Barbarians is a German Netflix series set in ancient Germania, where tribes of, um, Germans were less than pleased to be ruled by the Romans. It has blood and sex, a tenuous grasp on tradition, and a built-in audience of people who lap up this kind of stuff like NASCAR tailgaters at a pig roast, much like many other shows before it. Let's see if it sticks to your ribs now.
Netflix's Barbarians is a six-episode German historical drama. It focuses on the events leading up to one of history's most famous wars, the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, which took place in 9AD between the local Germanic people and the mighty Roman Empire's forces.
Barbarians' six episodes do not have enough time for the characters to be fleshed out and memorable. As the dust settles on the final episode, Arminius, Folkwin and Thusnelda's childhood friend, is the only character who really stands out. He is the son of a Germanic tribal chief captured and raised as a Roman by the cruel General Varus. He serves as a bridge between the two warring nations, born in Germania but raised in Rome and possessing the experience and skills of both. This part has been well-played before in shows like The Last Kingdom with Uhtred, and it's a shame that Arminius doesn't get as much screen time to explore the difficulties and internal conflict that such a life would have brought.
The show nails every trope associated with shows like this: sex, aggression, a smidgeon of history, gloomy lighting, and haughty oppressors, righteous oppresses, and so on. It's fairly well-executed, but we have yet to see the eventual large-scale combat sequence, making it difficult to judge its creative merits after just one episode. This stuff, you see, is characterized by their combat sequences. There were a lot of nice ones in Game of Thrones. Barbarians aren't likely to match that amount of guts and flames. Still, based on the first episode's beheading sequence, it promises some good old-fashioned gritty, gut-wrenching graphic-ass brutality. If you've already finished all of the previous ones, you'll probably enjoy this one.
Barbarians is an enjoyable romp through the Germanic woods that delivers a dark and bloody tale of the underdogs finding strength in unity to stand up to the bullying Roman Empire, despite its flaws. I wasn't completely engrossed in every episode, but each one left me wanting more. It's a good idea, but it's not necessary. Talking about barbarians netflix reviews, people really enjoyed it.