B
Vikings’ fourth season finale roars toward an uncertain future
Since Ragnar Lothbrok’s death, Vikings has been in a rush. The sons of Ragnar, Valhalla-bent on vengeance, squabble and…
Vikings - Season 4
C+
An all-action Vikings lacks direction
“On The Eve” delivers plenty of action while reaffirming that action for its own sake has always been Vikings least…
B-
Vikings’ labored attempts to recapture past glories prove fitfully effective
Evaluating Vikings post-Ragnar Lothbrok presents the unique problem of differentiating between what is second-rate by…
C+
Vikings flails for a new direction as the sons of Ragnar seek revenge
Vikings’ leaps forward in time have always been a refreshing storytelling strategy. Tuning in to see characters grown…
B-
The spirit of the past hovers over a splintered Vikings
After the still-shocking death of Ragnar Lothbrok last week, his spirit haunts the Vikings, and Vikings. Opening on a…
B+
All stories end in another’s beginning on a somber, shocking Vikings
In the end, I found myself thinking about Tostig. If you remember, Tostig was the aged Norse warrior who begged the…
B+
A pair of kings regretfully ponder the inevitable on a haunting Vikings
“In The Uncertain Hour Before The Morning,” two kings remove themselves from the world for a night, only to confront…
B+
Ragnar’s storm-tossed journey leads to his enemy’s door on a compelling Vikings
The two journeys of “Two Journeys” point Vikings toward an end and a new beginning. Ragnar’s doomed raid on Wessex…
B-
An exposition-heavy Vikings splits its forces
That “The Vision” is a disappointment is a product of both design and misstep. By design, this is an episode all about…
B+
In its contemplative return,Vikings asks who wants to be king
Toward the end of “The Outsider,” Ragnar’s four youngest sons contemplate their father’s unexpected return to Kattegat.…
A
In its mid-season finale, Vikings sails beyond expectations
When Ragnar and Rollo’s confrontation comes, it’s a stunner. Fleets of ships, strategy and counter-strategy, flames,…
B+
Vikings’ Paris invasion proceeds, but Ragnar’s still lost
With only two episodes before the mid-season finale, “Death All ’Round” continues last week’s housecleaning of…
C+
A trio of shocks sees Vikings straining for impact
Ragnar Lothbrok’s lurching journey through this season of Vikings has been suitably compelling, upping the show’s usual…
B+
B+
The past is gone and the future bloody as Vikings prepares for war
“What Might Have Been” is all mounting anticipation. Starting with Trevor Morris’ synth score pulsing over Lagertha…
B+
Everyone’s preparing, no one’s prepared on a shocking Vikings
Part way through “Promised,” a Viking feast roars on in Ragnar’s great hall, but the king isn’t there. For the second…
B+
While Ragnar escapes, the women of Vikings dig in
From the beginning of this season, Ragnar has been a different man. Still physically hobbled, his demeanor has changed…
B+
Vikings sleeps uneasily and prepares for what’s to come
Vikings, for all its reliably exciting action, is well served by stillness. With Ragnar Lothbrok hobbled, perhaps…
C+
In its second episode, Vikings refuses to learn from past mistakes
Unlike Ragnar Lothbrok, Vikings is making the same mistakes. In this near-disaster of a second episode, the fourth…
B+
Ragnar awakens, and Vikings with him
While Ragnar Lothbrok sleeps, things fall apart. Grievously wounded in the successful siege of Paris at the end of last…