I searched for a thread and was surprised that I didn't find one. I just found the show this week and have binged watched it.........
Season 1 and 2 cover the first four books, with the breaking point being the midway point in each season - which is really obvious in retrospect. That said, 1 through 4 in the first season accelerate through most of the first book in the first episode (there's a lot more material about him growing up) whilst 5 though 8 in the first season completely abandon the plotline about Alfred wanting to build a navy and a series of naval battles that occur.
I like it alot, I like the fact that Uhtred is just a boastful, though lucky, idiot half of the time. What I have a slight problem with is the lack of showing the passage of time, sure they don't want to burry their main characters under make-up but it is hard to pinpoint how much time has past over all.
But isn't it pretty much just a straight historical drama without any kind of magic or monsters or anything like that?
If it bugs you, alert a mod and have them zap it over to TV & Media.......I didn't think THAT deeply about it when I posted. It is kinda fantasy because it isn't like there are really detailed records.........but yeah no magic or dragons. You got me there.
I wasn't sure, because sometimes this kind of stuff is borderline, for instance I tried to make the argument on here that Vikings might be fantasy since there's been some scenes implying the gods exist, and the main characters' seer appears to be legit. I think there might have also been at least one prophetic dream. I thought maybe this could be a similar situation.
You ought to make the request yourself, seeing as you'll already be asking them to fix your thread title typos, won't you?
Yes, some of the shows blur the line so I could go either way. This show had a shadow queen with the powers of prophecy as well.........
To be fair, Iseult, Ravn are left pretty vague as to whether they have any abilities - indicating pure luck or reading the individual. Much like the 'zombie' seer in Season 2 (Book 4, I believe), it's pretty much suggested that magic isn't real and everything is a set-up by those in the know - the novels are likewise openly critical about monotheistic religion and magic, with even some apprehension about the Norse religion but more leniency there.
Right, and it's based on a series of historical fiction books. If anything, this thread should probably be moved to TV & Movies. If we were to compare Vikings to The Last Kingdom, Vikings would sit within the realm of fantasy while The Last Kingdom has more of a historical nature.