S04.E20: The Reckoning

[nodorothyparker]

7 hours ago, Kalliste said:

Also, why did it take the vikings so long to find Ecbert and the priest? And I can't believe that none of them would have killed him before he made it outside. The majority of those people wouldn't have known who he was. Has Bjorn even met him before? How did he know was? Maybe if it had been Ivar who mentioned it.

They were pretty busy plundering and destroying when they found the place practically empty.  I doubt they had any expectation of finding a king or former king hanging around the throne room with only token protection.  He was wandering around in a white robe and not decked out like a king might be expected to be.

 Yes, Bjorn had seen Ecbert up close on several occasions.  He was part of Ragnar's entourage in the meeting that struck the deal for the original Wessex settlement.  He was also part of the group that was feasted before and after the fighting for Mercia in early season 3.   They may not have known each other well, but they both would have been aware of who the other was.

[Captanne]

Yeah, since when in this series did Vikings care who slept with whom?  Ivar's slur was out of left field. 

Perhaps Sigurd's actor wanted off the show (for personal reasons) or got another commitment? 

[WatchrTina]

10 hours ago, spinxella said:

This scene was deleted from the American broadcast.  Torvi is alive.

But where was it in the broadcast?  If it's a pre-battle scene then it doesn't prove she survived.  That shot of her lying on the ground with staring (dead?) eyes seemed to me to be pretty conclusive evidence that she did not survive the attack.

[Silverglitter]

12 hours ago, spinxella said:

This scene was deleted from the American broadcast.

Torvi is alive.

It's nice to know Torvi is alive, but I'm glad this scene was cut anyway. It would've been just as jarring and out of place as the preying bishop's was.

I'm usually annoyed that they cut stuff for American broadcasts, because it tends to be stuff that would've provided context and help us understand certain parts of episodes better, but in this case, I think it was a good idea to chop it.

Edited February 4, 2017 by Silverglitter

[TaurusRose]

9 hours ago, Babalooie said:

American commercials probably take up more time, also.  At least the ones with the Vikings wearing their wives' eye makeup and singing "The Wheels on the Bus" are entertaining. 

Maybe the first time you see it, but becomes highly annoying thereafter.  

Edited February 4, 2017 by taurusrose

[Captanne]

I must say in that clip, Lagertha's acting is terrible. 

[Silverglitter]

12 minutes ago, Captanne said:

I must say in that clip, Lagertha's acting is terrible. 

Winnick is not a great actress.

She's beautiful and had a ton of chemistry with Fimmel, which I think went a long way towards making her an audience favorite imo.

[green]

6 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

But where was it in the broadcast?  If it's a pre-battle scene then it doesn't prove she survived.  That shot of her lying on the ground with staring (dead?) eyes seemed to me to be pretty conclusive evidence that she did not survive the attack.

It was from THIS episode as broadcast outside the US and Canada therefore it was post battle.  Yes, Torvi is indeed alive.

[JayKhan]

On ‎02‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 10:43 PM, ennui said:

"Knightfall will focus on the Knights Templar, a mysterious and fascinating order from the Middle Ages. Based on the description released by History, Knightfall will bring many realistic characters and a great amount of war and brute force, much like Vikings. The official synopsis for Knightfall offers some insight into the "most powerful, wealthy and mysterious military order of the Middle Ages".

"Knightfall goes deep into the inner sanctum of the clandestine world of this legendary brotherhood of warrior monks. From their battles in the Holy Land, to their clashes with both the King of France and Pope Boniface VIII, to the betrayal that would ultimately lead to their tragic dissolution on Friday the 13th–a date which became synonymous with bad luck–the story of the Knights Templar has never been fully told until now. Knightfall takes you inside the world to find out who these knights were, how they lived, and what they died believing."

Sounds promising, do you know when it will be first shown?

[Guest]

13 hours ago, Captanne said:

I must say in that clip, Lagertha's acting is terrible. 

And her hair is ridiculous. 

[ghoulina]

On 2/3/2017 at 9:54 PM, Son of the Norse said:

I read some where (or saw it somewhere), that an early discoverer called it Greenland only to make it more appealing... ?

Yes. It was Erik the Red, who had been basically kicked out of  Iceland. They called it that to try and get more settlers to come. 

Ironically, Iceland was given ITS name for the opposite reason, to keep people out.

[Son of the Norse]

Great info Ghoulina! :)

[tennisgurl]

Losing Ragnar was hard enough, but now we lose...Floki`s eye liner?!?! Its like I don't even know you anymore, show!

[whoknowswho]

On 2/4/2017 at 0:40 AM, Knuckles said:

There is an archeologist at the University of Alabama who uses satellite technology to look for patterns that suggest early settlements in what appear to be empty places. She has discovered a site in Newfoundland, Canada that puts the Viking settlements 300 miles further west than anyone imagined. More info....

 

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/04/did_alabama_space_archaeologis.html

I'm from Newfoundland--my sisters were both born there.  Where the first Viking settlement L'Anse aux Meadows was discovered by Helga Ingstad in 1960. Now it's exciting to see another settlerment.  

The Vikings thought they had reached "Vinland"--at L'Anse Aux Meadows.  It's thought the Vikings only stayed 20 years in Newfoundland before moving on--what we loving call "The Rock", can be a inhospitable place, even now. 

[Babalooie]

 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0803890/  tennisgurl, Floki is kinda cute in real life without the guyliner.

[Jul 68]

Welcome Babalooie! I hope you enjoy this forum.

[Tesla]

On 2/9/2017 at 10:21 AM, Babalooie said:

 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0803890/  tennisgurl, Floki is kinda cute in real life without the guyliner.

Floki is a Skarsgard, yum.

[LOA-maker]

a great ep. i don't get why they want to kill Siguard.why? seems needless.

[Stratego]

8 minutes ago, LOA-maker said:

a great ep. i don't get why they want to kill Siguard.why? seems needless.

I think that he is excess baggage as far as the stories to be told. Bjorn has a destiny in the Med (known history) and Hvitsik will be travelling with him.  Ivar has a known history as a conqueror (Ireland, etc.).  Ubbe is apparently going to play "Guthrunn".   Sigurd's "story" would just get lost in the mix, especially considering that Floki's story is included.

[Captanne]

I also suggested that the actor may have other commitments.  I don't know because I don't follow their lives outside of the show other than peripherally. 

[green]

22 hours ago, Stratego said:

I think that he is excess baggage as far as the stories to be told. Bjorn has a destiny in the Med (known history) and Hvitsik will be travelling with him.  Ivar has a known history as a conqueror (Ireland, etc.).  Ubbe is apparently going to play "Guthrunn".   Sigurd's "story" would just get lost in the mix, especially considering that Floki's story is included.

Hvitserk isn't going back to the Med with Bjorn.  Halfdan, Harold's brother, said he was going back in that scene and he is the only one.  Hvitserk was notable by not volunteering at that point.

Sigurd had a far FAR more interesting personality than Hvitserk.  Yes I'm still pissed they killed off Sigurd.  He had some really interesting possibilities for story lines given his personality.

[Ohwell]

Hvitserk was the one who wanted to settle down with the farming, right?  If so, in future seasons I would be interested in seeing how the farming community fares.  I don't want to see all fighting, all the time.  

Sigurd might have had a more interesting personality but I got tired of him snarking on crazy Ivar.  So I don't really miss Sigurd.

[Captanne]

I'm not very invested in any of the sons except for Ivar (because the actor is neat and the character is so devious and ruthless) and Bjorn (because he so desperately wants to emulate Ragnar, is frustrated when he doesn't live up to his own ideal, and then also wants to be his own man with his own fame -- that is complicated and I like it.)

I think the actor who plays Ubbe is handsome and the character seems to be the smart, consistent, and more subtle of all of them.

Sigurd (sorry, hated the hair and teenage facial fur) annoyed me to no end.  But that has value as a part of an ensemble.  "The Annoying Perpetual Moody Teenager".  I wasn't exactly sorry to see him go but thought it was too bad, never the less.

It certainly upped the stakes for Ivar's future.

[green]

23 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Hvitserk was the one who wanted to settle down with the farming, right?  If so, in future seasons I would be interested in seeing how the farming community fares.  I don't want to see all fighting, all the time.  

Sigurd might have had a more interesting personality but I got tired of him snarking on crazy Ivar.  So I don't really miss Sigurd.

No that was Ubbe who wanted to find farm land for their people.  Hvitserk seems to back him but that was Ubbe taking the lead.

[Ohwell]

11 minutes ago, green said:

No that was Ubbe who wanted to find farm land for their people.  Hvitserk seems to back him but that was Ubbe taking the lead.

Ok, I forgot about Ubbe but I remember that Hvitserk wanted to farm, too. 

[One Tough Cookie]

On ‎2‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 2:34 AM, millennium said:

Ivar is a psychopathic thug.   He is not interesting or engaging.   His bitterness and self-loathing are repellent.    I suspect he and Ramsey Bolton would get along famously.   I have no interest in learning what becomes of him.   Can't stand the actor either

I could have written this myself.  I find the character too cartoonish to be believable and the actor himself turns me off big time.

I binged on this show for the last three weeks and have  enjoyed it immensely. Not Game of Thrones enjoyment,  but it kept me interested and I can't wait for the return.

Oh, and can we PLEASE not have scenes of men snotting into a bowl?  It actually turned my stomach. thnx.

JRM--does he really want a career in soft porn? It's starting to look like it.

And I agree, Winnick is not compelling actress.  She's channeling Cersie Lannister and it aint working for me at all.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Social Piranha

[halkatla]

Season 4 gave me so many reasons to hate this show, and since it is one of my all time favorite tv-shows, I can´t exactly hatewatch it so I must give it up. I´m gonna pretend that nothing after season 3 happened. Flóki didn´t get "touched" by seeing a bunch of muslims with their asses in the air, Helga didn´t become mad and horrible, Björn wasn´t a complete ass to Torvi etc, etc. I guess it started when little Siggy died and no-one but Sigurd cared. The story behind Ragnar and his sons could have been great for lots of season, sad that it had to become so super soap-y, pervy and pc :( Ivar was such a favorite of mine in the "book", his character here only has few and far between glimmers of something tolerable. I also never liked how the show treated Áslaug, she was a hot mess although I guess Lagertha´s greatness made up for it. Anyway, good bye my sweet vikings, good bye!

Edited May 1, 2017 by halkatla

[pinkglove]

It's sad that IMO it's Ragnar who triggered something very bad in Ivar, which led to him killing Sigurd. Ragnar clearly loved his sons but he didn't know them too well, and he tended to pretend to know everything about everyone through either his intuition or whatever spiritual connection he was interested in at the moment. So, for the first time in their lives, he got attached to Ivar, after failing to bond with him for many years. He was probably touched that Ivar went with him to England, and he also saw a bit of himself there, with Ivar being smart and unpredictable. And he told Ivar all those things that made his head grow way bigger than he could handle, creating a situation in which a person who was overlooked for his whole life and has never been in battle, suddenly feels entitled to leading the largest army in their history. That was bound to end badly and either Ragnar is an even bigger (and much crueler) trickster than I took him for, or his delusions about his sons cooked a disaster. 

I didn't like what happened to Helga. Not only her death, but also the state she was in in the last few episodes. She was far too good for that. And also strong, which is why I don't find it very believable. 

What I liked was Lagherta saying that if they lose their ancient gods, they have nothing to live for. I liked the show better when they all seemed more connected to their religion, now it's only Floki and Lagherta.