The Vikings

Recently I’ve been following up on a series on Netflix, which I started way back in college, titled “The Vikings”. This is a History TV produced adaptation of the Vikings civilization. The series started airing its first episode in the year 2013. So far, we’ve five seasons - fifty episodes - of historically accurate, violent, explicit and blood and gore tale that revolves around the savage ways of the Viking culture and how they “found new ways to the new earth”.

Vikings are renowned for numerous things. Viking boats, weapons, wars, their sharp-horned-helmets (which, by the way, not true), glorious godly beards, mythology are some of the things that shape their profound culture. I, for one, am extremely intrigued by their boats and mythology - Odin, Thor, Loki, Fenrir, Asgard, Yggdrasil, Valhalla all find a special place in my heart. For me, their mythology was the prime reason to watch this series spending hours staring at the screen, and I don’t regret, as this brought me to read more about their culture and way of life.

The protagonist of the series, Ragnar Lothbruk, a visionary farmer who rises to power to become a chieftain and a celebrated Norse hero. The series starts off with the Viking people reaching a plateau in finding/raiding new lands. They find themselves submitting to the sea lacking any efficient navigating technology. Recent voyages have been a disaster killing many men and women. It seems Thor, the thunder god, doesn’t want their people to cross the sea. While many noblemen resort to not risking lives anymore, Ragnar convinces people to let him carry out the voyage eventually succeeding and finding new lands for the pagans to raid.

The Vikings land on the shore of England on a place remote from the main kingdom, hosting a monastery with golden treasures and no soldiers to guard them. Vikings were convinced these new lands, the kingdom of Wessex, certainly promise many riches waiting to be raided. But, Ragnar has some other plans in mind. He’s looking for more than just riches. Speaking more of the story would be spoiling it for everyone, I would suggest you experience it first-hand.

“The Vikings” is filmed in Ireland, Cold freezing lakes, high rocky mountains the landscapes as tough as the Vikings. The Vikings deliver on the point of being historically accurate. One torture/execution technique the Vikings fancy called “The Blood Eagle”, people with a faint heart might not want to google this, is picturized with insane accuracy. The Vikings with no horned-helmets, thank you History TV for avoiding the lame horned-helmet Vikings cliche entrenched in the Hollywood. The Snekkja, a Viking boat that History TV pulled off with picture perfect accuracy. The Arsenal is cool and accurate, both at the same time. The luscious glowing-golden locks(The hairs) featuring in the series were accurate too, there’s a history behind Viking’s hairstyle and The Vikings series nailed it. (https://www.history.com/shows/vikings/videos/vikings-hair-design) Such little things, that many people are oblivious of, are the ones that really stand out to me, they turn the show on.

There is too much awesomeness in this series to quantify in one blog. I loved it. 10/10 would recommend.