Vikings

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.

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.

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.

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.

Maybe it isn't real 100 percent history. Some liberties were taken, but for the most part is seems to ring true.At times it almost seems like a contemporary crime drama, but the facts are there-the raids on British monastaries that did occur in the late 8th century, a fairly realistic depiction on what Norse life was probably like at this timeline, the spectacular countryside with its majestic forests and rivers, and the depictions of the Vikings themselves. Savage, eager to loot and plunder, but nevertheless bound by a sort of code of honor. Their acts are savage and the chieftan seems more like a medieval Godfather who uses his power for his own personal gain and who is not above killing somebody on the spot if he is displeased with his actions. The storyline is fairly literate and not the usual mindless adventure that too many of these movies present to us, and the characters are convincingly drawn and likely motivated. The music is good and the full size replicas of the ships are very accurate. Even the deliberate pace works to its advantage, we are never rushed and the story develops as it moves along. It is never dull and there is plenty of interest to engage the viewer. However, if you are put off by graphic violence , don't watch it. Those times were fairly brutal. Fine entertainment . Enjoy it.