Since the Stark children found their otherworldly direwolves in the Wolfswood of Winterfell we've all had Game of Thrones fever. Anxiously anticipating another shocking execution, a head-crushing fight-to-the-death, or Daenerys Targaryan feeding someone else to her dragons, the levels of violence and excitement in this show leave you feeling like a Roman plebeian watching a chariot race in the Colosseum circa AD But when the season wraps up and we skulk back to our everyday lives trying to forget about Jon Snow and the Whitewalkers, we realize there are other television shows that are just as epic as Game of Thrones , and some would argue even better.
Take, for example, Vikings , the Irish-Canadian television drama based on the Norse legends of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, the Viking King who became legendary for his raids and conquests on England and France.
Created by Michael Hirst and airing on the History Channel, this fast-paced, wickedly violent show is made all the more poignant with its exquisite cinematography and fine storytelling. Turning even Winterfell's staunchest defenders into fast fans of Vikings. According to Scandinavian folklore, a shield-maiden was a woman who chose the life of a warrior. Many bodies of these daring shieldmaidens were found among the dead.
In Vikings , there are many shieldmaidens who fight and raid alongside the men including Lagertha, a furiously beautiful warrior and former wife of Ragnar Lothbrok. Played by the gorgeous Katheryn Winnick, Lagertha distinguishes herself as a fierce warrior time and time again. With an army of shieldmaidens at her side, Lagertha rises quickly among the Viking rulers, becoming an Earl and leading the ground attacks on Paris. In Game of Thrones , Brienne of Tarth is the only female knight in Westeros and instead of being treated as an equal, as shieldmaidens are in Vikings , she is constantly being harassed about her physical appearance and gender.
For a story that's supposed to exist in a medieval fantasy world, you would think they would have more women donning armor alongside the men. The major religion is The Faith of the Seven and is predominant through the south of the region, whereas in the north, many worship the Old Gods of the Forest and in the Iron Islands, the Drowned God. Throughout Westeros, religious rituals and ceremonies are limited to weddings and worshiping at Great Septs or, for the north men, Weirwood trees.
Although the stories behind all of their different religions are interesting, it seems the characters only mention their Gods in passing. In Vikings , the presence of the Gods is a theme that runs deeply throughout the story effecting each of the characters differently. From the beginning of the show Ragnar has visions of Odin. In the village of Kattegat there is a Seer, or oracle, who can speak with the Gods on someones behalf.
Many characters visit the Seer to learn their fates. Floki, a friend of Ragnar's, begins existing more and more in the world of the Gods. Because the vikings practiced the Norse Religion of Germanic Paganism, the show doesn't shy away from ritual sacrifices of both animals and humans.
This aspect of the show really draws on how different the Viking Age was to our time, whereas the values in Westeros are more closely linked to modern religion. Vikings is a television series that plays with time in a much more interesting way than most, and if you tuned into the Season 4 finale then you already know.
In Vikings, time passes. Characters get older, boys become men, men grow old, and so forth. This freedom with time has allowed Vikings to become a more believable story than Game of Thrones. The show's violence, sex, and sort-of-English accents got us thinking So, how does the History Channel's first dramatic series Vikings stack up against the sword-swinging, vaguely historical drama?
Here's our assessment after watching the first episode of Vikings airing Sundays at 10 p. Vikings : Vikings actually existed, so we're off to a good start. The time and place match up, too: the series opens in the Eastern Baltic in A. GoT : Westeros never existed, sorry. The medieval fantasy drama does, however, have some historical parallels. See: the War of the Roses. Vikings : While there's plenty of sexy-talk—"I don't want love now, I want to ride you like a bull, like a wild bull," Lagertha tells Ragnar while straddling him—we only get a PGstyle peek inside the bedrooms for now.
Vikings : "What does a man do? The kid's answer? Or the field littered with dead bodies. Or the body-piercing swords covered in blood. And that's just the first episode. GoT : The Seven Kingdoms crew is no stranger to messy beheadings, torture, or fire-raining warfare. Gore is their specialty. Winner: A tie. They're both pretty bloody and while the GoT gang tends to lean toward the exceptionally cruel—like, say, pouring a pot of hot melted gold over your brother-in-law's skull or forcing two prostitutes to beat the shit out of each other—we're impressed to see the History Channel actually going for it.
Game of Thrones features so many characters that have found their way into millions of hearts and minds, both from the books and the show. The show-makers initially did a terrific job adapting them to the screen, but also made some dubious choices for the later half of the show.
Many Vikings are actual Scandinavians, which saves the later sub-par casting choices i. Many of the Danes are played by actual Scandinavians, which adds to the authenticity and believability of the characters.
The Game of Thrones casting choices were mostly legendary at least early on , with the likes of Jon, Sam, Ned, Baelish, Arya, and many more. On the other hand, the casting of Robert Baratheon, Daario x2, Euron, Manse, and flashback-Rhaegar are all examples that were sub-par.
Vikings features tons of epic scenes that fires on all the blockbuster cylinders with clever techniques that woos the audience aplenty. This presents an intriguing, expressive, and mystical Viking world for us to enjoy. Although some of the cinematic elements tend to feel over the top. The Last Kingdom delivers a high level of cinematography creating an authentic image of Viking Age England, but as it is entirely centered around the Saxon-Dane conflict it tends to get repetitive from time to time.
The level of cinematography in Game of Thrones is up there with the best as far as TV goes. The Vikings main theme and overall score is phenomenal, and really halps capturing the intriguing and mystic side of the Norse world in Vikings.
Many musical elements feel unique and very fitting as well, which helps the overall creative value immensely in shows like this.
There are few TV scores that can beat that of Game of Thrones. Ramin Djawadi created countless iconic songs that are etched into our minds forever. Viewers are treated to music performed in the show by the likes of Sigur Ros, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran — which should give you a good idea.
Vikings might draw inspiration from historical events, but it does not claim to be an accurate representation of the time period. This is a show meant to entertain first and educate second, with loads of compromises in favor of looking cool hair styles, costumes, etc. Especially for certain portrayals King Alfred, Aethelflaed , referring to the Norse invaders and settlers as Danes more than Vikings, as well as general events, terms, and looks.
Favorite scenes include the siege of Paris and the battle against King Aelle, while other scenes bring down the score slightly. The Last Kingdom offers more than a few grand battles between the Danes and the Saxons and the level of action does not disappoint. Viewers are treated to exciting duels as well as historical details, that bring a fresh perspective to medieval-style sword battles. Some later scenes fail to impress i. The Battle of Winterfell , bringing the score down slightly.
There are some dramatic elements that hit home and some really exciting twists, but the drama ultimately takes the backseat to the action in this show. The Last Kingdom succeeds in building and telling some heartfelt stories over the seasons, and there are more than a few dramatic twists that feel on point and not too obvious. That said, some of the drama can feel manufactured at times, and prevents the show from reaching higher scores. Until the last few seasons, when all of this seems to have been forgotten in a haste.
Source: IMDb. Vikings is consistently improving from seasons 1 to 4. The Last Kingdom only gets better as the show progress through the Danish-Saxon conflicts in Britain, and although we have yet to see how the last season and subsequent movie will turn out, few shows can deliver this type of consistency. Fans were ultimately left disappointed with the ending of an otherwise superb series. Game of Thrones is rated slightly higher overall Game of Thrones also takes the top spot of the three on IMDb and Metacritic, the two most reliable sources in my experience.
This essentially means Vikings received a positive critic review more often than the other two, but it does not take into account what the review score or rating was other than that. This is why the show ultimately ranks the lowest overall out of the three.
0コメント