TV Review: Vikings 4×12 “The Vision”

There can only be one queen in Kattegat on this week’s episode titled “The Vision” of Vikings, which focused heavily on the tensions between Queen Aslaug and Lagertha, Ragnar’s desperation for forgiveness and Ivar continuing his ruthless ways.

The episode starts off with Ragnar asking the farmers of Kattegat to journey with him to avenge the settlement slaughtered by King Ecbert. Little did Ragnar know that he was talking to a man whose brother was killed along with the settlers revealing that Ragnar knew about the slaughter and didn’t tell anyone. This does not bode well for Ragnar who walks into the crowd as the farmer shouts that the gods have abandoned him.

And with Ragnar’s luck in this episode, it seems like they have. The only good thing that happens to Ragnar tonight was that his son Bjorn gives him some of his ships to sail to England, while Bjorn foresees a meeting with his uncle Rollo in order to pass through his Frankish territory.

But this episode isn’t about Ragnar, it’s about Alyssa Sutherland’s Aslaug, who held a dominate presence in this episode starting with an awkward family dinner with her sons. Ivar is googly-eyed over a servant girl he attempted to sleep with in the last episode. Aslaug reminds the boys that just because they are Ragnar’s sons doesn’t mean that they can just sit around the house. They have to get married and have sons. Sigurd seems to be the one who has developed the most feelings for the servant girl and blames Ivar for stealing her away.

The conversation then turns to Aslaug with Sigurd questioning whether or not she ever loved Ragnar saying that he has heard that she has bewitched him. Ivar becomes enraged saying that his mother loves him, at least to Ivar, who along with anger issues also has an Oedipus Complex. He tries to attack Sigurd, but Sigurd simply walks away to avoid his crippled brother’s anger.

Afterwards at Bjorn’s going away party, it’s a time for a reunion. Lagertha arrives with Astrid and clearly has ulterior motives after eyeing Aslaug, while brothers King Harald and Halfdan arrive to travel with Bjorn (we should be weary though because it’s made clear that Harald wants Ragnar’s throne.)

Lagthera and Aslaug have a conversation about co-leading an animal sacrifice to ensure Bjorn has good luck on his journey, but Aslaug reminds Lagertha that she is queen. Lagthera responds, “I never forget anything.”indicating that she has plans for Aslaug. Once Aslaug does the sacrifice without Lagthera, Lagertha tells her that she will never forgive her for stealing her husband and taking Kattegat away from her.

Go Lagertha, after many seasons of her being pushed around, it’s nice to see her clawing to the top again.

There is also tension between the brothers when the servant girl admits to Sigurd that she is terrified of Ivar and that he cannot pleasure a woman. Sigurd was probably the worst person to tell this life or death secret to since he immediately went to Ubbe and Hvitserk where Ubbe admits that he is afraid of Ivar too.

Meanwhile, the next day Ivar has unsettling news for his mother: that he will be traveling to England with his father.

This terrifies Aslaug and demands that she speak with Ragnar, who she has not seen since he arrived back in Kattegat. Their reunion is a sweet scene with Ragnar thanking Aslaug for not turning their sons against him. It makes Aslaug more of a likable character because she could have easily turned her sons against their father, which wouldn’t have been that hard considering the terrible things Ragnar has done.

The night before Ivar is about to leave, Aslaug has a vision of Ivar drowning in a great storm that will sink their ships. Ivar ignores her foresight, saying that he would rather die with his father than be stuck at home receiving special treatment from his mother.

Of course, Aslaug’s vision comes true, and it doesn’t help that Ivar is apparently terrified of water.

The episode leaves us with the ship sinking and Ivar sinking as well into the water.

Episode Rating: 9/10