User reviews

I loved the manner latin and german language adapted to this show. All in all it was a decent tv mini series

There was something captivating about the lead character, Arminius. I didn't know this was based on a real battle, and I wish there was more details now that I do. Don't bother with dubbing, watch the original. They way they switch between Latin and German was very impressive!

The first season was great, with an ending where I wanted to see more of it. Then came the second season and I can see more. I wish I could not. For a good action you only need nice visuals, good moves, weapons, muscles, pretty faces and some semi irritating jokes. On the other hand for a good drama you need tension, and for that you need real actors and proper writers. And in order to have a successful show you need to decide which one do you go for. They went for both without proper actors and writers. So it falls completely flat in the second season. Bloody boring, so much wasted potential, I do not think I am interested in a third season.

Barbarians was so much better than I anticipated! While not quite as good as other shows like Spartacus, Rome, Vikings or The Last Kingdom, it was still a pretty good show that was entertaining enough to watch. It does bend the truth a little bit of what really happened back then but it's still pretty close and doesn't claim to be a documentary. Its visuals are great. If you have some time and looking for a show to binge watch over a weekend then give this a try. The seasons are only 6 episodes long so you can get through them pretty quickly. The show is in German but you can dub it in English or read the subtitles. Already looking forward to next season.

Can t say that there weren't parts where I was absolutley fascinated by the level of detail given (specifically the fact that the germanic tribes speak german and romans latin!!) + the very historically detailed roman armours add a very nice touch to this niche historical setting.

Sadly around 40% of the story is driven around a "strong ,independent" woman that does whatever she likes with no real consequences and is regarded even by Arminius as the "true leader" several times. Alongside the Romeo and Juliet romance going on between the "woman" and some random dude,it kinda broke the hole immersion for me ,because you can clearly see that actual historians and history fans took part in creating the show; paralleled by a story that brings nothing original or new or interesting or even historically plausible to the show.

The relationship between Arminius and Varus is pretty well written and very well played by both actors, and it s nice to see glimpses of both cultures in what is clearly a limited (and most likely 1 season) budget tv show.

To wrap it up , it s a "could have been master-piece" that will surley fall into obscurity due to it s pandering to the average "Fritz"(since it s german duh) and lack of originality and authenticity.

Barbarians is an ambitious attempt to tell stories from the most fascinating time of European history. That are never told.

Technically it is one of the best historical dramas out there. Dress, houses, weapons, armor, hairstyles and so on, this show made the best effort ever made to get it right or to make a good interpetation of what little data exist.

Doubleplussuperextra good for the language. The Germans speak German, the Romans speak Latin. Fantastic! Very immersive and very interesting.

What the show fails with is to recreate German society and value systems of the day. Something that would have been extremely difficult and risky to do, it could have turned into a grisly flop insulting everyone. Instead the show makes a compromise between contemporary sensibilities and some guesswork of past societies. I think this is acceptable. And sure, the girl power aspect of the show is a nod to woke culture. However, the Germans of old did tell stories of heroic ladies. And at least we are spared the shieldmaiden platoons of the tv show Vikings. Here we just have the playing up of one extraordinary woman that is mentioned in history.

Casting is also very good. Nothing ruins a show more than bad casting and here they got it right. Tushnelda is especially well casted.

One thing that was a bit disturbing to me is the ages of people in the show, too many old people, too few young people too few children. A tip to any future show is to be inspired by a harsh war torn place in the third world rather than contemporary European or American society whith this aspect. The Germans of 0 AD was a people teeming with youth and life. Not an old dying one.

Overall, very good effort, very enjoyable result. Hoping for more!

Season 1 is great. It takes some liberties with historical events, but generally leads up to and portrays a battle between the Romans and German tribes. Acting is good, costumes are excellent, and the sets are nice. The story is a bit simplified and overly dramatized but it's a good watch.

Season 2 is a big disappointment. Episode 1 is decent enough but be sure to turn it off after that. Episode 2 introduces the entire gamut of woke identity politics. I'm sure Netflix got their quotas met but it completely ruined any immersion or enjoyment. Vote changed from 8/10 to 2/10. What a disappointment.

I actually liked Barbarians more than I thought I would. I'm a huge fan of this kind of genre so I was going to watch no matter what. While it's not the best it's definitely worth watching. There's an equal amount of drama and violence to keep the story entertaining and at a good pace. The cast all do a good job and give credible performances. The seasons are a little short at only six episodes apiece but I guess that's better than having filler episodes and being bored. I liked season one a little more but season two is still pretty good in its own right. Season two ended on a cliffhanger so I hope it gets renewed for a third season. If you're a fan of this genre then give this try, I think you'll like it.

Like air shooting out of a balloon, any positivity and hopefulness generated by the slick trailer fizzed away pretty quickly as this is a long, long, long way from HBO's Rome, early episodes of The Lost Kingdom - or even stage-bound I Claudius.Instead we get really really mean Romans -riding horses using stirrups, mind you - and a Go-Girl heroine inspiring her tribesmen. This is all supposed to lead to the famous Roman defeat and loss of eagles - but the by-the-numbers scripting and under-whelming production values make this look like a so-so network adventure show. I was expecting more given the excellence of Germany's Babylon Berlin but the early episodes of this one left me wanting it less.

Who would have known that listening to Latin could be so captivating, interesting and fascinating to hear. Very much enjoyed Barbarians. In a similar genre to Rome. Historically relevant and fascinating with fabulous production values and eye to detail. Excellent writing with some superb characters and beautiful one on one interactions. Also nice balance of brutal reality in action sequences. Amazing take on a true story. Default mode on Netflix starts with dubbed English version. Do yourself a favour and switch to original German, Latin with subtitles

Another Netflix show that had a great S1 that was utterly ruined by a S2 that was so bad it was extremely difficult to believe that they can possibly be related.

The captivating visuals, along with the attention given to the small details made the show so much more immersive and watchable. Where S1 did great things from a storyline that kept me interested all the way through from start to finish, it left me eagerly awaiting a follow up that would trace Germanicus' campaign.

Instead S2 turned to...well, I have no idea what story it was trying to tell - utter, utter, garbage. How can the scriptwriters create something that worked so well follow up with something so unbelievably bad? Such a massive shame and wasted opportunity.

S1: 9 S2: 3.

Yout ube.co m/watch?v=sXB7B4e8hxs

I'm so exhausted by the revisionist/social activism in seemingly EVERY show right now I don't even have a desire to watch television shows or movies anymore. Like I just want to watch something that transports me to another time or tells a story that is fun, thrilling, or whatever. If you want to make "inclusive" or "diverse" media than just do it and tell a new story or make a movie that maybe shows with a hint of nuance regarding the time period it is set in. Also, if you are going to make some made-up garbage to please twitter activists at least mark it with something like "this show is extremely loosely based on a few details of a tiny portion of a period in time and we have changed a bunch of stuff on purpose to beat you over the head with a message, now please enjoy?"

Having the tribes speak German and Romans speak Latin was a very nice touch. The amount of detail of armour and other objects of the time, for instance, is exemplary. However, the show missed on portraying accurate historical facts. For instance, the Dido character supposedly Carthaginian is portrayed as a sub-Saharan. Carthage was the evolution of a Phoenician territory in North Africa meaning it would have included people of Phoenician descent ie Semites, Berbers and other Mediterraneans. Women in Germania would have definitely had a different role than that of their peers in Rome; however, that role was at times exaggerated especially in the little details and often leaned to mirror a Romeo and Juliet type of storyline. Still, the show is fun to watch but sadly trying to be "politically correct" with history always ruins it.

A really engaging and exciting look at the Roman occupation of Germany around the end of the reign of Augustus Cesar. This one, being a German production, is from the perspective of the occupied instead of the Romans. The characters are compelling. The visuals are that of a well budgeted show. Same with the acting, costumes, cinematography, and directing. This is movie grade stuff. It is violent and adult. There are some holes in the storylines, where there is a default to modern romantic themes but all in all historically interesting and relatively accurate. You don't need to have watched the first season to appreciate the second season.

For all those that loved epochs such as Gladiator, Rome, Master & Commander and others that have tried to bring history to life this will be an absolute gem. Being an historian myself and having studied Latin this comes closest to the real thing I have ever seen. Big congrats to the team and procurers for this feat. Hope the general audience will also be able to recognize this.

S1 had something to it. Had some merit historically, and although there were issues it was an interesting look at the whole Rome v barbs thing with a half decent plot, pace and continuity. As I mentioned in a previous review, the barbarians had cleared away forest for farming, so the cover of forest is obviously a saving when it comes to filming - so a lot less authentic landscape for the film makers to worry about! But it makes them look like "forest dwellers" which for the most part, they were not.

S2is a bit of a predictable rehash of various ideas from S1 and other stories. I'm watching it while I do more important things. Might not bother finishing it... Lemme guess... There's a big battle at some point? Treachery, double bluffs? A day of reckoning?.... Yawn....

An almost perfect work of historical re-enactment. The uniforms, even the smallest of brooches or pendants, are taken from objects found in excavations of the first century. The military ranks, the legion organization, the combat tactics are real. There are some concessions like using stirrups that don't appear until almost 400 years later, but horses are very similar to war percherons, it's crazy to ride without them.

And the Romans speaking in classical Latin ... incredible.

This is the good part, for the bad part, which arguably is little less than a soap opera totally unrelated to what the Roman historians tell us.

Besides, the obligatory portion of feminism with Thusnelda's "embedded" character. The plot twists and the dialogues show a mentality of our time, far removed from that of the Roman and Germanic tribesmen at the time.

I actually like this show. I started watching it and turned it off because of the horrible English dubbing. After a few minutes of being disapointed I gave it another shot with subtitles; am I glad I did. It's actually very watchable, and I'm someone who usually hates subtitles.

Listening to the Roman's finally speak latin was so cool, and terrifying at the same time. This show is just as good as genre greats like Vikings and the last kingdom. It can be a bit tedious to get through the first 3 episodes, but once you see the emotion pour out of Amrinian during episode 4 at 18 minutes exactly, is so worth the wait. You can literally feel the pain, as we have all been there before. Once you see it you'll know what I'm talking about. But its important to watch the first 3 episodes to get to this point. I would highly recommend you turn on the original german language with english subtitles to give it that extra oomph. You certain can watch the english sub too though. I feel like there COULD be a season 2, but if not, i was emotionally satisfied by the end and wouldnt feel bad if they left it alone. As far as the final battle, it's super satisfying. Along the epicness of what the show Spartacus on starz gave us. I literally dont understand why people are complaining.

Great story, but not well executed into a serie. The use of original languages is great, but the storyline, acting and directing is mediocre. It looks a bit cheap in general. A missed opportunity, but that is unfortunate with a lot of Netflix series.