So I have just finished watching Vikings on Netflix. It’s been a really long series, and I find myself really just amazed that I stuck it all the way through. There’s definitely going to be spoilers, so brace yourself for it.
Every time I watch Vikings, I really want to grow my hair out real long, and then to do a real severe undercut, and have tied up in that long Viking pony tail. I also feel like getting really fit, so that I can get ready to fight wars and all that, which is something I’ll start with.
There’s a deep sense of aggression and the need to dominate, or to take over a place by brute force. Throughout the entire show, it’s always this attempt to show force through a fight, or maybe the idea of grace might be shown by the Christians, but its quickly taken over by betrayal somewhere else down the line. The idea of war is really shown to be quite pointless, and very brutal. Extremely. Families are also torn apart when the wars start, and sides need to be chosen. The need to be at war is also one that the Vikings keep up with. The stability of normalcy is something that they don’t appreciate, and they actually look for trouble, in one way or another.
In terms of appearances and superficiality, the show has really fit actors, but unless there’s a sex scene, you actually might not see them remove their clothing to reveal how fit they are. I really appreciated this part, because that gives you a lot more time to focus on the story, or how the acting and the emotion is being portrayed. I think it’s really nice, and I enjoy the effort placed in. The portrayal of the characters are also not as overbearing as you’d see in the Fast and Furious franchise, but its that strong movements, more akin to the fighting seen in John Wick. I appreciate this type and this kind of appearance of a fight. More strength than just muscle?
In terms of truth, the amount of fact in fiction in astounding. I have never googled so consistently throughout a show, because I was really hoping that the stories would be real. I know it didn’t really turn out that way, but it was portrayed in a weirdly believable way. I enjoyed that tremendously. I spent a good 10 minutes after each episode just to re-read the Wiki page on Ragnar and on the English Kings who seemed to be real mean people. I guess it surprised me in many ways, and also it was a really interesting part of history to learn. I also wished there were similar approaches to how this would work in other dramas. The fiction that would sound so real, that one would end up searching and trying to learn the history of the place and grow in knowledge. That would be an epic way to learn history.
On the topic of death, it was super sad to see each character die, especially those that stayed on for really long, like Ragnar himself, or Lagertha. Bjorn was quite a tragic death as well, it felt like even in death, he was not allowed to rest, which showed early on in the story in how he always looked for everyone else’s approval. I really felt that his story was one of the most tragic, but we all know the worst was Hitsverk. He saw death so repeatedly through the people he loved dying, and I felt so much sadness for him by the end of the show. It was really a lot to deal with.
Also, Valhalla as a heavenly resting place where there would be feasting and joy. I think it becomes something that we all hope for, but I really think that in the sense of how it works in our current world, I’m quite amazed about what’s it made me start thinking about for eternity and heaven. The idea of Valhalla was really something that they strove for, but at the same time, each character struggled with death one way or another. I think that speaks volumes on the human condition, and how we find misery in strife, yet the “meaninglessness” is not really that meaningless either.
Overall, I would rate this TV Series a must watch. It makes for a really great binge, packed with intense fight sequences, and emotional rollercoasters. I’d place Peaky Blinders in this same category, but just a bit closer to what we might understand in modern day.