Peak Woke Insanity
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Introduced in the series' premiere episode and portrayed by Danish pop-jazz singer Caroline Henderson, Jarl Haakon is depicted as the benevolent and wise ruler of the Kattegat region in Denmark, itself shown as an open haven for people of various faiths and ethnicities during a time of conflict based on these attributes.
Aww, look at that: A woke black woman ruling over a viking kingdom full of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the 900s!!!
But choosing Jarl Haakon is an odd choice. He was a staunch believer in the old gods of Norway and the savagery they represented, and he was a violent man, not some peace-loving utopian who cared about iNcLuSiOn. He fought against the Holy Roman Empire, broke faith with the first Christian king of Denmark, and expelled the Christian missionaries that the king of Denmark had sent him.
The vikings were good at burning and raping, but not building civilization. That accomplishment goes to the justice, love of neighbor, and hope for eternity that was instilled by Christianity as it spread across Europe. This Vikings show (like the previous one) wants to present the inverse of this historic truth, portraying the savagery of the old gods as somehow pure and peaceful as a way to live out the woke struggle against cishetero white colonialism or some stupid thing like that.
Oh, by the way, Jarl Haakon was killed (spoiler alert) by his slave while he was hiding in a pig sty after literally everyone turned on his murderous behind.
So to sum up: Netflix cast a black woman in the role of a barbaric king who murdered, pillaged, and owned many, MANY slaves, then died as a coward hiding among pigs.
If the Netflix Wokettes really wanted to introduce a strong, black female character into European history, they could place one among the swarms of Arab slavers who raided Great Britain and Ireland for centuries until the mid-1840s. There weren’t any wimmin of color among the real slavers, I suppose, but then, the Viking slavers left their women behind too, so same difference, except that the writers would have the color right.
The Sack of Baltimore, Ireland, 1631. “Owing to their high retail value, women and children were treated with relative kindness”
