Kaka

A battle that doesn't have the right ingredients or directorial skill, unfortunately. And actually, not much happens in it.

The Bishop and Ivar play chess and philosophise, while the rest are properly getting ready for the battle. Not much will happen if you skip this episode.

If this episode has any flaws, it’s the way they play with time. In other words, it looks as if everyone travelled from one place to the other at supersonic speed. GoT had the same issue, but here it was is pronounced.

Another egregious carnage, which is again embellished with mini-stories (a warrior with a hammer) that give it an even more intense character. This episode probably has the best action so far, and the popularity of the series and its generous budget are finally starting to show. Floki is considerably off, but well acted.

A low-end Kingdom of Heaven.

The second Battle of York is thankfully a different cup of tea, and it is certainly one of the most impressive of the series ever. The highlight is the demonic Ivar, who looks like an outcast from hell. The best episode of the fifth season so far, which overall feels brisker than the previous one. We’ll see what happens.

The best episode. A consistent, funny and very entertaining sequel that makes sense script-wise and doesn't offend with its action. Understandably, it lacks Michael Bay's signature style, so there's a lot less banging and iconic shots. But the unknown director duo have come up with a playful sequel that makes the most of the bare minimum and everything they touch works. Whether Bruckheimer held it together is hard to say, but it doesn't really matter. Bad Boys 4? I’m up.

Floki runs around beautiful Iceland for half an hour, and this is apparently supposed to be the biggest thing of the second episode. Kind of a throwback to how Kosinski was able to pull off the same thing when he let Tom Cruise walk and fly in a barren landscape.

Another very slow start, crowned by a mediocre battle for York, which at times seemed almost sloppy. It starts with cardboard sets and ends with bland combat.

The fourth season is hands down the weakest yet. It’s also 20 episodes long and the emotional level and narrative grip, as well as its drive are questionable. Yes, there's "that thing" that happens in the middle, which is sort of important, and it should be noted that it's pretty faithful to the source material, but a lot of the characters are there just to make something cool happen (e.g. Rollo) and some of the middle episodes are downright drawn-out boredom without much going on. Technically speaking, Vikings isn’t going anywhere either. This is the most significant difference with, for instance, GoT, which became a high-budget spectacle from the third season on. That said, still above-par entertainment.