Corvinus85 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 In the meantime there's a discovery of an 870's viking hoard in Oxfordshire, with many coins still in good condition with Alfred's head on them. Story, here, in the UK Guardian.I read about that a few days ago. It also suggests that King Ceolwulf of Mercia was an ally of Alfred, and not necessarily a puppet king of the Danes. Look like Cromwell we'll have to edit his books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 P.S. What's your reason for calling Call the Midwife horrible, beyond it not being your cuppa?Do you watch that show? I was bored at the end of the summer and Netflix recommended it to me so I did watch it. The first couple of seasons weren't bad, but the third was getting pretty ridiculous and after the main character left it went off the rails. Repetitive, cloying, predictable tripe is what it became. I hate myself a little bit for watching as much as I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdawnb Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Great news folks,Season 2 ordered by BBC2 This makes me all kinds of happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Really upset by Leofric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncalagonTheBlack Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Really upset by Leofric Me too! Who's going to call Uhtred 'Arseling' now ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 I know!! That's exactly what I was thinking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 While I share your sentiment regarding Leofric,you have to admit that his was one of the best deathscenes ever. At least amongst those I have seen The whole battle sequence was stunning. When Leofric went down, screaming 'no mercy' I was just pumping my fists in the air. That's how caught up I was in the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martini Sigil Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Leofric's death surprised me... insofar as I thought they'd have him continue in Steapa's storyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Leofric's death surprised me... insofar as I thought they'd have him continue in Steapa's storyline.Yeah, I had that too. I do really admire the fact that the show had the balls to take this route though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Just watched the finale,that was awesome. I really love Alfred on the show - entirely believeable that he could unite England and inspire men to join his cause. Very inspirational.I was surprised at how graphic things got actually,for the bbc. Leofric Iseult That was grim,especially showing him the head. Beocca and Guthrum were also absolute gems. And Hild. Damn, everything about the episode was great. If i were to make one objection it would be the lack of any build up of Hild/Uhtred relationship. As things stand, it doesnt make a lot of sense for her to accompany Uhtred...but again, i am nitpicking here.As for next season, i'm hoping they kept the sense of Uhtred being used by Alred that is present in the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Yeah that was some remarkably graphic stuff for the bbc, but personally I have seen such stuff plenty of times before.But the Iseult scene really shocked me. I just didn't think she'd die so soon in the series and the way in which it happened was just so brutal. Their camp of "followers" was apparently wholly unprotected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 The graphicness wasnt a complaint,just surprised me with the BBC was all. Iirc in the books Iseult and the others were at the rear of the army and Svein cut around behind them, though i am a bit hazy on the details. I think Alfred was attacking a ringfort or something too, so the situation was a bit different (again not complaining here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Yeah that was some remarkably graphic stuff for the bbc, but personally I have seen such stuff plenty of times before.Wow, remind me never to pick a fight with you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leofric Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Really upset by Leofric Me too . But it was a good death.Very happy that we will see a season 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Yeah that was some remarkably graphic stuff for the bbc, but personally I have seen such stuff plenty of times before.You won't be able to say that you've not been warned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GallowKnight Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I liked the show and I will definitely be checking out the second season. But I didn't think it was great or have nearly as high opinion of it as many here seems to have. I have not actually read the first two books in the series but I have read books 3 to 6.It is a very good looking show, with impressive environments and shots. And the acting is great, Alfred in particular, whom I find more likable in the show than the books. Alexander Dreymon is also very good as Uhtred, even if he really doesn't look the part (they guy playing Ragnar the Younger looks closer to what I imagine Uhtred looks like). And I also got to mention Beocca who is also a lot more engaging in the show than the books. The fight scenes are also generally, pretty good even though I didn't find the final battle that thrilling.The big problem for me has a lot to do with the pacing. I think the plot and the show moved a little to fast at the expense of character development and as a result I didn't really care about most characters, outside of Uhtred, Ragnar, Brida, Alfred and Beocca. Skorpa was cool (despite the silly name) but his role was so small that he just ended up felling largely inconsequential. I didn't even care that much when Leofric died.Plus some of the costumes was pretty bad. The Saxons get at least get mail armor, but Uhtred gets to run around in pelt and some glorified leather straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace, Extat Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Decided to pick this up yesterday because you guys seemed to like the series and I value your opinions. Really enjoying it, even though I'm reading at a snail's pace due to distractions like Total War and football. Just got to the defense of Cynuit in book one. Just two quick questions (note: I've been skimming to avoid spoilers) does the show so far move beyond the first book? Are they even tightly related? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Decided to pick this up yesterday because you guys seemed to like the series and I value your opinions. Really enjoying it, even though I'm reading at a snail's pace due to distractions like Total War and football. Just got to the defense of Cynuit in book one. Just two quick questions (note: I've been skimming to avoid spoilers) does the show so far move beyond the first book? Are they even tightly related?Season one covers book one and book two. It is quite faithful to the source material though, in the important ways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I liked the show and I will definitely be checking out the second season. But I didn't think it was great or have nearly as high opinion of it as many here seems to have. I have not actually read the first two books in the series but I have read books 3 to 6.It is a very good looking show, with impressive environments and shots. And the acting is great, Alfred in particular, whom I find more likable in the show than the books. Alexander Dreymon is also very good as Uhtred, even if he really doesn't look the part (they guy playing Ragnar the Younger looks closer to what I imagine Uhtred looks like). And I also got to mention Beocca who is also a lot more engaging in the show than the books. The fight scenes are also generally, pretty good even though I didn't find the final battle that thrilling.The big problem for me has a lot to do with the pacing. I think the plot and the show moved a little to fast at the expense of character development and as a result I didn't really care about most characters, outside of Uhtred, Ragnar, Brida, Alfred and Beocca. Skorpa was cool (despite the silly name) but his role was so small that he just ended up felling largely inconsequential. I didn't even care that much when Leofric died.I haven't read the books, but the only small downside of the series for me was the pace, which was fine in many individual scenes but on the whole it feels really fast paced, moving swiftly through story. And when you really enjoy the story and setting, that seems quite fast. I have that with Game of Thrones as well, I really enjoy watching it but it moves fast overall, even though individual scenes are well paced most of the time. And in both cases this would be solves with a few more episodes, but especially with Last Kingdom, or Wolf Hall earlier this year, which raced through two big books from Hilary Mantel in a mere 6 episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltigar Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Man, I just rewatched the final battle and its aftermath. That was as powerful and cathartic a scene as they come. The show really, really made its mark right there. It's like a masterclass in powerful emotional storytelling. You won't be able to say that you've not been warned.If I can give you one advice young Uthred 'Never fight Calibander' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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