Plotting begins anew in ‘Vikings’
If, like Shakespeare’s King Henry, the head that wears the crown lies uneasily, then consider Ivar the Boneless one tormented soul. As season five of History’s “Vikings” resumes Wednesday at 10 p.m., Alex Hogh Andersen’s pathologically cruel Norseman has ascended to the throne of Kattegat and his tyrannical reign has ushered in a new Dark Age in Scandinavia, a reign that is sure to be challenged by the sons of the late Viking ruler Ragnar. Rollo (Clive Standen), now the Duke of Normandy, arrives in Kattegat apparently a changed man, but can Ivar trust him in any dealings? And then, of course, there is Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), the woman who killed Ivar’s mother, who has fled his murderous forces with son Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) and Bishop Heahmund (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and has designs on retaking Kattegat. That puts a target squarely on her back. “That has always been number one on the to-do list,” Andersen said. “But he’s of course put in all his effort and all his energy into that but while doing so, you lose track of what’s happening back in Kattegat . ... So it’s a lot of doubts and a lot of things in his life that are new to him and that he really needs to adapt to. Yeah, tough time ahead of him.” Another challenge comes in the form of Rollo, the brother of Ragnar, who seeks his due after lending Ivar his army and helping him take Kattegat. Rollo may be older and looking like French aristocracy but deep down still is Rollo, a guy who looks out for Rollo above all else. “Rollo seems to be coming home to be in cahoots with Ivar and people are confused by that,” Standen said. “Why would Rollo be Team Ivar? Why wouldn’t he be Team Lagertha? And I just like to think Rollo is always Team Rollo. “So it seems that now he’s a leader of people, he has to have the people of Francia to look after and to put first. So the politics have to be dealt with first. He comes home to service Ivar and to look after his people as a good ruler would do. But it also gives him the perfect opportunity to travel for work and also to catch up with some old ghosts, and he comes back to kind of open some old wounds up and put salt in others. So yeah, I think it gives him the opportunity to deal with some stuff that has long been playing on his mind.” Which, of course, Ivar is painfully aware of. “Rollo is not one who is easy to throw around or easy to manipulate,” Andersen said. “He’s an experienced fellow. He’s full of power and he’s established in a different country . ... But of course for Rollo to give Ivar his entire army and helping him get the throne in Kattegat, that comes with a price, and Ivar’s really trying to figure out what that is. Is Rollo saying what he’s just saying or what’s the deal here? Because he’s a smart fellow and it really comes with a price to get the throne.”