The Return of the King.
By Matt Fowler
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Vikings returned to History with a solid, stage-setting episode that acted as a nice, urgent follow-up to the events of last season. No time jumps. No cutaways to non-Vikings across the sea. Just Kattegat, Hedeby, and Rollo back in Paris. Family drama. Friend drama. And A LOT OF CROSSBOWS.
Now, leaping ahead to the end, I don’t know if I’m fully sold on Rollo’s quick massacre of his own people, but – hell – it’s Rollo. I can’t ever say that a massive betrayal is outside of his capabilities. And it sure made for a cold, cruel ending. The moment he heard that as much as half of his countrymen wouldn’t support him in a potential conflict with Ragnar, he wiped them ALL out. Including the loyal friend who warned him about a possible mutiny. I suppose whether or not you bought into Rollo’s malice or not, it still played as a nice contrast to the bored, and accommodating, oaf role he played back in the city. A brute, but not so much so that he was willing to force his new bride into post-wedding sex. Something I’m sure can’t be said for most of the “non-savages” in Paris.
We want to hear it.
Keeping with crossbows here, Lagertha faced her own opposition back in Hedeby, but I don’t think any of us bought Kalf siding with Einar during the brief seconds when it seemed like Lagertha was in trouble. It was all ruse – a staged event to draw out the seditionists – so that he could employ his own use of crossbows. Most surprising here was Erlendur coming to Lagertha’s defense and betraying Einar.
And while “A Good Treason” may not have been filled with trademark Vikings battles, we did get two bloody ambushes out of it (why were the Paris Norsemen camped in such a vulnerable position?). Yes, the blood part of it actually felt somewhat new. Vikings has always been a violent series, but not a particularly gory one. Not like Game of Thrones. There’s not a lot of crimson. But this season opener gave us quite a few red moments. Plus, Lagertha actually castrating Einar, who was unfortunate enough to remain very much alive after getting a crossbow bolt shot through his neck. Quite a freakin’ moment there.
We want to hear it.
I don’t know what Ragnar’s designs are for a Paris return. Rollo’s ready for him, but our king – who was lucky to make it back home alive – isn’t in the shape for much of anything. Except perhaps the new servant girl that Aslaug procured. Most likely to use as a weapon against him. He’s home. He’s disappointed to be alive and not feasting in the hero’s hall of Valhalla. And he’s taking it out on Bjorn, who basically wound up leaving town at the end. Choosing the harsh wilderness over the prickly side-eye of his fickle father.
Floki, however, is in a worse place. With Ragnar down, Bjorn shackled him up for the murder of Athelstan. Ragnar got pissed because – well, I’m not totally sure why. He gets pissed a lot. But he seemed to want to deal with it all on the hush-hush. In his own way. In a way that would ensure no one would know about Floki’s crime. But – man – when was that ever going to happen, right? Plus, Ragnar could just as easily be dead right now, so what’s the ultimate difference?
Anyhow, Ragnar actually specifically called out Floki for killing due to jealousy and not because of the “Gods.” And I get that. Though we’ve been inside Floki’s headspace. We know it was a bit of both, right? Jealousy started it, but he did truly think he was being guided by cosmic forces.
So what’s to be done with Floki? How much, and to what extent, is Aslaug plotting against Ragnar? Will Bjorn find himself out in the mountains? And what will Rollo do in the meanwhile? In the presumed long wait for Ragnar to return? Decent questions for a satisfying seasonal start.
“A Good Treason” set the game pieces on the board for Season 4, though I can never tell – on Vikings – how things will plot out. The often jittery pacing of the series could mean Rollo and Ragnar will clash two episodes from now or next season. Questions are raised and stories are underway, though I have no expectations on when to expect follow up/resolution. It’s the nature of the show. Though what was here was good. Almost sort of a return to “Vikings basics” after the lengthy Paris assault arc from last year.
