After this most recent episode (Season 5 episode 10) Mrs. Shullivan and I looked at each other and spontaneously said "boy was this a major disappointment". Ever since Ragnar Lothbrook was killed off in the series and the reigns to the Great Hall of Kattegat were handed over to Queen Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) her eldest son Bjorn Lothbrook (Travis Fimmel) and her stepson, the boneless Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen) have been in a battle off and on the field.
In this episode the two stepbrothers Bjorn and Ivar and their current Queen Lagertha literally pull up chairs and sit in the middle of their battlefield to decide the future of their kingdom. Will they continue to violently attack and kill off their respective armies or will they find an amicable solution which will allow both stepbrothers to reign over Kattegat once Queen Lagertha either abdicates her throne or assigns it to one of the deceased King Ragnar's sons?
Ever since Travis Fimmel left the series his best friend and loyal boat builder Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) has been off in his own dreamworld in his attempt to build a new Shangri-La on what appears to be an island that has an imminent volcano ready to implode, or will Floki please his gods and live happily ever after with the handful of Vikings and their families who set sail with Floki, further breaking up the deceased King Ragnar's empire in Kattegat.
This episode was so convoluted I am quite sure that even the writers themselves were confused as to what they were trying to write as a mid season ending episode. This battle was not on the field, but with its TV viewers who were left wondering...."what are they fighting about during this entire episode?" It failed miserably and consequently I have to provide the lowest rating I have given for this series to date, a 5 out of 10 rating.
Sorry, but I call them like I see them