#tv: barbarians netflix

[justanerdalltheway]

I need more Marbod/Flavus fanfictions. Just finished watching Barbarians season 2 and my hearz is in pieces... 😭😭

#marbod x flavus #netflix barbarians #the barbarians #Netflix #Tv show #barbarians season 2

[dylanobrienisbatman]

if you like the historical aesthetics, the battle sequences, and the nods to the supernatural/gods of Vikings, i’d suggest barbarens, or barbarians on netflix. the closest i’ve come to the vibes of the first few seasons. plus, Thusnelda is cool.

#barbarians #barbaren #barbaren netflix #barbarians netflix #vikings history channel #vikings #it’s about german tribes fighting to be rid of the roman conquerors and it’s EXCELLENT #plus a great love story interwoven #lots of focus on family and like long term friendships #and there’s an interesting focus on a characters reintroduction to his culture #and this desire he discovers to protect his homeland and his people and to reclaim the world that was stolen from him #it’s a gorgeous piece of tv and i highly recommend

[mycinema61]

Ver "Bárbaros Serie Netflix" en YouTube

#youtube #tv series #barbarian #netflix

[what-even-is-thiss]

So I was watching this video about language and communication in the Roman military and the narrator brought up the Netflix series Barbarians and said that the Romans in the series speak Latin while the barbarians speak in “their own foreign tounge” making modern audiences outsiders.

My guy.

They’re speaking modern German. In a modern German TV series.

The only ones speaking some esoteric dead language in that series are the Romans. The Germanic tribes are the main POV characters of the series. Like… no. You’re… you’re meant to sympathize with them. They’re speaking modern German.

#roman said a thing

[thechanelmuse]

Free Film & TV Scripts

Decided to make a new one of these for the new year. As always, these are free pdfs. I’ll update this post with more as I come across them. If you’ve ever wanted to read a screenplay or have been looking for these screenplays below, enjoy.

TV

From Scratch (S1: E1)

Godfather of Harlem (S1: E1, S2: E6)

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (S1: E1)

Stranger Things (S1: E1 / S2: E9 / S4: E7)

Wednesday (S1: E1)

The White Lotus (S1: E1)

MOVIES

All Quiet on the Western Front — Netflix

Barbarian — HBO Max

Bullet Train  — Netflix

Candyman (2021)

Everything Everywhere All At Once (Michelle Yeah shooting draft, 2002)

Everything Everywhere All At Once (Jackie Chan draft, 2017)

The Fabelmans

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery — Netflix

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio — Netflix

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On 

The Menu — HBO Max

Nine Days 

Nope 

Passing — Netflix

Sound of Metal

Tenet

TÁR 

#screenplays #film scripts #free screenplays #free scripts #godfather of harlem #wednesday netflix #glass onion: a knives out mystery #stranger things #bullet train #everything everywhere all at once #guillermo del toro's pinocchio

[headlesssamurai]

favourite shows or movies lately

Lately? That's a tough quark to glimpse. And I don't really do favourites per se, but I reckon there's a few have stood out from the pack or that I've otherwise enjoyed, even if all are not exactly "recent" themselves. TV: - Yellowjackets - The Terminal List - Andor - Succession - Tulsa King - 1899 - Silo - Alice in Borderland - Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities - Copenhagen Cowboy

Movies: - Mosul (Netflix) - Barbarian - Asteroid City - The Whale - Sisu - All Quiet on the Western Front - The Banshees of Inisherin - Medieval (2022) - Troll - The Menu - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - Men (2022) - The Quiet Girl

Of the larger-budget mainstream offerings, Marvel and DC films remain the same outhouse-stench of detritus they've been for years now, but what else is new? I believe Mission Impossible: Fallout is observably a far superior film to Dead Reckoning Part 1. I was also remarkably unimpressed with both Oppenheimer and Barbie, considering Greta Gerwig's otherwise great work on Lady Bird and her version of Little Women, and while Christopher Nolan's stellar talent as a filmmaker remains obvious I've seen nothing to convince me The Prestige is not his best film nor that his upward track of quality ended with the ambitious reach of Inception. And I can't help but feel Across the Spider-Verse is both way too long and emotionally inferior to its progenitor, even without being a "part one".

侍 headless

#anonymeisters #curious people #jorma tommila #and dog

[apersonwholikeslotus]

Betweeen Barbarians and Norsemen I feel like Netflix just does historical shows better then any actual tv network :\

like catch me rewatching Norsemen for the 3rd time and just losing it bc of the stupid stuff they remember like!! Not everyone in Viking age Scandinavia was a Viking and most shows don’t even acknowledge that. But here’s Norsemen!! Giving the people who don’t do the raiding whole episodes!!

not to mention! One of my favorite things about Barbarians is just detail to clothing! They have colors! And patterns! And that sounds stupid but we all know how historical fiction that far back likes to go “brown.”

and my favorite part of both!! Both shows depict a Thing!!! Germanic tribes weren’t completely isolated from each other! They couldn’t be they were all neighbors!! and often friends!! They held what some historians consider to be the first parliaments in those parts of Europe! Which is!! A big deal!!!

idk I was just as said: rewatching Norsemen, and got excited.

#norsemen netflix #barbarians netflix #not helltalia #ramble

[helloitshaley]

Haley's Horror Recs

Its Saturday! Does anyone have any spooky plans for the weekend? I myself am going to hang upside down like a bat in the woods until someone complains to the HOA.

GET OUT

Psychological? Kinda

A black man visits his white girlfriend's family for the weekend, should be all okay, right? I mean this is the 21st century. However Rose's family is a bit odd to put it mildly. Soon Chris realizes he may need to... get out.

You should watch if: You want to watch a horror movie thats going to blow your mind a bit because of how good it is. You want to find a movie thats very unique and also unexpected. You're a Jordan Peele fan. You want a movie thats not necessarily jump scare filled but will put you on edge.

Available to watch on Netflix, Fubo TV, Peacock

(If you like this try; Us, Candyman, Barbarian, Ready or Not, Midsommar, The Invisible Man)

#Haley's Horror Recs #Horror Hounds #Get Out #horror recs #movie recs #horror movies

[thebumblecee]

Since it’s spooky season: what are your fav spooky movies / series/ soundtracks / books / fan fics? Fav horror trope / characters?

Oh ho ho so it’s spooky season 365 days of the year in my life!!

This is the kind of question that pleases my little goth heart 🖤

So I try and watch a horror film every night, I think I’ve ran out of them on Netflix and we’re making our way through the entirety of Shudder now.

I don’t have one fav I have a lot sooo

Slasher: Scream franchise, Halloween, Friday 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street. Happy Death Day.

Torture porn: Saw franchise (went to opening night of the new one I fully recommend it. I cried. It’s so good.)

Haunting: the Conjuring Cinematic Universe, Paranormal Activity series, It Follows, Th13teen Ghosts. God there’s so many ahaha

Found footage: Hell House LLC, V/H/S series and of course the og of them all Blair Witch Project. As Above So Below as well.

Demon films: Insidious series, I’m weirdly fond of the Pope’s Exorcist, Prey for the Devil.

Monster: Barbarian, House of Darkness, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead (the new one is SO GOOD). Cobweb.

—

TV: Haunting of Hillhouse, Bly Manor, American Horror Story to an extent. I don’t actually watch much TV ironically.

—

Books: anything by Shirley Jackson, i adore. She’s amazing. M.R. James. Mary Shelly. Bram Stoker.

—

Lmao there is a fanfic and it’s an old school My Chemical Romance one called the Unholy Verse. I could only DREAM of writing something that incredible. It’s haunted me for about 12 years.

—

Troupes in horror I love is things like the person you have been with the whole film is actually dead/a demon/the bad guy. I’m pretty good at guessing but still it hypes me up every time.

—-

Soundtrack wise I’m a bit weird and noises make me anxious anyway so not really 😂

—

Billy Loomis you did no wrong ♥️ he did lots wrong I don’t condone his actions.

Also, Sam Carpenter from the new Screams ♥️♥️

John Kramer is correct 99% of the time I won’t hear of it.

—

I do spooky ghost/macabre tours where I am a grisly history fan as well.

—

You’re probably thinking Cee is there anything you don’t like?

Yes, I don’t like artsy horror. I hated Skinamarink - I know it was critically acclaimed but no. I wasn’t crazy on Noroi - The Curse either which was a shame. I usually love East Asian horror ☹️

RIGHT I’m going to stop talking now, I think I’ve probably creeped you all out.

Anyway, horror and macabre my beloved 🖤♥️

#cee speaks #i promise I’m normal lol #i just love horror #and spooky things #i bet you regret asking now #horror

[svartalfhild]

What’s your favorite High Fantasy Story?

Oh boy. What a big question. Buckle in; this is going to take a minute.

Okay, so as you might expect, it's very hard for me to say one particular story is my absolute favourite, especially considering how I engage with the genre across many different types of media, so let me talk about a few different stories arranged by medium.

Books

Obviously the works of Tolkien are high on my list of favourites. LOTR is the ur-story of Western high fantasy.

I've mentioned it many times before, but the Starlight & Shadows trilogy by Elaine Cunningham has always been a big favourite of mine and a very formative read for me when I was a preteen. If you like DnD, elves (esp. dark elves), and/or morally complicated female protagonists, this one is for you. It also has a romance between a wizard and a barbarian and incorporates lots of aspects of Forgotten Realms lore that take inspiration from Norse and Slavic mythology.

Film and TV

LOTR defs makes this list again. I am the Spiders Georg for Times Watched LOTR Movies.

The Witcher. "But Svar, why did you list this here and not under books?" Because the books are full of misogyny. Don't get me wrong, the books have good stuff, but the Netflix series got rid of a lot of the misogyny that I greatly dislike about the books (and games). I also just really enjoy the show in its own right. The Blood Origin miniseries spinoff is super good too and I'm sad it got no attention. Are there flaws? Yes. But I really like the story they're trying to tell and Slavic folklore doesn't get nearly enough interest in Western media.

The Mythica Films. This is a series of five indie fantasy films that are clearly inspired by DnD and they are the best indie fantasy movies I've ever seen. They tell the story of a young disabled woman talented with magic who finds out she's got dark powers and has to run for her life. Matt Mercer plays the main villain and weirdly enough, these movies were the first time I ever saw him, and I was actually wary of Critical Role at first because those movies gave me the odd impression that he's an edgelord, even though he's a very sweet person irl lol.

Honor Among Thieves is brand new, but it instantly won my heart as a favourite. How can it not? It's set in DnD's Forgotten Realms and is about platonic friends raising a child together while also being about whacky heist shit. A story after my silly aspec heart.

Games

Okay, I'mma have to restrain myself and give you top five here, because otherwise we're gonna be here all day.

The Baldur's Gate Saga. Fucking old but truly great. The OG. The 90's graphics might turn a lot of people off these days, which is unfortunate, because they are amazing games, especially with the Enhanced Editions and the new Siege of Dragonspear expansions. It's the story of an unwitting child of the God of Murder, and you can either embrace what you are, struggle against it, or try to ride the line. I personally find the struggle against one's blood and supernatural urges a much more compelling story. It's the struggle to become something other than what you were made to be while also being pulled towards your destiny and have to choose what to do with the power that is given to you. It is the struggle for your soul and the souls of those you love. It is a journey to the Hells and a rise from its ashes, and you have to choose what the phoenix looks like. Also there's a man who carries a miniature giant space hamster everywhere with him and a gnome obsessed with turnips, to name just a few of the incredibly silly aspects of the story.

The Elder Scrolls series. The worldbuilding in TES is amazing for the specific reason that it's such a fucking mess. The folks at Bethesda and Zenimax have taken the unique approach of building the lore like historians collecting a bunch of conflicting primary sources. That's fucking fascinating because it makes the world feel more realistic. The real world is full of conflicting information, especially regarding history, and we all have to decide what we think is true based on the information given to us. Also TES III: Morrowind in particular is the most game of all time. You can tell it was made by a bunch of freaks and it's creatively braver than many of the major RPGs that have come out since. Bethesda just went "what if we did a game about the land of the dark elves, and that land is full of mushroom trees and all the fauna is either some sort of unique reptile, insect, or jellyfish- no it's not underground- anyway, here's an epic story about destiny, revenge, cultural conflict, and the gods being deeply flawed- also there's a bit where you have to kill a giant jellyfish with a fork you got from a lizard man called Big Head".

The Dragon Age series. All things considered, DA is a pretty conventional high dark fantasy story, but it has enough of its own unique twists and interesting writing/worldbuilding to be special to me. Each game has a different protagonist and a different type of story, but there's some themes that are consistent across the series. I would say the central theme of DA is finding the strength to do what must be done, even though you never asked for the responsibility and by rights shouldn't even be here. I think that's really compelling if you're the kind of person who has dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome in your life.

The Pillars of Eternity games. I don't think PoE gets nearly enough love. It has rich, carefully crafted lore that gets into things that other series tend to half-ass, like the linguistic aspects of the worldbuilding. Across the two games, Obsidian really delves deep into difficult discussions about mental illness, the relationship between gods and mortals, the cycle of life and death, ethics in magic, the effects of imperialism, and trying to make huge decisions when the right answer isn't clear. Also the visual style of these games is impeccable, as is the music.

Neverwinter Nights. This is where my love of DnD began. I watched my uncle play this game when I was a kid and I instantly fell in love with its whole vibe. The main campaign might hit different these days, because the story involves a deadly plague and the protag has to recover the pieces of a potential cure while also uncovering cult shit. There's a whole betrayal/scapegoat thing going on that's super tragic. Anyway, pile this one on the list of reasons I grew up to be a DnD obsessed goth.

Other

If you follow me, you're probably familiar with how much I love the DnD actual play show Critical Role. I've been watching since 2016 and I'm forever amazed at the compelling stories the cast and the dice rolls have built across three campaigns now.

Black Dice Society is my other favourite DnD actual play show. It's Ravenloft, so it's a gothic horror/high fantasy fushion. It has two seasons and tells such a beautiful story about the struggle for love and power.

#ask #sorry this took me so long to answer it's been a busy ass week #and I had to think about it a bunch

[laresearchette]

Saturday, March 04, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: 38TH FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS (YouTube) 5:00pm SAY YES TO THE DRESS (TLC Canada) 8:00pm NICKELODEON KIDS’ CHOICE AWARDS (YTV) 8:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT: BLACK GIRL MISSING (TBD - Lifetime Canada)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA UNREAL (Seasons 1-4)

CRAVE TV WILL (Season 1)

NETFLIX CANADA CHRIS ROCK: SELECTIVE OUTRAGE DIVORCE ATTORNEY SHIN

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 1:00pm: Rangers vs. Bruins (SN/SN1) 3:30pm: Avalanche vs. Stars (CBC/APTN/SN360) 7:00pm: Oilers vs. Jets (SN) 7:00pm: Leafs vs. Canucks (City/SN1) 7:00pm: Blue Jacketes vs. Sens (CBC/SN) 10:00pm: Wild vs. Flames

CURLING (TSN) 2:00pm: 2023 Tim Hortons Brier: Pool Play (TSN/TSN3) 7:00pm: 2023 Tim Hortons Brier: Pool Play

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN4) 5:00pm: Raptors vs. Wizards

W5 (CTV) 7:00pm: The Cocaine Buttons

BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: CARRY IT ON (CTV) 8:00pm:  A joyous, challenging account of a cultural and musical icon's lifelong commitment to music and truth. Buffy shares her story, from her early love of music to the activism she continues to this day, despite her career being suppressed because of it.

10 TRUTHS ABOUT LOVE (W Network) 8:00pm:  A thriving romance columnist thinks she has her love life figured out, until her long-time boyfriend breaks up with her. At the same time, her editor hires a new writer to collaborate on her column, and sparks begin to fly as they clash.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF CARI FARVER (Lifetime Canada) 8:00pm:  Dave Kroupa finds himself on the receiving end of twisted messages from his girlfriend, Cari Farver, who abruptly disappears. As Cari's mother continues to search for her beloved daughter, police eventually make a shocking discovery.A fitness instructor leads a double life by running a sophisticated prostitution ring with a client list that includes prominent men in the community.

HOARDERS CANADA (Makeful) 8:00pm/9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Roz intends to unclutter her life.

MEET ME IN NEW YORK (Super Channel House & Home) 8:00pm:  Kelly, a young, ambitious events planner in New York City, quickly gains a reputation as the best at her craft. When she's hired by Joe, a stubborn web designer, to plan his daughter's 10th birthday party, Kelly sees she may have met her match.

BARBARIAN (Crave) 9:00pm:  A young woman discovers the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the night but soon discovers there's a lot more to fear than just an unexpected house guest.

MLS SOCCER (TSN/TSN4) 10:00pm: San Jose vs. Vancouver

NLL LACROSSE (TSN2) 11:30pm: Desert Dogs vs. Seals

#cdntv #cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #W5 #nhl hockey #curling #nba basketball #mls soccer #nll lacrosse

[the-little-fox-in-the-box]

Thoughts on Farya Faraji's songs about Rome?

Absolutely ADORE them and listen to them on a regular basis. The instruments, the singing. It's all so climactic, they should hire these guys for some competent Roman movie/TV show! (looking at you, Netflix Barbarians...)

My favourite one by far is Sons of Mars, though in the video they wrote "FILLI" instead of "FILII" but it's a minor mistake.

#fox ask box #thank you for the ask! #abtl #ancient rome

[gamer2002]

The Last Kingdom – Review2002

The Last Kingdom is a historical British TV show that ran from 2015 to 2022 and has concluded in 2023 with a movie Seven Kings Must Die. It can be considered the BBC/Netflix’s answer to The Game of Thrones – HBO’s cultural phenomenon that has disappointed us all. Both shows are adaptations of a book series, with The Last Kingdom being an adaptation of Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. Both shows are dramas that focus on the brutality of medieval times, their wars, and politics, although The Last Kingdom is not a fantasy show. It does have characters believing in the supernatural, and it has events that are believed by the characters to be caused by a supernatural, but all those events can be explained rationally.

Admittedly, The Last Kingdom does not have GoT’s budget. The entire first season cost 10 million dollars, which was the budget of a single episode of GoT’s last season. And the first season does have some cheap moments, like the spear throw from its last battle, or the repetition of a mysterious hooded figure. And yet, the show manages to improve and retain a consistent level of quality, without losing its steam like GoT did. In some areas the series was better written and has handled the depiction of the dark age’s brutality and character drama in a much smarter way.

The story takes place during the IX/X century’s Britain, and it focuses on a semi-fictional Uhtred – a Saxon heir who at a young age has been kidnapped and raised by invading Danes. Due to inner conflict between Danes, Uhtred’s adoptive family gets murdered and Uhtred must find his place in the world where Saxons take him for a Dane and Danes take him for a Saxon. All while his personal goal remains to reclaim his stolen heritage in the form of the castle Bebbanburg. Fate leads Uhtred to Wessex, the titular last Saxon kingdom in Britain, where his destiny becomes tied with Wessex’s historical king Alfred and his family.

Uhtred is certainly a good lead character. While he is a barbarian warrior, he does employ deception and strategy during fights and battles. While he is a clever tactician who often fools his enemies, he is still a man of honor who stays true to his word. He is a strong lead, who has flaws in the form of his prideful and angry tendencies, and he still grows and develops through the series. After all, the story spans multiple decades. Still, it is a bit silly that Uhtred stops aging at his early 40s at most, though even GoT doesn’t even age up all characters in the House of Dragon. 

What I want to focus on in my review are the areas where the Last Kingdom has stronger writing than the Game of Thrones. During it, I will be more openly spoiling GoT, due to its being a known and abandoned series.

Establishing interesting bonds

The Game of Thrones was essentially Stark’s show, as the story was about them losing the head of their family and getting scattered while losing further members – until the survivors’ reunion. And while Starks were a functional point of view characters, they never were the most interesting characters of their show. Part of it comes from Starks being simpler characters than others, due to their noble and straightforward nature. And while they do change, a lot of interesting things about them still get dropped or played out in a boring way in the final season. Arya doesn’t get to use her face-changing ability, Bran is boring, Sansa doesn’t get much to do with her skillset, and John just simps.

But the other issue with Starks is that their bond is underdeveloped, due to the core idea behind the plot. Only at the start of the series, we can see them all together and their character dynamic. But then, one by one, they leave or get killed off. I honestly don’t remember John’s initial relationship with Sansa or Rickon. There is a reason why Lannisters had to carry the show - the most interesting Stark relationships were Sansa-Arya, John-Rob, and John-Catelyn because those had some conflict (even if John-Rob is a stretch and just boils down to Rob being the perfect son and John angsting over being a bastard). And those relationships don’t get a proper closure. Rob and Catelyn get killed off before John meets them again. As for Sansa and Arya, it was the best Stark relationship, but it is still disappointing due to Arya stopping being a terrifying face switcher.

The Last Kingdom is a show that centers on Uhtred and his bonds with three families – King Alfred’s family, the leftovers of Uhtred’s Danish family, and the family that Uhtred forms through the series. The initial primary characters are Uhtred, King Alfred, and the link between them in the form of Father Beocca – a priest who has served Uhtred’s original Saxon family, when he was a kid, and then became Alfred’s confessor and advisor. And this initial trio does have interesting relationships between them. Beocca is attached to Uhtred, but they disagree on the subject of faith, with Beocca being a devout Christian while Uhtred embracing Norse paganism. Beocca admires Alfred and shares with him one faith, but Alfred is a pragmatic and skeptical politician who doesn’t share Beocca’s optimism. While Uhtred and Alfred mutually try to use one another and barely can stand one another.

This is just the beginning of the series with its initial characters (and not even all of them, like the risen alongside Uhtred into a Dane Saxon woman Brida). The story spans decades, with Uhtred and Alfred expanding their families and circle of allies as the story progresses. And those characters have different beliefs and goals, which causes conflict between them. In time, their shared experiences allow them to form bonds between them, despite their differences. Or not, because not every friend must remain a one.

In short, it is like a Game of Thrones, minus the most boring characters. Uhtred is a man aware of his setting, with self-serving goals, but he still has his noble qualities. This is why watching him is more interesting than watching Starks, because you rather quickly realize that Starks were artificially written in ignorance about their own world, so they could be shocked alongside a viewer who has expected Lord of the Rings. But that trick gets old rather quickly, while Starks never really learn to not be stupid. Uhtred and even Alfred still can be stupid in their way, but it comes out as a logical conclusion of their character flaws mixed with testing them difficult situations. 

Respecting the weight of the death

Both shows are unafraid of killing their characters, often in a shocking manner. The death of Ned Stark, one of GoT’s leading characters, was one of the elements that made his show stand out. The shock value of killing characters and other shock values was definitely the fundamental aspect of the Game’s identity. And the Kingdom is not afraid of providing its shock value. There are rapes, gore, and gruesome death scenes. Characters die, during battle, executed, burned alive, decapitated, murdered, or from illness. But the thing that struck me the most was that The Last Kingdom, unlike GoT, quite often didn’t let the tragedy of its deaths be wasted on just its shock value.

Recall the most infamous killings of the positive characters from GoT. What do they often have in common? When did they happen, during their episodes? The death of Ned Stark, the Red Wedding, and such – those events have happened at the end, as a shocking cliffhanger. If not, the death happened during an ongoing battle, or when there was some other important plot-related sequence of events going on. Pretty much, there never was a significant amount of time for characters to mourn the deceased, before the episode of their death has concluded and the event has lost its fresh impact.

While the Last Kingdom does have its share of similar, abrupt shocking deaths at the end of its episodes, there are also significant character deaths that are played out as a genuine tragedy. The events in the show are arranged in such a way that such deaths happen either at the beginning or in the middle of its episode, so the tied to the deceased characters are given an occasion to be seen grieving during such tragedies while they’re still fresh. This is why I find Kingdom’s important deaths to be more impactful and memorable than the ones in the Game – they are not just here to shock, but also to deeply sadden.

Realism in place of a forced deconstruction

George R.R. Martin has famously asked what kind of taxes were collected by Aragorn, and his book series was written to deconstruct Tolkien’s idea of a good and just king. Putting aside that Martin has missed the point of Lord of the Rings (it is an in-universe book written by Bilbo/Frodo/Sam, and not even the original version, but Gondor’s re-edition), his core idea drove him into a corner from which he yet has to emerge. Ned being honorable, instead of realistic, has cost him his life and led to a war spanning across the entire continent. The problem is that if John Snow is going to fix his father’s mistake and contribute to the Night King’s defeat, it will be due to John being recognized as trustworthy by his allies. And if John Snow fails and the Night King/Lannisters/whoever wins, then Martin will go too far due to Aragorn being based on successful kings like King Alfred and King Aethelstan. Maybe Martin will satisfyingly make his point, but until he finishes his series, he has made no point so far.

As I’ve said, the Last Kingdom also tackles the subject of Aragorn-esque kings, due to having the historical kings he was based on as primary characters, including Alfred’s son and Aethelstan’s father King Edward. There are historical buffs who particularly criticize Last Kingdom for its portrait of the legendary king Edward as pretty much a failure to live up to his father who got lucky and had competent people around him.

But Last Kingdom isn’t about retelling the actual history of England, it is about telling the tale of Uhtred that is inspired by the history. Edward had to be less competent than historically, so the more experienced Uhtred from later seasons wouldn’t have another Alfred to support him. Not to mention, one of the themes of the story is exploring the reasons behind the successes and failures of various kings and leaders. Even Alfred, at least once per season, had endangered his kingdom and needed others to independently fix the mess. Even Edward had his moments where he was the right man at the right time.  

The point that the Last Kingdom makes is that the kings were mortal men who lived and died by their allies and followers. Uhtred’s father was a pragmatic and formidable king, but his close allies have doomed him by their incompetence. Alfred has gained the title of the Great for a reason, but even he wouldn’t accomplish nearly as much without Uhtred and others around him. The historical fact is that Europe has emerged from the Dark Ages, under the leadership of historically known men. Perhaps, those men weren’t as great as has been written by the winners. Perhaps, there were quite a few exaggerations of their accomplishments. Perhaps, there are a lot of uncredited accomplishments of those who have been forgotten by history.

But still, those kings and leaders wouldn’t be victorious over unable to create stable civilization chaos for no reason whatsoever. Like Lord of the Rings, the Game of Thrones is based on the history of Britain, which eventually has united into one formidable kingdom. The vision of King Alfred the Great has been fulfilled, even if he didn’t live to see it himself. But his vision has been fulfilled by those who were inspired and loyal to it, even if they ended up with luck on their side. Or, perhaps, with God on their side.

Vikings believed in Ragnarök and the inevitable fall of civilization. It was an excuse of barbarians sticking to their incapability with any civilization customs and values. But civilization has ultimately prevailed, eventually bringing us unprecedented prosperity in the history of this planet. Was it the Providence? Either way, the theory of evolution states that the better-fit ideas and attributes prevail.

It is unknown how the Game of Thrones’ author is going to resolve his story’s conflicts. Still, in his clear and misguided pursuit of criticizing Tolkien for his overly idealistic portrait of kings, he has to prove he will satisfy his readers without just going into the opposite extreme. Meanwhile, Last Kingdom does show that the kings that inspired Aragorn weren’t perfect like him, but they and the people around them needed to have specific noble qualities that allowed them for their historical accomplishments.

Sticking the landing

Game of Thrones had unfortunately a disappointing final season. The ending was rushed, with the final conflict, despite being a good idea on the paper, being caused and finished too soon. The ending to the series was a fine Lord of the Rings-eqsue ending, which was not the ending for a series whose point was to subvert the Lord of the Rings. The series was supposed to be a mix of Sauron-esque threats to humanity with medieval brutality and politics, and there was no proper resolution to that mix. Either Night King should have won, due to Cersei not wanting to join the fight against him, or Cersei should have won, due to not losing her forces on stopping the Night King. Or, at the very least, not being able to defeat both should be a clear reason behind Daenerys being forced to become the biggest monster and doing the unthinkable. Instead, the fantasy threat and brutal real-politics became ultimately disconnected, while Daenerys flips the table without a sufficient built-up. And then she dies, because we need to wrap up the story within one last episode.

Last Kingdom has two endings – the first is the season 5 finale, and the second one is the movie Seven Kings Must Die. Admittedly, the adapting three books movie does suffer from being rushed. It writes out of story major characters, like two out of four Uhtred’s children. Still, despite, the rush of the movie, the story is properly concluded. The series is about Uhtred’s journey, the shared or broken bonds due to differences, the importance of clever ploys during battles, the creation of a united England, and the inner conflict due to belonging to two different worlds. Both the series and the movie conclude all that in a satisfactional way. The movie villains, despite lacking screen time, are properly established as the last greatest threat. The result of the conflict with them comes from a clever idea that is also delivered dramatically. And the final scene is simply a beautiful conclusion that focuses on Uhtred’s prime dilemma.

I rate the show 8/10, while I rate GoT 7/10. GoT was worth watching when it was airing. It is still an important show that has contributed to the creation of such shows as the Last Kingdom. It is still one of the most spectacular TV series. But it couldn’t finish properly, to the point of going against its mission of subverting expectations about medieval fantasy. The Last Kingdom doesn’t have GoT’s budget, and the final movie should have been a proper season. But its execution is simply stellar, the main character is constantly compelling, and it allows us to learn something from actual history. And, despite the rush, it has a solid ending it has been built up.

Now, there is one thing about the movie I want to discuss, but it is a major spoiler territory. So, read the next part while being warned.

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SPOILER SECTION

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Making gay characters work

Let’s make one thing clear first - making Aethelstan a homosexual is typical LGBT community’s obsession with making historical figures gay or bi whenever such a claim is just marginally possible. While historically Aethelstan never did marry and had no children, which can be explained by him being gay, it can be also explained by him being simply an asexual or sterile. But of course, the LGBT community, in its hypocrisy, is free to assume somebody’s else sexuality, is free to claim that straight people aren’t that straight, but God forbid you deny their gayness. 

That being said. I can find changes to historical figures acceptable when the story is just inspired by history (Uhtred is a fictional character based on a historical Uhtred, who has lived later and is his supposed descendant). And when it does serve the story. Making Aethelstan gay isn’t a bigger historical revisionism than making Edward incompetent.

In season 4, Aethelstan was a straight-up messianic child. In season 5, he was a straight-up teenage Aragorn. While he was destined to unite England, his perfection didn’t fit well with the rest of the series. After all, the Last Kingdom is about demonstrating that historical figures can also fail. Even Alfred had his flaws, but Aethelstan spent two seasons being the godsent future king. The movie makes up for it, by making him spend 4/5 of it as a straight-up antagonist who was manipulated by the villains the entire time, to the point of him killing one the most sympathetic characters in the series. The divide between him and Uhtred is one of the biggest accomplishments of the movie’s villains, something that none of the others has done.

The other reason why I like the movie’s writing of gay characters is that it isn’t afraid to make them straight-out evil. I never thought that Netflix would be so based and redpilled that it would depict unrestrained gayness as the reason for the death of the most loyal and patriotic man who has walked on Britain. Joking aside, Aethelstan does abhorrent things, and while manipulating him and others Ingilmundr is irredeemable. The movie shows that gay people can be groomers and family wreckers, or be so susceptible to such manipulations that will turn against their family members regardless of them being supportive of their homosexuality.

In other diversity titles, to have LGBT be represented by anything but perfectly positive characters is unheard of. But they being manipulative with their sexuality, or even just plain wrong about their accusations of not being accepted by their family members? Such elements, which do happen in regular straight relationships as well, cannot exist in writing about the holy gay cows! And yet, the movie is unafraid to go there. And for that, its writing of gay characters, even if it is a bit shoehorned, has my respect.

Maybe more authors should take notes. Write people as people.

#last kingdom #the last kingdom #seven kings must die #uhtred #uhtred of bebbanburg #uhtred son of uhtred #king alfred #alfred the great #tv series #reveiew #tv series review #review2002 #long post #Aethelstan #king Aethelstan #bbc #netflix #Bernard Cornwell #GoT #game of thrones

[liberty1776]

Barbarians - Is This Netflix Show Historically Accurate?

The first 6 episodes of the TV series at least have some resemblance to history and are worth watching. Atter that the show decends into pure fantasy just like most TV dramas and "history" movies. The battle episode leaves a lot to be desired from the standpoint of historical accuracy. It was actually a long 3 day battle, the barbarians didn't really use fire traps, and Roman Armor gave real protection and couldn't be cut through like butter.

#youtube #Barbarians TV Drama

[impact24pr]

#Barbarian Editor BehindTheScenes Film

[insideflix]

EP 148 - Andor, Reservation Dogs: S2, Netflix’s Dahmer, Terrifier 2, Smile, Pearl, Barbarian, The Return of the Living Dead 4K, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and Spirited

Brothers Mike, Richard, and Raymond offer their thoughts on a selection of new TV shows and movies, including Andor, Reservation Dogs: S2, Netflix's Dahmer, Terrifier 2, Smile, Pearl, Barbarian, The Return of the Living Dead 4K, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and Spirited.