Review by C.J. Bunce
Deceit, betrayal, glory, destiny.
At one level the back half of the 89 hours of History Channel’s Vikings series had two key components that kept viewers coming back week after week: the next scene always was completely and terrifically unpredictable, and each increase in stakes for your favorite character was just plain nail-biting. Like walking a tightrope, at any point every character–no matter how great or small–might get wiped away. Creator and writer Michael Hirst plucked cultural bits of Norse history and intertwined them with the written histories and mythology of historical figures to make something riveting, compelling, and permanent–the spirit of a historical saga that Viking descendants can be proud of, while also meeting the needs of fantasy viewers for the next swordplay action-adventure. Primarily a denouement for the long six season run, the final ten episodes have arrived on Amazon Prime, with History Channel to air them at a later date.
The reach of the Norse influence, the survival of the Lothbrok line, the direction of early England and Russia. It all intersects here. Does the end measure up to the rest of the series?
