Interesting theory. That may well have been their intent, but I wish they could have done it with different characters. Ubbe and Margrethe maybe? Hvitserk and Margrethe? The whole Bjorn-Astrid-Lagertha love triangle is so dumb, on so many levels.

No honey, that's how your simple mind interpreted it. Maybe you missed the part where I clarified my intent. It's enumerated above. Address my comment point by point, otherwise STFU.

1) 10 minutes is the amount of time I specified being a minimum for taking a short nap, not my attention span.
2) My comment was a response to another commenter, who indicated that the action sequences occupied roughly 10 minutes of the episode, which itself was issued as a response to the previous comment about said…

Yes. Because television doesn't do nearly enough to cater to the desires of people born with penises.

10 minutes is all you need for a catnap ;)

The worst part of that torture sequence wasn't the pointless revelation that the Finehairs were behind the siege on Kattegat; it was the torture method itself. As far as I'm aware, the Vikings may have been ruthless warriors, but they did not commonly practice torture, outside of ritualized execution methods like the…

I wish I could be that someone…but I can't. I feel exactly the same way. It's turning into a feeble imitation of Game of Thrones. We get the sex, violence, and power plays of seasons past without any of the depth and authenticity that set Vikings apart from other series way back when. Not only is S04 failing to live…

Totally agree. With the exception of Ludwig (Bjorn), whose acting has always seemed stilted to me, Høgh, Ilsø, Lindström, and Smith are talented enough, but none of them comes close to matching Fimmel's performance. I think part of the problem is they're all trying way too hard (whether by Hirst's direction or their…

Any time all 5 brothers are in a scene together, it just comes across as a who-can-do-the-best-Ragnar-impression. Invariably, all 5 fail.

You're definitely not alone in your bafflement. It's becoming more and more clear that Astrid's character was introduced purely for shock value, first as Lagertha's secret "lesbian" lover, then as Bjorn's sultry heterocurious sidepiece. It's offensive in the extreme, not because the show would dare to explore natural…

How the character identifies is kind of beside the point. Gay or bisexual, she remains more or less one-dimensional, like the vast majority of female characters on the show. Like I said, I welcome representations of sexual fluidity on the show, as long as the intent goes beyond titillating audiences. The fact that…

I'm cool with polyamory, but this development seemed to come out of nowhere and undercuts my confidence in the writers to impart the same level of depth and consistency to their female characters as their male characters. It seemed like they introduced Astrid—an openly gay woman—to be edgy, then took it back, in…

Totally with you on all points. I was also reluctant to like Judith's character at first, given her inconsistent agency and seeming subservience to powerful men, but I really love that they restored her independence in this episode. All too often, she enjoyed little more than a supporting role in the lives of the male…

My beef with Lagertha's inexplicable character regression aside…I was extremely relieved that she wasn't killed in this episode. Yes, Bjorn coming to her rescue at the last minute was clichéd, but I really thought this was the end for our Viking Queen, and I wasn't in any way prepared for it. The show can draw out the…

I think I would have much preferred that alternative. Always love your insights, S.

Ah yes. You are referring to the phenomenon of a female character who was written solely to advance a male character's story arc, or to create romantic tension, or both. See also: Helga, Torvi, Judith, Yidu, Margrethe. Porunn will not return, sadly, because she only ever existed to give Bjorn some sorely-needed depth.

Don't forget about Bjorn's "rock wife" Torvi ;)

I have to admit, I was not entirely impressed with this episode, nor (really) the season's trajectory as a whole.

I wonder if the torture sequence here was another attempt to showcase the sadism of the supposedly morally superior Christians, à la Count Odo's BDSM playspace or the mutilation of Judith in S03. Whatever the case, it was really over the top - the poking, prodding, beating, burning, stabbing, slicing. I can usually…

Whatever his original purpose, poor Magnus will barely last a day in the wider world, especially in those courtly silks. Couldn't Aethelwulf have given him some rags or something?