During the lockdown period, I joined the Netflix community and watched a few series. Vikings was one of those and it easily became my favourite series as it offers a history along with a perspective to manhood, friendship, love, ambition, gods, religion, death, and much. These are the things that have always fascinated me and are difficult to comprehend.
The majority of the show’s characters are based on real people. The story on the other hand is not portrayed exactly as it is believed to take place in history. However, the series shed a light on various human feelings and besides entertainment, I feel that it made me realize many things too. Not a lot of TV series can accomplish that. Some series like GOT may teach you that Dragon eats sheep, and that’s all.
The name of the main character of the series is Ragnar Lothbrok, played by an Australian actor Travis Fimmel. Had the show been broadcasted by HBO and not History, he would have won some major life-changing awards. Ragnar Lothbrok is a Viking warrior and a farmer who yearns to explore and raid the distant shores across the ocean. Through his character, I learned what a man has to face and sacrifice in order to push the boundaries of possibility in the world.
By the end of my writing, 6 seasons have been aired. The final season of the series is scheduled to broadcast in November 2020 (probably). I am eagerly waiting for it, but anyway, the show had already influenced me by the end of season 4, and even if the series had ended with it, it would still have made sense to me.
Here, in this blog-post, I present some dialogues from the series that is worthy of a pause and ponder. There are actually a lot of such influencing dialogues throughout the series but here I present the only ones that I could remember.
The depiction of love between Ragnar and the shieldmaiden, Lagertha is satisfying. Due to circumstances and choices, they separated but deep down always loved each other. They had a son and a daughter. The death of his daughter tears him down. After her death, Ragnar takes a moment to say goodbye to his daughter.
He says, “Gyda, I have come to say Goodbye to you properly. I’ve been thinking about you but when you were small, you were so lively, you could run as swiftly as the wind. You were like quicksilver. But then before I knew it, you stopped running here and there and everywhere. Then you became still. 12 yrs old and you had stillness and a calm of a fine woman. What children you’d have produced. What joy that’d have brought to all of us. Dear child, Gyda, you are not gone because you are always in my heart. They say the man must love his sons more, but a man can be jealous of his son and his daughter can always be the light in his life. I know very well that you are with the gods, but I will wait here a while, and then if you want to come and talk to me, talk. I will gently stroke your long beautiful hair once again with my peasant hand.”
Another great exchange of dialogue was between Ragnar and Ecgberht, the king of Wessex (an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain). The gods that Ragnar and Ecgberht followed were different and were also a major reason why their countrymen couldn’t coexist together. Both of the parties believed that their opposite counterparts were fake. The Vikings for the first time travel as far as to the Mediterranean seas and finds Muslims praying to their gods, which was completely different than theirs. The fights in the name of the Gods are still prevalent in the 21st century. Below, is a conversation between Ragnar and Ecghberht, a day before Ragnar decided to die by putting himself in front of his enemies. He was held captive by the son of Ecghbert but then Ecghbert values him as a man and they have a nice conversation. That was probably the best scene for me in the entire series.
Link to the conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AP_Pacov0
There are many great dialogues throughout the series each spoken at a right time and only the ones who have watched the series might recall them. Below is my few favourite, all spoken by King Ragnar Lothbrok.
1. Don’t waste your time looking back. You’re not going that way…”
2. “I wish I’d never left the farm…”
3.”It’s not about gods or faith, it’s about loyalty and trust…”
4.The man is the master of his own fate, not the gods. The gods are man’s creation to give answers that they are too afraid to give themselves.”
5.“Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst, and corrupts the best. I never asked for power. Power is only given to those who are prepared to lower themselves to pick it up.”
6. “I fashioned the course of my life, and my death”
7. “It gladdens me to know that Odin prepares for a feast. Soon I shall be drinking ale from curved horns. This hero that comes into Valhalla does not lament his death! I shall not enter Odin’s hall with fear. There I shall wait for my sons to join me. And when they do, I will bask in their tales of triumph. The Aesir will welcome me! My death comes without apology! And I welcome the valkyries to summon me home! 🖤”
What are your favourite dialogues from the movie? Comment. These dialogues reminded me of a quote:
Through death, a hero becomes a legend
Through time a legend becomes a myth
Through hearing a myth a man takes action
And the cycle continues
-Famous quotes available in the internet
One of my favourite dialogue of Ragnar , “I would worry less about the gods and more about the fury of a patient man.”
Yes, another epic one.
https://youtu.be/S5PzNLdC_EM?si=EYl-q20gpsIv7GcP
Here, we can notice that words and emotions are often distant from the actual actions to be made in that instance. It makes you think: what really defines power and loyalty?
Best scene of “vikings” for me.
Btw “GOT” gives(has gave) a great deal of wisdom too, for me at least :^)
WHO WANTS TO BE THE KING???????
True, GOT has some lessons too. However, I was honestly saddened with the storylines near the ending, especially how they ended Danereys and John’s story. I wrote it coming from that disappointment 😀
The cinematography on the other hand was superb.