#vikings title sequence

[reviewinghiccup]

RIDERS OF BERK | HTTYD SERIES | BREAKING DOWN HICCUP

Blog Post Series : Breaking Down Hiccup

Title : In Dragons we Trust | Alvin and the Outcasts

Ep/Season : Episode 5 & 6, Season 1 (Riders of Berk)

Premise(s) :

Mildew sets out get rid of the dragons. As usual. Alvin the Treacherous, a long term enemy of Berk has now ceased the opportunity to appear and kidnap the dragon conqueror for himself, much to his surprise.

THE OPENING SCENE

The opening sequence of Episode 5 is cathartic. When Hiccup free falls, there is such freedom and release. He glides in the air with such ease. The artistic direction of the show is refined. Hiccup is the bravest in the sky, and ironically, somewhat uncomfortable on land. He is himself with Toothless, or in a better way put - more himself. But without Toothless, he is always placed in a position of finding himself.

Episode 5 and 6 is exactly that. We know that Mildew’s scheme to get rid of the dragons succeeds at the end of Episode 5. And Hiccup is now looking for an opportunity to get Toothless back and bring him home. The struggle now begins as Hiccup has to find his strength in the absence of his best friend.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK III

At the start of Episode 5, we are made aware of the dynamic of Hiccup in the village. There is now no disputing that he is Stoic’s heir. I’d like to think that the village was worried having Hiccup as chief initially. He’s scrawny, tiny, couldn’t/wouldn’t kill a dragon. He didn’t fit the Viking mould. Even Stoic was concerned. But after the battle with the Red Death, no one can fault Hiccup’s stubbornness and bravery. His courage was unmatched. His compassion greater than the scale of his measure and his understanding even larger.

So, when we go into Riders of Berk, Hiccup is undisputedly next in line. This is reflected in what Stoic tells Hiccup in Episode 5 “all eyes are upon you son, whatever those beast do reflects on you AND whatever you do reflects on ME.”

RELATIONSHIP DYNAMIC

FATHER-SON & CHIEF

Hiccup is trying to prove himself. And while Stoic has done better after the events of the 1st movie, in terms of parenting, he still struggles to divide his position as chief and his role as father. This context is often a topic when we follow a storyline involving royalties and their heirs.

Stoic doesn’t want to disappoint his son, but he must also protect his village, which is allegedly being ruined by something his son loves the most and believes are innocent.

The question of trust is still a running theme between father and son.

And the notion of whether Hiccup is a worthy leader hangs lightly in the air.

The living situation between dragons and Vikings is still precarious.

HICCUP X ASTRID

I can’t not talk about them. When Hiccup was contemplating the series of unfortunate events, he starts to believe that Mildew set everything up. After they leave the dragons on Dragon Island, Astrid, sad and upset looks for him. I notice that the two of them, in the earlier days of friendship, often sought each other for support (as they will continue to do into their relationship).

At the same time, Hiccup confides in Astrid the possibility of Mildew’s treason. She has always been his voice of reason. A great listener. She doesn’t nudge him towards the impulsive but is wise in her counsel, letting him make his own decisions, but reminding him to calculate them. We know they grew up together, but the grew together as well, if you get what I’m saying.

This reminds of the final movie, when Gobber pesters Astrid to marry him. It is because he knows that Astrid makes Hiccup better. Even Valka acknowledges that he listens to her. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid.

HICCUP V ALVIN THE TREACHEROUS

Alvin the Treacherous (voiced by Mark Hamill might I add 🙌🏼) is Hiccup’s first enemy. I get that Mildew might be considered the first, but he wasn’t a real threat to Berk (yet).

Something Hiccup proves very well, is that he is brave. He isn’t stupidly audacious, like Snotlout, who when push comes to shove might run away from the challenge (though arguably Snotlout gets better towards the end).

He is also very clever. He chooses his battles and uses psychology to outwit his enemies, instead of brute strength, which most of them would have more than him anyways.

HEROIC STORY LINES

UNDERRATED ROMANTIC | CHIVALRY AIN’T DEAD

Hiccup heroically shows up just when Astrid needs him. I love these little touches. Hiccup continues to prove himself to be nothing like “Stoic’s little embarrassment.”

Hiccup tries to trick Alvin. Astrid catches on quickly (proving their inward connection) and plays along w his plan. We know that this rouse may not fly if it was put against the twins or Snotlout, who may not get the idea immediately and Fishlegs would be too nervous to act it out well.

HICCUP’S BRAVERY

Was it stupid to let Alvin take him hostage? Yes, but Hiccup was unafraid. And didn’t even flinch while captive. He grows a lot in these two episodes. I love that his size holds no comparison to his courage.

BATTLE STRATEGY IMPROVES

While Alvin will prove to be a lesser evil than the demons that will soon chase him in later seasons, Hiccup and the way he manoeuvres Toothless on the battle field will improve and match up w the evil at hand. The turns he makes when battling Alvin is a little clumsy and out of touch, but this will change as he practices and progresses in the story. I like that they made it look that way, as opposed to Hiccup just naturally knowing how to fight w Toothless by his side. I appreciate the growth they’re trying to lay out here.

Likewise, the way the riders work as a team will also progress. The other’s seemingly irrelevant rattlings will prove useful, and Hiccup will learn to be a leader, team player and friend to them and they to him.

CONCLUSION

I loved how Stoic faced off Alvin. Punishing him for taking Hiccup. Which shows off his tenacity, strength and love for his son.

I like how though Mildew wasn’t outed, he didn’t need to be. It’s like a lesson in “things don���t always work out the way you want it to and justice isn’t always served independent of evidence". But when you do the right thing, things will workout, and that’s exactly what happened.

I love that at the end of the episodes, the village cheered on the dragon riders sparking on a desire to let them stay and tolerate a free roaming dragon city.

[nysocboy]

Wet Hot American Summer, Episode 1.5: Skyler in a satyr costume and a gaslit gay couple

Wet Hot American Summer (2001) was set in a summer camp in Maine in 1981: after all of the kids have left, the counselors hold a talent show and hook up. Two guys fall in love and get married.  I've never seen it, so I don't know if the sequence was performed as a homophobic joke or not. 

Undaunted by the 38% Rotten Tomato rating, Netflix produced two Wet Hot tv series, a prequel and a sequel.  Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later catches up with the original characters and some new faces in 1991.  I reviewed Episode 1.5, "King of the Camp," where pompous, snarly, mean-tempered new character Deegs (Skyler Gisondo) and regular Andy (Paul Rudd) compete for the title.

Scene 1: The camp is in session, so there are kids as well as counselors.  Andy's friend points out that he was named King of the Camp every year back in the day, but now the honor goes to that mean-tempered kid, Deegs.  At that moment Deegs throws some trash at them, while his friend Seth does a "fucking" gesture.  So he plans to humiliate them with anal sex? 

They argue. "Fuck off!" "Suck my balls."  Dude, you're a 30 year old man telling a kid to suck your balls.  Doesn't that sound a little odd?  

Finally Andy challenges Deegs to a "King of the Camp Duel."

Scene 2: The King of Camp contest begins with drummers, acrobats, a band dressed like road warriors, and fire dancers (both ladies, darn it).  The contestants are in cages, Andy dressed like a Viking and Deegs dressed like a satyr. Whoa, nice muscles, but shoving your hand into your loincloth is a little distracting. Don't worry, Skyler is 21 years old.

Scene 3: First contest: bag race. Deegs loses his bull horns but keeps the loincloth.

Scene 4:  Next: get dizzy and race with an egg in a spoon.  

Scene 5:  The guys run across the quad for the next contest.  Skyler bouncing around in that satyr outfit is still distracting.  Ok, here it is: make up a song about dinosaurs.  Andy gets weepy about their extinction, while Deegs sings "The Dinosaur Stomp."  

Scene 6: Next: hot pepper eating. Whoops, they're tied.

The full review, with several nude photos, is on Righteous Gemstones Beefcake and Boyfriends

[eternal-learner]

October 2024

Book

👻 Bear by Marian Engel

Movies

🦇 Salem's Lot (2024) 🦇 Scary Movie (2000) 🦇 Evil Dead Rise (2023) 🦇 Brain Damage (1988) 🦇 The Relic (1997) 🦇 Evil Dead (2013) 🦇 Basket Case (1982) 🦇 Chasing Cain (2001) 🦇 The Substance (2024) 🦇 Smile (2002)

Other

Design Your Career with a Whiteboard

Human Behavioral Biology 4. Molecular Genetics I / 5. Molecular Genetics II / 6. Behavioral Genetics

Podcasts

🎃 Anatomy and Physiology - Bit by Bit 1. Body Organization / 2. Homeostasis / 3. Cells and the Plasma Membrane

🎃 And Colossally That's History! Imola '94: F1's blackest weekend (Part 1, 2, 3)

🎃 Aria Code Puccini's Madama Butterfly: When My Ship Comes In

🎃 Articles of Interest Clergy

🎃 Automotive Repair Tips Automotive Brake Systems, Lines and Components Explained

🎃 Bean to Bar World Melanie with 20Nord20Sud of France

🎃 Canada: A Yearly Journey 1894 / 1895 / 1896 / 1897 / 1898 / 1899 / 1900

🎃 Canadian History Ehx One Long Terrible Journey: The March West / Bringing the Bard to Life: The Stratford Festival / Canada's Titanic: The Empress of Ireland / When Germans Invaded Winnipeg: If Day / The SS Viking Disaster / The Story and Tragedy of Henry Hudson / Exploring the Christmas Stories and Traditions of Canada / The History Behind 24 Sussex Drive

🎃 The Chess Angle 123. The Most Confusing Chess Concepts for Developing Players / 127. Chess Study Plans & Formulas

🎃 Completely Arbortrary The Phantom Fir (Douglas-fir) / Squirrel Talk (Oregon White Oak) / Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Tree (Arborvitae)

🎃 Draftsmen Karl Kopinski on Discipline, Sketching, and Making it as a Freelance Illustrator / Creativity Insights Artists can Pull from Writers / Developing an Illustration / Reinventing Yourself / How to Study Masters

🎃 The Evolution of Horror What is Horror? / Slashers Pt 1: An Introduction / Slashers Pt. 2: Psycho & Peeping Tom (1960)

🎃 F1 Explains Guenther Steiner on his hardest decision / Bernie Collins + Ruth Buscombe on strategy secrets / Liam Lawson answers your questions / Inside the safety car / How F1 helmets are made / Mika Hakkinen on high-speed tracks / Meet the mechanics in an F1 garage / Damon Hill on F1 title fights / How Formula 1 plans its races / Coaching F1 drivers / DRS: how the Drag Reduction System has changed F1 racing / What we learned in 2023 / Overtaking, breaking, and qualifying / Mick Schumacher + Bernie Collins explain the F1 race start / F1 race suits, boots + gloves: what F1 drivers wear / Pedro de la Rosa explains F1 car set-up / Downforce + why F1 cars have wings

🎃 Formula Once Upon A Time Senna, the Hills and Monaco / "Niki was the first real professional driver" - Daniel Audetto / Lauda "You're gonna have to shoot me down." / Show me the Money - what people get paid in F1 / The $10m Handshake

🎃 How To Chess 1. GM Eugene Perelshteyn on How to Limit Blunders / 2. How to Choose an Opening / 3. How to Get Past a Rating Plateau / 5. The Right Way to Read Chess Books / 7. How to Choose Your Opening Repertoire / 9. How to Review Grandmaster Games / 12. How to Improve Your Chess Away From the Board / 15. How to Choose a Chess Coach / NM Han Schut on Getting to the Root of Your Chess Mistakes / GM Sahaj Grover - How to Approach Studying the Endgame / GM Johan Hellsten - How to Analyze Your Own Chess Games / NM Bryan Tillis - How to Remember Opening Sequences / IM Alex Astaneh on How His Coach Accidentally Taught Him Board Visualization

🎃 Learn to Paint Dean Mitchell

🎃 The Listening Service What's the point of Listening? / Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto / Transcendence / Chasing a Fugue / How do you describe a teaspoon in music? / How Do You Make a National Anthem?

🎃 The Nations of Canada The Basques / An Alchemist Matter / Mystery on the St. Lawrence / False Starts

🎃 Psychoanalysis: A Horror Therapy Podcast Sibling Rivalry: Basket Case (1982)

🎃 The Race F1 Tech Show The pros and cons of Renault ending its F1 engine programme / Lifting the lid on F1 helmet technology / Unpicking the strengths and weaknesses of F1's "Big 4" teams / The secrets of F1 simulators / Secrets of F1 suspension

🎃 The Science of Birds Bird Songs - Part 2 / Vision in Birds / Hummingbirds / The Biggest Global Threats to Birds

🎃 Shop Talk Live - Fine Woodworking 318 - Back to School / 324 - Bridging creativity and technicality

🎃 Song Exploder Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over / New Order - Blue Monday / MUNA - What I Want / Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out / AURORA - Runaway

🎃 Stella Culinary School Flavor Structure Part 1 and 2 / S is for Sauce Part 1 and 2

🎃 The Tucker Carlson Show JD Vance: The Immigration Crisis, How Polls Are Used to Fool You, and the Left's Plan to Stop Trump

[iamnathannah]

Our old racist 'redmen' mascot had been phased out the year before for Redwings (thank God!), but that resulted in no mascot through my high school years because the budget was in the name change and an original logo which was a flat red bird stylized as an SVG (unlike the crosstown school that just changed the colors of the Vikings logo to theirs they are dumb duh) before the mascot came in. It ended up with the school's dance team putting in a lot more work because there wasn't a mascot to base cheer sequences on, and it helped their acclaim and appeal throughout the area, including national titles. So the lack of a mascot for a few years helped another part of the school shine!

Regarding my last post on the subject:

ok at this point I'm mildly curious so i wanna ask

[44gamez]

Hellblade 2 Release Date Officially Revealed

Throughout the current Xbox Developer Direct livestream, writer Xbox Recreation Studios and developer Ninja Principle introduced that Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will launch for Xbox Sequence X/S and PC through Steam and Microsoft Retailer on Could 21, confirming current rumors and stories. It's going to even be an Xbox Recreation Go title. The livestream offers gamers a behind the scenes have a look at the sport’s manufacturing, and likewise reveals some cutscenes explaining Senua’s new adventures in tenth century Iceland towards the Vikings, gameplay segments displaying fight, a number of places, and extra. In Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Senua returns “in a brutal journey of survival via the parable and torment of Viking Iceland.” Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 particulars: The sequel to the award profitable Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Senua returns in a brutal journey of survival via the parable and torment of Viking Iceland. Intent on saving those that have fallen sufferer to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming the darkness inside and with out. Sink deep into the following chapter of Senua’s story, a crafted expertise informed via cinematic immersion, fantastically realised visuals and encapsulating sound. The primary recreation’s particulars through the developer: From the makers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Satan Could Cry, comes a warrior’s brutal journey into delusion and insanity. 2021 Replace: Return to Helheim and expertise Senua’s world via new eyes with enriched visuals and new options. Upgraded supplies, particles and LOD, DirectX Raytracing and optimised efficiency with NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR assist. We have now additionally used this chance to incorporate some key accessibility enhancements, together with full controller remapping and color blindness settings. Set within the Viking age, a damaged Celtic warrior embarks on a haunting imaginative and prescient quest into Viking Hell to combat for the soul of her lifeless lover. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and individuals who expertise psychosis, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will pull you deep into Senua’s thoughts. Read the full article

[bgallen]

A list for the 2nd Friday of 2024

Welcome to  2024….12 days in!

 I hope that thus far your year has gone well. I personally enjoy the resetting of a new year, when you can implement new focuses, improve older ones, and look forward to growth and fun. I’ve included a list of some bits and bobs I’ve been enjoying and found interesting as well as some photos.

Hopefully you find something to enjoy and have a great weekend.  

The ‘$40 Pencil’ That Almost Went Extinct (wsj.com)

John Steinbeck used one to write “The Grapes of Wrath” and a Disney animator was buried with one. Blackwing pencils gained a coveted status among creatives for their speed and smoothness. Here’s why they almost went extinct and what it took to bring them back.

 The lost ancient practise of communal sleep (bbc.com)

Until the mid-19th Century, it was completely normal to share a bed with friends, colleagues and even total strangers. 

 Masters of the Air — Opening Title Sequence | Apple TV+ - YouTube

Based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name, and scripted by John Orloff, “Masters of the Air” follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group )the “Bloody Hundredth”) as the conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen, and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the ir. Portrating the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of “Masters of the Air.” Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.

A Notebook to Save You from Infinite Scrolling & Boredom (youtube.com)

In this video, Parker gives an idea for a pocket notebook that can help free you from the infinite scroll and help you utilize your boredom for your own intellectual good.

Music’s power over your brain, explained | Michael Spitzer (youtube.com)

Music affects the brain in profound ways. It eases stress by lowering cortisol. It floods the brain with pleasurable neurotransmitters like dopamine. And it serves as a conduit through which we can process emotions that otherwise might not be describable in words.

If I Had a Heart - VIKINGS // Anna Miilmann, Johan Karlström & Danish National Symphony Orchestra (youtube.com)

Performed by Anna Miilmann, Johan Karlström & Danish National Symphony Orchestra & Vocal Ensemble Conducted by Henrik Vagn Christensen

How a 1574 portrait was made 'Insta-fabulous' (bbc.com)

Restorers are uncovering "forgotten faces" that were later retouched, with painters adding plump lips, sculpted noses and tapered chins centuries afterwards, writes Kelly Grovier.

The Habits for Happiness Quiz | Gretchen Rubin

A fun quiz to help you choose what the next habit that could make you happier might be.

[thoughtsofadyingsoftwaredev]

Hello, Tumblr world! For some reason I am drawn to you in the Fall season. My last post was just over a year ago… sorry about that. Not that you, my lovely reader, care - and that is IF anyone reads this! I won't lie I don't care if people read these or not, this is essentially an online journal for me at this point, ha.

So, what's new with me lately, you might ask? Well, I'll break it down:

Still happy with our house. We've made gradual updates to it since moving in, including redoing some old flooring with some new vinyl faux-wood looking stuff. Super nice. Also replaced an old toilet in the process. Next we're eyeballing a bathtub upgrade for one of the bathrooms and big landscaping changes to our back yard.

Got promoted at work to Senior Software Engineer after 3 years. Not bad turnaround time for that title change, in my opinion. My responsibilities shifted from managing the IAM software to managing our search experience for the many different applications we provide.

This primarily means I'm responsible for drafting search document schemas, working with these other teams to get answers on questions they refuse to provide answers to without me having to ask first, and handling the logic for ingesting hundreds of thousands of items of varying types to different search engines. In my 3.5 years of working here, I have enjoyed the challenges of the job. Of course, it's not without it's awful days or days where my head is screeching, but the good days outweigh the bad for me.

Wife and I are still on speaking terms. That's my way of saying we're both as good and happy with each other as ever lol she's my best friend. We both got super interested in NFL this season and watch every Monday and Thursday game and watch Minnesota (wife's favorite team) on Sundays. RIP Vikings post-Cousins injury.

That's about all I can think of life-wise. My 31st birthday was a few weeks ago, and I feel old as shit sometimes LOL I look in the mirror and I see what seems like new wrinkles in new places, my hair is graying in small parts, and I find it hard to stay up late. It's 1:04AM right now and I find this to be the upper range of my limits lol

I had a dream recently that my wife and I died in a freak accident at some theme park (not a specific one, just some weird abstract dreamy one) - from what I can remember we were on what we thought was part of a ride, but what ended up happening is we both fell to our deaths.

After we died, we both were floating over family and friends as spirits, watching our bodies get carried in open caskets. For some reason, I had two huge pieces of hair that went down both sides of my face (this is nowhere near what my hair looks like so no idea why this was).

At first, when I woke up, I kinda had to laugh at it. The overall sequence of events was a bit silly. But I found myself thinking more and more about it throughout today. Who will care if I die? Not in a "bad thoughts" kinda way, but genuinely - what kind of footprint am I leaving in this world? Will people know or care that I die? Probably not, and I think ultimately I'm fine with that, but the dream gave me pause and kinda fucked with me today haha.

Can I tell you a secret Tumblr? I have a burner Facebook account that I use to see how my old friends are doing. I am very anti-social media, and as part of that, have no real ways of keeping up with people from previous parts of my life aside from those who have my cell or email, so this gives me an outlet to see how friends I've made over the years are doing now.

Some of them never left my hometown, which kinda bums me out, because when I think of my time there, I couldn't imagine having stayed. But I have to consider that they may really love the place and have strong ties to it. I don't want to sound mean when I say that, but it's just a very small, quiet town that seems like a place you'd stay if you decided not to attend university or a trade school. And that's perfectly okay, too.

Some are thriving, too! A very good friend of mine recently got married, and I'm thrilled for him. I remember late nights at college talking with him outside of his dorm in the night air, rocking back and forth in a rocking chair, like the ones you see at Cracker Barrel. We'd talk philosophy, religion, girls, music, and much more. He's an awesome, genuinely kind hearted person and I'm glad to see he's doing well. He's not the only one, there are others who are all out there doing their thing, so to speak. I can't say why, but seeing these people I've known at some points in their lives doing well makes me incredibly happy.

Music is always a wonderful memory and hobby for me. Music is what brought most of my friends I've made and I together. I recently started playing guitar again (thank you Rocksmith 2014) and it has been a blast! I recently acquired a dream guitar of mine for awhile now: a Surf Green Fender MIM Strat. I fucking love it.

Piano is still on hiatus and has been for many, many years. I think it might intimidate me a bit. I eventually will have to bite the bullet and revisit it. I plan on using ABRSM resources to find some appropriate pieces for where I'm currently at. I'm hoping I can ramp back up to SOMEWHERE close to where I was when I went to school for music. I realize it may take years, but I think if I devote myself to it, I can achieve it. Honestly the hardest thing will be getting that dexterity back and remembering scales/fingerings/etc. Hopefully by the time I post next, I can report back with some success on that front!

Hobby coding-wise, I'm starting a new project using a new stack (for me): Java (Spring), Vue, and Postgres. My goal is to create a web application for Veterinarians offices for administrative use. This app will handle invoicing, communications with patients, store pet/owner data, store data regarding prescriptions, surgeries, etc., and probably more I'm forgetting. It's a lot of moving pieces, but it presents a fun challenge on both front-end and back-end, and frankly I've seen the most popular competition (Avimark) and it looks like dogshit. So my plan is to work on this for the foreseeable future, get an MVP up, snoop around my local area and see if anyone is interested in testing it out. This will be a long-term project, though. I have some ramping up to do with Vue as I have not used it since it was still in v1.0, so many things have changed!

Started watching Frieren and that shit kicks ass! The music, the animation, the art style. Only 4 episodes in, but it is easily top 5 anime.

JJK Season 2 has been fucking insane. It started off so crazy, I ended up binge reading the manga up until the end of the Shibuya Incident and holy shit. Seeing the Yuuji vs Choso fight animated was a fucking masterpiece!

Games-wise, I've been deep into WoW classic and FFXIV. FFXIV has always been my go-to, but lately I've been doing WoW and I love the customization that is possible within a class (priests, wars, etc builds can vary wildly and that's awesome!).

And I think that's all I've got! I've been drafting this post for the past 20 minutes-ish. I have to start winding down for today. This may be my longest post so far? Not sure, I'll compare it to my others word count-wise after this and confirm!

[thebooknearme]

Heathen: The Complete Series Omnibus Edition

About The Book:

Title: HEATHEN: The Complete Series Omnibus Edition

Author: Natasha Alterici & Ashley A. Woods (Illustrations)

Pub. Date: May 17, 2022

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 336

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/Heathen-The-Complete-Series 

WOMAN. WARRIOR. VIKING. HEATHEN. OUTCAST.  THE GODS MUST PAY… Born into a time of warfare, suffering, and subjugation of women, and exiled from her village for kissing another woman, the lesbian Viking warrior, Aydis, sets out to destroy the god-king Odin and end his oppressive reign. She is a friend to many as she is joined by mermaids, immortals, Valkyries, and the talking horse, Saga. But she is also a fearsome enemy to the demons and fantastic monsters that populate the land.  Heathen – The Complete Series Omnibus Edition trade paperback collects the entire twelve-issue series. Soon to be movie directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Red Riding Hood, & Lords of Dogtown) Perfect for fans of Monstress, Helheim, and Northlanders.

Reviews:

“These declarations of self from women and queer characters fit so elegantly into the mythology Alterici uses to weave her tale, it reminds us that these narratives belonged there all along.”- The Mary Sue

“I want epics with female leads, and fortunately HEATHEN fulfills that desire in a big way, while also adding its own unique touch with themes that are as contemporary as they are timeless.”- Women Write About Comics

“One look at the cover and I knew this book was right up my alley. If you are into Norse mythology and aching for a lesbian angle, then this book is for you. If you want a love story that is more than a romance, a heroine that is truly honourable and fierce, then I urge you to pick this … up.”- The Lesbian Review

“Natasha Alterici's Heathen, has single-handedly redeemed the disaster that pop culture has been making of Norse mythology. It’s a smart, funny, feminist, queer and sex-positive take on the Viking world; one with a wide cast of diverse and endearing characters. Heathen is a must-read for comics (and mythology) lovers of all sorts and those in quest of superb queer and feminist comics in particular. RATING: 10/10”- Pop Matter

About Natasha Alterici:

Natasha Alterici is a writer and artist living in Tulsa, OK who has been working as a freelance artist for over ten years. Works include Heathen (Vault Comics), Dinosaur Project, Gotham Academy: Yearbook, Grayson Annual, The Lez Film Review, Mixed Signals, Lovers and Other Strangers, Transcience, and a number of others. When not drawing, she enjoys watching cooking shows with her wife and their two cats, Cheshire and Louise.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

About Ashley A. Woods:

Ashley A. Woods is a comic book artist, writer, & creator from Chicago known for her work on the "Niobe", "Ladycastle" and "Tomb Raider" series. She got her start through self-publishing her action-fantasy comic series “Millennia War” which led to her career in comics and TV. After earning her degree in Film and Animation from IADT, she traveled to Kyoto, Japan where she presented her work in a gallery showcase called, “Out Of Sequence”. Recognized for her female illustrations and designs, her most prominent work is "Niobe: She is Life" with Stranger Comics. Her latest work can be seen on HBO's "Lovecraft Country", DC’s “Wonder Woman Black & Gold 2” and "Jupiter Invincible" with Pulitzer Prize winning author Yusef Komunyakaa which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival June 2021.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

What was your inspiration for writing your graphic novel?

Heathen began with a simple Ren Faire costume design, I wanted to go as a barbarian, and the outfit I came up with wasn't far off from what Aydis wears in the book. After that I found myself drawing it again and again, and realized it was developing into a character. So the next steps were obvious; give her a horse and then write her a story. 

List your favorite graphic novels or comics from when you were a child and talk about how you see them as an adult.

I never got the chance to read any comics as a kid. I was too busy obsessing over a different Eyewitness book every month and then later Mary Higgins Clark mysteries and Lurlene McDaniel romance books. I got into comics in college after my English Comp teacher assigned Maus, and from there I sought out the classics like V for Vendetta, Persepolis, and some Sandman. I've always been a seasonal kind of reader, sometimes I'm devouring everything I can, other times I almost forget books exist. Just how I'm wired I suppose. 

List your favorite graphic novels this year and why you like them.

I've honestly only read one so far this year, but it was a great one! Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. It's so refreshing to read about queer characters who are neither role models nor tragedies (both are perfectly valid, just oversaturated). They're just normal kids with normal relationship problems that they have to learn to navigate. I really enjoy down-to-earth stories like that. 

Talk about your favorite kind of character to write about

I love messy flawed characters, the kind who want to be better but aren't quite sure how to go about it. I also love writing flirty characters, they're hands down the most fun to write. And if a flirt happens to be messy and flawed themself, well that's the perfect combination. 

Talk about your least favorite kind of character to write about

This is a difficult one, because if I were to describe the kind of character I don't like I'd inevitably be describing the kind of people I don't like  and I try to find the likable part of anyone I'm writing. Otherwise it's hard to empathize with them, and empathy is the most important part. I guess I'd say I find it hard to write about people who find joy in being cruel. 

Describe your ideal writing space.

Comfy chair with a foot rest, view of the forest or a field, music playing, unlimited access to some kind of sweet treat like peach rings or twizzlers, and plants to fuss over while I run through scenes and dialog in my head. 

Describe your ideal home library.

I'd love to have floor to ceiling shelves, with one of those rolling ladders. Everything is organized by Library of Congress call number system (I worked as a university librarian for a while), and it's dust and mold free somehow. And there's a big pile of cushions and pillows to lay in to read. 

What are some of your favorite video games?

I'm really into Ark: Survival Evolved right now, I enjoy finding and taming all my favorite dinosaurs and building things. I also play Phasmophobia, Minecraft, Katamari, House Flipper, and I like colony sim games like Oxygen Not Included and Banished.

[favescandis]

NEW interview with Alexander Skarsgård about Godzilla vs. Kong and The Northman with Uproxx

Alexander Skarsgard Knows You Don’t Care About Him In ‘Godzilla Vs Kong’

MIKE RYAN, SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITER MARCH 30, 2021

Yes, Alexander Skarsgard is under no false impressions that you are looking forward to Godzilla vs. Kong to see the adventures of his character, a geologist named Dr. Nathan Lind. You see, Godzilla has been causing some problems for humans for unknown reasons and, just maybe, Kong can take care of business and let Godzilla know that his antics aren’t appreciated by means of a knuckle sandwich. And Dr. Nathan Lind has been studying Kong for years and has a good idea of what Kong’s motivations might be and what Kong actually wants.

So, yes … there are times where there is not a lot to talk about when even one of the lead actors in a movie admits people aren’t coming to see him or his character. Though from past interviews, I know Skarsgard has a pretty good sense of humor, so the real questions soon devolved into kind of outlandish fake questions and, luckily, Skarsgard ran with them.

Also, Skarsgard’s next film is The Northman, which is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, he teams with Robert Eggers, which will be the director’s followup to the acclaimed The Lighthouse. Second, it will completely screw up Google searches for True Blood fans searching for Skarsgard’s character, Eric Northman. And, yes, he’s thought about that and wonders how many people will show up expecting to see vampires. (There will be no vampires.)

It’s funny, because just the title of this movie, that isn’t false advertising.

Oh yeah.

Multiple fights.

It’s almost a two-hour-long movie, and it’s like an hour and 55 minutes of fighting.

So what’s this like for you? When you sign onto something like this? Because it’s Godzilla and Kong and they’re going to wind up getting a lot of the attention.

It’s humbling for a narcissistic actor like myself, to be put in my place, to show up on set and know that no one will go to see this movie because I’m in it.

Well, that’s not true. I have noticed over the years you do have a fan base that goes nuts for you.

That’s flattering to hear. But I’m under no illusion that I’m the star of the show and that anyone will go see the movie because they want to see Nathan Lind, the geologist.

The geologist.

Yeah, well, in a way, to be a vessel and a way for the audience to get to know, in my character’s case, Kong, more so than Godzilla, because I’m with Kong throughout the movie. But in a way to not necessarily humanize Kong, but to show a different side of Kong, to show that he has empathy. He’s lived a very solitary, lonely life on Skull Island without social connections, without family. And the thought of him to be reconnected, or to find his family in Hollow Earth is, is kind of the driving force, to reconnect. So I felt like my job was kind of set that up in a way and to kind of show the audience that side of Kong.

Well, you said people aren’t coming to see Dr. Nathan Lind, the geologist. But once here, where you tell me, how you’ve spent the last five years, studying with geologists and following them around and becoming a trained geologist yourself, people will look at this in a different way.

Right? Well, that’s how seriously I take my job.

You threw yourself into it. The last, maybe, ten years, you’ve been studying with geologists, just to know exactly what you were doing in this movie.

It’s just the kind of actor I am, Mike. Even though I play a very peripheral character and no one cares, I still take my craft seriously. And that means a decade of studying geology and living, breathing the character. Just to give the audience that sublime performance that I give in the movie.

When you’re giving the technical jargon during the movie, viewers can rest assured that you know exactly what you’re talking about, because you studied for so long with trained geologists.

Exactly. And they can see that in my eyes, that I’m not lying. I’m not pretending. I’m not acting. I’m not playing a geologist. I am a geologist.

You are a geologist.

Yes.

So when you filmed at Hollow Earth, in the center of Earth, was that on location?

Obviously, it was.

Yeah, I could tell.

And being there was trippy. I felt like you can’t … the audience can tell whether you’re there or when you’re actually there, or if it’s the soundstage with green screen. So the only way to do it, when you make a character driven drama, like Godzilla vs. Kong, is to actually go there and actually spend time down there and be there with Kong. So it was six very intense months, deep down in the center of the earth with a gigantic ape.

That’s why we haven’t seen you in a while — because you’ve been down there.

I’ve been down there, with a gigantic ape.

Being serious, doing the “there they are” reaction seems especially difficult in this movie, with these being such central characters. And I know that’s part of the deal with a lot of movies, but this seems even more that.

Absolutely. Watching the movie, I could tell that I’m reacting to the wrong thing, like I’m reacting to something else. And they play my reaction to something that I think I’m reacting to, but many things have changed. Or they use that reaction to something else. So they kind of make it work. So it’s like, I look at something, and I think I’m reacting to something completely different, but I’m not. They completely changed that. So it’s quite a ride and exciting to watch the movie, because I’m as surprised as the audience. When I watch it, like, “Oh really? That happened.” And, “Oh, look at my reaction here.”

The scene that we all saw in the trailer, which surprisingly happens pretty early in the movie, where Kong just punches Godzilla in the face. So do you watch the movie and go, “If that really would have happened in front of me, I might’ve reacted quite differently than I did even in the movie”?

Well, that specific sequence, they actually had in the pre-visualization, so that actually looks quite very, very, very close to what the previs two years ago looked. So Adam [Wingard] played us that. So pretty much the whole fight scene was choreographed before we shot our reactions to it. So I knew that that punch was going to land, and that’s what I’m reacting to.

We’ve given Dr. Nathan Lind a lot of time, and we’ve given King Kong a lot of time. We haven’t really talked about Godzilla. He gets annoyed when people bother him. I relate to that.

Me too. Going into the movie, I was very much team Godzilla. I love the old Godzilla movies, like the ’60s and ’70s, that era, when it’s zero special effects.

Just a guy in a suit and it’s awesome.

It’s a middle-aged dude in a suit, kicking a miniature version of Tokyo on a set.

In your next movie, you’re working with Robert Eggers, The Northman. You’re done filming that, right?

We’re done. Yeah, we shot for six months during the pandemic. We started last summer and finished just before Christmas.

Did you look at his prior movies and just go, “I have to be part of this.”

Well, I courted him. I loved both The Witch and The Lighthouse. And was developing The Northman and was trying to find a director for it. It was a very different iteration of the script, and the story was very different from what we ended up shooting. But I had a version of a viking movie that I wanted to make and basically went after Rob. He was my dream director and I thought that he would be perfect for this. And that, when I mentioned it to him, it turned out that he was a huge viking fan and knew everything about the mythology.

That doesn’t surprise me for some reason.

Yeah, he knew so much about that world and that era and got really excited about the idea of potentially making this movie. And then he found Sjón, this Icelandic author and poet and screenwriter. And Sjón and Rob together wrote the screenplay to what ultimately became The Northman, the movie that we shot. So it’s something on that was slowly percolating and growing over the course of eight years. So, to finally be on set last year, with the greatest filmmaker of our time and some of the greatest actors of our time, was the highlight of my career, for sure.

Have you thought about how this will screw up Google searches for your True Blood fans?

[Laughs] Yes, I am very much aware of how problematic the title is.

Well, not problematic. True Blood fans are going to have to put in a few other keywords now.

Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. I do apologize for that. And I’m sure some people will be pretty disappointed if they go to see a stand-alone movie about Eric Northman, and then they sit down and it’s a goddamn Viking movie and not a vampire in sight.

I think they’re in for a treat, to tell you the truth.

Well, I hope so. I hope so. I’m very excited about the movie, but I have to admit that, unfortunately, there are no vampires in the movie.

‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ hits theaters and HBO Max on March 31st.

Photo credited to Getty. [Paris Men’s Fashion Week Armani show, July 2, 2019]

https://uproxx.com/movies/alexander-skarsgard-interview-godzilla-vs-kong-the-northman/

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Title: The Diamond Age

Author: Neal Stephenson

Rating: 6/10

I'm always leery about recommending any of Neal Stephenson's books to anyone, because he is the guy who wrote the post-apocalyptic sci-fi book "Snow Crash," which is very much on that subgenre (with its own weird, distinctive version of it) but which, in many ways, strikes me as kind of a drag to read.

The book's main conceit is that the protagonist, who we will call "The Hero" or "Mori" (short for "Moriarity"), has a very detailed prophetic vision of the near future, in which humanity and its future-tech-enhanced civilization have been ravaged by a war between rival "snow nations," with "snow" being a futuristic sci-fi term for cold or polar temperatures. Some of these nations are "Icelands" and "Vikings," like in real history, and some are "Caledorians" (after a real place) and "Scandinavians" (after some historical characters). The book is all about the people in these nations competing for resources and/or political power.

The basic structure of the novel is something like:

1. A long (at times boring) intro sequence (part of the "Prelude"), in which the main character, Mori, recounts his vision of what the near future will look like.

2. A long (mostly boring) prelude to the story proper, which begins after Mori's vision is over. Mori is now a successful writer-type, living somewhere in North America, and has a girlfriend named "Faye" (or "Jane"). They go to a party, and someone tells Mori about a novel he's just finished that "really resonated" with him (as the characters say). The Hero appears to Mori, and begins telling him about "The Diamond Age," which is "the novel that just came out." The Hero is a mysterious but charming person, and his story is very different from Mori's vision (or indeed, from any known "real history" that humans might have).

3. The main story. Mori and Faye start reading the novel, and soon encounter some kind of futuristic cyberpunk fantasy city with a lot of cool machines. As the story progresses, many aspects of the setting and the actions of the characters start to look like descriptions of their own lives, and we start to see what the Hero and Faye have been talking about. Faye, a cool, cynical, feminist hacker-type, becomes more and more cynical about "the world she used to dream of." One of the protagonists, a charismatic politician, starts calling himself by the title "Czar" and acting like some kind of tyrannical strongman. (The title "Czar" comes from the fact that he's the head of some kind of revolutionary political faction called "the Czarists.") Some more characters start talking about the idea of "Snow," the "snow nation" they are from. (The snow nations are the only ones with "snow" in their names.)

4. A climactic, short final battle in the near future (that could really work just as well as a climactic, short final battle in the actual present), in which it is revealed that the Hero was actually a member of the Czar's faction, who has been manipulating the story so that his faction becomes the new world order. The Czar appears, and tells people to join his faction, and "the world I used to dream of" will come back, and everything will be all right again.

And that's about it -- there is no second "book." We leave Mori and Faye at the end, and the next thing we know they're living in some other time or place (which is where the book was set in the first place, but whose exact details we were not told). (At the time of writing, the book was on my shelf. It had sat there for months, as if unfinished.) At the end, you might even feel like you've just finished reading an actual novel that had a beginning and a middle and an end. And yet, it would be a massive stretch to say that The Diamond Age is a story with a story.

The reason I don't recommend it to anyone -- even though "Snow Crash" didn't do so well, and has only gotten worse in the decades since its publication -- is that there is a strange, almost unsettling level of detail in the book. It's like an art novel. The prose is not really good, but it is extremely, eerily detailed. The thing about art, in art criticism and elsewhere, is that you sometimes say things like this, not just about art but about any thing, without having any particular reason to think that anything is going on. That's how people feel about art, and sometimes it's how people feel about things you haven't even heard of yet.

When I say "the prose is extremely detailed" it's because it's extremely detailed. To make my point, I think it would be appropriate to quote a few examples of this.

The Hero stood up. She was wearing a pale green dress and a sort of grayish metal bracelet. It had a tiny computer embedded inside, along with a couple of other gadgets. (I didn't learn how she did this; it was one of the many things about her life I didn't learn.) She looked at Mori and said, "Are you ready, dear?"

Mori had once owned a cat called "Spinoza," which he loved a lot but was too cowardly to keep inside. When he first told Faye about the cat, she replied, "But if you don't feel safe bringing your cat into a room filled with lots of people, how can you possibly believe that anything is going to be safe in a society which contains lots of computers?"

The Czarists were a group of people who had decided to live in this world called "Snow," which was, as they said, a world that was the physical embodiment of "the spirit of freedom." The Czarists weren't like any political party you might have heard of before -- they were a "party" because of how they believed in "freedom" and how they fought for "freedom" and how they looked for "freedom" and how they were "free."

A few years before the war, when Mori had gone to school with a girl named "Anissimov," some of the students and professors at his school were very excited about a new technology called "snowmobiles." They used them in big cities so that people could "go to places that it was impossible to go to any other way," and they could "go really fast," and it was "very exciting," and it was "like living in one of the snow nations."

(Again, I don't know how Mori did this. I don't know anything about this girl Anissimov, but I do know something about my own life. I know my life, but I don't know Anissimov's life. I don't know why I can only think about this in terms of my own life. But it is a part of my own life, I think, in the same way that a word is a part of itself, and I don't know if I can separate out that part, the way I cannot separate out the word itself. I am aware of the limitations of this thought, and the way that it may be used to hurt the people I love. (I will have many more words to say about this.) If I know what snow is, it is just to think about these things that I know and these things that I don't understand -- but not like this.)

And so on. (For that matter, see here.)

The reason I'm describing all this detail is to make it clear to the reader that you're reading, not just a novel, but something very strange and artificial and alien, like a computer program written by a very strange and artificial person. The book itself (of course) doesn't do anything this weird, this unnatural, and I don't know how it does it (though the above is just a small fragment). You read a lot like you would read someone's very short, very weird and alien poem. But it is a story, and if it was short, it would not have the same impact.

Why this is so offputting to me is not hard to guess. It's the fact that the whole thing feels "designed." I was so caught up in reading it that when I tried to put it down (after about 50 pages), I just couldn't stop myself from reading it on the bus on the way home, and so wound up reading the final 200 pages. But I didn't just read it in a

[alexhoghdaily]

Alex and Marco’s HBO Nordic ‘Watching with’ livestream

This is a very long one, I’m so sorry. I just thought everything was so interesting. Therefore I’ll put the topics under the cut!

AND OF COURSE, SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT TOO SINCE IT’S THE FINAL EPISODE!

Marco and Alex possibly have new Projects coming up, (Marco said his is around March.)

They changed the opening theme for the show. Alex liked the original opening better and Marco likes the new one.

Everything on the show is shot in Ireland except for Bjorn vs the bear, that was in canada. They also filmed in Norway.

Their first scene was on top of a mountain and Marco had a line “This is what it means” which he couldn’t get right, and he was crowched the entire scene. By the end of it his legs were jelly.

During Alex’s scene with Alfred before the battle, Marco was seated on a horse for 5 hours straight.

The braiding of Alex’s hair took forever so he decided to keep them in after filming because he had to film again the next day. They gave him a hairnet and he was walking around the grocery store with a hairnet and braids, still muddy from work. Marco also went out to the grocery store, wearing his make up and contact lenses and got refused because they thought he was drunk.

On his first day of riding a horse, Marco wore loose sweatpants. That wasn’t pleasant.

Alex purposely didn’t read anything about the other characters, because he was both a bit lazy and he wanted to be suprised by their storylines when he would watch the final season.

On the question “Who is the true heir?” they both agree that all of the sons have different traits of ragnar. (They also all have women issues.)

The battle scene of the last episode took 9 days to shoot, the last 2 episodes took around 2,5 months to shoot. Usually they do two episodes every month/5 weeks.

Alex loves the spiritual vibe in the show/season and it’s some of his favorite parts of the show. Both Alex and Marco also really love the cinematography.

Alex’s favorite part of the last episode is the last scene on the beach with Floki and Ubbe and his and Marco’s scene.

Marco fell 3 times in a row filming the charging scene of the battle. He felt so stupid because the extra’s had to keep getting back.

In the fighting sequence Marco split a stunt guys lip open because he hit him with a sword. Marco stopped, but the guy said he had to keep going because Marco was in the shot.

Ivar and Hvitserk’s close moment in the end wasn’t even written in, Alex and Marco wanted the brothers to be brothers and have love just this once.

Alex had to learn Icelandic for his final speech and it took a really long time.

He also loved that Hirst made Ivar an extension of the army and the army of him in the ending sequence.

Alex loved that Ivar was killed by a random soldier, because everyone got this big hero death in the show and he loved to do the exact opposite. He discussed it with Hirst because he wanted to do it that way. They also discussed the possibility of Hvitserk just putting Ivar out of his misery.

The filming of the death scene was very sudden for Alex, and he wasn’t ready for it. They went straight into it and Marco was the only one ready, already hoisting him onto his lap. Alex felt Marco’s tears on his cheeks and he started crying.

Marco’s not sure what to think of Hvitserk ending because he never expected to get an actual ending at all. They had previously informed him many times that he would be killed off in the next episode. They kept deciding to keep him on for another 10.

If Alex could choose any character on the show to be, he would choose Floki. But he does think he can’t do better than Gustaf. He’s very happy with the role of Ivar.

His favorite characters also include Ragnar, King Harald, and King Ecbert.

Marco’s beard took one hour in the make-up chair to be done, Alex’s took 2 hours.

Alex likes how in the ending of this episode they went full circle in terms of the end of the Vikings and Norse mythology through Hvitserk’s character.

Both Alex and the fans asked what Marco thought of the ending for his character. (Him converting and renouncing his own faith). Marco was very confused about the situation because prior to the ending he had sex with a Goddess, so he doesn’t understand why he did it. He also didn’t get the chance to talk to Hirst about it. He thought it was cool but confusing.

Alex said that one of the most beautiful moments he’s ever experienced during working was when they were shooting his death scene. They were both crying and they have to re-do the take. At that point all of the extra’s (300 of them) we’re all sitting/standing around just watching them very quietly and it almost felt like they were an audience in a theater. He could feel that it was something big. (Usually they shoot multiple scenes at the same time but not during this scene.) It was also Alex’s last day on set.

The favorite scene they did together was of course the ending, but also the scene in 6A were they meet again in the woods and they sit together. Alex and Marco wrote this scene themselves and they love it.

They have a tight schedule and they have to get through a lot a day. They only get 2 or 3 takes every time.

Alex’s favorite season is 5A. He likes the York scenes. Marco’s favorite season is 6.

Both Alex and Marco kept their armrings from set. They also kept a shield that was signed, and Alex kept a beautiful horn.

The scenes Alex prepared the most for were; the Icelandic scenes, and more importantly the scene where Ivar has his big speech about going into battle against Wessex and Alfred. Alex couldn’t get through it, he had difficulties with his lines and he said it was a horrible day.

They said that doing the sex scenes are actually very non sexual and also uncomfortable at times. You’re almost naked with just their privates covered, Make-up everywhere, a big crew standing around. It’s very mechanical. They are not the nicest scenes to shoot and it gets uncomfortable. Alex also said that he stays focused on just them as two people and also likes to ask if they’re okay and comfortable. They have to think about everything they’re doing and it’s not sexy at all.

Alex: “maaa can you get me a beer?” followed by Alex’s father actually bringing him a beer. It was also his birthday.

The ages on the show aren’t very clear, But Alex thinks Ivar was about 23/24 when he died.

When they have to do a scandinavian accent for self tapes, they catch themselves doing their Viking accent.

Marco trained 3 days per “smaller” sequence for the complete final battle sequence.

Marco shared a story about Travis at a work dinner event, where he was dressed in a tracksuit, and with his long beard, someone mistook him for a homeless man and they gave him money.

In response to someone saying that Alex looked better with his braids, Alex sarcastically answered: “Thank you. Lovely. Outstanding. I appreciate that.”

Marco told a story about the coldest day of filming where he was out in the cold and mud under a rain machine the whole day and halfway through, he almost got hypothermia. A doctor came in to check his temperature. His body was too cold to actually work.

Alex rememberd the blood eagle scene for Aelle, it was in the winter and it had been snowing and raining the whole night. He said that as soon as he hit the ground, his body froze from the cold.

Someone asked about the funniest story from behind the scenes. They said every single day was filled with banter. They said every single day was fun. Also the left over food fights and water fights. Alex told the story of Jordan spitting water at him when he was sleeping and he was so used to it that he didn’t even react.

Alex said he and Marco drove 6,5 hours to stockholm to do 20 minutes of auditions for Vikings. Marco was also sick at that time. It was after they did Uro together.

Marco was supposed to audition for a voice job for Assasins Creed: Valhalla. But he was very busy and the project was differently titled at that time. He declined and he regretted it very much.

Alex said that he would really love to do voice and motion capture projects in the future.

[otterskin]

More Fun with Runes but this time it's the Eternals

Hey. I've been on a kick with runes in LOKI lately, but before the first episode dropped, you wanna know what happened? The Eternals dropped their first trailer and goddammit THEY had straight-up runes just...there??? Here I was, tracing shapes on costumes and circling stuff in the background, and they just...dropped them in ETERNALS of all things?

Luckily, the Loki episode included runes and other symbols in its title sequence too - see analysis for those ones here. But let's go ahead and cover the runes in Eternals too.

ᛝ - Ingwaz - named for a Norse Hero God, Yngvi, who came down to Midgard to unite the people of Viking Jutland before returning to the heavens. So of course, this rune means to create unity, find common ground, peace and harmony. It also symbolizes undying love between romantic loves, intertwining two lives. It is associated also with family and feeling supported and loved by your people.

This suits the Eternals and the narrative, such as we can glimpse it, well.

Aaaand here's this little bugger again! You all remember Dagaz, yes? Because it is plastered all over the TVA in Loki. Here's all that noise I wrote about here.

This does connect the Eternals to Loki in an interesting way. It symbolizes 'Everlasting Time', which definitely fits the TVA, as well as the Eternals. (Additional note, it also means 'Non-Duality', which contrasts with the recent appearance of the Horned God's symbol in Loki, meaning 'Duality'. The TVA and Loki will not get along, methinks.)

But for Eternals, I think it means 'Dawn'. The film is shot mostly at Golden Hour and has that warm, outlined glow (admittedly Golden Hour is at sunset, but still). Dagaz symbolizes awakening, to become aware and enlightened. Which seems to be true for the Eternals, who are becoming more aware and willing to act.

This has been a shorter than usual Rune post. Let's see if this unexpected connection ties into the LOKI or THOR series in any interesting ways.

[ye-bloodeh-liar]

I just finished AC Valhalla – A résumé.

I finished the "main story" of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. These are some thoughts of mine. (This was saved in my drafts for two weeks or so. But my stance hasn't altered. Actually, I'm even angrier now.)

Disclaimer: This obviously contains some spoilers here and there. You've been warned, but tbh, who even cares about the story at this point. Also, I know I don't have many followers, and I suspect none of the few that will come across this post will actually be interested in it. That said, if you like reading people's rants about things, regardless of your interest in video games, this might be something for you. I just needed to get this out of my system somewhere. This is a rant (well, vent? I'm venting, I guess) written as it came to my mind. There's no real structure, I think. Sorry for that in advance.

After Origins, which I thoroughly enjoyed and actually played again between Odyssey and Valhalla, and Odyssey, which's name was perfectly fitting since it felt like a fucking odyssey to grind through, I hoped, actually, I was convinced, Valhalla would right Odyssey's wrongs. You see, Odyssey had one big problem for me: It did none of the things that made and still make me love Origins. In short: The world was massive, but felt copied and pasted, uninteresting to explore and lifeless. Basically, it was a lot of green sprinkled with some olive branches. A lot of the times the only way to know roughly where I am was pulling up the map because based on my surroundings, I could've been anywhere. Compared to the intriguing world of Origins, where you always knew in which area of the map you currently were, this was a shitshow. I mean, just walking through the desert in Origins had more atmosphere than the whole city of Athens (the main fucking city) could ever muster up. (Oh, remember the times of AC Brotherhood, where Rome actually felt like a city even though it wasn't actually humongous like the new games are? Or how atmospheric the whole of AC II was? I mean, Venice? Hello? M a s t e r p i e c e) But I can overlook that. The combat didn't feel heavy, or to put it better, "impactful" like it did in Origins, but more like poking the enemies to their deaths with something that made sword-y sounds. But I can overlook that. The loot system improved a bit, in the sense of giving the option to modify your loot and being able to combine different armor pieces, however, Origins outfit-system was more up my alley. But I can overlook that. Funnily enough, compared to its predecessor, Odyssey looked worse. In Origins the fabric of your outfit look like actual fabric and, I can't stress this enough, waved in the wind. In Odyssey everything felt more static and somehow "fake". But I can overlook that. To me, Origins' story was masterfully done. Personally, I'd say, that this is the closest we've ever gotten to the Ezio-Trilogy. The voice acting was top notch. Bayek was a great character, and the side characters like Aya/Amunet were equally intriguing. I still remember the first time I saw the first confession cutscene after killing Medunamun. It gave me shivers and goosebumps and got me excited for what was about to come. What I want to say with this, is that Origins made me care; care about its characters, care about their backstory and motives, care about the world, etc. After I had finished the DLC The Hidden Ones I felt like I had actually witnessed the igniting spark of something epic, namely the Assassin Brotherhood, in such a chilling way, even though they basically were just chillin' in a cave. Because that's what character building gives you: payoffs. Well, Odyssey did none of that. All it did made me care about was to get all the loot, because that's what my mind always goes for in any game (I'm that kind of stupid ape). I didn't care about what would happen in the end – I just wanted to get there. I wanted to know how the story would end, but in whichever way it would, I knew I wouldn't care for it in the sense of being disappointed or yearning for a different outcome for the character I was so invested in, because, as I said, nothing got me invested in the character(s) in the first place. That's what bugged me the most about Odyssey. Not the flimsy feeling combat, not the husk of a world I found myself in, not the downgrade in design and animation, etc., but the lack of care it invoked.

Now, when Valhalla was originally announced, I was excited as I could be for a video game. Ubisoft was clearly aware of their mistakes with Odyssey and tried to show that they're willing to listen to their fanbase. A world where every area has its own identity? Sounds great. Heavy combat? Hell yeah. Gear and loot that actually matters and is special (unlike in Odyssey where after a few hours of playing you find yourself carrying the same fucking bow 25 times)? Oh my. Choices not for the sake of choices, but story? Yes please. I mean, if you have to implement choices. Even though choices don't really make sense in Assassin's Creed, but that's another topic.

Well, did it deliver (for me)? No. And to be completely honest, I prefer Odyssey, even as the grindfest that it is, over Valhalla, and me replaying Odyssey seems a lot more likely to me, than going through all of Valhalla again. I'm not going to list all of the points mentioned above again in full detail: The world is a bit more intriguing than Greece, but a shadow of what Egypt was. The combat feels heavy, yet every weapon looks too big (????) and it still feels a bit off. My biggest grudge of the minor points is actually the look/the graphics: How on earth does Valhalla manage to look less real than Origins? The fur and pelts on the armor, every piece of cloth, i mean just e v e r y t h i n g looks somewhat plasticy (at loss for a better word here; just compare Origins' outfits in motion to Valhalla's) Anyway, let's get to the real problem here, because all boils down to the point I've mentioned before: Invoking care.

This became very apparent to me after forging the fourth (?; was it the fourth? They all blur together. That's how e n t i c i n g they are. Great.) alliance or so. I didn't give a single fuck about the characters in those arcs. It was very clear that they'd be soon replaced by other characters in the next alliance's arc, which I probably wouldn't care for either, especially, since they all felt somewhat the same: empty. Alliances felt like checklists to do. Even Wincestre, which had an interesting beginning, somehow managed to loose all of its "darkness" after the first two quests. But I could overlook the dreary sidequest-like alliance arcs, if they served the main storyline in some way or form. Now you might ask, what main storyline? E x a c t l y. Looking back, there is none. At least not really. And there where a lot of times playing the game where I found myself wondering, if this alliance-arc-thing I was currently dragging myself through was in fact meant to be the actual story. But it shouldn't be. Was it? I have no fucking clue. My conclusion on what Valhalla's main overarching story is, is what follows:

Eivor's parents got killed when he was a child (never seen before lol), got adopted, and is now part of the Raven clan with his "brother" Sigurd//Sigurd comes home from some raid with the Assassins Basim and Hytham//(Eivor gets the Hidden Blade; I mean, this is an Assassin's Creed game. Big moment. Done in 2 seconds.)//Sigurd and Eivor aren't happy with the new King of Norway.//Sigurd and Eivor fuck off to England (with Basim and Hytham) to set camp there.//Eivor starts to forge alliances throughout England to make his clan's hold on England stronger.// Sigurd and Basim do their own thing.//Eivor meets Sigurd and Basim two or three times throughout his alliance forging.//Basim seems a bit off.//Sigurd says that he was told (by Basim?) that he is a descendant of the gods.// Sigurd wants to "pursue his destiny"// (sidenote: the last few things are all within one (!) short cutscene in a small house. d e v e l o p m e n t.)//Sigurd gets captured and tortured and loses his hand.//Eivor rescues Sigurd.// Sigurd is back in the settlement.//Sigurd distrusts Eivor because Eivor doesn't believe Sigurd and Sigurd thinks Eivor wants to take his title as the jarl (jarls are the bosses of settlements).// And then the end sequence hits. This is where I want to go into somewhat detail again. We go from Sigurd distrusts Eivor to "Eivor, I don't wanna be the boss of the town, so I don't hold a grudge anymore, let's go back to Norway and I'll show you I was right all along" like it's nothing. It's literally just that: You walk up to Sigurd, he says this (more or less) and you sail away. Again: development is taken very seriously in this game. Honestly, at this point I didn't even know that this was going to trigger the ending. My genuine thoughts were "Oh my, finally, after all this grinding, the story is going to start." when in reality of course, ironically, it was going to end. Absolute belter. So you sail to Norway with Sigurd, which takes fucking forever, because OF COURSE you have to sail (for everyone who didn't play the game, yes, sail, that means looking at a viking longship while occasionally moving the stick slightly to change its directions slightly) to your original settlement in Norway, for what feels like far too long, only to say Hi to your dad. Fucking lost it. I thought we were going to assassinate the King? Nah bruv let's just have some quick family talk instead. Some action? Nah. Just get back to the longship. A N D S T A R T S A I L I N G A G A I N. Where? Just around the curve of our settlement in Norway. Yes, they pulled the old trick of the ending is literally just right around the corner of your starting position hehe. Absolute belter. Is this to make it seem like something is about to happen? The calm before the storm? It doesn't work like that. Well, then you actually sail through a storm (lol), which doesn't matter, because Sigurd just says "Let's keep going" and, well, you keep going. Also, to this point the weather conditions have never affected neither Eivors health, nor the ship in any way whatsoever, so why should I be impacted by a storm now? Like, it's a nice thing for atmosphere, but at least make the ship harder to steer or something. Then you walk up a mountain. Funnily enough Sigurd walks in manner that shows that the walk against the storm isn't easy, whereas you, hah, you can just yeet yourself up that mountain like nothing. I could sprint up there. Fucking sprint. Anyway, Eivor and Sigurd enter the Isu temple, because of course, we had to throw an Isu temple in there, I mean, i t ' s A s s a s s i n ' s C r e e d. Was it hinted at before in the story? Not really. Were we chasing or searchig for it? Nah, better get that next alliance going. It just suddenly was. Again: development. So we walk to the main platform of the temple and activate the machine and bam we're in Valhalla (because at some point Ubisoft realised that maybe they should include what is literally in the name of the game). Again, were we looking for Valhalla? Like not in the sense that every viking was, but more in the sense

of was it the main objective of the game? Did Eivor look for a way to Valhalla? Was there anything that led us here other than Sigurd having had a few dreams (that only got mentioned, like, twice?) and being influenced into thinking he was a demigod or something? Nope, Eivor was looking for that next alliance to forge. So, Eivor realises that his experience of Valhalla is fake and he wants to get out. But fake-Odin doesn't want to let him go. In a really weird cutscene (jump to 6:30), Eivor eventually escapes Odin and enters a door with his settlement-family (look, I'm all here for metaphors, but this, this is just utter rubbish. It just doesn't make sense, and there is no payoff whatsoever). Odin actually had a build-up of some sort. In every assassination sequence he's there and talks with Eivor. I actually thought there would be some cool payoff/ending/reveal here. But nah, this ain't it chief. Yet somehow, until here, I had hope. I thought maybe now, building on all this confusion, there's gonna be a relatively good ending. Something enticing. Something that made everything somewhat worthwile. And Ubisoft went: Lol nah. So, you're out of the Isu machine again (for all the non-AC-peoples here: basically like the matrix. Eivor gets hooked up to the machine and experiences alternate reality: Valhalla), and Basim is there. What a twist. The guy that showed up like three times and went from friendly in the first time to super suspicious (like glaring-in-your-face-suspicious) in the two-or-so other major cutscenes he was in, has now been revealed as the enemy. Congrats to that. What a twist. The thing is, and this bothers me a lot actually, it could have been anyone there. It didn't need to be Basim. It wouldn't have felt out of place if it wasn't him. Why? Because Ubisoft failed terribly at making you connect to any character and at building any actual story (or character). It could have been Gunnar, the friendly black-smith in our settlement, and it would have been as fitting as Basim. Then Basim says that this is "for his son". Ah yes, the lost son of Basim, which was mentioned once. Right. Eivor defeats Basim by hooking him up on the Isu machine and gets back to the settlement with Sigurd (in my ending at least. There seems to be a possible ending in which Sigurd doesn't come back.) Cut to the modern day, where Layla now knows the coordinates of the Isu temple, goes there, hooks herself up to the machine, becomes the overseer of time with the other overseer of time which already was hanging out there (I mean yeah, great idea, terrible execution. Build it up, then you can have a payoff. This was just straight outta nowhere, and who cared about Layla anyway.) Anyway, meanwhile Basim, who was still hanging on that machine a fuck ton of years later, pops off, and is now living in the modern day. The idea here is, that we lost the hero (Layla) which caused the (just established) vilain (Basim) to do his fuckery in the modern day. But why should I care? Basim was basically nonexistent in the basically nonexistent story and suddendly I should feel sad or shocked, because he's in the modern day? Is this supposed to be intriguing? And yeah, Layla is "gone". Layla, who had no character building over three fucking games. Why should i be bothered? Why should I care about anything that just happened? Remember when a side character (Lucy) died in AC Brotherhood? That was intriguing. Why? Because they built her as a character we (Desmond) trusted, even though it was in the modern day (which no one really cares about in AC). And this is why Valhalla broke me and Odyssey didn't. Valhalla failed to make me care on a much deeper level. It's just a lot of nothingness. Empty characters in a nonexistent story. And by nonexistent, I mean non-built at all. When I play the game now, I have no actual reason, and throughout the game never actually had any actual reason, to continue. It was a chore. I didn't bother if after three hours of grind I would eventually get a mini-snippet of a husk of a story, and neither do I care now. Everything in

this game is so devoid of sparking curiosity and screams of lacklusterness to the point where I don't even know what I have actually expierenced. For fuck's sake Ubisoft, make me care again. At least once in 40 hours.

May I sum up Valhalla's "story" and content in the glorious words of Catherine Tate: Am I bovvered? The answer, sadly, is a holistic no.

[xfilesfanficexchange]

“Irresistible” IMDB Trivia

-  Actors Nick Chinlund and David Duchovny knew each other from school as kids.

-  Scully awakens in bed by a phone call from Mulder at 11:21pm, just like in season 1 pilot and finale.

-  During the opening scene (post credits), the camera pans past several gravestones. The name on one of the gravestones is Raymond Soames. Ray Soames is a character in The Pilot (1993) about whom the plot revolves.

-  This episode about a serial killer inspired Chris Carter to make the TV series Millennium (1996).

-  An FBI field agent watches a football game on TV and focuses on a play by Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter. The creator of the X-Files is also named Chris Carter.

-  When the fetishist asks what the young FBI agents names are, he is told one of them is named Scully, like the baseball announcer. The character of Scully is in fact named after famous Los Angeles Dodgers color commentary announcer Vin Scully.

-  Agent Bocks' mention of "that kid from Wisconsin" is likely a reference to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

-  This episode is quoted repeatedly as one of Chris Carter's favorites.

-  At 20 minutes 45 seconds of this episode, Scully states the time of inspecting the body for audio recording purposes. She says, "The time is 11:14 am, Monday November 14." So, the date and time correspond: the eleventh month is represented by the hour 11, and the fourteenth day is represented by the minute14.

-  The original title was "Fascination".

-  Catherine Ann Terle was born in 1973 and died in 1994.

-  In the pre-credit sequence, a man sees what appears to be a skinless demonic figure in the dark, which is later revealed to be Donald Pfaster. It is affirmed in Episode 7. 7 "The X-Files: Orison (2000)" that Pfaster was in fact a demon.

-  First time Mulder embraces Scully since The X-Files: Pilot (1993).

-  Donnie Pfaster returns in the Season 7 episode The X-Files: Orison (2000).

IMDB Trivia Link

[aion-rsa]

Vikings Ending Explained

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The following contains spoilers for Vikings season 6 part two.

Vikings has always been concerned with legacy: that of the Vikings themselves, and of Ragnar and his sons. It’s clear from the show’s coda – Ubbe and Floki side by side on a distant beach, contemplating existence as the sun glows down upon the endless stretch of ocean before them –  that the two ultimately are inseparable. Bound up in this spider’s web of myth and mayhem, too, is the fate and legacy of the show itself. How will it be remembered now that it is gone? In a word: fondly. 

Creator Michael Hirst has left us a show for the ages, one that transcends the war, blood, and murder that first drew audiences to its story. The closing run of episodes is at turns thrilling, stirring, chilling, harrowing, heart-breaking, savage, sensual and ethereal, and is capped off with a mesmerizing, mytho-philosophical finale that retroactively elevates everything that came before it, all the way back to the moment when Ragnar first asked Floki to help him sail west. So how does it achieve this greatness? And what does it all mean? Let’s break it down. 

Groundhog Deity

One of the central themes of the show is the cycle of violence and bloodshed in which Viking society finds itself mired, and the battle between those who seek to perpetuate it, and those who seek to break free from it. It’s a dichotomy that burns down through the wick of the show, and often rages within its characters, most notably Ragnar, Lagertha, Floki, Bjorn, and Ubbe. Season upon season, each promise of peace is swiftly pounded into the blood-soaked earth by the vengeance, skulduggery or megalomaniacal ambitions of a chaotic individual, faction or rival; the old ways refusing to cede ground to the new. But still the dreamers and visionaries struggle, against themselves, against the furious roar of tradition, again and again. This rise and fall happened so frequently throughout the show’s run that its rhythm caused some sections of the audience to grow weary. This repetition, though, this sense of helplessness, is largely the point (not to mention an accurate portrayal of the brutish life endured by most people in the Dark and Middle Ages), and one that’s made more explicit than ever before in the final stretch of the season. Like the characters themselves, we the audience must feel – truly feel – the suffocating hopelessness of it all before we can begin to appreciate the burst of light at the end. 

All throughout the series the Vikings’ thirst for war and conquest is cloaked in the language of fate, destiny, glory, and the Gods. In a telling sequence half-way through the final ten episodes, these justifications are stripped away to reveal the dark, very mortal truth that lies behind them. Ivar, Hvitserk, and King Harald reunite in a calm and peaceful Kattegat. All three are burnt-out, frazzled, and dissatisfied. There’s a real sense that “the age of the Vikings is gone” and that this is “the twilight of the Gods”. Harald and Ivar admit that there is no pleasure in being a King, despite it being a title both men have dreamed of and longed for, and for which they’ve lied, cheated, betrayed, and killed. In the final analysis, we can see – and finally they can see, however indirectly – that the great cycle in which the Vikings are trapped has been perpetuated not by the Gods – those great scapegoats in the sky – but by bored and angry men seeking in bloodshed distractions from a cold and brutish world whose quotient of misery has only ever been increased by their actions. It is especially sad to see Ivar churned back into this mill given the growth he experienced throughout this season, not only in being a caring, surrogate father to the Rus heir Igor, but in becoming an actual father after his body asserted itself just long enough to plant his seed in Princess Katia’s belly. 

Ivar witnesses two men in a public gathering-place squabbling over a trivial matter, and extrapolates from this that war is a necessary state for the Vikings, because in peace they fight amongst themselves. It’s patently obvious that the lesson Ivar pulls from this incident says more about his pain and psychopathology – his hatred, his emptiness – than it does about society at large. Ultimately, it is he, and Harald, and Hvitserk, and a million other men just like them, who need war. They need external conflict to distract them from their own internal conflicts and inadequacies. Never-the-less, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Ivar’s facile supposition is all that King Harald needs to hear. Before long, the three men and a ready-made army are heading back across the sea to England for a final confrontation with King Alfred and his Christian Saxon soldiers. 

“The Twilight of the Gods”

This climactic confrontation is, on one level, less a battle between two armies and more the continuation of the chess game Ivar and Alfred once played as children, as their fathers – King Ragnar and King Ecbert – cut deals and hatched plots in another room. 

In many ways, Ivar was always marked for monsterhood. He grew up with the fierce love of his mother, Aslaug, which she wrapped around him like a blanket made of steel. By over-compensating for his condition and physical fragility to such a suffocating degree, she left him isolated, conceited and angry. His father, Ragnar, was absent for most of his youth. Though Ivar had Floki to teach and guide him in the ways of the Gods, Ivar didn’t realize quite how much of himself had been missing until Ragnar returned and took him under his wing. Ragnar was one of the few men who seemed to have faith in Ivar’s abilities; who told him that he could be something other than a liability, a cripple, a joke. They journeyed to England together with conquest in mind, but when a storm sank most of their boats, Ragnar swiftly refocused the purpose of their visit, enlisting Ivar’s aid to kill the surviving members of their party (to remove all evidence of their initial intent) and surrender themselves to King Ecbert. 

Ragnar tells Ecbert to deliver him into the hands of King Aelle, so that Ecbert will not be blamed for Ragnar’s death, and the full fury of the Vikings will be directed at their mutual enemy instead. However, Ragnar has instructed Ivar to return home with news of Ecbert’s duplicity, so that both Kings will become the targets of the rage-and-grief-filled Viking horde. Ivar is the perfect capsule for this incendiary message, as Ragnar gambles, quite correctly, that King Ecbert’s sense of fair play, filtered through his Christianity, won’t permit him to harm or imprison a poor, harmless crippled boy. Ragnar thus succeeds in turning the Saxon’s Christian compassion into a fatal weakness, while at the same time teaching his weaponized son that love, violence, deceit, and death are so intimately connected as to be almost indivisible. 

When Aslaug died at Lagertha’s hands, soon after Ragnar’s death, it removed his only other source of love, cloying though it was. He took that love and turned a mutated version of it upon himself, imbuing himself with delusions of Godhood, something his fury at his parents’ deaths only served to magnify.

In the first dramatic round of the final battle against Alfred, Ivar repeats his father’s tactic of weaponizing kindness. He orders traps to be set in the forest with which to painfully ensnare the first line of Alfred’s advancing soldiers. The hope is that Alfred’s Christian compassion will compel him to send the next few lines of soldiers to assist their wailing brothers, allowing the Vikings to ambush them like lambs to the slaughter. And so it proves. Many lives are lost. The fighting is kinetic and savage; the pervading mist and gloom only enlivened by the occasional eruption of fire, like a melding of Valhalla and the Christian conception of Hell. King Harald is killed, finding some solace and peace at last with a dying vision of his brother, Halfdan, whom he’d killed in a previous battle. 

After this, there is a lull in the fighting. Alfred and Ivar meet under a white flag to discuss terms. Alfred will not yield. He will never again reward Ivar for his unprovoked attacks, nor fall into the trap of trusting his word. He tells Ivar to leave his kingdom, leave England, and never return; entreats him to save his people from further pointless bloodshed.  He goes on to declare: “My God is the God of peace and love. Your Gods are savage. They demand sacrifice. They do not know human love.” The final fight that follows is as much the culmination of a struggle between two competing religious and cultural ideologies as it is a battle between Ivar and Alfred; and by the end of this final episode the matter is settled, at least in a thematic sense. 

Alfred and Ivar cleave to their God and Gods on the battlefield, looking to them for guidance and answers. As the situation becomes ever more desperate, both leaders soon find themselves deserted by their Gods, their imagined connection to them severed. 

“What am I supposed to do?” Ivar shouts to his suddenly deaf and mute Gods. “Answer me!”

“Speak to me, please. I’m afraid. Speak!” Alfred beseeches his lord Jesus. 

Stripped of their Gods, both men are forced to acknowledge in whose image they’ve truly been forged: their fathers’. What they do next will decide if history is doomed to repeat itself, and also settle the question of whether it is their own wills or the wills of their fathers that are the stronger. Ultimately, it is love and compassion, in both instances, that proves to be their guiding light, leading Ivar to reject his father’s ways, and Alfred to embrace his father’s – his real father: the monk Athelstan, who was once a friend and confidante of the great Ragnar Lothbrook. 

All You Need is Love

Ivar watches the battle from the side-lines. Hvitserk has long been a tormented, tortured and fractured man, but in combat he’s whole, screeching and roaring through the flames like a mythical demon. But one man can’t best a whole army, and it becomes clear that Hvitserk isn’t long for this world. Ivar’s eyes shine an electric blue, a physical indication known since childhood that his brittle bones are about to break. Ivar knows his actions in the next few minutes will serve as his last will and testament, the means by which the world will remember him. Ivar watches Hvitserk – the brother he’d many times mocked and tormented, whose life he’d tried to ruin, who’d long forsworn to kill him – and charges onto the battlefield to take his place, submitting himself to the same forces of compassion he’d spent a life-time deriding and subverting.  

“I could never kill you,” he tells Hvitserk.

“I love you. I love you brother,” Hvitserk replies tearfully.

“Now go. Go!” hollers Ivar.

Ivar’s rage and defiance seem to shake the very earth around him. He is at one with his army. He fights and lives through them. In the midst of his last stand a young soldier, shaking with fear, approaches him from the mist.

“Don’t be afraid,” says Ivar, an almost Christ-like evocation at this, his moment of sacrifice. The soldier stabs him repeatedly, and, as Ivar falls, his bones snap and break. Hvitserk runs to him and cradles his dying body, while Alfred calls for the fighting to stop. “I am afraid,” Ivar splutters, words no-one thought they would ever hear from Ivar the Boneless. And then there are three more; his final words: “I love you.”   

Ivar has thus broken the cycle. He has sacrificed himself not for hate, as his father once did, but for love. He was finally able to know and to feel human love; and crucially to demonstrate it instead of demanding it, even if it was right at the end of his life, and only for a few moments. Already Ivar had begun to demonstrate humility. On the eve of the battle he told Hvitserk: “Hundreds of years from now, someone will be proud to find my blood is in their body and my spirit is in their soul.” Maybe part of him realized that in becoming a father he’d finally achieved the immortality after which he’d always hungered, and it was enough.  

Hvitserk is carried away on the back of a wagon. We’re given an aerial view of this, lending Hvitserk the appearance of a corpse returning from battle. In many ways he is. Hvitserk is dead, in a sense. The merciful Alfred baptises Hvitserk, allowing him to be reborn with a new name: Athelstan. 

We know from our future vantage point that the loving Christ Hvitserk has now embraced is destined to eventually, and irrevocably, defeat the old Norse Gods. Not only that, but there will be a millennium of distinctly non-loving conquests, wars, decimations, genocides, enslavements and cultural destructions carried out in His name, all of which will make the exploits of the 8th and 9th century Vikings look like the tantrums of naughty children in comparison. But Hvitserk doesn’t know this. All he knows is that he has found peace by rejecting war and embracing love. He has finally found a way to honor his father – or at least the part of his father that loved Athelstan, and came to see Christianity and Paganism as two sides of the same coin. Love and mercy, then, are the instruments that Hvitserk and Alfred use to break free from the ‘endless cycle of suffering and war’.     

Out With The Old

The show’s themes converge, coalesce and crystalize in the New World, too. The journey from Iceland to Greenland to North America is one fraught with danger and death, but characterized by faith and hope and sacrifice. And it is Othere, the Christian wanderer once known as – appropriately enough – Athelstan (no relation), who leads them there. 

 “This is everything [Ragnar] was searching for,” Ubbe tells Othere, in their new land of milk and honey. “And I found it.” Othere cautions Ubbe against behaving in the same ways that he did before – the old ways – lest this land become just like the land he left behind.

They are not alone. The Vikings discover that the land is occupied by a tribe of indigenous peoples they refer to as Skraelings. The tribe welcomes them warmly. Ubbe soon discovers they have a friend in common: Floki, who somehow reached these same shores from Iceland, alone, and now lives on the periphery of the Skraelings’ land as a revered mystic. If it wasn’t for the Skraelings’ kindness, Floki would have died on arrival. They showed him mercy and kindness.

Asked why he left Iceland, Floki says it was because he was ‘imprisoned in sadness’. 

“What made you so sad?”

“I don’t always remember,” he says, with a wistful smile.

Floki here represents the past of the Vikings as we in the modern world have come to know it, a patchwork of tall tales and omissions. Floki embodies how time will continue to wash away both the Vikings’ history and their legend, until there’s little difference between them, and nothing much is left of either. Floki also embodies the idea that the golden age of the Vikings is gone; he remembers that he once was a Viking; he remembers Ragnar, the sons of Ragnar and the people who were important to them, but little else. There was a time when Floki was the greatest soldier of and preacher for the Gods, but he has now let them go, shed them like a dead skin. “I called to them and no longer heard their voices, or they didn’t make sense,” he tells Ubbe. Again, entropy, evolution, death, re-birth, legend, past, future: all suffused. 

The old ways make one last effort to re-assert themselves, even here in this paradise, and Ubbe gets his defining moment – just as Ivar and Hvitserk and Bjorn before him got theirs. One of his party murders the son of the Skraeling’s leader while ransacking the leader’s home for gold. The Skraelings – clearly more civilized than the Vikings ever were – hand this man over to Ubbe to decide his fate. 

This is a pivotal moment for the series. Where once we were encouraged to see Ragnar as the hero, even when he was killing and pillaging his way through innocent peoples, here we perceive this man, this murderer – who has simply acted in accordance with how the Vikings have always acted – as a dangerous savage. We, the audience, have already made a choice about who the Vikings are now, or who they should be – and so has Ubbe.

At first the murderer is to be publically blood-eagled, a particularly savage and painful form of execution that never-the-less guarantees its sufferer entry to Valhalla. At the last moment, Ubbe changes his mind, and slits the man’s throat instead. 

“Valhalla is not for you, my friend,” Ubbe tells him, mere seconds before carrying out his sentence, “Let me put you out of your misery.” Ubbe does not say this to be cruel, to rob the man of his place in the afterlife. He simply doesn’t want to inflict unnecessary pain, and is showing mercy. But it’s deeper than that, too. Valhalla doesn’t seem to matter to him anymore. Ubbe has come to understand that life can be lived without the old ways and their Gods, and be all the better for it. 

On the beach, Ubbe seeks Floki’s advice and counsel. Floki smiles. “You don’t need to know anything. It’s not important. Let it go.”

It’s fitting that Floki is there at the show’s end. Without his innovation as a boat maker, Ragnar would never have sailed west and discovered Saxon lands; would never have met Athelstan. Without Floki, the Vikings would never have discovered Iceland, or Greenland, or the New World on whose shores they now sit. Ragnar is the one who will be immortalized in legend, while the world will slowly forget Floki. He has already started to forget himself. Perhaps that is the point. Warriors live on in legend and infamy, while the people who built the world around them and at their backs fade away. But wasn’t it ever thus? Legends change the world; love saves it. And here we see that love is the more important, and more enduring, force of the two, even if we’re sometimes too proud to acknowledge it, or too blind to see it. 

“I love you, Floki,” says Ubbe, as they stare across the ocean, at their past, at their possible future, at eternity. 

What a beautiful, and truly surprising, sentiment for a show as blood-soaked as Vikings to bow out on.  

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Of course the status quo clings on in Kattegat, and I guess this will be picked up in the spin-off series. Set 100 years after the events of Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla is reportedly coming to Netflix sometime next year.

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