Vikings 3.7: At the Gates

It was a fearsome sight indeed - Ragnar and the Vikings, torches and souls ablaze, weapons in hand and war machines constructed by Floki at the ready, at the gates of Paris.   Alas, this came at the very end of episode 3.7, so we'll have to wait until next week to see the result.

In the meantime, we were treated to a deep introduction to the French court, almost as different from the English monarchies we have seen as they are from the Norse.   The French have an intensity that the English apparently lack at this time and age, likely because they are much closer to Rome - the Vatican and the Roman Empire - as well as to Charlemagne, the grandfather of the King now in Paris. Will the Vikings be able to overcome this?

Well, history tells us that Ragnar succeeded, but his success followed Norse failures and was followed by the same.   What made Ragnar's attack against the advanced culture of the French successful, when other Viking attacks were not?  The answer at least in this narrative is likely Floki, more demented now than ever, but apparently still a genius, not only in the construction of ships but siege equipment to surmount the high walls of the city.

Ragnar knows this, and yet it's clear that a part of him wants Floki dead, in retribution for Floki's murder of Althelstan.   Did Ragnar put Floki in charge of the attack, because Ragnar is hoping Floki dies in that attack?  Since Floki, unlike the French and English kings,  is not a known historical person, and, unlike Ragnar, not the subject of epic Norse legends (he's apparently not the historical Floki who sailed to Iceland, but who knows), anything can happen - this Floki, in other words, is likely protected by neither history nor legend.

Meanwhile, back in England, the comings and goings of its royalty are.   But with Ecbert revealed as a vicious megalomaniac - stripped of the goodness which we thought we saw in him last season and at the beginning of this one - what now happens to him is suddenly less interesting than what is about to occur in Paris.

See also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time

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