Vikings

So that’s another series of Game Of Thrones into and out of our lives, and now we face an uncertain wait for more episodes that can feed our Westeros addiction.  Where will we get dragons from?  With all of that in mind, I’ve turned to the show that most closely resembles it and can help fill that gap.  But that’s not to say the show isn’t fantastic in its own right.  I’m talking about Vikings, which is one of Amazon’s flagship pieces of content and sometimes shown on the History Channel as well if you like that sort of thing.

While the scale of earlier series is smaller and more intimate, this closely follows the life stages of the show’s charismatic and enigmatic (basically, multi-matic) hero: Ragnar Lothbrok.  Played with such deft touches by Travis Fimmel, you are drawn into rooting for whatever it is he wants to pursue: power, fame, glory.  He’s selfish, but you want to be his best friend.  All around him, a supporting cast build up an ancient society in full, with all elements of Viking civilisation explored.  But the action doesn’t stop in Scandinavia, with scenes of action in later series happening simultaneously in Wessex, Northumbria, Paris and Spain.  For any linguistic geeks, Old English and Old French abounds, with the dialogue switching between modern English and impenetrable dead languages, depending on whose perspective we are being given.  What’s more, when any of the Viking characters are speaking, they all have charming Swedish/Norwegian accents that make everything sound playful and mystic all at once.

Each episode has enough of an underlying risk of sex and/or violence, though early battle scenes can be forgiven for being not much more than lines of men facing each other and waving swords.  It’s the intention that counts when you consider how the series and characters develop.

I do have some unanswered questions though.

What exactly do they do on their longboats when travelling around Europe?  I can barely sit still for two hours on an Easyjet flight to Seville, and that’s with snacks, a book and some headphones.  These guys just had an oar each.

Who does all their hair?  Vikings, it seems, were the first hipsters.  There are topknots, top-plaits, fresh fades and some cracking beards, not to mention the tattoos.  I freely admit to growing out some hair and shaving other bits in order to be more Viking.  I haven’t, however, tattooed the sides of my head, but you never know.

And, can Floki stop doing his annoying laugh?

From the atmospheric chanting of the title sequence, each episode is a full immersion into a culture so different to our own, it’s hard to believe that the former ever contributed to begetting the latter.  The show is not afraid to do away with core characters and to bring in brand new ones that totally change the landscape.  There may not really be anything supernatural about it, but not everything needs dragons.