Vikings: The Wanderer
February 28, 2015 11:16 PM - Season 3, Episode 2 - Subscribe

The farmers settle in at Wessex, politics complicate the situation in Hedeby, and dreams trouble the women left behind in Kategat.

We also learn the hazards of not cleaning a wound, and of eating random mushrooms. And of agreeing to hear the confession of a young woman. And of trusting a young man because he seems reliable and has a nice face.

Who The Wanderer is, and what his purposes are, is yet to be revealed. But if he is paralleled with Athelstan, he may well be the real Christian missionary to the Northmen that Athelstan wasn't.
posted by suelac (4 comments total)
 
Floki looking on approvingly while Kwenthrith stabs the head of her uncle.

The heads from the riging was a great visual.

Poor Torstein.

I'm enjoying the flirtation between Lagetha and Eckbert.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 10:03 AM on March 1, 2015


I wonder if the contrast was intentional: Kwenthrith going all stabby-stabby on the decapitated head of her uncle vs. Lagertha's precision sticking of an eating knife in her dick husband's eye.
posted by porpoise at 11:10 AM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]


Great line: “In fact, I’ve always hated this arm.”
posted by unliteral at 4:40 PM on March 1, 2015 [2 favorites]


It definitely seems like the Wanderer is a mirror to Athelstan, given their body postures at the end of the episode. And Athelstan, stigmata much? My religious symbolism is off, but any thoughts on what the burning ball of snow might mean? The burning blood? It does seem that if the Wanderer does bring Jesus to the Vikings, it would bode poorly for our favorite, extremely creepy seer in a hut, which is the next dream waiting to come true. It's also interesting that the three women had the same dreams in part because of both the Trinity and because it was women who first reported Jesus' resurrection. I do think that Athelstan is developing a conversion argument for followers of Odin, exemplified at the dinner conversation, on how Jesus and Odin both were hung on trees, etc. Previously, Ragnar had told Athelstan that our priest would be his John the Baptist, which doesn't bode well, either, though, for Athelstan.

I feel as if Lagertha's home problem will not last very long upon return. The whole usurpation has the itchy feeling of big build up, but muffled resolution. I wouldn't be surprised if the current "earl" is soon replaced by the man he leveraged for support for the job. His speech about gaining the fame of Ragnar bodes ill, me thinks.

King Eckbert, laying it on pretty thick, no? Unless he desires to bring in the Vikings as support against Northumbria, I can't shake the feeling that it's some long con he's playing at. I don't know if it's the intention or just the actor, but whenever Eckbert is sincere (most of the time) it comes across as trying too hard.

LOL Viking Farmers, my grandfather used that plow! Oddly, I'm very curious to see how the Viking farming experiment goes. With the talk of a harvest in blood, I expect it to mean that the Wessexans will not be allowing the Vikings to become permanent guests - particularly after our session in , "Decorating with Idols - 101."

I saw Kwenthrith's stabbing of her uncle as an emotional payback for being raped by him (if this story is true, I honestly can't tell if she's suffering from PTSD of being a repeated victim of sexual assault or just lying to justify the deaths of her family members) by symbolically and repeatedly penetrating him with the knife. (Reaching?)
posted by Atreides at 11:38 AM on March 10, 2015


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