# Vikings on History Channel \[OPEN SPOILERS\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921 "2013-03-03T16:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/61 "2013-04-08T05:40:13Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > The earl is dead. Long live Ragnar. Didn’t see that coming, probably because the writing is not cohesive. And yet, I watch. I knew it was coming and I know how it’s all supposed to end, at least according to the sagas. (Can you spoil a thousand year old story?) But I wish it was better and I echo the complaints listed upthread but yet I also keep watching. I wish they they had built a series around Farley Mowat’s [Westviking](http://www.amazon.com/Westviking-Mowat-Farley/dp/0771066929) because however flawed and controversial his theories were, it’s a much more entertaining story. I couldn’t put it down. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/62 "2013-04-08T05:51:52Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > (Can you spoil a thousand year old story?) . Apparently. I hadn’t seen it yet (I dvr’d it so the wife could watch) and got the spoiler from this thread in my in-box just before we were going to watch. Some of us haven’t studied this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/63 "2013-04-08T16:47:33Z")
I’ve only seen the first 3 episodes, but I don’t care about spoilers, so I’m here anyway. I’m liking it, but the problem I’m having is that I don’t care so much for the raids on England, I want to see more of the vikings and their society. Every time Ragnar runs off to plunder England, they show less about back home. We’ve got plenty of shows out there about medieval England, gimme some Norsemen! Oh, and the Earl is such a one-dimensional villain. He’s totally boring to watch. I do want to find out if his wifey is loyal to him or not, she seems like such a snake. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/64 "2013-05-06T00:17:27Z")
After watching the season finale, my inner teenage girl can’t stop screaming YOU’RE SUCH A DICK, RAGNAR! Lagertha is awesome and will totally bust his balls when he gets back though. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/65 "2013-05-06T01:18:01Z")
The finale fell a little flat for me, especially after the eerie human sacrifices in the previous episode. Overall though I loved the season - especially the fight between the Earl and Ragnar. And yes, Ragnar’s wife is kick-ass - I wouldn’t mess with her husband especially if I was a thin willowy thing like he hooked up with ;). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/66 "2013-05-06T02:14:18Z")
> [@LVBoPeep](#): > > The finale fell a little flat for me, especially after the eerie human sacrifices in the previous episode. Overall though I loved the season - especially the fight between the Earl and Ragnar. And yes, Ragnar’s wife is kick-ass - I wouldn’t mess with her husband especially if I was a thin willowy thing like he hooked up with ;). That thin willowy thing is a pretty decent warrior in her own right, and comes with a significant pedigree. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/67 "2013-05-06T02:29:18Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That thin willowy thing is a pretty decent warrior in her own right, and comes with a significant pedigree. Great… :rolleyes: Sounds like our favorite shield maiden is screwed then :(. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/68 "2013-05-06T19:17:05Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That thin willowy thing is a pretty decent warrior in her own right, and comes with a significant pedigree. All the more reason to love Lagertha more - she pulled herself up by the bootstraps, she’s no fancy schmancy daughter of royalty. It is interesting to see the divide on this issue by gender. The women I’ve seen comment are all on Lagertha’s side and pissed at Ragnar, whereas the men I’ve seen comment support his desire for more sons and are pretty okay with the infidelity to get them. **LVBoPeep** - if you look up the legends of those involved in the show, our favourite shield maiden ain’t down for the count yet. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/69 "2013-05-06T19:43:49Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That thin willowy thing is a pretty decent warrior in her own right, and comes with a significant pedigree. She’s also figured out Ragnar’s riddle - so at least she’s not a vapid thin willowy thing, either. Still she hasn’t yet proven to be anywhere near as awesome as Lagertha has. Unfortunately, history is not entirely on Lagertha’s side Overall, I’m pretty impressed with the season. hopefully they’ll be able to repeat it or do better next year. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/70 "2013-05-06T19:58:23Z")
When we first met the Earl, I thought they were just anglicizing the spelling of Jarl. Later in the season, we met a Jarl. What is the difference between these two titles? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/71 "2013-05-06T21:20:00Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > It is interesting to see the divide on this issue by gender. The women I’ve seen comment are all on Lagertha’s side and pissed at Ragnar, whereas the men I’ve seen comment support his desire for more sons and are pretty okay with the infidelity to get them. I don’t condone Ragnar’s cheating on his wife, sons or not. For that matter, this series has me re-evaluating Viking morality. When I’ve used them in a gaming context, I’ve generally had them be Chaotic Good, with some Chaotic Neutral tendencies. Now, I’m more inclined to see them as Chaotic Evil, with some Chaotic Neutral tendencies. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/72 "2013-05-06T22:41:11Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:70, topic:651921”] When we first met the Earl, I thought they were just anglicizing the spelling of Jarl. Later in the season, we met a Jarl. What is the difference between these two titles? [/QUOTE] If you mean the Gabriel Byrne character, the closed captioning has always had him as “Jarl.” I think the various actors accents may have made it sound more like “Earl” than it was intended to. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/73 "2013-05-07T05:47:04Z")
Wait… were we supposed to be watching this for the drama or the history? Because, you know… [This.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/0e1f9085adf97fbc473849e968a345e3/tumblr_mk0ux1ku8f1s5tmjvo1_500.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/74 "2013-05-07T15:56:55Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > If you mean the Gabriel Byrne character, the closed captioning has always had him as “Jarl.” I think the various actors accents may have made it sound more like “Earl” than it was intended to. Are you sure? I’ve had the captions on the whole time, and I could have sworn it said “earl.” Either way, it’s listed as “Earl Haraldson” on the official cast page: [Vikings Cast | HISTORY Channel](http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/cast) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/75 "2014-04-11T19:44:10Z")
Anyone else still watching? Last week’s preview for this week claimed “The most shocking scene on television” and I rolled my eyes. Most shocking scene that night? Week? Season? Ever?! Give me a break. But damn if they didn’t live up to the hype, going full-on Braveheart during prime time on basic cable. Just brutal. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/76 "2014-04-11T20:29:26Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I don’t condone Ragnar’s cheating on his wife, sons or not. > > For that matter, this series has me re-evaluating Viking morality. When I’ve used them in a gaming context, I’ve generally had them be Chaotic Good, with some Chaotic Neutral tendencies. Now, I’m more inclined to see them as Chaotic Evil, with some Chaotic Neutral tendencies. I’ve met some people who think this way (Vikings as Chaotic Good) and cannot understand it. These are raiders from the sea, who attack and plunder villages, where is the Good?. It’s freaking obvious that they are (insofar as they can be shoehorned into D&D’s unrealistic “Alignment” system) at the very least Chaotic Neutral, and that’s being extremely generous. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/77 "2014-04-14T18:14:19Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Anyone else still watching? > > Last week’s preview for this week claimed “The most shocking scene on television” and I rolled my eyes. Most shocking scene that night? Week? Season? Ever?! Give me a break. > > But damn if they didn’t live up to the hype, going full-on Braveheart during prime time on basic cable. Just brutal. Ah, the “blood eagle.” Gruesome and hard to watch. [spoiler]I found it compelling. If you watch(ed) closely, the victim and his executioner cooperate and even nod to each other. Ragnar handled his victim very gently, almost tenderly. I was instantly reminded of stories about Native American torture and execution of prisoners from other tribes, and how the victim became involved with, and complicit in, the ritual. I suppose the victims felt the need to have a Good Death by their own cultural standards. During the climax, the camera turns away and pans through reaction shots of the other characters. All the females but one turn away – Lagertha is impassive. But Floki’s reaction is by far the most interesting. I expected him to be avid for Jarl Borg’s blood, and he _is_ riveted to the blood eagle, but it’s not pleasure we see in his eyes. Has something finally slipped past his joking mask and touched him? Is it because of his impending fatherhood? Great acting, anyway. Floki is my favorite character, even though I suspect the actor is cribbing from Heath Ledger’s Joker.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/78 "2014-04-14T19:03:28Z")
The second season has been really good, I think its my favourite current program. Along with the blood eagle scene, I really liked the scene in Ragnar’s hall last night, with him watching while all the characters scheme. Perhaps being on basic cable kinda helps this show, they can’t do “sex-position” scenes, so they have to find other clever ways of explaining plot points to the audience. Similarly, the blood eagle scene was probably better for keeping the actual gore to a minimum. On HBO or Showtime we would’ve scene lungs and rib-cages flying around willy-nilly, but since the History Channel has apparently limited that kind of thing to the occasional blood spurt, they had to be more creative in how it was depicted. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/79 "2014-04-14T19:24:52Z")
Still watching, I’m less impressed this year than last season, but I’m still enjoying the show. I’m not liking the supernatural element. I know this is the alien-nazi-pyramid channel, and I’m not surprised that it’s been snuck in. I preferred it when the characters believed in the supernatural, but the actual story was magic free to now, when a couple of characters seem to actually have prophetic abilities (and not just creepy hallucinations). > [@Frodo](#): > > I’ve met some people who think this way (Vikings as Chaotic Good) and cannot understand it. These are raiders from the sea, who attack and plunder villages, where is the Good?. It’s freaking obvious that they are (insofar as they can be shoehorned into D&D’s unrealistic “Alignment” system) at the very least Chaotic Neutral, and that’s being extremely generous. Ok, it could be that I totally don’t get “Alignment,” but in this series, at least, there seem to be an internal set of rules & systems and an order that the vikings seem to mostly follow pretty closely. Wouldn’t that put them on the lawful side, not the chaotic side? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921/80 "2014-04-14T19:33:33Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Ok, it could be that I totally don’t get “Alignment,” but in this series, at least, there seem to be an internal set of rules & systems and an order that the vikings seem to mostly follow pretty closely. Wouldn’t that put them on the lawful side, not the chaotic side? Umm, no no, I think you are right, they are Lawful in that sense. The whole alignment system is not a very realistic concept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vikings-on-history-channel-open-spoilers/651921.md?page=3)