Vikings: Homeland

January 7, 2018 6:34 PM - Season 5, Episode 3

Celebrations are cut short in the aftermath of the battle at York; Ragnar Lothbrok's sons are pitted against each other as tensions reach an all-time high, and each one is forced to choose a side.

*Floki does a tourism ad for Iceland, discovers the antimicrobial properties of elemental sulfur X2

*Harald returns home, Astrid, his new beau is less than impressed
*Harald (eventually) get's one on the nose

*Ivar flirts with a brave and savvy slave girl

*Aethelwulf and Heahmund lock and load
*His [A's] younger kid's first combat engagement
*Ivar plays a RTS game with actual ground and people
*Heahmund has plot armour that repels/misdirects missiles (arrows)
*Aethelwulf is actually pretty kick ass
*Ivar decides to take a turn in 1st person (POV) mode and blunders
*Switches back to RTS and the Vikings kick ass; Ivar gains personal follower: Bodyguards Personal Defense +5
*McBattlePriest counts coup on Ivar, Ivar doesn't give a shit
*The 'english' retreat without order

*Ubbe and Ivar spar
*Ivar (eventually) wins

*Bjorn, Halfdan, and Sinric strategize

*Ubbe and Hvitserk sneak out with 9 riders and acts all shadey
*Negotiates with Aethelwulf
~U & H are back in York, totally beat up, completely contrite in front of an Ivar who's swinging his bound legs sitting on the cathedral altar
*Ubbe is demoted; says that's he's going home to Kattegat
*Hvitserk decides to fall in with Ivar, letting Ubbe to go home alone, all going into Ivar's head

*Aethelwulf thinks he can be King of England, and acts it
*This is how Ivar has the chance to talk to his brothers

posted by porpoise (4 comments total)

Nothing has bothered me more than seeing Ragnar's sons break apart (okay, there's no reason they shouldn't given the compelling competitive edge of those who lead warriors in that era), but it was wonderful when they came together for the Great Army. Alas, those days have passed, as we knew they would.

I was definitely Team Ube going through this episode. He was the smart man, consolidate your winnings, and what not.

Team Aethelwulf perfectly played the part of not being the guys who have had their butts repeatedly handed to them by the vikings. Yeesh. I think Ube's plan would have worked better if he had marched a small army along with him to the negotiation table. I will give Aethelwulf, this, he leads from the front....even if the front is rapidly moving to the rear and beyond.

And...Floki. I love Iceland Floki. I hope they put up billboards with him on them at airports or something.
posted by Atreides at 2:48 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

i am so tired of ivar and his creepy little baby voice
posted by poffin boffin at 10:53 AM on January 12, 2018

What strikes me here is that each of Ragnar's sons has a part of his personality, but what made Ragnar so special was that he integrated all of those aspects. Combine Ivar's strategic mind with Bjorn's drive to explore and Ubbe's desire to farm and distaste for killing for its own sake, you got somewhere very interesting. Now we're seeing what happens with those impulses separated out and left to go their own ways.

I'm not sure what personality aspect Hvitserk represents under this reading
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:53 PM on January 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

what personality aspect Hvitserk represents

Moderation and getting disparate parties together, working towards compromise. Luck and circumstance. Optimism.
posted by porpoise at 7:04 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]