Why do we seek to witness the torture and suffering of others? Of course I am speaking about the death of Ragnar in this episode, but in a certain context.

In the 1960s the publisher of the Lutheran hymnal, the Lutheran Church in America, was making efforts with its team of editors and scholars to render the liturgy and prayers of the church gender neutral. The new liturgy upset a few Lutherans who were accustomed to praying to "Our Father who art in Heaven." My…

I think you're right.

A worthy point. However, from the way the scene is shot, he appears to be in the chapel by himself. Perhaps that is the reason for various medium shots that take in so many of the pictures on the walls. King Ecbert stands at a lectern. I do not recall whether he could read or not in history or in Hirst's version…

Thanks! Does this make us shield-maidens?

Though I was never a mean girl, I was never a man. I am a wife, mother, author, and educator. As an educator, I would agree that you are entitled to the integrity of your cherished opinions NOT because you are one gender or the other, just because you are an individual. In the U.S. we might say it is your…

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the U.S, sermons went on for hours. When a member of your family died, the corpse was in the house for the wake for several days. People lived close to death, and perhaps as a consequence devoted a lot of time and attention to contemplating religion. Attending church in…

I can tell you what I had in mind. I thought it would be interesting to see a reenactment of how the Vikings of that period thought of Valhalla. As for Christians, it would be possible to find an eighth-century or ninth-century description or painting without doubt in the annals of the Catholic Church. I thought…

It's really a shame that you cannot disagree with someone without trying to be insulting. Even though your daughters can find something or other to interest them in these weak female characters, I still say they deserve better.

To report the damage is not to be angry. Hirst makes his men interesting and his women boring. It's a choice.

Good question. If he dies singing his deathsong while in the snake pit, as he does in the saga, what is the assumption? Certainly, he lives in the "Valhalla" of literary memory, as this is our record of his life, supposedly the source upon which the whole series is based. Also note that Ragnar in the snake pit…

So odd that this showrunner panders to the adolescent boy's idea of entertainment when women make up the larger portion of television viewers.

Hang out there on your limb, if you like. Hirst doesn't do justice to Ragnar's sons either—until they are old enough to be attractive to men. His story with its misogyny and male-centric organization, given his latitude to "do better," is for little boys whatever their orientation, nothing more. It's also…

A good thing, too, as there is the question of competence, the question of preference, and the question of orientation, the final two centering on one aspect of the male population.

The major failing of this series is its depiction of women, and this episode is a prime example. Look at the loving attention and screen time Hirst devotes to the confrontation between the two opposing kings in this episode, and then consider the throwaway treatment Hirst gives to the confrontation between the two…

Agreed, about Hirst's writing and the acting in the series.

The rape culture of women in Westworld was so blatant, I find it surprising that others posting about the series didn't see it for what it was. The women graduate from being victims of rape to taking on male characteristics: Each of the heroine/hosts turns into a girl with a . . ahem . . . "gun." Westworld…

Sometimes I enjoy the documentaries about Vikings that bookend the series this year more than the episodes themselves. The documentary this week emphasized current research to establish the roles women played in Viking culture. Their role in Norse religion is well established. Rather cynically, I see the…

Last season there was the suggestion that Harbard, who may or may not be a god, singled out Ivar for greatness when he visited Aslaug while Ragnar was gone a-Viking. Before Ragnar leaves on this long voyage, it is established that he cannot stop his son Ivar from crying; Aslaug often seems incapable of soothing Ivar…

I've been saying all along that I find Westworld pretentious and bloodless. Our heroine begins as the victim in a world governed by rape culture and ends as the protagonist in a world governed by gun violence. Worse yet, she is made to feel disappointed to be living out a sterile existence in this world that was…