Ivar of the storm.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Vikings followed up its effectively emotional midseason premiere with a slightly jumbled episode in "The Vision," which was all about the preparations and ceremonies proceeding Ragnar and Bjorn's separate expeditions. The "vision" part of the chapter, along with a big visual effects-driven storm-at-sea set piece, came right at the end however, giving what could have been an impressive element a tacked-on/rushed feel.
At this point, we're all used to time jumps on Vikings. I don't mean the massive kind, like what just happened at the end of the midseason finale, but the smaller ones in the midst of episodes that take us ahead weeks, or even months. They never feel right, usually working to take the viewer, jar the viewer, of the story a bit.
That happened here again as Aslaug's foreboding vision of Ivar drowning sort of pushed us weeks ahead into a massive maelstrom that capsized Ragnar's ship, leaving us with a cliffhanger. Reiterating, there's just no way to create a cohesive feeling within the episode using this technique, even if it is necessary to such a time-sprawling story.
Putting that to rest for now, and assuming Ivar and Ragnar both survive and make it to Wessex, the bulk of "The Vision" dealt with a humbled, and rather pathetic, Ragnar bribing the dregs of Kattegat to go with him and Ivar on his quest to kill Ecbert. Yes, Ragnar's scraping the bottom of the barrel with both his citizens and his sons, though at least the trip is important to Ivar. He's still a hard-to-empathize-with character, though perhaps once he's far away from his brothers and his abusive treatment of Margrethe, he'll be allowed to soften even more, maybe even change his ways a little bit. He'll always be creepy though. That's just going to be a constant.
Aside from Ragnar's new disheveled, shameless state, the most intriguing element of "The Vision" was the rekindled tension between Lagertha and Aslaug, which went from passive-egressive to a full-fledged threat by Lagertha - spoken to Aslaug while she was in an "altered state" during a sacred ceremony. Ragner's a shade of who he used to be and it's Lagertha's son who's about to possibly make a big name for himself, so now comes the time for Lagertha to strike back at the woman she feels stole her life. It's this conflict, along with Ragnar finally returning to Wessex, that's giving this run of episodes some fire. We're off to a cool, slow start, but business is about to pick up.
Also, as easy as it is to resent Aslaug, it as nice to see Ragnar have his final farewell moment with her before he took off. He basically lauded her for always protecting his name, even if it was self-serving. He appreciated that she never took the opportunity to hate him in front of his sons.
The Verdict
Things got a little shaky at the end of "The Vision" what with the rushed feeling of the premonition and the storm, but before that we were treated to some great moments of character and conflict.
Editors' Choice
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