Vikings really is saving the ho-hum plots for last, amirite?
Vikings Season 6 Episode 17 finally reintroduced us to King Alfred, and I wish it was a more momentous occasion.
I appreciate the internal struggle Alfred is having about going against the Vikings again, but his Queen was talking more sense than him as he pondered the looming fight for survival.
A lot has changed in Wessex in the years since Ragnar’s death, but I’m starting to get the feeling that Wessex could win this battle against Harald, Ivar, and Hvitserk.
With this being the final season and the Vikings starting to implode, there’s a good chance the series finale could take things in a wild direction.
Ivar and Alfred have some unfinished business, but I also wouldn’t be that shocked if they sat down to dole out a plan to stop this needless fighting.
There was an unspoken treaty between the Vikings and Wessex after everything that happened in the past, and the Vikings are not holding up their end of it.
This certainly suggests that there will be no mercy when all of this is said and done. Why should Alfred take mercy on Kattegat if people from Kattegat keep popping up every few years to cause death and destruction?
For that reason alone, it’s likely Harald, Hvitserk, and Ivar not to make it back to their homeland, and they probably deserve a dark fate after everything they’ve done.
Ingrid has been slowly trying to outmaneuver everyone to get as much power as she possibly can, but I was stunned when Erik was set as the ruler.
That was a complete slap in the face to not only Ingrid but the people of Kattegat. Ingrid may be trying to steal the power every step of the way, but I was oddly satisfied with her use of witchcraft to get her own back on Erik.
If you watch Vikings online, you know Ingrid has been vocal about knowing who Erik is, and I suspect she is out to get revenge on the man who sold her into slavery all those years ago.
Taking Erik’s sight away from him confirmed that her spells or rituals are working, proving that she’s a force to be reckoned with.
What else could she be capable of if she’s able to pull off these spells? It’s one of the more intriguing aspects of the Kattegat plot, especially as we reach the endgame.
There’s also time for Erik to expose her as a witch to the people of Kattegat, but when you think about it, how can he prove it was her?
He saw her doing witchcraft at Bjorn’s grave, but Harald is gone and the only person who could possibly back up his theory.
A Kattegat with Ingrid as the ruler should everyone else die would be a turning point for the city, but could she become the breaker of chains and allow all of the slaves to be set free?
There is so much to ponder here, but given the way “The Raft of Medusa” played out, it’s difficult not to feel a little bit short-changed.
Ingrid feels like a third-wheel in the story because she’s essentially a straggler after being linked to powerful characters.
Maybe that’s the message we’ve to take from this: The quiet ones will be rising to power after all the dominant forces duke it out.
Just when I was about to skip through the Ubbe/Torvi/Othere at sea scenes, we got a glimmer of hope.
This storyline clearly has a pivotal role in setting up the final conflicts, but I wish it was more exciting.
The struggle at sea was already hashed out several episodes ago, but we had to endure more of the animosity on the high seas before the characters got their reward.
The positive thing is that this new land looks considerably different from anywhere we’ve travelled to before with the characters, so maybe Othere’s tall tales were not as fiction as Ubbe and Torvi thought.
There are a lot of possibilities, but I hope we finally start to tie the plots together. Ubbe has been adamant about finding Floki, so it would be nice if he was actually on the island.
If there’s more heartbreak on the horizon for Ubbe and Torvi, I don’t want it. They’ve both lost so much, and after all of these risks, there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
“The Raft of Medusa” was the weakest episode in years, possibly ever. The series is moving towards a conclusion, but it’s going about it in an exposition-heavy way.
We don’t need endless scenes of the characters talking. We need these characters to make decisions and stick with them.
What are your thoughts on the way Ingrid blinded Erik? Do you think Alfred will show mercy to Ivar in the end?
Who will Ubbe and Torvi meet on the island?
Hit the comments below.
Vikings Season 6B airs on Amazon Prime around the world.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.