Vikings Recap: Episode 4, In Which Rollo Is a More Complex Villain Than I Initially Thought and Lagertha Is Just As Wonderfully Badass As She Always Has Been

The episode starts with Ragnar and company taking the next step on their Big English Adventure by being led by an Englishman they've captured to city of Hexam. Rollo wants to rush in and start busting heads, because he's Rollo, but Ragnar says no, bro, chill out, let's get in a good sleep and murder and pillage tomorrow.



We later find that Ragnar had a good reason for delaying the attack a day–they end up attacking on Sunday, when everyone's at church all pious and weaponless—but I've gotta say, for all Rollo is a jackass and a rapist, he has a point in this particular scene. If Ragnar had additional tactical information about their enemies he really should've shared it with the group. The Vikings are supposed to all be equals, but Ragnar's clearly set himself up as their leader, one who can make decisions for all of them without expecting to be questioned. Not that he's not a good leader, and not that the Vikings don't need him to serve in that capacity. He could just be less of a smug jerkwad about it and tell Rollo "No, we should attack tomorrow because it's their holy day."

Meanwhile we meet Aella, King of Northumbria and Lord of the Rings-era Peter Jackson lookalike, who is told that the strangers who landed in his shores last episode are probably the same pagans from the North who sacked Lindisfarne and stole all of God's booty.

Then comes the attack on the town of Hexan, and look! The Pokéshield is back! Lagertha, having been told not to separate herself from the group, proceeds to separate herself from the group, because she's fucking Lagertha, and you don't tell her shit. Going off on one's own may get a horror movie heroine killed, but not her. She's followed by Knut. This will not end well for him.

The rest of the Vikings, minus Rollo, proceed to break into a church, kill people, and take treasure. Floki scandalizes the good Christians by drinking and spitting out the sacramental wine; he thinks their horrified reaction is the best thing ever, and it kind of is. He then steals the big cross at the altar and slits the priest's throat for shits 'n' giggles. Floki's reactions to all things Christianity is one of my favorite things on this show.

This whole bit was beautiful.

So what's Rollo up to? Doing something decent for once, it turns out. He comes across an old, sick man lying in bed, and instead of axing him he gives him a drink of water before stealing his goblet, because Rollo's like an ogre. Or maybe an onion. Anyway, he has layers, s'what I'm saying.

Knut, because he's an evil SOB, is off trying to rape a Saxon woman, because we haven't had an attempted rape yet this episode. Lagertha shows up and tries to stop it, after which he tries to rape her, so she kills his ass. If you'll remember, it was semi-important that Knut not die under suspicious circumstances on this mission, as he was hand-picked by the Earl to keep an eye on them. But when Ragnar, as the Vikings are leaving the town, asks what happened to Knut, Lagertha straight up says "I killed him. Whatcha gon' do?"

What Ragnar's gon' do, as it happens, is give Rollo shit for not being there with Lagertha. To what, protect her? Dude. You've met your wife, right? But whatever. He was pretty cool this scene, actually.

On the beach, as the Vikings prepare to skedaddle back to Scandinavia, we have the best fight sequence yet as Our Heroes decimate the knights sent to stop them.

My suggestion to you, random helmeted fellow: Run

Shield wall, fuckers! We've got Lagertha being badass, we've got Vikings popping up to fire arrows at people, we've got Rollo reciting poetry about how they're going to kill everyone. And then they do kill everyone, save the few fancy Englishmen who've held back from the fight and ride off into the sunset to warn Aella when they see how thoroughly defeated they've been. They tell Aella they captured and killed the two Vikings who were guarding the boat, and that they interrogated them but were only able to understand a name: Ragnar. (Oh...kay? How could catching one word and somehow identifying it as a name possibly help them? I guess we'll find out later in the season.)

Sorry, the position of "adorably confused English slave" has
already been filled.

Still on the beach, the Vikings bury the four men killed by the Englishmen and have a drink while talking about how they died honorably and are now in Valhalla. Then they kill the Englishman whom they kidnapped and made be their guide; poor dude made the mistake of telling the Vikings he wanted them to spare his life. FAT CHANCE, BRO.

Speaking of poor kidnapped Englishmen, what's Athelstan being up to? Being the most patient babysitter ever is what. Bjorn says he wants to go to town and meet his parents at the airport port; Athelstan quite reasonably refuses, as he'd have to go with them, which would leave the farm undefended. Bjorn them proceeds to be a grade A little shit, giving his sister ale when Athelstan refuses to and sassing the monk about how he's going to sacrifice him to Thor.

Lord, save me from little shits like Bjorn.

Athelstan then proceeds to have a nice, long monologue/prayer in which he expresses anger at God for for abandoning him among the heathens. I feel you, Athelstan. I'd want to do the same after such a horrendous babysitting experience.

Ragnar strolls back to town, and Earl Haraldson's pretty happy to see him (and his booty—I'm sorry, that was maybe a mite immature), until he sees that Knut isn't there. Ragnar could just say that he died in battle, but he doesn't want people to think the weaselly little rapist died honorably (I assume), so he says he killed him for trying to rape Lagertha.

Welcome, new character! Your dad's a total fucking creep.

Earl Haraldson, saying Ragnar must have killed Knut as part of a move against his authority, has Ragnar arrested. The next scene is the Earl trying to bring Rollo over to his side with sweet words about how "Ragnar's never appreciated you, you've always lived under his shadow, he'd never have accomplished so much if it wasn't for you but he wants to take credit for everything and be 'first among equals,' you can be so much more, come work for me, I'll even give you my daughter's hand in marriage as a signing bonus, you could be the Earl someday, I swear this is not a scam, no really,  pleeeeease." Rollo looks intrigued, and I want to reach through my screen and slap him so he won't fall for it because A) the Earl's clearly lying and B) that would be such a boring. Expected. Plotline. Ugh.

Quick, to the trial! Ragnar's kids are there, because Athelstan caved and took them on the field trip Bjorn wanted after all. The Earl reveals the shocker that Knut was his half-brother and tries to act all sadface that Ragnar killed someone so very close to his heart, which—dude, you're pulling the bleeding heart card? You?! You can't expect anyone to buy that, surely. 

Both sides present their evidence, which breaks down like this:

Earl Haraldson: He killed Knut to try and get at me!
Ragnar: I killed Knut because he tried to rape my wife!
Earl: Nuh-uh!
Ragnar: Uh-huh!

OH. HELL. NO.

Lagertha then steps forward to corroborate her husband's story… until the Earl accuses her of being "so under [Ragnar's] thumb" that she's been convinced to lie for him. I don't fucking think so. She tells the Earl that she killed Knut her own damn self. The Earl responds with "Naaaah, you couldn't have done it, look at you! You're a girl." Lagertha's face goes carefully blank, like she's trying to restrain herself from vaulting over and beating the shit out him, which is probably not too far from the truth.

Then it's time for the Earl to call forth a secret witness to the death of Knut, even though there was no one there besides Knut, Lagertha, Random Saxon Woman, and her little kid. Surprise! The witness is Rollo, who has apparently taken the Earl's bait and is all set to testify that he saw Ragnar kill Knut in cold blood.

Except he doesn't. He testifies that he saw saw Ragnar kill Knut, yes, but it wasn't in cold blood. It was because Knut tried to rape Lagertha, like Ragnar said. Ragnar is free to go, and boy, doesn't the Earl have egg on his face?

Vikings know how to par-tay.

Next up is celebration, with Ragnar, Rollo, Athelstan, and the rest drinking from comically large tankards of ale. Ragnar and Athelstan have a conversation in one part of the room, with the former thanking the latter for taking care of his kids and calling him a good Christian. (Coming from a Pagan Viking who murders and pillages for a living, that's... nice? But Ragnar's just so adorable when he says it. And Athelstan's adorable. And everyone's so freaking cute and smiley here.) In another part of the room Lagertha and Rollo are having a decidedly skeezier conversation, with Lagertha thanking Rollo saving for Ragnar's life and Rollo saying "I didn't do it for him, I did it for you." So that one-sided obsession is still there, then? Awkwaaaard.

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

Gotta say, I like what they've done with Ragnar this episode, with him helping the old guy in the village and not betraying Ragnar to the Earl. He's still just as villainous—the Lagertha conversation brings that home, plus there's the fact that he raped a girl a few episodes ago, which his in no way erased by any amount of niceness—but the writers had a chance to take him down the "cardboard villain" route, and they didn't take it. So four for them.

There's some comic relief courtesy of Floki, who makes this face:

…..and then the Earl's men show up and kill Erik. Erik, if you'll remember, was the friendly Viking with majestic hair from last episode whose wife was really happy to see him alive after the first raid. Well, he's dead now, and his wife's crying over his body. So. That sucks.

Back at the farm Ragnar proceeds to angrily chop wood and sit on a hillside not talking to anyone, with his family (plus Athelstan) looking on all concerned-like. Meanwhile, the Earl's confabbing with his pet creepy eyeless priest. He asks whether Ragnar aspires to become the Earl and is given the answer "If he kills you, would it not be so?" Thank you, creepy eyeless priest. That was less than helpful.

The episode ends with Athelstan announcing he's figured out the meaning behind Ragnar's walkabout-lite: "He's preparing himself."

Dun dun dunnnnn.

Shit's about to get real.

Categories: recaps, The History Channel, Vikings