WiC reviews the final 10 episodes of Vikings
By Corey Smith
What will become of Bjorn, Ivar, Hvitserk, Ubbe and the rest? We’re reviewing the final episodes of Vikings, one by one!
Well, Vikings fans, we have finally reached the end. Back in 2013, we watched an unknown Viking named Ragnar Lothbrok dream of sailing West. Now, Ragnar is long dead, but his sons have continued fighting and adventuring in his shadow. And now we have only 10 episodes left to see what becomes of Bjorn, Ivar, Hvitserk, Ubbe and everyone else in Michael Hirst’s historical saga.
The first half of season 6 ended with Bjorn lying near death on a beach after being defeated by Ivar, Hvitserk and the Rus. Ubbe was planning on sailing into the unknown, and Floki was still nowhere to be seen.
Will Bjorn somehow manage to overcome Ivar and the completely insane Prince Oleg the Prophet? Will we ever see Floki again? Was that really a f*@!#ing dragon in the preview trailer? Let’s dive in. (We’ll be updating this slider as we watch new episodes, so be sure to check back!)
Season 6, Episode 11: “King of Kings”
With such a long gap between the first and second half of the season, one might assume we would reset a bit after the events of “The Best Laid Plans.” But you would be dead wrong. “King of Kings” might not as action-packed as its predecessor, but it’s just as momentous. No less than three kings die, including one fans most likely never saw coming.
Initially, the episode does seem to pause and take stock in the aftermath of Oleg’s victory over our heroes. However, like Oleg after learning Bjorn Ironside survived the battle, the episode soon rushes to address the threat of Norway’s most famous king still on the loose.
Speaking of kings, we also learn that King Harald survived the Rus attack, although he’s imprisoned alongside King Olaf. With so many kings around, people are bound to start acting drastically. But while, Harald quickly escapes for parts unknown, King Olaf is not so lucky. Olaf is summarily burned alive by the young Prince Igor. Igor is clearly not comfortable executing the crazy old man, but Olaf himself encourages the boy to follow through. One king down, two to go.
Meanwhile, we check in on Ubbe’s plans to sail to Greenland as he continues to to make his own claim to fame away from the battles in Norway, Torvi by his side. Unfortunately, so is the devious Kjetill. With that mix of people, this quest seems destined to end with one or both men dead.
But Norway remains the center of the episode. We see Bjorn return to Kattegat gravely wounded. He sends out word to all the kings and jarls of Norway for help, but only King Hakon answers the call, and things look bleak for Bjorn Ironside. Bjorn’s wives Gunnhild and Ingrid face down their doom in different ways, Gunnhild with a warrior’s courage and Ingrid with fear. Gunnhild is surprisingly comforting to her nominal rival, and the two share one of the episode’s more tender moments. Meanwhile, King Harald has escaped Oleg’s forces, but with the Rus bearing down on Kattegat, it doesn’t much matter.
All of that leads into the episode’s grand finale: the death of Bjorn Ironside, king of Kattegat and eldest son of Ragnar Lothbrok. As the episode goes on, it’s clear that Bjorn will not be recovering from his wounds. Bjorn only rises from his bed in the final moments of the episode. He says his final goodbyes to Gunnhild, wishing like any other man for the chance to do things over, and his last hurrah begins to unfold. Ludwig puts in his best work of the series in this scene.
As a viewer, I still held out hope that Bjorn would somehow survive his wounds, especially after King Hakon sneaks into the Rus camp to inform Oleg and Ivar of Bjorn’s death, something the viewer does not see. Hakon is immediately executed by Oleg (two down, one to go), before we head into the main event.
Being the absolute stone cold badass that he is, Bjorn rides out one more time to inspire his people, despite barely being able to sit his horse. And in a scene that I thought harkened back to The Fellowship of the Ring (but that Ludwig told us was inspired by El Cid), Bjorn takes multiple arrows to the chest and dies (three dead kings). Bjorn’s sacrifice is not in vain however, as his previous call for help has been answered by all of the kings and jarls of Norway, who quickly rout the Rus as they avenge their fallen king.
Naturally, Ivar, Oleg and Hvitserk survive, but the episode is all about Bjorn. Like the funeral burrow and life-like statue of the fallen hero, “King of Kings” is a monument to Bjorn Ironside, a flawed father and fearless leader.
With nine episodes to go, Vikings is not messing around, and none of our favorite characters should feel safe. Since Ragnar’s death, Bjorn was at the center of the Vikings universe, and this episode felt like a proper send off to one of the show’s biggest characters.