‘Vikings’ filled with thrilling action

Brunel Toma

Review of “Vikings” show (season 1)    5/5 stars. 

“Vikings” is a show that has main character, Ragnar Lothbrok, wants to fulfill his ambitions. Ragnar is frustrated with current circumstances as his chieftain wants to stick to usual plans of sailing and raiding east. Instead, Ragnar wants to sail west, as there are tales of civilization they have not discovered before, and vast amounts of riches await them. This show can be watched best on Hulu. 

Although this show is based on real historical time periods and elements, it does tend to have a lot of inaccuracies. This aspect of the show can be forgiven though, as it is a show and it more than makes up for it with its thrilling action/drama. 

This story is easy to follow in terms of the plot, and character development is done very well here. Almost right off the bat, I was attached and invested in these characters, and wanted to know more about their future voyages. 

The cast is phenomenal, all actors nailed their characters to the bone; I was able to fully suspend disbelief and immerse myself into the show.

One thing that disconnects me as a viewer, is when I can tell the actor portraying the character is ‘’trying’’ to act. What I mean by this is when the actor tries too hard or their work comes off as contrived, unnatural. It can really kill my investment for a show, but not once did I ever feel this with any of the major characters on this show in season 1. 

Travis Fimmel, who plays protagonist Ragnar Lothbrok, had a great portrayal of his character, he knew how to truly develop the character as time in the show went on. From having all these ambitions, to growing wiser and starting to grow more appreciative of little things, like family, farm land, etc. rather than riches, and desire to be king. 

I loved the story arc throughout this season as well; it really advances a lot of the characters in this show, keeping me interested almost all the time. This show also uses subtlety and is executed very well, sometimes the show trusts your intelligence to understand specific references/scenes and personally, I love that stuff. Making something obvious and being shoved down your throat can be irritating as a viewer, but catching something subtle can feel very rewarding, and my intelligence isn’t being insulted in the process. 

This season was action packed, drama filled, and even had comedic relief, it wasn’t always this gritty, violent, barbaric showcase of vikings that one would expect from this culture. All storytelling elements were executed to near perfection, and I couldn’t have asked for a better show so far to binge. 

I gave this season of the show a 5 out of 5 for the mere enjoyment I got out of it. It was the fact that I was able to forgive some of its flaws, lack of historical accuracy for example, and not have it bother me the whole duration of my watch time.” Vikings” season one is a thriller, everything you can expect from a proper viking show and more, I’d definitely recommend anybody to watch it on Hulu right now.