Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 15, 2020 14:22:15 GMT
Just finished episode 6 of Season 6 titled 'Death and the Serpent'.
Let's get all of the boring/uninteresting stuff from the episode out of the way first:
May we never again be subjected to Viking elections. Having to watch person after person cast their vote for who they wanted to be King of all Norway on the floating voting platform wasn't my idea of compelling viewing. Harald betrayed Bjorn (after he'd saved his butt). I mightn't like Bjorn's manwhore behaviour, but I certainly prefer him to Harald who I hope pays the price for his betrayal.
So, Eric Johnson (who I've seen in a number of things such as The Knick TV series, as well as the second and third Fifty Shades movies, but who I'll forever remember as 'Jocko Whitney' from Smallville) is playing Erik the Red? He might've just said he went by 'Eric', but it's pretty clear who he is supposed to be. Hopefully he'll prove interesting (though how come all these guys get to be in the opening credits after just one appearance, such as Eric Johnson, but actresses like Georgina Hirst who plays Torvi or Ragga Ragnars who plays Gunnhild haven't managed to gain opening credits status after all this time? And after this episode, it's just going to be a bunch of guys' names in the opening credits, it seems).
Being forced to watch Oleg and Princess Katya/Not!Freydis bonking? HA! Suck that, Ivar!
The rest of the episode - namely everything relating to Lagertha - was, of course, the best/most interesting stuff:
That maze was pretty awesome/an effective way of taking out the bandits.
Naturally, Lagertha kick all sorts of arse, having a showdown with the head bandit. Telling him off for his betrayal, ensuring she had no help from anyone (see, THIS is why Lagertha is a *true* 'badarse' and Ivar is just a poser. He could never kill Lagertha, he had to resort to burning some poor innocent woman alive and claiming it was Lagertha. He was nothing but a lot of 'tough talk'. The fanboys/fangirls of his character are under the same delusion Ivar himself was regarding him being a 'god'/god-like. Honestly, without his plot armour, he'd be long dead by now. Meanwhile, Lagertha fought like the Queen she is, taking blows here and there, but still managing to win fairly. LOVED that she used her broken shield as a weapon. Very fitting for the legendary shieldmaiden).
You said it, Gunnhild!
I freely admit I'd spoiled myself for Lagertha's fate. There was NO WAY I was going to wait to find out what happened. I think knowing beforehand helped a bit. Still, it was quite upsetting seeing her weakened and trying to reach Bjorn only for druggie Hvitserk to mistake her for Ivar in his drug-induced deliriousness and stab her repeatedly whilst she was on the ground and unable to fight back in her weakened state. Ideally, it would've been preferable for her to go out whilst fighting. Still, at least the episode afforded her one last kick-arse fight before her end (and thankfully Ivar wasn't the one to kill her - as much as he and his fanboys/fangirls *wanted* him to be - so that was a small consolation). What also helped ease the pain of seeing her get taken out in such a way was that she seemed to accept it, with her final words being, "It is what the Seer foretold that one day I would be killed by a son of Ragnar. I could not escape it. Nor could you. Weep not, poor Hvitserk. Tonight I will sit with my beloved Ragnar in the halls of the gods. I I've lived a full life. I am not afraid." (the scene was certainly atmospheric, with the storm and the intercutting between that and the song 'Lament for Lagertha' - which I liked half of...the half that *didn't* sound like caterwauling).
Of course this incident isn't exactly going to make me hate Hvitserk any less than I already did. I can only hope he gets put out of his and our (us, the viewers) misery ASAP.
I know there are Lagertha haters out there. Whether it's because they hate strong, kick-arse women characters or they're just Ivar fanboys/fangirls...it doesn't really matter. Lagertha will forever be one of the best characters in this show and one of the best female characters in ANY show ever, no matter how much they try to deny it/think otherwise. Lagertha had to work twice as hard as anyone else to maintain what power she gained, and she was as much a legend as Ragnar was. I knew it was too much to expect them to get Travis Fimmel to film a cameo as Ragnar greeting Lagertha in Valhalla, but hopefully we'll get to see them both (or at the very least Lagertha) in the series final. Make it happen, Michael Hirst!
Without Lagertha, I feel that watching the remainder of this season is going to end up being a bit of a slog to get through (at least we still have Gunnhild, though I hope she gets to kick more arse).
Thank you, Katheryn Winnick, for bringing this character to life so believably.
Lagertha, Queen of Kattegat and the most famous shieldmaiden in the world...you will be greatly missed.
May we never again be subjected to Viking elections. Having to watch person after person cast their vote for who they wanted to be King of all Norway on the floating voting platform wasn't my idea of compelling viewing. Harald betrayed Bjorn (after he'd saved his butt). I mightn't like Bjorn's manwhore behaviour, but I certainly prefer him to Harald who I hope pays the price for his betrayal.
So, Eric Johnson (who I've seen in a number of things such as The Knick TV series, as well as the second and third Fifty Shades movies, but who I'll forever remember as 'Jocko Whitney' from Smallville) is playing Erik the Red? He might've just said he went by 'Eric', but it's pretty clear who he is supposed to be. Hopefully he'll prove interesting (though how come all these guys get to be in the opening credits after just one appearance, such as Eric Johnson, but actresses like Georgina Hirst who plays Torvi or Ragga Ragnars who plays Gunnhild haven't managed to gain opening credits status after all this time? And after this episode, it's just going to be a bunch of guys' names in the opening credits, it seems).
Being forced to watch Oleg and Princess Katya/Not!Freydis bonking? HA! Suck that, Ivar!
The rest of the episode - namely everything relating to Lagertha - was, of course, the best/most interesting stuff:
That maze was pretty awesome/an effective way of taking out the bandits.
Naturally, Lagertha kick all sorts of arse, having a showdown with the head bandit. Telling him off for his betrayal, ensuring she had no help from anyone (see, THIS is why Lagertha is a *true* 'badarse' and Ivar is just a poser. He could never kill Lagertha, he had to resort to burning some poor innocent woman alive and claiming it was Lagertha. He was nothing but a lot of 'tough talk'. The fanboys/fangirls of his character are under the same delusion Ivar himself was regarding him being a 'god'/god-like. Honestly, without his plot armour, he'd be long dead by now. Meanwhile, Lagertha fought like the Queen she is, taking blows here and there, but still managing to win fairly. LOVED that she used her broken shield as a weapon. Very fitting for the legendary shieldmaiden).
You said it, Gunnhild!
I freely admit I'd spoiled myself for Lagertha's fate. There was NO WAY I was going to wait to find out what happened. I think knowing beforehand helped a bit. Still, it was quite upsetting seeing her weakened and trying to reach Bjorn only for druggie Hvitserk to mistake her for Ivar in his drug-induced deliriousness and stab her repeatedly whilst she was on the ground and unable to fight back in her weakened state. Ideally, it would've been preferable for her to go out whilst fighting. Still, at least the episode afforded her one last kick-arse fight before her end (and thankfully Ivar wasn't the one to kill her - as much as he and his fanboys/fangirls *wanted* him to be - so that was a small consolation). What also helped ease the pain of seeing her get taken out in such a way was that she seemed to accept it, with her final words being, "It is what the Seer foretold that one day I would be killed by a son of Ragnar. I could not escape it. Nor could you. Weep not, poor Hvitserk. Tonight I will sit with my beloved Ragnar in the halls of the gods. I I've lived a full life. I am not afraid." (the scene was certainly atmospheric, with the storm and the intercutting between that and the song 'Lament for Lagertha' - which I liked half of...the half that *didn't* sound like caterwauling).
Of course this incident isn't exactly going to make me hate Hvitserk any less than I already did. I can only hope he gets put out of his and our (us, the viewers) misery ASAP.
I know there are Lagertha haters out there. Whether it's because they hate strong, kick-arse women characters or they're just Ivar fanboys/fangirls...it doesn't really matter. Lagertha will forever be one of the best characters in this show and one of the best female characters in ANY show ever, no matter how much they try to deny it/think otherwise. Lagertha had to work twice as hard as anyone else to maintain what power she gained, and she was as much a legend as Ragnar was. I knew it was too much to expect them to get Travis Fimmel to film a cameo as Ragnar greeting Lagertha in Valhalla, but hopefully we'll get to see them both (or at the very least Lagertha) in the series final. Make it happen, Michael Hirst!
Without Lagertha, I feel that watching the remainder of this season is going to end up being a bit of a slog to get through (at least we still have Gunnhild, though I hope she gets to kick more arse).
Thank you, Katheryn Winnick, for bringing this character to life so believably.
Lagertha, Queen of Kattegat and the most famous shieldmaiden in the world...you will be greatly missed.