Vikings

Vikings is one of the rare shows where it is never dull and full of entertainment. It's a show with plenty of violence, drama, mystery, etc. The character development is what keeps the show fresh and interesting. It takes you into this world of Vikings and keeps you intrigued throughout the series. I just loved this show so much and even though it hasn't been gone that long I already miss it! I know everyone keeps talking about how the show dropped in quality when Travis Fimmel (Ragnar) left the show, and it did, but it was still a pretty good show after he left as long as you don't compare it to when he was there. Just take it for what it is and that's still a very entertaining show. For some reason it left the History Channel for Amazon Prime Video for the final ten episodes and thought they did a really good job finishing off the story. It's one of the rare great shows where they didn't botch the ending.

Seasons 1-3 and the 2nd half of season 4 are the best this show has to offer. But the rest is easily forgetful I do not remember a single scene that moved me or stuck with me. Ragnar was what made this show great. Vikings is brutal and has some very dark and complex moments. First 3 seasons 10/10 season 4 7/10. Spinoff would have been better for the sons. Ragnar deserved better and Michael Hirst didn't execute.

With the release of the last half of the 6th season we finished the epic seven-year saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons. Whilst I am not sure I'd consider "Vikings" to be amongst the very top tier of shows I've watched in my lifetime; I've certainly enjoyed my time with the Norsemen.

Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) is a farmer and raider who becomes a legendary figure amongst the Viking people by establishing consistent navigation techniques and leading successful raids on the various Kingdom's that would become Britain. Rising to become King, his legacy is cemented by the actions of his sons, particularly Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) and Ivar The Boneless (Alex Hogh Andersen) who would rule countries and influence politics far from their homelands.

The first few episodes don't really convey the scale of the ones that would eventually follow. There are lots of great characters that appear across the run but at the start the show rests on Travis Fimmel's shoulders and he's really good. Ragnar is not a good man, or father and the danger of the character always is present in Fimmel's wild eyes but you still understand why his men fought for him and elevated him so highly that his sons could trade of his name. His sons each derive some aspect of him, Ubbe played by Jordan Patrick Smith is the explorer he wanted to be, Bjorn the noble King, Hvitserk, played by Marco Ilso, is the sufferer and addict and Ivar the vicious warlord. I don't really think any of the characters across the run were poorly performed and it's interesting to look back now and remember some of those characters and the stories that only played for a while.

The scale of the show gets bigger and bigger and the battle scenes more and more expansive. I don't feel as strongly as others that the show drops off as it refocuses on the sons of Ragnar but I would accept that some of the stories don't quite end at their natural point or have deviations that don't go anywhere.

It's not, for me, in that top tier "West Wing", "Game of Thrones", "The Wire" category, but it's not far below and I'm happy to have visited Kattegat for these last few years.

I absolutely loved Vikings and already miss it. Obviously, the first 4 seasons were a lot better with Travis Fimmel as Ragnar still on it but the show was still pretty good even after he left...as long as you try not to compare it to those first four seasons. The writing and acting is so good that it just pulls you into their world. Finmel wasn't the only one was great. The entire cast was. Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha), Alexander Ludwig (Bjorn), Clive Standen (Rollo), Gustaf Skarsgard (Floki), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Bishop Haehmund) and Alex Hogh Anderson (Ivar) all stood out too. Even though the quality went down a little after Fimnel left, I thought the last 10 episodes on Amazon got the show back on track and ended the series on a real high note though.

19 January 2018

I'm not a fan of historical and quasi-historical films and series, so I had no high expectations for "Vikings". But the first season bought me right away. It's completely different from anything I've seen so far, and there are more dead than in "Game of Thrones". Now I finished the second season and the series just keeps getting better. It seems to me that there are more scheming and twists than in GoT. The acting and characterization are excellent, and the action scenes are incredibly believable and realistic. It gets more and more complicated and tense and will not only hold your attention but also your breath.

7 April 2024

I finally made it to the end. In the later seasons, the story branches out in too many directions and gets overly complicated. The series in most respects maintains the level until the very end, but the story begins to repeat itself, the same plots revolve around different generations of characters and, although it cannot be said that the quality decreases, it all becomes a bit monotonous. Some of the denouements delighted me, some disappointed me, and some felt unfinished, but I guess that's a matter of taste. All in all, an above-average series, but I think they should have ended it earlier. Definitely a recommendation, if for no other reason than because of the original and striking performances of the entire cast, among which Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgård, Alex Hogh Andersen, and Travis Fimmel stand out the most.

8/10.