Vikings 4.12
Dec. 8th, 2016 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which I learn my lesson about not to jinx things on this show.
Because I swear, every time I'm glad they don't do something they then go doing it somewhat later. Well, not quite yet, in this case. But still. If after this episode Margareth still survives the season, I'll eat my hat. When she started to tell Sigurd that Ivar can't "satisfy a woman", I groaned. Mind you, Sigurd immediately made it to least sympathetic of the Ragnarsons hit list, given that he not only immediately blabbed this news with his other brother - as Margareth should have known he would - but also failed utterly to provide Margareth with any type of protection. My one tiny bit of hope that we'll still go against cliché here is that Ivar did not kill her in this episode (unless my screen was too dark to show me?) though he plainly knew she was lying when claiming she didn't tell. But I fear now they're just postponing it.
On the other hand, my earlier half of the season grudge about Aslaug being demonized when I used to be glad the show didn't do that in earlier seasons and didn't do a good wife, bad wife thing with Lagertha and her was somewhat mollified in this episode because in it, Aslaug is back to being written as a more dimensional woman. Wonder of wonders, Ragnar's apology tour finally culminates with his encounter with her, and he admits that what he did to her was wrong (important, that, given an earlier Lagertha-Aslaug encounter which I'll get to in a moment), and thanks her for not influencing their sons against him which she easily could have, despite all he did to her. "It needed to be said" indeed. Because in the earlier scene with Lagertha, we get Lagertha telling Aslaug she'll never forgive her for "taking my husband and my world - and look what you've done with it". Excuse me? As far as "my world" is concerned, Kattegut is now a florishing trade city, not a small fisher town anymore, and that seems to have been due to Aslaug's ruling in the years of Ragnar's absence. How is this showing her in a bad light? And yes, the marriage with Ragnar went to hell, but, see above: even Ragnar admits that this was Ragnar's fault. Back in the first half of the season, when the show went the Evil!Aslaug route, it did so by showing her letting little Siggy die, which Lagertha has no idea about, so that can't have been what she's referring to.
Anyway, the Ragnar and Aslaug scene was easily the best scene about the two of them since their initial encounter, and the emotional honesty in it on both parts contributed a great deal to re-humanize both of them.
Aslaug in this episode has a vision of the future for the first time in quite a while, which appeared to show Ivar dying, and she warns her son not to go with Ragnar. Ivar doesn't do the usual thing characters on these kind of shows do, dismiss the vision, it's obvious he knows his mother has these precognition moments now and then, and he takes it seriously, but he also absolutely wants to go even if that means his death, to have that experience of being something other than a pitied, tolerated cripple. And given his scenes with his brothers and Sigurd in particular ("she doesn't love you, she pities you! We all pity you!") contrasted to Ragnar having found a way to interact with him that is affectionate without being condescending and comes across as Ragnar having faith in Ivar, that's not so surprising. Possible future gruesome murder of Margareth not withstanding, the show's doing a good job with Ivar so far, never letting the audience forget he's dangerous (and smart) but also showing he's human, not an Evil (TM) Scheming Cripple caricature. (Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if Hirst's idea for Ivar basically is "Shakespeare's version of Richard III, only as a Viking".)
Ivar taking note of King Ecbert's profile on the coin: foreshadowing what, one wonders? At any rate, I'm looking forward to them sharing a scene. Because come on, who does believe Ivar is drowning for real at the end of this episode?He doesn't die until episode 4 of THE LAST KINGDOM, and then it's off screen in Ireland.
I mentioned Ragnar's continuing apology tour. Other than the scene with Aslaug, it now extends to Kattegut at large; and Viking Everyman Farmer at the start of the episode making verbal mincemeat of him was flinch worthy, even though Ragnar deserved it. The contrast the episode draws between Björn, leaving with a fleet, full of hope and everyone cheering him on, and Ragnar, leaving with ships he had to borrow from his son, men who are either too old or too rotten to have gone with Björn and only go with him because he bribed them with old loot, couldn't be larger, and Ragnar knows it. But methinks we're in for a rebirth now (which presumably also explains the imagery of Aslaug, feeling her vision about her son coming true, has blood pouring out of her as if she's having a miscarriage) ; he'll save Ivar from drowning and thus gain a victory while sailing towards his doom.
Because I swear, every time I'm glad they don't do something they then go doing it somewhat later. Well, not quite yet, in this case. But still. If after this episode Margareth still survives the season, I'll eat my hat. When she started to tell Sigurd that Ivar can't "satisfy a woman", I groaned. Mind you, Sigurd immediately made it to least sympathetic of the Ragnarsons hit list, given that he not only immediately blabbed this news with his other brother - as Margareth should have known he would - but also failed utterly to provide Margareth with any type of protection. My one tiny bit of hope that we'll still go against cliché here is that Ivar did not kill her in this episode (unless my screen was too dark to show me?) though he plainly knew she was lying when claiming she didn't tell. But I fear now they're just postponing it.
On the other hand, my earlier half of the season grudge about Aslaug being demonized when I used to be glad the show didn't do that in earlier seasons and didn't do a good wife, bad wife thing with Lagertha and her was somewhat mollified in this episode because in it, Aslaug is back to being written as a more dimensional woman. Wonder of wonders, Ragnar's apology tour finally culminates with his encounter with her, and he admits that what he did to her was wrong (important, that, given an earlier Lagertha-Aslaug encounter which I'll get to in a moment), and thanks her for not influencing their sons against him which she easily could have, despite all he did to her. "It needed to be said" indeed. Because in the earlier scene with Lagertha, we get Lagertha telling Aslaug she'll never forgive her for "taking my husband and my world - and look what you've done with it". Excuse me? As far as "my world" is concerned, Kattegut is now a florishing trade city, not a small fisher town anymore, and that seems to have been due to Aslaug's ruling in the years of Ragnar's absence. How is this showing her in a bad light? And yes, the marriage with Ragnar went to hell, but, see above: even Ragnar admits that this was Ragnar's fault. Back in the first half of the season, when the show went the Evil!Aslaug route, it did so by showing her letting little Siggy die, which Lagertha has no idea about, so that can't have been what she's referring to.
Anyway, the Ragnar and Aslaug scene was easily the best scene about the two of them since their initial encounter, and the emotional honesty in it on both parts contributed a great deal to re-humanize both of them.
Aslaug in this episode has a vision of the future for the first time in quite a while, which appeared to show Ivar dying, and she warns her son not to go with Ragnar. Ivar doesn't do the usual thing characters on these kind of shows do, dismiss the vision, it's obvious he knows his mother has these precognition moments now and then, and he takes it seriously, but he also absolutely wants to go even if that means his death, to have that experience of being something other than a pitied, tolerated cripple. And given his scenes with his brothers and Sigurd in particular ("she doesn't love you, she pities you! We all pity you!") contrasted to Ragnar having found a way to interact with him that is affectionate without being condescending and comes across as Ragnar having faith in Ivar, that's not so surprising. Possible future gruesome murder of Margareth not withstanding, the show's doing a good job with Ivar so far, never letting the audience forget he's dangerous (and smart) but also showing he's human, not an Evil (TM) Scheming Cripple caricature. (Incidentally, I wouldn't be surprised if Hirst's idea for Ivar basically is "Shakespeare's version of Richard III, only as a Viking".)
Ivar taking note of King Ecbert's profile on the coin: foreshadowing what, one wonders? At any rate, I'm looking forward to them sharing a scene. Because come on, who does believe Ivar is drowning for real at the end of this episode?
I mentioned Ragnar's continuing apology tour. Other than the scene with Aslaug, it now extends to Kattegut at large; and Viking Everyman Farmer at the start of the episode making verbal mincemeat of him was flinch worthy, even though Ragnar deserved it. The contrast the episode draws between Björn, leaving with a fleet, full of hope and everyone cheering him on, and Ragnar, leaving with ships he had to borrow from his son, men who are either too old or too rotten to have gone with Björn and only go with him because he bribed them with old loot, couldn't be larger, and Ragnar knows it. But methinks we're in for a rebirth now (which presumably also explains the imagery of Aslaug, feeling her vision about her son coming true, has blood pouring out of her as if she's having a miscarriage) ; he'll save Ivar from drowning and thus gain a victory while sailing towards his doom.
