Vikings
Season 3 Episode 5: “The Usurper”
Directed by Helen Shaver
Written and Created by Michael Hirst
Starring Travis Fimmel, Clive Standen, Katheryn Winnick, George Blagden, Alyssa Sutherland, Maude Hirst, Linus Roache, and Gustaf Skarsgard.
The History Channel
Air Date: Thursday, March 19, 2015, 10:00pm

Last week and this week’s episodes of The History Channel’s period drama Vikings have been crazy. Here’s my review of tonight’s episode, which is called “The Usurper.”

Details of last week’s and this week’s episodes will be recapped below, so spoiler alert!

Last week on Vikings, “The Wanderer” stayed in Kattegat and cured baby Ivar of his pain. Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig) was very suspicious and it turns out she had a right to be. Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) went to pay Harbard (Kevin Durand) with her body while Siggy looked after the children. RIP Siggy. Valhalla received a fierce warrior in you.

Everybody got some in this episode including Ecbert (Linus Roache) and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), Athelstan (George Blagden) and Judith (Jennie Jacques), and I think (not sure) Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) and Princess Kwenthrith (Amy Bailey). I can’t tell because first she peed on his wound, and he didn’t seem to mind. I don’t know. It was very strange, that interaction. The crazy princess went to great lengths to save her brother, only to kill him by poison in front of everyone, causing them all to empty their wineglasses.

Vikings 3.5 “The Usurper” review: Rollo’s (Clive Standen) anger permeates Kattegat — towards Ragnar, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig), everyone… himself. He is grief-stricken over Siggy’s death, and guilt-ridden over how he treated her. It is really sad because you could always tell he cared for her. How weird is it that the healthiest relationships on the show are Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) and Helga’s (Maude Hirst) and Ragnar and Athelstan’s. Helga tells Floki everything, and he in turn enjoys sticking it to Ragnar. But Floki also believes that Harbard was more than he seemed, that it was an honor that he arrived. Ragnar is super suspicious of Aslaug’s actions during that time. He could not understand why Siggy was taking a turn looking after the boys when “Siggy’s children are dead.”

As we saw in Athelstan’s Journal: Harvest promo, Aethulwulf (Moe Dunford) cut down all of the vikings settlers down to the smallest child. This was hard to watch in a show of unwatchable moments. King Ecbert promised Ragnar his people would be safe but hell hath no fury like a man scorned either. Judith and Athelstan’s affair and love was found out, but her husband did not flip until she confessed she was pregnant. Ecbert is going to be mad, isn’t he?

We all knew “The Usurper” was Kalf (Ben Robson), robbing Lagertha of her earldom while she was away, betraying her. What is going to happen when she confronts him?

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