S04.E18: Revenge

[SharonH58]

Not one of my fave episodes.  I too don't like Bjorn's actions.  He wanted Torvi and now his mom's girlfriend?  As a child he chastised his dad for cheating on his mom.  Now they have to make him 'act' like Ragnar?  I'm glad Lagertha and Torvi are aware of it and I don't think Lagertha will put up with it. 

Why marry the slave girl when you were going to continue with share her?  That made no sense to me except to be provocative.  And I can not get into Ivar.  The crawling and now a freaking chariot?  I want to see him wield that thing over the country side, fall out and then try and fight.   And Bjorn should have smacked that grin off his face when he was telling his bros he was boss.

And I wish they hadn't killed crazy Queen K.  I liked her and Aethelwulf.  Where is Magnus???

[BitterApple]

Magnus got tossed out of Wessex after Ragnar told him he wasn't his father. Right now it's anyone's guess as to where he ended up.

[Stratego]

4 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Magnus got tossed out of Wessex after Ragnar told him he wasn't his father. Right now it's anyone's guess as to where he ended up.

By the "law of TV writing", Magnus has to do something in a later episode, else meeting Ragnar was a totally pointless scene.

[TaurusRose]

17 minutes ago, Stratego said:

By the "law of TV writing", Magnus has to do something in a later episode, else meeting Ragnar was a totally pointless scene.

Why?  The Chinese woman hogged up a lot of screen time and she was completely pointless.

[magdalene]

18 hours ago, taurusrose said:

Why?  The Chinese woman hogged up a lot of screen time and she was completely pointless.

I didn't like the character but I thought she was hardly pointless. She got Ragnar addicted to drugs and his later killing of her wasn't exactly his most shining moment.  One could say she was the mechanism that made Ragnar change for the worse.

[TaurusRose]

4 hours ago, magdalene said:

I didn't like the character but I thought she was hardly pointless. She got Ragnar addicted to drugs and his later killing of her wasn't exactly his most shining moment.  One could say she was the mechanism that made Ragnar change for the worse.

I was so annoyed by that storyline that I never considered that POV.

Edited January 23, 2017 by taurusrose
Correct typo

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, taurusrose said:

I was do annoyed by that storyline that I never considered that POV.

I didn't either, but it makes a lot of sense. Ragnar was never the same after Paris and he was a huge factor in losing Paris because he was blitzed on drugs when he should have been training and strategizing. Since real history dictated the Vikings had to lose, Yidu was a necessary character because something had to throw Ragnar off his game. Personally, I would've preferred a straightforward "they got their asses kicked in battle" but I guess this works too. 

[Lady Iris]

Do not like this Bjorn. The only person he's decent to anymore is Lagertha if we don't count on the screwing of her paramour by him.  

Does anybody know what the timeframe would have been, realistically, to sail from Kattegat to England and if we might see Rollo again?

[BitterApple]

Purely guessing here, but maybe around four days? Provided they didn't get lost and the weather was in their favor.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Bjorn And The Kids Go For Revenge Ragnar Would So Appreciate On Vikings

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

[spinxella]

Extended scene of Bjorn saying good-bye to his children.

He is much warmer in this version.

[PatsyandEddie]

That scene should have been shown so Björn didn't look like such a cold jerk. I was impressed by him saying, "I am less deserving but I love you." You are a lucky man Björn so don't blow it. 

[SingleMaltBlonde]

Somebody's NOT getting into Valhalla.

On 1/20/2017 at 6:39 PM, FlowerofCarnage said:

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

Also they are both headed off to battle...whoever survives gets her?

[pixieil]

On 1/18/2017 at 9:22 PM, Silverglitter said:

That Danish princess reminded me of Rebecca DeMornay. Specifically as her Milady de Winter role in the Three Musketeers.

You  are SO right! That must be why I felt like I had seen her before.

[Casually Observant]

On 1/21/2017 at 0:41 AM, BitterApple said:

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.

I wonder if the height thing is accurate. There have been ancient mummies found in various unexpected places in the world (far from Europe) that had red or golden hair and beards and caucasian features. Some of their hair was braided, and some had tattoos on their bodies. These mummies were reportedly about 6ft 6in in height.  Some of the sandals found with the mummies were as big as 15 inches long.  So, who were those people?  I'm thinking they could have been from the Viking stock.  But, all of this is a guess. I'm going to imagine the Vikings were pretty big guys who were extremely fearless, fit and strong for their size, whatever it was.

On 1/18/2017 at 9:10 PM, Babalooie said:

Is Eckbert becoming senile?

I don't think Eckbert is becoming senile, I think he has learned what the meaning and worth of life is, finally.  After losing Athelstan (perhaps his only true love) his spirit was crushed and he began a journey of introspection of his own actions and the consequences they wrought.

Then, after so much time had passed, Ragnar unexpectedly came back – not to attack him, but to visit him.

Ragnar was his only intellectual equal. Both were kings and brilliant strategists. Both had accomplished huge things, and both had endured the loss of Athelstan, their true friend and love.

Ragnar clearly had also learned the same truths that Eckbert had through so much bloodshed and anguish and appeared to be in the same defeated state of acceptance.

Eckbert realized there may be no other living person he could commiserate with besides Ragnar. Ragnar's wish to die was too much for him. He was not in favor of it. He just wanted him to stay and be his friend.  

Now we see the state that Eckbert is in, full of the knowledge that he sent Ragnar (per Ragnar's wishes) to his death and aware of the certain revenge that was soon to follow by Ragnar's many sons.

On 1/18/2017 at 9:22 PM, Straycat80 said:

Bjorn is such an uber Viking I was surprised he didn't stay for the whole sacrifice event and chose to go get busy with Astrid.

I think there will be more to this. Bjorn seemed distracted with a look on his face I couldn't decipher during the ceremony. It was if he was thinking of something pretty important. I believe he was worried about leaving his mother with Astrid while he was gone. He didn't trust Astrid and was trying to figure out a way to show his mother who Astrid really was - a person who would betray her. I don't see any other reason he would do this, because it just seems incongruous with who he is as a person.

On 1/18/2017 at 10:33 PM, taurusrose said:

Okay, but the guy in the picture still doesn't look like a Viking to me.  

I agree. Two men did not look like they were cast properly for this episode. The brunette guy who volunteered for the sacrifice and also the Earl that Finehair's princess crush married. Both of these men had clean-shaven, smooth, unweathered faces, brown (not blond) hair that was cut in a style that was more appropriate for Wessex rather than Vikingland and they had no muscles, no tattoos, no scars or other signs of battle, which they surely would have had by that age.

On 1/20/2017 at 1:31 AM, 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.

Yes!  When I first saw him walking in front of the horde with the black paint across his eyes, I didn't recognize it as Floki. My first thought was, damn, that guy looks big and really scary.

On 1/20/2017 at 10:05 AM, ChromaKelly said:

I must have missed it. 

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

I believe Lagertha said to Astrid as Astrid snuck into the bed while she thought Lagertha was sleeping, 'I hope it was worth it.".

[Casually Observant]

Sorry for the late post, I had DVR'd the show and just got around to watching - BUT!  

WHY HAS NO ONE COMMENTED ON THE UFO IN THE SKY DURING THE SACRIFICE?  A UFO PEOPLE!

[green]

^  I recall a meteor, no UFO.

[hincandenza]

On 1/18/2017 at 7:10 PM, slf said:

How rude to intercut that fantastic sacrifice scene with Bjorn and Astrid rutting. Lagertha's beautiful white dress and cloak, her hair and simple coronet of twigs, the gold minimalist face paint, the owl on her shoulder. Perfection. I didn't recognize the man who volunteered for sacrifice but he was amazing too, letting go of the straps and taking Lagertha's shoulders. Historically that did happen, people did volunteer for sacrifice to appease the Gods and, hopefully, end a plague or famine. I loved that Lagertha maintained eye contact and held the man as he died.

So I'm posting belatedly, as the second half of season 4 just hit Hulu a few days ago.  Not knowing how the remaining 3 (?) episodes will play out, my own take on this was that yes, the sex scene wasn't "earned" enough, but we should at least acknowledge the pretty clear (and possibly too heavy handed) visual metaphor going on.  Just as Lagertha is "penetrating" Earl Wassisname, with him then willingly pulling himself onto her sword as a sacrifice, Bjorn is penetrating Astrid- his own mother's lover (I'm on the "wtf" train with this too, people!) who is equally willing in her own penetration... and with Lagertha's line after Astrid back to bed, it may be foreshadowing Astrid's own upcoming death as a sacrifice of some sort.  

Or even crazier, maybe Astrid is one of the "weaknesses" that Earl Grayscale discovered.  Eh, I'm speculating on a show that finished airing months ago, so I'll either feel brilliant or foolish once I finish watching this season. :)

 

On 1/18/2017 at 7:56 PM, Pogojoco said:

I don't know how many baseball fans are on here, but this dude on the left is Josh Donaldson, third basemen for the Toronto Blue Jays, American League MVP in 2015. He loves the show, they gave him a part. 

(For clarification, Donaldson is the one with the fur and the braid.) 

 

That's super cool, thanks for pointing that out (I say as a lifelong Sox fan... sorry!).  I faux recognized him when he came on the screen, thinking "Huh, he really looks familiar, but I don't think he's been on the show before... yet where do I know him from?".  Now I know! :)  

 

On 3/2/2017 at 0:21 PM, Casually Observant said:

I don't think Eckbert is becoming senile, I think he has learned what the meaning and worth of life is, finally.  After losing Athelstan (perhaps his only true love) his spirit was crushed and he began a journey of introspection of his own actions and the consequences they wrought.

Then, after so much time had passed, Ragnar unexpectedly came back – not to attack him, but to visit him.

Ragnar was his only intellectual equal. Both were kings and brilliant strategists. Both had accomplished huge things, and both had endured the loss of Athelstan, their true friend and love.

Ragnar clearly had also learned the same truths that Eckbert had through so much bloodshed and anguish and appeared to be in the same defeated state of acceptance.

I snipped most of that for space, but this was a fantastic comment through and through.  Thanks for sharing!  Those were some great insights, and helped clarify my own vague thoughts on Ecbert and his motivations.

 

On 3/3/2017 at 3:00 PM, Casually Observant said:

Sorry for the late post, I had DVR'd the show and just got around to watching - BUT!  

WHY HAS NO ONE COMMENTED ON THE UFO IN THE SKY DURING THE SACRIFICE?  A UFO PEOPLE!

Ah, you're looking for the Fargo season 2 threads.  :)