Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar

The most searing image in Vikings 5.3 is Ivar laughing - in the face of death, in the form of the Saxons who have laid siege to York, now a Vikings stronghold.  And we have our answer as to who will win this more evenly matched battle between Saxons and Vikings.  It's close.  But it's Vikings.

And Ivar has other reasons to laugh.  The maiden he was going to sacrifice has stirred something in him, something he thought he didn't have.  There should be some good times ahead for those two.

And Ivar finally has complete, undisputed control of his Vikings in Britain.  Ubbe is sailing back home, and Hvitserk is staying with Ivar.  Who is the truer Viking?

Well, they both are.  Both are Ragnar's sons, and Ragnar did both.  But Ivar, with his arational belief in his immortality, and his power to conquer all, is a little more like Ragnar.  Ubbe's departure hasn't cost the Vikings much in England.   Meaning: there should and will be some powerful battles ahead.

The best battles are always the most evenly matched - like the two attacks on Paris, and tonight's unsuccessful attempt by the Saxons to regain York.  The slaughters of unarmed or poorly armed people may be true to history, but are not much fun to see.

Elsewhere, Floki has discovered the curative powers of hot springs in Iceland, and it was encouraging to see Bjorn so well along on his journey in the south.

And I'll be back here next week with more.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time