Just watched this On Demand and all I have to say is… OMFG The Returned has returned!! I felt a bit off-balance for the first half-hour or so, as we got caught up with the aftermath of the flood and began to see where our protagonists had gone, but as the episode went on and more familiar characters started showing…

He's a character on Homeland, played by Mandy Patinkin, hence the mention in the Stray Observations.

Not that it makes much difference now (a whole day out from when you left this comment), but it's actually a hell of a lot easier to kill someone with a knife to the throat than you've made it seem. All one has to do is nick either the carotid artery or the jugular vein, both conveniently located just under the skin,…

That li'l guy is so totally cute! Great work there!

Hate to burst your bubble, but America "still" has the plague too. It's endemic in ground squirrels (and other rodents) out west. Just don't go camping in any national parks and you should be fine. Unless you were just joking, in which case, carry on!

I swear to god, I'm going to be so pissed off if he ends up like fucking Quentyn Martell did. I wasn't that enamored of his sudden appearance, but since he exists anyway, he'd damn better fulfill his expected purpose. How many random assholes have we heard saying, "The dragon has three heads?" We've known who two…

That seems to be the implication. But since Ivar's got some conquering to do once he grows up, a whole lot of people might be turning up dead between now and then. Maybe it's a one-time deal, who knows? I trust we'll find out eventually.

Yeah, after those dead kids showed up, Helga was definitely giving the dude some side-eye. I think all three are well aware now that he's not what he appears to be, though exactly what that is remains to be seen.

Very interesting context there, thanks. It just adds to the mystery of who/what this guy really is, though I wouldn't necessarily dismiss the possibility that he is some kind of spirit, if not a god. This show does like to make spiritual matters literal.

No offense, but I'm so glad you were wrong about his "bleeding out" last week. This was the kind of death he deserved, not only as one of Ragnar's most trusted companions, but as one of the best supporting characters on the show. Farewell Torstein, long may you sup at Odin's table!

Yeah, the way they handle the language thing has always been one of my favorite parts of this show. It's like music to my ears.

Excessively silly, but I wouldn't put it past this show to go with the soapiest possible storyline.

Just to get even more pedantic (sorry, it's not you, it's me), the 'th' in 'then' is actually the sound that the letter eth makes, and it's the one that makes Ragnar's surname into Lodbrok/Lothbrok because of its resemblance to 'd'. Thorn is more like the 'th' in 'thin', unvoiced.

It totally enhanced the atmosphere this episode, no doubt. Sometimes I feel like the showrunners should just hire them to do all the music, like Les Revenants did with Mogwai.

I didn't think he was dead just yet either, but the review plainly states that he bled out there. Presumably DPerks has early access to the next ep. and knows how it played out.

Which they will cut from the U.S. broadcast, just like last season's Ragnar-Aslaug-Lagertha ménage à trois.

Man, excellent use of Wardruna once again. Once I recognized it as "Helvegen" I knew poor Torstein was a goner, though I got my hopes up when he suggested amputation. He was a true warrior, he deserved to last long enough to die with a sword in his hand! Damn you Hirst!

Though they do apparently post screenshots to Tumblr, just to rub it in our faces.

Well, all us U.S. viewers are missing a bunch of stuff according to the European fans, so we're in the same boat there, at least. Take heart, it'll still be awesome once you do see it :)

True, but at this point it almost seems an open question whether Lagertha will make it back to her domain at all, what with that preview of her in Ecgbert's bath!