The Three Cs

Ask me about a perfect partner and I wouldn’t know how to respond. That answer is buried somewhere under a revolting quantity of more important questions, for example – what’s my favorite snack while gaming? Well, it has to be something that leaves me less inclined to leave a trail of fingerprints on my controller. Another character defining question, flight powers or ability to breathe under water? Come on, Mariana’s Trench has been such sleep-depriving mystery, why would I pass that up? Cthulhu is real, prove me wrong. And lastly, what makes a perfect show/film, worthy of recommendation? This right here is the question any self-respecting writer would cross their legs over, push their glasses to the bridge of their nose and remark, “you chose the red pill, huh.” This question is loaded. Six-chambers deep into analytical composites, compound understanding and complete and utter indulgence. Afterall, this is opinion. But thinking deeply keeps me from getting existential with other matters in life, so without further delay, let’s get to it.

THE FIRST C: COMPLEXITY

My formula is no better put-on display than with this particular recommendation. If you enjoy Game of Thrones, then allow me to stimulate your curiosity with a show I believe is not only better but serves as something that should be studied. The name to be uttered is Vikings. I consider myself someone well versed in the analytical process, why? I obsessively binge. The information is always fresh, and constantly being broken down like a paranoid hypochondriac self-diagnosing.

Before I become your Virgil in this expository inferno, allow me to introduce you to my three Cs: complexity, conclusion and character. This trinity is what gives a series longevity and maintains the audience’s attention. Complexity is nowhere near as important as character, but it certainly helps give stake to the reason these characters exist. Complexity is alive in GOT. Every episode is full of exposition, sometimes too much. But it does it well, building things laid out episodes ago. It’s that attention to detail that makes these life-consuming shows so damn addictive. Vikings does this but in a more digestible fraction. It doesn’t spend ten minutes telling you why you should care, that’s for the birds and the books. Vikings shows you why you should care. Exposition is long enough to set a tone, a mood, and then makes you suffer a couple hours before paying off. Now that’s a tease. Complexity lives in the why, and the who. Vikings is a true mistress. Characters have deep back stories, but they’re never monologued, they’re simply revealed to you as is to other characters. You feel like an intricate piece in the reaction; will you be at odds with those in the established ecosystem of the narrative or will you agree with the reciprocation? Complexity isn’t quantitative, it’s not about how many story threads overlap, it’s about how difficult coming to a solution can become.

GOT and Vikings share that, and in so many ways I do believe Vikings is the evolution of that kind of storytelling, while simply sanding over the excess that GOT sometimes suffered from. Regions, self-interest, sex, violence, entitlement, reign, armies, mythology, lore – all elements of both, and they excel in their own way. The world of Vikings lives somewhere between the fantastical and grounded. These individuals believe in gods, judgement, and the inevitable end of mankind at the hands of the omnipotent. This fear of insignificance breeds either humility or rage, some come to terms with it, others challenge the gods. They want to reign, feast in Valhalla by proving their worth. That complexity gives dimension to a world inhabited by the perceived. What influence can an unseen force wield over choices characters make? That is a mouth-watering concept that gives every character in GOT and Vikings such an urgency to react. This reaction gives the world dimension and consequence. Few shows have done this well – Altered Carbon, The Witcher (which has the benefit of world-building across different mediums), and The Walking Dead. While not all of those examples succeed in character development, their worlds are rich and complex with belief, ideology and laws.

I don’t know about you, but it really gets me hot when you can pause the screen and notice a WANTED poster you wouldn’t be able to read otherwise, or a weird prosthetic alien in the background. That’s love.

THE SECOND C: CHARACTER

If there’s one thing GOT did well was give you characters, a lot of them, too much of them. But almost all of them had a fan. A loyal, crazy, t-shirt wearing, quoting fan who could tell you the backstory, motivations and region of the kingdom they belonged to. They represented archetype on multiple levels and their actions are remembered; Red Wedding anyone? Vikings does this too, but I’ll admit it soars above GOT in more ways than any fanboy would likely admit. If I told you how many times I’ve recited the protagonist’s iconic line in my daily showers you’d think me a mad…king. Get it? I’m smiling crow’s feet while writing that. The quote, “Who wants to be king,” rings differently in the empty of my apartment, just me and my invisi-buddies. Anyway, Ragnar becomes Viking king, but it doesn’t stop there – you’re presented with the inevitable sense of insatiable ambition before leading toward confident recklessness. This, right before a worn and old king’s abandonment for fulfillment is fully on display. It’s so personal, especially to me, watching my hero go through so much just for it to lead toward a sense of vague, hallow, emptiness with no face. That is character and I feel for him.

But that’s not all, you’re invited to watch his kids deal with living up to a name that’s considered legendary, their father has reached levels paved by deities. His wives, the townsfolk, his relatives, close friends, Ragnar’s gallery of characters have something to lose and gain merely by his actions. If you’re going to keep my attention, flaw is the keystone. Forget badassery, forget knowing what to say, forget the look – humanize my hero with flaw, and then have the supporting cast answer for those flaws. Vikings isn’t just about the king with a veneer of righteousness, or the queen who stays her place. It’s about making the wrong choice and consciously knowing you shouldn’t root for that person, but do so anyways because their charm, their logic, their presence is pure intoxication. You can’t help but want to be in their shoes and be loved or feared as they are – good character development is the hook for our escape. Anime, cartoons, series, films; it all works the same. The romance isn’t happening only on screen, it’s happening with you, the audience – we’re the vulnerable one.

THE THIRD C: CONCLUSION

This is where any show lives or dies, all that work better amount to more than a bombastic filter of action on the screen. Numerous shows have died at the altar, just before ‘I do’ because of a less than satisfying conclusion. There’s an argument as old as film that pits a good two-thirds against a good conclusion, a good overall film with a lacking end, or a lacking film with an ending for the ages. I truly believe if the third act picks up the slack the first two-thirds can be forgiven. But it’s not just about loose slack, there has to be more, right? Yes, there has to be pay off equivalent to the buildup, the slow burn, the expository turns, the character choices yet reciprocated in consequence, the fate of woven narrative threads yet unthreaded, and here is where Vikings succeeds above GOT. No heat, no hate but we are all familiar with the disappointing conclusion to GOT, both on a production level (medieval latte, come on) and narratively. The pay off, especially after almost ten seasons, hurts on a ‘I feel personally attacked’ level. Vikings, luckily, isn’t the same story. As a matter a fact it knew exactly where it was headed, but the inevitable pain and sacrifice yet witnessed was the vehicle toward a conclusion with a payoff. You didn’t spend hours with multiple characters, few that you actually cared for, just to receive a fraction of a suitable climax.

The multiplicity of a conclusion is a heavy responsibility, and Vikings gives you closure in spades, while managing to tightly wrap up all your loose ends. The drama in Vikings comes down to a blood feud amongst brothers and mothers, lovers and townsfolk, and make no mistake it leads to bloodshed. But in the spectacle, it gives you a sense of intimacy that doesn’t come from a battle of this scope – it understands that the real work is embedded in the conflict within these characters you’ve grown to love. You see, none of these characters are good or bad, they’re simply human beings with interests very much tailored to them and theirs. Like any of us willing to die for what we love, they fight for success that is almost mutually ironic. There are no villains here, there are no dragons, there is no throne to topple, there’s only a conflict that started the moment all these characters began to feel human. They have goals, wants, aspirations, just like you and me. And that is something I can get behind. This is why the conclusion works – because in the end I cared for neutrality more than the winner.

EPILOGUE

I went intently trying to give you reason to watch Vikings, but probably came off sounding like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly talking about what makes me tick narratively. But that’s when you know a formula works, that’s when you know a show has it in abundance. You’re not just raving about character, plot, moments; you’re giving validity to the inner workings of all that went into it to make it accessible for you. Narratives are intricate things, a culmination of things, experiences and senses bundled up to give place to imagination and intimacy. I want to be the one hurt by the choice a character made, I want to fall in love with a line, I want to envy their luck, hate their lover, and love their enemy, I want my empathy to be a character just as much as they are. I want my emotions to be the complexity that exist on-top of a layered world.

That is why I know you’ll love Vikings, and that’s how I know narrative is love.