review of Vikings 3.7 

It was a fearsome sight indeed - Ragnar and the Vikings, torches and souls ablaze, weapons in hand and war machines constructed by Floki at the ready, at the gates of Paris.   Alas, this came at the very end of episode 3.7, so we\'ll have to wait until next week to see the result.

In the meantime, we were treated to a deep introduction to the French court, almost as different from the English monarchies we have seen as they are from the Norse.   The French have an intensity that the English apparently lack at this time and age, likely because they are much closer to Rome - the Vatican and the Roman Empire - as well as to Charlemagne, the grandfather of the King now in Paris. Will the Vikings be able to overcome this?

Well, history tells us that Ragnar succeeded, but his success followed Norse failures and was followed by the same.   What made Ragnar\'s attack against the advanced culture of the French successful, when other Viking attacks were not?  The answer is likely Floki, more demented now than ever, but apparently still a genius, not only in the construction of ships but seige equipment to surmount the high walls of the city.

Ragnar knows this, and yet it\'s clear that a part of him wants Floki dead, in retribution for Floki\'s murder of Althelstan.   Did Ragnar put Floki in charge of the attack, because Ragnar is hoping Floki dies in that attack?  Since Floki, unlike the French and English kings,  is not a known historical person, and, unlike Ragnar, not the subject of epic Norse legends (he\'s apparently not the historical Floki who sailed to Iceland, but who knows), anything can happen - this Floki, in other words, is likely protected by neither history nor legend.

Meanwhile, back in England, the comings and goings of its royalty are.   But with Ecbert revealed as a vicious megalomaniac - stripped of the goodness which we thought we saw in him last season and at the beginning of this one - what now happens to him is suddenly less interesting than what is about to happen in Paris.

See also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We\'ll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice

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Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.  His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003),  Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).  His short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.  Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"  “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),  “Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

Chronicle of Higher Education puts Paul Levinson in Top 10 (#7) of Academic "High Flyers" on Twitter ... Online University Data puts PL in "Top 50 Online University Professors on Twitter Worth Following"...

Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren\'s fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom

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Twice Upon a Rhyme reviewed in Jan-Feb 2011 Shindig Magazine

Paul Levinson appears on "The O\'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," "Nightline" (ABC), the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "The Dylan Ratigan Show" (MSNBC) and frequently on NPR and all-news radio...