Vikings VII: We'll always have Paris [SPOILERS]

[Veltigar]

This season for me has definitely been inferior to the previous one. The only episode of the season that I thought was really great was last weeks first assault on Paris. The rest has been a bit of a disappointment frankly. Still better than season one, but not as great as season two. Although Vikings still had the occassional moment of awesomeness.

The biggest problem of the season has been the focus on the characters outside of Ragnar's inner circle. Wessex, the Parisian court and the Kalf storyline are just not that good (sometimes, they are even terrible). Bjorn's lovetriangle subplot has also been very poorly handled. And the Harbard stuff was bad for blatantly breaking the show's established 'Gods are real, because these people believe they are' and make it pretty much a fact that they do wander around.

Compare that to the actual Vikings stuff. That has never been better than now I think. The assault on Paris, Floki killing Aethelstan and other stuff like that are just great. It just gets bogged down by those other stupid storylines.

It would be hard to see Vikings without Travis. He does such outstanding work--he really is the heart and soul of the show. But, if they are keeping with tradition and with myth, then at some point they are going to have to put him aside. I highly doubt it will be next week, though. I'm guessing Ragnar gets at least one more season.

I really hope Fimmel is able to break out of this show. He's a very talented man, so I hope he gets some other high profile roles in the future.

Agreed. Was completely wondering the same thing. Do they build their bridge so it runs down hill? Otherwise it would maybe make it 10 yards? Giant hamster inside for power? Seemed extremely stupid and impractical. It would basically ensure your troops can't retake the other guard tower at the end of the bridge since it would take like two people to defend from the other side of the giant spool of spikes.

:agree: with all the above and that wasn't nearly all that bugged me. Like it should have lost speed pretty fast after hitting the vikings. It didn't look like it has the speed to burst through even a tiny shieldwall. And the size of the thing made it impossible to position a lot of crossbowmen at the gate. In fact, if count Odo had ordered the spool to be drawn in again, the Vikings could have just used it as cover from archers to get close to the other gate.

Well the giant spool of spike can be retracted, provided the other side doesn't have a guy with a couple of big spears to stop it. It's a shock weapon, more than a practical one, considering how some of the Vikings that got impaled on it didn't immediately die. Seeing those poor sobs writhing on the spikes reminded me of the steel tree from Hyperion, which I read a few months ago.

Those scorpio's from last week were far more effective as a shockweapon. What's more, they were also great conventional weapons, basically breaking the Vikings onslaught in only one shot. Burning oil also never fails to leave a lasting impression.

Excellent Post! I really wish this forum had a like button!

:cheers:

Anyways, I don't think he's faking his injuries per se, but maybe playing them up a bit as a way to lull the parisians and his other enemies into thinking him weak.

Normally, I would agree with you, but the fact that nobody was there to watch Ragnar's hallucinations makes e think that it's all quite real. Plus, how does one fake pissing blood? ;)

Anyways, I don't think he's faking his injuries per se, but maybe playing them up a bit as a way to lull the parisians and his other enemies into thinking him weak. Basically, I think this season will end like last season, where they wanted us to think Floki had teamed up with Horik, and Ragnar and his crew were going to get massacred. Here they might be going for the fake out of Ragnar's death/Vikings withdrawal, and then he's suddenly taking Paris from inside and Kalf/Bieber get the axe courtesy of Lagertha/Bjorn.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see how next week goes!

Oh, I hope that we get more of Wessex next episode. I can't wait to see where that's going :P such originality :P

[Wmarshal]

Especially the Wessex scenes, those are just unbelievably stupid. Yes, Aethelwulf is a religious fanatic, but he's not an incompetent sycophant or an otherwise unworthy heir. On top of that, he's also slavishly loyal to his old man. I just don't understand Ecbert continued disdain for him. The whole storyline is pretty effing dumb. Especially when it all turns out to be a ploy by Ecbert to enable him to hump Judith (I mean she's pretty hot, but still). I knew that reveal was coming, but I was hoping against all odds that Hirst would take the high road and have Ecbert ask Judith's help in his plot to take over Northumbria or something else. The dialogue leading up to the reveal was also pretty terrible, way to Tudorish for this show.

Ecbert some reason turned his brain off alot this season when it came to Aethelwulf. The guy as of this moment is his only battle commander we have seen and he is planning to war with the whole of England. I kind want Aethelwulf to scream at asking him why he continues to shit on him, because I see no damn reason as of now.

[Zorral]

Quote

joining the faults and terrors of religion and power as his story-telling team just isn't interesting.

Disagree with this immensely. The battles of spiritual wills here is very intriguing.

This week was full of tension. I liked Ragnar's spiritual moment. He realizes that he really wants to be with Athelstan no matter what. It looks like Odin is totally cool with this. I think thats why Ragnar came to the conclusion he did. He has a very specific way he dies, and i highly doubt the show is gonna rob us of that. And Fimmel signed on for Season 4 anyway. Ragnar isnt dying next week.

Ragnar gets baptized:

Floki: "WTF!!!!!"

Lagertha: "watchudoin"
Bjorn: "Hoe dont do it!"
Rollo: "...."

It's not interersting because we've had episodes and episodes of this -- and it has nothing to do with taking Paris, it has nothing to do with why the Vikings were the terror of the world of their time. That is not to say many other things are going on with the peoples and the individuals, but the WRITING of these episodes, and the WRITING of the characte have NOT pulled any of this together to invest us in what's going on. Which ends up not being much.

Geld is a Big Much, especially for Kattegat, which is bereft of defenders. What does this mean back home? All this is what matters,

Instead we have a weird spiritual dudebro kinda deal going on that I for one don't buy for a minute for a man who is a child of Odin -- who insists his primary motivation to see different places and learn about the world. So he gets baptized?

Now, he might have, but we've been given no reason to see him do that other than -- writers decided to. Bad writing, bad character development writing.

So much like this all season. It wasn't like this in the two previous seasons. Gads, it's like they started to think they were Got or something doing such undeveloped unmotivated stuff! :cheers: Bad writing, bad, bad, bad.

I'm starting to think I've zoomed in the Beer Bad episode of Buffy. :smoking:

OK. Stop you silly person. Get ready to get outta town tomorrow. ARGHHHHHH.

I'm still so disappointed. :dunno:

[Jack Bauer 24]

I'm still so disappointed. :dunno:

Me too :(

[cdawnb]

Quote

Disagree with this immensely. The battles of spiritual wills here is very intriguing.

This week was full of tension. I liked Ragnar's spiritual moment. He realizes that he really wants to be with Athelstan no matter what. It looks like Odin is totally cool with this. I think thats why Ragnar came to the conclusion he did. He has a very specific way he dies, and i highly doubt the show is gonna rob us of that. And Fimmel signed on for Season 4 anyway. Ragnar isnt dying next week.

Ragnar gets baptized:

Floki: "WTF!!!!!"

Lagertha: "watchudoin"

Bjorn: "Hoe dont do it!"

Rollo: "...."

It's not interersting because we've had episodes and episodes of this -- and it has nothing to do with taking Paris, it has nothing to do with why the Vikings were the terror of the world of their time. That is not to say many other things are going on with the peoples and the individuals, but the WRITING of these episodes, and the WRITING of the characte have NOT pulled any of this together to invest us in what's going on. Which ends up not being much.

Geld is a Big Much, especially for Kattegat, which is bereft of defenders. What does this mean back home? All this is what matters,

Instead we have a weird spiritual dudebro kinda deal going on that I for one don't buy for a minute for a man who is a child of Odin -- who insists his primary motivation to see different places and learn about the world. So he gets baptized?

Now, he might have, but we've been given no reason to see him do that other than -- writers decided to. Bad writing, bad character development writing.

So much like this all season. It wasn't like this in the two previous seasons. Gads, it's like they started to think they were Got or something doing such undeveloped unmotivated stuff! :cheers: Bad writing, bad, bad, bad.

I'm starting to think I've zoomed in the Beer Bad episode of Buffy. :smoking:

OK. Stop you silly person. Get ready to get outta town tomorrow. ARGHHHHHH.

I'm still so disappointed. :dunno:

Heh, a lot of what you disliked, I actually liked.

We're there flaws? You bet. The plot could have most definitely been tighter. I would have preferred it not be spread it so thin.

To me, though, it wasn't any more flawed than last season. I enjoyed it just as much this year.

[Alia of the knife]

The ratings have declined each Season. They were averaging 3.5 million viewers in Season 1. They've lost about a million viewers and are averaging 2.5 this year.

You sure as hell couldn't tell it by all the advertisements.

[Jack Bauer 24]

You sure as hell couldn't tell it by all the advertisements.

Yeah that's pretty bad. Even with all the ads they're losing people.

[Raksha 2014]

Ecbert some reason turned his brain off alot this season when it came to Aethelwulf. The guy as of this moment is his only battle commander we have seen and he is planning to war with the whole of England. I kind want Aethelwulf to scream at asking him why he continues to shit on him, because I see no damn reason as of now.

And why, of all the women in Wessex, is Ecbert intent on making his daughter-in-law his mistress? Does he really think he can keep the liaison a secret from Aethelwulf and/or others forever? How does Ecbert expect his (apparent) only son and heir to command the respect of other nobles and kings if Aethelwulf's wife cuckolds him again? Not to mention what will happen if Judith gets pregnant by Ecbert while Aethelwulf is away...Ecbert doesn't seem like he is so in love or in lust with Judith that he must have her regardless of the consequences, he's always thinking about consequences. Ecbert's coercion of Judith into becoming his mistress seems out of character as well as creepy.

[Alia of the knife]

Yeah that's pretty bad. Even with all the ads they're losing people.

I use to work in advertising, they wouldn't buy that kind of time if ratings were low.

Same with Walking Dead.

[Jack Bauer 24]

I use to work in advertising, they wouldn't buy that kind of time if ratings were low.

Same with Walking Dead.

You sure mention TWD every chance you get lol.

A simple Google search will bring up the Nielson ratings. Season 2 ratings were in the 3 millions and this Season has been around 2.5. Not sure what you're getting at. It is a FACT. The numbers aren't being tainted lol.

Nobody said the ratings were LOW. I said Season 3 has the LOWEST ratings so far.

[Alia of the knife]

You sure mention TWD every chance you get lol.

A simple Google search will bring up the Nielson ratings. Season 2 ratings were in the 3 millions and this Season has been around 2.5. Not sure what you're getting at. It is a FACT. The numbers aren't being tainted lol.

Nobody said the ratings were LOW. I said Season 3 has the LOWEST ratings so far.

You sure have a lot in common with these guys.

https://youtu.be/14njUwJUg1I

[Jack Bauer 24]

You sure have a lot in common with these guys.

https://youtu.be/14njUwJUg1I

TWD!

[jarl the climber]

OK, The spinning wheel of death sort of reminded me of the movie Spartacus, when Spartacus had his men charge the Roman lines with burning spools of hay. It would really need a track system to work right and a dead body lying in the wrong place would probably block it up. The wall of Ballistas seemed more effective last episode.

Its hard to make sense of the whole Egbert/Aethuwulf thing. Wulf seems loyal maybe Egbert thinks he is close minded, that he would prefer war with the Vikings and that he's not interested in the Roman past and lacks his vision for a united England. I think he wants Aethwulf to take off with his kid from Judith and go off to Aelle. So that leaves Egbert with Judith to raise Alfred, who he and Judith can train to be the sort of sucessor that he wants. Meanwhile he can use the Vikings against Northumbria as Wulf was responsible for destroying the Viking settlement. I suppose Egbert is counting on Mercia supporting him over Aelle/Wulf.

As far as he and Judith go thats a little weird. I think she has impressed him so far in a way and he is pushing the boundaries and seeing just how far he can go with her. That and her attraction to Athelstan makes him think that she shares this vision he has more than his son. We'll see, I expect the Vikings to be fighting in England next season against Northumbria and Wulf in alliance with Wessex and Mercia more or less.

As far as the ratings go, I'm a little confused, don't a lot people watch it on demand or online? I know some people who wait and only watch episodes every three weeks or so. Five or six seasons is a good run, I can't see it going to much longer than that anyhow.

[cdawnb]

And why, of all the women in Wessex, is Ecbert intent on making his daughter-in-law his mistress? Does he really think he can keep the liaison a secret from Aethelwulf and/or others forever? How does Ecbert expect his (apparent) only son and heir to command the respect of other nobles and kings if Aethelwulf's wife cuckolds him again? Not to mention what will happen if Judith gets pregnant by Ecbert while Aethelwulf is away...Ecbert doesn't seem like he is so in love or in lust with Judith that he must have her regardless of the consequences, he's always thinking about consequences. Ecbert's coercion of Judith into becoming his mistress seems out of character as well as creepy.

This is one of the things I wasn't overly happy with. I am willing to see how it plays out though.

I still get the feeling Eckert is doing these things for specific reasons. I'm just not sure what they are yet.

[Nictarion]

TWD!

If this isn't the pot calling the kettle black.....Mr.GoT! :P

[Castel]

And why, of all the women in Wessex, is Ecbert intent on making his daughter-in-law his mistress? Does he really think he can keep the liaison a secret from Aethelwulf and/or others forever? How does Ecbert expect his (apparent) only son and heir to command the respect of other nobles and kings if Aethelwulf's wife cuckolds him again? Not to mention what will happen if Judith gets pregnant by Ecbert while Aethelwulf is away...Ecbert doesn't seem like he is so in love or in lust with Judith that he must have her regardless of the consequences, he's always thinking about consequences. Ecbert's coercion of Judith into becoming his mistress seems out of character as well as creepy.

The whole thing makes no sense.

Why did he save her in the first place? And how did he save her. Okay, I can understand not wanting to cut off the nose of the man you're allied to but how on Earth did you really convince your son and your nobles that the child of some apostate not-even-priest is blessed enough because... something (like, how can he be a good, holy priest if he's fucking around? Why would anyone apart from Ecbert take this seriously? They tried to fucking crucify him!) to the point where the woman who cuckolded your heir is still around reaping the benefits of her position.

Just don't fucking charge her if you want to avoid a diplomatic incident.

[Florina Laufeyson]

And why, of all the women in Wessex, is Ecbert intent on making his daughter-in-law his mistress? Does he really think he can keep the liaison a secret from Aethelwulf and/or others forever? How does Ecbert expect his (apparent) only son and heir to command the respect of other nobles and kings if Aethelwulf's wife cuckolds him again? Not to mention what will happen if Judith gets pregnant by Ecbert while Aethelwulf is away...Ecbert doesn't seem like he is so in love or in lust with Judith that he must have her regardless of the consequences, he's always thinking about consequences. Ecbert's coercion of Judith into becoming his mistress seems out of character as well as creepy.

I think Judith is going along with it, only because she hates her husband and feels Ecbert is dicking him around. That, and she does buy the stuff hes feeding her about protecting Alfred. (tbf to her, i buy it too. Ecbert is really kinda obsessed with Alfred.) Ecbert has a plan, im with you guys in not really seeing what it is. It is creepy. However, i highly dislike Aethelwulf, so seeing him squirm is awesome.

[cdawnb]

The whole thing makes no sense.

Why did he save her in the first place? And how did he save her. Okay, I can understand not wanting to cut off the nose of the man you're allied to but how on Earth did you really convince your son and your nobles that the child of some apostate not-even-priest is blessed enough because... something (like, how can he be a good, holy priest if he's fucking around? Why would anyone apart from Ecbert take this seriously? They tried to fucking crucify him!) to the point where the woman who cuckolded your heir is still around reaping the benefits of her position.

Just don't fucking charge her if you want to avoid a diplomatic incident.

Well, I will say one thing about it, kings through out history haven't always made good or logical decisions when it comes to the women in their lives :dunno: .

History is riddled with spite, jealousy, stupid decisions and generally moronic actions when it comes to royal relationships.

[Raksha 2014]

The whole thing makes no sense.

Why did he save her in the first place? And how did he save her. Okay, I can understand not wanting to cut off the nose of the man you're allied to but how on Earth did you really convince your son and your nobles that the child of some apostate not-even-priest is blessed enough because... something (like, how can he be a good, holy priest if he's fucking around? Why would anyone apart from Ecbert take this seriously? They tried to fucking crucify him!) to the point where the woman who cuckolded your heir is still around reaping the benefits of her position.

Just don't fucking charge her if you want to avoid a diplomatic incident.

I think Ecbert saved Judith because (A) she's a neighboring king's daughter; Aella might not appreciate having his daughter's nose lopped off (one ear is less horrible); (B) she named Athelstan as the father of her baby; Ecbert was fascinated by Athelstan and keeping Judith around and changing a torrid affair into some mystical holy conception will help protect Athelstan's child and keep him in Ecbert's family rather than sent to a monastery for raising. I would assume that everyone in the royal court of Wessex with the possible exception of Aethelwulf realizes that there was nothing holy or mystical about baby Alfred's conception but are just going along with What The King Said in order not to alienate either the King or Aella...

[Mark Antony]

Still better than season one, but not as great as season two

I really like season one, a lot of my favorite scenes from the show are from it. Honestly season two is stil probably the best (though I have a feeling the finale next week will be really good) but I don't think there is much of a gap in quality between the three. Compared to say Thrones where season 1 is by far the best imo :P