Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund?

Well, it was supposed to be the fierce battle that would change everything tonight on Vikings episode 5.8, a battle that features brother against brother from not just one but two families, and it was fierce enough, but -

It surprisingly changed almost nothing.  The one major player who seemed to be killed turned out not to be. And so Heahmund now goes into Lagertha's camp.  And Ivar, after first seeming to agree that he didn't want to kill his brothers, and then initiating the attack, goes off into the woods to ... I'm not sure.  Think things over?  Be a winner whatever actually happened in the battle?

Heahmund fought well enough, but not as well as he did back in England.  That would be, why, because his heart wasn't fully in it?   Ivar and Heahmund, fighting together, at full ferocity, were the only chance Harald had against Lagertha and her shield maidens, not to mention Bjorn.  But Ivar wasn't there, and Heahmund fell.

I wanted Lagertha's side to win.  I just thought Ivar would put up more of a fight.  It will be interesting to see where this goes.

Meanwhile, over in England, it was good, historically, to see Athelstan's son tell his mother that the only way to stop the Vikings was to build a navy with ships that could stop the Norse attacks before they came ashore and pillaged.   Was this indeed the beginning of the British navy?

Only two more episodes this season.  Tonight's was good, but the battle didn't compare to what we saw in Paris.

See also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful 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

 
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