S05.E20: Ragnarok

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 2019.01.30

Quote

A new battle for Kattegat is on and only the gods know who will emerge victorious.

[LittleIggy]

It’s amazing how well Ivar can get around now with just a crutch! They must have had great physical therapists back then.🙄

[Hannah94]

Did Freydis say Ubbe and Torvi are dead?

Never mind!

Edited January 31, 2019 by Hannah94

[whoknowswho]

26 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

It’s amazing how well Ivar can get around now with just a crutch! They must have had great physical therapists back then.🙄

Considering what his deformity is thought to be, this was never possible as it was. Now he moves around with a single crutch and brace, pretty magical guy.

But, what happened? Were they all killed but Bjorn? I failed to understand the artsy fartsy last bit, used to be such a great show but it jumped the shark rather badly. The Seer's dead, so is Bjorn dead too, Ubbe and Hvitserk?

[magdalene]

Magnus the not so great pretender - bye-bye.

Ivar the homeless - don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way to Russia.

[green]

Wow that was a fun ending.  Well, fun Viking style.  Nothing like a good old fashioned family reunion.  Mum was so proud of her boy too. 

The shout-out at the end to Season 2's great scene with Ragnar on the mountain was totally awesome.  I said back then it was great to get a season ending without some damn cliffhanger.  I repeat it now.  Good going.  After a mess of an earlier season we had three great episodes in a row.

What?  Did they just casually kill off Harold?  I mean he was just seriously wounded but then he didn't show up at the reunion scene.  Harold: " But History says I united Norway!"  Hirst: "History Channel says nope."  But he could just be in bed recovering I guess since Harold would command more of a big death scene if he was actually killed.

Magnus:  "I'm really a son of Ragnar!  I can't be killed!  Whoops."

And Ivar of course escaped or there could not be a Last Season "coming soon."  But he was a mere afterthought as in tune in next season.  Didn't take away from the Bjorn on the Mountain like Ragnar shot.  I loved that call back to Season 2's ending so much along with the discussion on the two-edged sword of what power means.  Congrats for nailing the last few episodes of this season.  They were great and so much like when the show was new and fresh and exciting.

Edited January 31, 2019 by green

[Babalooie]

Well, can we assume that Floki is indeed dead?  Or...will he reappear in Season 6?   Regarding The Seer, Hirst said that he is neither dead nor alive.

[green]

18 minutes ago, whoknowswho said:

But, what happened? Were they all killed but Bjorn? I failed to understand the artsy fartsy last bit, used to be such a great show but it jumped the shark rather badly. The Seer's dead, so is Bjorn dead too, Ubbe and Hvitserk?

No, see my post above.  It was all about Season 2's ending and what it means to become a king and the trap of power complete with King Horick's old Sword of Kings by his side the same way Ragnar sat there many a year back after he defeated Horick contemplating what power really means.  So no jumping any stupid shark here.  Just FINALLY a return to the roots of the series.  It was one damn awesome scene!

And the Seer isn't dead because he never was truly alive.  He was always caught between the two worlds so Ivar never could really kill him.

Edited January 31, 2019 by green

[Straycat80]

Great ending to this season, I loved the scene with Bjorn and Ragnor on the mountain. Next season coming soon, how soon? 

The only scene that seemed off to me was when Ivar practically normally walked into the hall, never mind the serious battle going on outside, and he confronted Freydis and killed her. I was hoping she would have had a knife ready to kill him. And then Ivar gets away, no one tried very hard to find him. 

[Hannah94]

4 minutes ago, Straycat80 said:

Great ending to this season, I loved the scene with Bjorn and Ragnor on the mountain. Next season coming soon, how soon? 

The only scene that seemed off to me was when Ivar practically normally walked into the hall, never mind the serious battle going on outside, and he confronted Freydis and killed her. I was hoping she would have had a knife ready to kill him. And then Ivar gets away, no one tried very hard to find him. 

Wasn't that Rolo who handed him the knife? Considering how adamant that he is Bjorn's dad, I am surprised that he is betraying him. I think I read somewhere that the next season is this fall.

[WatchrTina]

I'm so confused.  Aren't Lagertha & Ubbe back in England in the new settlement?  So was their inexplicable appearance just a vision by Bjorn -- the result of his longing for them to be there to witness his victory?  

Team Bjorn DID win, didn't they?  That much seems clear by Ivar skulking out of town disguised as a Vietnamese rice farmer.  (Seriously, have we EVER seen a Viking wear a coolie hat before?)  But that one shot of Bjorn standing among all the corpses made me worry that the whole "victory" was just a fantasy concocted by the endorphins in his dying brain.

Here's what I'm betting:

• Victory by Team Bjorn - real
• Bjorn being reunited with Ubbe and Lagertha and being presented the Sword of Kings - not real
• Ivar escaping - real
• Bjorn chatting with the Seer (and Ragnar) - not real
• King Harald? - Injured but will survive
• Magnus? - In Valhalla
• Gunnhild? - pregnant with a future bad-ass warrior
• Floki? - mad as a hatter

Edited January 31, 2019 by WatchrTina

[LittleIggy]

Ubbe, Lagertha, Torvi and the kids were on the ship back to Kattegat.

Freydis was beautiful but dumb. Why didn’t she kill Ivar when she had a chance.

I hope Harald isn’t dead.

I teared up when they showed Ragnar.

Buh-bye, Magnus.

[WatchrTina]

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Ubbe, Lagertha, Torvi and the kids were on the ship back to Kattegat.

They were?  Did we ever see Torvi and Ubbe during the battle?  (I swear I was paying attention -- I turned off the lights and even put down the iPad so I wouldn't play Candy Crush during the ep.)

Edited January 31, 2019 by WatchrTina

[theschnauzers]

Lagatha and Ubbe arrived with the sword and proclaimed Bjorn Ironsides as King of Kattagart, with the sword. I seem to recall that sword with Ubbe and Lagatha when they departed Wessex for Kattagart an episode or two back.

The key I think is the Seer speaking to Bjorn about the future being set. What Bjorn saw was a vision or a fear of his future but in any event, Bjorn recalling his conversation with Ragnar on the mountain cliff discussing ruling and power was so fitting a conclusion to this season as Bjorn becomes the king I think Ragnar taught him and expected him to become.

The future Ragnar wanted, with the lands in East Agelica and the eldest son he trained as king, is here. But can it be kept? That, I think, is where the next and final season goes.

[LittleIggy]

6 minutes ago, WatchrTina said:

They were?  Did we ever see Torvi and Ubbe during the battle?  (I swear I was paying attention -- I turned off the lights and even put down iPad so I wouldn't play Candy Crush during the ep.)

Yeah, remember that Lagertha said she wanted to go home. The conversation between Torvi and Lagertha about suffering took place on a ship.

[WatchrTina]

Okay I just looked up the actress who plays Gunnhild and her birth name (not her stage name) is  . . . Ragnheiður Ragnarsdóttir.  Ragnar's daughter.  I LOVE that.  

[green]

2 hours ago, Hannah94 said:

Wasn't that Rolo who handed him the knife? Considering how adamant that he is Bjorn's dad, I am surprised that he is betraying him. I think I read somewhere that the next season is this fall.

Huh?  Rolllo wasn't there.  That was simply no-name chief lieutenant guy who told Ivar earlier about carrying out his orders about the defenses.  He should have been developed more as a character because Ivar always runs out of named characters to talk to since he either kills them or they flee from him.

 

1 hour ago, WatchrTina said:

I'm so confused.  Aren't Lagertha & Ubbe back in England in the new settlement?  So was their inexplicable appearance just a vision by Bjorn -- the result of his longing for them to be there to witness his victory?  

Team Bjorn DID win, didn't they?  That much seems clear by Ivar skulking out of town disguised as a Vietnamese rice farmer.  (Seriously, have we EVER seen a Viking wear a coolie hat before?)  But that one shot of Bjorn standing among all the corpses made me worry that the whole "victory" was just a fantasy concocted by the endorphins in his dying brain.

Here's what I'm betting:

• Victory by Team Bjorn - real
• Bjorn being reunited with Ubbe and Lagertha and being presented the Sword of Kings - not real
• Ivar escaping - real
• Bjorn chatting with the Seer (and Ragnar) - not real
• King Harald? - Injured but will survive
• Magnus? - In Valhalla
• Gunnhild? - pregnant with a future bad-ass warrior
• Floki? - mad as a hatter

Like others have said, Lagertha had a long long talk about suffering with Torvi on the longboat headed back home.  She said last week she wanted to go back home to Ubbe when the were riding out of the villa in Wessex.  Ubbe had already fulfilled Ragnar's dream for farmland in England but found out in so doing -- killing King Frodo -- that he was more Team Odin and left the dream to flourish with the 3000 Danes he recruited with his victory in the combat.  So he and Torvi and their family and pals took Lagertha back home.  They arrived too late for the battle and came in afterwards.

So yes I believe Bjorn's scenes were all real.  Lagertha had taken the Sword of Kings with her afterall when they fled Kattegat.  Why shouldn't she bring it back?  He sat where his father had sat and remembered the words his father had spoken to him.  The Seer is always in a magical place between worlds and could never be killed by Ivar, just freed of an old physical frame.  So why should he not appear in a vision.  Visions are real things.

The end of Season 2 before Ragnar sitting where Bjorn sat at the end of this season also featured magical, almost theatrical moments.  Especially in the killing of King Horick where everyone kind of stepped out into a single spotlight to help take him down inside the longhouse.  Even Floki who Horick thought he had pulled over to his side.  They did it in a one-by-one staged like procedure with each stating their lines before helping Ragnar kill Horick and it too felt like magical realism.  Which is what the Vikings world is about after all.  We are NOT in the boring 21st century any more.

Floki is dead ... I hope.  If he wasn't we would have seen another damn cutaway scene back in Iceland and nothing could top the last scene we saw of him and the cross.  It would be totally anti-climatic.

[Hannah94]

31 minutes ago, green said:

Huh?  Rolllo wasn't there.  That was simply no-name chief lieutenant guy who told Ivar earlier about carrying out his orders about the defenses.  He should have been developed more as a character because Ivar always runs out of named characters to talk to since he either kills them or they flee from him.

I just caught a glance of him when I looked at the screen and thought he resembled Rollo. I am relieved it wasn't!

[tennisgurl]

Ivar really is a cockroach. He just cant be killed, no matter how often he should have been offed, and no matter how many people want to kill him.

I thought that was a really good finale, I've enjoyed the last few episodes of this season quite a lot. Its closer to that epic, majestic, and even with the feeling of magical realism that made the early seasons so good,and even reached those highs a few times. Being mostly historical, but also combining gods and destiny and stuff in the background, much like old Norse epic poems did. The fight scenes were exciting and filled with lots of dynamic action and lots of great and unique fight choreography. There was also good some good character work throughout, and I was glad that we were just focused on the one story, and we have seemingly wrapped things up with Wessex and Floki and the Island of Misfit Vikings. I get that this show has a big ensemble spread all across the world, but I think this show does better focusing on stories that all connect, not just "meanwhile..." every five seconds. 

The best part was the ending to me with Bjorn at the mountain, possibly my favorite scene of the season. It was a great call back to that amazing scene way back in season two with Ragnar talking to Bjorn about his future as a king, and if he will use that power for good or for evil. Much like Bjorn, I was left wondering what all was real, and what wasn't real in that scene. Was the Seer there for real, speaking from the afterlife, or was Bjorn just being reminded of him as he thought about his father, or was the Seer EVER there, and has been a mystical voice of the gods the whole time? Some combination of the three? And the vision he had seemed to question if this was what fate now has in store for him, alone with his sword, his army slaughtered. Vikings were really into fate and destiny and all of that, so that had to be weighing on his mind. Did his father put him on this inevitable path to destruction, but also glory? I dont know, but its quite riveting to me. 

And I just really loved seeing Ragnar again, even if it was just for the one scene.

Ubbe was so not feeling the family reunion vibes when he saw Hvitserk again! He wasn't outright hostile, but he wasn't at all ready to forgive his brother for betraying him, even if he did come around eventually. It was nice to see him and Bjorn and Bjorn and Lagertha all reuniting though at the end, when they all got back from Wessex. At least some of the family reunion went well! 

Oh Freydis. You should have killed the psycho when you had the chance. 

Edited February 1, 2019 by tennisgurl

[Kite]

Enjoyed the last ep, after a season I didn't enjoy very much. Good battle. Epic ending (I like the mystic and myth cultural stuff and wish there was more) though I don't really remember the show's backstories that much. I've always liked Bjorn. (Only thing that took me out of the story was Freydis being really super-dumb, c'mon, if she's that determined and brave as to betray Ivar, is she just going to meekly roll over and beautifully let him kill her? No, except in some writer's plot logic. Also, Norse folk exposed babies all the damn time.) 

Edited January 31, 2019 by Kite

[Babalooie]

8 hours ago, WatchrTina said:

 (Seriously, have we EVER seen a Viking wear a coolie hat before?) 

Kattegat had grown into a large international trading center.  Ivar probably got the hat from the same place that Hvitserk got the Buddha.

[WatchrTina]

8 hours ago, green said:

So [Ubbe] and Torvi and their family and pals took Lagertha back home.  They arrived too late for the battle and came in afterwards.

Ah!  Got it.  That makes more sense.  I could not imagine why Ubbe would have abstained from the battle if he had sailed with them but I didn't recall seeing him in it.  And I've just realized that the wounds on his face are the still-healing injuries from his fight with Frodo.

 

8 hours ago, green said:

So yes I believe Bjorn's scenes were all real.  Lagertha had taken the Sword of Kings with her afterall when they fled Kattegat.  Why shouldn't she bring it back?  He sat where his father had sat and remembered the words his father had spoken to him.  The Seer is always in a magical place between worlds and could never be killed by Ivar, just freed of an old physical frame.  So why should he not appear in a vision.  Visions are real things.

I like this interpretation.  Thanks

[wlk68]

Really enjoyed the episode. Glad to see the end of Magnus. He was annoying. I also liked the frosty side-eye that Ubbe gave Hvitserk. No warm and fuzzy reunion for those two brothers. At least, not yet. 

I feel like Ubbe, Torvi and Lagertha heading home was kind of a huge plothole. They originally left Kattegat on the run for Wessex, fearing for their lives and Ivar howling for Lagertha's blood. Yes, they knew that Bjorn was headed back to do battle with Ivar and to retake Kattegat but how did they know Bjorn had accomplished this? It's not like he could just shoot them a text and say "hey, it's done".They must've had a LOT of faith in him because news took weeks, sometimes months, to reach people and yet they arrived just as the battle is wrapping up. What if Bjorn hadn't succeeded? They could just have as easily been walking back into a trap with Bjorn dead and Ivar waiting for them.   

I was pleasantly surprised to see teaser scenes for the upcoming season. I'm already excited for it.  

Edited January 31, 2019 by wlk68

[Ohwell]

Another fantastic season, especially the last few episodes.

My apologies to Gunhilde for thinking she was conniving.  She seems to be loyal to Bjorn.  Plus, she's a badass and I hope they make badass babies together.

The only thing I'm wondering about is if Harald survived because it wasn't made clear.

I kinda felt bad for Magnus but, alas, Jesus couldn't help him this time.

[watcher1006]

7 hours ago, Kite said:

Enjoyed the last ep, after a season I didn't enjoy very much. Good battle. Epic ending (I like the mystic and myth cultural stuff and wish there was more) though I don't really remember the show's backstories that much. I've always liked Bjorn. (Only thing that took me out of the story was Freydis being really super-dumb, c'mon, if she's that determined and brave as to betray Ivar, is she just going to meekly roll over and beautifully let him kill her? No, except in some writer's plot logic. Also, Norse folk exposed babies all the damn time.) 

Also no Iceland story this finale. I'm wondering - if Floki really is dead, where are they going to go with the Iceland settlement story? Sure there are still people there but not one of them besides Floki seems to have developed into a real character.

If Freydis' baby couldn't nurse at her breast as the midwife said then did he really have much chance of survival anyway?

[green]

7 hours ago, wlk68 said:

I feel like Ubbe, Torvi and Lagertha heading home was kind of a huge plothole.

I agree from the writing angle.  Last week Lagertha told Ubbe she wanted to return home while they were riding away from Alfred's Wessex villa.  I thought at the time she might meant metaphorically as in she wanted to go to the new settlement and return to the simple life of a farmer maybe.  But no we cut immediately to them all aboard the longboat sailing literally back home to Kattegat. 

Add in Ubbe not having Christianity "speaking" to him since he called on Odin during his fight with King Frodo and he probably decided he wanted to go back too I figured then.  But no real transition scene or discussion between those two scenes.

I know the American version runs about a minute or two short of other versions because the History Channel stuffs more commercials into this version so maybe there was a brief transition scene in the longer version that got cut from this version that filled in the pothole some.  That is all I can come up with.

 

4 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I kinda felt bad for Magnus but, alas, Jesus couldn't help him this time.

Probably because he decided he didn't need Jesus anymore at that point because after hiding out for most of the battle basically at the last minute he finally decided he was one badass son of Ragnar and no son of Ragnar could ever die.   Guess no one told him it didn't help Sigurd Snake-Eye to be a son of Ragnar when it comes to being around Ivar's neck of the woods.

 

3 hours ago, watcher1006 said:

Also no Iceland story this finale. I'm wondering - if Floki really is dead, where are they going to go with the Iceland settlement story? Sure there are still people there but not one of them besides Floki seems to have developed into a real character.

We can but hope the Iceland story died with Floki. 

I mean there have been storylines dying off before.  Especially the last Mediterranean one where some mysterious Byzantine woman was built up as some really major new character and then just dropped as Hirst decided he wanted Bjorn back home in Kattegat asap.  When Hirst wants/needs characters back in Kattegat he gets them there even if there are potholes in the story to get them back there as in see above.  (But not Floki.  Athelstan trumps Hirst and Floki stays dead I say).

Edited January 31, 2019 by green

[Ohwell]

52 minutes ago, green said:

Especially the last Mediterranean one where some mysterious Byzantine woman was built up as some really major new character and then just dropped as Hirst decided he wanted Bjorn back home in Kattegat asap. 

I forgot all about her.  At the time I thought they were going for something similar to Ragnar/Yidu, but the writers just dropped the story.

55 minutes ago, green said:

(But not Floki.  Athelstan trumps Hirst and Floki stays dead I say).

I think Floki would rather just stay dead after seeing that cross.

[raven]

Ha!  Right as Lagertha is saying "King Bjorn" I was thinking "oh, but remember Bjorn, Ragnar told you how power corrupts, don't pick it up or something" and then they showed the scene.  So yay, me.

So Vikings is taking a page from Game of Thrones and magically transporting characters where they need them?  Ubbe, Torvi, Lagertha et al showing up made me chuckle a bit.

Other than that, it was a decent episode.  Ivar was clever in battle but not so much at home.  I think Freydis just wanted him to know she was the one who let out his secret escape route, even more than she wanted to live.  Pretty amazing that he apparently dragged her body to the bed and arranged her with poor Baldur's bones next to her.  Ivar sure can get around.

I think Harald is dead.

I liked the mountain scenes at the end; Bjorn and Ragnar and Bjorn and the seer.  Beautifully shot and Bjorn has perfected the art of gazing thoughtfully into space.

Well, bye Magnus.  I guess the show brought you in so we wouldn't be saying "hey whatever happened to that kid"?

[benteen]

Great episode.  The last three episodes have absolutely delivered after an inconsistent-at-best season.  It's nice to see Vikings back.  This would have served quite well as a series finale.

The Battle of Kattegat was great.  Maybe the best battle they've delivered on this show.  Maybe.  There was nothing like a Vikings battle in the early season and the show always delivered.  But I felt as the battles started getting bigger and utilizing more CGI, they all kind of seemed the same.  Not this one though.  It was very well done amongst the wall of Kattegat and "smaller" I guess you could say.  Less CGI, more "intimate" if that's the right word.  I really enjoyed it.

Epic final scene with Bjorn and a great call-back to Season 2.  Great use of the Seer.

If this episode loses any points, it's with Freydis LETTING IVAR KILL HER.  It's pretty much what she did and it's something I've always hated on television...it seems to happen to female characters a lot.  She could have killed Ivar in his sleep.  Okay...you want Ivar to see when his empire comes crumbling down.  You don't want to move while he still have forces loyal to him.  Fair enough.  But she knows what an evil psycho Ivar is better than anyone so how do you willingly get within killing distance of him?!  After Freydis told Ivar that she betrayed him, she should have given him a hard shove.  Hell, a light shove would have done the trick.  But NO....let's stay right in front of him and have him put his hands on her, guaranteeing her death!  Great job, Hirst, make Freydis another character too stupid to live.

Also, is Harald dead?  I hope not.  I like his shoutout to his brother and glad he stepped in to save Bjorn.

Nice seeing Lagertha and Ubbe rejoining the fold although I wonder how that will go over with Alfred.

Ivar the Homeless, hah!  Bravo!  I will be using that now.

Great episode and a strong finish to the season.

[thuganomics85]

Whelp, if nothing else, Ivar shows that the phrase "the best offense is a good defense" is dead accurate, as he certainly fortified Kattegat to the point that no one was getting in.  He may be an evil psycho, but the man always had smarts.  Of course, Ivar also shows that none of that matter when you fucking leave your baby son out in the wilderness to die, and treat your grieving wife like shit!  I'm glad that blew back on him, but, of course, he is still alive after magically dodging all of his enemies and; for reasons I can't figure out unless she truly didn't want to live anymore; Freydis simply stood there and let him choke her out.  Even if they had to keep him around, I would have rather she gone after him with a knife first, and then he chokes her out.  But I guess she goes out knowing she screwed him over, at least.  Hopefully the actress will pop up somewhere else, as I did like her in this role.

Unless next season opens up with his corpse being burned, I'm going to assume Harald is still alive.  That stab didn't look pleasant at all, but his and everyone else's reaction was less "Oh, shit!  He's dead!" and more "Yeah, you're going to need some bedrest, chicken soup, and an I.V. for the next few days, buddy!"  Still can't believe he's actually become one of my favorite characters now.

Oh, Magnus, you big dummy!

Gunnhild is certainly proving her worth.  She took that arrow like a champ, and yanked it out like it was mere splinter!

Lagertha, Ubbe, and Torvi suddenly arriving was a bit to pact, but it was a nice reunion, at least.  Although Ubbe is totally still not over Hvitserk abandoning him.  Hope Hvitserk has brushed up on his apology skills!

At this point, I have to believe that Kattegat has an underground gambling ring going, where citizens take bets over who is going to be in charge of the town each year.  It never stays the same!

I'm guessing everything after Bjorn held the sword was some kind of vision.  At least we got to see The Seer one last time.

Overall, these last few episode were way better than the first half of the season, but I'm fine with the next one being the end.  Either way, there is still enough about this show I like to keep going.

And on a side note: I have no real opinion about that Knightfall show, but I was cracking up that the entire promo for it was basically the "Hey, kids!  It's Mark Hamill! [Applause]" bit from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, in advertising form.

[benteen]

17 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Gunnhild is certainly proving her worth.  She took that arrow like a champ, and yanked it out like it was mere splinter!

Agreed.  No one can replace Lagertha but she's a worthy successor.  Torvi has become one too for quite a while.

This show has struggled with the non-Lagertha female characters but Torvi and Gunnhild are good characters.  Particularly Torvi.

Edited February 1, 2019 by benteen

[PatsyandEddie]

13 hours ago, benteen said:

Great episode.  The last three episodes have absolutely delivered after an inconsistent-at-best season.  It's nice to see Vikings back.  This would have served quite well as a series finale.

The Battle of Kattegat was great.  Maybe the best battle they've delivered on this show.  Maybe.  There was nothing like a Vikings battle in the early season and the show always delivered.  But I felt as the battles started getting bigger and utilizing more CGI, they all kind of seemed the same.  Not this one though.  It was very well done amongst the wall of Kattegat and "smaller" I guess you could say.  Less CGI, more "intimate" if that's the right word.  I really enjoyed it.

Epic final scene with Bjorn and a great call-back to Season 2.  Great use of the Seer.

If this episode loses any points, it's with Freydis LETTING IVAR KILL HER.  It's pretty much what she did and it's something I've always hated on television...it seems to happen to female characters a lot.  She could have killed Ivar in his sleep.  Okay...you want Ivar to see when his empire comes crumbling down.  You don't want to move while he still have forces loyal to him.  Fair enough.  But she knows what an evil psycho Ivar is better than anyone so how do you willingly get within killing distance of him?!  After Freydis told Ivar that she betrayed him, she should have given him a hard shove.  Hell, a light shove would have done the trick.  But NO....let's stay right in front of him and have him put his hands on her, guaranteeing her death!  Great job, Hirst, make Freydis another character too stupid to live.

Also, is Harald dead?  I hope not.  I like his shoutout to his brother and glad he stepped in to save Bjorn.

Nice seeing Lagertha and Ubbe rejoining the fold although I wonder how that will go over with Alfred.

Ivar the Homeless, hah!  Bravo!  I will be using that now.

Great episode and a strong finish to the season.

 

I’m in absolute agreement that this was a very satisfying episode for multiple reasons. You picked the perfect word, intimate, to describe the battle. We were able to see each of the main characters fighting for their lives and the people of Kattegat. 

The mountaintop scene was stunning and I was so happy to see Ragnar, young Bjørn and the Seer once again. It was such a powerful scene when first shown and remains so. 

Lagetha arriving with the sword was perfection. I hope she becomes a close advisor to him along with his brothers, Torvi and Gunnhild. I am no longer am worried about her loyalty to  Bjørn.

I saw Freydis as a woman who had nothing to live for which is why she didn’t try to save herself. She could have escaped after she opened the secret doorway but she chose to return to her bed. The death of her son was too much for her to bear. I wonder if she had collected Baldur’s wee bones or if Ivar did so. I found it to be touching that all of Bjørn’s main party shed tears at her side. 

Poor deluded Magnus. At least he died in the arms of a friend ,fighting for his father’s home . 

Ivar, go sit in a cave somewhere and think about what a murdering asshole you are. 

[MJS]

On 1/30/2019 at 9:43 PM, LittleIggy said:

It’s amazing how well Ivar can get around now with just a crutch! They must have had great physical therapists back then.🙄

That was almost word for word what I said to my husband when we watched this episode. 

[Haleth]

I'm not shedding any tears for Freydis. She embraced the crazy and karma is a bitch. 

It's too bad Ubbe didn't get to fight alongside his brothers.  Glad he made it home in time to support the new king.

The final scene of Bjorn on the mountain was wonderful but I missed some of the dialog because my husband thought that was a good moment to tell me some irrelevant nugget. Grr.

Edited February 1, 2019 by Haleth

[Ohwell]

19 minutes ago, Haleth said:

I'm not shedding any tears for Freydis. She embraced the crazy and karma is a bitch. 

I'm not shedding any tears for her either.  She knew Ivar was ruthless, but she wanted to be queen.  So she would have gone along with his ruthlessness if he hadn't killed "their" son, or if she had borne a "perfect" son for him.   Karma is, indeed, a bitch.  

[Athelstan]

Read all the comments here, good stuff. One of the comment standing out is that Freydis let herself get killed... C'mon! You guys have short memory! How can you expect her to act logically when she is (was) even more wonko than Ivar? All her ''You're a God, I'm a God, our son is the son of a God'' just goes to show at what lengths she was ready to go just to be the Queen. I think that was her ultimate goal, and what would come after Ivar's departure wouldn't mean much to her. She was done.

She tried to play a maniac by acting a maniac herself, and ended up being the ultimate maniac, laughing at the face of her maniac's husband basically telling him to his face that she, the person Ivar trusted and loved the most, betrayed him. Obviously she has no fighting experience and she knew even if she tried to swing at Ivar she'd go down in a heartbeat. So a maniac played a maniac and ended up dying as you would expect a maniac would. I'd say Freydis was motivated only and solely by greed and power, and once she realized she couldn't have it, she'd go down with Ivar.

 

As for Floki. I don't want to see Iceland EVER again. Athelstan got his revenge, and as my username says, I delight that our beloved priest had the last laugh. That is what I was waiting for to get closure on this series to be honest. I still miss Athelstan, and Echbert, and Ragnar and Rollo, we need a proper ending for Rollo too.

[green]

There was a link to the history/spoiler whatever thread where -- no spoiler stuff -- Hirst talks about the battle this episode and that all of them wanted to get way far away from the CGI stuff which they have had enough of.  That they didn't want any more thousands running from left to right then from right to left stuff.  They didn't like how that had turned out either.

So he said they worked hard to come up with battle scenes for this episode that were both epic and very human and up close with the main actors and personal.  They did.  It worked and kudos to them for that.

Also one tiny thing they also added I appreciated.  The war council where they think well if we split up how can we tell friend from foe when we meet up.  Oh how about this colored earth gunk we have been playing with.  Just smear it on your face and instant uniforms.  (They needed that back during the big CGI battles instead of the silly synchronized dance troops of battle flag twirlers or whatever the hell they were back during the first battle of Kattegat this season).

Another tiny thing.  Hvitserk left the Buddha back in the grass right before the battle.  Guess he left Buddha just like Ubbe left Christ.  Old school holds too much catnip for the Ragnar boys.

[raven]

1 hour ago, green said:

So he said they worked hard to come up with battle scenes for this episode that were both epic and very human and up close with the main actors and personal.  They did.  It worked and kudos to them for that.

Agreed.  I thought the battle was well done and I liked the scope they gave us.   It was good to see Hvitserk come into his own (that walk up the wall was pretty neat) and to see Bjorn Ironside and Gunnhild at work, she is pretty physically imposing herself. 

I also noted Hvitserk dropping the Buddha but forgot to mention it.  On the old territory, got to go with the old gods.

As odd as it was, I got a chuckle out of Olaf on the litter, pontificating.  That was kind of fun.  He wasn't wrong, either, about warring being the end of man.

[Ohwell]

I also noticed Hvitserk dropping the Buddha.  

[jackjill89]

Two things I never understand... This battle they had some face paint on, so you knew who was on what side, but generally, they just fight. How do they know if they're killing their side or the other side? Everyone always looks the same. Brown clothes and bad hair.

Who says Bjorn is king? Just because Lagertha had the sword? I thought Bjorn's side was losing.  He gave a repeat of Lagertha's "enough killing each other" speech and he's king? I'm not a Bjorn fan. I think he's just a big lug head. I like Ubbe much better. 

Just not a fan of the show since Ragnar died. It's hard to feel much for these half-baked characters. No one has the charisma Ragnar had. I miss the relationships he had with people both in Kattegat and England. 

[theschnauzers]

The fact that Ivar disappears and flees Kattegat incognito is proof enough that the other side won. Most if not all of those killed in the last phase by Bjorn were Ivar’s best soldiers is also proof. Bjorn becomes King partially because of his deal with Herald, and because this time his other brothers and Lagatha agree he should be king.

 

The face paint was more so each army would know who was in the other army and who was Ivar’s. Interesting in that it is a precursor to the similar use in Scotland by the Viking descendants a few hundred years later.

 

i rewatched the episode last night, and I loved it even more the second time around. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

That's the impression I got in the scene towards the end  when Bjorn's army had entered inside Kattegat and was facing Ivar's elite forces of say, 60? men. Looks like there were numerous other Kattegat forces standing around watching and not wanting to engage. These folks most likely knew Bjorn and agreed with him , Ivar was a bad leader and needed to be removed. I'm not sure how the heck no one killed Ivar during all that fighting,but he somehow got away. 

[Kite]

On 2/2/2019 at 6:18 AM, Athelstan said:

So a maniac played a maniac and ended up dying as you would expect a maniac would. I'd say Freydis was motivated only and solely by greed and power, and once she realized she couldn't have it, she'd go down with Ivar.

I feel that didn't work for me. She seemed more driven by grief and anger at Ivar by the end, and seemed surprised when he strangled her. I've seen the same beautiful sexualised passivity for ~drama played out with female characters way too many times, it just didn't seem to jive with her other actions in the episode, imho.

[green]

On 2/2/2019 at 9:12 PM, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

That's the impression I got in the scene towards the end  when Bjorn's army had entered inside Kattegat and was facing Ivar's elite forces of say, 60? men. Looks like there were numerous other Kattegat forces standing around watching and not wanting to engage. These folks most likely knew Bjorn and agreed with him , Ivar was a bad leader and needed to be removed. I'm not sure how the heck no one killed Ivar during all that fighting,but he somehow got away. 

Yes you are right.  At the end after they enter the town the back way, Bjorn was shouting at the people that he was Bjorn Ironside and was NOT their enemy, just Ivar's who was a tyrant to them and to stay inside their homes and let him free them of Ivar.  They all did or just let Bjorn pass at the end except Ivar's personal guard of fanatics that Bjorn, Harold, Gunhilde and Hvitserk took out personally.  But by then the fanatics had bought Ivar enough time to get out of Dodge and escape.

[benteen]

On ‎2‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 4:59 PM, green said:

There was a link to the history/spoiler whatever thread where -- no spoiler stuff -- Hirst talks about the battle this episode and that all of them wanted to get way far away from the CGI stuff which they have had enough of.  That they didn't want any more thousands running from left to right then from right to left stuff.  They didn't like how that had turned out either.

So he said they worked hard to come up with battle scenes for this episode that were both epic and very human and up close with the main actors and personal.  They did.  It worked and kudos to them for that.

Great move by Hirst and I'm glad he did it.  Those early Vikings battle scenes were second to none.  They didn't use CGI for them and they were awesome.  I think as the battles got bigger, the more CGI they used, the battles lost their unique quality and all started to blend together.  This battle was old school Vikings.  The lack of CGI really showed and the battle was so much the better for it.

Edited February 4, 2019 by benteen

[ADRz]

On 1/30/2019 at 7:19 PM, green said:

Wow that was a fun ending.  Well, fun Viking style.  Nothing like a good old fashioned family reunion.  Mum was so proud of her boy too. 

The shout-out at the end to Season 2's great scene with Ragnar on the mountain was totally awesome.  I said back then it was great to get a season ending without some damn cliffhanger.  I repeat it now.  Good going.  After a mess of an earlier season we had three great episodes in a row.

What?  Did they just casually kill off Harold?  I mean he was just seriously wounded but then he didn't show up at the reunion scene.  Harold: " But History says I united Norway!"  Hirst: "History Channel says nope."  But he could just be in bed recovering I guess since Harold would command more of a big death scene if he was actually killed.

Magnus:  "I'm really a son of Ragnar!  I can't be killed!  Whoops."

And Ivar of course escaped or there could not be a Last Season "coming soon."  But he was a mere afterthought as in tune in next season.  Didn't take away from the Bjorn on the Mountain like Ragnar shot.  I loved that call back to Season 2's ending so much along with the discussion on the two-edged sword of what power means.  Congrats for nailing the last few episodes of this season.  They were great and so much like when the show was new and fresh and exciting.

What really disturbed me in the show is the total departure from any kind of historical fact.  It is OK to fill in gaps in history and invent interesting characters, but the show started with the mythical Ragnar, provided some kind of explanation for his actions, dealt with the Viking attacks along the British coast but progressively departed from any history that makes sense.  Rollo gets to be a contemporary of Ragnar and his sons, although they were likely 60 years apart.  Ivar showed little interest for Norway, spending most of his time in Britain and, mainly, in Ireland.  Bjorn Ironside got his arse kicked by the Moors and barely escaped with this life, the end of which is hardly recorded.  The battles for Kattejak were a joke.  Despite the place having fortifications, none seemed interested in using these fortifications.  The story telling has been incredibly lax in the last two seasons.

[Dobian]

Floki still has the most plot armor of anyone on this show but Ivar is giving him a run for his money.