Raised by Wolves 2.1-2: A Viking Out in Space, with Androids

Raised by Wolves was back for a second season on HBO Max yesterday, with two sharp episodes that advanced the narrative in all kinds of intriguing and important ways.

Travis Fimmel was superb, as he was in the first season as the sun god prophet Marcus.  The actor has a unique way of expressing emotions, which (of course) first became clear to me in Fimmel's memorable performance as Ragnar in Vikings.  In Raised by Wolves, we see it again as Marcus almost seeming to channel Ragnar expresses his fury and disappointment about having to kill an atheist whom Marcus would much rather have converted to his spiritual perspective.  And it worked so well -- if you think about it, Ragnar versus the Christian world is much like Marcus versus the godless world out there on that distant planet.

The unfolding story in the atheistic center was multi-layered and fascinating as well.  Mother's beloved Campion doesn't see life and his world the same way as his android "mother" on a growing number of crucial issues.  He doesn't see the world the same way as Paul, Marcus' adopted son, does either, but the two make a good team.  And Mother (well played by Amanda Collin) and Father (well played by Abubakar Salim) don't see eye to eye, as well -- ranging from mother and father differences that we recognize in humans here on Earth (Father tells Mother she needs to treat Campion like an adult) to much more serious life and death situations.

The science fictional elements are vivid, ranging from life in the robotic center to the flying snake that seems reminiscent of Dune.  In fact, the whole desert part of the Wolves story reminds of Dune, with nice frightening new ingredients like the acid water.   Good thing Raised by Wolves is on in winter, when I'm not likely to want to jump in any nearby ocean for a swim.

I'll be reviewing every episode of this excellent new season of this powerful series, and I'll see you back here next week.

See also Raised by Wolves 1.1: Fast Action and Deep Philosophy  ... Raised by Wolves 1.2-3: More than Meets the Eye ... Raised by Wolves 1.4-5: Halfway to Dune ...Raised by Wolves 1.6-7: The Look on Mother's Face ... Raised by Wolves 1.8-1.9: Frankenstein and Motherhood ... Raised by Wolves Season One Finale: The Serpent

Vikings Season 6 Part 2 (11-20): America

 

I thought I'd conclude my reviews for 2020 with Vikings Season 6, Part 2 (episodes 11-20) -- the end of the saga -- which I was able to binge on Amazon Prime Video the past two nights.  I thought it was wonderful, with one truly outstanding interlude.

This second half of the final season actually comes in two parts.  The first focuses on the Rus, with Ivar and Hvitserk in major play.  And in the West, Ubbe gets to Iceland and points west with Torve.  The second focuses on Wessex, again with Ivar and Hvitserk on centerstage for the Norse.  And in the West, Ubbe and his crew make it all the way to America.

That last part had my favorite interlude: the way that Ubbe's group gets along so well with the indigenous people who live in America.  As a counterpart and antidote to all the fighting and death we've seen all these years on this powerhouse historical series, there was one scene in which the Vikings and the people who already lived in this lush new world exchange gifts and get to know each other, at least a little.  I have no idea if anything like that really happened.  But it was good to see on the screen, good for the soul to see.

I've been predicting all along the Floki made it to America, and Ubbe's meeting with the master boat-builder was good to see, too.   Ubbe was always the most like Ragnar -- at least, the son who was most like Ragnar when Ragnar was the most rational -- and when Floki and Ubbe are together, especially in that final scene, it was indeed like Floki and Ragnar were back together.

There were lots of fine realizations in this finale, too.  For some reason, my favorite was that the old sage who knows everyone's future but never quite spits it out is actually in everyone's imaginations.  That is, each of the Vikings who seek counsel with him are really seeking council in each of their own selves.

Back to America: you thought Leif Erikson was the first to make it America, right?  Well, in terms of oral and then recorded history, he was -- a bit later than Floki and Ubbe.  And we'll see his and related stories when Valhalla, the sequel to Vikings, gets back on the screen.  And I'll be back here on the screen when it does.

See also Vikings 6.1-2: Russia! ... Vikings 6.9: Othere = ? ... Vikings 6.10: The Conversations

And see also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice ... Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat ... Vikings 5.15: Battle ... Vikings 5.16: Peace and War ... Vikings 5.17: No Harmony in Iceland ... Vikings 5.18: Demented Ivar ... Vikings 5.19-20: Endings and Beginnings

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And 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 ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

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

Raised by Wolves 1.4-5: Halfway to Dune

I thought the 4th and 5th episodes of Raised by Wolves were really good, especially the 5th, because it gave us a nice big origin story about Mother - how she was created, and endowed/programmed with her mission.  Her maker tells her she's humanity's last hope, a nod to Star Wars mythology.

But maybe because I saw the trailer for the new Dune movie the other day, maybe I would have thought this anyway, maybe both factors are at play, but Raised by Wolves really felt to me tonight to be deeply indebted to Dune.  The sweeping sand dunes, the monsters hidden in and under the sand, the boy - with the two possible candidates - as the savior, all these speak Muad'dib on Arrakis.

Meanwhile, Travis Fimmel's Marcus, now leading the pack of Sol true-believers, seems increasingly like Ragnar in Vikings.  Not only because Fimmel's mannerisms are the same in both narratives - which I don't mind and in fact find appropriate in both - but the characters both are subject to visions, seek advice from strange characters, and have the same reactions to women.   In other words, the Marcus character played by Fimmel was deliberately designed to recall Ragnar, and that's also fine with me.

One of those characters also resonates with the Count of Monte Cristo and his mask.  Except this mask was put on the character because he raped women in hibernation over the long voyage.  His reason: Sol commanded him to populate the species, though he doesn't deny the carnal pleasure he obtained from following Sol's commands.   Since he's in a mask, that can't help but raise the question of who he is?  I'll make a wild guess: maybe the master programmer of androids who created Mother back on a dying Earth?

Anyway, these echos of Dune and Star Wars, not to mention of course Blade Runner, point to the depth of Raised by Wolves, not that it's too derivative.  An important science fiction series should be standing on the shoulders of giants, and I'll be back here next week to tell you how Jack and the Beanstalk fares with these giants.

See also Raised by Wolves 1.1: Fast Action and Deep Philosophy  ... Raised by Wolves 1.2-3: More than Meets the Eye

Vikings 6.10: The Conversations

Catching up with a review of the momentous mid-season finale of Vikings - 6.10 - and what an episode it was, replete with superb battle scenes and some notable and at least one highly regrettable death.

Season 6 already had its momentous death - Lagertha.  I could have lived without another.  But Bjorn dies at the end of the battle between the Rus and our Vikings, which is also the end of the episode.  The presentation of this death is very effective.  Throughout the battle, we see Bjorn and Ivar, sitting on the beach, in conversation.  They're not really there - they're actually in battle.  So I guess it's their spirits who are conversing.  The denouement comes when Bjorn admits to failures in the past, but vows to succeed in repulsing Ivar and the Rus.  Ivar, remarkably calm and composed in this conversation, tells Bjorn that he failed a long time ago.  (Maybe this conversation of spirits is actually in the future?)  And, sure, enough, Bjorn is killed when he leads a last, desperate charge against the invaders, with no one behind him.

The other notable conversation is earlier, between Ivar and Hvitserk, who surprises Ivar when he says his joining Ivar is an expression of Hvitserk's embracement of evil.  Ivar, significantly, looks a little surprised at this admission.  Ivar likely considers what he does right and destined, not evil.

Meanwhile, on the death toll, Harald also dies, after raping Bjorn's lover (but not because of that).  I'm actually glad to see him go.  Not only because of the rape, but because of the way he in effect stole the kingship from Bjorn.  But one last proviso about the deaths:  my general principle of unless you see their heads blown off or chopped off comes into play, and this applies to both Bjorn and Harald.   Their heads were intact, on the beach, last we saw them.

Well, we'll find out when this final season resumes, and I'm sure much more, including how close Ubbe and Torve get to America.  See you back here then.

See also Vikings 6.1-2: Russia! ... Vikings 6.9: Othere = ?

And see also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice ... Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat ... Vikings 5.15: Battle ... Vikings 5.16: Peace and War ... Vikings 5.17: No Harmony in Iceland ... Vikings 5.18: Demented Ivar ... Vikings 5.19-20: Endings and Beginnings

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And 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 ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

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

Vikings 6.9: Othere = ?

Catching up with Vikings, now at episode 6.9 (I've been busy with my music, which you can see/hear a bit more of here, if you're interested).  It's an unusual and excellent season, to say the least.  And 6.9 had what could be a real shocker.

Ubbe and Torvi get to Iceland, in search of Floki, who hasn't appeared at all yet this season.  They meet a very familiar face - familiar because he's played by Ray Stevenson, who's played major roles in Rome and so much more - who is legendary Viking explorer by the name of Othere.  He's legendary, because he claims to have sailed to a "golden" land in the West, which I assume is America not Greenland.  Ubbe's inspired, but Othere has another revelation: he says his original name was Athelstan, a Christian monk!

Now, back in season 3, we saw Athelstan beaten to death, by none other than Floki, later the discoverer of Iceland, and also a keen object of Ubbe's interest.  I should mention that I have a policy when it comes to death in non-science-fiction television and movies.  If a character's head is not blown off, cut off, or shot, I think there's always a chance he's still alive.  And, although Athelstan certainly appeared dead, I'm pretty sure his head was still attached and more or less intact after Floki's beating.

So, this means, at least by my standard, that Othere could indeed be our original Floki, whom Ragnar so loved.  And the episode is entitled "Resurrection".  On the other hand, Othere could have had a conversation with Floki, somewhere further west, in which Floki "confessed" what he did to Athelstan, which prompted Othere to take on Athelstan's identity.   For all we know, Othere/Athelstan killed Floki - indeed, a conversation with Othere out of Ubbe's presence suggests that something untoward happened to Floki, perhaps something more than what we already know.

I'm looking forward to the mid-season finale, which should also tell us more about the impending battle between Norway and Rus, the other great world-changing story this season.

See also Vikings 6.1-2: Russia!

And see also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice ... Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat ... Vikings 5.15: Battle ... Vikings 5.16: Peace and War ... Vikings 5.17: No Harmony in Iceland ... Vikings 5.18: Demented Ivar ... Vikings 5.19-20: Endings and Beginnings

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And 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 ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

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

Vikings 6.1-2: Russia!

With Russia and Ukraine so much in the news these days, the sixth (and final) season of Vikings, which debuted on the History Channel on Wednesday with a double-episode that takes place in the 800s, couldn't be more timely with a story about the "Rus" part of the Vikings, that even takes place in Kiev, no less.

The narrative, as always, a colorful and intricate weave.  Ivar's on the The Silk Road, trying to get as far away from Kattegat as he can after last season's bloody defeat.  He ends up in Kiev, and meets a Russian Prince, Oleg - "The Prophet" - who proves to as cunning and deadly as any of the Vikings.  Before the two hours conclude,  Ivar is drawn into Oleg's plot to re-take Kattegat - or maybe it was Ivar who drew in Oleg.

Back home, it's good to see Bjorn as King.  He was always pretty high up on the decency chart, and his decision to support King Harald makes sense.  (Bjorn will certainly need Harald's help when Oleg and Ivar arrive.) Ubbe is a fine second-in-command, in effect, and it will also be fun to see him re-united with Floki, who, with any luck, is on his way to America, or at least Greenland.  Hvitserk's a mess, but we the audience know he is right, and way ahead of his brothers, in being obsessed with the danger Ivar still poses.

Lagertha's arc is enjoyable - she's always been a great character - but more predictable than usual at the beginning of this sixth season.  The hero who wants to retire, and find some years in peace and quiet, but gets drawn back into the conflict to fight a final battle, is a trope as common as swordplay in epics of the past and future.  The difference is that usually this character is a man.  In any case, logic and the coming attractions tell us will be seeing the shield maiden in action before too long this season.  Violence for better and worse has always been an integral part of this story.

And I'll be back here next week with another review.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice ... Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat ... Vikings 5.15: Battle ... Vikings 5.16: Peace and War ... Vikings 5.17: No Harmony in Iceland ... Vikings 5.18: Demented Ivar ... Vikings 5.19-20: Endings and Beginnings

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And 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 ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

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

lots about The Silk Road here too...

Vikings 5.19-20: Few Endings and Many Beginnings

I decided to review the final two episodes of this great season of Vikings together, since they're more of a piece than any other two episodes this season.   I liked these two episodes a lot, since, even though they were the season finales, there were few if any really important endings.  That's good.  It will be fun to see so many of our favorite and hated characters again.

Over in Iceland, it looks like Floki may be gone, though even that crushing scene was far from definitive.  Knowing Floki, we might yet see him crawl back to the surface and life.  We know, at any rate, that Iceland will continue.

In England, Judith is gone.   So is Ivar's wife, killed by Ivar after she gives Bjorn the secret passageway to Kattegat.  And in the battle to take that walled town, so is Ragnar's English son.

And that's it.   Ivar survived, even though his rule did not.  The two kings - Olaf and Harald - both amply survived, and creds to Harald for saving Bjorn's life, even though they came to blows last week.  This bodes well for their future cooperation.   Hvitserk and Ubbe not so much, since Ubbe still holds Hvitserk's joining Ivar against him.   Ubbe is a hero even though he didn't fight in the battle for Kattegat.  His one-on-one duel with the Dane last week made the permanent Norse settlement in England possible.

And then there's Lagertha.  She came back, strengthened Ubbe in England, and now she can support Bjorn in Kattegat.   Even Ragnar himself was on hand - as a ghost or in Bjorn's imagination - to provide sage counsel to his son.

But Ivar's escape means all's by no means well for the surviving sons of Ragnar. Where will Ivar go? I'm thinking ... maybe England?   To try to raise a Viking army to retake Kattegat?  We'll find out  next season, said to be returning soon, and I'll be back with more reviews.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice ... Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat ... Vikings 5.15: Battle ... Vikings 5.16: Peace and War ... Vikings 5.17: No Harmony in Iceland ... Vikings 5.18: Demented Ivar

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And 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 ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

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