ivar now.  No other characters' eyes are lit like that.

The furs do make them look bigger.  But they're going to get dropped on the ground and trampled underfoot when they have to start slashing with those axes in battle.  This may be wandering into my own ongoing fascination with who's doing all the nonstop washing of all these bloody clothes that amuses my husband so much.

[nodorothyparker]

That's quite possible.  We know that along with the sagas Hirst is taking bits and pieces from sketchy and very possibly biased records and filling in the blanks.  IIRC, there are accounts that describe them seemingly impervious to fear of death or pain, which we've seen Saxon characters repeat on the show.  Since there's really no way to know for sure and the show is presenting it as fact, I accept that at least within the show universe the rules are what they say they are.

[Paradigm14]

On 1/19/2017 at 6:41 AM, Babalooie said:

Regarding the man who offered himself up for sacrifice, Lagertha called him Earl Jorgensen.  He was the same Earl who presented the sword to Lagertha in the Great Hall in The Great Army. 

When I noticed that, I couldn't help but think his loss was an error on her part. He seemed like quite friendly guy an a useful ally.

[FlowerofCarnage]

I guess Ubbe isn't too concerned with the paternity of any future children because they would still be blood related to him.

[Babalooie]

In Old Norse:  gold - marglod

                        silver - silfr

 

In Old English:  gylden

                          silfren

 

Go Figure.

[whoknowswho]

36 minutes ago, Grashka said:

Berserkers, they called them, I think. They were supposed to get into some sort of superhuman rage, fueled by hallucinogens and drugs. Coupled with their upbringing and training, I do believe it could make some people fearless and much more immune to pain than the others, so I think those accounts are likely true. Altough we have seen at least on berserker on the show, the one who went after Bjorn. He seemed almost untouchable but even he didn't remain, well, stoical, when Bjorn was wrapping his intesines around a tree...ugh...lol

Personally I've not perceived the sequence with Jarl Borg in a literal manner, same as Aslaug giving a birth to Ivar with the Norns spinning in the background. But I see your point that in the show universe both those scenes may be a reality.

 

1 hour ago, Grashka said:

IMO that whole "Jarl Borg not screaming and taking it like a badass" thing probably should be put among the show fairy-tales, along with Odin walking among the people with a cloud of his ravens. I don't think anyone - Viking or not - would stoically endure having their back hacked open, ribs broken and cut in half with lugs hanging outside, let alone standing still through it all. I don't even think anyone would live through half of it, they would probably die from shock and massive blood loss. I tried to research the blood eagle thing and some historians question if such a form of torture was even really performed, some say this torture existed but not in the form depicted by the show - they describe it as an eagle-shape being carved on the back of the victim by cutting their skin and then rubbing salt into the wounds. Which sounds awful enough, but in no way as horrific and over the top as what we just saw in the show (I know that their depiction is rooted in sagas though).

You'll get no argument from me on any of that.  If Jarl Borg was silent, it was because he was written that way "it's in the script," as hubby says...and not because he actually was silent.  But the fact he was written that way made that entire scene "artistic", Jarl Borg a tragic and beautiful character in a wretchedly striking (oh, I didn't mean a double entendre there) way.  King Aelle's death was just gory and horrifying.  And I have no doubt the shock would cause death probably when the ribs were hacked open, before the lungs were removed.  I did look it up somewhere--and in one account the salt was actually placed on the lungs (they would shrivel on contact, I'd think), causing excruciating pain and death. Not my number one pick for being executed, but drawing and quartering or impalement isn't pleasant, either. 

I was interested in Sigurd's reaction, which looked not like pity exactly, but more disgust. Where the other boys smiled, he grimaced. 

Ivar in history is said to have killed King Aelle but it's ok with me how it was handled by Bjorn. When Aelle saw Floki--I wonder did he remember him from the first visit to their shores? Can't remember if they had met previously, but would seem to me he'd be one to remember.

[nodorothyparker]

Floki was one of Ragnar's entourage during his initial meeting/dinner with Aelle and his court.  He showed up in full guyliner and instigated the breaking of plates and generally acting like a barbarian (which is extremely funny in this context) at the table, much to the visible disgust of the Saxons.  He also noticeably sulked his way through Rollo's baptism.  Aelle may have recognized him as one of Ragnar's cohorts but he may also have been well past thinking about much of anything but his own terror by that point. 

[BitterApple]

9 hours ago, SherriAnt said:

 

I kind of thought they wore them to look bigger and more menacing. Weren't they already taller than the average? Add bulk to that and it looks like an army of giants.

Just did some Googling and the average height of a Viking male was 5'8". In comparison, the average height of a man today is just shy of 5'10", so not all that much of a difference. They probably were gigantic compared to the rest of the population back then.

[Kalliste]

On 1/19/2017 at 2:29 PM, taurusrose said:

I thought she would end up on the sacrificial altar, imagine my disappointment.

I thought Astrid was going to the altar too when it was mentioned it would be a human sacrifice. Sort of the way that Ragnar had offered up Athelstan because he was important to Ragnar. Hopefully next time :P

I'm pretty sure we knew the backstory of why Harald was trying to be king of Norway. Didn't he mention it when he first met Lagertha, that he was going to become king of Norway for a girl?

The Aella stuff was hard to watch! Much more so than what they did to Ragnar, although I didn't like watching that either. I guess their message will be loud and clear.

I like the scene with Ecbert and Aethelwulf and how we finally know now that Aethelwulf knows he's been a pawn all this time. Given Ecbert can lie about just about everything, you would think he could have just told him he loved him.

Have to admit I'm still in the "I miss Ragnar" camp. That battle would have been so much more amazing if he had been in the lead. Although Floki looked pretty awesome. Aella and the priest seem to shit themselves when they saw him. 

Hoping Bjorn stops being a dickhead (although he was always a bratty, annoying kid) and Astrid goes bye bye pretty soon.

[millennium]

This episode undermined Bjorn.  I was embarrassed for him as his voice became shrill, demanding that his stupid brothers follow his command.

I don't even know Lagertha anymore.   She was a farmer and a shield-maiden, a warrior, not whoever that was showboating with the owl on her shoulder.

The show keeps trying to make Ivar happen and falls flat on its face every time.  I thought he looked like the world's biggest toddler at the battle, in the world's baddest stroller.  Floki looked menacing for a change.

I think it took the Vikings less time to sail to Northumbria than it takes Kirk and Spock to beam down to a planet.   The collapsed time is robbing this show of its pace.   It's feeling like it's more about scenes than story now.   Don't even get me started about that cocktease of a battle.

How did Ragnar's sons know his last promise to King Aelle, about the squealing pigs?   Suddenly this show is veering into cliche supernatural touches, like everyone sensing a disturbance in the Force as King Aelle was executed.  

Another disappointing episode overall. 

[Euphony]

The show needs to stop repeating the piggies/old boar line. It was a great line (thanks historic Ragnar!), but enough.

I don't like this Bjorn at all. His speech to his brother's defitinely caused me second hand embarrassment.  Your father didn't give speeches because when you have to tell people you are in charge, you have already lost the war.

[gwhh]

Here a question that been begging at me.  How did Lathagar get that owl??  Why does she have it?  What it's name?   What species of owl is it?  

[BitterApple]

5 hours ago, millennium said:

 

I think it took the Vikings less time to sail to Northumbria than it takes Kirk and Spock to beam down to a planet.   The collapsed time is robbing this show of its pace.  

That's the one major gripe I have with the show. Time jumps have always been clumsy. It's hard to get a feel for where we are. Bjorn had to sail back from the Med. Word had to go out all across Scandinavia that an army needed to be raised. That would've taken a while back then...yet Bjorn's kids have been the same age throughout all of it. The pacing is throwing me for a loop.

[Hawk]

How did Bjorn turn out to be such a terrible Father and husband when his parents were so clearly not.

[Ohwell]

I just love Bjorn's and Floki's battle faces.  If they stared me down like that, I'd be scared shitless.

[Captanne]

I enjoyed this episode as I do all of them.  Some more than others and (amazingly) this show has yet to give me a real clunker.  

Overall, the trend is getting a little bit too soapy for me but it's not quite "too too" for me, yet.  

It's inevitable that, as the show settles without its single lead into an ensemble cast about which power and sex has always been a large part, it get a bit more soapy than it was.  When it focused mainly on Ragnar, it could avoid soap.  Now, the ensemble is really poised to go full on Tide Suds Cycle.  I hope it doesn't.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Captanne

[Ohwell]

Well, I recognize that the show can't always be about raping and murdering and pillaging.  These were real humans as well, and they did have relationships.  I referred to parts of this episode as The Young and the Restless but I meant that as a compliment, not as a complaint.  

I like seeing a more human side of these characters, even if I don't like who some of them are hooking up with *coughBjornAstridcough*, and some of them have seemingly gone batshit crazy *coughHelgacough.*

[green]

12 hours ago, Euphony said:

I don't like this Bjorn at all. His speech to his brother's defitinely caused me second hand embarrassment.  Your father didn't give speeches because when you have to tell people you are in charge, you have already lost the war.

Hirst said he wrote that bit as Bjorn attempting to replicate Ragnar's famous speech from the first Paris campaign where he rolled out of his sick bed and went out into the rain and yelled at all the people who were squabbling over what to do next.  Rollo, Floki, Lagertha and Bjorn were all among them.  He told them he never wanted to be king but now that he was he and he alone was in charge and the others should shut up and listen.

I think (hope anyway, hah) that Bjorn's attempt at this was made bad on purpose (by Hirst and the actor, NOT by Bjorn) to show that Bjorn isn't Ragnar and doesn't have that "it" factor Ragnar had and never will have.

If you view it from this pov it is pretty funny especially when you add in a pouting,sulking Ivar and the others looking like school boys being scolded.  Like the youngins' playing at being adults.  Including the much older Bjorn acting more like a teenager flexing his muscles for the first time.

Edited January 21, 2017 by green

[nodorothyparker]

That's how I saw it too.  Bjorn is likely feeling like he has to try to step up and fill the hole Ragnar left but he's not Ragnar.  Although Ragnar actually could be shouty too on occasion.

I honestly didn't mind it viewed through that prism.  Besides, it wasn't like what he was saying didn't make any sense.  I'm enjoying this portrayal of Ivar a lot but the idea that this huge Viking army including kings and earls was going to unquestioningly follow an entirely unknown crippled kid who's never even seen a battle when his more famous big brother was right there at this stage of things was ludicrous.