The first part of tonight's Vikings 5.5 was about as good as it gets in the fierce battle action, as Aethelwulf and Heahmund fight Ivar and company - who resurface from the Roman tunnel beneath York - and send the King into retreat and capture the Bishop. These two sides are so evenly matched that I never can tell who is going to win - though, so far, it's usually the Vikings.The admiration Ivar has for Heahmund replays what Ragnar felt for Athelstan all those years ago, including Ivar taking the Bishop hostage and back to the Norse homeland. I have a feeling, though, that Heahmund will fare better than Athelstan, may even go on to Christianize some of the Vikings. We'll have to see.
Floki will likely be gone by the time Ivar and Heahmund reach Kattegat, but it would be interesting indeed to see the two confront one another, given their profound belief in such different gods. (By the way, although Floki is played by Gustaf Skarsgård, as he always was, he sure looks different this season.)
And speaking of gods, it was fun to see Bjorn and his men in the land of Allah - sort of the Vikings meeting Lawrence of Arabia, with the Emir played someone who even looks a lot like Omar Sharif. This part of the story has moved up to a close second behind what happened in England, and may overtake it, with Ivar's return to Scandinavia.
As I said in an earlier review, I'm enjoying this 5th season of Vikings more than the previous, and I'm very much looking forward to more.
See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ... Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories
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
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