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Forum URL: http://www.eyrie-productions.com/Forum/dcboard.cgi
Forum Name: Symphony of the Sword/The Order of the Rose
Topic ID: 328
#0, Vikings
Posted by JeanneHedge on Apr-07-13 at 10:08 PM
LAST EDITED ON Apr-07-13 AT 10:12 PM (EDT)
 
Anyone else watching History Channel's new series "Vikings"? Gotta give Gryphon lots of credit on his research. The way they're portraying the main guy, Ragnar Lodbrok (a legendary Viking hero played by Travis Fimmel) and his wife, Lagertha (another legendary Viking, played by Katheryn Winnick), they could well be Corwin and Utena. ESPECIALLY Lagertha/Utena. Assuming HC did their research (however accurate Viking sagas are), G's portrayal of the Viking culture aspects of Corwin and Utena is just perfectly spot on.


One of the first things you learn about Lagertha is that she's a shieldmaiden, and she saved *his* life when they first met. She kicks butt in a fight, is still raising 2 kids at home, and yet goes out on the occasional raid too. Sounds a bit like something Utena could do :)

If you haven't heard about Vikings, it's not your typical History Channel documentary (it's not any kind of documentary). Think "Game of Thrones" with Vikings as the main characters. It's on Sunday nights at 10 (eastern).

(Gabriel Byrne is playing the Viking chieftan, and, for Glee fans, Jessalyn Gilsig plays his scheming wife)


Jeanne


Jeanne Hedge
http://www.jhedge.com
"Never give up, never surrender!"


#1, RE: Vikings
Posted by SpottedKitty on Apr-09-13 at 11:10 PM
In response to message #0
Sounds interesting. Reminds me of something that was on over on this side of the Pond a couple of years ago; a dramatisation of the 1066 invasions. (Yes, plural. a bunch of Vikings softened up the English before William the Bastard got his feet wet in the Channel.) As far as I could tell, apart from a bit of dramatic licence, Harald Hardrada's men behaved pretty much historically accurately.

Although IIRC in this one, the girl with the sharp pointy toys was a bit more Chaotic than Lawful; definitely not an Utena-type...

--
Unable to save the day: File is read-only.


#2, RE: Vikings
Posted by Gryphon on Apr-09-13 at 11:56 PM
In response to message #1
>Although IIRC in this one, the girl with the sharp pointy toys was a
>bit more Chaotic than Lawful; definitely not an Utena-type...

In fairness, Utena is only lawful when the law is just. This was not something that was in long supply in medieval Britain. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


#3, RE: Vikings
Posted by Peter Eng on Apr-11-13 at 03:15 PM
In response to message #2
>
>In fairness, Utena is only lawful when the law is just.
>

Perhaps I'm insane, but that's always how I've felt Lawful Good should be played.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.


#4, RE: Vikings
Posted by Gryphon on Apr-11-13 at 03:19 PM
In response to message #3
>>In fairness, Utena is only lawful when the law is just.
>>
>
>Perhaps I'm insane, but that's always how I've felt Lawful Good should
>be played.

Well, yeah, fair enough. It's just that (as we've seen) she'll not only ignore unjust law, she can get downright chaotic when confronted with it. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.


#5, RE: Vikings
Posted by StClair on Apr-11-13 at 03:42 PM
In response to message #4
LAST EDITED ON Apr-11-13 AT 03:43 PM (EDT)
 
"Anthy?"
"Yes, dear."
"I did it again, didn't I."
"Yes, love, you did."
"All I did was tell 'em what I thought."
"'All I did was stand up for this one girl...'"


"Just say, 'then I did that thing I do.' Dad'll know exactly what you mean."


#7, RE: Vikings
Posted by SpottedKitty on Apr-12-13 at 10:53 AM
In response to message #5
>"Anthy?"
>"Yes, dear."
>"I did it again, didn't I."

<snicker> Good point.

--
Unable to save the day: File is read-only.


#6, RE: Vikings
Posted by Verbena on Apr-12-13 at 00:02 AM
In response to message #4
Ah, law and chaos. The axis of the old D&D alignment system that a lot of people I know seem to want to misinterpret. The thing to remember about law is a person can be Lawful with respect to their own moral code, utterly separate from what the legal standards of the area are. It's not as if Utena, or anyone else in her circle, abandon their sense of morality just because they're in Earth Alliance space; quite the opposite, in fact, because the evil and oppression they run into is so much more prevalent there--and made even worse by it being dolled up in a veneer of legality. What is personally Lawful and the temporal law are not the same--and neither are related to what is -right-.


--------

this world created by the
hands of the gods
everything is false
everything is a LIE
the final days have come
now
let everything be destroyed

--mu


#8, RE: Vikings
Posted by FredH on Apr-19-13 at 10:38 AM
In response to message #0
>The way they're portraying the main guy,
>Ragnar Lodbrok (a
>legendary Viking hero played by Travis Fimmel) and his wife,
>Lagertha (another legendary
>Viking, played by Katheryn Winnick), they could well be Corwin and
>Utena.

Welllll... I can't see Corwin or Utena letting what happened at Lindisfarne happen, or killing a helpless prisoner at least in part because they find it funny. The Viking self-assuredness and battle pride, sure; but at least as portrayed on the show, I think Ragnar and Lagertha are people C&U would stand up to (and probably win over to their side).


#9, RE: Vikings
Posted by jhosmer1 on Apr-19-13 at 11:29 AM
In response to message #8
I like that they are showing at least an approximation of the cultural clash between the Viking and English cultures. The two have radically different values and both have their virtues and warts.

And Floki is just awesome. :)


#11, RE: Vikings
Posted by FredH on Apr-19-13 at 01:43 PM
In response to message #9
>And Floki is just awesome. :)

For all that he's occasionally blood-for-blood's sake murderous (cf. pretty much any time he chortles with glee) and seems to alternate between cowardice and bravery, he certainly is fun to watch. I like that he seems to basically be Loki, which I'm sure is intentional.


#10, RE: Vikings
Posted by Gryphon on Apr-19-13 at 11:50 AM
In response to message #8
>Welllll... I can't see Corwin or Utena letting what happened at
>Lindisfarne happen, or killing a helpless prisoner at least in part
>because they find it funny.

"There's a gap, there are tolerances here... "
- Richard Hammond

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.