#ubbe's king moment wtf

[ivarthebadbitch]

6b roundup

Well, it was a journey! Some plotlines were stronger than others and not everything was fully resolved to my satisfaction, as expected, but on the whole--not a bad season at all. I’m sad that it’s over, because as much as I make fun of it, I really do love it in its own way and I love the inspiration I’ve drawn from it and the friends I’ve made through it. Some initial and totally biased thoughts behind a cut, because this got long:

Best character arc: Ingrid. Considering how she was introduced last season and the fates of the last several ambitious female slave characters, my expectations were not high, so I was very pleasantly surprised. I love a woman who takes initiative, and she did exactly that--and it paid off. She got to be queen through her intelligence, ruthlessness, and knowledge. She raised taxes on the rich and sent an assassin after the king of the Danes. She fucked over Erik and got a new girlfriend(?) to be co-queen with. She did witchcraft and felt herself up in front of taxidermy Bjorn in the middle of a thunderstorm. I love her so much.

Best relationship: Hvitserk and Ivar. There were certain past issues in this relationship that I wish had been addressed, but I’m very happy they got to spend the entire season together because they were truly a delight and the actors have wonderful chemistry. It is really easy to see them as brothers. We got so much out of them this season, all the way from their big fight at the beginning of 6x13 to the tenderness at the very end. I know some folks were confused or didn’t like Hvitserk’s conversion, but I’m choosing to read it as his way of staying close to Ivar.

Best episode: 6x16. This was really one of the best episodes in several seasons, probably because it made the focus almost entirely on a single storyline, it referenced the past in ways that made sense, and it was less interested in doing lots of flashy stuff and more focused on introspection. So when the plot started picking up again in 6x17, you could actually understand how we had arrived at that point. I really loved Ivar and Hvitserk’s parallel journeys and epiphanies, and they had some great moments together as well. Even Harald got some introspection! Hvitserk fucked a literal goddess! Ivar had chess flashbacks! Great stuff.

Best monologue: Oleg, 6x15. The Jesus imagery! The retelling of the crucifixion! The slow motion dropping of the wine glass! The crying! I know he’s evil but man, I love whatever he had going on in his brain. It was a great monologue and Danila Kozlovsky COMMITTED to it.

Best flashback: Ivar and Alfred and the eternal chess game. Cannot believe how many flashbacks they both had to this one game from like ten years ago. I guess it really was that formative!

Best kink: 6x12, Katya x Ivar. She went all out for him, and I have to respect that level of effort, including the fact she kept the wig on even when they were cuddling afterwards.

Best twist: Erik’s death, 6x19. After 6x17, I knew it was coming, but I absolutely expected that Ingrid would be the one to kill him, and I thought it would be with more witchcraft. So I was taken completely off guard that he was taken out by a newly introduced character, and yet her motives actually made sense and it worked. When Nissa came back for him with the pitchfork I actually gasped!

Saddest death: Ivar, 6x20. I knew it was coming and I was prepared, but it was the “I’m afraid”/”I won’t tell anyone” that really got to me. I love Ivar, of course, and would’ve preferred it if he lived, but I think his death was very moving and felt human to me in a way that Bjorn’s heroic death didn’t. 

Most squandered character: Gunnhild. I think Gunnhild was actually at her most interesting when she was without Bjorn and on her own. She had this great mix of tenderness and tension in her relationship with Ingrid, and even with Erik things were sort of interesting. So it was a real disappointment to have her arc end fully centered around Bjorn, and as nicely as her death scene was shot, it didn’t read to me as an act of devotion and love that I think we were supposed to understand it to be. It just felt like a waste.

Most wtf: The Bjorn taxidermy, for being both completely unsettling and hilarious. Gunnhild having big emotional monologues with it...Ingrid performing witchcraft in front of it...absolutely impossible to take seriously. A statue would’ve done the trick without being a total distraction, but this is Vikings, so...Bjorn taxidermy it is!

Most boring storyline: Ubbe and the starvation boat/GOLDEN LAND. Well...they were on a boat. And then they weren’t on a boat. It was all very pretty and of all the original cast, I am glad they brought Floki back, but the storyline as a whole lacked tension and the character arcs (such as they were) just were not compelling.

Most unnecessary death: Asa, 6x13. I hated that they killed her off, but if they were going to do it, then I wish they had actually made it figure more into Ubbe and Torvi’s relationship instead of getting immediately dropped. The whole “it wasn’t your fault, it was fate, I don’t want to talk about it anymore” did not cut it for me, and it felt like a completely missed opportunity for both of them. It ended up being something for Torvi to be sad about for an episode or two, and that was it.

Worst sex scene: Gunnhild x Erik. I will say that Erik had a sex scene that was clearly worse for him later on, but Gunnhild x Erik was kind of just pathetic and uncomfortable, and it was made worse by him bouncing immediately after they were done. Nobody was enjoying themselves. Plus, we got this instead of what would have been an incredible Oleg x Hvitserk (x harem girl?) sex scene. Lame! 

Most uncomfortable implications: The GOLDEN LAND, which was not as uncomfortable and racist as it could have been, but the weird colonization fantasy was in full swing. All the scenes of “unspoiled” nature, land of abundance, the assumed right of Ubbe et al. to settle it because it was Ragnar’s “dream”...eh. Not feeling it. Runner up: Ivar’s monologue about his bloodline in 6x18, because any discussion of “Nordic bloodlines” starts veering REAL quick into white supremacist territory. So yeah, wish we had skipped that.

[philomaela]

so what'd you think of the s5 finale

I thought that overall it was a good ep, and it ended in the best way it possibly could (in the way that made the most sense for these character… “arcs”), it might have been better if the season as a whole was more impactful. I feel like you could have basically thrown away the first six episodes, or at least the majority of them. That’s more than half the season… that’s not good. 

Ok… so I’ve received other asks about specific things in the finale, so here I’m just going to take a moment to hyperfocus on that first battle scene, if that’s all good.

I was really disappointed in that first battle scene, which I did not expect bc normally vikings is on point with all of its battle scenes. I think Vikings is a pretty unique show in that its battles are often wildly different in terms of structure/emotion. You’ve got battles that clearly illustrate historical tactics, battles that show epic scale and vision, and battles that are just artsy AF. Like, when I saw comments criticizing how the s5a finale battle “made no sense” structurally… I was like… well yeah, it’s not a structured scene, it’s meant to demonstrate emotions and it achieved that spectacularly (PRETEND THE SKELETON THING DIDN’T HAPPEN OK, OTHER THAN THAT, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL).

So, I found this battle really disappointing, it was clearly meant to be extremely claustrophobic, hence the shaky-cam and lack of wide shots. These are characters who are pressed up against a wall, even though they are technically on the offensive, and the two sides are incredibly disconnected from each other. I get the desire to shoot the scene like that. My issue is that within the battle there’s a lot of focus on tech, there are ramps, battering rams…. ivar has a fucking FLAMETHROWER. You don’t give us any wide shots, we can’t see how this tech operates and the tech is clearly something that draws our attention away from the emotions you’re trying to focus on. Like again… flamethrower, why would you introduce a flamethrower and then try to be like “no don’t look at it!”

It felt like a bit of a contradiction you know? Same thing with Olaf on his fucking shields calling out to the Gods like… that didn’t feel intimate like with Rollo and his chant. That felt weird and totally contradictory to the down to earth, trapped helplessness that they were trying to capture. I mean, look at these guys, down in the trenches, now ok lets just go back up here and watch this dude scream for a few minutes. Like… it makes sense if Ivar does shit like that, he’s got the power in this scene, but Olaf? This isn’t an arsty-apocalyptic battle, you gotta pick ur vibe and stick with it show!

But Bjorn’s plea to the people of Kattegat, that was genuinely moving and understandable. He did a great job there and it was great that the season ended with him somewhat horrified at all the bloodshed even while others cheered at the fact that he was king… I feel like you maybe didn’t need Lagertha and Ubbe to come back so everyone could be reunited but… I can also see how you wouldn’t want to leave that till next season.

Ok yeah sorry, that was a lot but I had a lot of thoughts about this battle which is weird considering I don’t really know wtf I’m talking about lmao.

[ssraven7]

Vikings Episode 3

Spoilers ahead (please skip if you haven't watched the last ep or this week's trailer.) If you don't mind, keep going! 😉

Side note: excuse me for the spam. I have so many things to say about this ep. 🙂

So, this episode made me change my mind about so many characters.

First of all, I want to hear a wild round of applause for Alex because his performance has incredible in this episode and delivered the feels better than I had expected.

Moving on, I honestly cannot understand the choices the three brothers made in this episode. To begin with, Ubbe was 100% right about the peace offering! There is no point in continuing the war. In the long term, if the Vikings were to be besieged by the Saxons they wouldn't last long. Even if they are near the ships half of them would die before they even got there. And York is not even that good of a fortress. But Ubbe's mistake was how he handled the situation. You don't leave in the middle of the night like someone is chasing after you! YOU ARE THE ELDEST! You can do whatever you freakin like! His plan would have actually worked if not for that freakin Bishop tho...

Dear Hvitserk,

WTF is wrong with you? Was it me or the whole "I'm siding with Ivar" thing made zero sense? A few hours ago, we could see how much it hurt him seeing Ubbe being abused. But oh, let's betray the only brother who actually cares about me. WHY? Ubbe was the one raising him basically. The one who always tagged along. And you betray him like that? There is no logical explanation. None. I saw this week's trailer and he did say he always felt like Ubbe treated him like his little dog. Bullshit. He freakin let you fuck his wife on his wedding night! What else can a brother do? I don't know how those two will ever be brothers again.....

I don't care what any of you say about Ivar. For me, it's over. Seriously. Yes, I sympathized. Yes I cared. The moment he humiliated his brothers, I was done. First of all, Ubbe was the only one to ever treat him like an equal. I don't think Hvitserk took him seriously until he saw him on the field. But Ubbe always believed in him. He taught him archery and always tried to stop the fighting between him Sigurd. Not only he didn't kill Ivar after he murdered Sigurd, he accepted him as an equal leader of the Great Heathen Army. But all he got in return was to be doubted and humiliated over and over again by his little brother. I get it that Ivar has issues but he owes SO much to Ubbe. Without him showing some affection, Ivar would be way worse. The thing is, Ivar will never get it. He was told that his father would hate him for breaking up the brotherhood and he replied with "I don't think so". Ragnar would absolutely hate it. Right now history repeats itself. Brother against brother. Rollo once betrayed Ragnar because he had the same delusions as Hvitserk and Ivar have at this point. I am so disappoinangry. All I wanted to do was punch Ivar in the face during the entire ep. During the whole "I told you so" sense, during his humiliation speech I remember me pausing and saying "I just want to break every single bone you have left." I got that angry.

I believe Ubbe and Bjorn are the only truly worthy of Ragnar's legacy. Ivar has a brilliant mind but would be the worst king in he history of kings. Hvitserk enjoys basically three things: eating, killing and raping. The other two have so many traits of Ragnar's and especially with Ubbe is hard not to see it.

I want that Bishop dead. Skinned and burned alive. Dismembered and thrown to the hounds. I refuse to remember his name cause my gut says he won't make it to Season 6. He freakin hit Ubbe. He is freakin dead.

My friend and I watch the show together. She was a huge Hvitserk fan and I was with Ivat. We both support Ubbe now. And I think we won't change our minds anytime soon.

I would love to hear your opinions about last week's ep.