Everyone loves a good old period drama, and we all know that the British ones are the absolute best. String quartet covers of pop hits and grandiose hallways dressed in insane amounts of flowers – it’s light-hearted, sexy and super entertaining. Gossip, corsets and a lot of romping. It lets us think that the 1800s were just a brilliant time. Who wouldn’t want to eat colourful sweets while a dapper man and a gilded carriage wait to take you to a grand social event? British dramas make the past look really fun. We basically get all the aesthetics without any of the misery. Escapism at its very best.

It makes me wonder if the Brits are showing us the past we wished we had lived in, and the Scandinavians the past we are glad we missed out on. Because Scandinavian old-time dramas look a bit different. Instead of sparkling balls, you get Vikings fighting in the mud. It’s significantly less glamorous and a lot more violent. Sometimes, it’s just people walking around looking for the best tree to make a mast out of.

I’m torn between the two representations of the past. One looks fun, colourful and romantic. The other looks like hard work in a damp place where everything would smell of fish. But then there’s the nagging suspicion that it might still have been better to be a Viking shield maiden than a piece of property, dressed up to catch the most advantageous match?

What would you choose?

Gabi Froden

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