Vikings - Season six (first part)

With this first part of the sixth season, Vikings shows that intrigues, brotherly competitiveness and brutal violence still provide fantastic television.

The first part of the sixth season of this special television series brings us one step closer to the end. All that remains is the second part of this season. After that, this story is over. Although, this only applies to Vikings itself, as Netflix has announced a spin-off. The remainder of the story will revolve around the struggles between the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok.

Let's start off with Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø, Kriger) this time. Not the strongest character but definitely someone who has an important role. Last season's events resulted in Hvitserk doing drugs. His hallucinations and fear of Ivar ensure an action that seems to repeat history. That is, if those types of stories would have been written down at the time. Fact is, stories of the Vikings weren't written until much later.

Ivar the Boneless (Alex Høgh Andersen, Tvillingerne & Julemanden) seems to head in a direction without an actual purpose. Fighting his brothers has weakened him. His journey to the east results in a new ruthless ally with whom he'll fight his brothers. This newfound ally is ruthless towards his family. Ivar understands that if he wants to be a part of this game, he'll have to be cunning enough in order to actually gain something out of it. The only goal he has is to dominate all of Scandinavia as a god.

The groundwork for a - hopefully - fantastic ending has been laid.

Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig, Heels) seems to be on the road to becoming king of Scandinavia. For that, he will need to take some hurdles. This turns out to be a lot more challenging than originally thought. When he becomes aware of the threats from the East, Bjorn ends up in a position that suits him. The internally divided Vikings must try to get together to maintain their independence and their lives. The question remains whether or not Bjorn's efforts are good enough against an opponent with much more soldiers.

Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith, Banished) becomes obsessed with the land that has been discovered by a Viking somewhere in the west. Furthermore, he hears that Floki has gone missing on Iceland. Ubbe wants to take his wife and children to this unknown land. Before he can actually leave, he becomes a part of all that is going on in Scandinavia. It doesn't just result in a delay of his travel plans, but also brings intense personal suffering.

With this first part of the sixth season, Vikings shows that intrigues, brotherly competitiveness and brutal violence still provide fantastic television. Even though this season was definitely not one of the best, it is better than the previous season. The way the story is told is a lot more linear. In season 5, the story seemed to be all over the place. Besides that, it actually feels as if we're heading towards a big conclusion. Everything seems to fall in its place and nobody is safe. This season, familiar characters have gone to Walhalla. The question remains who else will also bite the dust. The groundwork for a - hopefully - fantastic ending has been laid. All we can do is hope that the final part will meet the high expectations.