Vikings [Season 1, Episode 1]
Rites of Passage
Shown 03/Mar/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) is a super-Viking.
He survives a battle where the only other one still alive is his own brother.
Also he can see glimpses of the god Odin, a reaper of souls for Valhalla,
perhaps a reference to the role of the Grim Reaper in
Seventh Seal
.
The local Lord, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne -
Excalibur
), is a kill-happy dictator.
He forbids Ragnar from recruiting his crew and doing an unauthorised raid.
However, Ragnar thinks he knows better than the Earl.
The new plan is to sail into the unexplorted sea to the West, to a land named England.
The trick is to use new technology - a sun compass that guarantees he can keep a straight heading.
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 2]
Wrath of the Northmen
Shown 10/Mar/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and his crew head due west.
It is the year 793 of the Common Era,
and the monks of Lindisfarne see some ominous omens of apocalypse.
One of the monks, Athelstan (George Blagden -
Versailles
), is a speaker of the Viking language.
He says he lived in their land as a missionary.
The only question this raises is,
why is the Jarl so unwilling to believe in the existence of England?
Back home in Norway, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne -
Excalibur
) is paranoid as well as kill-happy.
Any man who wants to have sex with the Earl's wife (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) is regarded as a traitor.
Even the only blacksmith in the village is regarded as expendable.
What happens if they need more swords or ploughshares?
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 3]
Dispossessed
Shown 17/Mar/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and his horde make it home to Norway.
The local Lord, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne -
Excalibur
), seizes their spoils of war.
The only thing Ragnar wants to keep is Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
). After all, knowledge is power.
Ragnar convinces the Jarl to allow him a second expedition to raid Northumbria.
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 4]
Trial
Shown 24/Mar/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) makes it back to Norway again.
The local Lord, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne -
Excalibur
), puts Ragnar on trial.
He even tries to bribe Ragnar's brother with the prospect of a bride.
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 5]
Raid
Shown 31/Mar/13
The raid of the episode's title is commanded by the local Lord, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne -
Excalibur
). He attacks the farmstead of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
).
Ragnar has one loyal friend - Floki the shipbuilder (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
).
Earl Haraldson holds a feast to celebrate the betrothal of his daughter.
Since Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) turned her down,
her father married her off to a rich old Swede.
Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
), the Lady MacBeth of the story, is unhappy about the union.
The man is too old and too ugly, she says.
She is as shallow as she is short-sighted.
Since he is old, her grandchildren will inherit
more quickly than they would otherwise.
And he is brother to King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
), so his children will be royal as well as rich.
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 6]
Burial of the Dead
Shown 07/Apr/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) challenges Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne -
Excalibur
) to a duel to the death. Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) is playing both sides, so she does favours for Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
).
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 7]
A King's Ransom
Shown 14/Apr/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) sails three longships up the river and makes camp.
The Saxon war-leader does not attack the Vikings head-on.
Instead he decides to lure them out into an ambush.
Likewise, Ragnar decides to play the waiting game.
But a midnight raid on a sleeping enemy's camp is always an option, like in
First Knight
. Is it an ambush?
Back home, Ragnar's wife Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) is in charge of the law court.
Her rule is that women can do whatever they want with no regard to the consequences.
For example, she claims that an unfaithful wife has been blessed by the god Heimdall.
Since Heimdall was played by Idris Elba in the movie
Thor
, it should be easy to work out who the child's true father is.
However, the Jarl-ette has a test of her own to pass.
Will she give Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) a place in the homestead?
Ragnar decides to negotiate with the Saxon King.
The Vikings want two thousand pounds (a metric ton) of gold.
In return, the Saxons want assurances, the release of the King's hostage brother,
and for one of the Vikings to convert to Christianity.
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) volunteers to be baptised, but Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) does not agree with angering the gods.
Everything seems to have gone well.
However, this is an action-adventure show.
If there is not at least one battle per episode, they may lose viewers.
For some reason, the Saxons do not have any archers.
A pity, because that is the best way to do battle against the Norsemen.
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 8]
Sacrifice
Shown 21/Apr/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) takes his wife Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) and their children on a spiritual pilgrimage.
He takes along Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
), Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) and his live-in girlfriend Helga,
and Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) and his new wench Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
). Evidently Rollo's half-hearted Xian conversion will never be mentioned again.
King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) arrives and meets with Ragnar.
The Xian Monk learns about the Viking religion.
There is a night of magic mushrooms and group cuddling.
The next morning, there are a range of sacrifices in front of a large totem pole.
But what the Xian forgot is that the Vikings practise HUMAN sacrifice ...
Vikings [Season 1, Episode 9]
All Change
Shown 28/Apr/13
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) visits Jarl Borg to negotiate a deal over a disputed piece of land.
The Jarl refuses to sell, and King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) refuses to make him a better offer.
Since the main story arc (the raids on Northumbria) were settled two episodes ago,
this is a setup for next Season.
Ragnar is camped out near Jarl Borg's village.
He meets a young Princess, who wants to meet the celebrity who raided Northumbria.
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) stays with Jarl Borg as a hostage.
However, the Jarl starts to point out how Rollo does all the work and Ragnar gets all the glory.
Back in Ragnar's village, there is an outbreak of an unknown plague.
This is a good way to tie up loose ends and write out supporting characters.
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 1]
Brother's War
Shown 27/Feb/14
This starts in the year 796 CE, which puts it three years after the start of the previous Season.
Our hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) had made a pact with King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
). However, Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) has sided with Jarl Borg.
The result is a massive battle.
This is a cliched blood-and-guts battle, with Rollo and Jarl Borg stripped to the waist.
The spears are just for display, because most of the fighting is with axes.
The Shield Wall tactic is a Saxon one,
but since they also use overhead shields like the Roman testudo formation
then we cannot take the historical authenticity of their tactics too seriously.
Back home, Ragnar must deal with the OTHER consequences of his trip to Jarl Borg's land.
He made friends with a local Princess there, and now she comes to visit.
Unfortunately, Ragnar's wife Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) realises that the woman is several months pregnant!
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 2]
Invasion
Shown 06/Mar/14
This starts four years after the previous episode.
Our hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) had made a pact with Jarl Borg,
that they will join forces and plunder Northumbria together.
However, King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) refuses to sail with the Jarl, his arch-rival from Season One.
The pact is called off, a bad idea which will have serious repercussions.
The Vikings set sail to plunder Northumbria.
They have a massive armada, thanks to CGI.
Luckily, they run into a storm and most of the ships are swept away.
That way, when the few remaining ships reach land
the story only needs a couple of dozen extras dressed as Vikings.
It turns out the locals are well-armed and violent,
with swords and scale-mail armour.
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 3]
Treachery
Shown 13/Mar/14
The Vikings start to raid and plunder Wessex.
The local Saxon King is a cunning one,
and is willing to sacrifice Winchester just to find out where the raiders are.
He offers them peace, but he may have something else in mind.
The Vikings’ translator, Athelstan (George Blagden -
Versailles
), was once an Xian monk enslaved at Lindisfarne.
He has second thoughts about slaughtering the Xian clergy.
They may be the ones destroying the Vikings’ ancient culture,
but their love of books (well, their own kind of books) makes them worth saving.
Ironically, as the Bishops point out,
the Xians are as brutal as the Vikings
when it comes to torturing unbelievers to death!
Back home, Jarl Borg blames our hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) for abandoning the pact they made.
While the hero and his men are away, the Jarl attacks his village.
This is not a simple raid, he wants more ...
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 4]
Eye For an Eye
Shown 20/Mar/14
Jarl Borg visits the soothsayer, who forsees an eagle.
The Jarl thinks this is a good omen,
although this reviewer suspects it may be a reference to the Blood Eagle.
Meanwhile, our hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) enters peace negotiations with the King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
). The Vikings want farm-land,
and the Saxons need more warriors to defend the kingdom.
Our hero gets called home to save his family.
Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
), now paganised, stays with King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) so they can negotiate further with the King of Wessex.
But when he takes some men to hunt for food in the forest,
he ends up getting a reminder of the Bishop’s threat last episode.
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 5]
Answers in Blood
Shown 27/Mar/14
Our hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) returns home, to free his people.
He finds his family easily enough, even though they are in hiding.
His plan is to lure Jarl Borg’s army into an ambush.
Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
) is now a guest at the court of the King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
). We see the similarities between the two cultures –
their systems of dispensing justice are similar,
although the Viking culture may give preferential treatment to women.
The Saxons take communion with red wine,
while the Vikings use blood from a human sacrifice.
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 6]
Unforgiven
Shown 03/Apr/14
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) appoints Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
) to be keeper of the secret relics.
These relics are from Pagan Rome, but the Monk is the only one who values them.
Our hero Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) hosts a great feast in honour of Jarl Borg,
who he must befriend again so that they will join forces and plunder Northumbria together.
This is the idea of King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
), who is the one who broke the pact when he refused to sail with the Jarl.
It seems that friendship is something King Donal uses when he sees the need.
Certainly, he uses the woman from Nip/Tuck ...
although she seems to have developed standards (admittedly, not very high ones).
Has Jarl Borg been forgiven?
Is the eagle still in his future?
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 7]
Blood Eagle
Shown 10/Apr/14
Jarl Borg is chained up, awaiting his punishment.
King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) has Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) hold back on the execution – no pun intended.
After all, they need a partner in the expedition to raid Wessex.
But the King has doubts about Ragnar, and secretly consults the prisoner.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) marries his woman in a traditional Norse Pagan ceremony.
As with the communion/human sacrifice of the previous episode,
this scene is intercut with the Saxon’s Christian equivalent.
Back in Wessex, the Royal Houses of Northumbria and Wessex
have a marriage ceremony to cement their alliance.
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 8]
Boneless
Shown 17/Apr/14
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
), emboldened by his alliance with Northumbria,
makes another alliance with the Princess of Mercia.
She is the favourite to win the civil war there,
and control over her will mean Wessex controls three of the main Saxon kingdoms.
But she has an agenda of her own, and needs that the King cannot fulfil alone.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) has a visitor while she takes a bath,
but this scene lacks the nudity of the similar scene in
Camelot
. This highlights the strange lack of nudity in this show,
which makes it tame even compared to BBC shows (
Rome
springs to mind).
Jessalynn Gilsig
did more graphic sex scenes in Nip/Tuck, for example. However,
last week’s execution was unbelievably gruesome and grotesque
in comparison to the show’s relatively puritanical attitude towards sex.
The slave girl has finally come to take a liking to her besotted Master.
This comes just as he and the other Vikings take to ship again.
King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) wants to raid Wessex again.
His claims that the Saxon King betrayed them are unproven.
After all, the men who attacked Athelstan were loyal to the Bishop, not the King.
But will Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) appreciate the distinction?
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 9]
The Choice
Shown 24/Apr/14
King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) insists Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and his ex-wife Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) lead their armies into battle with him.
Unfortunately the King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) has studied the strategies of Caesar,
as translated from the Latin by Athelstan (George Blagden -
Versailles
).
This, combined with reinforcements from Northumbria,
means the Norsemen will be in for the fight of their lives.
Ragnar is worried that his son will die in the battle.
But he forgets that he has other loved ones in peril
- his brother Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) and his ex-wife Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
), to start with.
The King of Wessex has his eyes on the prize with Mercia in turmoil.
He is happy to give the Norsemen peace at a good price.
But will King Horik keep the peace treaty?
Ragnar’s wife Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) gives the slave-girl her freedom.
She wants to be a shield-maiden, like her boyfriend’s mother.
Vikings [Season 2, Episode 10]
The Lord's Prayer
Shown 01/May/14
King Horik (Donal Logue –
Gotham
) finally makes his move against Ragnar.
However, his plan relies on two of Ragnar’s inner circle both betraying their leader.
There seems to be a fatal flaw in this plan.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) has to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend is no longer a slave.
Worse, she wants to be a shield-maiden like his mother.
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) is still in his sick-bed, perhaps his death-bed.
His wife Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) still has ambitions to be a Queen.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 1]
Mercenary
Shown 19/Feb/15
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) still rules her own Jarldom, Hedeby.
She has a lot of suitors who want to marry her,
although she has her heart set on a young man who plays hard to get.
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) wants to sail back to Wessex once winter ends.
He and all his men have trouble with their wives,
and seek to escape back to the safety of the front line.
All except Ragnar's eldest son, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
), whose woman has become a shield maiden and joined the voyage.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) is happy to see them.
After all, he needs them as mercenaries to fight a proxy war against Mercia.
But more than that, he is quite taken with Lagertha.
Ragnar and his men join the Princess of Mercia.
They sail upriver to where her uncle the usurper is camped.
Yes, the episode gets kick-started with a great battle scene.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 2]
The Wanderer
Shown 26/Feb/15
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and his army feast and celebrate their victory.
However, the job is only half done.
They need to face the Princess's brother and his army.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) has accompanied Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) and Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
) to their new farm-land.
He gives Lagertha gifts, both personal and extravagant.
Back in Kattegut, Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) and the wives of the other two main characters have the same dreams.
This alone would be a sign of magic,
but the dreams themselves are of a surreal, prophetic nature.
Then a stranger (Kevin Durand -
The Strain
) wanders into the village.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 3]
Warrior's Fate (43 min)
Shown 05/Mar/15
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and his army close in on the Mercian rebels.
One of his men has a death wish,
and risks his own life in a suicidal manoeuvre.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) invites Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) and Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
) to join him in his Roman-style bath.
Things go well for the Royal couple,
but the monk and the Princess have some unlawful sexual tension.
Worse, the Saxon noblemen are unhappy about allowing Pagans to live in an Xian country.
Back in Kattegut, Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) and the wives of the other two main characters
have suspicions about the stranger (Kevin Durand -
The Strain
). He tells tall tales about his amazing exploits,
which bear a strange resemblance to the legends of Thor.
Is he a sorcerous entity,
or just a wanderer who likes to seduce lonely housewives?
Everyone seems to be getting a lot of sex this episode,
and not with the person they are married to.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 4]
Scarred (43 min)
Shown 12/Mar/15
The victorious army returns home to Wessex.
Ragnar's son survived the battle unscathed,
but the boy's girlfriend - the wannabe shield maiden - got smashed in the face.
She is still alive, but she will never be as pretty as she used to be.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) invites Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) and Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
) to stay with him.
However, they both turn him down.
Lagertha confesses that she finds him fulfilling but selfish.
Likewise, Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) seems to distrust his ally.
This seems quite unfair.
After all, he has always been true to his word
and is smart enough to realise that double-crossing Ragnar would be a very bad move.
Back in Kattegut, Siggy (
Jessalyn Gilsig
) still has suspicions about the stranger (Kevin Durand -
The Strain
). However, she should know better than to meddle in the affairs of wizards.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 5]
The Usurper (43 min)
Shown 19/Mar/15
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) returns home with his crew.
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) and his nephew have both lost their wives -
one to death and the other to disfigurement.
They take their frustrations out in a fist-fight.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) orders his son to take an army and protect the norse settlement.
Unfortunately the Prince has just discovered his wife was unfaithful.
The last time he saw her flirting was with Rollo,
and although Rollo was with the army the whole time the Prince assumes the worst.
As if to start a tradition,
the Prince marks the territory for the Xians by burning a large wooden cross.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 6]
Born Again (43 min)
Shown 26/Mar/15
This is set many months after the previous episode.
A couple of babies are born.
One is Ragnar's grandson,
while the other is the son of the Princess of Wessex.
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) discovers the fate of the settlement in Wessex.
However, his main priority is now to plan the attack on Paris.
He is even willing to make a deal with former enemies,
such as the Jarl who usurped Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
).
Athelstan the monk (George Blagden -
Versailles
) has a vision that he believes was sent by his god.
Likewise, Floki the Pagan (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) has a vision.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 7]
Paris
Shown 02/Apr/15
Athelstan the monk has gone from the line-up.
This may be because the actor George Blagden has now gone to a better place.
Versailles
, in fact, where he is King Louis XIV.
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) has forgotten all about the Saxons and his expeditions to England.
Instead he has led his forces up the river Seinne and besieged Paris itself.
However, he has not forgotten about Athelstan's fate.
He puts Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) in charge of the big assault,
which may be a case of giving him enough rope to hang himself.
After all, the allies are at each others' throats
so Floki has his own side to worry about as well as the Parisians.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) has his own problems.
The Princess of Mercia, now its Queen, decides to break her promises to him.
Naturally he sends his son to sort her out.
After all, if she kills the son then he would have an excuse to invade ...
and he would get to comfort his grieving daughter-in-law.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 8]
To the Gates!
Shown 09/Apr/15
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) leads the big assault on Paris.
As an expert boat-builder, he has designed floating siege towers.
Of course, he believes the gods are on his side because of the sacrifice he gave them.
However, the Parisians hide behind their religious icons.
Meanwhile, Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) leads the assault on the main gates.
She and the senior leaders have a massive protective shield,
but the rank-and-file vikings are at the mercy of the crossbowmen.
After the massive battle scene,
we get some soap opera scenes of the wives.
The Shield Maiden has mixed feelings about the usurper,
and the scar-faced one wants to entrust her child to the cheater.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 9]
Breaking Point
Shown 16/Apr/15
The vikings try another assault on Paris.
Last time they made a full-frontal attack in broad daylight,
and they split their forces between two different targets.
This time they go stealthily at night,
and focus all their attention on one access point.
King Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) delegates the fighting to his senior commanders,
but manages to handle the negotiations single-handedly.
He thinks he is dying,
although nobody else in the camp shows any sign of illness,
and he wants to be baptised as an Xian.
Back in Kattegatt,
the rivalry between the two religions reaches a new level.
An Xian missionary has come to town,
and preached that the Asgardians are false gods.
He is so eager to prove that Jesus is magic
that he is willing to accept trial by ordeal.
Vikings [Season 3, Episode 10]
The Dead
Shown 23/Apr/15
A month after the negotiations,
the vikings are still camped on the banks of the Seinne.
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) is on his death-bed, and requests an Xian burial.
The Franks can hardly refuse him.
After all, he is a King - and an Xian King at that!
The Parisians are quite impressed with Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
), a great warrior who led from the front
while Ragnar was on his sick-bed.
As a result they offer him an alliance.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 1]
A Good Treason
Shown 18 Feb 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) is on his sickbed.
His sudden recovery in the previous episode
has been followed by a mysterious relapse.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) gets arrested by Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) for the murder of Athelstan.
This forces Ragnar to take public action.
Meanwhile, Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) joins her usurper-cum-lover Kalf,
and returned to her old Jarldom.
She still has enemies there, who backed Kalf in his takeover.
However, now that Kalf is getting laid
he is willing to do without his former allies.
He may later come to regret this.
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) accepts marriage to the Parisian Princess.
However, she is strangely reluctant to accept the agreement.
Worse, the translator decides to quit his job.
He would rather be a penniless wanderer
than manservant to a newly-minted Frankish nobleman.
And Rollo's Norse warriors are also grumbling about the situation.
They do not want to defend Paris against Ragnar's forces.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 2]
Kill the Queen
Shown 25 Feb 16
Bjorn's wife went walk-about in the previous season.
Now he does the same thing.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) does likewise, and goes on the run.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) gets word that his ally the Queen of Mercia has been usurped.
A council of her nobles has refused to pay tribute to Wessex.
Unfortunately Wessex needs all the taxes and tribute it can get,
in order to keep a permanent standing army.
Not just for internal repression and tax-gathering,
but to defend the country from the vengeance of Ragnar and his horde.
King Uther sends his son away to rescue the Queen.
It is an obvious trap, but the Prince points out that
not everyone is a machiavellian schemer.
This leads on to a lot of female empowerment.
The imprisoned Queen gets a brutal girl-fight,
while the Prince's wife becomes the first woman in Wessex
to get a hobby as a painter.
In Paris, Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) shows Count Odo his plans to defend Paris.
They are the same as Tyrion's plan in
Game of Thrones
for the Battle of the Blackwater, albeit without the wildfire.
Ragnar even used the phrase Winter is coming.
Yes, this Season is heavily copying GOT.
Meanwhile, Odo's mistress is plotting with his sidekick.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 3]
Mercy
Shown 03 Mar 16
Floki the boat-builder (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) endures his punishment, courtesy of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
). Everyone else appears to be getting a lot of sex.
Apparently in the viking era, the preferred position was cowgirl.
Yes, in keeping with the theme of female empowerment
in both sex scenes the woman is on top.
Ragnar's eldest son, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
), has decided to live in a remote log cabin.
He spends his days setting spring-activated cast-iron bear-traps.
Where he gets them from is not explained.
However, when an actual bear appears he takes it on with his axe and dagger.
In the spirit of the show's magical realism,
this could be an actual bear of a shape-shifting berserker hired to assassinate him.
There is another piece of magic realism here.
The spirit of Athelstan (George Blagden) returns from France
where he was playing Louis XVI in Versailles.
He appears in the dream of Ragnar, and of the King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
).
The Court of Wessex is also filled with people getting a lot of sex.
The King takes his daughter-in-law as a mistress again,
although with the theme of female empowerment she orders him to accept her as an equal.
This being despite the fact that he is a monarch
and she is basically arm-candy.
Meanwhile the Prince has the pleasure of the Queen of Mercia.
Ironically, Wessex's foster-son is Alfred the Saxon
while the heir to Mercia is the son of Ragnar the Viking.
Those who know English history will realise that
they will one day war against each other.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 4]
Yol
Shown 10 Mar 16
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) finds that he is about to get divorced.
After all, his marriage was never consumated.
However, the previous episode's French leasons were not in vain.
It seems that for all the terrible things the Parisian Princess said,
the only actual problem she had was the language barrier.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) hosts his fellow monarchs - the King of Northumbria and the Queen of Mercia.
Ragnar's home gets an unexpected visitor.
It seems he has an unexpected rival for the throne.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 5]
Promised
Shown 17 Mar 16
The Vikings prepare for their next raid on Paris.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) is busy training her army of shield maidens.
She reveals that she is pregnant by her usurper, Jarl Kalf.
They arrange to have a marriage ceremony.
However, this show owes a lot to
Game of Thrones
. Will there be another red wedding?
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) spends his spare time with the Chinese girl.
She has gotten him addicted to opium.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 6]
What Might Have Been
Shown 24 Mar 16
The Vikings set sail with a massive armada.
Just like always, there is a big storm and they get seperated.
Only the three main ships, with the main stars, find each other.
One has Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and the Chinese girl.
One has Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) and the son of King Horik.
And the final one has the new rival for Ragnar's throne.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) goes with the rival, who shares his hatred for the Xians.
Back at Kattegatt, Ragnar's wife is visited by the stranger (Kevin Durand -
The Strain
). Strangely, Durand is not credited as a guest star -
although George Blagden (Athelstan) is, even though he does not appear in the episode.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) sends young Alfred on a pilgrimage to Rome to meet the Pope.
They may go via Paris, although this would not be a good idea.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 7]
The Profit and the Loss
Shown 31 Mar 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) takes his ships up the river Seinne towards Paris.
They arrive at the French first line of defence -
a pair of towers on alternate sides of the river.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) leads an assault on one of the towers from the landward side,
while Ragnar lets Floki's friends lead the river attack.
Ragnar's assumption is that the towers are merely archery platforms.
He knows the French are reliant on their crossbows,
and since his Vikings have shields to protect them from anti-personnel projectiles
he thinks there will be minimal risk involved.
However, he forgets that Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) is in charge of the defences.
Not only does Rollo know all Ragnar's tactics,
he has also had a year to prepare the defences.
Ragnar has never seen
Game of Thrones
, so he has no idea about Tyrion's tactics at the Battle of the Blackwater.
Also, he forgets that the French have cavalry
and can thus attack the unprotected baggage camp.
There is another issue.
Ragnar's secret opium addiction has started to unhinge him.
His eldest son Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) realises that something is wrong,
but has no idea of how bad the situation really is.
The whole invasion is being run by a man whose mental health is on the way out.
Worst of all is the fact that nobody else has a better plan.
Lagertha and the rival both volunteer to lead full-frontal assaults.
Back at Kattegatt, the stranger (Kevin Durand -
The Strain
) befriends all the lonely housewives.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) leads his army into Mercia.
However, he has other plans than to just hand it over to the fratricidal Queen.
Count Odo has ambitions for the throne of France.
Unfortunately his mistress is sister/lover of his envious minion,
Roland, who has ambitions to replace Odo.
Perhaps Roland would be better off merely letting Odo take the throne.
After all, if either of the men above him were removed
he would automatically get promoted anyway.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 8]
Portage
Shown 07 Apr 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) takes his ships down the river Seinne,
away from the city of Paris.
However, he is not in in full retreat.
Instead he has a plan, to outflank the defensive towers.
Is Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) a good enough engineer to build cranes that can lift the longships?
Back at Kattegatt, the stranger (Kevin Durand -
The Strain
) is still busy with all the lonely housewives.
The Queen, Ragnar's wife, is beset with jealousy.
She does not bother to look after her own children,
never mind the daughter of Ragnar's eldest son Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
).
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) is now also King of Mercia.
He has to break the news to the fratricidal former Queen.
Whose side will his mistress/daughter-in-law take?
Count Odo is still besotted with his mistress.
Unfortunately she, and his position and power,
are envied by his ambitious minion, Roland.
The Chinese slave-girl is running out of opium.
How long will she remain in Ragnar's favour
when she is no longer of use to him?
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 9]
Death All 'Round
Shown 14 Apr 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) takes his ships AROUND the towers on the landward side,
up the river Seine towards Paris.
They use a road of logs covered in grease,
and put the longships in wooden cradles so they do not overturn.
Presumably Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) is the one who engineered this.
Ragnar must have been thinking a few steps ahead
when he saved Floki from drowning a couple of episodes ago.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) helps pull the ships, not inspite of being pregnant but because of it.
The soothsayer once prophesised that she would not have another child,
and she seems intent on making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The rival and his brother lead a group of warriors to loot and pillage the nearby farms.
After all, they do not have any provisions for the campaign so they must forage.
However, they do not bother to enslave the peasants and make them pull the ship.
Alfred, his step-father and their priest arrive at Rome.
The Pope is unhappy to hear that Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) has been given land in France.
Roland is rewarded for his attack on the unprotected Viking baggage camp.
He is made Count, and put in charge of the city's defences.
Presumably Count Odo has lost more than just his title.
Rollo is not fussed that a potential rival has been promoted.
However, his wife points out the complexities of French politics.
She also informs him that he will not be getting sex for the next year or so
because she is pregnant with his child.
King Horik's son intends to kill Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
). However, rather than do it in battle and make it look like the Franks did it,
he wants to do it in the camp surrounded by other Vikings.
Ragnar is running out of opium,
and starts to suffer withdrawal symptoms.
All he cares about is getting Rollo back, or getting back at Rollo.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 10]
The Last Ship
Shown 21 Apr 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) uses his handful of longboats to push some massive barges,
which are loaded with the bulk of his army.
These barges are basically massive lumbering targets
that any smart defensive commander would use his artillery on.
The French used mobile trebuchets a few episodes back,
and they would be ideal to use against such slow-moving targets.
Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
) leads the French, who have built their own longships.
His plan is basically a full frontal assault,
rather than targeting the Viking ships and leaving the barges.
After all, the barges have no power and will drift
until the French can set them aflame.
A decade later, Ragnar is long gone
and his sons now rule Kattegatt between them.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 11]
The Outsider
Shown 30 Nov 16
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 12]
The Vision
Shown 07 Dec 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) is back in Kattegatt, eager to raise an army to invade France again.
Unfortunately the locals know that he covered up the massacre in Wessex.
They have lost their faith in him, so he must buy it back.
Ivar the Boneless wants to come on his father's raid.
However, the others do not think he is capable of it.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 13]
Two Journeys
Shown 14 Dec 16
Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel -
Tarzan (2005)
) and Ivar the Boneless have been shipwrecked on the coast of Wessex.
Some others have also survived, but they grumble and blame Ragnar for everything.
Normally this ends in some kind of betrayal.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) is informed that, after many years, the Vikings are back.
Somehow the Saxons know that Ragnar himself is among them.
Ragnar's eldest son, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
), and most of the others sail to Normandy.
They meet with Uncle Rollo (Clive Standen -
Camelot
), and seek his permission
to sail along his coast until they reach the Mediterranean.
However, he has other plans for them.
With Ragnar and most of his sons away,
Ragnar's wife the seeress is in charge of Kattegatt.
His ex-wife, Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
), plots to invade and conquer it for herself.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 14]
In the Uncertain Hour Before the Morning
Shown 21 Dec 16
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 15]
All His Angels
Shown 28 Dec 16
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 16]
Crossings
Shown 04 Jan 17
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 17]
The Great Army
Shown 11 Jan 17
Ragnar's sons need an army so they can take revenge on the Saxon Kings.
To do this, they need Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) and her shield-maidens on their side.
However, they also want revenge on her for what she did to their mother.
Lagertha is fortifying Kattegatt,
with the intent of making it a major trading hub.
Some of the brothers' allies have plans of their own.
The Saxon Princess (
Jennie Jacques
) visits her family and warns them that Ragnar's sons will be on the warpath.
However, the Saxons are typically overconfident.
Back home, the King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) tutors young Alfred.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 18]
Revenge
Shown 18 Jan 17
The sons of Ragnar have assembled a mighty army
so they can take their revenge on the Saxon Kings.
Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) sticks to the old pagan ways.
Since the fate of the Norse people rests on the invasion of England,
the gods must be appeased with a human sacrifice.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) and his son finally have a heart-to-heart discussion.
It has only taken them a few decades to get this far.
When the battle begins, the Saxons have cavalry while the Vikings only have infantry.
This gives the Saxons a big advantage in mobility.
The Norsemen have a secret advantage of their own,
but it in no way negates the Saxons' mobility.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 19]
On the Eve
Shown 25 Jan 17
This show has moved down to the next generation.
The sons of Ragnar Lothbrok have an army of four thousand vikings,
and they march on Wessex to attack the King.
While they do this, the young Alfred the Great offers to do battle against them.
Meanwhile, Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) is in charge of Kattegatt.
She even has plans for expansion,
including a wooden model of what the eventual city will look like.
After all, she spent long enough looking at Paris to get ideas.
Unfortunately someone is trying to attack the place.
Luckily the Shield Maidens are able to protect the marketplace.
The invaders try a two-pronged assault,
combining an all-out attack on the main wall
with an amphibious assault on the docks.
However, their warriors are cowardly fools
and their leader is over-confident.
Ragnar's sons have a secret weapon in the invasion of Wessex.
Ivar the Boneless may not be able to use his legs,
but they just made him a horse-drawn chariot -
the medieval equivalent of a motorised wheelchair.
His disability may put him at a slight disadvantage,
but his gods-given ability to plan more than makes up for it.
Yes, he is the one who decides to use unconventional tactics.
Vikings [Season 4, Episode 20]
The Reckoning
Shown 01 Feb 17
The sons of Ragnar Lothbrok have united the Norsemen
and gathered an army of Vikings.
Now they have defeated two Saxon armies,
and nothing can stand in their way.
However, the brothers are not united in their desires.
The King of Wessex (Linus Roache -
Mandy (2018)
) has a plan. He officially abdicates the throne in favour of his son,
and stays behind in the empty palace while his entire capital is evacuated.
You see, he has a cunning plan.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 1]
The Departed Part One: The Fisher King
Shown 29 Nov 17
A group of Saxon knights arrives at the old capital.
They are led by Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
), who is both an aristocratic war-leader and a senior clergyman.
The Great Army of the Norsemen has begun to disband.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) returns to the Mediterranean to seek his fortune,
while Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) builds a one-man boat and sails off into the west.
Ivar the boneless wants to capture and occupy a Saxon city.
He names one that in real life was built on the ruins of the Roman city of Eboracum.
He calls it York, a modern English name derived from the Viking name of Jorvic.
It has medieval stone walls,
which in reality were probably built by Vikings instead of Saxons.
To get information, the Vikings abduct a couple of Xian children.
Apparently the Saxons do not go looking for children
even if they have been missing for three days.
The attack on the city is a slaughter reminiscent of
Spartacus: War Of The Damned
, but at least there is honesty in the portrayal of the Vikings as being bloodthirsty invaders.
The Bishop's fate is reminiscent of Viscerys' fate in]
Game of Thrones
.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 2]
The Departed Part Two
Shown 29 Nov 17
The Saxon King is hiding in the marshes with his family.
Alfred has a serious illness, and looks like he might not survive.
Luckily he can commune with the spirit of his dead father,
who gives him info on the Viking army's location.
The Saxon army is now led by Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
), who is both an aristocratic war-leader and a senior clergyman.
Their plan is to take their time,
ignorant of the Vikings' tendency to launch a pre-emptive counter-attack.
Meanwhile, Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) interrogates King Harald.
He claims to no longer have plans on her Kingdom,
but she knows better than to trust a man like him.
Unfortunately, Voikings tend to see mercy as weakness.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) arrives at an unexplored shore, far to the west.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 3]
Homeland
Shown 06 Dec 17
The Saxon King and the Saxon army led by Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) try to retake York.
Unfortunately Ivar the boneless knows they are coming.
As always, he has a plan.
This would be a perfect opportunity to make a peace treaty.
Two of Ragnar's sons want to deal with the Saxon King.
Ivar advises against it, and is happy to improve his own standing in the Viking leadership.
Similarly, Bishop Hagan does not want a treaty -
he wants to slaughter the invaders and usurp the King's authority.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 4]
The Plan
Shown 13 Dec 17
The Saxon King and the Saxon army led by Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) failed to retake York by storming it.
Now they have no option but to lay siege to it.
Unfortunately Ivar the boneless knows they will do this.
As always, he has a plan.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) has reached the Mediterranean.
He has taken a wise old-ish man aboard his fleet,
who advised the Vikings to proceed with only three ships.
The good news is that this will make them look like peaceful traders.
The bad news is that they get dragged into local politics in Sicily.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) tries to make an alliance with one of Ragnar's sons.
With Bjorn away and one of her sidekicks in the hands of her rival,
she is beginning to look weak.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 5]
The Prisoner
Shown 20 Dec 17
The Saxons have recaptured York, but the Vikings are nowhere to be seen.
Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) sees that the rats are now above ground,
but does not take the thought any further.
It turns out that the whole thing is an enormous ambush,
with the Vikings hiding in the Roman sewers.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) returns from Iceland to Kattegatt.
He wants to recruit settlers to create a colony there.
There is no shortage of volunteers, including Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
). Unfortunately this is not the best time for it,
since Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) is preparing for war and needs every warrior she has.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and his friends get involved in Byzantine politics.
They talk the Commander into taking them to see the Emir in the Sahara.
Unfortunately they get in above their heads.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 6]
The Message
Shown 27 Dec 17
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) plans to get his settlers to Iceland.
Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
) and WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) must be better sailors than Ragnar and his brother were.
After all, the old heroes ran into a storm every time they went to England
while these new guys get all the way to Iceland with no problems.
Ivar joins Lagertha's rival, King Harald.
He has brought along his hostage, Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
), and gives him an ultimatum.
Join Ivar in the Viking civil war, or else be executed.
Lagertha's shield maiden has agreed to be King Harald's wife.
However, she seems to be playing both sides.
A whaler agrees to take a secret message to Kattegatt for her.
However, the price is a lot higher than she wanted to pay.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 7]
Full Moon
Shown 03 Jan 18
Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) decides to fight for Ivar's side.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) shows Iceland to his settlers.
WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) seems okay with living in the desolate wasteland.
Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
) does nothing but complain.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 8]
The Joke
Shown 10 Jan 18
The brothers are about to go to battle with each other.
They hold a peace conference, but Ivar has his own take on things.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) decides that the best way to make the Iceland settlement work.
The plan is to build a temple to the Norse gods.
WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) seems okay with it, but Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
) does nothing but complain.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 9]
A Simple Story
Shown 17 Jan 18
Ivar's side was defeated in the first battle.
However, he has another trick up his sleeve.
Uncle Rollo is eager to lend his Frankish troops to one of his nephews.
That said, it makes little sense that he would so easily turn against Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
).
Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) has survived the battle, but is now a prisoner.
Lagertha offers him the chance to defect and fight for her.
Although Ivar seemed to win Hagan's respect,
Lagertha has an advantage when it comes to bribery.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) and WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) know that Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
) only complains to stir up trouble so he can become King of Iceland.
They are willing to ignore his complaints about the temple.
Then someone mysteriously burns it.
Naturally, things escalate.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 10]
Moments of Vision
Shown 24 Jan 18
The two Viking sides go into battle against each other.
This has happened many times, about twice each Season so far.
We have never really felt our heroes to be in danger.
Now, however, they have visions of their own deaths.
Who will live and who will die?
Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) eagerly services Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
), who appears to get younger as the episode progresses.
This is strange, because she is about the same age as Rollo
and he certainly does not look as young as he used to be.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) realises his Iceland settlement is not working out.
WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) and Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
) are going to end up in a never-ending blood-feud.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 11]
The Revelation
Shown 28 Nov 18
Ivar takes possession of the spoils of victory - Kattegatt itself.
He and his allies hold a victory feast to celebrate.
Rollo visits, then goes to offer safe passage to Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
). Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) offers her an alternative -
a job as a mercenary to defend England from other Vikings.
In Wessex, the younger generation of Royalty have taken over.
The Saxon Princess (
Jennie Jacques
) is now the Queen Mother,
and she is the power behind the throne of her son King Alfred.
In Iceland, Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) offers himself as a sacrifice to the gods
in the hope it will bring peace between WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) and Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
).
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 12]
Murder Most Foul
Shown 05 Dec 18
Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) is welcomed back in Wessex.
The bad news is that his political rivals have taken his Bishopric.
The good news is that as he is not currently a Bishop
he can spend a lot more time with Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
).
There are no big battles this episode, just lots of politics.
But as the title suggests,
politics in the Dark Ages involved a lot of assassination.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 13]
A New God
Shown 12 Dec 18
Bishop Hagan (Jonathan Rhys Myers -
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
) is arrested for the assassination in the previous episode.
King Alfred needs him, but is put in a precarious position.
But if some of the Vikings were to convert religion,
this might make his alliance with them more acceptable.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) meets a stranger who claims to be his brother,
a son of Ragnar by the Saxon Princess in Season Two.
Is this another alliance in the making,
or a setup for betrayal that undermines the deal with Alfred?
Ivar stays in Kattegatt, while his ally heads back to York.
Of course, double-crosses are in the air.
The York Vikings plan to raid the Saxon kingdom of Wessex,
but they will keep the spoils for themselves and not Ivar.
Back in Kattegatt, Ivar's new wife has taken control of him.
She convinces him that he is a god, like Caligula or Nero ...
and he demands a human sacrifice that befits his new status.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 14]
The Lost Moment
Shown 19 Dec 18
In Kattegatt, Ivar conducts a human sacrifice in his own honour.
In England, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) introduces Lagertha (
Katheryn Winnick
) and the others to the stranger claiming to be his brother.
In Iceland, a woman has gone missing.
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) meets her ghost, and gets info on how to find her body.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 15]
Hell
Shown 26 Dec 18
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 16]
The Buddha
Shown 02 Jan 19
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and his brothers accomplish one of Ragnar's goals -
the establishment of a colony on English soil.
In Iceland, Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) and his crew are barely surviving.
In Wessex, the Saxon Queen Mother (
Jennie Jacques
) has lost trust in her younger son.
Will he stay loyal to his sickly brother, King Alfred?
How far will she go to ensure Alfred's reign is undisturbed?
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 17]
The Most Terrible Thing
Shown 09 Jan 19
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) tries to unite his Iceland colony.
Can he bring peace between WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) and Kris Holden-Ried (
Lost Girl
)?
In York, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and Harald plot against Ivar.
Harald still wants Kategatt for himself.
In Wessex, the Saxon Queen Mother (
Jennie Jacques
) helps King Alfred keep things together.
Even though the rebels have been arrested
and the Norsemen in York are busy plotting against Ivar,
the Danes based in Dublin have decided to invade.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 18]
Baldur
Shown 16 Jan 19
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) goes in search of his pagan gods.
In York, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and Harald prepare to sail against Ivar.
In Wessex, Uber is General of Alfred's army.
Instead of just attacking the Danish invaders,
and probably falling into a blatant ambush,
he decides to offer them a peace deal.
They can settle on the land that King Alfred gifted the sons of Ragnar,
and bring to fruition Ragnar's dream of establishing a colony in England.
Ivar's wife gives birth.
Meanwhile, Ivar's brother is his ambassador to King Olaf (Steven Berkoff -
Werewolves Vs Strippers
).
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 19]
What Happens In The Cave
Shown 23 Jan 19
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) descends into the depths of the mysterious cave.
But the gods he find there are not the ones he expected to find.
In Wessex, the Saxon Queen Mother (
Jennie Jacques
) is dying.
Uber takes on the Danish King Frodo in single combat,
with the fate of the colony in the balance.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and Harald face storms as they take their army across the North Sea.
Meanwhile, Ivar's other brother and King Olaf (Steven Berkoff -
Werewolves Vs Strippers
) close in on Kattegatt.
Vikings [Season 5, Episode 20]
Ragnarok
Shown 30 Jan 19
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) takes ship back to Norway.
But who will be in charge when she gets there?
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and his allies besiege Kattegatt.
Ivar has appointed a series of Jarls over his lands,
and each one has sent sixty warriors to fight for him.
The defences rival those of Paris,
due as much to Lagertha's planning
as to Ivar's learning from Floki the builder.
The battle rivals those from Season Three.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 1]
New Beginnings
Shown 04 Dec 19
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and his allies have liberated Kattegatt.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) retires, and goes off to become a farmer near a remote fijord.
Ivar and his people have gotten away from Scandinavia,
but get attacked by a gang of horsemen.
These are not Tatar nomads, but Kievan Rus.
Their King, Oleg, turns out to be more of a dictator than Ivar!
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 2]
The Prophet
Shown 04 Dec 19
Oleg takes Ivar to meet his brother,
and things take a twist reminiscent of the politics of Anglo-Saxon England.
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) has a tough decision to make.
Will he abandon a former ally,
or will he go to war on the man's behalf?
WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) has returned from the land he has named Iceland.
His story is that the settlement is successful,
but that Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard -
WestWorld (2016)
) mysteriously disappeared.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 3]
Ghosts, Gods and Running Dogs
Shown 11 Dec 19
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) leads an attack to rescue Harald from King Olaf (Steven Berkoff -
Werewolves Vs Strippers
). However, the defenders are well-prepared.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) meets her neighbours, a village mostly occupied by women.
They claim to be war widows and the like.
This seems a bit reminiscent of
Hercules and the Amazon Women
. When the village is attacked by strange men,
the women go to Lagertha for help.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 4]
All the Prisoners
Shown 18 Dec 19
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) attends a parlay with King Olaf (Steven Berkoff -
Werewolves Vs Strippers
), who offers him a deal.
Olaf proposes that Bjorn be elected King of all Norway.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) trains her villagers as a new army of Shield Maidens.
Quickly enough, the bandits arrive.
It is not a gang, but a well-organised army ...
Ivar's army, who were exiled by Bjorn.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 5]
The Key
Shown 01 Jan 20
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) stands for election at an event hosted by King Olaf (Steven Berkoff -
Werewolves Vs Strippers
).
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) has to cope with the tragic aftermath of the battle.
Luckily some of her old Shield Maidens arrive as reinforcements.
Their leader is Bjorn's pregnant wife,
who had a mystical dream about the battle.
Ivar plans to turn the tables on his friend Prince Oleg.
Now he meets Oleg's fiance - a lookalike of Ivar's dead wife.
Is this another mystical intervention?
After all, Ivar's brother sees visions all the time.
This could be the Norse Gods intervening,
or it could be all the magic mushrooms he is consuming.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 6]
Death and the Serpent
Shown 08 Jan 20
Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig -
Final Girl (2015)
) and King Olaf (Steven Berkoff -
Werewolves Vs Strippers
) are surprised by the outcome of the election.
Although nobody except Bjorn bothered to mount a rescue attempt,
now Harald is unexpectedly popular.
Somehow, despite being exiles the brigands are very well-armed.
Lagertha the Shield Maiden (
Katheryn Winnick
) has organised the defence of the village.
She puts the few remaining males - old men and boys - up front,
where they can be quickly wiped out by the raiders.
The women are hidden inside a wicker-work maze,
where they plan to pick the invaders off in small groups.
The final boss's duel with Lagertha is impressive.
Both of them are aging warriors who want to die in battle
so they can go the Valhalla, and they are also driven by revenge.
So which one will die?
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 7]
The Ice Maiden
Shown 15 Jan 20
The people of Kattegatt hold a magnificent funeral for Lagertha.
It is the greatest funeral they have ever held,
because the Shield maidens just have to turn everything into a damn contest.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 8]
Valhalla Can Wait
Shown 22 Jan 20
Bjorn has returned to Kattegatt,
and it does not take him long to work out who killed Lagertha.
There is no such thing as a plea of insanity or diminished responsibility.
The justifiable revenge motive, to get justice for the murder that Lagertha committed,
is mentioned but is not accepted either.
Since Bjorn is the king, he is also judge and jury ...
Uber and his wife have decided to join The Edge in Iceland.
It might be a good idea to send the exiles there.
After all, the previous group of exiles became bandits
and attacked Lagertha's village.
However, Bjorn decides that simply banishing someone into the hills and forests is good enough.
This may come back to haunt him in the future.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 9]
Resurrection
Shown 29 Jan 20
The Rus have begun their scouting raids on Norway.
Prince Oleg plans to bring an end to Paganism.
Bjorn sends Erik the Red as a messenger to King Harald.
Uber and his wife have reached Iceland.
They question Uther (Ray Stevenson -
Rome
), who claims to have discovered the mysterious Golden Land to the west.
It turns out that the Edge has been keeping secrets about his colony,
and Uber is not happy about it.
The theme of the episode, and perhaps of the Season,
is of the Pagan Norwegians being threatened with political and cultural invasion by Christians.
Uber is particularly xenophobic, and xian-phobic, in this respect.
He is a hypocrite, because his wife points out that while he lived in England he was baptised as a Christian.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 10]
The Best Laid Plans
Shown 05 Feb 20
Ivar and his allies plan to invade Norway.
The Rus Princess offers to make a deal with him,
in more than one way.
But is this too good to be true?
It seems too many people know about his plot for it to be safe.
Meanwhile, Bjorn joins King Harald in planning the defence of the capital.
Unfortunately many of the vassals who swore loyalty to King Harald
have decided not to honour their promises.
When the attack arrives, it all seems a bit anachronistic.
The beach defences have walls of pointed wooden stakes,
reminiscent of the tank traps in Saving Private Ryan.
In contrast, the attacking Rus use flat-bottomed barges that open at the front.
Yes, they have landing craft!
Except for the Rus flagship, which has a rear-mounted paddle-wheel.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 11]
King of Kings
Shown 01 Jan 21
In the aftermath of the previous episode,
two of the Norse Kings have been captured and one is dying.
The Rus army sets out to attack Kattegatt.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 12]
All Change
Shown 08 Jan 21
The survivors of the Rus army return to Kiev.
Prince Oleg tries to shift the blame for the failure,
and launches a purge of his army's officer corps.
In Kattegatt, Bjorn's women prepare for an election.
In Iceland, Ubbe plans his voyage to the New World.
He sets Uther (Ray Stevenson -
Rome
) and WWE Superstar The Edge (
Haven
) against each other.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 13]
The Signal
Shown 15 Jan 21
With the sons of Ragnar now dead or away, the people of Kattegatt hold an election to choose the next ruler.
Bjorn's widows both stand for election.
One is his last wife, Grunhild, who is a respected shield maiden in her own right.
The other is Ingrid, a former concubine who is carrying Bjorn's only surviving legitimate son and heir.
In Kiev, Ivar is now mistrusted.
Prince Oleg recruits Ivar's brother as his head Varangian bodyguard.
With Ivar alone and deprived of allies,
can he still rescue the boy-prince?
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 14]
Lost Souls
Shown 22 Jan 21
The explorers reach a new land, so barren ad empty they call it Greenland.
Luckily they have the women and kids, so they can colonise it immediately.
They set up farmsteads and plant crops.
Ragnar's son has visions of the old shaman.
King Harald claims Kattegatt for himself.
He even plans to marry the two women who want to be Queens.
Ivar gets to safety.
But will he be rewarded as he hopes?
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 15]
All At Sea
Shown 29 Jan 21
On Greenland, a dead whale has been washed ashore on the stretch of land chosen by the self-proclaimed King of Iceland (The Edge -
Haven
). He insists on hoarding it for his own family, which makes the other settlers jealous.
Even when he reluctantly offers to share some of it,
the others are mistrustful of him.
This leads to violence, in a single shot of steadicam footage that is spectacularly impressive.
The survivors of the skirmish escape to the longboats, and make way to their next destination.
Ivar and his allies return to Kiev, for the final confrontation with the dictator.
The city seems deserted, an obvious sign of a trap.
Very reminiscent of the City of York, when Ivar himself laid an ambush for the Saxons.
Prince Oleg is an Xian fanatic, and after the events of the previous episode sees himself as some kind of martyr.
It is the day of King Harald's wedding.
Grunhild has a hard decision to make.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 16]
The Final Straw
Shown 05 Feb 21
Ivar and his brother arrive back at Kattegatt, where the other sons of Ragnar no longer reign.
Instead, they find King Harald Finehair in charge.
They offer him their support, in exchange for protection.
After all, the locals regard them as traitors for leading the Kievan Rus army against their home-town.
Harald knows how dynastic politics work, and is willing to make alliances with his former enemies.
He holds a feast in honour of their arrival.
How long will it be before someone double-crosses the others?
The survivors of the failed Greenland expedition are adrift in the North Atlantic.
Uber has lost faith in the mysterious sailor (Ray Stevenson -
Rome
), who lied about his Saxon heritage.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 17]
The Raft of Medusa
Shown 12 Feb 21
As with the previous episode,
this was directed by
Paddy Breathnach
. Ivar and King Harald lead their army to Wessex,
which is now ruled by the young Alfred the Great.
They follow in the footsteps of Ragnar,
and even plan to use a battle-plan of his from a previous expedition.
Alfred's wife lampshades the show's repetitive story-lines
by pointing out that the Vikings never lose – even when defeated,
they always make a deal which they will eventually break whenever it suits them.
King Harald left his friend Erik (Eric Johnson -
Smallville
) in charge of Kattegatt.
Unfortunately Erik is after Harald's wife.
She is a witch, and has her own agenda.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 18]
It's Only Magic
Shown 19 Feb 21
Uber and his people explore the New Found Land, although they have not thought of a name for it.
The Xian (Ray Stevenson -
Rome
) discovers signs that there are already people living there.
The Vikings try to find the locals so they can make peace and trade.
However, the locals know the territory and are well-equipped for hunting.
If things get violent,
the Vikings will be wiped out in no time.
In Wessex, King Alfred plots to take on the Viking army.
Unfortunately his medical condition flares up, pulling him out of the fight.
Meanwhile, Ivar has problems of his own.
Firstly, a low-lying fog now obscures the potential approaches the Saxon army might take.
Secondly, Ivar himself is distracted by his own lust for power.
He obsesses about leaving a legacy for himself,
completely oblivious to the fact that to leave a legacy he must create a bloodline.
He gave up his one chance at this when he murdered his own wife and child in the previous Season.
The self-proclaimed King Erik (Eric Johnson -
Smallville
) is nominally in charge of Kattegatt.
However, he has been mysteriously blinded.
The witch-queen uses this to secure her own position.
Of course, Erik works out that she was responsible.
He plots a course of revenge,
apparently assuming that his blindness is incurable.
After all, if anyone had a cure it would be the witch who caused it.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 19]
The Lord Giveth…
Shown 26 Feb 21
In Wessex, King Alfred sends his men into battle.
King Harald fights his best,
but even if he defeats the Saxons he will still have Ivar to worry about.
In Newfoundland,
Uber and his people befriend the natives.
Somehow, one of them knows a few words of Norse.
Uber investigates, and finds a surprising truth.
Vikings [Season 6, Episode 20]
The Last Act
Shown 05 Mar 21
In Wessex, Ivar and his brother fight on against Alfred the Great.
Will this be the first defeat for the sons of Ragnar?
In Newfoundland,
one of the Vikings assumes the natives have gold.
He tries to rob them, and someone gets killed.
Uber must deliver justice with a public execution.
This is reminiscent of the first Season,
and the ending ties the story up nicely.
