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Post by HirundoRustica on Jan 23, 2020 18:01:32 GMT
Just finished episode 7 of Season 6 titled 'The Ice Maiden'. I can see where they got that^ title from, considering the shot that opened the episode.  It would appear I farewelled Lagertha an episode early last week, as it was this episode that served as her official 'goodbye'...and what a goodbye it was! Firstly, let's get the non-important stuff out the way: Harald's a cocky jerk who I hope Bjorn pays back for his betrayal. As if we needed any further evidence of what a weirdo Oleg is, he says he wants to return to his mother's womb. Freak. I think I liked the actress who's playing Katya better when she was playing Freydis. I think she looked better as a blonde. Still, her bathing in a hot spring was nothing to sneeze at. As for Hvitserk...I say this every week, but can someone PLEASE put him and us the viewers out of his/our misery and OFF him already? And maybe shut down the rat-infested drug den while you're at it. Now that all that^ is out of the way, onto the rest of the episode/the actual interesting stuff: There were quite a few instances where I thought "Hell yes!" and "You said it!" in response to things characters said in this episode such as "Lagertha must have a great funeral." and "This must be a magnificent funeral. Greater than anything else in the memory of our folk.", and it was good to see Ubbe be mature about Lagertha's passing and not hold a grudge against her when he was left alone with her body and said, "You killed my mother. But I can still weep for Lagertha the shield-maiden." - SEE, Ivar and Ivar's fanboys/fangirls? that is how you *should* act! Speaking of...when the snow fell and Ivar looked up/at his hand...I've read some theories that was him 'sensing' Lagertha being dead (just as Bjorn seemingly near the start of the episode). I was at least grateful we didn't see him smiling evilly, as that would've royally pissed me off. I hate the idea that some are giving him 'credit' for Lagertha's demise, saying that he was responsible in a roundabout way because he's the reason Hvitserk is all crazypants now and it was him seeing Ivar that led to his stabbing Lagertha - Ivar doesn't deserve to be 'credited' with killing Lagertha. I'm actually hoping he gets mad that he didn't get to off her himself like he'd wanted to. Even better would be if he showed some maturity and just got over his vengefulness...but this is Ivar, and he doesn't really ever mature (at least not mentally).  Some people might've been 'bored' because this episode mainly revolved around funeral...but those people can STFU, because Lagertha DESERVED this epic funeral. One thing this show excels at (apart from the 'smaller scale' battles which they did so well last episode with the 'Wicker Maze of Death' fight - they're so much better than those big CGI'd battle scenes) is the 'spectacle' of viking funerals (which one would *hope*, considering the title of the show). There was some really striking imagery throughout...though I could've done without the shot of Lagertha starting to burn.  The actors/actresses playing Ubbe, Gunnhild, Torvi and Bjorn really sold their goodbyes to Lagertha (even the young actress playing Lagertha's granddaughter did a decent job. I noticed that one of the items placed on Lagertha’s body appeared be to be the sunstone that Ragnar used on the first voyage across the sea to England. HirundoRustica , did you happen to catch what the other two items were?). The lead-up to it was also well done, I thought. When Gunnhild asked for a volunteer to be the sacrifice who'd accompany Lagertha on her journey to crossing over and pretty much EVERYONE put their hand up, all I could think was "HA! Suck that, Aslaug! You weren't nearly as loved as Lagertha!". It doesn't bode well that Torvi was willing to sacrifice herself whilst still carrying her child, though. Good on Gunnhild for pointing out the unborn wasn't able to choose (though I'm sure if it could've, it would've said, "Yes! Anything for Lagertha! She was awesome!"). Speaking of the sacrifice, it was very fitting that one who was named after Lagertha's daughter (Gyda, who died from plague, as mentioned, all the way back in the last episode of Season 1 - YAY for continuity/remembering Season 1, show!) ended up being the one. The music that satrted palying as she prepared to be sacrificed started out kinda groovy, then became quite haunting. All the music was on point this episode. Then came the Angel of Death, who was rather creepy. It's nice she gave the sacrifice a choice in how she'd die...but she could've stabbed her faster rather than doing it slowly, no? The Godfather has got *nothing* on Vikings - ONE horse head? Phfft. Lagertha got not on a human sacrifice, but FOUR horse heads! I'm actually glad we didn't have to see the horse-slaughtering. Poor horses don't fare so well...neither do the goats...or any animal, really. Speaking of...I'd almost be wondering "Who will take care of Lagertha's cat and owl?"...but I'm pretty sure considering how much time is meant to have passed, that cat probably isn't around anymore.  Though apparently some owls 'can go upwards of 20 years'...so who who knows? Sorry.  Getting back on topic...it's only fitting that this was the post EPIC funeral of all funerals in the show, as Lagertha deserved no less. The ending was particularly memorable (and hauntingly beautiful) as Lagertha left her physical body, sank into the ocean, was accompanied by the Valkyries and appeared to 'shed' her various identities before finally settling on her original one as a farmer/wife of Ragnar as she joined him on the ocean floor.      The final visual of Lagertha turning to sand that washed away with sandy Ragnar was the perfect way to send her off into Valhalla. When watching, I thought the scene might've been a nod to the Season 1 opening credits.   I always thought that^ was Katheryn Winnick in the opening credits until the first time I listened to the commentary for episode 9 of Season 1 on my Blu-rays (which I listened to again last night before watching the new episode) and hearing her tell Clive Standen (Rollo) that it in fact wasn't her. Here's a video of Katheryn Winnick talking about Lagertha's death/funeral. Once again, farewell Lagertha and Katheryn Winnick. You'll be missed more than I've missed anyone else in this show, as you were always my favourite (Ragnar: *hmphs*). Now, if you'll excuse me, I think there's something in my eye (no, I'm not crying! You're crying!).   I have to say, I teared up again just by reading your review, Chalice_Of_Evil   You said it all so well, and thanks for posting that video.  The whole funeral, and especially the ending, was indeed hauntingly beautiful. Lagertha has been a big presence in the show from day one and she deserved no less.
I'm not sure what those other items were that they placed on Lagertha's body, apart from the sunstone, but it looked to be a necklace and a hair pin. I'm guessing the items were either Lagertha's, or just items meaning a good deal to Gunnhild and Torvi.
Lagertha may be gone, but at least Katheryn Winnick is still around. She directed episode 8 this season, so while she's no longer on the screen, at least we can enjoy her presence in other ways.
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Post by HirundoRustica on Jan 23, 2020 18:01:53 GMT
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 30, 2020 21:57:20 GMT
Most recently finished episode 8 of Season 6 titled ‘Valhalla Can Wait’. It was sad to see Katheryn Winnick’s name stripped from the opening credits. Now it’s just a bunch of dudes’ names and, honestly, I don’t even know what characters half of them are playing, I only know the ones playing Bjorn, Ubbe and Ivar. I haven’t bothered to learn the name of the actor who plays Hvitserk. Speaking of that druggie...we were SO CLOSE to being rid of him finally! I might’ve felt a twinge of sympathy for Hvitserk - as his fangirl stated (I *still* don’t know her name), he wasn’t in his right mind/himself when he mistook Lagertha for Ivar - except he wasn’t expressing any real guilt/regret over what he did. He’s still stuck on “She killed our mother!” just like Ivar. While I appreciated Bjorn going off at Hvitserk for murdering the most famous shield-maiden in the world, Alexander Ludwig verged a bit too much into over-the-topness, I thought. He’s always at his weakest, acting-wise, when he tries to imitate Travis Fimmel’s Ragnar. The yelling and arm movements just don’t work so much for him as they did for Fimmel. He should try to do his own thing. Maybe calm, quiet threatening might be the better option next time? Anyway, I was very angry at first when it appeared sun shining through the clouds was enough to convince Bjorn to spare Hvitserk’s worthless arse. However, once he made clear his reasoning for letting him live (so he wouldn’t get into Valhalla and would live a wretched life/die in a ditch somewhere after being exiled), I thought “Hm, yeah, fair enough.”  Ubbe was actually the most level-headed one, it seemed. When he spoke to Hvitserk before his almost-burning, his brother reminding him that he’d attacked Lagertha at one point and was on the “She killed our mother!” train with the other two, it made clear that although Ubbe had thought that way once, he’d grown as a person and was actually acting mature (unlike Ivar). For this reason, I think Ubbe seems like the best option for King of Kattegat, since Bjorn’s made some dumb decisions previously (and is *still* manwhoring about), Hvitserk’s an exiled druggie and Ivar is...well...Ivar, Ubbe’s looking pretty good in comparison. Having said that^, I liked Gunnhild standing up for Bjorn when he was doubting himself in front of his people and delivering a speech to rally them behind him (not that he really deserved it). Honestly, if not Ubbe as King, the next best option would be Gunnhild ruling as Queen. She seems like a better leader than Bjorn (her speeches alone). It’s such a disappointment that Bjorn clearly still doesn’t appreciate what a wonderful woman he’s married and hasn’t quit cheating on her. I don’t care that it sounded like he felt a tad guilty about it. It's too bad Lagertha isn't around anymore to slap some sense into him like she did with his father.  I felt so bad for Gunnhild when she caught Bjorn in the act. Most WTF-worthy of all was her proposing the same thing Ragnar proposed between him, Lagertha and Aslaug (nice continuity, remembering that, show). Gunnhild, you’re such an awesome woman, you shouldn’t lower yourself to making such a proposal. You should be kicking Ingrid out of Kattegat and making Bjorn crawl on his hands and knees to kiss your feet. He’s unworthy of your awesome self. Hopefully her plan is that by giving Bjorn her blessing and freeing Ingrid, it’ll take away the ‘fun’ of the cheating and he’ll get bored with Ingrid/dump her arse quickly, whereas forbidding him from seeing her again would’ve just had the opposite effect (this is what I’m hoping, anyway).  There was a weird part with Bjorn earlier on where he was sitting outside, contemplating/remembering and everything was sped up behind him in the background - that looked a bit weird in this show. It works in other ones, but not so sure it works here. There was one good part, though, and that was him remembering back to early Season 2 when his kid self made the right choice to go with Lagertha (I don’t think he’s made too many ‘right’ choices since then).   Ah, the good old days...how I miss them (and the characters from them). During that brief fight with a bunch of random people, I thought “WTF is going on here?”. It was like we’d entered another episode/show. I’m not fond of wasting so much time on people we don’t even know being offed by other people we don’t know. Yes, it played into Harald’s storyline...but Harald (as well as Olaf) and everything in his storyline bores me, so I really DIDN’T CARE. I also didn’t care about Oleg breaking his nephew’s puppet. Firstly, that damn thing was fugly/creepy, and secondly...I can’t really blame him for getting annoyed, as it was annoying *me* the whole time the kid was playing with it while the adults were trying to have a conversation. Obviously Oleg went a bit over-the-top (though I was happy he smashed that thing), but as much as they try to make Ivar look like the ‘good guy’ in comparison to him, I’m still never going to buy any sort of ‘redemption’ story for his character (so quit trying to make that happen, show!). I had to laugh when Ubbe and Torvi were leaving and her goodbye to Bjorn was simply “Farewell, Bjorn.”, while her goodbye to Gunnhild was the far better “Farewell, Gunnhild. You are an astonishing woman.” (suck that, Bjorn!). I also loved Torvi’s glaring after he said she shouldn’t be going on the journey.  Speaking of Torvi and Ubbe leaving with that a-hole, Kjetill (WHY is he still al ive?! I hope that’s rectified soon)...are we REALLY returning to Flokiland (though I guess now it’d be ex-Flokiland)?? Because that storyline was so compelling last season. As you mentioned, HirundoRustica – this episode was directed by Lagertha herself, Katheryn Winnick. That was cool. I’m glad she’s still on set and hope they get her to direct some more.   Here's a video about her directing: |
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Feb 6, 2020 9:14:34 GMT
Most recently finished watching episode 9 of Vikings Season 6 titled ‘Resurrection’. Firstly, congrats to Georgia Hirst and Ragga Ragnars for FINALLY managing to get their names included in the opening credits. Secondly, it’s a bit ridiculous it took so long for both actresses to get their names added, considering they’ve been on the show longer than some of the actors whose names got added to the credits before they’d even appeared in an episode (like Ray Stevenson in this one, for example). Georgia Hirst has been with the show since the third episode of Season 2 and is only now getting her name added. Anyway, I was just relieved they didn't give Torvi the Amber Benson/Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer treatment - ie. adding her name to the opening credits only to off her in the same episode. It was looking like that may have been a possibility when Torvi was giving birth this episode (as if she wasn’t in enough pain already, she then caught sight of the big ol’ knife, heard discussion of cutting her open and Ubbe asking whether she was going to die - no wonder she screamed extra loud after that). Luckily, she survived and has a son named Ragnar. I was also glad Torvi pointed out Ubbe’s hypocrisy regarding ‘the Christian God’, considering both of them were baptized/Christian themselves previously. Meanwhile, Gunnhild was also continuing to be awesome while Bjorn and his sidepiece continued being anything but (and, no, I didn’t need to see Bjorn butt either). Whatever happened to the Bjorn who stood up for Lagertha when Ragnar was cheating on her with Aslaug? He's doing just what his father did to his mother, but in this instance Gunnhild is taking a different approach to the proposal of polygamy marriage and letting it happen, knowing Bjorn will likely get bored of Ingrid (here's hoping, anyway). Speaking of...silly Ingrid, don’t even TRY to diss Gunnhild in front of everyone (that dig about her loyalties in regards to Harald wanting to marry her at one stage). No one was having that. Though it was sad to see Gunnhild shedding tears in private, it came after she’d told Ingrid the tale of Freya shedding tears of gold. Here’s hoping the fact Gunnhild did the same means she has the gods on her side.  And in the Not So Awesome camp we have... Ex-druggie, Hvitserk.  Seriously, all that time wasted on him being a druggie and now he’s miraculously recovered? It was also ridiculous that after all this time spent with Hvitserk seemingly going crazy because of his fear of Ivar...he went and rejoined Ivar again? It was especially infuriating due to the fact that it was his paranoia about Ivar coming after him that led to him killing Lagertha...or are we to take it he was never really so strung out and only used it as an excuse to kill Lagertha? Speaking of, when he started bragging to Ivar about killing Lagertha, clearly not feeling any regret over what he’d done, and referred to her as ‘bitch’...I really wanted Ivar to off him for taking what he thought was his ‘destiny’ (ie. killing Lagertha). I still hate Ivar, but if he kills Hvitserk because of he’s ticked off that he didn’t get to kill Lagertha himself...well...that’ll be at least *one* useful thing that Ivar has done. I do wonder what is going to happen with this whole Not!Freydis/Katya thing. If ex-crazy Hvitserk thinks you’re nuts...it would appear you’re the only one seeing the similarity, Ivar. I also felt that this line from Ivar to Hvitserk felt out of place...  It seemed like a bit too 'modern’ a phrase to me (then again, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time the show has had dialogue that hasn’t exactly felt like it ‘fit’ with the time period). Harald and Olaf (when Harald said he’d almost forgotten Olaf existed, all I could think was “I feel the same way about you.”), as well as Kjetill – all these characters are ones I don’t really give two figs about, and they added another with the aforementioned Ray Stevenson character, Othere/Not!Athelstan. He's clearly untrustworthy. I'm hoping some of (if not all) these characters get offed sometime soon. Sorry, Oleg, but after recently watching epic battles with enormous armies in Game of Thrones Season 8 (that I only just finished on Blu-ray), your army just wasn’t that impressive. Trailer for episode 10/the mid-season final: Here's hoping some characters I hate end up getting offed while and Gunnhild and Torvi survive. |
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Feb 12, 2020 14:16:17 GMT
Just finished episode 10/the mid-season finale for Season 6 titled ‘Best Laid Plans’. Yeah, those plans weren’t exactly the 'best'. I see Michael Hirst continues to like playing around with time/linear storytelling/what’s ‘real’ and what’s not in his mid-season finals. In this instance, there was all that stuff with Bjorn/Ivar on the beach.  Much like that^ beach stuff, there was a part with Ingrid where she had leafy crown whilst standing on the beach - pretty sure that didn't actually happen. What *did* happen, though, was that bastard Harald raped her - as if there wasn't enough reasons already to hate him and want him dead.  I mightn't have liked Ingrid as a character, but she certainly didn't deserve that. I'm hoping that a-hole dies on the beach (with his crown taken by Erik the Red) and he doesn't somehow miraculously survive. He doesn't deserve to. I've never liked his character and he's survived far too long. Someone else who's survived way too long is Hvitserk. WHY can't he just die already?! He has one of the most weaselly faces ever and when he and Ivar were celebrating their victory at the end, laughing, I just wanted them both dead SO MUCH. These are clearly the 'bad guys' as far as I'm concerned (no matter how hard the show tries to 'redeem' Ivar) and they can't die soon enough. The only 'positive' to be found with Ivar's crew was that Katya totally rocked her snowy white outfit.  Though I still maintain the actress looks better as a blonde, which we briefly got to see her as again in this episode when she donned a wig and got with Ivar (blech).   Also on the 'kill him already' list is Oleg. I was so happy to see Gunnhild fighting him, but then she got slashed and I was worried for her, but she swam away (take that, Oleg!). I just hope she survives. It'd be super cruel to have only just added Ragga Ragnar's name to the opening credits last episode and then kill her not long after. Plus, she'd already just lost so much with having miscarriage.  Anyone who doubts Ragga Ragnar's acting skills should be silenced after witnessing that^ heartbreaking scene. With Katheryn Winnick gone, I thought there'd be no one to step up as the show's stand-out actress...but Ragga is quickly becoming a new fave of mine and looks like she'll come the closest to filling Lagertha's shoes (well, boots). Though obviously no one could ever truly replace Katheryn Winnick/Lagertha. Here's an interview about her 'familial link' to the show (considering all the show character names she has in her family, it's like her being cast in the show was meant to be). And as if she wasn't awesome enough already...she can also sing. Michael Hirst would have to be an idiot to off the best new character the show has introduced in quite a long time (and played by someone so awesome). Someone who it *does* look like might well have been offed is hopeless King Bjorn.   Though that may be up for debate. Clearly Bjorn and Ivar never actually had that heart-to-heart chat on the beach together, which leads me to believe that the 'shocking' (though it wasn't shocking to me, as I'd spoiled myself...and, no, I can't help it) ending with Ivar stabbing Bjorn, seemingly killing him, wasn't quite 'real'. Most likely some rando stabbed him and Bjorn just imagined Ivar? It was already hard to believe that Ivar managed to climb a mountain, but reaching Bjorn on the battlefield (unharmed) and taking him by surprise? Seems highly unlikely (and regarding the battle itself - I liked some of the music leading up to it and after it was over...but there seemed to be some strange 'fast-forwarding' going on where it looked like things had been sped up. I'm not sure if that was just in the version I watched or whether it was like that for everyone who watched it. I sometimes think they do that here to keep the episode's runtime the 'right' length. Whatever the reason, it's quite annoying). As much of a dolt as Bjorn may have been with practically every decision he made after becoming King, I'd still rather him be the show's lead than frickin' Ivar. I'm sure this episode made the Ivar fangirls/fanboys very happy, but if the rest of this final season is going to be all about that jerk...  This hasn't been what I'd call a very enjoyable first half to the season...but it's had some decent moments here and there, and Lagertha's goodbye was well-done at least (which is what I mainly wanted, since I knew her fate was inevitable). Here's hoping Hirst pulls out all the stops for the last 10 episodes and gives us something that's like the early seasons of the show/when the show was great. Here's a trailer for the remainder of Season 6: |
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 27, 2020 6:31:50 GMT
Official clip from the second half of Season 6. It could be considered 'spoilery'. If you thought Bjorn was dead for reals after last episode we got. |
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 3, 2020 7:07:46 GMT
Vikings - Final Season Official Trailer.
**spoilers from trailer below**
* Have to say, Gunnhild's right - with Ragnar and Lagertha gone, the 'golden age of the Vikings' is indeed gone.
* Sorry, Ivar, when they dig up your bones, they won't be saying "Here is the most famous Viking who ever lived." (that was Ragnar and Lagertha), they'll more likely be saying "...Dude had weird-shaped legs."
* I'm a little worried that Gunnhild's going to wind up one of those who will 'perish' (she's looking like she's ready to be a sacrifice at one point).
* I really want Ivar and Hvitserk dead before the show is over. I don't really care who kills them, just so long as they're both worm food by the end.
* Biggest "WTF?" moment was the giant seasnake (apparently called the 'World Serpent'). I imagine it'll just be a 'vision' or whatever. I guess the show's response to "We have dragons." is "We have a World Serpent."
Here's hoping the show sticks the landing and doesn't fail where so many shows have before when it comes to having a satisfying ending.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 6, 2021 14:19:32 GMT
Just finished watching the first two episodes from the second half of Season 6/the final season of Vikings (no streaming episodes for me, sadly. I have to wait a week in between watching episodes  ). **spoilers below** Season 6, Episode 11: ‘King of Kings’Not sure why they altered the intro/theme song for the last ten episodes of the series. On the plus side, we still see the back of Lagertha’s head in the credits (even if, sadly, Katheryn Winnick’s name is no longer among them. I'm glad they eventually included Ragga Ragnars' name, though). So Bjorn was only mostly dead for the majority of this episode, but then summoned the strength (with some help from Gunnhild) to at least meet Oleg’s army, and in the process freak out him, Ivar and the rest of the Rus. People like to make out Ivar is such a ‘badass’, but what’s the first thing he does? Turns tail and rides off like the little bitch he is. Meanwhile, Gunnhild kicks arse. And Bjorn dies suffering Boromir’s fate of those fatal three arrows to the torso (three seems to be the magic number). I was never that fond of Bjorn (be it as an adult or child), but at times his child self seemed better. Who can forget this?  Still, as many screw-ups as he made in his adult life (and there were a LOT. Not to mention the piss-poor way he treated all the women he got involved with, his wandering eye always moving onto the next prospect. Gunnhild was far too good for him), at least he was still a better person than Ivar and Hvitserk. I’m glad he got to stick it to his two a-hole brothers one last time before he bit the dust. It’s interesting that he got to go out in a more ‘heroic’ manner than either of his parents did. Weird that they buried him on his horse with his sword raised - what, did they stuff both Bjorn and his horse? It was a bit weird. The other death this episode was Olaf - who I wasn’t sad to see go, since he mostly seemed like a cartoon to me (also, those stretched out earlobes looked incredibly fake and were distracting). Have got to hand it to him, though, for not making a sound whilst being BURNED ALIVE. Ubbe learns what Kjetill did. Does this mean we’ll be rid of him soon? I liked Adam Copeland in Haven, but here his character just annoys me and has lived far too long. I’m also one of the (seemingly) few who has never cared for Harald and wished he’d actually died from his wounds he sustained in the battle from the previous episode (he seemed pretty fine here). I really would like to see Gunnhild deliver on her promise to Ingrid about slitting Harald’s throat in return for him having raped her. Not that I’m overly fond of Ingrid - she annoys me and she’s nowhere near Gunnhild’s level of awesomeness. I actually got a laugh out of Gunnhild’s, “Ingrid, why are you being so pathetic?” line before Ingrid said what it was about (ie. not just weeping over Bjorn being on death’s door). Season 6, Episode 12: ‘All Change’ (I checked, there was already an episode with this same exact title back in Season 1. WTH? You’re so low on episode title ideas that you had to recycle one, Michael Hirst?) That’s right, Oleg, you lost! So what do you do? Take it out on everybody else, of course. He’s just as petulant as Ivar, throwing tantrums and making others suffer because he feels inadequate. If they’re trying to make Ivar look ‘better’ in comparison, it’s not working. They’re just as bad as each other. I’m so ready for Oleg to meet a grisly demise. Hell, have Katia off him (and if she offed Ivar too - not that I think that’s at all likely - it’d be a nice role reversal of what he did to Freydis). Speaking of...will we ever truly find out what the deal is with her looking like Freydis? Is it mere coincidence or Ivar’s mind making him think she looks like Freydis? And she decided to do some roleplaying as Freydis with Ivar (I thought he was Ivar the Bonerless?). I like that she was able to get him to give up his rebellion plans to her. He’s actually pretty weak-willed when there's nookie involved. Side note: she’s got some great fuzzy hats.   It sucks that Erik the Red is playing Gunnhild, pitting her and Ingrid against each other (especially since Gunnhild was there for Ingrid, despite the fact she doesn’t owe the ho anything). I would’ve hoped Gunnhild was smart enough not to fall for his BS. Oh, Eric Johnson, can’t you ever play a DECENT person? It’s too bad Gunnhild is being manipulated, since she’s more than ‘badass’ enough to be Queen. When Ubbe was talking about Bjorn being in Valhalla with Ragnar, I was annoyed he didn’t mention Lagertha too. Now with Bjorn gone, he’s the only decent son of Ragnar left. Please keep him from making stupid mistakes like Bjorn, Torvi! And speaking of stupid...OH, JOY, Hvitserk is back to his druggie state again - because that’s what we were all longing to see more of, right? WRONG! It wasn’t interesting the first time around, why do we need to suffer through druggie Hvitserk yet again? Make it stop! Despite my few gripes...welcome back, show. |
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Post by HirundoRustica on Jan 8, 2021 17:29:49 GMT
Just finished watching the first two episodes from the second half of Season 6/the final season of Vikings (no streaming episodes for me, sadly. I have to wait a week in between watching episodes ). **spoilers below** Season 6, Episode 11: ‘King of Kings’Not sure why they altered the intro/theme song for the last ten episodes of the series. On the plus side, we still see the back of Lagertha’s head in the credits (even if, sadly, Katheryn Winnick’s name is no longer among them. I'm glad they eventually included Ragga Ragnars' name, though). So Bjorn was only mostly dead for the majority of this episode, but then summoned the strength (with some help from Gunnhild) to at least meet Oleg’s army, and in the process freak out him, Ivar and the rest of the Rus. People like to make out Ivar is such a ‘badass’, but what’s the first thing he does? Turns tail and rides off like the little bitch he is. Meanwhile, Gunnhild kicks arse. And Bjorn dies suffering Boromir’s fate of those fatal three arrows to the torso (three seems to be the magic number). I was never that fond of Bjorn (be it as an adult or child), but at times his child self seemed better. Who can forget this? Still, as many screw-ups as he made in his adult life (and there were a LOT. Not to mention the piss-poor way he treated all the women he got involved with, his wandering eye always moving onto the next prospect. Gunnhild was far too good for him), at least he was still a better person than Ivar and Hvitserk. I’m glad he got to stick it to his two a-hole brothers one last time before he bit the dust. It’s interesting that he got to go out in a more ‘heroic’ manner than either of his parents did. Weird that they buried him on his horse with his sword raised - what, did they stuff both Bjorn and his horse? It was a bit weird. The other death this episode was Olaf - who I wasn’t sad to see go, since he mostly seemed like a cartoon to me (also, those stretched out earlobes looked incredibly fake and were distracting). Have got to hand it to him, though, for not making a sound whilst being BURNED ALIVE. Ubbe learns what Kjetill did. Does this mean we’ll be rid of him soon? I liked Adam Copeland in Haven, but here his character just annoys me and has lived far too long. I’m also one of the (seemingly) few who has never cared for Harald and wished he’d actually died from his wounds he sustained in the battle from the previous episode (he seemed pretty fine here). I really would like to see Gunnhild deliver on her promise to Ingrid about slitting Harald’s throat in return for him having raped her. Not that I’m overly fond of Ingrid - she annoys me and she’s nowhere near Gunnhild’s level of awesomeness. I actually got a laugh out of Gunnhild’s, “Ingrid, why are you being so pathetic?” line before Ingrid said what it was about (ie. not just weeping over Bjorn being on death’s door). Season 6, Episode 12: ‘All Change’ (I checked, there was already an episode with this same exact title back in Season 1. WTH? You’re so low on episode title ideas that you had to recycle one, Michael Hirst?) That’s right, Oleg, you lost! So what do you do? Take it out on everybody else, of course. He’s just as petulant as Ivar, throwing tantrums and making others suffer because he feels inadequate. If they’re trying to make Ivar look ‘better’ in comparison, it’s not working. They’re just as bad as each other. I’m so ready for Oleg to meet a grisly demise. Hell, have Katia off him (and if she offed Ivar too - not that I think that’s at all likely - it’d be a nice role reversal of what he did to Freydis). Speaking of...will we ever truly find out what the deal is with her looking like Freydis? Is it mere coincidence or Ivar’s mind making him think she looks like Freydis? And she decided to do some roleplaying as Freydis with Ivar (I thought he was Ivar the Bonerless?). I like that she was able to get him to give up his rebellion plans to her. He’s actually pretty weak-willed when there's nookie involved. Side note: she’s got some great fuzzy hats. It sucks that Erik the Red is playing Gunnhild, pitting her and Ingrid against each other (especially since Gunnhild was there for Ingrid, despite the fact she doesn’t owe the ho anything). I would’ve hoped Gunnhild was smart enough not to fall for his BS. Oh, Eric Johnson, can’t you ever play a DECENT person? It’s too bad Gunnhild is being manipulated, since she’s more than ‘badass’ enough to be Queen. When Ubbe was talking about Bjorn being in Valhalla with Ragnar, I was annoyed he didn’t mention Lagertha too. Now with Bjorn gone, he’s the only decent son of Ragnar left. Please keep him from making stupid mistakes like Bjorn, Torvi! And speaking of stupid...OH, JOY, Hvitserk is back to his druggie state again - because that’s what we were all longing to see more of, right? WRONG! It wasn’t interesting the first time around, why do we need to suffer through druggie Hvitserk yet again? Make it stop! Despite my few gripes...welcome back, show.
The slightly tweaked version of the theme song sounded weird to me, but yeah, nice to see Ragga Ragnars' name in the opening credits.
Heh, yeah, I wondered too if they'd actually gone to the lengths of stuffing Bjorn's corpse and his horse. It was indeed weird, but also weirdly beautiful.
Ugh, yeah, Kjetill is just the worst.
Harald has never been one of my favourites either. He's just too much of a dickbag.
Ugh, Erik the Red. He was never particularly likeable, but he just kept getting worse throughout these last few episodes.
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Post by bluerisk on Jan 13, 2021 1:24:10 GMT
I always liked Björn. Of Ragnar's son it was him and Ubbe.
Ivar is a coward, and not half as brilliant as Hirst try to sell him. Without foreign troops he has never won a battle or war.
And that he could sneak close to Björn to set the killing blow - ridiculous.
And drug boy Hvitzerg: Ivar burned your future wife alive, it haunted you, made you an addict, and what do you do: become his pet again.
Björn and Ubbe treated him always way better than Ivar, but he always returned to Ivar till there was no point of return (after the murder of Lagertha). Aside from some sort of Stockholm syndrome there is no logic writing point that explains such a behavior.
Björn's dead is an even bigger foul.
I thought it was some vision or dream sequence, but they really went for it...unbelievable!
With Björn's departure, the show has come to an end for me.
Ubbe and Floki are the only characters I half way care for.
But what I did was to check if Ivar and Oleg meet their just faith e.g. a most gruesome death.
I will not watch the rest of this dreck and waste five hours or so of my live. What a train wreck this show has become. Just because to turn Ivar into what...an Über Ragnar? It totally backfired.
"The Last Kingdom" is it for me.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 13, 2021 14:27:09 GMT
Season 6, Episode 13: 'The Signal'.**spoilers below** We have a World Serpent! And Jörmungandr's screentime amounted to about the same as the trailer for the second half of Season 6 (ie. very very brief). How disappointing. I wasn't even expecting it to show up so early (I figured it'd be towards the end of the season), but as soon as Torvi started telling her daughter the story about it, I figured it would show up this episode. Viking stories they tell their kids aren't exactly the sort to put them at ease/sleep, are they? Torvi's daughter even said she wished she hadn't told her that story. It didn't seem to have the calming effect Torvi was possibly going for during the storm. And now another one of her kids bites the dust (what is the point of Ray Stevenson's character exactly? He just stood there and watched). Poor Torvi really can't catch a break when it comes to her children (it seems Michael Hirst has no problem offing kid characters - which is at least something fresh, since most shows - even the so-called 'dark' ones - don't usually 'go there'). Did Ubbe even get anything to do/say in this episode? If he did, I forgot it. And pulling out sun compass only reminds me of how much better the show was back in Season 1 when we first saw it.  In other disappointing developments...Harald returned. Gunnhild, please make good on your promise and slit his throat already! It's the only way to shut him up when he keeps on yapping with his revisionist history. I know the character/actor has his fans, but he's never impressed me. When he was going on about why he's managed to survive so long, all I could think was it's because Hirst (for some reason) loves the character. I just don't get it, honestly. Gunnhild should've offed the bastard and then kick Ingrid's arse and declared herself Queen of Catgut Kattegat. Note to Hirst: having Ingrid engage in some weird-arse spell/ritual as she keeps stuffed dead Bjorn and his horse company, does not make her any less annoying. Is this the best you can do to make her seem 'interesting'? It's not working. You can cover her in makeup and have her dance the night away casting spells or whatever, but I hope you Hirst doesn't think she can ever even begin to be like Lagertha, as she falls way short. The only one to even come close to Lagertha's level is Gunnhild. Meanwhile, Ivar and Hvitserk got into a fight where Ivar came out on the losing end (and yet his fans maintain what a 'badass' he is. He just got his arse handed to him by his druggie brother who regularly alternates between 'loving' his brother and wanting to kill him. Throughout the scene I just kept wishing they'd off each other...but no such luck. Really, the only thing that keeps me even vaguely paying attention during the scenes where they are is keeping an eye out for Katia's fuzzy hats. She must seriously give everyone else hat envy. Adding to the list of characters I want dead on this show is Oleg. I kept hoping that since the plan to get Igor away from him was put into effect, and the fact he was wearing all white, it would mean he was going to get stabbed a LOT à la Julius Caesar. Again, no such luck. Instead all we got treated to was the sight of a fat Jesus reenactor (which NO ONE was asking for, show!). In an episode of disappointments, it shows just how far the series has fallen when the best part was seeing Lagertha, Bjorn and Ragnar again as Gunnhild scanned the room (sure, it was archive footage...but I'll take any Lagertha I can get). I guess that suggested they were all in support of her...at least in spirit. Though it was weird having her see Ragnar since we never watched the two of them interact as her character wasn't even around when he was still alive. When she said she summoned "a meeting of the Althing", I was reminded of the first mention of 'the thing' (back in the first episode of the show, I think it was). Ah, the good ol' thing - back when times were simpler.  The slightly tweaked version of the theme song sounded weird to me, but yeah, nice to see Ragga Ragnars' name in the opening credits. Heh, yeah, I wondered too if they'd actually gone to the lengths of stuffing Bjorn's corpse and his horse. It was indeed weird, but also weirdly beautiful.
Ugh, yeah, Kjetill is just the worst. Harald has never been one of my favourites either. He's just too much of a dickbag. Ugh, Erik the Red. He was never particularly likeable, but he just kept getting worse throughout these last few episodes. Yes, the new version of the theme song during the show's intro sounds weird to me too. It's like it takes too long/there's a delay before the lyrics start. Kjetill, like so many other characters this season, bores me to tear. And now Adam Copeland's got competition - he's a wrestler-turned-actor and I believe the big dude whose Harald's new henchman is a hockey player or something, I read somewhere. Because it can't be said enough: Harald needs to die ASAP. Maybe throttle him with his own hair braid (Finehair dies from his own hair - there's poetic justice). Erik the Red just seems to have no real clear point to him. He's just shady and that's it. Ivar is a coward, and not half as brilliant as Hirst try to sell him. Without foreign troops he has never won a battle or war. And that he could sneak close to Björn to set the killing blow - ridiculous. And drug boy Hvitzerg: Ivar burned your future wife alive, it haunted you, made you an addict, and what do you do: become his pet again. Björn and Ubbe treated him always way better than Ivar, but he always returned to Ivar till there was no point of return (after the murder of Lagertha). Aside from some sort of Stockholm syndrome there is no logic writing point that explains such a behavior. I agree with you on all of that^. I've toughed it out this far, I'm going to make it to the bitter end (there are shows I've given up before their ending, and ones I've made it through that have been more painful than this).
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Jan 13, 2021 17:54:45 GMT
Saw the finale yesterday.
It was fine. The Ivar stuff has been a letdown all season which is bad since I haven't really cared for him.
It felt very much like a regular episode since they started to routinely have big battles and the finale one seemed small by comparison.
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Post by bluerisk on Jan 13, 2021 20:10:19 GMT
Saw the finale yesterday. It was fine. The Ivar stuff has been a letdown all season which is bad since I haven't really cared for him. It felt very much like a regular episode since they started to routinely have big battles and the finale one seemed small by comparison. They waste so much time on Ivar, his civil war (which never took place), and his time with the Rus and the invasion of Scandinavia (which to my knowledge also never took place), so that the invasion of the Great Heathen Army and the Danelaw is a matter of a few episode? Do I have to watch the entire rest (I'm so far past ep 14), or will the last episode do? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DanelawSo if Hirst gives a damn about history, why in hells name letting him, Ivar, return to England?! The Last Kingdom deals with these events for four entire season, and it is a proper show. The show begins with the fall of Northumbria, while East Anglia is ruled by Guthrum and Ubbe, who are targeting Mercia next, hence the title: Essex under King Alfred (who becomes King during the first season) is the last remaining Saxon Kingdom to withstand the Danish invasion. Guthrum made peace with Alfred and became the first Christian king who emerged from the Great Heathen army. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GuthrumHirst killed him off in the first battle of Ivar's civil war. An there is no fucking Ivar, he is only mentioned when he died in Ireland and Ubbe sets course for Ireland to avenge his brother.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 20, 2021 14:29:16 GMT
Season 6, Episode 14: 'Lost Souls'.**spoilers below** This was easily the most boring episode thus far from the second half of Season 6 and possibly the most boring episode of the entire season. What happened in this episode? Well... Operation Get Igor Out managed to be a succees and consequently Oleg went crazy (well...moreso than usual), but unfortunately didn't accidentally burn himself to death when he was knocking over stuff, causing fire everywhere during his hissy fit. Igor is now with Oleg's brother...who I seemed to recall had a big ol' metal ring through the side of his face, yet he looks remarkably unscarred by that. In fact, Ivar was looking more scarred than him (what was that even from? Hvitserk beating him up?). When he was telling Ivar he 'loved' him I was rolling my eyes (and felt a bit ill). If only he knew half the stuff Ivar had done...actually, scratch that. Ivar fanboys/fangirls don't even CARE what Ivar's done, they just love him regardless. Clearly Igor is now one of them. Speaking of telling people you 'love' them, I wonder if Katia thought it weird when Ivar said he loved her no matter who she is. Did she think to herself, "What an odd thing to say."? We still have yet to get a concrete answer of why she's the doppelganger of Freydis. Good on her for managing to keep her clothes pristine white in amongst all the grubby/dirty people and surroundings. I was waiting for Ubbe to ask Torvi, "Didn't you have two of those?" in reference to her being minus a child. She's a good supportive wife, but also voices her concerns, whereas Ubbe just seems to agree with whatever Othere or Kjetill have to say (when he's not getting visits from the Seer. This show's been pretty consistent with dead characters never being brought back - much like characters who were offed on Game of Thrones never returned - but the Seer seems to be the one exception). As for Kjetill...hoarding a dead whale and claiming it's on his 'property' can't possibly end well for him. Not that I'll be in any way broken up over it backfiring on him when it does. After all, he's the jerk who decided to ironically call a land with no trees 'Greenland'. He deserves whatever's coming his way. Meanwhile, Erik got a promotion to being Harald's bodyguard after decapitating his previous one (so much for Adam Copeland having competition for biggest hulking guy on the show. That dude didn't last long at all) and it seems Harald's determined to be Bjorn 2.0 by planning to marry both Gunnhild and Ingrid. Honestly, I just wish the two women would conspire together to off him and co-rule (as much as I don't like Ingrid). It'd certainly be better than Harald being King of Catgut Kattegat (WHY does everyone what to rule this one place? What exactly is so great about it??). Hell, they even showed Gunnhild hiding a knife on her person when Harald came to talk to her. How I hope she delivers on her promise to slit his throat (though I realise It's not likely going to happen).  The only interesting part was Gunnhild talking to stuffed Bjorn and his horse about the Golden Age of the Vikings being over now that Ragnar, Lagertha and Bjorn himself are gone.  You said it, Gunnhild!
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Post by bluerisk on Jan 21, 2021 7:08:12 GMT
As for Kjetill...hoarding a dead whale and claiming it's on his 'property' can't possibly end well for him. Not that I'll be in any way broken up over it backfiring on him when it does. After all, he's the jerk who decided to ironically call a land with no trees 'Greenland'. He deserves whatever's coming his way. He will become King of all of Greenland.
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Post by Morgana on Jan 22, 2021 8:23:04 GMT
The show lost it's focal point once Ragnar died and has gone downhill since then. I gave the later series a try but lost interest and though I watch here and there, just to see what is going on, I haven't found anything interesting enough to draw me back in. Bjorn just didn't have the charisma of his father, or the actor playing him. He was unfaithful all the time despite him knowing how much his father's unfaithfulness hurt his mother. I do like Harold and I kind of like Ivar- maybe just because the rest of them are forgettable, except for Gunnhild.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 22, 2021 11:11:04 GMT
The show lost it's focal point once Ragnar died and has gone downhill since then. I gave the later series a try but lost interest and though I watch here and there, just to see what is going on, I haven't found anything interesting enough to draw me back in. Bjorn just didn't have the charisma of his father, or the actor playing him. He was unfaithful all the time despite him knowing how much his father's unfaithfulness hurt his mother. I do like Harold and I kind of like Ivar- maybe just because the rest of them are forgettable, except for Gunnhild. I agree with most of what you said (except about liking Harald and Ivar - I'm not a fan of either and want to see both dead before the series is over). I especially agree about the majority of the characters who are left being forgettable except for Gunnhild - she's awesome.
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Post by Morgana on Jan 23, 2021 7:46:58 GMT
What they did to Floki is unforgiveable.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jan 27, 2021 13:14:41 GMT
Season 6, Episode 15: 'All at Sea'.**spoilers below** As for Kjetill...hoarding a dead whale and claiming it's on his 'property' can't possibly end well for him. Not that I'll be in any way broken up over it backfiring on him when it does. After all, he's the jerk who decided to ironically call a land with no trees 'Greenland'. He deserves whatever's coming his way. He will become King of all of Greenland. Indeed he did, after hogging that whale all to himself. He's King of Greenland...with barely anyone left to flaunt his 'kingliness' over. And once all the whale's gone, what's next? Cannibalism? Eat those who remain, nd then? Good riddance, Kjetill (I hope Adam Copeland's next role is a less annoying one. He was good in Haven, at least). Oleg went full-on crazypants, imagining himself as Jesus, then was all about preaching 'peace and love' since he'd lost, and as if we needed further proof he'd totally lost it...he just stands there watching as Igor shoots him with an arrow. He had plenty of time to dodge it...if her weren't bonkers. Good riddance, Oleg. I was mildly amused by Ivar's conversation with Katia where he wanted to be with her, but she's all "Nah." and he's all "That's cool. I had other stuff to do anyway." and then she reveals she's pregnant with his kid (how is that possible again? I thought Ivar wasn't capable of such. Unless she was fibbing). Anyway, after all this speculation about her being a doppelganger for Freydis...literally nothing came of it. She says she's not Freydis and Ivar would eventually start to realise that. I thought it would've been pretty mind-trippy if as he left, he turned around one last time to look at her and saw she looked like someone else and her resemblance to Freydis was all in Ivar's mind. Bye, Katia, I'll miss your snazzy clothes and great hats. Couldn't care less about the Ivar and Igor 'relationship'. Trying to make Ivar seem like a less bad guy because he bonded with the kid may have worked for the Ivar fans, but it did nothing at all to change my opinion of him. I was also disappointed that Hvitserk eventually started speaking, as he'd been mute up until that point and that's just the way I like him (though I'd prefer him dead), as everything he says always annoys me. Rat bastard. So long, Rus and Oleg's bro who should have a big old scar on his face from that metal ring that was put through the side of it. That little spec of red was laughable. Also laughable? Ingrid's WAY too modern-looking wedding dress as she came out to marry Harald. However, the most notable thing about this scene was how the show just totally screwed over Gunnhild's character and the actress who portrays her. Seriously? Not wanting to marry Harald, Gunnhild just simply gives up?? That is NOT the Gunnhild we've followed up until this point. After everything, this is how she goes out? By swimming out into the sea and letting herself drown? WTF?! Lagertha would be SO disappointed. Bjorn wasn't worth it, Gunnhild! I guess since Ragga Ragnars is a former Olympic swimmer, they decided "might as well make the most of her skillset" and that's why her last act was a lengthy swim. You messed up BIGTIME, Hirst. No one could've replaced Lagertha, but Gunnhild had come the closest to being a worthy successor...and this is how you treat her?! The fact that Harald, Ingrid and Erik the Red are still alive while Gunnhild isn't just adds insult to injury. But hey, at least she stuck it to Harald one last time by basically saying death is preferable to marrying him. Luckily, I'd known about this weeks prior, as I think I would've been watching in utter disbelief/disgust at what I was seeing onscreen if I hadn't known about it beforehand. I had a few weeks to process this complete disservice to the only character left on the show who I truly cared about, but it doesn't make it any less sucky. Why does Hirst hate Gunnhild? Both she and Ragga Ragnars deserved better! I'm not sure how I'm even going to make it through the remaining five episodes, as I just really don't care anymore. Farewell, Gunnhild. You were too good for what this show has become.  This pretty much sums it up... 
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Mar 4, 2021 14:12:19 GMT
Season 6, Episode 20/Series Final: 'The Last Act'. **spoilers below** Okay, I'm going to attempt to compose my thoughts regarding the last ever episode of the show into something resembling coherent (rather than the incomprehensible mess they were in last night after finishing watching the episode). **trying to stay calm**  This series final, like this season as a whole, was a major letdown/disappointment. I'm not sure why I expected things to improve, after the second half of this season had been especially bad (seriously, it made the first half of Season 6 actually look good by comparison...not that I can remember that much of it, though, since it was pretty forgettable, but I don't recall it ticking me off quite as much as this second half did. Plus, Gunnhild was still around in the first half). The most stupid thing I think I've seen on this show (and that's saying a lot) has got to be Ivar turning into a literal puppet master, seemingly controlling his fellow Vikings in their fighting, making moves that they then made because Ivar couldn't do so himself. Whether it was to be taken literally (Ivar has superpowers now!) or not, it doesn't matter. It was a dumb visual and made no sense. For all the talk of Ivar being 'the greatest Viking who ever lived' and all his fangirls/fanboys heaping praise on him, he really didn't actually do much of anything. He made big speeches, yelled and made crazy eyes - that was about it. Now was the time his bones decided to fail him and began breaking. When Hvitserk talked about Ivar's blue eyes indicating his bones were going to break, I was like "Huh??". Had we been told this previously or was it just a recent thing added in? I remember Ivar having blue eyes when he was first introduced as a grown-up, but I didn't recall any mentions of the blue eyes indicating bone-breaking. I may have just forgotten, though (since all things Ivar-related tended to bore me). Ivar managed to kill a few people on the battlefield this episode after mostly staying out of any battles, and the only other time I could recall him fighting in recent memory was when he inexplicably snuck up on Bjorn and put a sword through him at the end of the first half of this season. Speaking of...I guess it was poetic justice that some random guy managed to sneak up on Ivar like he snuck up on Bjorn. Considering that all Ivar was doing was standing around and yelling, I was surprised the guy had to wait for Ivar's go-ahead to kill him rather than just doing it while Ivar was being all theatrical. I had to roll my eyes at seemingly everyone being in awe of Ivar and his over-the-topness. Alfred was bad enough, but Hvitserk saying out loud "One day everyone will know Ivar the Boneless" just caused ultimate eyeroll. So anyway, Ivar lets the kid stick him with a knife many times (if anyone should've been stabbed multiple times, it should've been Hvitserk, since he did so to Lagertha) and then takes his time dying in the arms of his bro who hated him half the time and 'loved' in the other half while Alfred somehow manages to be heard over all the fighting, telling BOTH sides to stop...and even the Vikings listen to him for some reason. I guess I should take solace in the fact that for all his bravado, Ivar died afraid of what was coming next for him (although Ragnar and Lagertha didn't go down swinging, both accepted their fates and didn't act afraid. With Bjorn...well..it was hard to tell). If I didn't absolutely hate Ivar as a character, I might feel the teensiest bit bad about enjoying his death, but honestly...he got off pretty easily considering all the stuff he did. As relieved as I was that Ivar FINALLY bit the dust, it was of little comfort considering LAGERTHA'S MURDERER, Hvitserk, was still breathing. I have no idea why Alfred showed him mercy, and to top things off he had the name of Athelstan (a character who was actually interesting, unlike druggie Viking) bestowed upon him - a name he wasn't the slightest bit worthy of. What's worse, there's even a deleted scene of Alfred inviting Hvitserk to stay with him at the Royal Villa with his family - I hope you're prepared for Hvitserk's sudden but inevitable betrayal, Alfred. Converting Hvitserk to the Christian faith means basically nothing, since he switched sides more times than I can count. Like Ivar, the rat-faced bastard got off too easily. Someone else who got off easy was the gold-obsessed Viking in Ubbe's storyline who killed the Native American and after being turned back over to Ubbe, was sentenced to a good ol' blood eagling...except he couldn't even keep it together long enough for Ubbe to begin (Yarl Borg would've been scoffing), so Ubbe was like, "I haven't even started yet." and slit his throat instead. Now, was that to grant him mercy or to deny him entry into Valhalla (since the only way of making it into there when being blood eagled was to remain stoic while you had your back hacked open, lungs pulled out and placed upon your shoulders so they resembled folded wings) or a bit of both? Despite everything else that happened in the episode, I think the thing that frustrated me the most was that INGRID (of all people) got to become Queen of Catgut Kattegat. WTF? GUNNHILD should've been Queen, but no, Hirst decided to off her in the most stupid/disrespectful/unceremonious way possible. While I was probably expected to be thinking, "You go, Ingrid!", sadly I couldn't on account of not giving two figs about her character (nor the random redhead Viking woman who was at her side. Was that the one who she had off Erik the Red?). That should've been Gunnhild's throne, damn it! My other major annoyance in this final episode was the lack of mentions regarding Lagertha. Both Ragnar and Athelstan got name-drops, but no Lagertha. Unforgivable! I was also surprised Rollo never returned to the show (then again, when the show went to Paris was when I first started losing interest, so it was probably for the best). By the end of this episode, I didn't even care enough to get any enjoyment out of Floki's chat with Ubbe on the beach (this show became more and more guilty of using anachronistic dialogue as seasons went on, and this episode was no different). It was all "Ragnar, Ragnar, Ragnar" and not ONE mention of Lagertha. Hell, they didn't even compare notes on how crappy Kjetill Flatnose was. Sad to say this series final is right up there with GoT as one of my least favourite series finals ever. It's especially disappointing when you look back on how awesome the show was in the early seasons, how many actually good/likable characters there were and how something as simple as setting sail and navigating using nothing but a sundial and sunstone could be compelling. While this show had some very high highs...it also had a lot of incredibly low lows too - and both can be attributed to Michael Hirst since he wrote every episode. While I'll forever be thankful to him for creating the character of Lagertha (and casting the incomparable Katheryn Winnick in the role), as well as giving us Travis Fimmel as Ragnar (showing he was capable of conveying SO MUCH with nothing but a look), I can also lay the blame for all the crappy character deaths, snooze-worthy/awful storylines (I think Ubbe's seafaring 'adventure' almost rivaled Ragnar's druggie storyline for most mind-numbingly boring storyline EVER on this show) and boosting up of characters who didn't deserve it. Oh well, at least it's finally over now (something I never would've thought during its early seasons). Thankfully, there's always the early seasons to revisit/rewatch. So long, Vikings. 
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The whole funeral, and especially the ending, was indeed hauntingly beautiful. Lagertha has been a big presence in the show from day one and she deserved no less. 
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