Vikings Season 4 Episode 2: “Kill the Queen”

Among the many things Vikings has been able to accomplish across three full seasons is establishing a specific tone. The series could easily revel in its melodrama in the same ways that HBO’s Game of Thrones and The CW’s Reign do, but Vikings–possibly because so many characters are put into situations in which direct communication is difficult due to language barriers–feels more distant than homely. Of course, that means character development is a little less nuanced than it is in those other series, but Vikings can brag about being more atmospheric, each episode feeling of a piece with the last in how it looks and sounds. So, even if some of the narrative strands in “Kill the Queen” are less interesting than others, the world still feels lived in whichever country the action is taking place.

The strongest parts of “Kill the Queen” are the scenes with Bjorn, including the beautifully-shot cold (literally) open. Without dialog, Bjorn’s scenes are able to speak more to the general point of Vikings than any other, which is to make a foreign world accessible to viewers in the most believable ways possible. There are no political antics in the wilderness to distract the son of Ragnar–only the bitter coming of winter. Though the premise of Bjorn’s journey is based on proving something to his father, Bjorn is proving something to himself as well. Kattegat breeds deception and lust, among other things, for adults, and although Vikings doesn’t single out too many aspects of Viking life as problematic, Bjorn recognizes the necessity of strengthening one’s will instead of succumbing to the numbness of day-to-day village life. A TV series can only have so many central characters, but there’s a reason we follow Bjorn and not random villagers in this and many previous episodes: His internal struggle highlights the ideals that the Viking way of life is built upon. If there’s any bone to pick here, it’s that Michael Hirst doesn’t go full-on Bjorn-centric by letting the whole episode follow him around. And that’s actually a pretty fair criticism, since Vikings–four seasons in–has built enough of an audience to take those kinds of structural risks. Yes, we all have our favorite characters (Lagertha is noticeably absent), but sometimes the story that the series needs to tell has to be focused to the point of putting everything else to the side.

Certainly, much of the England material in “Kill the Queen” could have been trimmed. The episode’s set piece is the siege on the tower, but the issue here is that the audience isn’t invested enough in this subset of characters yet. And the two that are given the best material are away from the action. Linus Roache makes Ecbert intriguing simply by virtue of such a strong performance. Ecbert has been the best ruler that Ragnar has interacted with, foreign or otherwise. Giving Ecbert a project in Judith, who wants to follow in the footsteps of Athelstan, not only heightens that intrigue, but it produces a ripple effect of Ragnar’s influence on the series as whole, since Athelstan was our previous tie to England and since Ragnar is still actively grieving over his death. It’s hard for Vikings to make scenes that don’t have any Vikings in them wholly worthwhile, but the Ecbert-Judith pairing comes across as a good parallel to how trust is brought up as a theme elsewhere in the episode (with Aslaug and Floki, especially). The rescue of Kwenthrith lacks that substance, relying on the action to carry it. Amy Bailey is very good in the role when she’s wide-eyed and blood-thirsty, but the problems Wessex is facing just aren’t up to par.

Even the little time we spend with Rollo in France is stronger, and this, again, may be testament to how key it is having an outsider in any given circumstance. Rollo’s war strategy and aesthetic conversion into a proper Duke are short, but incredibly effective at telling what he’s going through internally. The haircut scene is funny, absolutely, but it’s also sad in how alienating it is. This is Rollo, after all, and he’s had a much harder time adapting to change in the past (at least compared to his brother). What he does know, though, is how to fight, so even when he’s reduced to making guttural noises and gestures in explaining his ideas for fortification, he’s in his element and earns the respect of people who have every right to be totally disinterested in him. Like with Bjorn, Vikings‘ fourth season could afford to do a France-only episode, showing Rollo’s slow integration into noble life, but the hints we get in “Kill the Queen” will have to do.

Runes Carved from My Memory:

• Vikings-related tune of the week: Bathory – “One Road to Asa Bay”
• Maybe I just didn’t notice it last week, but did the opening credits change?
• Floki’s escape was also a major concern of this episode, but it really didn’t amount to much. It told us that one of Ragnar’s sons is a pretty good tracker, that Helga’s life is awful (and she may continue receiving Ragnar’s…concerns? affections?) and that Floki is still sticking with his story, leaving him to endure water torture. There probably could have been more done to tie Floki to Bjorn, since both are running away from Kattegat, despite searching for the love of Ragnar.
• The words “Winter is coming” are literally in this script.
• Ragnar hobbles to Helga’s home, but then he’s kicking furniture later in the episode. Maybe rage is a good healer.
• He also hits Aslaug, which is not good. I’m pretty sure he would have hit anyone, though, who implied anything negative about Athelstan. Can’t mess with that bromance.