Vikings IX: The Bear Necessities [SPOILERS]

[Veltigar]

On 10-3-2016 at 1:00 PM, Arkash said:

I was thinking of "The Athelstan Confusion" or "Rollost in Translation" but yours better ! ^^

The second one really is quite good (eventhough it spoofs one of the most overrated movies in recent memory), I'll add them as well  

On 8-3-2016 at 0:28 PM, Floke said:

Otherwise I'm going with Adventures of the Gummy Bears. Crap, I still have VHS of that show.
 

That was a great kidsshow  I think there are some episodes on youtube, I should really rewatch those  

[Nictarion]

Pretty good episode. Probably the best so far this season for me. Other than Lagertha continuing to be underused no major complaints with this one. Bjorn vs the Beserker was a million times better than the bear last week, although I wanted him to kill Erlendur too. Paris wasn't great, but at least we didn't have to see Odo and his S&M bs, and Rollo/Gisla is actually progressing. Nice to see Aelle back (still think he would have made a great Robert Baratheon). And I'm looking forward to Ragnar vs the new king. That guy looked like a boss sailing up, should be some good competition. 

[red snow]

Wasn't that impressed this week. It's all starting to feel like a bit of a farce and reminding me of the bad old days of Sons of Anarchy. Gisla apparently just needed to get laid (or listen to fluent french). Ragnar just had to get high to get the slave girl. And Judith had some strange daddy girlpower moment. Aelle was pretty cool though especially with the whole "you do realise I hate Ragnar" scene.

New king from out of nowhere might give the next episode some direction. The whole thing just felt really disjointed like this was maybe 2 episodes merged together (or they turned 2 episodes into 3).

some good arrghs still from Bjorn though.

[Jack Bauer 24]

22 minutes ago, red snow said:

Wasn't that impressed this week. It's all starting to feel like a bit of a farce and reminding me of the bad old days of Sons of Anarchy. Gisla apparently just needed to get laid (or listen to fluent french). Ragnar just had to get high to get the slave girl. And Judith had some strange daddy girlpower moment. Aelle was pretty cool though especially with the whole "you do realise I hate Ragnar" scene.

New king from out of nowhere might give the next episode some direction. The whole thing just felt really disjointed like this was maybe 2 episodes merged together (or they turned 2 episodes into 3).

some good arrghs still from Bjorn though.

The 20 episode order is really rearing its head here.

[Jack Bauer 24]

Hirst says the endgame with Ragnar and Yidu will be the most "astonishing" http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/11/vikings-showrunner-michael-hirst-talks-ragnars-drug-trip-graphic-violence-and-king-harald?abthid=56e2f993601919080500000b

[Buckwheat]

I totally did not get that Aslaug was supposed to be the girl who turned down the new king. I wondered if it was a character we already met, but I did not connect that. D-uh.

So, uh, Rollo was just pretending he does not understand French for some time and then suddenly spoke fluently? And then they do ... that? But oh well, I for one enjoy the French court romcom, as out of place, silly and ridiculous it is.

Why Björn would take Torvi to Kattegat instead of confronting Kalf and Erlendur about the murderer is beyond me. And Lagertha has not really had anything to do for a few episodes now.

The absurdness of the slave having fresh Chinese drugs in the middle of winter in Scandinavia has been mentioned enough. But then Ragnar being high was entertaining.

I am interested in what happens with little Ivar being taught by Floki now.

Wessex, whatever. I do not even get what everybody sees about Aethelwulf/Kwen story, because I am just really annoyed by Kwen. She is directly after Erlendur on the list of characters that need to disappear in my book.

Does anybody remember what happened to little Siggy? Helga does not seem to be taking care of her, nor Aslaug.

[Veltigar]

11 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

I totally did not get that Aslaug was supposed to be the girl who turned down the new king. I wondered if it was a character we already met, but I did not connect that. D-uh.

Well, It's not certain yet, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Especially with the visual cues put in place  

12 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

Why Björn would take Torvi to Kattegat instead of confronting Kalf and Erlendur about the murderer is beyond me. And Lagertha has not really had anything to do for a few episodes now.

Well, someone has an untalented daughter he needs to get in the picture. Being a nepotist dad is more important than making a good show!

 

[Veltigar]

Opinions on this episode are pretty divided  strange really 

[GallowKnight]

The season continues as per usual, the Kattegat and stuff is great, Wessex and Paris is terrible and the rest is mediocre.

The berserker fight was a disappointment. After last weeks build-up that guy was just lame and did not act like I expected a berserker to act. 

Floki mentoring Ivar the Boneless kinda makes sense and is a development I really like.

Paris suck.

Ragnar tripping balls was amazing.

Harald Finehair's arrival was probably my favourite thing of the episode though. I have been looking forward to his entry and he did not disappoint and he immediately managed to set him self up as someone who could be a credible threat against Ragnar. But felt a bit weird that his inclusion came at the very end of the episode. 

Overall, I'm not sure I'm feeling the current pace of the show and stuff needs to start fucking happening.

 

3 hours ago, Corvinus said:

Disappointed that Bjorn didn't show Erlendur his father's ring and then split his skull in two. At least Erlendur's face when Bjorn walked in was satisfying. And did I hear right, is Erlendur's son named Guthrum?

It's not Erlendur's son, it's Torvi and Jarl Borg's. At least this would explain why Guthrum is so fucking dour all the time.

[Ser Desmond Wine's Bane]

3 hours ago, Veltigar said:

. I adored the Yule festivities. This show can be really memorable when it leans into that otherness and with Ragnar at the center, everything just clicks together. I hope they'll explore Viking culture even more, because that really is this show's greatest strength (next to Fimmel). 

You just scratched an itch I've had.

S1 worked so well because it went into this so well and in a very well-crafted way - back when Athelstan-as-a-protagonist didn't suck. His learning about the culture is what guided us through it, and it was all incredibly interesting. I actually forgave them for the trashed history and timeline. The last couple of seasons have really missed that. 

Harald's introduction now adds something else too: the opportunity to show that what we now know as the Vikings were not a homogeneous group of people but were troubled alliances between a number of different confederations.

[Corvinus85]

47 minutes ago, The_Gallows_Knight said:

It's not Erlendur's son, it's Torvi and Jarl Borg's. At least this would explain why Guthrum is so fucking dour all the time.

Haha, yes you're right. And I had forgotten that Torvi was pregnant when Jarl Borg died.

[Floke]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What the hell was that?! I don't even know what I have just watched, I only know some of it made me laugh so hard!
I'm going to throw in random impressions because, Jesus on a bike, was this episode so random:

- why would any slave trader capture a girl in China and then wait all the way to Scandinavia before selling her?
- nice visual cues this time around: Ragnar eating a snake, Ubbe playing chess and saying "the king is dead";
- would the berserker fight a little more at least? And where did his big axe go? The whole fight was a tad underwhelming. Nice disembowelment, though;
- I might like this "new" Bjorn;
- please tell me Lagertha's not going to spend the whole season as an almost-silent housemaid;
- Ragnar's wearing red! Not black, or brown, or grey! Red! I'm so excited right now!
- Hare krishnaaa! Hare krishnaaa! Ragnar krishnaaa! Hare hareee!
- I'm starting to hate Judith's smug face. Doesn't she realise she's "free" only because of Ecbert? The same man who didn't think twice about having her ear cut off for questionable political advantages? The whole thing looks a lot more like a torturer-on-victim mental conditioning than an ante-litteram women's liberation movement;
- Gisla's like that woman from Monty Python's A Fish Called Wanda, only on reverse. Rollo speaks Frankish (in less than a month!) and she gets all warm and fuzzy inside. I swear I laughed through both Paris scenes;
- oh come on, you managed to say "viking" only once during the past three seasons. What got into you? Would Gisla even know what "viking" means?
- Floki's going to be the new seer, but not before he's turned Ivarr in the cruel son of a bitch we know from history! I so like that!

Alright, I think I managed to calm down a bit. So, what's with Harald Fairhair? Don't get me wrong, I like him. I didn't like his arrival (would anyone tell Ragnar a bloody king is sitting on his throne before throwing a feast?), but I like him and what's probably going to be his story arc. My only problem with that is
 

Spoiler

historically he did unify all of Norway, and since we have established that Kattegat is on Norwegian soil he's probably going to do it after Ragnar's death. With this in mind. how will the whole "Great Heathen Army" thing play out? Ragnar's children were Danes, so they couldn't care less about Harald in reality, but in the show? Will they be subject to his authority? Will Harald invade England as well?

 

[Veltigar]

1 hour ago, The_Gallows_Knight said:

It's not Erlendur's son, it's Torvi and Jarl Borg's. At least this would explain why Guthrum is so fucking dour all the time.

You know, I missed that he was called Guthrum. It would be rather cool if he became the Guthrum from TLK

46 minutes ago, Ser Desmond Wine's Bane said:

You just scratched an itch I've had.

S1 worked so well because it went into this so well and in a very well-crafted way - back when Athelstan-as-a-protagonist didn't suck. His learning about the culture is what guided us through it, and it was all incredibly interesting. I actually forgave them for the trashed history and timeline. The last couple of seasons have really missed that. 

I agree completely. It was one of the biggest draws that first season had going for it. I think the whole festival episode for instance was amazing and I do think it's still one of the best episodes this show has ever had. After season one they seem to have abandoned that for whatever reason. So, it really is exciting for the show to retuning back to that  

[Astromech]

2 hours ago, Jack Bauer 24 said:

Hirst says the endgame with Ragnar and Yidu will be the most "astonishing" http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/11/vikings-showrunner-michael-hirst-talks-ragnars-drug-trip-graphic-violence-and-king-harald?abthid=56e2f993601919080500000b

After reading that, I think I will avoid Hirst's explanation of events and reasoning. It's easier to just question his choices rather than get actual answers. The Lennon/Oko/Pang influence was terrible.

I'm wondering if Bjorn discovered the identity of the owner of the ring given to the berserker or made an educated guess. He didn't know initially, but seemed to know it was Erlandur's, unless Torvi was his whole reason for confronting Erlandur.

[Mladen]

What in the name of all the bear claws I have watched?

Between Rollo learning French in one week while also simultaneously making his wife a sex addict (one has to envy him) and Chinese lady in the middle of Scandinavia, Bjorn's travelings and more sexual freedoms in medieval European court than in 21st century, this was so bad that it is absolutely amazing. Either I have entered the stage of perpetual eye-rolling and all these things don't bother me anymore or I am simply into this kind of TV, I have no idea... Whatever it is, in the weirdest possible way, it is working. 

[RhaenysBee]

Come on. Just come on. Seriously? Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?! That is how Michael Hirst rolls a plot? 

Wanna get laid? Learn French. Wanna evade divorce? Learn French. Wanna have a successful marriage? Learn French. SER JORAH, EFFING LEARN FRENCH! Clearly that's the ultimate key to overcome relationship problems. What was that? WHAT WAS THAT? Oh God, no, savage tattooed disgusting hairy monster, I will never marry this godless freak, he only wills me harm, he's a disgusting monster, I want a divorce, I won't be his wife, Kreacher won't won't won't won't won't won't won't won't won't won't won't won't won't oh wait, he is fluent in French now, I will. French is a beautiful language, ladies and gentleman, but doctors don't prescribe it for brain damage and bad libido, do you know why?! Because it's not that beautiful, it won't wash your brain or blow up your bloody ovaries! Wtf was that?!?!?

My brain hurts. But I'm a reasonable adult so I will admit that the love scene was shot very beautifully. That was about the only positive thing I could say about the Paris storyline. 

Moving on, no matter how hard it is. 

I hate Aslaug. 

Where did the snake come from? You find me a snake slithering in the snow in Scandinavian winter and I learn French for you.  

Ragnar and Sons Corp. - Freeing Slaves Like A Boss. Est. 800s.

YAAAAS, Bjorn, slay! "Who sent you?" Alex finally ragnar'ed and owned it. 

Lagertha has been making that rug for 3 episodes. No wonder nobody ever changes clothes. 

If Torvi goes with Bjorn, that means Porunn is not coming back? 

Oh really? A princess rejected you? That, my friend, is because you don't speak fluent French! 

Yaaaaas, we all knew that was going to happen, but still cheers to Baby Ragnars winning the game.

Ragnar ragnaring like a true Ragnar. Thank God for Travis Fimmel. 

Did anything else happen? 

But Dadddeyy, I am #free now! I do whatever I want! Because I am #free #feminism #fluentfrench 

Oh and picking a servant who will distract the husband from how crappy the marriage is? Method tried tested and proved wrong, Mr Hirst, you already played that card once, friend. 

ARGH. Wtf was this episode?

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, BB-Rhae said:

*snip*

ARGH. Wtf was this episode?

 

ARGH indeed. Hirst has lost the plot. Literally. I'm starting to wish they hadn't extended the order. This is what happens when you've got too much time and not enough story. See also: Person of Interest.

ETA: Still enjoying it though. Bjorn is developing into a brilliant character - love the way he disemboweled that berserker like a boss.

[Veltigar]

19 minutes ago, Floke said:

- why would any slave trader capture a girl in China and then wait all the way to Scandinavia before selling her?

I think Corvinus already pointed it out, but her story isn't necessarily true. It was all a bit vague imo. Perhaps it was just a coverstory. After all, her inclusion in the show means we're probably heading east some day and we need to have a good reason for that. Perhaps she's actually former royalty, fleeing from some unknown foe. And she came up with the story because she fears Ragnar might sell her back to her enemies otherwise. I'm just freewheeling here of course, but I think there are ways to spin it.

24 minutes ago, Floke said:

- would the berserker fight a little more at least? And where did his big axe go? The whole fight was a tad underwhelming. Nice disembowelment, though;
 

Yeah, I was wondering that as well  

25 minutes ago, Floke said:

- Floki's going to be the new seer, but not before he's turned Ivarr in the cruel son of a bitch we know from history! I so like that!
 

I do hope he'll still discover Iceland 

[Buckwheat]

RB's review posts are the best.

[Jaxom 1974]

I have zero problems with Rollo learning French. We knew he would. Some time has passed. It works odd on this show.