Yeah it sucks because he was the only thing left worth watching for.
The show has become a caricature of itself and that is sad. Such a horrible season, I cringe at everything Loki related, its so insufferable. I think its time to end.
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Vikings Season 5 [OT] A Clash of Kings (AND Queens) [Part 1]
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Yeah it sucks because he was the only thing left worth watching for.
The show has become a caricature of itself and that is sad. Such a horrible season, I cringe at everything Loki related, its so insufferable. I think its time to end.
Where the heck is the part2 thread?
Jesus Christ. I just started watching part 2. It took only two lines of dialogue for me to remember how awful the dialogue and acting is in this show. Now Bjorn's actor is imitating Ragnar, just as Ivar's actor was. Every Viking character is a caricature, only the Saxons who don't have fake accents leading to bad dialogue leading to bad performances are fine. This show has nothing going for it except the visuals. The story reeks of improvisation as it has since season 2. Ragnar was the only interesting character in this show, and improvisation worked well for his character, curious about the world, not sure who he was anymore, not sure where he was going, doing everything to satisfy his own curiosity at the expense of anyone else, and Travis Fimmel's performance was very fitting. But it was a fluke, because for the rest of the show improvising doesn't work, it just makes you constantly go "Wtf!" and laugh at how bad the plot is and how characters are going in any random direction.
Still going to watch it though lol.
edit: Where the fuck are Bjorn's kids? lol
edit: And I will now eat ice cream. For I am hungry.
Jesus Christ. I just started watching part 2. It took only two lines of dialogue for me to remember how awful the dialogue and acting is in this show. Now Bjorn's actor is imitating Ragnar, just as Ivar's actor was. Every Viking character is a caricature, only the Saxons who don't have fake accents leading to bad dialogue leading to bad performances are fine. This show has nothing going for it except the visuals. The story reeks of improvisation as it has since season 2. Ragnar was the only interesting character in this show, and improvisation worked well for his character, curious about the world, not sure who he was anymore, not sure where he was going, doing everything to satisfy his own curiosity at the expense of anyone else, and Travis Fimmel's performance was very fitting. But it was a fluke, because for the rest of the show improvising doesn't work, it just makes you constantly go "Wtf!" and laugh at how bad the plot is and how characters are going in any random direction.
Still going to watch it though lol.
edit: Where the fuck are Bjorn's kids? lol
edit: And I will now eat ice cream. For I am hungry.
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Not really if you really liked Ragnar's character, which I did. There's no filling up that void.
At this point, I'm just in it till the end.
It's been up and down. I'd say overall it's worth watching if you liked the show from a thematic perspective.
I think I like it a little more than most of you, but it's definitely not as interesting as it used to be. The war between the brothers has been obvious since the moment they were introduced, and Floki's story line might as well be a separate show.
I still think the battle scenes are fantastic given what they probably have to work with.
I still think the battle scenes are fantastic given what they probably have to work with.
I don't know, felt like it was very apparent that he was singled out with arrows coming from all directions, even though he's surrounded by both armies.
So basically Hirst killed Heahmund because he had no idea what else to do with him and apparently didn't have any specific goal for the character other than "He eventually dies". Sounds about right ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also,
SEASON 6 SPOILER
According to Katheryn Winnick, there will be another large time jump next season and Lagertha will be in old person makeup!
I really like this show but somehow I can't not sleep during the episodes if I am watching more than one at a time. I watched the 11 and 12 one day, slept in the middle of the second. 13 and 14 the other day, slept in the 14th... Today watched the 15th and it was ok, but I wouldnt be able to watch a second episode...
Even though Ragnar's sons are great , I still miss him. He is one of the most captivating characters ever.
One thing that annoys me is how simple, quick conversations are used to change things radically. Lets say A is friends with B, then someone comes to A and say 'take care, B might not be that good' and that is it, out of nowhere they change their minds radically. And it happens over and over again.
Even though Ragnar's sons are great , I still miss him. He is one of the most captivating characters ever.
I currently hate Ivar (used to love him at first). Bjorn is the best of the sons for me.
Sidenote: I want Floki back.
Sidenote: I want Floki back.
One thing that annoys me is how simple, quick conversations are used to change things radically. Lets say A is friends with B, then someone comes to A and say 'take care, B might not be that good' and that is it, out of nowhere they change their minds radically. And it happens over and over again.
Bjorn is the best son, but he's been going on a tantrum lately.
Iver has always been a joke to me.
The other sons are pretty forgettable to me.
Also Rollo getting away with the demands was great.
Iver has always been a joke to me.
The other sons are pretty forgettable to me.
Also Rollo getting away with the demands was great.
This seemed to have more jokes than a normal Vikings episode, despite the grim ending.
Poor Alfred's brother (honestly don't remember his name), always the 2nd favorite son. Is it just me or does seeing Judith with her sons always look weird, mainly due to how young the actress looks in the face. Did she have them when she was like 14 or 15, I know it was different back then....
Traitor son telling Judith to make Alfred some porridge since he was sick
Bjorn getting slapped by the new girl and kicked out the room
Ivar telling Htsick he always thought he was crazy and to not end up like Margarite.
Ivar and Alfred both have something in common, they both could be raising kids that are not their own. But Eckbert's son did sort of look after Alfred, despite him being the monk's son.
Names on this show are too hard to spell without looking them up, lol.
Poor Alfred's brother (honestly don't remember his name), always the 2nd favorite son. Is it just me or does seeing Judith with her sons always look weird, mainly due to how young the actress looks in the face. Did she have them when she was like 14 or 15, I know it was different back then....
Traitor son telling Judith to make Alfred some porridge since he was sick
Bjorn getting slapped by the new girl and kicked out the room
Ivar telling Htsick he always thought he was crazy and to not end up like Margarite.
Ivar and Alfred both have something in common, they both could be raising kids that are not their own. But Eckbert's son did sort of look after Alfred, despite him being the monk's son.
Names on this show are too hard to spell without looking them up, lol.
Well... Wait for the show to introduce you to Alfred kids and his nephew, you'll love it even more. England had a weird way to choose names at the time, i tell you that.
From what I recall, Ragnar said no, and that's all we know.
Magnus is too much of a plot like Athlehrowoodwhatever's in The Last Kingdoms.
King Harald / Peter Franzen is the only good thing the show has left. Never had the dumb fake accent either.
Ubbe / Jordan Smith is good too, but poorly used. Another one who didn't have the stupid accent. Seems like a trend that not doing the fake accent = better acting, better dialogue.
Alfred's new "Let's make him look less girly" look is even worse, his androgenic look could have been fine, now he looks like he has a wig and a fake mustache.
edit: Also the Floki plot. What a waste of a wrestler.
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History has announced that season 6 will be the show's last. A spin off / sequel is in the works though.
How does East Asia keep showing up in Vikings.
First it was that Asian woman who gives Ragnar drugs, and now it's Buddah.
First it was that Asian woman who gives Ragnar drugs, and now it's Buddah.
In Vikings adjacent news, Katheryn Winnick aka Lagertha is in a new Netflix movie with Mads Mikkelsen and it looks great.
Not sure why Judith would admit the truth to Alfred, aside from a ploy to toughen him up
Bjorn more or less saying Harald is a sucker for love
Danes coming for England's neck now
Floki watching everybody die
Ivar continues to consolidate power, not sure why Htsick couldn't take his girl with him on the trip Ivar made him go to.
Bjorn more or less saying Harald is a sucker for love
Danes coming for England's neck now
Floki watching everybody die
Ivar continues to consolidate power, not sure why Htsick couldn't take his girl with him on the trip Ivar made him go to.
Good lord, Floki's storyline is hilariously awful, not to mention sadistic. He should've been killed off in season 4 if Hirst didn't have anything substantive in mind for him.
Ragnar should have killed him for Athelstan, even if Athelstan didn't want to be avenged.
I still think Floki's bits are really good. I'll continue to stan for them since nobody else will. These past two episodes have had a much slower, more intimate pacing again, and I really wish they would continue this tradition. But I know we're headed for yet another big battle. They have grown a bit tiresome unfortunately.
Ivar is such a wasted character, they could have made him empathetic and had him be the "underdog" story for the show, someone you could root for to take over where the space after Ragnar left. That's what it seemed like they were going to do when Ragnar took him to England and everything, and then this season pretty much cemented him as a crazy lunatic villain that you definitely do not want to root for.
Like with Ragnar, what made him such a great character was that even though he did some bad things, he still did some good things and he grew as a character, he had an open mind and learned and wanted a better thing for his people, he didn't just want to "pillage" and war, on top of all of that he was smart as heck too. This is something that the writers seem not to grasp when they were writing for Ivar, because they had part of this sprinkled into his storyline on that season when he was with Ragnar, and then they all but just dropped that.
Floki's story continues to be a giant waste of time, like it's not even connected to ANY other storyline or main characters, in ANY other show his character/story would have ended when he went to sail away and that would have made space to focus more on the rest, but instead for some strange ass reason they decided to just keep following Floki and telling his story which, unless they bring him back into the fold somehow, makes no sense at all.
Bjorn basically abandoned Siggy. Aslaug was supposed to take care of her but she didn't and then Sigurd found her drowned in the river. After he told Aslaug and Ivar what happened Ivar laughed and Aslaug didn't give a shit either.
After this the writers decided to basically ignore it and Bjorn didn't even care or mention it anymore.
Like with Ragnar, what made him such a great character was that even though he did some bad things, he still did some good things and he grew as a character, he had an open mind and learned and wanted a better thing for his people, he didn't just want to "pillage" and war, on top of all of that he was smart as heck too. This is something that the writers seem not to grasp when they were writing for Ivar, because they had part of this sprinkled into his storyline on that season when he was with Ragnar, and then they all but just dropped that.
Floki's story continues to be a giant waste of time, like it's not even connected to ANY other storyline or main characters, in ANY other show his character/story would have ended when he went to sail away and that would have made space to focus more on the rest, but instead for some strange ass reason they decided to just keep following Floki and telling his story which, unless they bring him back into the fold somehow, makes no sense at all.
Bjorn basically abandoned Siggy. Aslaug was supposed to take care of her but she didn't and then Sigurd found her drowned in the river. After he told Aslaug and Ivar what happened Ivar laughed and Aslaug didn't give a shit either.
After this the writers decided to basically ignore it and Bjorn didn't even care or mention it anymore.
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Agreed 100%
Ivar was a fantastic and nuanced character when they first introduced him and now he's nothing but a one dimensional caricature (who hasn't even done anything in like 5 episodes).
Tell that to the Seer, Margerete, and fake Lagertha, lol
Your point is taken though.
Fair enough! :P
I meant that he's mostly just sat around Kattegat and raved about being a god - he hasn't actually done anything of real consequence for about 8+ months now (I think his wife gives birth next week so it's been a long time in universe). Margerete was barely a character in her own right so that merely served to piss off an already pissed off Hvitserk and we haven't seen the consequences (and who knows if they'll ever come) from him killing the Seer and lying to the people about Lagertha. It just feels to me like Hirst is spinning his wheels until Bjorn and King Harald are ready to attack Kattegat in the finale.
I think there was a potentially interesting story there - it just needed proper build up (and execution lol). Had Floki not been the only character there we cared about; had the two feuding families been on the show for a couple seasons and were people we knew and liked, then it could have potentially been devastating to watch it all unravel. Instead they were introduced and then immediately placed into this incredibly awkward position where they followed Floki to a barren wasteland and were given mere minutes every week to try and make us give a shit.
It also doesn't help that there's been next to no sense of progression to that storyline since it first began. Every single episode (12 and counting!) has been the same back and forth feuding while they sit in the rain and mud (Well, to be fair, they have little huts now, so at least there's that). Hirst could have easily gotten to the point in 6 episodes but chose to spread it out in tiny chunks across the whole season, which would honestly make even well written storylines feel sluggish.
The precipitous drop in quality from its peak (Season 2-3) is remarkable, but I still get some enjoyment out of it.
Losing JRM was definitely jarring, since he was probably the best actor left on the show. King Harald can only do so much, since he isn't a Ragnarson and fated to play second fiddle.
The Floki storyline is indefensible though, what a colossal waste of time.
Losing JRM was definitely jarring, since he was probably the best actor left on the show. King Harald can only do so much, since he isn't a Ragnarson and fated to play second fiddle.
The Floki storyline is indefensible though, what a colossal waste of time.
What is Hirst doing with Lagertha...
At least Hvitserk, Ubbe, and Floki (!) are finally doing something interesting.
At least Hvitserk, Ubbe, and Floki (!) are finally doing something interesting.
So how many episodes before Bjorn's wife must "go back to her home planet" out of nowhere and then the writers move on like she never existed?
Also yeah no one is likeable. For the writing is shit.
Also yeah no one is likeable. For the writing is shit.
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Is this war between Bjorn and Ivar something that supposedly actually happened, or is it entirely made up by the writers?
I figured with that scene last episode that Judith had breast cancer. Still surprising they don't ever give her aging makeup.
Not sure what the Lagertha hallucination was supposed to symbolize, but it was cool seeing Ragnar again briefly.
Lmao @ Htsick thinking that fat king was a Buddha
Not sure what the Lagertha hallucination was supposed to symbolize, but it was cool seeing Ragnar again briefly.
Lmao @ Htsick thinking that fat king was a Buddha
The duel was well done even if it doesn't have much weight against a barely seen character. I think the latter half of the season (airing of 10 episodes anyway, I know they call it 5B) has at least been reasonably entertaining, the first half was putting me to the verge of giving up on the show which I'd rarely do this deep into it. Nice to finally give Hvitserk something to do. Don't really care back to back finales being the brother vs brother war, though the previous one was completely botched so there's certainly room for improvement...
What an unceremonious death for Judith. She was one of the oldest surviving characters and she went out like that?
The development in Floki's story is actually pretty interesting - I wonder if perhaps Hirst is setting him up to become a force for Christianity, converting vikings across Scandinavia? This could play off of what they're doing with Ubba and Magnus, where each claims to have converted to a new religion but never truly stopped believing in their old one.
The development in Floki's story is actually pretty interesting - I wonder if perhaps Hirst is setting him up to become a force for Christianity, converting vikings across Scandinavia? This could play off of what they're doing with Ubba and Magnus, where each claims to have converted to a new religion but never truly stopped believing in their old one.
That battle felt a little...subdued? Like the filmmakers just didn't have another one in them. You could even feel it in the characters.
They tied everything up as best they could while leaving it open ended. I'm guessing they weren't sure if the show was getting renewed.
The only thing that sort of confused me was Ubbe and Lagertha suddenly deciding to go back to Kattegat. I'm sure the writers just wanted them reunited for the potential series finale, but after all the trials and tribulations of getting back their land, it seemed like a complete 180 for them to sail home.
They tied everything up as best they could while leaving it open ended. I'm guessing they weren't sure if the show was getting renewed.
The only thing that sort of confused me was Ubbe and Lagertha suddenly deciding to go back to Kattegat. I'm sure the writers just wanted them reunited for the potential series finale, but after all the trials and tribulations of getting back their land, it seemed like a complete 180 for them to sail home.
They knew. Which makes the Ubbe/Lagertha thing even more nonsensical.
Huh. So where are they going from here? I feel like this would have been a decent place to end the series since things have pretty much come full circle now.
So yeah, that was a weak finale. The first part of the battle was pretty solid, mirroring when Ragnar lost to Rollo in their raid of Paris, and showcased some nice tactics from Ivar, but after that there were some annoying contrivances (Bjorn and like 5 other people were completely surrounded and boxed in by Ivar's entire army, yet they managed to run right past everyone and jump over the wall to safety? lol?) and in the end didn't feel all that meaningful.
Fitting that the Floki stuff was MIA from the finale, all his scenes have been a waste for me and he used to be one of my favorite characters on the show.
Ubbe one on one fight was good.
I agree that Judith had a really subdued exit on the show, still not sure why they never tried putting on his makeup to age her up somewhat.
Lol @ the fat, older king doing play by play of the attempted siege in his chair.
It is fitting that Ivar would be betrayed by someone inside his camp, considering all the messed up things he did throughout the season.
Ubbe one on one fight was good.
I agree that Judith had a really subdued exit on the show, still not sure why they never tried putting on his makeup to age her up somewhat.
Lol @ the fat, older king doing play by play of the attempted siege in his chair.
It is fitting that Ivar would be betrayed by someone inside his camp, considering all the messed up things he did throughout the season.
Like most of y'all I think I'm far less enamored of this than I used to be. Three eps behind now. But Ivar's actor has amazing potential. He is forced to be a caricature here most of the time but he works in more depth than the writing deserves.
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