With Spoilers Vikings season 3 'To the Gates!'

http://www.history.com/shows/vikings/pictures/season-3-episode-8-to-the-gates/vikings_s3e8_gallery_6

This episode was not only amazing but so very heartbreaking in its own way. I don't know which words I need to use. Simply because Michael Hirst tricked us all. How on earth did he do this. I really thought every main Vikings character was dead except Lagertha, Kalf and Ragnar and the people from England off course because they weren't in this episode. I felt pretty bad about the idea that almost every character will die eventually. But Clive Standen warned us at Comic-Con that every character could and will die in the end. Today was a bad day Bjorn told Ragnar and indeed I was heartbroken by the idea that my beloved characters played by good actors where going to die today. But there are two more episodes and only Michael Hirst and the crew knows what is going to happen.

This episode I take you to the difference Vikings vs. Paris in warfare, battle preparation, and some of the characters. 

Vikings vs. Paris battle preparations

Vikings: The siege towers built on land and go into the water by a wooden road, they have built a wooden crane with ropes to load the ships with goods they need. They use a cage and ram, spears, axe, sword and shield.

Paris: They have thick walls, shields, swords, oil, iron crane.

Vikings vs. Paris warfare

Vikings: The siege towers they use to climb the walls and ladders, cage and ram to get the door open if not possible they use spears, robes and horsepower to  get the door out of the castle, archers as backup.

Paris: the archers are using different material of arrows, oil to set things on fire and to burn attackers, stones to get damage to the cage. 

Characters

Team enter the tower: Lagertha (leader of command), Kalf (leader), Elendur and who  is this chunk of meat Siegfried.

Lagertha starts of with being a good leader to the team.  She was almost in but Kalf took over as a leader, interesting development between the both of them. But the truth is if Kalf didn't save her by knocking her out then she could be death. Luckey we got Kalf to save her although his betrayal of her still hurts. Elendur try to save himself I am not sure if he did.

Team siege tower: Floki (raid leader),  Rollo (leader of a siege tower), Bjorn (leader of a siege tower), Ragnar.

Each personal struggle with feelings, Rollo (love or showing of for the Princess), Bjorn (need to show to his dad he could be a leader without title), Floki (betrayal from Ragnar and the gods) Ragnar (death of Athelstan). They actually made it to get into the city for a very short time. Rollo pushed from the siege tower into the water where we thought we see him drown. Ragnar who in a moment got surrounded and pushed back of the wall of Paris. Dead is also knocking on Floki's door when he puts himself in danger but Floki I will catch up on later. How Bjorn got hurt that badly I can't figure out yet.

Floki thinks he betray by gods and Athelstan. Floki tells the gods you know who I am! I still think he is Loki and it could be because if Ragnar is Odin's eye. Odin did betray Loki to bound him because he had done way too  many tricks on the gods. Floki still believes in the gods but doesn't understand why the gods left him after a great sacrifice he made in killing Athelstan. He did everything for the gods. Funny in this situation is that you do have that with jesus in the bible he asks to god why did you betray me? Isn't it exactly what he heard before he was killing Athelstan in his prayer. The dead people surrounding him makes him scared and that is why he fled into the burning tower. He realise it could be everyone's dead and he put that many lives and families in danger. He want to sacrifice himself with knives. After a while I was already thinking he was dead we see him with Helga and in that split second that he was only thinking about himself Helga still don't understand what is so special about Floki.

What I like about Gisla is that she is a commander for sure she can convince anyone to do what she orders. We saw that in last episode and in this episode even more. Like the Oriflamme banner she convinced the priest to bless it. It is the secret banner of Saint-Denis bathed in the blood of Martys. To find out more about this: http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/oriflamm.htm

Last but not least I would like to share a source with you if you want to have facts about numbers of actors, candles, siege towers etc. go and read this source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/vikings-take-paris-a-by-787064 after reading this article I know that next season will be more and more impressive than this season.

I want to show you some of the art work as well the source of this art work is Entertainment Weekly I would recommend you to take a look at the picture below. Amazing stuff this week.

http://www.ew.com/2015/04/08/vikings-paris-history-axe-time

©TamaraBakx