Jacques de Imbelloni
02-24-2015, 03:53 PM
http://www.tv.com/shows/vikings/community/post/vikings-season-3-episode-1-mercenary-review-142431188021/
By Tim Surette
http://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/vikings_season-3.jpg
Vikings S03E01: "Mercenary"
I often greet a new season of a TV show that I follow semi-regularly with varying degrees of anticipation and skepticism, a cocktail of fear and doubt mixed by years of disappointing premieres. But jumping back into History's Vikings has brought me nothing but joy. The series is still flying under the radar for many (I'm often guilty of not giving it the praise it deserves), and has occasionally been incorrectly labeled as a Game of Thrones knock-off or a televised LARPing session, but Vikings deserves to be recognized for what it does extremely well: The show knows what it is and is perfectly comfortable in its own skin.
Vikings is a historical drama filled with hulking, greasy men who kick ass. In many ways, it's Sons of Anarchy at Sea, right down to its handsome leading man. But unlike FX's biker drama, which often spiraled into a tempest of convolution and self-importance, Vikings' ambitions are less Shakespearean and more spearin,' and the show is better for it. The approach also allows viewers to experience Vikings in a couple different ways; you can watch it half-assed for the epic battle sequences and gorgeous Irish vistas standing in for Scandinavia, or you can give it your full attention and be surprised by the insightful way the show handles religion and brings Viking family dynamics to life. Its strengths are so solid across the board that it can be whatever type of series you want it to be. Vikings won't leave the same impression as a top-notch episode of a prestige drama, but I've never finished watching an episode without feeling entertained. That's rare these days.
Based on the first episode of Season 3, it appears that nothing has changed on that front. The story picked up after Ragnar's ascension to king at the end of Season 2, with Ragnar's hometown of Kattegat frozen into a block of ice during the raiding off-season. Ahh, to be a Viking. He had a Viking chat (no more than eight words at a time, and keep the syllable count low) with Bjorn about power, and instantly we learned where Season 3 will direct its focus. Ragnar didn't want power, but now he's got it. And that's something that fascinates Bjorn. How will Ragnar navigate being a ruler? How will Ragnar teach his eldest son about the temptations of power? Will Ragnar's legacy continue to grow whether he wants it to or not? How will he meet the desires of his men, most of whom don't agree with his plan to farm? Ragnar must now take the expected next step of a man on an upward trajectory, but his hesitancy to don a crown is real. Of course, it helps that he says things like, "Power is only given to those willing to lower themselves to pick it up." Vikings' characters aren't wordsmiths, but their spare manner of speaking yields plenty of distilled truths.
And so Ragnar will play the role of king, probably because he knows he's the best man for the job. "Mercenary" saw him traveling to England to cash in King Ecbert's promise of farmable land and peace—a pretty stark contrast to all those trips he took to to England to drink the blood of his enemies from their hollowed-out skulls. But as Ragnar soon realized, uneasy truces require maintenance; it wasn't long before Ecbert asked whether Ragnar might pitch in to help solve a pesky problem Ecbert had with a rival king. For Ragnar's men, the answer was easy, because they fight to live and live to fight. But Ragnar saw the bigger picture and agreed to play mercenary (hey, that's the episode title!) as a gesture of good faith and to build trust with his "civilized" allies. This is usually how it goes; Ragnar, trustworthy gent that he is, does someone a favor, it eventually bites him in the ass, and then he levels the place. And that's probably what will happen here, too. Ecbert is too smarmy to keep his promise forever, and for that, he will pay. Besides, Ecbert is making moves on my Ragnar's girl Lagertha, and that won't go unpunished.
"Mercenary" ended with one of Vikings' trademark battles, as Ragnar's men cut through English pig-dogs as if they were soft goat cheese. And it was a good one, too, moving from the sea to the land in horrifically real fashion. The scene felt much more raw and under-styled than the overproduced opening fight of Season 2, which was clearly an attempt to woo curious new eyes (if there was one thing I feared going into the Season 3 premiere, it was another out-of-character battle scene). And I have no idea why the English decided to split their army into two groups, with one commanded by the king and the other led by his son, on opposite sides of the river; that move made it simple for Ragnar to float up to one bank and wipe out half of his opponents' forces. Are the British that dumb? On Vikings, yes. That's what you get, pig-dogs!
The final moments of the episode set up some interesting possibilities, though. After Floki put a hatchet through the English king's skull (awesome), he held the crown aloft and gave it a curious look. Like this:
http://img2.tvtome.com/i/u/372f1befff6b4e6fcefcffef103d6316.jpg
Vikings is a show of few words, so a lot of its storytelling is visual. Here, we didn't see Floki considering the street value of a golden headband, we saw a curious man gazing at a symbol of power. You know what they say: Power corrupts. Could this brief taste be what pulls the scattered Floki down? He's always been a wild card, and as we witnessed in this episode, being happy with his family makes him miserable (haha, love that Floki). Restless men tend to seek new outlets for release, and the way he ogled that crown has me worried.
It's quite the opposite for Ragnar. At the end of the battle, Ragnar sat on the hill surveying his men's work, proud of the new crimson carpet they'd laid on the English shores. But then he exchanged glances with Princess Kwenthrith, the royal he was helping on this mission, and let's be honest, girl was looking cray-zay, wearing an expression that was part lust and part greed. That's when Ragnar's half-smile morphed into a subtle conveyance of "Oh fuck, what have I gotten myself into?" Was he worried about falling into a pattern of servitude to Ecbert, Kwenthrith, and the rest of the Anglos? Or was he looking at the king who lay dead beside him, thinking about how the only thing that comes with gaining power are people who want to take it? It's open to interpretation, but one thing that we can all agree on is that all is not well with Ragnar.
"Mercenary" was a good start to Vikings Season 3, even without a momentous event to kick off the action. And thank goodness the series hasn't altered its formula of watchability, sensitivity, and brutality. As long as it continues to feature those characteristics, Vikings will remain one of television's best-kept secrets.
By Tim Surette
http://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/vikings_season-3.jpg
Vikings S03E01: "Mercenary"
I often greet a new season of a TV show that I follow semi-regularly with varying degrees of anticipation and skepticism, a cocktail of fear and doubt mixed by years of disappointing premieres. But jumping back into History's Vikings has brought me nothing but joy. The series is still flying under the radar for many (I'm often guilty of not giving it the praise it deserves), and has occasionally been incorrectly labeled as a Game of Thrones knock-off or a televised LARPing session, but Vikings deserves to be recognized for what it does extremely well: The show knows what it is and is perfectly comfortable in its own skin.
Vikings is a historical drama filled with hulking, greasy men who kick ass. In many ways, it's Sons of Anarchy at Sea, right down to its handsome leading man. But unlike FX's biker drama, which often spiraled into a tempest of convolution and self-importance, Vikings' ambitions are less Shakespearean and more spearin,' and the show is better for it. The approach also allows viewers to experience Vikings in a couple different ways; you can watch it half-assed for the epic battle sequences and gorgeous Irish vistas standing in for Scandinavia, or you can give it your full attention and be surprised by the insightful way the show handles religion and brings Viking family dynamics to life. Its strengths are so solid across the board that it can be whatever type of series you want it to be. Vikings won't leave the same impression as a top-notch episode of a prestige drama, but I've never finished watching an episode without feeling entertained. That's rare these days.
Based on the first episode of Season 3, it appears that nothing has changed on that front. The story picked up after Ragnar's ascension to king at the end of Season 2, with Ragnar's hometown of Kattegat frozen into a block of ice during the raiding off-season. Ahh, to be a Viking. He had a Viking chat (no more than eight words at a time, and keep the syllable count low) with Bjorn about power, and instantly we learned where Season 3 will direct its focus. Ragnar didn't want power, but now he's got it. And that's something that fascinates Bjorn. How will Ragnar navigate being a ruler? How will Ragnar teach his eldest son about the temptations of power? Will Ragnar's legacy continue to grow whether he wants it to or not? How will he meet the desires of his men, most of whom don't agree with his plan to farm? Ragnar must now take the expected next step of a man on an upward trajectory, but his hesitancy to don a crown is real. Of course, it helps that he says things like, "Power is only given to those willing to lower themselves to pick it up." Vikings' characters aren't wordsmiths, but their spare manner of speaking yields plenty of distilled truths.
And so Ragnar will play the role of king, probably because he knows he's the best man for the job. "Mercenary" saw him traveling to England to cash in King Ecbert's promise of farmable land and peace—a pretty stark contrast to all those trips he took to to England to drink the blood of his enemies from their hollowed-out skulls. But as Ragnar soon realized, uneasy truces require maintenance; it wasn't long before Ecbert asked whether Ragnar might pitch in to help solve a pesky problem Ecbert had with a rival king. For Ragnar's men, the answer was easy, because they fight to live and live to fight. But Ragnar saw the bigger picture and agreed to play mercenary (hey, that's the episode title!) as a gesture of good faith and to build trust with his "civilized" allies. This is usually how it goes; Ragnar, trustworthy gent that he is, does someone a favor, it eventually bites him in the ass, and then he levels the place. And that's probably what will happen here, too. Ecbert is too smarmy to keep his promise forever, and for that, he will pay. Besides, Ecbert is making moves on my Ragnar's girl Lagertha, and that won't go unpunished.
"Mercenary" ended with one of Vikings' trademark battles, as Ragnar's men cut through English pig-dogs as if they were soft goat cheese. And it was a good one, too, moving from the sea to the land in horrifically real fashion. The scene felt much more raw and under-styled than the overproduced opening fight of Season 2, which was clearly an attempt to woo curious new eyes (if there was one thing I feared going into the Season 3 premiere, it was another out-of-character battle scene). And I have no idea why the English decided to split their army into two groups, with one commanded by the king and the other led by his son, on opposite sides of the river; that move made it simple for Ragnar to float up to one bank and wipe out half of his opponents' forces. Are the British that dumb? On Vikings, yes. That's what you get, pig-dogs!
The final moments of the episode set up some interesting possibilities, though. After Floki put a hatchet through the English king's skull (awesome), he held the crown aloft and gave it a curious look. Like this:
http://img2.tvtome.com/i/u/372f1befff6b4e6fcefcffef103d6316.jpg
Vikings is a show of few words, so a lot of its storytelling is visual. Here, we didn't see Floki considering the street value of a golden headband, we saw a curious man gazing at a symbol of power. You know what they say: Power corrupts. Could this brief taste be what pulls the scattered Floki down? He's always been a wild card, and as we witnessed in this episode, being happy with his family makes him miserable (haha, love that Floki). Restless men tend to seek new outlets for release, and the way he ogled that crown has me worried.
It's quite the opposite for Ragnar. At the end of the battle, Ragnar sat on the hill surveying his men's work, proud of the new crimson carpet they'd laid on the English shores. But then he exchanged glances with Princess Kwenthrith, the royal he was helping on this mission, and let's be honest, girl was looking cray-zay, wearing an expression that was part lust and part greed. That's when Ragnar's half-smile morphed into a subtle conveyance of "Oh fuck, what have I gotten myself into?" Was he worried about falling into a pattern of servitude to Ecbert, Kwenthrith, and the rest of the Anglos? Or was he looking at the king who lay dead beside him, thinking about how the only thing that comes with gaining power are people who want to take it? It's open to interpretation, but one thing that we can all agree on is that all is not well with Ragnar.
"Mercenary" was a good start to Vikings Season 3, even without a momentous event to kick off the action. And thank goodness the series hasn't altered its formula of watchability, sensitivity, and brutality. As long as it continues to feature those characteristics, Vikings will remain one of television's best-kept secrets.