S06.E06: Death and the Serpent

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 01/08/2020

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Bjorn is forced to act quickly in the aftermath of the election for the King of all Norway. The bandits attack Lagertha's village again as Hvitserk continues to unravel.

 

[patty1h]

Yeah, King Harald.  I like the actor and the life he breathes into his character, so I'm glad that he's getting a chance to act as king (for as long as that lasts).  I'm sure he'll put more grit into the part than sullen Bjorn.

I was really? at the scene with not!Freydis and Oleg screwing in front of Ivar.  In the words of Valerie Cherish "I didn't need to see that!".  However, seeing Ivar's fascination with Oleg's new wife and her resemblance to his own dead wife, I'm predicting... 2 episodes before we see Ivar and not!Freydis end up in bed.  We'll see if that will break up the friendship between these pals.

And....   OMG!  Lagetha finally met her end at the hand of one of Ragnar's sons.  RIP in Valhalla, Queen.   Bravo to the person(s) who predicted it would be mad Hvitserk.

 

[magdalene]

I have known of course that this is the final season of the show. But now I feel that the end is coming.

With the exception of the long off screen Rollo Lagertha was the last Original Recipe Vikings main character.  She had outlived the love of her life by many years.  She got to have one last triumph in combat and then was dispatched by a drug addicted and hallucinating Hvitserk - fulfilling the seers prophesy that a son of Ragnar would kill her.  Well done, show. I t was a good end for Lagertha, better than to die slowly from wound fever.  And poor Hvitserk being the instrument of her end avoided the predictable cliche of Ivar killing her.

I know I am supposed to feel sympathy for Bjorn who lost a child, his mother, and a kingdom in one swoop. Shrugs callously. Bring on the violins.

[LittleIggy]

Now my favorite character is gone! 😢 I can console myself imagining Lagertha reuniting with Ragnar in Valhalla. RIP, greatest shield maiden ever...

That Maze of Death was pretty awesome.

Oleg and his bride are freaks. Is it too much to expect Ivar to reunite with his own people to fight Prince Nutjob?

Is that Eric the Red?

[thuganomics85]

And so ends the Saga of Lagertha.  With this being the final season, I figured it was only a matter of time before she met her end, but I totally forgot about the whole prophecy that said one of Ragnar's sons would kill her, so I was totally "Oh, shit!" when Hvisterk started stumbling outside all delusional and shit, and I began to realize what was going down.  I'll definitely miss her and what Katheryn Winnick brought to the role, but at least she got one last badass moment by taking out the head bandit guy and, as she pretty much said, she did live a good life all things considering, and lived longer than a lot of other people during that time.  But man, I do not want to be in Hvisterk's shoes if anyone finds out it was him.

So, Harald really was working behind Bjorn this entire time and got himself elected king?  And Kjetell/Viking Edge helped him too.  But then Harald decided to have Bjorn killed (was it because he didn't attend the party?  Or was that already the plan?), so Kjetell triple-crosses, and gives Bjorn a heads up.  But Bjorn's true savior actually comes in the form of a character played by Eric Johnson named... Erik.  So, I'm guessing he's going to end up being Erik the Red?  Crazy!

Speaking of crazy, Oleg now knows that Katya reminds Ivar of Freydis, so he's does the only logical thing possible: starts having sex with her on the dinner table, and making Ivar watch.  I don't think I'll ever tire of watching Ivar of all people continuing to be the guy who is just "This is so messed up, guys!" on screen.

[LennieBriscoe]

Will somebody please put Hvitserk out of my....I mean his misery??

And that is why Lagertha  hallucinated the Seer before Hvitserk had his hallucination. And it is why the eerie song was of and for her. 

Lagertha evolved into one of the greatest female characters ever! 

Ubbe and Bjorn, meh. 

Now we await the conclusion of Prince Oleg's cat-and-mouse long game with his captive Ivar. Or will Bad Seed Igor take out Oleg first? 

[wlk68]

Sorry to see Lagertha go - she was so badass! - but it was time. And I had completely forgotten about the prophecy that she would be done in by a son of Ragnar. At least they didn't go the cliche rout of having it be Ivar. I may be mistaken because the scene was dark and rainy but it looks like Hvitserk dropped his knife at the scene. Won't be long before everyone figures out what happened. Oops. There was a quick glimpse of one of the scenes from upcoming episodes that leads me to believe that Hvitserk will be in deep doo-doo for this.  

So Bjorn travels all that way to rescue Harald and the dude betrays him? Not cool. And what's to stop Harald from pursuing Bjorn back to Kattegat to finish the job?  I feel like there's something we're missing.  

Erik the Red!! 

I feel like Prince Oleg not only knows about Freydis and the baby but about the fact that Ivar has difficulties in the "making whoopie" department. Doing the nasty with his look-a-like wife right in front Ivar was Oleg's way of rubbing it in Ivar's face. Oleg is a cruel psychotic despot and I get the sense he enjoys pushing people into doing things just so he can punish them for it. "See? Look what you made me do."  

Edited January 9, 2020 by wlk68

[Straycat80]

My favorite character is gone. I know it was prophesied that a son of Ragnar would kill her but I would have wanted her to have a more noble death. On the battlefield with sword in hand. At least she’s in Valhalla with Ragnar now. 

I knew as soon as Bjorn asked the guy with the red hair his name and he said Erik that he was Erik the Red. 

I don’t care about Ivar, Oleg,  notFreydis and their shenanigans. 

 

 

[Lady Iris]

12 hours ago, patty1h said:

And....   OMG!  Lagetha finally met her end at the hand of one of Ragnar's sons.  RIP in Valhalla, Queen.   Bravo to the person(s) who predicted it would be mad Hvitserk.

 

Aww noooo lol! I didnt watch last night so I know I'm wading into the waters here but dayum I would not have seen that coming and I totally forgot about the prophesy about one of the sons killing her. RIP Lagertha you were one amazing woman!

What age does anybody think Lagertha was?

[Ohwell]

Count me in as another one who'd forgotten the Seer's prediction that one of Ragnar's sons would be the one to kill Lagertha.  While I'll miss her, I did like the final, tender scene between her and Hvitserk.  I couldn't understand everything she said but it seemed like she forgave him.   

Even though I'm meh on horndog Bjorn, he did save Harald and it was a dick move to betray Bjorn like that.  I was warming up to Harald, too.  Not cool.

Prince Oleg.  I have no words.  I'm just interested in what the escaped brother has in mind for revenge.

Erik the Red!!

[Tony Williams]

Goodbye my warrior queen.  Valkyries should have appeared to take you to Valhalla.  Ragnar should have greeted you upon arrival.  You should have been escorted to your seat with the toasts of heroes ringing throughout the hall.  SKOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!             

[sagittarius sue]

55 minutes ago, Lady Iris said:

What age does anybody think Lagertha was?

I would think she would be in her 50s.

[Lamima]

1 hour ago, Lady Iris said:

Aww noooo lol! I didnt watch last night so I know I'm wading into the waters here but dayum I would not have seen that coming and I totally forgot about the prophesy about one of the sons killing her. RIP Lagertha you were one amazing woman!

What age does anybody think Lagertha was?

About 50. 

[iMonrey]

Well that sucked. I wonder how they expect the audience to remain invested for another 14 episodes with all the fan favorites gone. I would love for the last scene of this show to be a shot of Ragnar and Lagertha seated together in Valhalla with their two children.

I'm a little confused about the ending and the song for Lagertha. Were they having some kind of memorial service for her when the girl was singing it, intercut with flashbacks of how Lagertha died? At first I thought "Wow, what a coincidence the court singer just happens to be singing an ode to Lagertha just as she's arriving" but as it went along I began to think it was an after-the-fact sort of thing.

I will say the shot of Lagertha as a serpent crawling on the ground was extremely effective, and while I'm not crazy about the show killing her off there is some poetic justice in her dying at the hands of the son whose mother she killed.

King Harald can just go DIAF. Bjorn should have left him to rot.

Nothing they do is going to make me feel sorry for Ivar, no matter how hard they try. Forget it, show.

[Lamima]

Yeah, good point about it being an after death song. I think Ubbe and Torvi were off doing some thing or another and not in Kattegat when she died. So I think it was a flash forward being mixed in with the death scene. Maybe.

I wish Rollo would come back. Miss me some Rollo action. 

Did we see Floki die? I can't recall. If he could still be alive, I wish he'd come back too. 

I like that Harald betrayed Bjorn. Cannot stand Bjorn. Feel bad for his newest wife as he will just do her wrong. 

The girl who hangs around Hvitserk and tries to help him. Did he kill her too or just knock her out? 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Lamima

[Ohwell]

The woman singing the song about Lagertha had an interesting voice.  I loved about 25% of it but couldn't stand listening to the other 75% that was a cross between yodeling and mewling like a forlorn cat.

[ihartcoffee]

1 hour ago, Lamima said:

Yeah, good point about it being an after death song. I think Ubbe and Torvi were off doing some thing or another and not in Kattegat when she died. So I think it was a flash forward being mixed in with the death scene. Maybe.

I wish Rollo would come back. Miss me some Rollo action. 

Did we see Floki die? I can't recall. If he could still be alive, I wish he'd come back too. 

I like that Harald betrayed Bjorn. Cannot stand Bjorn. Feel bad for his newest wife as he will just do her wrong. 

The girl who hangs around Hvitserk and tries to help him. Did he kill her too or just knock her out? 

Floki was deep in a cave when it blew from a volcano.  I'm not sure if he'll miraculously be alive,  lol. 

[Ohwell]

So Flatnose cast his lot with Harald because he thought he would help him become King of Iceland.  Then when he found out that Harald planned to have Bjorn killed, he had a change of heart and warned Bjorn.  I wonder why he didn't tell Bjorn that he wanted to be King of Iceland, or did I miss the conversation?

[iMonrey]

I think part of the reason Flatnose turned against Bjorn was because Bjorn openly accused him of killing Floki. 

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I think Ubbe and Torvi were off doing some thing or another and not in Kattegat when she died. So I think it was a flash forward being mixed in with the death scene. Maybe.

Ubbe and Torvi are still running Kattegat. I find it hard to believe it was a coincidence some court entertainer/singer was singing a song about Lagertha out of the blue for no reason, and coincidentally just as she was dying. I'm pretty sure that was some kind of memorial only we weren't clued into it until after we realized what was going on. 

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I like that Harald betrayed Bjorn. Cannot stand Bjorn. Feel bad for his newest wife as he will just do her wrong. 

I'm not crazy about Bjorn either but I'm more pissed at Harald. He'd still be rotting in a dungeon if it weren't for Bjorn risking his life and the lives of his men. Historically Harald Finehair was the legendary first king of Norway so that's probably why they went there. He was on something of a redemption arc after all the times he has betrayed the Lothbroks and Lagertha. This just reminded me why I used to hate him.

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The girl who hangs around Hvitserk and tries to help him. Did he kill her too or just knock her out? 

We don't know yet. Probably just knocked her out.

[mcjen]

Well played, show!  Just last week I was saying how none of this held my interest anymore, and then you went and did...that. 

Like a lot of people, I had forgotten the prophecy that Lagertha would die at the hands of a son of Ragnar.  Back in the days when I was still thinking of it, I didn't like thinking it would be at the hands of Ivar, or done mistakenly by Bjorn.  Never had any thought of Hvitserk.  This actually made his over-the-top madness worth something.  I too was kinda hoping for a glimpse of Ragnar, perhaps holding out a hand to welcome her to Valhalla.  Oh, well; can't have everything!

I'm glad she made a good end, beating White Hair (or whatever he was called), and I don't even mind her being knifed by a lunatic Hvitserk.  As she told him, it was fated - they couldn't avoid it.

[LittleIggy]

Guess I’m the only one who remembered what the Seer had said about Lagertha’s fate. 😏

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I think part of the reason Flatnose turned against Bjorn was because Bjorn openly accused him of killing Floki. 

Yes, I forgot about that. 

I think Flatnose didn't think that Harald would be that much of a doublecrossing dick that he'd want Bjorn killed.  

[Lamima]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Guess I’m the only one who remembered what the Seer had said about Lagertha’s fate. 😏

I remembered and was wondering why she seemed like she would die from that banished guy's wound. Thought maybe the son of Ragnar would be Bjorn after all since he banished that guy and didn't kill him so in a round about way...

[dbell1]

Just caught up on the last two shows. Damn. OG shield maiden saved her village only to have mushroom mad red eye take her out? Guess it’s better than Bjorn or Ubbe doing it by mistake or as a mercy killing. Kind of explains the Seer trance talking to Hvitserk last episode.

Why do people keep going to Lagertha’s village? First Torvi leaves her kids there, now Gunhild is hanging out. Guess Eric The Red’s boat tour pulls up for a cruise stop soon. 

Harald gets his throne. And might finally get laid? Guess Olaf didn’t dream up that kingsmoot ending? 

How many men did Bjorn lose by trying to rescue Harald? I remember ships full of them and now there’s only Viking Edge left?

[PatsyandEddie]

I openly admit that I cried like a baby at Lagertha ‘s passing. Such a strong woman both physically and emotionally. She never stopped loving Ragnar and now is seated at the table in Valhalla. 

Maybe this will straighten Hvitserk out or it will be the death of him. 

[benteen]

All Hail Lagertha!

I had a feeling this was coming and they gave us one more great victory for her.  Then you got killed by a son of Ragnar (I had forgotten that prophecy too), the one known as "that other guy."  Lagertha deserved a better death but at least they did SOMETHING interesting with that other guy, I mean, Hvitserk!

Thank you, Kathryn Winnick!  She was always absolutely amazing on the show and her character was a real badass.  It's the end of an era for the show.

But at least they are continuing to deliver, which isn't so easy with how long they have been around.  I loved the Maze of Death too and how it was shot (the overhead shots in particular).  Last season, the show got away from the increasingly CGI massive battles and focused more on these smaller battles (without the CGI) like they used to do in the early days of the show.  When it comes to those type of battles, NO ONE on televiion could do it better.  Not even Game of Thrones  This was another memorable Vikings battle in a massive collection of them.

Harald was a bastard to screw Bjorn like that but Bjorn wanted an election and he got an election.  Bjorn has been a complete disaster this season with everything he's done blowing up in his face.  He's been a TERRIBLE king and has shown terrible judgment.  It took a Flatnose triple-cross (whom Bjorn foolishly brought with him in the first place) to save him, along with Erik the Red.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of that character.

I give the show credit the Harald character.  I couldn't stand him or his brother for like the first three seasons they were on.  Then they made the character a lot more interesting and the actor delivered.  It's hard to do that with a character that's been around so long.

[Ohwell]

14 hours ago, dbell1 said:

Harald gets his throne. And might finally get laid?

Eh, maybe.  He hasn't had much luck with women, although I guess there's somebody out there who'd like to be queen.  

[Babalooie]

Regarding the beginning of the third paragraph, the posts combined themselves.           Michael Hirst had already stated in many articles that he would end the series when he got the Vikings to N. America.  Well, as soon as I saw the red-headed newcomer named Erik, it was obvious who he was and what his son would do.

OAN, according to ancestry.com, Harald is one of my Ggrandfathers, along with Sigurd and Ivar.  I realize that there wasn't much of a written history, but there were sagas and songs, which brings me to the last point.  

Sorry, the previous post got stuck and forced me to submit.  Although I have a degree in Music Ed, I could not stand the singing.  Sorry.   However, I would have loved to be one of the drummers who pounded away after each vote was cast.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Babalooie

[tennisgurl]

Lets raise a big glass of mead to Lagertha, the best and most badass of all shield-maidens in all of Vikingdom! Its so sad to see her go, but with her passing, it really does seem like the show is heading towards its end. Its also a pretty good way to go, going out taking down that old asshole and getting vengeance for her grandson, she dies knowing that her family line will continue, and she will now get to go and drink mead with Ragnar and the gods in Valhalla forever, which is the pretty much the best way for a Viking to die. I almost forget about that prophesy that the Seerer told her about years ago, nice way to tie that into the whole story with Hvitserk losing his mind, while also allowing her to have a badass last stand. That fight was awesome too, I loved the Maze of Death! Great way to say goodbye to such an awesome character, and the last actor who has been with the whole show the whole time. Hope she is having great adventures in Valhalla! 

So why exactly did Harald try to have Bjorn killed after the election? Was he that pissed off that Bjorn was being a sore loser? Bjorn is clearly pissed and sulky, but he seemed to accept it, even if he didnt like it. I wouldn't blame people for voting for Harald anyway as king, even if he didnt buy the votes, I might have even preferred that. It sucks that this will presumably end their friendship, and I am kind of disappointed not gonna lie, but this IS Vikings, people forgive each other for all kinds of insane shit all of the time. I mean, Vikings gonna Viking I guess.  And I cant be THAT mad at Harald, even if him trying to have Bjorn killed after everything he did to save him is a serious dick move. The guy is a ton of fun, even if I am rather pissed about this.

The Lagertha song was quite haunting, I do wonder why she was singing what sounded like a mourning song while, as far as they knew, Lagertha was alive and well. Maybe its like when former presidents start getting old and they start practicing doing marches for his funeral before he even dies! I guess Lagertha was getting up there in Viking years and certainly warrants celebration in honor of her extraordinary life!

So Bjorns new friend, Eric the Red?

Edited January 11, 2020 by tennisgurl

[Auntie Anxiety]

I couldn’t help but chuckle when Erik (I think it was him) told Bjorn that they have a getaway boat waiting to leave the dock. Kind of like a getaway car after a bank robbery, but in very slow motion.

[magdalene]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The Lagertha song was quite haunting, I do wonder why she was singing what sounded like a mourning song while, as far as they knew, Lagertha was alive and well. Maybe its like when former presidents start getting old and they start practicing doing marches for his funeral before he even dies! I guess Lagertha was getting up there in Viking years and certainly warrants celebration in honor of her extraordinary life!

I was wondering whether the show was doing the "timey-whimey" and showing the mourning song and Ubbe and Torvi looking very serious as Lagertha being dead at that point? Inter cutting the  present and the immediate future?

I had had the crack pot notion that the old crazy king was setting all the various earls up to be taken out by getting them all in one location. I was overthinking things, I should have realized that it was finally time for Harald to get his historical due.  The show is historical fiction but it has been sticking for the most part to important history and famous legend even if they fudge dates. Like the attack on Lindisfarne, Rollo as the first Duke of Normandy and Ragnar ending in the snake pit, etc..

Anybody else take an immediate liking to Eric the Red?

Edited January 11, 2020 by magdalene

[LittleIggy]

I liked Eric!

[Ohwell]

Me too!

[LennieBriscoe]

Wasn't Lagertha crawling towards the singing?

[Smad]

Am I the only one who thinks it's ultimately Ivar that killed Lagertha? The cliché being avoided is that he himself is the one to do it. But Ivar's actions lead to Hitsverk being as messed up as he is, so Ivar killed Lagertha by proxy.

[MoldySpiceGirl]

1 hour ago, Smad said:

Am I the only one who thinks it's ultimately Ivar that killed Lagertha? The cliché being avoided is that he himself is the one to do it. But Ivar's actions lead to Hitsverk being as messed up as he is, so Ivar killed Lagertha by proxy.

Yeah, but if you want to go that route, then you could say it's Ragnar's fault for ditching Lagertha for Asslog to begin with.  If he hadn't, there wouldn't have been an Ivar to mess up Hvitserk.  Playing the unintended consequences game is kind of a fool's errand.

About the song/possible timejump:  Lagertha was famous, even in her day.  It wouldn't have been impossible for there to be songs about her.  And from what I've heard of traditional scandinavian/icelandic music, a LOT sounds sort of dirgey and funereal.  (Look up "Trollbundin" on youtube -- and that's based on a sheep-calling song, from what I understand, but sounds super lament-y.)

I think it's just all wrapped up in Hirst's focus on fate.  Ubbe & co. are listening to a singer yodeling about Lagertha while Lagertha's hallucinating the Seer, who told L about her own fate AND prodded Mad Eye Moody to remember his own fate even if he didn't like it.  Hirst probably found the Lagertha song and worked it in to make the whole thing all circular and predestined, IMHO.

[JohnnyBriggs]

Why would they

Spoiler

kill off Lagertha

for??? With 14 episodes still left to go?

Edited January 16, 2020 by JohnnyBriggs

[MoldySpiceGirl]

On 1/15/2020 at 11:55 PM, JohnnyBriggs said:

Why would they

  Reveal spoiler

kill off Lagertha

for??? With 14 episodes still left to go?

Stylistically speaking, her story arc was done.  She got her place in history, retired to the country, and watched way too many people die.  She was tired, and she was done.  I kind of imagine her holding up a middle finger, yelling FTS, I'M OUT, LOSERS.

I'm kind of wondering what they'll do with fourteen more hours of screen-time, though.  Safe bets: Bjorn being broody and cheat-y, the women having ALL the strength, politics making dudes hack-and-slashy, and Ivar being nutbars cuckoopants all over the continent.

I'll also be miffed if we don't get back to Greenland, even if it's just to find Floki's body.  Dude was a whackjob, but he was a lovable whackaloon, and that ending for him was...regrettable.

[mcjen]

12 hours ago, MoldySpiceGirl said:

Dude was a whackjob, but he was a lovable whackaloon, and that ending for him was...regrettable.

He was a whackjob...but he was OUR whackjob!

[JohnnyBriggs]

On 1/18/2020 at 2:05 PM, MoldySpiceGirl said:

Stylistically speaking, her story arc was done.  She got her place in history, retired to the country, and watched way too many people die.  She was tired, and she was done.  I kind of imagine her holding up a middle finger, yelling FTS, I'M OUT, LOSERS.

I'm kind of wondering what they'll do with fourteen more hours of screen-time, though.  Safe bets: Bjorn being broody and cheat-y, the women having ALL the strength, politics making dudes hack-and-slashy, and Ivar being nutbars cuckoopants all over the continent.

I'll also be miffed if we don't get back to Greenland, even if it's just to find Floki's body.  Dude was a whackjob, but he was a lovable whackaloon, and that ending for him was...regrettable.

Well her arc was done because they made it so. If they hadn't forced her exit from the show, they could have easily done it later and more organically. The time she decided to retire from viking life and build a hut, start a village, come out of retirement to defend her people all happened within the span of a few episodes. It was ridiculous. They should have taken their time with it and done a season long arc.  Where did all these people come from anyways, I thought she was meant to be alone? It also would have been good if she battled a more notable opponent in the end rather than some nobody bandit. Someone that was actually built up to be a great threat. That way her sacrifice in the end would have actually felt earned.

She was also the last remaining original cast member still left on the show, unless they bring back Floki or Rollo. It feels wrong getting rid of her so soon.

Edited January 19, 2020 by JohnnyBriggs

[alvajon]

On 1/17/2020 at 7:05 PM, MoldySpiceGirl said:

Stylistically speaking, her story arc was done.  She got her place in history, retired to the country, and watched way too many people die.  She was tired, and she was done.  I kind of imagine her holding up a middle finger, yelling FTS, I'M OUT, LOSERS.

I'm kind of wondering what they'll do with fourteen more hours of screen-time, though.  Safe bets: Bjorn being broody and cheat-y, the women having ALL the strength, politics making dudes hack-and-slashy, and Ivar being nutbars cuckoopants all over the continent.

I'll also be miffed if we don't get back to Greenland, even if it's just to find Floki's body.  Dude was a whackjob, but he was a lovable whackaloon, and that ending for him was...regrettable.

I agree with all of the above--though I do believe you meant back to Iceland, not Greenland.  We have to know what happened to Floki--there is/was too much storyline invested in him to just write him off.  From the beginning, we loved and hated him but he deserves a just farewell.

[nodorothyparker]

Lagertha's death hit me hard even though it's been obvious all season that it was coming.  But all things considered and by their standards, it was a fairly good death in that she lived a long life where she got to do a lot of things, successfully defended the village she founded, avenged her grandson, and was able to go out knowing her family line would continue.   It seemed likely that she probably would have died of that humongous gash in her side eventually anyway and that she knew that, so meeting her end as the Seer predicted just kind of felt like checking off a final box.  I'm still really going to need something to happen soon with Hvitserk though, because the hallucinating town drunk routine is definitely getting old. 

The fight that led up to it was positively brutal and very well done, as was the Wicker Maze of Death.  It was incredibly inventive.  I loved watching the shield maidens all working together, which is another legacy of Lagertha's. 

I'm not all that convinced Harald actually was behind the attempt to kill Bjorn.  My first impulse was to think that it was yet another doublecross by Flatnose, who is apparently willing to sell out Bjorn to get back on his good side by "defending" him to maybe be king of whatever 50 or so people he can cajole or trick into following him back to Iceland.  But I'll admit I've been having a hard time following or caring about his story for forever.  Harald was contemptuous of Bjorn and the whole Lothbrok family legacy, and rightly so at this point as Bjorn was giving off all the vibes of someone who felt entitled to be king but was taking it as a given that of course he'd be elected and so wasn't willing to make any effort for it, but he also seemed rather emphatic that he didn't intend to do anything about Bjorn either and then genuinely surprised that he had left.  Harald's a weaselly doublecrosser when it suits him, but while Bjorn was definitely being sulky about the result, he's also proven himself to be a fairly reliable ally up to this point and I think Harald knows that.

They probably should have cast a younger actor of the new Erik (the Red?) if they wanted me to buy his line that he was too young to remember Ragnar.  He appears to be the same age as every other guy at the big kingsmoot telling Bjorn about how he'd fought along side him, or how much he admired him, or something.

I find Ivar more interesting than most people do and I'm having trouble caring about this latest Not Freydis plot.  The actor playing Oleg has been terrific but they're really not giving him much shading to work with.

[alvajon]

24 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

They probably should have cast a younger actor of the new Erik (the Red?) if they wanted me to buy his line that he was too young to remember Ragnar.  He appears to be the same age as every other guy at the big kingsmoot telling Bjorn about how he'd fought along side him, or how much he admired him, or something.

I find Ivar more interesting than most people do and I'm having trouble caring about this latest Not Freydis plot.  The actor playing Oleg has been terrific but they're really not giving him much shading to work with.

I was thinking the same thing about Erik, too young to remember Ragnar? And I have to admit that I am kind of enjoying the new Russian Connection with Ivar and Oleg--they are both evil but charming, and good foes.  We may or may not have to wait till the second half of this last season to see how it plays out.  We are all, of course, hopeful that there will be no loose ends by the end of the season, including Floki and Rollo and the Alfred+ bunch.

Edited January 20, 2020 by alvajon
added info

[MoldySpiceGirl]

13 hours ago, alvajon said:

I agree with all of the above--though I do believe you meant back to Iceland, not Greenland.  We have to know what happened to Floki--there is/was too much storyline invested in him to just write him off.  From the beginning, we loved and hated him but he deserves a just farewell.

DOH.  I did mean Iceland.  

Thanks for the catch. 

[alvajon]

😊