Game of Thrones is a great show.
It’s a great show to watch – a great show to talk about – and a great show for theorizing. However. It’s going to be a while before we can do any of that.
Season 6 started in April 2016 – the news just broke that the anticipated Season 7 will premiere July 16th. At least is July of this year. So far. The reason for the delay is apparently due to weather – since Winter Is Coming, they wanted to shoot during winter months (in a show that has multiple computer-generated dragons, white specks are a dealbreaker).
So what do we do until then?
Figure out something else to scratch this itch until June.
Consider the Viking. Specifically, Vikings, the History Channel Norse epic.
This show started in 2013 and just wrapped up its fourth season. It satisfies the first and most important checkpoint on the checklist we just created: it’s available. Vikings Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4.1 (broke into two halves) are currently available to stream with an Amazon Prime subscription. So there’s that.
In questing for an itch-scratcher, one would need to consider why does the itch happen. Game of Thrones first introduces the viewer into a fleshed out, magical world. It also has an enormous cast of heroes, villains, scene stealers, and Podrick – the show also offers perfectly executed cheap thrills with its titillating sex and violence, along with the slower burning court politics and maneuvering. If we’re all starved for Thrones, could Vikings scratch that itch?
So I’ve watched a few episodes.
I’m intrigued.
The World
The Thrones-verse is a gorgeous hang. It’s a fantasy smorgasbord with the European court of King’s Landing, the Egyptian puzzle of Slaver’s Bay, the Irish crags of the Iron Islands – but the series began in the frosty Winterfell, which steeped in the mythology and history of our History Channel show – the Norseland of Vikings.
The influence of Norse mythology on George R.R. Martin’s work is indebted to viking stories from thousands of years ago – Martin has also explicitly stated that there would be no Thrones without Tolkien. And there would be no Tolkien (as we know him) without the Nordic stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes collected in the Scandinavian landmark cultural totem, the Volsunga Saga – Tolkien, as a young man, became fluent in Old Norse and translated the Saga into English. For fun.
So, as Tolkien wove the themes and stories of the norse warrior Siegfried into his stories from Middle Earth, so did R.R., in a form of trickle-down Norseanomics. Directly experiencing Viking stories is like listening to the Velvet Underground instead of the Strokes. Despite the strained metaphor, the world of Vikings is incredibly rich, making that History Channel budget soar – there’s lush green valleys – snowy landscapes – exciting shipcraft on choppy seas and rivers. Sound familiar?
Westeros is still the gold standard for creating an expansive world. But Vikings does a pretty good job.
Cast of Thousands
Coming up with a favorite Game of Thrones character is too tough. Because there are hundreds of millions of characters in various locales. Arya is a beast that has grown in front of our eyes; Jon Snow has blossomed from whiny emo scenester to full-on hero; Ser Davos, the Onion Knight is THE Onion Knight, people; there’s always Podrick – the court peon turned squire-savior sex-god. Game of Thrones is interesting.
The cast may not have the volume of Thrones, but Vikings does have its share of characters. Oh, and they’re (mostly) all based on actual characters of legend or actual Nordic history.
You have the straight-man lead character Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), who could be seen as either a Ned Stark or Jon Snow type. Ragnar has a brother (just like Thrones has brothers!) in Rollo (Clive Standen), a hothead warrior. A personal favorite, the crazy shipbuilder savant Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard, yes of the famous Skarsgards), whose claim to be a descendent of Loki seems plausible. Not to mention the Usual Suspect who crossed Miller (in Miller’s Crossing) – Gabriel Byrne, chewing scenery as the powerful Earl Haraldson. And the newcomer – the crippled veteran warrior coming to the white winterland for a last chance at greatness – Sam Bradford (jk). Also – respect to the awesome character actor Donal Logue, as the Danish King Horik.
Also notable is Vikings’ strength in what had been a cited weakness in Thrones’ early seasons – strong female characters – the character that towers over the whole show is Ragnar’s wife and shieldmaiden Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) – take the scheming of Cersei (at maybe Diet Coke levels) and the intimidation of Brienne of Tarth, and you have Lagertha. Let she be she. Weaving through the court with the strategic finesse of Littlefinger is Earl Haraldson’s wife Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig). And you have an up-and-comer in Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland), who claims to be the spawn of a legendary dragonslayer and battle valkyrie.
For me, favorite Vikings character (so far in my watching) is easy – Lagertha (with an honorable mention to Floki). It doesn’t have the variety or highest peaks of Thrones, but Vikings does have some indelible characters.
Sex and Violence
As Gavin Rossdale once told us from his Sixteen Stone, there’s no sex in your violence. Game of Thrones is known for both and has an HBO-sponsored license to kill waves of extras and main characters in a charnel rage. It also depicts lust and nudity in 1990s-Cinemaxian fashion. Thrones is on HBO. Vikings is on the History Channel – where HBO has subscribers (and, as we all know, it’s not really TV…), History Channel has advertising and can’t get away with the sex and violence from Westeros. But it does get as close to the edge as possible.
The threat of violence in Vikings is ever-present, the bludgeoning thrattle of shields is on the horizon of any scene – the violence is for and from both men and women. And the non-violent physical maneuvering (read: sex) is just as present, and is used to ratify alliances, confirm betrayals, or just to display attractive people with very dirty hair going for it.
Political Theater
While some may criticize Thrones for digging juvenile CGI dragons and ice zombies, the depiction of political maneuvering in Westeros is top-notch. The various court intrigues are what keep me coming back.
Vikings isn’t quite at that level, its various characters do have supreme focus on advancing their families through strategic alliances and sexual dalliances. There’s trust and mistrust – loyalty and betrayal – it may not be the one throne to rule them all, but the lust for power has everyone in Vikings also gunning for that number one spot. Lagertha and Siggy rival the political rivalry of Cersei and Margaery Tyrell – albeit more aggressive-aggressive than passive-aggressive. Although, come to think of it, Cersei was pretty aggressive-aggressive even if Margaery didn’t know it.
In Conclusion
If Game of Thrones is heroin, Vikings is a damn fine methadone. That sounds extreme. If Game of Thrones is a thirst-quenching Coca-Cola, then Vikings is a damn fine Coke Zero. It’s not the real thing, but it’s interesting in its own right, even if it doesn’t have the scope and scale of Martin’s Westeros. Vikings has its own charm.
And it doesn’t wait for the weather.
