Vikings

They should have just stopped after season 3. Season 5 was so bad that I couldn't finish the last 2 episodes without forcing myself to watch just to confirm how bad this was.

The first 3 seasons are excellent. I used to recommend this series to all my friends. Few episodes, good story, unique characters. Then the fame came and brought greed. History Channel decided to double the earnings by doubling the number of episodes in season 4. Without enough content to fill the episodes, the show became slow and boring. I decided to stop watching it by the end of season 4 because I realized it was declining. I don't want to screw up my good memories.

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.

As usual on IMDb fictional dramas set in a particular period in history attract the bores that insist on bleating 'its not historically accurate'. Well just ignore them as this is a fantastic and exciting look at the relatively unexplored Viking world. In the same vein as other fictional historical dramas such as Spartacus or Rome the plot centres around a single character and their family. We then take a brief look into their world and are shown how dangerous a place the world was at this time. The show has a quality feel to it not like some of the more poorly made historical drama around today (sorry but Camelot was just awful!). The sets are impressive and believable and the direction and framing of each scene is obviously set by a skilled hand. The characters are all interesting and likable and the acting is top notch. The only negative I could draw on was that there could have been a bit more action in the first episode but what action there was was very well done. My advice to you, just watch and enjoy it for what it is and don't be out off by the history buffs. If we insisted on only ever watching historical drama that was 100% accurate I'm pretty sure we would be watching none at all. Great show, a solid nine out of ten.

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.