Vikings XI: Aelle's Anaconda don't want none unless you got buns hun [SPOILERS]

[Jace, Extat]

40 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

I’ve never been in the Emilia Clarke is terrible camp. Some of her Qarth scenes in season 2 were pretty bad, but that entire storyline was a mess. Tough to stretch 4-5 chapters into a whole season. She’s had plenty of great scenes on the show over the years though, and was perfectly fine in Solo, imo. 

She was perfectly fine in Solo because there was no character. Just a series of lines from a wax sculpture that provided a post-edit fulcrum from which the always realistic Ron Howard attempted to leverage some sort of emotional stakes in order to salvage a 'film'.

I thought Clarke was much better in Season 2 at actually emoting and believed she would become a star. 

I was wrong. I was so wrong!

I also thought the same about Jennifer Lawerence, and although she's somehow popular she hasn't added any tools to her acting repertoire since X-Men: First Class

 

ETA: Repertoire was hellaciously misspelled. I'm choosing to believe my phone sabatoged me.

[Nictarion]

19 minutes ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

She was perfectly fine in Solo because there was no character. Just a series of lines from a wax sculpture that provided a post-edit fulcrum from which the always realistic Ron Howard attempted to leverage some sort of emotional stakes in order to salvage a 'film'.

I thought Clarke was much better in Season 2 at actually emoting and believed she would become a star. 

I was wrong. I was so wrong!

I also thought the same about Jennifer Lawerence, and although she's somehow popular she hasn't added any tools to her acting repritoir since X-Men: First Class

I know most here share your opinion on her, I don’t. She’s really good at the big scenes where she’s speaking Valyrian and giving speeches and whatnot. And she’s gotten much better with the smaller more intimate stuff over the years too, like

 

her scene with Tyrion when she makes him Hand, her goodbye to Jorah, the cave scene with Jon, etc [/spoiler]

Probably no point going back and forth on this though. I only bothered commenting cause I couldn’t believe anyone could actually prefer Vikings over GoT, but to each their own. I’m just waiting for that general zod guy to drop in and tell us how it’s still the best show on tv

 

[Jace, Extat]

4 minutes ago, Nictarion said:

I know most here share your opinion on her, I don’t. She’s really good at the big scenes where she’s speaking Valyrian and giving speeches and whatnot. And she’s gotten much better with the smaller more intimate stuff over the years too, like

  Reveal hidden contents

her scene with Tyrion when she makes him Hand, her goodbye to Jorah, the cave scene with Jon, etc [/spoiler]

Probably no point going back and forth on this though. I only bothered commenting cause I couldn’t believe anyone could actually prefer Vikings over GoT, but to each their own. I’m just waiting for that general zod guy to drop in and tell us how it’s still the best show on tv

 

I am an egalitarian at heart. Therefore I accept you and your blatantly incorrect beliefs.

[Nictarion]

3 hours ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

I am an egalitarian at heart. Therefore I accept you and your blatantly incorrect beliefs.

I’ll admit I’m somewhat biased, I find Emilia charming irl. 

[HexMachina]

1 hour ago, Nictarion said:

I’ll admit I’m somewhat biased, I find Emilia charming irl. 

She is an absolute bundle of sunshine “off screen.” (Quotations because she is obviously still on screen, but I mean when she is interviewed in talk shows etc.) Acting-wise, she has her strong moments, and also her real duds. She’s never going to be in the league of, say, Keri Russel, Evan Rachel Wood etc. but she is passable.

but anyone who’s says she doesn’t come across as an utter joyous being outside of her work has no soul

[Jace, Extat]

25 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

She is an absolute bundle of sunshine “off screen.” (Quotations because she is obviously still on screen, but I mean when she is interviewed in talk shows etc.) Acting-wise, she has her strong moments, and also her real duds. She’s never going to be in the league of, say, Keri Russel, Evan Rachel Wood etc. but she is passable.

but anyone who’s says she doesn’t come across as an utter joyous being outside of her work has no soul

No soul is what it takes to make mockery of the fine work of Linda Hamilton.

[Nictarion]

19 minutes ago, Jace, Basilissa said:

No soul is what it takes to make mockery of the fine work of Linda Hamilton.

You should probably blame the studio, and the producers that ran that franchise into the ground post-T2. 

[dooog]

7 hours ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

Look, if you judge the English characters as anything more than peripheral filler material like the Essosi characters in GoT, then sure, I guess you will be disappointed. But this story is not about Aethelred, Judith or Alfred. They are merely the backdrop supporting the story of the Northmen.

Once you understand that then your expectations will be more realistic. I can understand why many find that jarring, given the traditional English point of view that most medieval stories are told from.

 

And yet the worst parts of a terrible season have been set among the northmen, with the godawful Ivar sneering his way through all of the kattegat scenes as well as Floki playing house in Iceland

[Free Northman Reborn]

8 minutes ago, dooog said:

 

And yet the worst parts of a terrible season have been set among the northmen, with the godawful Ivar sneering his way through all of the kattegat scenes as well as Floki playing house in Iceland

I’m not disputing that the story has lost some impact in the last season. Nor do I enjoy the Ivar storyline.

In fact I was most gripped when Ragnar was still seeing visions of Odin, and felt the story started losing its way when they tried to turn him into an agnostic.

The mystical bits are the best parts of the story to me, and with the loss of Faith I keenly felt the commensurate loss of meaning and direction. That’s why the death of the Seer of Kattegat hit me so hard. Now Floki seems the last remaining connection to the Norse gods.  But that’s just what appeals to me. Others obviously have different tastes.

[HexMachina]

42 minutes ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

I’m not disputing that the story has lost some impact in the last season. Nor do I enjoy the Ivar storyline.

In fact I was most gripped when Ragnar was still seeing visions of Odin, and felt the story started losing its way when they tried to turn him into an agnostic.

The mystical bits are the best parts of the story to me, and with the loss of Faith I keenly felt the commensurate loss of meaning and direction. That’s why the death of the Seer of Kattegat hit me so hard. Now Floki seems the last remaining connection to the Norse gods.  But that’s just what appeals to me. Others obviously have different tastes.

If you read back on this and the previous threads, you’ll find most everyone agrees the mystic/ritual/religion scenes are the best. For me the best two scenes of the show were Season 1 (sacrifice to the gods...forget the episode number or title) and Season 2 (Blood Eagle). Both were incredibly well shot and emotionally impactful and well acted, while making sense in the larger narrative. 

That was back before Hirst had to Hirst though

[Nictarion]

8 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

If you read back on this and the previous threads, you’ll find most everyone agrees the mystic/ritual/religion scenes are the best. For me the best two scenes of the show were Season 1 (sacrifice to the gods...forget the episode number or title) and Season 2 (Blood Eagle). Both were incredibly well shot and emotionally impactful and well acted, while making sense in the larger narrative. 

That was back before Hirst had to Hirst though

Yeah, my favorite scenes from when the show was actually good were the Blood Eagle, and Ragnar’s speech about his daughter’s death in S2.  

Hard to believe that stuff is from the same show at this point. 

[Free Northman Reborn]

One thing I am surprised at is the Show's surprising lack of utilization of Viking "berserkers". Sure, there was the one rather pitiful berserker briefly shown in Bjorn's "Bear challenge" episode, but he was rather unimpressive and came to a very quick end.

Given the incorporation of mystical visions, Norse religion and other mythical aspects for dramatic effect, one would think that the dramatic use of berserkers would have added a lot of flavour to the Show.

And not just guys screaming their heads off like pretty much every main character does when they charge into battle (including Aethelwolf and even Alfred, for that matter). No, I mean Logen Ninefingers type berserkers that literally start foaming at the mouth and cause mayhem when they take to the field of battle.

One could have incorporated a kind of ritual where berserkers eat mushrooms, go into a trance, speak to the gods or whatever is most dramatic, before charging into the fray to turn the tide of battle.

The records of berserkers are so interesting, with repeated claims that they started biting their shields before a battle and that blades practically bounced off their skin. Followed by a period of intense weakness after the rage wears off. There were also two kinds - Wolf berserkers and Bear berserkers.

There is just such rich material to work with, I am quite disappointed that it wasn't brought in more prominently into the story.

[HexMachina]

E Gads, I had forgotten all about Bjorn and the Bear 

[Free Northman Reborn]

2 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

E Gads, I had forgotten all about Bjorn and the Bear 

I note from Wikipedia that King Harald Fairhair used his berserker units as shock troops, which greatly increased his military strength. So maybe that is still in store for us, as Harald is a key character in the story, and if it stays even half close to real history, he will eventually rule all of Norway. Maybe berserkers will be part of how he does it.

[kairparavel]

I thought the first few seasons were pretty good but now? Eesh.

Anyways, our pain and suffering is coming to an end. 

https://deadline.com/2019/01/vikings-to-end-season-6-final-season-followup-series-spinoff-history-michael-hirst-mgm-tv-1202528772/

 

[Veltigar]

Emotions wise, my favourite scene is probably Ragnar looking away from his ship to see a vision of his old life on the river bank. Young Bjorn, Lagertha, the white horse and then the way Travis Fimmel as Ragnar looked so longing at them. Summed up the entire character without needing words.

Related, I also loved the scene after Lagertha's miscarriage when she screams at Ragnar and Bjorn to leave her alone and they just worldlessy stand up and sit behind her, thus both giving her the space she needed and the comfort of their company.

=> I actually feel like the two scenes above are some of the best scenes I have ever seen. 

There is also that one scene where Ragnar rolls his eyes and then follows that roll with him doing a backflip in one fell swoop. It was just such a great in character moment.

The death of the old viking, after imploring Ragnar to take him was also something I loved.

Torstein's death was also amazing as a scene. The way he storms the English with his infected arm while getting shot full of arrows was really evocative of how strange these men were. 

And then there are of course the already mentioned moments of greatness like the sacrificial episode, the blood eagle and Ragnar suffering from the death of his daughter. 

4 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

E Gads, I had forgotten all about Bjorn and the Bear 

It gave us some of the best thread titles ever XD So much fun naming that one

4 hours ago, Free Northman Reborn said:

One thing I am surprised at is the Show's surprising lack of utilization of Viking "berserkers". Sure, there was the one rather pitiful berserker briefly shown in Bjorn's "Bear challenge" episode, but he was rather unimpressive and came to a very quick end.

There is also that one berserker who gets shot in the chest when Rollo climbs the walls of Paris

 

[Veltigar]

10 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

Emotions wise, my favourite scene is probably Ragnar looking away from his ship to see a vision of his old life on the river bank. Young Bjorn, Lagertha, the white horse and then the way Travis Fimmel as Ragnar looked so longing at them. Summed up the entire character without needing words.

Related, I also loved the scene after Lagertha's miscarriage when she screams at Ragnar and Bjorn to leave her alone and they just worldlessy stand up and sit behind her, thus both giving her the space she needed and the comfort of their company.

=> I actually feel like the two scenes above are some of the best scenes I have ever seen. 

There is also that one scene where Ragnar rolls his eyes and then follows that roll with him doing a backflip in one fell swoop. It was just such a great in character moment.

The death of the old viking, after imploring Ragnar to take him was also something I loved.

Torstein's death was also amazing as a scene. The way he storms the English with his infected arm while getting shot full of arrows was really evocative of how strange these men were. 

And then there are of course the already mentioned moments of greatness like the sacrificial episode, the blood eagle and Ragnar suffering from the death of his daughter. 

 

Come to think about it, fuck Hirst, almost all the scenes mentioned in this thread as being truly great are the ones where there is little to no dialogue. I think most of us have the battle scenes also quite high up the list... what did he actually contribute apart from like the basic ideas which have long since ran out?

[GallowKnight]

2 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Torstein's death was also amazing as a scene. The way he storms the English with his infected arm while getting shot full of arrows was really evocative of how strange these men were.

Thinking back on it, the death of Torstein is really the point where the show starts going downhill. The Paris battle cam after and while it is very good but was still plagued by all those awful Frankish characters.

[dooog]

37 minutes ago, GallowKnight said:

Thinking back on it, the death of Torstein is really the point where the show starts going downhill. The Paris battle cam after and while it is very good but was still plagued by all those awful Frankish characters.

A thousand times this^^  they should have never offed my boii Torstein like that!!

[dbunting]

I think if they had found a way to wrap it up at the end of S2, or had it been cancelled, Vikings would be thought of by a lot of us similar to Deadwood. Unfortunately it lived on way past it's expiration date.

As to Emelia Clark, I think I liked her more last season than any other. I also agree that it may just be the direction she is given, act like a Queen, no nonsense straight faced and cold. The interviews I have seen of her are great where she is just being herself.