WiC reviews the final 10 episodes of Vikings
By Corey Smith
Image: Vikings/Amazon Prime Video/History
Season 6, Episode 17: “The Raft of Medusa”
After the spectacular “The Last Straw,” things come back down to earth a bit in “The Raft of Medusa.” It’s not a bad episode, it just lacks the soul-searching honesty that made “Straw” so good.
Ivar, Harald and the rest now have a purpose: the invasion of Wessex. That purpose infuses Kattegat with a boastful pride that leaves no room for doubt, soul-searching, or any other distractions. As preparations get underway, Ingrid as whether Ivar intends to return from England, which hangs over the rest of the episode like a cloud. Although they dodge the question, it occurs to us that Harald, Ivar and the gang probably have no intention of ever coming back.
With that in mind, Harald names Ingrid and Erik co-rulers of Kattegat, setting up what is probably the least intriguing Kattegat power struggle in in the show’s history. We only just met Ingrid and Erik this season, so it’s hard to care what happens to either of them when characters like Ivar, Ubbe, Hvitserk and Harald are still hanging around.
Anyway, Ingrid practices some BDSM on Erik and then invites him into her bed before casting a spell that strikes him blind. Yawn.
Back in England for the first time this season, we quickly catch up with King Alfred, still a man of faith and ruler of Wessex. Both sides begin to make plans; Alfred abandons the royal villa and the Vikings plan to force a battle at Edington, which tracks with real-world history. There are some skirmishes as the two sides feel each other out, with Hvitserk berserking his way through the battlefield at Ivar’s command. As always, the battles are well executed. And the Viking raids are rendered so brutally you understand why the English so fiercely resisted the incursions.
Finally, Ubbe remains lost at sea with supplies and food dwindling. But just as I was getting fed up with the repetitiveness of it all, Ubbe and crew see land on the horizon. And not just any land, the fabled golden land that Othere has long spoken of. It feels pretty obvious that Ubbe has land in North America somewhere.
That wraps up the episode pretty cleanly. After rushing to get us to England, the show is now taking its time and setting up the final confrontation between the Vikings and Wessex, and I’m completely fine with that. It might have resulted in some of the previous episodes feeling rushed, but here it works well. And after spending most of the season at sea, Ubbe’s storyline finally has potential again.
Three to go.