This week on Vikings, the trauma of losing his father at the hands of King Aelle via King Ecbert and his mother being shot in the back by a cold-blooded Lagertha has unleashed the beast in Ivar.
Ivar the Boneless, if we go by historical accounts, was the most feared and aggressive of all of Ragnar’s storied progeny. In the new clip for Wednesdays “Crossings,” we see Ivar in Lagertha’s court as he challenges her to a one-on-one match.
As his father told him, people will underestimate him. Will Lagertha make that mistake?
Meanwhile, there is more bad blood brewing for the kin of Ragnar. Floki squares off with Halfdan and Harald that they will have to kill him before doing any harm to a Lothbrok.
Harald declares that he wants to get rid of Bjorn, and erase or at the very least dim the legacy of Ragnar. Bjorn’s efforts to discover, plunder and conquer with Uncle Rollo on this portentous Mediterranean trip apparently have unearthed feelings of envy and a desire to write their own epic Norse stories for retelling in Valhalla.
Halfdan and Harald have always presented as covetous and conniving collaborators in this series.
After killing Aslaug, the anger her sons carry now threatens Lagertha who is seemingly unnerved by the intensity of Ivar’s feelings, despite his gammy legs. She is seen consulting the Seer to if she will kill or be killed by a son of Ragnar.
This episode is about Bjorn and his crew will take part in a bloody battle, though it’s not clear who it is with. Though history tells us the town of Pisa in Italy was one of his targets. What showrunner Michael Hirst pens for us remains to be seen.
Vikings “Crossings” Season 4 Episode 16 airs at 9 PM on History Channel.