While the battle for the throne in Kattegat continues, a new Saxon king is crowned. 

Athelwulf died on Vikings Season 5 Episode 9, and thanks to Aethelred declining the throne, Alfred is now king. 

Long live King Alfred? 

That happened sooner than I expected. 

I figured it would at least be saved for the second half of the season, not to mention it all happened so fast. Still, we knew it would happen eventually, and it's only a matter of time now before we'll get to see Alfred lead his forces against Ivar. 

If looks could kill, though, Alfred's legacy as king would have been incredibly short-lived. Aethelred was staring daggers the entire time he watched Alfred accept the crown. 

For the moment, Ivar is a little busy. The Saxons are the farthest thing from his mind as he and King Harald try to regroup and plan for a second attack. 

Hvitserk's plan to ask Rollo for help was pretty genius. Maybe Ivar doesn't give him enough credit. It's unclear why Rollo is willing to take sides in all of this, but he did have the one condition that they spare Bjorn's life. Oddly enough, there was no mention of sparing Ubbe's. 

I guess Uncle Rollo plays favorites. 

Bjorn: Maybe we can negotiate some sort of agreement. Perhaps King Harald and Rollo will see sense.
Lagertha: I wouldn't count on it. They are in a position of strength now.

• Permalink: I wouldn't count on it. They are in a position of strength now.

His forces definitely give Ivar and Harald an edge, and they seem likely to win the second battle, but I wouldn't count out Lagertha and Bjorn just yet. 

Lagertha probably isn't long for this world, but it doesn't feel like the right time to lose her either. Her time is coming, but hopefully not quite yet. 

She also now has Bishop Heahmund on her side. It's hard to say how much he adds. He's a great warrior, but he's still just one guy. Still, he fought on Ivar and Harald's side, so he may have inside knowledge to bring to the table. 

Lagertha: You don't have to fight for us.
Heahmund: Of course I do. It's why you saved my life. You hoped that I would take up my sword and fight for you against Ivar.
Lagertha: Will you?
Heahmund: I will fight for you, Lagertha. I will die for you.

• Permalink: I will fight for you, Lagertha. I will die for you.

He's an interesting dude. 

I wish we could get inside his head. I keep thinking he has some grand plan for freeing himself and getting home, but the more I see, the more I think he's just winging it as he goes along. He's doing whatever it takes to stay alive, and he'll figure out the rest later. 

He has no problem fighting on whichever side fits his needs. If I were Lagertha, I probably wouldn't put too much trust in him or give away any major strategy secrets. 

He's getting a great inside look at both sides of the Viking armies, so if he does eventually make it home to King Alfred, he'll have a wealth of information to share with him. 

I have to ask though, is it just me, or did Heahmund's breathy pauses with Lagertha sound super weird? If that was his way of flirting, it was kind of creepy.

Floki needs to learn to heed his own advice. He says they need to stay calm, yet he very nearly kills someone in a fit of rage. His settlement is in serious trouble after the temple is burned down, more fights break out, and someone dies. 

There's about to be anarchy on their uninhabited island (aka Iceland) very soon if he doesn't get control of his people. 

Maybe Floki should have vetted these people a little bit better before inviting them to join him. David would have been best left at home. All he wants is to rule his land, and he's trying to steal this place out from under Floki by starting riots among the settlers. 

Who knows what's going to happen, but at least for the first time all season, this storyline is getting somewhat interesting. 

It still takes the focus away from the main event, but now that it's building to something, it's not as much of a distraction from the civil war as it was. Here's hoping that the conflict comes to a head in the midseason finale and leaves us wanting to know what happens next. 

Margrethe is downright scary. 

It's been building for awhile now, but watching her take her anger and jealousy out on Torvi's little kids was crazy. When Ubbe assured Torvi that they'd be safe with her, all I could think about was, are you sure about that? 

Now that Ubbe and Torvi are officially hooking up, it's only a matter of time before Margrethe unleashes the crazy and one of them winds up dead. Ubbe assumes one of them won't survive the impending battle; I'm not so sure they're both even going to make it to the battle. 

With only one episode left before hiatus, what are you hoping to see? Are you predicting any major deaths? 

If you need to catch up, you can watch Vikings online

. 

Stacy Glanzman was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in March, 2019.