"Vikings" has always been strange in its fast forward placement. Back in season one it pushed the plot nearly towards the last episode, and now it does so again right after the war in Paris. The first half of the episode is unsurprisingly filled with mayhem, but it skips further ahead, more than it did in several seasons just in the span of one episode.
The battle is admittedly gruesome and it gets the job done in portraying the skirmish. It lacks the strategy, yet there's inherent intensity when Rollo faces off against Ragnar. The show has no quarrel on sacrificing its characters, some are unceremoniously thrown to the wolves. Fighting lasts for a good portion, then the pace cuts not to the aftermath but to years ahead.
This doesn't resolve many of the subplots, the warlords simply accept the defeat while Ragnar leaves. It might be a decent way to cycle the cast, although the current ones have more potential to be developed before ushering a set of new characters. Nevertheless, it jumps to Bjorn, the leader after Ragnar and his brothers. It brings promise of novel adventure as well as burden from previous ones.
This new cast deals heavily on the repercussion of Ragnar's action now that skeleton is out of the closet. Bjorn has been groomed to replace Ragnar, he does well on said authoritative figure, but the rest of the brothers might not have the same gravitas. Ivar looks promising, serendipitously due to his ailment, although it's too fast to pit them against the heavy situation.
The naval battle and its fast forward can be visceral and refreshing, but the tone shift is felt a bit jarring.
The battle is admittedly gruesome and it gets the job done in portraying the skirmish. It lacks the strategy, yet there's inherent intensity when Rollo faces off against Ragnar. The show has no quarrel on sacrificing its characters, some are unceremoniously thrown to the wolves. Fighting lasts for a good portion, then the pace cuts not to the aftermath but to years ahead.
This doesn't resolve many of the subplots, the warlords simply accept the defeat while Ragnar leaves. It might be a decent way to cycle the cast, although the current ones have more potential to be developed before ushering a set of new characters. Nevertheless, it jumps to Bjorn, the leader after Ragnar and his brothers. It brings promise of novel adventure as well as burden from previous ones.
This new cast deals heavily on the repercussion of Ragnar's action now that skeleton is out of the closet. Bjorn has been groomed to replace Ragnar, he does well on said authoritative figure, but the rest of the brothers might not have the same gravitas. Ivar looks promising, serendipitously due to his ailment, although it's too fast to pit them against the heavy situation.
The naval battle and its fast forward can be visceral and refreshing, but the tone shift is felt a bit jarring.