“Vikings" Review/Recap: "Brother's War"
Dymon Lewis ’14 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
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Another area where Vikings continues to deliver is in its representation of strong female characters. Amazingly it is not the newly-arrived Aslaug to whom Lagertha directs her rage, but at the philandering Ragnar. Sure she throws Aslaug some shade (so what if my mom and dad weren’t a mythical shield maiden and dragon-slayer, Aslaug) but she is genuinely hospitable to the pregnant woman and doesn’t abandon Ragnar until he tries to pull a heterosexual Three’s Company on her. On another, lesser show the arrival of Aslaug would have turned Lagthera into a weeping willow or haranguing shrew but the character of Lagertha has too much pride for Ragnar’s foolishness.
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The departure of Lagertha and Bjorn is heartbreaking, though semi-historically accurate (according to the 12 century historian Saxo, Bjorn is actually the son of Ragnar and Aslaug, Ragnar and Lagertha had a son, Fridleif, and two unnamed daughters). While Ragnar gets to keep his power and position and enjoy a brand new wife and the extra sons he so desperately wanted, Lagertha and Bjorn literally set out into wilderness. Throughout the episode Bjorn is repeatedly warned that he must grow up and then is ultimately made to choose between his mother and father. This season opener was full of people making choices and facing the consequences of those actions. There’s no doubt the choices of these characters will reverberate throughout the season.
Overall Episode Grade: A