Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 172

Ray Donovan 6.9: Violence and Storyline

The slugfest and beatdowns that have become ubiquitous in Ray Donovan this season continued apace in episode 6.9.  Alan Alda's kindly "Grandview" psychiatrist, offering Ray an egg-salad sandwich made with his late wife's recipe, was a welcome relief.  I hope we see more of him.

As I've mentioned before, I'm no fan of brutal beat-down porn.   And this season. we've seen more it than ever.  Even Sam was knocked out cold in her own bed a few weeks ago.  Not that she didn't amply deserve some kind of punishment for all sorts of reasons, but that's not the point.  There are ways other than fists to punish or keep people in check. I'd like to see some future season with less violence and more story.

And the story this season is pretty good.  Seeing Ray pursue his craft when he's not up to par makes for a compelling storyline.   And his legion of enemies has ratcheted up the tension.   As we saw in the coming attractions, Mac's on his way to being an enemy, especially unfortunate, given that Mac is the one who got Ray out of Belle ... er, Grandview.

But what this season has slowly been building up to is the confrontation between Ray and Mickey.  Just as Ray has never been in worse shape, Mickey has never been in better shape.   Ray can say to the FBI or whoever all he likes that he doesn't care what they do to Mickey - that won't stop Mickey from eventually doing all he can to repay Ray for sending him to prison, etc.

The brightest hope in Ray's life as of last night is Bridget.  Her decision not to leave will likely be crucial in the episodes ahead.   She already got Lena to help.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.

See Ray Donovan 6.1: The New Friend ... Ray Donovan 6.2: Father and Sons ... Ray Donovan 6.4: Politics in the Ray Style ... Ray Donovan 6.6: The Mayor Strikes Back ... Ray Donovan 6.7: Switching Sides ... Ray Donovan 6.8: Down

See also Ray Donovan 5.1: Big Change  ... Ray Donovan 5.4: How To Sell A Script ... Ray Donovan 5.7: Reckonings ... Ray Donovan 5.8: Paging John Stuart Mill ... Ray Donovan 5.9: Congas ... Ray Donovan 5.10: Bunchy's Money ... Ray Donovan 5.11: I'm With Mickey ... Ray Donovan 5.12: New York

See also Ray Donovan 4.1: Good to Be Back ... Ray Donovan 4.2: Settling In ... Ray Donovan 4.4: Bob Seger ... Ray Donovan 4.7: Easybeats ... Ray Donovan 4.9: The Ultimate Fix ... Ray Donovan Season 4 Finale: Roses

And see also Ray Donovan 3.1: New, Cloudy Ray ... Ray Donovan 3.2: Beat-downs ... Ray Donovan 3.7: Excommunication!

And see also Ray Donovan 2.1: Back in Business ... Ray Donovan 2.4: The Bad Guy ... Ray Donovan 2.5: Wool Over Eyes ... Ray Donovan 2.7: The Party from Hell ... Ray Donovan 2.10: Scorching ... Ray Donovan 2.11: Out of Control ... Ray Donovan Season 2 Finale: Most Happy Ending

And see also Ray Donovan Debuts with Originality and Flair ... Ray Donovan 1.2: His Assistants and his Family ... Ray Donovan 1.3: Mickey ... Ray Donovan 1.7 and Whitey Bulger ... Ray Donovan 1.8: Poetry and Death ... Ray Donovan Season 1 Finale: The Beginning of Redemption


 

It started in the hot summer of 1960, when Marilyn Monroe walked off the set of The Misfits and began to hear a haunting song in her head, "Goodbye Norma Jean" ...

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Counterpart 2.3: Echo

 

Another sharp episode of Counterpart tonight - 2.3 - actually, they've all been sharp this season, more clear and precise than last season, which works for me.

Among the most instructive developments: our Howard is taken to the "Echo" facility on the other side.   First of all, Echo is a good name for this, and could've even been a name for the series, given that counterparts are in effect echoes of their originals.   And the facility is a logical place for the other side - a place where the memories of people are "mined" (Peter Prime's apt word), with a view to getting insights into the people on the other (our) side, so the "bad" side can more effectively undermine them, play them, whatever in the cold war they're waging on us.  In addition to it being good to meet Peter Prime, he's a well of important information for our Howard.

The other big deal in tonight's episode is our Emily telling Naya that the "Shadow" was not Aldrich (who Emily doesn't know is dead, since she had just emerged from her coma the night he was killed).  Emily thinks the "Shadow" is a woman - assuming she's right, could she be thinking of herself, and not realize it?  (I can't recall if we have any other reliable knowledge about the Shadow - if only Orson Welles were alive, he'd make a perfect person to play this character in Counterpart.)

Meanwhile, Peter on our side, no longer the dupe he was last year, continues to get tough with his wife Clare and everyone.  But he'll likely be no match for Howard Prime, who comes to pay them a visit at a propitious moment.

Last thought in this review:  when Emily Prime was talking about the fact that there is no evidence that in fact our side was responsible for the flu that wiped out so much of the other side, I couldn't help thinking, so who is?  Maybe the other side?

Looking forward to more alternate realities.  In the meantime, there's Samantha ...




See also:  Counterpart 2.1: "Strange" and "Lucky" ... Counterpart 2.2: The Emilys

And see also  Counterpart 1.1: Fringe on Espionage ... Counterpart 1.2: Two Different Worlds ... Counterpart 1.3: Identification and Pandemic ... Counterpart 1.4: The Switch ... Counterpart 1.5: Ménage à Alternates ... Counterpart 1.6: Alternate Prince, Funeral, and Clear Clare ... Counterpart 1.7: Spying Across Dimensions ... Counterpart 1.8: Conversations ... Counterpart 2.9: The Spy Who Came Into the Fold ... Counterpart Season 1 Finale: Stuck in the Middle



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Outlander 4.8: Ecstasy and Agony

Another outstanding episode - 4.8 - of Outlander tonight, featuring Brianna and Roger together at last, the return of Bonnet, and even George Washington (in 1768 still a colonel) thrown in.  Unfortunately, only George Washington's thread has a happy ending.  The British governor is going to eye to keep an eye on him, but we know that won't get in the way of our future first President.

Brianna's story swings from beautiful and heartwarming to heartbreaking and terrible.  Roger's traveling back 200 years in time to find her is more than enough to convince her to marry him, and they have great sex together, in the way that only Outlander can show it.  But Outlander also always carries with it the nearby prospect of tragedy, which begins for Brianna when she gets furious at Roger for not telling her right away about what happened to her mother in the past, which results in Roger leaving,  (He always leaves a little too quickly, if you ask me).   This is in turn leads to Brianna being raped in a bar by Bonnet, who is one of these villains who gets more despicable every time we see him.   What this means for Brianna, in addition to the horror in the bar, is that she won't know who is the father - Roger or Bonnet - if she gets pregnant as a result of this evening.

Also worth noting is the discussion of time travel - explicitly by that name - between Roger and Brianna before he leaves. His point that we can't go back in time and change history by saving the ones we love touches on one of the central ethical paradoxes of time travel - we should never risk changing history, because we can't know what that unraveling might lead it to.  I was glad to hear Roger raise this issue, but you won't be surprised to find I side with Brianna.

And tonight's episode also has another good scene of Claire and her 20th-century medical abilities saving someone 200 years in the past.  In this case, her surgery is far superior as a treatment to "tobacco smoke up through the rear" recommended by the in-situ physician.   That also would clearly be the best line in the episode.

See you here next week.

See also Outlander 4.1: The American Dream ... Outlander 4.2: Slavery ...Outlander 4.3: The Silver Filling ... Outlander 4.4: Bears and Worse and the Remedy ... Outlander 4.5: Chickens Coming Home to Roost ... Outlander 4.6: Jamie's Son ... Outlander 4.7: Brianna's Journey and Daddy

And see also Outlander Season 3 Debut: A Tale of Two Times and Places ...Outlander 3.2: Whole Lot of Loving, But ... Outlander 3.3: Free and Sad ... Outlander 3.4: Love Me Tender and Dylan ... Outlander 3.5: The 1960s and the Past ... Outlander 3.6: Reunion ... Outlander 3.7: The Other Wife ... Outlander 3.8: Pirates! ... Outlander 3.9: The Seas ...Outlander 3.10: Typhoid Story ... Outlander 3.11: Claire Crusoe ...Outlander 3.12: Geillis and Benjamin Button ... Outlander 3.13: Triple Ending

And see also Outlander 2.1: Split Hour ... Outlander 2.2: The King and the Forest ... Outlander 2.3: Mother and Dr. Dog ... Outlander 2.5: The Unappreciated Paradox ... Outlander 2.6: The Duel and the Offspring ...Outlander 2.7: Further into the Future ... Outlander 2.8: The Conversation ... Outlander 2.9: Flashbacks of the Future ... Outlander 2.10: One True Prediction and Counting ... Outlander 2.11: London Not Falling ... Outlander 2.12: Stubborn Fate and Scotland On and Off Screen ... Outlander Season 2 Finale: Decades

And see also Outlander 1.1-3: The Hope of Time Travel ... Outlander 1.6:  Outstanding ... Outlander 1.7: Tender Intertemporal Polygamy ...Outlander 1.8: The Other Side ... Outlander 1.9: Spanking Good ... Outlander 1.10: A Glimmer of Paradox ... Outlander 1.11: Vaccination and Time Travel ... Outlander 1.12: Black Jack's Progeny ...Outlander 1.13: Mother's Day ... Outlander 1.14: All That Jazz ... Outlander Season 1 Finale: Let's Change History

 

It all started in the hot summer of 1960, when Marilyn Monroe walked off the set of The Misfits and began to hear a haunting song in her head, "Goodbye Norma Jean" ... Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Travelers Season 3: The Reinvention

The third season of Travelers would have been excellent anyway.  MacLaren struggling against his own erased memory, the team dealing with a traveler who got into the body of a serial killer, the deadly chess match with the Faction, the unreliability of the Director, members of the team grappling with all kinds of personal lethal crises, all of that with the customary repartee about our culture as seen from the distant future, and true-to-life dialog like "You only ever wear a third of your wardrobe, anyway" (MacLaren's wife Kathryn to MacLaren; for me it's more like a tenth) made for a series of episodes as good as those in the first two seasons. But the ending of Season 3 made for something very different, and lifted the series to a whole new level.

I can't remember the last time I saw a whole series upended, rebooted, as early as the end of the third season.  Usually that happens years after an original series has concluded, and it's brought back for a new shot.  Actually, I do recall one time:  right after the Superbowl in 2003, when Alias reinvented itself by pulling the rug out from under the central premise of the series, in an episode that was in the middle of the second season (I won't say more, in case you haven't seen the series - see my essay in Alias Assumed if you're interested).  But although that happened in Alias a lot earlier than the end of the third season, and was brilliant and shocking indeed, it was not as literally and stunningly a reboot as we saw at the very end of Travelers 3.10.

At that point, one of our team, Marcy, is dead (David is, too).   Trevor's only partially cured of his aphasia, Philip has visions of multiple realities, and MacLaren's wife is now 100% sure that he's not the person she married.   I suppose the series could have continued within that framework - major characters have died with regularity on other series - but at that point, the team and its aspirations were in such tatters, Marcy and David's deaths so heartbreaking, not to mention our world in a nuclear war, that it was almost a relief to see "Fail" as the assessment for this three-year mission.  And what came after, the indication of a whole new mission "Begin"ning - a different way to save the future - couldn't have been more thrilling and effective.   The Director hadn't forsaken our team - it had just pushed them over a cliff, in the hope/expectation that enough of them would land on their feet, and pick up the battle in a new terrain.

It's not clear at this point - and that's part of the fun - who on the team will remember what in the next season (which I'm assuming there will be, for this now especially masterful time-travel series).  MacLaren back in 2001 clearly is the same traveler we saw in the first three seasons.  But Marcy and David are different.   David, of course, was not a traveler, so what we saw was just him in 2001.  Presumably Marcy was the way she was in 2001, before the traveler arrived in her head in the first season.   And the others?  It's not impossible that there will be a whole new team of travelers - I've seen that suggested in various reviews - but I think it would be much more satisfying to see how the team we know fares in this new reality.  We have a lot invested in them.

From its outset, Travelers has had a brashness, a directness in working with the paradoxes, that you don't usually find in time-travel series.  Now it has done this on the meta-level, smashing and reconfiguring the very ground of the series itself.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

See also: Travelers (review of Season 1): 12 Monkeys Meets Quantum Leap with a Story All of its Own ... Travelers 2: Chess Match of the Centuries


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Timeless Two-Hour Movie: Truly Timeless

Well, the Timeless two-hour special was as good a finale as I've seen for any television series - which means, it was true to the series narrative, satisfying, intriguing, and provoking,  like the best finales of any television series, from The Fugitive to The Sopranos. (I talked about this - what makes a great finale - a few years ago on PBS - here's the three-minute video.  A great finale, even a good finale, is tough to make.)

Of course, the better the finale, the more it makes you wish that it wasn't a finale.  And the very ending of tonight's Timeless offers us that possibility: a new time machine, in the earliest stages of invention, by the young lady Rufus was impressed with at the science fair.  And there are lots of other little bits and pieces of possible futures of Timeless glittering in the starlight.

And these two hours did that as it tied up some major loose ends.  The best was how Flynn came to have Lucy's diary.   Indeed, Flynn was positioned and played perfectly in this special, crucially important to the story, making essential decisions, even though he was often not in the scene.

As I often say - as not only a viewer but a reader and author of time travel stories - I like stories that lay out structures and principles of the time travel, and then stick to them, take them seriously in the narrative.   The principle that only the time travelers remember history as it was before they changed it is a good and logical one - I use it myself in my novels and stories (to change the course of a river is very different from being totally submerged in it) - and I thought the best line in these two hours, best both personally and metaphysically, is what Lucy says to Wyatt after she realizes that she can't live without him: "All we have between us is that past that only we remember".

I also much liked when Lucy realized there was a price to pay when you tried to bring someone back that time travel took - Flynn for Rufus, the damage that a saved Jessica did - and therefore she couldn't risk bringing back her sister.

One little bit which I would liked to have seen near the end - maybe it was left on the proverbial cutting room floor (or maybe someone went back in time and cut it out) - was Lucy and Wyatt embarking on their trip back to 2018 with which these two hours began.   But this is a small quibble.  Lucy and Wyatt are happy together.  So are Rufus and Jiya.  Lucy even got a plug in for Rachel Maddow (in a veritable masterpiece of timing, Rachel was on MSNBC at exactly the same time).   I'll more than settle for all of that, especially when capped off with a new time machine in the making, and all that can hold for future stories.   If they come to be, you can count on me back here with more reviews.

See also Timeless 2.1: "Mein Kampf, by Philip K. Dick" ... Timeless 2.2: The Nod ... Timeless 2.3: Orson, Hedy, and Lucy ... Timeless 2.4: Striving to Avoid the 'I Made It Happen' Loop in Time Travel ... Timeless 2.5: JFK... Timeless 2.6: Lucy and Flynn ... Timeless 2.7: Emma ... Timeless 2.8: Loops in Tales ... Timeless Season 2 Finale: Back from the Future
And see also Timeless 1.1: Threading the Needle ... Timeless 1.2: Small Change, Big Payoffs ... Timeless 1.3: Judith Campbell ... Timeless 1.4: Skyfall and Weapon of Choice ... Timeless 1.5: and Quantum Leap ... Timeless 1.6: Watergate and Rittenhouse ... Timeless 1.7: Stranded! ... Timeless 1.8: Time and Space ... Timeless 1.9: The Kiss and The Key ... Timeless 1.10: The End in the Middle ... Timeless 1.11: Edison, Ford, Morgan, Houdini, and Holmes (No, Not Sherlock)! ... Timeless 1.12: Incandescent West ... Timeless 1.13: Meeting, Mating, and Predictability ... Timeless 1.14: Paris in the 20s ... Timeless 1.15: Touched! .... Timeless 1.16: A Real Grandfather Paradox Story
 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time
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Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat

An excellent, taut Vikings 5.14 just on.   Before we get to the meat of this episode, we learn at the beginning, just as I suspected (see my review of episode 5.13), that Hvitserk was not Ivar the mad king's sacrifice.   It was a woman whom he said was Lagertha.   Fake news, Viking style.  (Fake news indeed goes back a long way in history, see Fake News in Real Context for details.)

So we know now, over and over again, that Ivar is a clever and demented warrior and King.  So it's no surprise that he also puts the Seer out of his misery, when the Seer tells Ivar he will bring his people to ruin.   Actually, that's also close to happening back in England.

This was an excellent English hour, with all the trimmings.   King Alfred's brother can't bring himself to kill Alfred.  And Magnus is recognized as Ragnar's son by Bjorn, while Ubbe doesn't buy it.   So we have a double, maybe quadruple, brother against brother in this episode.

The problem with Vikings, intrinsic and endemic to all historical dramas if they're true to history, is that we know, or can easily discover, the results of the tensions and contests and battles we see building up before us in the drama.  Young King Alfred is none other than Alfred the Great.  That name in itself told me that Alfred's brother would not follow through in the plan to kill him.  And it tells us Alfred will succeed in his battle against Harald.

But the story is being so well told and acted that it is still has immense appeal.  I'll see you here next week, when we know more of how big history unfolds on our smaller screens.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time
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Dirty John 1.4: The Forgiveness Gene

Dirty John 1.4, on Sunday night, was even more a case study in insanity than the earlier episodes, which had some of that, too.  Indeed, there are at least two insane people in this episode, and neither one is Dirty John (at least, not so much in this episode),

The more conventional psycho in this hour is Debra's erstwhile brother-in-law, who for no apparent reason puts a bullet in the head of Debra's sister, while she's working on the computer, her back turned to him.  This, one would think, is about as depraved as it gets.  But the reaction of Debra and her sister's mother is, at least to my sensibilities, even crazier.

She forgives the man who killed her daughter.  Not just in a general, psychological sense.  She actually testifies on behalf of the killer at his trial.   This goes well beyond any religious ideal of forgiveness.   How on Earth could she want this miscreant killer to go free?

But all of this explains something very important in that family, something that explains why Debra is quick to forgive John.  Although she detests the man who killed her sister, and, unlike her mother, won't even talk to him, Debra has inherited some of her mother's insane penchant to forgive.  That in itself explains why she has put up with so much from John, and is now on the verge of taking him back.

Fortunately, her two daughters have no inherited this forgiveness gene.  But, as we've seen, Debra's not especially inclined to listen to them.   Which makes for compelling continuing story, about which I'll be back here next week with another report.

See also: Dirty John 1.1: Hunter and Hunted ... Dirty John 1.2: Motives and Plans

 
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Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice

The biggest shock in episode 5.13 comes at the end.  Ivar and his bride, transforming their appearances to look like gods - to my eyes, they look like Caesar and Cleopatra, if they'd been staring in a zombie movie - decide they need a "sacrifice" to make this "celebration" kosher, if you'll forgive the mixed metaphor from another religion.  It appears, based on an earlier conversation, that this sacrificial lamb will be Hvitserk - which makes sense, given that he's ridiculing Ivar's claim that he's a god and impregnated his wife.   On the other hand, the sacrificial figure was hooded - we didn't see Hvitserk - so there's a chance, maybe even a good chance, that they're (the story gods) setting us up to think it's Hvitserk, and it's really someone else.  I hope so.  Hvitserk is not my favorite of Ragnar sons - Bjorn then Ubbe would be first and second in those roles - but I'd like to see him survive.

And speaking of brothers, it's interesting to see yet another Ragnar son - this one in England, who introduces himself to Bjorn.   The new brother was born and raised in England, so he's thoroughly English, with no Viking culture or accent.   He could be an important character in episodes ahead.

Speaking of brothers and back to Ubbe, he and Torvi being converted is a pretty big deal, too.  Alfred announced that when he announced his marriage and appointment of Heahmund back to  his bishop's post.   But apropos the marriage, I'm still wondering what his new bride will say when Alfred realizes she's not a virgin.  Possibly Alfred's so innocent that he won't realize this?

We'll just have to see.   I'll be back here next week with review of what the next episode tells us.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs"

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Vikings 5.14: The Sacrifice

Herewith a review of Vikings 5.14.  It's to be aired this Wednesday on the History Channel.  But I saw that it's already available on History On Demand, so of course I watched.  If you don't like spoilers, read no further.

[spoilers below]

The biggest shock in episode 5.14 comes at the end.  Ivar and his bride, transforming their appearances to look like gods - to my eyes, they look like Caesar and Cleopatra, if they'd been staring in a zombie movie - decide they need a "sacrifice" to make this "celebration" kosher, if you'll forgive the mixed metaphor from another religion.  It appears, based on an earlier conversation, that this sacrificial lamb will be Hvitserk - which makes sense, given that he's ridiculing Ivar's claim that he's a god and impregnated his wife.   On the other hand, the sacrificial figure was hooded - we didn't see Hvitserk - so there's a chance, maybe even a good chance, that they're (the story gods) setting us up to think it's Hvitserk, and it's really someone else.  I hope so.  Hvitserk is not my favorite of Ragnar sons - Bjorn then Ubbe would be first and second in those roles - but I'd like to see him survive.

And speaking of brothers, it's interesting to see yet another Ragnar son - this one in England, who introduces himself to Bjorn.   The new brother was born and raised in England, so he's thoroughly English, with no Viking culture or accent.   He could be an important character in episodes ahead.

Speaking of brothers and back to Ubbe, he and Torvi being converted is a pretty big deal, too.  Alfred announced that when he announced his marriage and appointment of Heahmund back to  his bishop's post.   But apropos the marriage, I'm still wondering what his new bride will say when Alfred realizes she's not a virgin.  Possibly Alfred's so innocent that he won't realize this?

We'll just have to see.   I'll be back here in about a week and a half, when the next is supposed to be aired.  Of course, if that happens sooner, look for an earlier review.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.12: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.13: "The Beast with Two Backs"

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time
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Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs"

That was my favorite phrase in Vikings 5.12 - one of my favorites, in fact, in the entire series - "making the beast with two backs".  It's what that "troublesome priest" (another familiar phrase) hears Heahmund and Lagertha are doing, after his spy sees them "fornicating".

And that word describes a lot more than one crucial story in this episode.  In addition to Lagertha and Heahmund, so does the woman betrothed to young King Alfred - not with Alfred but Bjorn - and so does the woman sharing Ivar's bed - not with Ivar, but some Viking stud (I'm not sure whom) she needs to get pregnant, so she can say that the baby's father is Ivar the Boneless, who apparently can't make the beast with two backs. 

In addition to Shakespeare - the oldest recorded "two backs" reference is in Othello - Cole Porter's spirit's in this episode too.  "Birds do it ..."

And since Vikings has always been not only great historical drama but high moral storytelling, none of the fornications can come to any good.  Or, they may be good loving, but no good will come from them.   Heahmund kills the troublesome priest rather than let him blab to King Alfred.  Alfred is bound to find out what his betrothed did - if not with whom, certainly what - if the wedding proceeds, since she tells Bjorn and us that she's a "virgin".  And Ivar may be a little crazy but he's no fool - he'll sooner or later realize that mixing blood does not produce children, even if you are a god.

These affairs make for good relief from the fierce battles, which we certainly saw plenty of at the end of last season (or the first part of this season).  I haven't said anything yet about Floki, who I still think is on his way to discovering America, or least Greenland.  Presumably he and the people who accompanied him are in Iceland.   I was glad to see that he survived that vote of confidence.  He remains a fascinating character.

And I'll be back here soon with a review of 5.13, very soon.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music