the same ratings as the following episode "Cathexis" and higher than the final two episodes, "Jetrel" and "Learning Curve". Cast and crew response Writer Naren Shankar was happy with the overall episode, saying "I think all the Viking scenes worked very well. The sets were magnificent-the forest set was beautiful, and I don't really have any complaints about it. Everybody really outdid themselves on it." Supervising producer David Livingston praised the prop and wardrobe departments for creating the array of "cool-looking" extras, while Michael Piller said that the whole episode was "well produced". Taylor praised the premise, calling the idea "irresistible" and the overall episode "delightful". Members of the crew praised the work of Robert Picardo on this episode, with Taylor saying that he was "wonderful" in "Heroes and Demons", while Piller saw the character as a "fish out of water" and added that "Picardo is a wonderful actor." Kenneth Biller, executive story editor, felt that the episode gave Picardo a "chance to shine", and that the episode was "a lot of fun". Picardo himself was pleased with the episode, later describing it as his favourite of the first season. Garrett Wang also added that he was happy with the episode, as being an Asian-American actor he didn't otherwise get a great deal of chances to appear in period work, and he enjoyed the wardrobe he wore. Critical response In his chapter, "From Anglo-Saxon to Angelina: Adapting Beowulf for Film", in Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture, Stewart Brooks compared "Heroes and Demons" to the Beowulf story. He said that certain elements of the episode were more similar to the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons instead of historical fact, such as the character of Freya who he also compared to Éowyn from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He praised the episode, saying that the "real pleasures" were "to witness the surly, introverted, neurotic Doctor being forced to play the hero, banter with Vikings and have his first romantic liaison when Freya falls for him." In 2011, Brian J. Robb also linked the episode to roleplaying games in his article on the episode for Star Trek Monthly, suggesting that the repetition of some scenes may have been influenced by the increase in popularity of computer based roleplaying games at the time of production. Edward L. Risden described "Heroes and Demons" as "Pulp TV tackles mead-hall ritual" in his