Don't Go Chasing Asgardian Waterfalls.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
If you'd like to check out my interview with WWE Hall of Famer Edge about his new role on Vikings (he'll debut in the December 20th episode), click here.
Vikings roared back to TV with a double-episode premiere that saw Lagertha face down her would-be-usurper Harald Finehair - and then make the mistake of allowing him to live, so that he could then escape and swipe Astrid from Kattegat.
Now, I actually enjoyed Lagertha's choice to let Harald live, as I also actually believed Harald when he said he was done going after the throne since he'd, you know, murdered the woman he'd been trying to woo and impress. But I should have known there was a double cross coming since Harald had volunteered to be the one to go back to Kattegat in the first place. He wouldn't have done that if he had no interest in the crown, and in seeing a possibly overthrown Kattegat waiting for him. That's on me.
Still, Harald took a big risk in simply coming clean with his schemes and telling Lagertha he didn't see the point in living anymore. She could have just as soon killed him as taken pity on him. Now Harald's fled, stolen Lagertha's lover, and is trying to get her to be his Queen. Lagertha seems unfazed at the moment but it's no secret that her council thinks she's made a huge mistake. She's sort of playing by her own secret set of rules right now - and yes that includes the power play moment when she forcibly had hate sex with Harald when he was chained up. What a crazy right hook.
To be honest, I really like Harald. Outside of the remaining core cast (Lagertha, Bjorn, Floki), and perhaps Ivar now, it's hard to ever really get to know a character on this series. The dialogue sparse and often very direct and to the point and, this might sound strange, the feelings of such stoic characters rarely go much further than rage, revenge, jealousy, and (sometimes) love. I wouldn't call them simple characters, but they're very mission-driven and a lot of them, because of their faith, believe the same things about conquest and battle.
Harald, as someone who came to the story late(ish), is someone I feel like we got to know. Plus, he and Halfdan get extra points as brothers who were able to split amicably and lovingly. Who'd have thought that a younger brother could just say "Hey, I don't want to play second fiddle to a king" and leave? See, it doesn't have to lead to all-out war, Rollo and Ragnar!
Speaking of brothers, Ivar, in the wake of accidentally/on purpose murdering Sigurd, is making accidental/on purpose moves to take over and become the full commander of the army. The show has tried, especially within the context of Ragnar, to turn Ivar into a sympathetic character, but coming out of Season 4 he's all hellfire and brimstone. Story-wise he is slowly becoming an enemy to his remaining brothers and while the sack of York was another instance of me straining to like a group of characters who butcher and rape for a living the story, in the very least, had Ivar go a few savage steps further than his brothers. Steps that involved pouring molten gold into a dude's mouth and then having his body dragged through the streets.
Look, everyone here let it get this far with Ivar. They either need to handle him now or they've got no one but themselves to blame if he goes psycho on them. It's bad enough Ubbe let Ivar slide with his half-apology for fratricide, but after he almost got shut out by some smug bodyguards, Aslaug's eldest needs to step up here and handle family affairs. Ivar can stand now. He's a big boy.
The side stories involving - let's just call them the "enemies of the Norsemen" since they're not rightfully "heroes" - were a bit sluggish. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is fine as the battling Bishop Heahmund but there's not much to to the character yet, just a lot of righteous indignation (and the possible seduction of *tries to make words from sounds* Athelgith?). Likewise, Aethelwulf, Judith, and grown-up Alfred aren't adding much to the proceedings other than standing in as eventual opposition. Still, something should come of them all, having been around for so long.
Finally here, Floki, out of all the other characters on the show, really deserved this wayward boat rip of random fate and faith. We've been with him through triumph and tragedy (quite a bit of the latter, I'm afraid) but his faith has driven him every step of the way. It saw him through the death of his daughter just as it led his (jealous) hands to murdering Athelstan. I don't know where's he's landed, but the sheer joy on his face when he saw the waterfall and proclaimed he'd made it to Asgard was heartwarming. It's a shame the bubble will have to burst soon. I wish Floki had found Asgard. Second to that though, I'm glad he's free of Ragnar's brood and doing his own thing.
Note: We'll be keeping up with Vikings but not doing weekly reviews.
The Verdict
Vikings gave us a lot to chew on during its Season 5 opener as the aftermath of Sigurd's death has led to tension between the remaining brothers, a boat trip to beyond for Floki, and Lagertha confronting the man who tried to secretly overthrow her. It's too bad the the non-Norsemen, now sans-King Ecbert, came off as flat and uninspiring.
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