Plot Fix: Barbarians Episode 3, "On the Edge"
The military diversity from roughly 400 BC to 100 AD has been of particular interest to me since I was a child. Rather recently, I started an Instagram page to share my knowledge about this period and engage with an interested community.
--I assume you’ve seen the episode: Spoilers Ahead--
Rating: 7 out of 10 Red Weddings
Historical Aspects:
So far, the best episode of the series! Overall, this was ALMOST a great episode, it started strong, it ended pretty well, but there is one big thing that really got my goat. Let’s dive into it!
A few broad general/historical questions/tropes:
Were people thrown from cliffs? I think the writers were trying to draw a connection to Ättestupa, the ritual jumping from a cliff when one becomes too old or debilitated, which at least in Norse folklore, was a thing. I like it. Maybe a bit more ritualistic pomp would have been nice.
Wounds: In real life, when someone gets stabbed or wounded anywhere except the head, they are often lucid for a while. Getting stabbed through the gut can take hours (or days) to die from. Getting one of your carotid arteries sliced is not necessarily immediately incapacitating. I kind of understand why Netflix doesn't have people flailing around and gurgling, it would be repulsive, but this is supposed to be gritty and I don’t like this “Bang! You got me!” keeling-over nonsense.
Armor: People cut through mail in this like it’s cake. Historically, armor was an important consideration for attack placement.
And the thing that ruined the episode: That ambush made ZERO sense.
To recap, a warm welcome and look at this other more “barbarous” camp, and this tribe secretly sends someone to parlay with the Romans. Up until this point, I think it was done solidly.
However, If one is trying to ambush a group to kill/capture them, one would not wait for them to be alert. How did the women know to attack first? Were they told? If so, how did the second in command not know about it? Also, what a garbage ambush if you literally can’t close the SINGLE exit out of it!
Last Pet Peeve: If you want to keep a door closed, you don’t put your back against it. Grab onto it and push or pull. Do not Hodor .
Fix:
They attempt to tie or kill Folkwin and his gang just as they are lulled to sleep, but someone is able to take the bald chief hostage and they are able to escape.
The dark-haired tribesman is shown briefly arguing with the bald chief about accepting fugitives, and the bald chief tells him to piss off. The jealous tribesman rats out Folkwin and his band to the Romans. They are attacked by the Romans/a small band of followers of the betraying tribesman. Some people die, Folkwin and his posse escape, and the traitor becomes the new Reik. That makes much more sense.
“Yeah, we never lock it.”
———
Coming soon: Episode 4!
———