Vikings IX: The Bear Necessities [SPOILERS]

[Veltigar]

On 11-3-2016 at 10:32 PM, Risto said:

I am simply into this kind of TV, I have no idea... Whatever it is, in the weirdest possible way, it is working. 

It's catnip tv basically  

[Veltigar]

4 hours ago, maarsen said:

Seeing as how the show is based on the sagas, Bernard Cornwell did a reasonably good job of bringing the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok to life in his Saxon series. Ubba was the one to be feared, but Ivar was pretty nasty too.

And Ivar was the cleverest of them all, if my very basic understanding of the saga's is correct  

[HexMachina]

Very hit and miss episode. I don't know wtf is even supposed to be happening in Paris anymore. Wessex has slipped after a brief high point in episode 2 and is now dull dull dull. Except Aelle, the only character I find halfway believable and interesting there. More Aelle, less Ecbert please. 

So, Lagertha's exciting arc this season is weaving a new rug. Excitement!

Not sure how I feel about the Ragnar and Yidu stuff. I would probably like it less if it wasn't for some of the other stupid stuff going on. I assumed Aslaug is using her to occupy Ragnar so she can take Kattegat for herself. Because I do t know if it was obvious enough yet )but she doesn't like Ragnar and wants to rule herself. 

I actually enjoyed the Beserker fight. Bjorn is probably the highlight of this season so far for me. I do kind of want so,e closure on Porrun though. And little Siggy, who seems to have vanished into thin air, like Angrboda did last year. 

Floki as the new Seer should be good. I don't know why I haven't expected a scene between the two before now. 

The Yule celebration was very well shot, reminded me of the sacrifice in season 1 and blood eagle in season 2. More of this please Hirst, less feminist Wessex and Princess Gisla's Lover.

 

[RenlyIsNotRight]

There was a lot of really dumb shit in the last episode and yet...I still kind of liked it? Idk maybe my standards for this show just aren't that high anymore, but I agree with previous comments that the only thing that I really hated so far in this season was the Benioff & Weiss esque "MUH SHOCK VALUE!" move of Rollo pulling a total 180 and deciding to kill all his men.

Though while we're talking about total 180s involving Rollo...would it have killed them to at least have maybe spent a little more time on Rollo learning French and getting Gisla to like him if theyre going to go that route? That was the one thing that almost got too cringey for me to get into last week.

And seriously. Erlandur. Needs. To. Fucking. Die. Already. I was just waiting Bjorn to kill him right there. They'd better be saving him for something really gruesome and over the top because at this point its getting irritating that he's still alive.

[dbunting]

I have liked Bjorns storyline this season, his trip off to find who he is as a man. Some was cheaply done but who cares, it's entertaining still. He must be waiting until he talks to Ragnar about the berserker and who sent him. I like how he just walks in and is like, I am taking her with me, the wussy is like yeah ok, but I get the kid.

If it isn't already clear that Aslaug wants to rule without Ragnar then someone hasn't been watching the same show I have. Also, the new King who has arrived was pretty clearly from her childhood. I must not know much about Viking history because I was shocked when he sat in Ragnars chair. To me that is something you never would do.

Rollo, well, yeah, they should have shown him learning some more because it was a bit much. And Rollo-Tormund must be special since now she can't get enough of him.

Wessex, eh who cares?

[Wmarshal]

It has been so long, but Hirst hate brought me home.

Speak of which, I need to point out what drags this show down for me: Hirst continues to use plot points that never exited.

Athelstan wasn't known to draw at his time in Wessex, his job was to translate Roman work, which he did for like a month before running away with the vikings. Now I know time works different and all that, but Athelstan had his hands pinned and was crucified, the idea he spent a good time drawing at all in Wessex is beyond belief. 

As to Ecbert, I really hope some one on set would see how idiotic his out right obsession for Athelstan was after last season, that is not the case. He keeps pushing his son who basically spends a majority of his time risking his life for his plans, which in perspective Ecbert has done about nothing himself so far besides taking all the credit from Aethelwulf. Now he has a boner for his son's wife? Seriously Aethelwulf is th only commander worth dung in the whole nation, l think he is the only officer in Wessex, how is poking him with a stick a good idea? And have we heard anything about his own son yet?I am sorry this is so long, I just really have grown to hate Ecbert and Judith. 

Judith, oh Judith, I know we are suppose to feel something for her, but really, all she does is make power plays that affect no one and aren't really power places and sleep with Ecbert. That is her character, oh and joining the Athelstan fan club.

Aethelwulf may be be the only bare able character left in Wessex. He is the only one that does anything and thinks there now. 

I still have no idea why anyone agrees with Ecbert about invading Mercia just to give to the queen, when this is like the third campaign.

Off to Paris. 

The trailers prepared me for Rollo, but really how was this ever a good idea for him? Literally one guy told him about maybe half not being happy. Maybe they are unhappy because he did completely nothing about making their lives better in France while he lives in a castle. Why is he still there wouldn't it be a good idea to go to his territory to form a new base of power as killed off all that remained of it in Paris? Why are the other dukes not in Paris? What is this? And the princess literally minutes away from divorce doing a 180? Why was this happening anyway if the king wanted none of it? That is about it for me in Paris. Now to the goodies.

Floki, I  m so hyped right now, Hirst actually remembered his character building! Floki teaching Ivar is prefect a specially if he has to shoot Christians with bows and arrows.

Bjorn's fights could be better, but it really showed he is not a kid but a seasoned vet.

Kids are alright. 

Aslaug isn't really that bad, as this shows subplots go, a specially with Fairhair in town. 

I get it, the show is whiter then printing paper, but really, that was the best back story they had for the slave girl? 

I still don't understand why Erlandur doesn't just go home, as he should have more land and power then do nothing Kalf.

There is so much but I lack the energy to type it all down.

 

[Arkash]

1 hour ago, Wmarshal said:

I get it, the show is whiter then printing paper, but really, that was the best back story they had for the slave girl? 

 

I'm not sure that backstory was the truth... well, not the whole truth at least...

She'll probably turn out to be some princess ("they didnt dare to rape me" and her inability at domestic tasks) and that will be just as predictable, but well, who knows, perhaps Hirst will write it in an interesting way... I really like the actress and the concept of Asian and Viking culture meeting. I think there's really the potential for an interesting relationship between her and Ragnar and he'll be fascinated by her native world.

We'll see...

[dbunting]

5 minutes ago, Arkash said:

 

I'm not sure that backstory was the truth... well, not the whole truth at least...

She'll probably turn out to be some princess ("they didnt dare to rape me" and her inability at domestic tasks) and that will be just as predictable, but well, who knows, perhaps Hirst will write it in an interesting way... I really like the actress and the concept of Asian and Viking culture meeting. I think there's really the potential for an interesting relationship between her and Ragnar and he'll be fascinated by her native world.

We'll see...

I had the same thought, she clearly isn't a slave. If she was "pure" then she would have been presented to the King as a virgin, or at least to the highest bidder as such. She is either some random hidden princess who will get Ragnar to head east for his next conquest or she is a plant by someone, France, England, or the new King that just showed up.

 

Someone else had mentioned the fresh herbs the slave girl some how had, but what about the snakes? How could they survive being in that cold and not huddled together, just seemed silly? And I will state that no I am not a scientist so feel free to show me how dumb I am and how there are lots of boa constrictors hanging out in Alaska and active in the winter.

[red snow]

I assumed the snake was a hallucination otherwise Ragnar swallowed an entire snake, alive, in one go

[Zorral]

The northerners had trade routes from prehistoric times out of the North and Baltic Seas' lands into the Russias and Black Sea, and into Mediterranean regions. The Amber Road it was called.  People from much further east and the northern Europeans most certainly had extensive contact as a matter of course.  For example -- the Hungarian founding mythology is that they are descended from Hunnist migration back in the 5th century, though scholars now seem to believe they descend from a 6th century Maygar group.

So Asian contributions to nordic cultures and genetic pools wouldn't have been uncommon.  The slave trade played a huge role in regional genetic diversity.

 

[Mladen]

1 hour ago, red snow said:

I assumed the snake was a hallucination otherwise Ragnar swallowed an entire snake, alive, in one go

I swear to God, when I was watching it, all I could think was "When will it go out?"

[Buckwheat]

Amber road is approximately this. (I have never seen it reachig to Rome on any map, but this is the best map I can find right now.) It does not reach far East.

[Veltigar]

1 hour ago, dbunting said:

ISomeone else had mentioned the fresh herbs the slave girl some how had, but what about the snakes? How could they survive being in that cold and not huddled together, just seemed silly? And I will state that no I am not a scientist so feel free to show me how dumb I am and how there are lots of boa constrictors hanging out in Alaska and active in the winter.

It's not a good explanation, but it's enough to handwave the snake thing I think. Ragnar just kept the heat up. It's perfectly possible to keep snakes that far north if you keep them in a warm place. Of course, Hirst doesn't make that explanation easy, since the fire wasn't lit when they entered and Ragnar is apparently the only one going in, but that's how I choose to ignore the stupidity of the snake thing.

7 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

Amber road is approximately this. (I have never seen it reachig to Rome on any map, but this is the best map I can find right now.) It does not reach far East.

Vikings did go further east than that. They took a long time, but Hirst doesn't respect timelines at all, so we'll probably go there if he wants to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norsemen#/media/File:Viking_Expansion.svg  At the very least they went as far east as Constantinopel.

1 hour ago, red snow said:

I assumed the snake was a hallucination otherwise Ragnar swallowed an entire snake, alive, in one go

Well, I guess that's not impossible isn't it?

 

[Buckwheat]

11 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

It's not a good explanation, but it's enough to handwave the snake thing I think. Ragnar just kept the heat up. It's perfectly possible to keep snakes that far north if you keep them in a warm place. Of course, Hirst doesn't make that explanation easy, since the fire wasn't lit when they entered and Ragnar is apparently the only one going in, but that's how I choose to ignore the stupidity of the snake thing.

Now we need a thorough investigation and several possible theories explaining how well isolated that hut was and how come there was no draft through it.

11 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

Vikings did go further east than that. They took a long time, but Hirst doesn't respect timelines at all, so we'll probably go there if he wants to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norsemen#/media/File:Viking_Expansion.svg  At the very least they went as far east as Constantinopel.

I thought so, I was just trying to point out that Amber road is probably not relevant for this. I am fascinated that the Vikings occupied what is today South Italy for some time (I knew it before, that map reminded me of it).

[red snow]

1 hour ago, Risto said:

I swear to God, when I was watching it, all I could think was "When will it go out?"

yeah, Ragnar clearly has no gag reflex.

42 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

It's not a good explanation, but it's enough to handwave the snake thing I think. Ragnar just kept the heat up. It's perfectly possible to keep snakes that far north if you keep them in a warm place. Of course, Hirst doesn't make that explanation easy, since the fire wasn't lit when they entered and Ragnar is apparently the only one going in, but that's how I choose to ignore the stupidity of the snake thing.

 

 

It could be an attempt to show winter's weren't as cold back then. You still had snow but maybe water froze at higher temperatures??? I'm trying to think of a way to spin this as some kind of anti-global warming conspiracy

 

[Mladen]

12 minutes ago, red snow said:

yeah, Ragnar clearly has no gag reflex.

It reminded me of "Dangerous beauty" when the main character, a courtisan is showing how to swallow entire banana in single bite (with strong erotic undertone) in front of group of married wives.

[Buckwheat]

I thought it was supposed to be clear that swallowing the snake was a hallucination.

But before he took anything, there was a snake in the hut, and that one must have been real. So the snake is both real and a hallucination.

[Corvinus85]

30 minutes ago, red snow said:

yeah, Ragnar clearly has no gag reflex.

It could be an attempt to show winter's weren't as cold back then. You still had snow but maybe water froze at higher temperatures??? I'm trying to think of a way to spin this as some kind of anti-global warming conspiracy

 

The better way to spin it, imo, is to remember that Ragnar had a rat in his hands. So where there are rats and mice, their predators may have a chance of thriving. If the snake found plenty of food indoors, it might survive winter. But again, this is just spinning the wheels. 

[Astromech]

It's probably best not to think about the snake too hard. A Hirstplanation would probably be something like:

 

Ragnar was a renaissance man pre-Renaissance. He made his own herpetarium

Biblical Garden of Eden, forbidden fruit
 

Spoiler

 

Foreshadowing historical Ragnar death by serpents

Ragnar is building up his immunity to snake venom/knows how he is supposed to die

 

 

 

 

 

[Zorral]

4 hours ago, Buckwheat said:

Amber road is approximately this. (I have never seen it reachig to Rome on any map, but this is the best map I can find right now.) It does not reach far East.

Quote

As an important raw material, sometimes dubbed "the gold of the north", amber was transported from the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts overland by way of the Vistula and Dnieper rivers to Italy, Greece, the Black Sea, Syria and Egypt thousands of years ago, and long after.   http://www.ambergallery.lt/en/disp.php?itm=en_museums_3%2Fen_museums_3_9

This doesn't mean northerners went to China.  But at certain points traders from east and west meet, and goods are exchanged, including slaves. Especially around the Black Sea.

As well, there were Vikings in Moorish kingdoms in the Iberian peninsula.  They raided as well, but they also got hired to be mercenaries and body guards.

Trade and traders go where peoples as a whole or group do not, bringing back strange new things, including talented, exotic slaves.  Some were  musicians . . . .  Musicians also bring back strange new things including instruments, songs, dances -- food.