Vikingos

This had the makings of a five-star episode. We got great action, King Ecbert's masterful scheming, the ever-ambitious Kwenthrith, and finally, no more watching Athelstan struggle with his illuminated manuscripts and hallucinations. But then came the glaring misstep. It seems they had leftover props from a Thirty Years' War film and decided to slap those helmets on the extras for the battle scene, thinking it would go unnoticed. It didn’t. (12.05.2018)

I honestly can’t justify giving this episode anything less than a top rating. The season two finale had everything I love about this series — quality action, plenty of intrigue and manipulation, plans clashing with counter-plans, and trust being buried by double agents. It was intense. (13.05.2018)

Season 3 started off (and continued) very awkwardly, so I was pretty disappointed. There was a significant change for the better in Episode 6, which lasted until the end of the season. For me, the most striking episode was the eighth, which featured the attack on Paris and the best action of the series so far. I really enjoyed the character of Egbert, King of Wessex. Some episodes would have been rather bland without his scheming and manipulations. (20.07.2016)

The start of the third season didn't really grab me. I wasn’t bored, but it felt like the creators were just recycling old plots to make it seem like something was happening. Things picked up at King Ecbert’s court, and I was looking forward to the campaign in Mercia, but that didn’t last long. You don’t need to be a military strategist to realize that splitting an army into two parts that can't support each other is a recipe for disaster. And I can’t help it, but the armor really bothers me. (13.05.2018)

The second episode was pretty slow, with the plot barely moving forward. To fill the time, we got some shared dream sequences in Kattegat and Athelstan slipping back into religious fervor, both of which annoyed me. (13.05.2018)

Not even the battle scenes got me excited, so something definitely felt off. The fight itself was well-executed, but the intro with the one-armed bandit was confusing. I get that they wanted to give an important character a memorable exit, but what was the point? If he had at least dragged a rope and given a signal by tugging it twice, fine, but this? Telepathy? The only part that truly intrigued me was the ceremony before the first sowing. (13.05.2018)

The best part of the episode was Harbard leaving Kattegat — I'm guessing he was some sort of Norse Rasputin. The lake scene didn't really do it for me, and Ragnar’s son Ivar doesn’t seem to age, unlike Floki’s daughter Angrboda. On the bright side, Princess Kwenthrith was entertaining as always (disinfection, poison). (13.05.2018)

This episode would be perfect for bedtime — it was a real snooze-fest. Nothing major happened, and there wasn’t much action or setup, aside from Ragnar’s epic monologue about Paris. Apparently, even back then, it was a favorite spot for romantics. If it weren't for King Ecbert and his fantastic ending, I would’ve been seriously disappointed. (14.05.2018)

Finally an episode worth watching. Even though Floki's and Athelstan's religious fervor often gets on my nerves, I enjoyed this one. It was a stark reminder that the ends justify the means and that Christian love for one’s neighbor can often be quite barbaric. (14.05.2018)

Crossbows weren’t commonly used in France until 947, while the siege of Paris took place in 841-845, but that’s my only gripe with this episode. Otherwise, it was packed with thrilling action that kept me entertained throughout. Up until the sixth episode, I had serious doubts about this season, but this episode completely turned things around. (14.05.2018)

Even though I was disappointed that Ragnar inherited Athelstan's visions, I couldn't lower my rating. There was less action, but the quality remained high. What the episode lacked in battle scenes, King Ecbert more than made up for — his character gets more entertaining with each episode. I hope he gets more screen time. (14.05.2018)

The finale nicely wrapped up what started as a shaky third season, nodding to the historical figure Gaange Rolf, the founder of the Norman dynasty. While the Greeks had the Trojan horse, the Vikings used a Parisian coffin, with pretty much the same result :-) Thanks to Odo’s hobby, I also learned that hair removal has a long history in France. (14.05.2018)

I consider Season 4 the weakest one so far. I was quite glad when Ragnar finally said goodbye. It was excruciating to watch his character disintegrate. Plus, it awfully slowed down the pace of the story. After the writer got out of this major crisis, the story started working again, only to bring more disappointment in the final episode. Twice the number of episodes apparently wasn’t a good move. (18.05.2018)

The start of Season four was quite lukewarm. The events in Kattegat weren’t particularly interesting, and the earlier intrigue seemed to have vanished, leaving the story a bit bland. I added a fourth star only because of the happenings in Frankreich. Rollo brought some humor (his wedding and wedding night) and ended up driving the most crucial events of the first episode. (15.05.2018)

While the events in Kattegat didn’t grab me, the action in Francia and England was really entertaining. Rollo’s storyline had me laughing again, and Aethelwulf’s rescue mission to Mercia delivered some solid action. Plus, the intrigue is back in full swing at both locations, so I’m giving this episode five stars. (15.05.2018)

A bit of a letdown for me. The story pretty much stalled, and the fight with the CGI bear didn't do it for me. Wessex didn't offer much new besides expanding sexual relationships, but at least Rollo was funny again, that bookworm. (15.05.2018)

I found myself pretty bored. I've complained before about the annoying religious visions, and now we’ve got drug-induced trances too — just great. The plot felt really bland, and not even a brutal fight ending in a gutting, or another funny Parisian moment, could save it. (15.05.2018)

No major events this time either, but at least there were some intrigues on all fronts, which was a step up from the previous episode. Lagertha was entertaining again, and to my surprise, the bratty Ivar was the first of Ragnar's younger sons to claim a kill. Definitely didn’t see that coming. (16.05.2018)

Looks like there weren’t enough religious visions and other fantasies, so now Ragnar’s going to be perpetually high — great. The Chinese woman and her goods are just pointless filler. Almost nothing happened the entire time, and when we were finally supposed to see a clash with the Frankish scouts, we got more of my "favorite" Harbard instead. If this keeps up, I’m dropping stars from my rating. (16.05.2018)

The episode started off great. The battle on the Seine and the events in Wessex and Mercia were really entertaining. But then the Norse Rasputin started causing trouble in Kattegat, Floki began having visions, and Ragnar took another hit. That killed the vibe for me. (16.05.2018)