Siegfried and the strong women: RTL+ series "The Nibelungs" turns the heroic epic on its head.

“My men are too tired to fight,” Siegfried of Xanten cries out at the court of the Burgundian King Gunther. “Too much wine.” But Hagen of Tronje (Gijs Naber), Gunther’s master-at-arms, has no desire to engage in a public sword fight against the braggart. “I prepare men for war,” replies the stoic soldier. “Play somewhere else!”

That says it all. Discipline versus chaos. But when they encounter Saxons in a burned-out monastery, who have joined forces with the Danes against Burgundy, Hagen finally recognizes the fury emanating from the young hero. Siegfried (Jannis Niewöhner) appears in the series "The Nibelungs" as a sexy buffoon. One who literally makes the heads of enemy leaders roll.

Siegfried – until now, people had their stereotypical image of him. A hero, strong as three, bravest of the brave, virtuous, loyal, lured into a trap by the evil Hagen von Tronje, who knew where a falling leaf had left him vulnerable after his bath in invulnerable dragon's blood.

Fritz Lang filmed the legend in two parts between 1922 and 1924, and no one has done it better to this day. This monumental silent film epic is still worth watching. And the accusation that it was a pre-fascist work ten years before the Nazi regime could not be substantiated.

Even though the Nazis, who idolized heroes, naturally saw the noble Aryan in the hero from the Rhine and the national myth of the Germans in the legend.

The six-part series "The Nibelungs," available to stream on RTL+, is not based on the "Nibelungenlied" from the early 13th century, whose origins lie in the Migration Period. Instead, it's based on the novel "Hagen von Tronje," in which Wolfgang Hohlbein, the master of the fantastic, offered a reinterpretation of the characters almost 40 years ago. The series presents deeper characterizations of the simple legend templates. Siegfried, whom Kriemhild, in love with him, calls "a lost soul," is not trusted by his silent rival Hagen, who is anything but a villain, but harbors a secret. And then there are the strong women...

Series creators Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, who already provided a pitch-black thriller in the German-Austrian thriller series "Der Pass", have created a wonderfully dark pseudo-early Middle Ages over 113 days of filming in the Czech Republic - a scenario in which one feels eerily cozy.

Gray and brown are the dominant colors, autumn and winter the seasons. Fog is a constant feature of this Burgundy, which is why the battle scenes don't need to be as opulent as the grand battles in "Game of Thrones" or "Vikings." But what's shown isn't some cringe-inducing, over-the-top Eurofantasy romp (like "Tribes of Europe").

The swords and axes here sing and chop, and the tendons and bones tear and crack realistically. A powerful drama with fantasy elements unfolds, in which even the late Romans play a part, secretly financing the Hun Etzel (Vladimir Korneev), who sets the world ablaze.

The series is a significant expansion of the film "Hagen" (2024). And the narrative works considerably better in the extended format. Everything is pleasantly expanded – both the fatal love triangle between Hagen, Kriemhild (Lilja van der Zwaag), and Siegfried, and King Gunther's (Dominic Marcus Singer) magical and tragic longing for the Valkyrie Brunhild (Rosalinde Mynster).

The series also vividly portrays the exclusion and marginalization of foreigners. Refugees are driven back across the border by the Burgundian armies into the arms of their enemies, no matter how defenseless they may be.

And then there are the "Ancient Beings" of a bygone age – besides Brunhild, the warrior unforgivably betrayed by Siegfried, a "daughter of the gods," there are dragons, Norns, and elves – dwarves who, in Germanic mythology, are considered part of the elves. They avoid humans, living secluded lives in the forests and swamps. Their extermination is a foregone conclusion; in humanity's future, there will be no place for magic.

And so Siegfried sows mistrust and anger here as well – for he has Alberich (Johanna Kolberg) in his entourage. In the legend, Alberich is the guardian of the Nibelung treasure. Here he appears as an uncanny, Nosferatu-like dark elf – once a servant of the dragon Fafnir, who seems obedient yet is playing his own game of revenge. Which then contributes to the tragedy.

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Hats off! Even if Kriemhild's overly lengthy explanations in the first episode weren't really necessary, and even if English-language pop songs don't quite fit the Teutonic spectacle. All peanuts – this magnificent German-Czech series is now the visual and narrative benchmark for European fantasy productions.

"The Nibelungs – Battle of the Kingdoms, miniseries, six episodes, by Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, with Jannis Niewöhner, Gijs Naber, Lilja van der Zwaag, Dominic Marcus Singer, Rosalinde Mynster, Jördis Triebel, Emma Preisendanz, Bela Gabor Lenz, Alessandro Schuster, Johanna Kolberg (RTL+)"