Vikings Season 5 (2017)

What is left in the space vacated by the name Ragnar Lothbrok? Vikings delivers the shock of Ragnar’s death in Season 4 and then, in Season 5, fully develops what comes after. Released in November 2017, Season 5 runs to 20 episodes — the longest in the series. Produced by History Channel, Season 5 aired in two halves of 10 episodes each. As Ivar and Ubbe fill the space left by Ragnar, the drama simultaneously draws the end of one era and the beginning of another.

What it’s about — Sons filling the space Ragnar left behind

Ragnar’s sons — Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen), Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith), and Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø) — each go their own way after their father’s death. Ivar returns to Norway and seizes power; Ubbe sets out in search of new lands. Meanwhile, Ragnar’s old ally Rollo and newly rising power Harald Finehair (Peter Franzén) join the fray, and the power landscape of Northern Europe grows deeply entangled. Where the idealism of the Ragnar era has vanished, pure ambition and hunger for power move in.

Direction — War scaled across many terrains

Season 5, with Michael Hirst continuing at the helm, maintains the tradition of grand battle sequences from previous seasons. Battles across diverse terrain — Ireland, England, the Mediterranean — unfold on a wide canvas. The Battle of York in a middle episode and the large-scale decisive battle in the second half particularly stand out in visual quality. However, with 20 episodes of considerable length, some mid-season episodes drag, and narrative focus diffuses as multiple storylines run in parallel.

Performance & characters — Ivar dominating the screen

Alex Høgh Andersen’s Ivar delivers arguably the most intense performance across the entire series in Season 5. As both a villain with a physical disability and a character with complex inner depths, he oscillates between madness and charisma and commands the screen. It is not an overstatement to say that Vikings without Ragnar could continue because of this character. Katheryn Winnick’s Lagertha remains a three-dimensional character with her own story even in Season 5.

What the work says — A father’s dream warped into a hunger for conquest

Vikings Season 5 shows how the dreams of a father’s generation become distorted and extinguished in the next generation. The ideal of exploration and new lands that Ragnar pursued is corrupted in Ivar’s hands into pure conquest. The war between brothers goes beyond a simple power struggle — it is also a conflict over how to inherit the father’s legacy. The 9th-century Viking world is the backdrop, but the themes of generational rupture and the distortion of a legacy are universal.

Ratings & reception

The IMDb series overall score is 8.5. Season 5 draws more split assessments than Seasons 1–4, but praise for Ivar’s character development and the large-scale battle sequences has been consistent. Rotten Tomatoes official counts are limited, but Vikings is considered one of the most solidly fan-based historical drama series of the 2010s.

What doesn’t quite work

The 20-episode count is Season 5’s biggest weakness. Some storylines become scattered in attempting to cover even secondary characters. With the post-Ragnar world growing more expansive, the intensity of singular focus that characterized Seasons 1–2 diminishes.

Verdict

Season 5 of Vikings is a season fans who’ve seen Seasons 1–4 simply have to continue with. As long as Ivar exists, it’s hard to look away despite the weaknesses. Enduring the long runtime rewards with ample satisfaction at this key turning point in the Vikings saga. Also appearing in Season 5 is the new ally of Ivar, White Hair (David Hermansen) — an impressive supporting addition and an appealing character drawn from Norse mythology. My rating is ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Fans who have already seen Vikings Seasons 1–4
• Those who enjoy large-scale war dramas set against a historical backdrop
• Viewers interested in the psychological exploration of complex villainous characters