The story is good, not great. The sound is masterfully done, and subtly adds to the show. The intro is great. The characters are hit or miss, but uniquely add to the show in some ways. The show has some very good points to it that overshadow the bad points. I very much enjoyed the small attention to detail. I liked the way they tackled some of the more existential/philosophical points. The battle scenes were very good. The comedy was good. The sad points were sad. Great show!
Expanded points:
The series has a great start. The story gets more complicated and declines slightly as it goes on.
The main character Thorfinn is unremarkable but serves less as a main character and more as a self inserting point of view for the viewers. Askeladd is far more interesting as a character and he is used as a segue for many of the more important points.
I very much enjoyed the small nuances that they would leave in the show. Like Thorfinn looking at the bird as it flies away. The candle blowing out when Askeladd leaves Bjorn. The snow in Bjorns duel. These all appeared in just two episodes and are great examples of symbolism. The show often uses these elements to subtly show the viewer things to come or to express the feelings of the characters.
The question of "What is a true Warrior" is a central theme. It is the defining question in regards to Thors and comes full circle throughout the series. It is a parallel theme to the theme of "Vinland," which both Askeladd and Throfinn both believed in with two different interpretations. You could also stretch this theme into the religious context that they touch base with in the Canute arc.
Questions of religion and existence. The more cynical reader might throw my review away upon reading this, but these ideas are very important especially when Chad Canute comes out in the end. There is a constant battle between characters trying to not only understand their existence but also religion. This is seen in the comparisons in mentality of characters like Thorkell versus Canute (Valhalla vs Christianity). The climax of the entire series with Askeladd is even based on this point, while some could argue that it is based more on who has common sense (That argument is an over simplification).
I tried to not expand the points too much because if I did, I would be spoiling specific scenes. I have left reviews for over 200 shows and enjoyed this one very much :)
