The "Thing" about Vikings

After having two young kids at home, a full time job which took me away for half the week (I am a Flight Attendant) and a full time volunteer job at home (chef, nurse, sanitation and various other tasks) I hardly ever watched television. Sometimes on my layovers I would turn on the television in my hotel room and watch random bits of shows or movies (sometimes in foreign languages) that didn’t take too much thinking and pass out after the first half hour with a half eaten sandwich in one hand and the remote control (disinfected of course) in the other. Then along came Covid-19 to change all that. All of a sudden, I was out of a job and spending my days taking care of the kids and nights trying to figure out what the next step in my life should be. One night in July, tired of thinking, I opened Netflix and started watching Vikings. I didn’t even know I was hooked until I couldn’t wait for the kids to fall asleep so I could turn on Netflix. Or, I would get disappointed when my husband would come home early because he doesn’t watch television and would just chat throughout the whole episode. I wasn’t really Netflix and chilling though because Vikings doesn’t let you chill much. The non-stop action and surprises in the show made my heart pound and made me grit my teeth. I was too invested in the show to be just a spectator, I felt like I was part of it. After a few episodes I tried not to get attached to the characters and you should probably do the same. Viking life is dangerous and most of them end up in Valhalla- depending of course on how courageously they died, who knows where the others go... I was very upset when I realized Netflix only had until season 3 at the time but I couldn’t just let it go and wait for Netflix to eventually add the other seasons so I bought season 4A and had to borrow the other seasons from my sister who was almost as much of a viking fanatic as I had become.

The characters are interesting and realistic. They are human in the most basic of ways. They have their qualities and their faults which make us able to relate to them easily. The female characters on the show are powerful and through their strengths and weaknesses they inspired me to let out my warrior self. During the binge month I watched Vikings (yes, for me that qualifies as bingeing), I ran a little faster, worked out a little harder and fought a little harder (though not physically) for what I wanted which is what a good show or good book can inspire you to do. The male characters are just as powerful and intriguing, not to mention pleasant to look at if you're into burly bearded men, although I’m sure most of us agree that their brutishness only works for T.V.

There is some significant violence so if you get queasy at some war scenes, then that is a good time to check your social media so you are not putting too much attention on those scenes. I have to say that although violent, it is somewhat justified. The story line stays somewhat true to what we know of the ways of the vikings and wars over territory and religion therefore the violence is a bit essential for authenticity. Historic shows like Vikings are a way of seeing that we as humans have become a little a more civilized nowadays. The show makes you root for the Vikings, then you hate them for all their violence, then you forgive them, then they disappoint you again and just when you are ready to give up on them they reel you back in and you fall in love all over again because they seem to evolve. It’s like having a very dysfunctional relationship that you keep putting off terminating.

The last season of Vikings just aired and I was actually sad to know it was all over. What was I going to look forward to now on Wednesday nights? Then I remembered that as I was waiting for the last season to air and was still suffering from Viking fever, I had started watching The Last Kingdom which is also on Netflix. Netflix has all seasons so far (4 of them!) and now we wait for season 5. I can honestly say that if you enjoyed Vikings, you most probably will enjoy The Last Kingdom. The Last Kingdom takes place a little after Vikings and shows the English side of things. It tells the story of a particular Dane (what the English called any Northmen who were Vikings) who is actually the son of a noble Englishman. He is traded as a child by his own family to the Danes where he grows up in the ways of the viking. The show focuses on the clashes between the Danes who had settled in England and those that kept invading, and the English who are mostly under the rule of King Alfred. As the show develops, so do the characters. The actors get better and better with every season as they seem to really settle into their characters. The story line also stays mostly true to history in terms of rulers, battles and geographical information. Perhaps more so than Vikings since there was more documentation for the writers and producers to base themselves on. There is a little more romance to the sub stories in The Last Kingdom than in Vikings, but don’t worry, it gets balanced out with some good storytelling and plenty of battles.

So there it is. If you are ready to embark on a Viking boat load of historical drama then let yourself get invaded by Vikings and The Last Kingdom. Another noteworthy show in a similar vein is a German production called Barbarians. There’s only one season available so far but stay tuned for the next season set to come out this summer 2021 or so says Dr. Google. Happy watching!