We are almost halfway through season 3, the battle for Mercia is won and the settlement in Wessex has almost been firmly established, this signals the possible end of the main story that engulfed the first 3 episodes. Still other strings from that story will remain, like Judith and Athelstan’s affair as well as the beliefs of both people clashing, which has been mostly represented through Floki in the last couple episodes. However this episode was a strange one, it was still greatly entertaining though.
The episode on a whole was a actually very humorous half the time and didn’t take it self too seriously, these were reflected in moments mostly with Ragnar. Especially now him and Ecbert have reached a level of understanding that almost see them as best friends. Both characters are similar but obviously influenced by their native cultures. On the other hand the episode featured just as many ‘oh my god’ moments too.
Siggy is dead. And no one saw it coming. However I am glad Siggy died, she was struggling to find her place on the series this season and I thought she was mostly annoying. Even in this episode I still thought she was, I am unsure if she did actually care about Asluag’s children or she was just using them to get back to a higher position. Either way her death was honourable, I am also not sure if she was killed by Harbard with some sort of magic (Harbard nods at her before her body gives up) or if she just died due to the freezing cold water. Her scene was filmed excellently like a horror/thriller, with the use of simple writing and directing it created a scene that was both mysterious and enigmatic. Her death proved a pivotal point in Aslaug and Helga understanding that Harbard cannot be trusted. It looks like Harbard disappears, but in some way I think he will return. He could have left Aslaug with child?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2J_ATnCTUk
Speaking of pregnant, Thorunn (Porunn, However you like to spell it) woke up. We don’t get to see much of her and Bjorn, in fact they only show up on screen three times. But at least we get a glimpse at the extent of her injuries. As she mentions, I wonder if the two will even get married now, there was beautiful imagery used when Bjorn kisses Thorunn on the head, and the blood from her wounds covers his lips.
It seems like the Christians and Pagans are mostly getting on, but Floki doesn’t like this at all. He continues to piss everyone off with his talk of the Gods being angry, however notice Floki sees Athelstan and Judith kissing, could he expose them and ruin the relationship between the kingdoms of Wessex and Scandinavia? At least we know Rollo is on board with his brother Ragnar, believing that this treaty serves the greater good of their country and people.
We had our own little ‘purple wedding’ in Vikings this week, as Princess Kwenthrith poisons her brother. As well as everyone’s reaction to this being pretty damn hilarious, it was also a real eye opener. 3 Kings, 1 Prince & 1 Earl was present were present, no one in the room new her plan. Maybe Kwenthrith can’t be controlled? Maybe King Ecbert underestimated her? Back in Hedeby, Scandinavia (sometimes donned as Lagertha Land), Kalf has an ally as he prepares for the arrival of Lagertha. And guess who, It’s Horik’s son. Son of the former king before Ragnar, who was spared in the finale of Season 2, not only this but Erlendur’s son is now Jarl Borg’s son. Wow. That’s a lot to take in.
‘All men are ambitious.’ – Rollo Lothbrok
So much is going on in Vikings right now, even though everything is happening in different places (Wessex, Hedeby and Kattegat) it’s presented to us in a way that’s easy to keep up with. This episode shows that you sure as hell can’t predict ‘omg’ moments, with Siggy’s death, Kwenthrith killing her brother and the return of pretty much all of Ragnar’s haters joining Earl Kalf. All in all the episode mixed humour and seriousness perfectly, it was the funniest episode of Vikings I have seen while still keeping the very serious stories going with the right tone.
Words by Eddie Michael