Vikings Season 4 Episode 10 Review: Did "The Last Ship" Miss The Boat?

The entire fourth season has lead to a rematch between Ragnar and the Vikings vs Rollo and the Franks. Who will live and who will die in the mid season finale?

There is much bloodshed on each side of the river battle. Ragnar takes his last bit of opium so he can go beserker on his brother. Floki is injured. Ragnar and Rollo go at it full steam. They take turns pummeling each other. Both end up looking like a bloody mess. Lagertha is sworded in the left shoulder and rescued by Bjorn. Back in Kattegat, the Seer screams and/or crys. What's that about? The Seer is one strange dude.

Meanwhile Charles sits down to dinner in his Parisian castle with Roland and sister/wife Therese. We think it's just a regular meal until Charles starts talking about who he can trust. Charles tells the two they'll be dead by desert. His men then proceed to strange the duo. All the while Charles continues chomping on his chicken. I had initially taken Charles for a fool but he is proving to have serious game.

Back on the water, the fight continues. Just when you think Rollo will kill his brother, Ragnar is pulled into a ship. The Vikings retreat and Rollo lets them go. Well, that didnt accomplish much. At least Rollo returns to Paris a hero. Emperor Charles crowns him "Caesar". Remember young Alexander was crowned in a similar fashion by the Pope. Pregnant Princess Gisla is relieved to have her husband back in one piece.

Next we see Bjorn fishing. He has very long hair. It's a time jump of somewhere between six and ten years. Ragnar's boys (Ivar, Sigard, Ubbe, and Hvitserk) are grown men. Ragar abandoned his people after the battle for Paris. No one knows where he is. Aslaug is ruling Kattegat (and from the looks of her, enjoying it).

This Is A Cool Shot

A messenger arrives and tells Bjorn and Aslaug that Ragnar has a son (Magnus) in Wessex. Magnus is now 12 years old. The visitor also tells them that the Viking settlement in England was wiped out shortly after they left (and Ragnar knew all about it). Bjorn heads over Floki's place. He's still building ships. Floki confirms what the messenger said. They dont seem too worried about it though. They're off to sail the Mediterranean (if it really exists). Helga is also there. I must have missed something because I thought she was killed a while back. My bad.

An older, grungy looking Ragnar enter the village. His four sons challenge him. They have some bad feelings about their father;s abandonment. He goes on a rant daring them to kill him shouting "So, who wants to be King". Will anyone stand up to Ragnar?

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). I would have given the show a lower rating but the excellent battle scene outweighs the issues I list below. "Vikings" now has an extended season and is broken into two 10 episode parts. On the one hand that's great news because I love "Vikings". On the other, I'm worried the writers will stretch out the story to have enough material to fill all the episodes. I continually complain about this with network shows. Time will tell if "Vikings" falls into the same trap.

While I enjoyed the mid season finale, several things felt "off". The battle scene was great but I expected some major character to die. Ragnar had vowed to kill Rollo (and vice versa). I dont really want either to die (especially since Rollo has to found Normandy) but it just felt unsatisfying. And nothing in this episode about Wessex? That seems strange since we spent so much time there this season. And what happened to Harbard? Did he just leave Kattegat (after bedding all the ladies) because Aslaug was too much of a nag?

I also think the time jump was in the wrong place. Why was it tacked onto this episode? We could have been introduced to Ragnar's grown sons in season 4B. Also, is this pointing to Travis Fimmel's departure from the show? If so, will the rest of the actors be able to hold our attention? I originally started watching the show because I like vikings but stayed because of Ragnar. And lastly, in the fast forward we see the fates of everyone EXCEPT Lagertha. Why was she left out? Is she about to leave the show as well? Say it isnt so!