From what I've read in history, the shaved and tattooed style is accurate. But having a floppy crossbrow style like Halfdan would not be good in battle, falling over your eyes. Same for the horned helmets (not shown in this program), which would have caught swords and axes in battle.

Why did the writers introduce Porunn anyway, and have her train for battle and then get scarred, if for no plot purpose? (It did not show Bjorn as kind and sympathetic.) She then left her baby and husband to wander, but doesn't that seem like a preparation for a return, learning that her baby was killed/neglected?

I also had that thought, or that Harald and Halfdan would try doing the same.

Yes, the guys playing Vikings in the bank commercial are more interesting than the current warriors on the program, although I like the tough, tattooed women warriors.

I agree about the character change. Why would Lagertha be so nasty to to shoot Aslaug in the back and kill many of her own villagers, but then be hesitant about killing Ragnar's sons by Aslaug, even when she suspects and then has confirmed that one will kill her (and kill Astrid too, no doubt, and maybe long before…

Anyone else intrigued by the portrayal of Muslim worship? Would the adherents really be so oblivious to infidels strolling around their mosque and a fellow worshipper being killed? Is this a p.c. effort to show Moslems as distinctly peaceful even under infidel provocation? I wondered if the religious service was…

Yes, there were several older sons to succeed Ecbert, and Alfred was the last one standing. (Although with a mysterious lifelong ailment).

Fimmel displayed many facial tics, flash expressions, and quizzical looks, suggesting both a complex character and stylized acting. Almost everything he said was accompanied by a self-referential expression that made the viewer wonder if there was sincerity or a second meaning. Despite all that subtlety, though, I…

Ivar has the anger, about which he complained ("Why must I always be so angry?") His "loving" father wants to doom his son to a lifetime of angry suffering in a career of revenge, along with his physical handicap. Ragnar couldn't seem to decide whether he wants to abandon his leadership and cruel lifestyle, or…

Yes, I also did not understand why Ragnar was losing his will power. Does he symbolize pagan Viking ways falling before Christianity? Was he converted by baptism and his slave-monk? If so, then why continue the pagan onslaught by urging his sons to avenge him, costing many more lives?

Missing from the death scene: the leather britches (Lodbrok = leather pants) that initially protected Ragnar from the snake bites. How odd that the series would omit this basic part of the Ragnar Saga, which could have added more drama than the time spent on stabbing him, raising and lowering his cage, etc.

Same here, and it cleverly implies that the others (e.g. being 8 feet tall) are true.

I think that Lagertha's girlfriend gets killed, perhaps in defending her. Lagertha doesn't continue to next season, is my guess. Ivar raises an army, including King Harald's forces, but this takes an episode or two. Northumbria is in trouble, and so will be East Anglia.

After 3 seasons, those snakes are getting hungry! (Like the dogs in Game of Thrones).

If the show follows history, you may get your way, sort of.

Our show is set 200 years earlier before the kingdoms had unified into an England. And the Viking Harold Hardrada was not killed by William of Normandy (the Conqueror) but rather by Harold Godwinson (Harold I of England), who was soon slain by William in 1066.

Why do you think she was killed rather than drowning by accident? (What clues in the program)?

I agree with your points. Harald and Halfdan have become cruel, jocular sidekicks in their love of battle. They head-butt like football players or frat bros. It's hard to see the qualities in Harald that will (in history) make him Norway's first great king. Perhaps losing Halfdan will spur him to mature leadership.
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Medieval monks would intentionally pump oil or blood out through statues' eyes or hands and feet (stigmata) to create their own miracles. Scientists also have found that wooden statues leak oil and sap from the wood during temperature change.

I never understood Yidu's motivation: simply to escape slavery? She did seem to have been from an elite background and perhaps held some magical knowledge. Her singing on the boat seemed to lull everyone to sleep.