Vikings.

So, whose been watching Vikings? I'm feeling rather empty after the finale of season three. (And what a finale!) I really like Vikings for the mix of factual and fiction (English factual, which is superior to American 'based on real events' factual) and because of the mix of women on the show- like in Game of Thrones, they are characters in their own right, not an accessory, a stereotype, a prize or a caricature. I honestly couldn't say who was my favourite female character- Lagertha is an obvious choice, but I also like Aslaug and Siggy. You never really know if Siggy is coming or going for three seasons- even at the end, I still find myself wondering what she really wants. She's not indecisive, but she sure plays those cards close to her chest. I've only seen Jessalyn Gressig in Glee, when she played Terri Schuster. The two couldn't be more different, except I really wouldn't want to married to either. I know its was easy to hate Terri, but like Siggy, its a pretty unique character. On one hand, Siggy is scheming constantly and wants her old position back... Which would involve Aslaug dying or something, but then she goes out of her way to save Aslaug when she has a difficult birth... 

So... If we look at history, we have no idea what will become of Siggy- there is no official role at Rollo's side, as he has a different path to follow. She's a dark horse, that's for sure.

Aslaug gets a lot of hatred as the other woman, but its history dude. Get over it. The real Ragnar ended up married thrice, so don't pack away the knives yet. Aslaug I like because she's comfortable with herself. She never resents Lagertha's popularity or continued presence in their lives, which would be easy for her to do. I also like that she gives Þorunn her freedom- she does that for Bjorn, so she's hardly the wicked stepmother. But can anyone explain to me why Þorrun felt she had to have a crack at beating up the man nicknamed Ironside? I still don't get it.

I've noticed something around the internet, and its to do with Þorunn's name. I've seen her name often spelt Porunn, which you kinda think is correct, since that symbol on her name looks like a P, and what the hell is it anyway?- my phone doesn't even have it, which makes writing this whole post a real pain. The correct spelling would actually be Thorunn, since Þ (called thorn or more correctly Þorn) equals th. It was used in old English and old Norse, but currently only survives in Iceland. Þ originates from a rune, which was pointier, and actually looks like a thorn... But I think it actually gets its name from Thor.

I think the reason Þ fell out of useage is because it looks too much like P. And... This is all random knowledge I have tucked away in my head, waiting for a tv show to touch on it. So there you go, the things you learn :P

M's favourite character is Floki. I'm team Rollo, because I wish I could fight like him :P I'm a bit over Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn, because I only ever seem to see Alexander Ludwig in roles where he's covered in blood/ dead (Vikings, The Hunger Games, Lone Wolf) and why are his eyes so close together? Why is his mouth always open? 

Another random musing- in 65BC the Sixth Legion were raised and were know as the Ironclad (Legio sexta Ferrata). They later ended up under Mark Anthony, and Octavian then raised another 6th Legion, and the two 6th Legions went into battle with each other... And that's when you know you have a civil war on your hands. Ironclad and Ironside are good names for warriors, aren't they? I half wonder if the Ironclad was inspired by Ironside? Bjorn Ironside certainly did make his mark further south...

Before Vikings ever went to air, I was really into Viking-the-book-series by Tim Severin, which is unrelated to the series... Well, they both cover Vikings. Like Vikings-The-TV-Series it is based off old Nordic sagas, and is a beautiful mix of imagination, myths, legends and history. It takes place about around 1BC to 80AD, from memory.

Vikings-The-Book is set a fair bit after Vikings-The-Show, so a historical event that future Bjorn will do is actually mentioned in Vikings-The-Book in passing. So, if you want to see the impact Ragnar and co had on the world in a way, read Vikings-the-book-series. In season three you can see the beginnings of this world happening in a way. Its not perfect history, but since the book and tv show are both based on what we know of history... They kinda work together.

I warn you though... Its impossible to read just one of the books out of the Vikings-The-Book-Series. I've owned them for years and I still have to read them all on one sitting. They are fantastic books.