Vikings season 1 review

Vikings is a great show from History Channel of all places, it's only 9 episodes and I would say that the budget is somewhere in the medium range so it's not spectacular in scope but it does however not spare any expense on actually getting costumes, locations and sets properly built and filmed. It has good actors, realistic special effects, real blood effects (no shitty CGI blood which I hate), and a fairly interesting plot, which I think will get more solid over the coming seasons.

At the core the show is about Ragnar Lothbrok a Viking warrior with great ambition who ends up discovering a way to navigate the sea between Scandinavia and the British islands and open up its the kingdoms to Viking raids. His rise in popularity and opportunistic insubordination sets him on  a collision course with the Earl Haraldson which serves as the main intrigue for the most of season 1.

Other characters in the show worth mentioning is Ragnar's wife, the shieldmaiden Lagertha (who can kick ass with the same skill and ferocity as the men), Floki a quirky and pious Viking shipwright, Ragnars jealous and tormented brother Rollo and the English priest Athelstan who is captured by Ragnar during the first into the kingdom of Northumbria.

The plot while interesting may be a bit predictable when it comes to some major events and character development but it is still quite solid. And even if the show isn't 100% historically accurate I think it still gives a decent view of viking culture.

The show is just 9 episodes long, but they pack quite a lot of content, character development, pretty awesome action sequences and great locations. It's a show well worth watching, and one that made me think about picking up a SAGA warband of Vikings haha.
8.5/10