Vikings

Season 1 – 90% – Given that he has written two Elizabethan films and four TV series with Henry VIII in the forefront, it is clear that Michael Hirst's life passion and affair of the heart is the Tudor dynasty. However, it is quite possible that his most famous work will ultimately be a saga that reaches back several centuries. The story of Ragnar Lothbrok and his friends and enemies may start slowly, but with each episode, this hostile band of fighters became more likable to me. Those key moments, battles, conflicts, and friendships occasionally seem as if Hirst had to delve much deeper than he probably did, due to the escalating tension or uncompromising fights. Season 2 – 80% – The feeling of awe from the pleasantly uncompromising and uniquely serial approach is definitely gone, but fortunately, the quality has remained, and after the poorly rushed conclusion of previous storylines in the first episode, it's time for a new order. The cream-of-the-crop of actors led by surprising supporting triumphs in Alexander Ludwig (older Bjorn) and Thorbjørn Harr (Borg) can effortlessly sell all sword fighting, long slow looks, and grandiloquent speeches. With a very brisk pace and unfailing technical aspects, it is up to the viewer to accept the relatively narrow plot structure of the entire season. With the exception of the detours with Lagertha and Athelstan, all ten episodes revolve around Ragnar-Rollo-Borg-Horik, and if it weren't for each conflict being so effectively interwoven with blood and steel, it might be a bit too much for such a small space. But this way, the hearts of the Nordic warriors can keep beating in anticipation of new voyages and spoils. Season 3 – 70% – Paradoxically, with a growing fan base, Ragnar's adventures are gradually losing their appeal. Though it still provides sufficient entertainment full of increasingly grandiose battles, the times when a new episode was the event of the week are long gone. Hirst's scripts criminally disregard the possibilities of turning a twist or the departure of a major character into a real event. The important chapter of Norse history and legend is told with great respect and in a properly epic manner, but the inconsistency of some characters (Floki, Aslaug) noticeably detracts from the experience. Season 4, Part I – 50% – I don't know who was responsible for giving the series a larger number of episodes per year, but I blame them for the fateful consequences. It has ruined the whole series for me. There are now meaningless stares into nothingness, delusional scenes, and fragments of prophecies that never tell us anything. There are additional supporting characters whose presence either annoys from the start (the bloody pair of brothers) or makes no sense whatsoever (Yidu). Moreover, the royal intrigues lack greater momentum, whether with Erlendur, Ecbert, or Charles, and what's worse, the plot runs in another loop, with the main part of the season dedicated to the same enemy as the previous season. Paradoxically, in moments when there is a glimpse of the earlier atmosphere, most often in the storylines of Rollo or Bjorn, it is painfully apparent how horribly drunk on power Michael Hirst is attempting to make us. Considering how much I defended Vikings from the very beginning, it's as much of a heartbreak as it is infuriating. Season 4, Part II – 60% – A season divided by a major time jump deserves a divided commentary, and it must be said that while watching the old Ragnar, I had a feeling that the series might be able to return to where it belonged years ago. But as attention shifts to Ragnar's younger sons, I can't root for any of them, which, in combination with strangely acting Lagertha and the minimal space for an aging Ecbert, poses a significant problem. The pace rushes forward more fiercely, and the action scenes are perhaps better than ever before, but the increasing number of absurd deaths of supporting characters, often entirely unrelated to the ongoing plot, brings the rating down significantly. Season 5, Part I – 40% – Michael Hirst is drunk on fame. He's stretching storylines that would previously have been barely enough for four episodes into a full half-season, and I'm suffering and pining for the original characters. Ivar, Ubbe, and Hvitserk may be played well, but all their half-measures feel self-serving, Lagertha gets dialogue that feels like a punishment, and Floki's travelling back and forth must be a joke by the creators to see what else the viewer can take. The amount of dream sequences, moreover, exceeds even the last tolerable limit, and with an army of warring skeletons that have fallen out of a second-rate video game, I just had to shake my head in disbelief, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Thus, an ancient revelation of a series has boldly continued its journey to the bottom. Season 5, Part Two – 60% – The uplift of the gradual conflicts and the increased believability of most of the key characters is destroyed by the contrived and overly drawn out Icelandic nothingness. Similarly, the leaps and bounds are more thrilling and spectacular battles impress far better than the simulation of the Paris of the day, but every similar big-screen moment is redeemed by Ivar's foolish (and subsequently ill-advised) decision. In short, a half-season full of stark contradictions qualitative and otherwise that surprisingly saves the series, however often it lets interesting characters die at the expense of worn-out ones. Season 6, Part I – 30% – A fall to unseen depths. From legendary adventures we have ended up with a parody of itself, full of incomprehensible tactical decisions, overblown side characters, and plots that just take up space. Ivar wanders the eastern lands, Bjorn cuts his own throat with every decision, female characters who have always been given strong storylines suddenly suffer just to have any plot at all, and the unnecessary Olaf, the diabolical Oleg, or Igor and his puppet, are theatrically overplayed. I'd like to believe that there's some more ingenious twist in store, a proper emotional charge, but in the face of the dead love couple, the drawn-out ignoring of Hvitserk's withdrawal, or the return to Iceland, I simply can't. The best way to know it's bad is when the strongest scene is a flashback to season two. Season 6, Part Two – 60% – A reconciliation a little on the strong side, but inherently a relief. I still don't get the amount of space for the East (especially when it involved a bunch of deviations from history) or for Iceland, but thankfully even in the misery of a script that drags someone like Ingrid through soap opera-smelling vehemence, there's plenty of nostalgia, epicness, and memorable moments. None of my favorites across the series lived to see the last episode, but I appreciate all the more that the last two hours managed to keep me riveted to the screen and tensely following the action, even if I ultimately couldn't care less which side would see victory and reconciliation, or at least come close. The farewell is otherwise bitter to the point of sadness, though, because the memories of (half) a season that could only be watched with self-denial cannot be erased. Condensed down to four ten-episode seasons, for example, it could have been a real television milestone. (29/04/2013) (moins) (plus)