Barbares

Barbarians was so much better than I anticipated! While not quite as good as other shows like Spartacus, Rome, Vikings or The Last Kingdom, it was still a pretty good show that was entertaining enough to watch. It does bend the truth a little bit of what really happened back then but it's still pretty close and doesn't claim to be a documentary. Its visuals are great. If you have some time and looking for a show to binge watch over a weekend then give this a try. The seasons are only 6 episodes long so you can get through them pretty quickly. The show is in German but you can dub it in English or read the subtitles. Already looking forward to next season.

There was something captivating about the lead character, Arminius. I didn't know this was based on a real battle, and I wish there was more details now that I do. Don't bother with dubbing, watch the original. They way they switch between Latin and German was very impressive!

I actually like this show. I started watching it and turned it off because of the horrible English dubbing. After a few minutes of being disapointed I gave it another shot with subtitles; am I glad I did. It's actually very watchable, and I'm someone who usually hates subtitles.

The first season was great, with an ending where I wanted to see more of it. Then came the second season and I can see more. I wish I could not. For a good action you only need nice visuals, good moves, weapons, muscles, pretty faces and some semi irritating jokes. On the other hand for a good drama you need tension, and for that you need real actors and proper writers. And in order to have a successful show you need to decide which one do you go for. They went for both without proper actors and writers. So it falls completely flat in the second season. Bloody boring, so much wasted potential, I do not think I am interested in a third season.

Can t say that there weren't parts where I was absolutley fascinated by the level of detail given (specifically the fact that the germanic tribes speak german and romans latin!!) + the very historically detailed roman armours add a very nice touch to this niche historical setting.

Sadly around 40% of the story is driven around a "strong ,independent" woman that does whatever she likes with no real consequences and is regarded even by Arminius as the "true leader" several times. Alongside the Romeo and Juliet romance going on between the "woman" and some random dude,it kinda broke the hole immersion for me ,because you can clearly see that actual historians and history fans took part in creating the show; paralleled by a story that brings nothing original or new or interesting or even historically plausible to the show.

The relationship between Arminius and Varus is pretty well written and very well played by both actors, and it s nice to see glimpses of both cultures in what is clearly a limited (and most likely 1 season) budget tv show.

To wrap it up , it s a "could have been master-piece" that will surley fall into obscurity due to it s pandering to the average "Fritz"(since it s german duh) and lack of originality and authenticity.