The fourth season of History’s Vikings picks up right where the third left off. King Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and the Vikings have returned from Paris with their riches. As Ragnar recovers from his injuries, his son Bjon (Alexander Ludwig) takes it upon himself to punish Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) for the murder of the monk Athelstan—a move that upsets Ragnar as it forces him to deal with his friend’s betrayal in the public’s eyes. In Hedeby, Earl Kalf (Ben Robson) upsets a lot of people when he announces that he and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) will share the Earldom. However, Lagertha is unaware that Kalf and Erlendur (Edvin Endre) are plotting to have her son Bjorn killed as revenge for the death of King Horik. Meanwhile, across the ocean, viking-turned-Duke Rollo (Clive Standen) struggles to learn the Frankish customs and language and win over his new wife Princess Gisla (Morgane Polanski), who wants nothing to do with the brute. He also helps the Parisian army prepare for the inevitable return of Ragnar. And in Wessex King Ecbert (Linus Roache) sends his son Prince Aethelwulf (Moe Dunford) to rescue Queen Kwenthrith (Amy Bailey) when she overthrown and kidnapped in Mercia—and uses this opportunity to get closer to Princess Judith (Jennie Jacques).
 

This first half of the fourth season does a great job of exploring and developing the characters, and setting some big events in motion. The season starts off with several separate storylines playing out in different locations, but these ultimately collide in the end as the parties come together or clash in battle. In Kattegat, we see a lot of the characters struggling to find themselves. Ragnar deals with the loss of his priest friend, the betrayal of another, and the constant pain he is in. He also struggles with the eventual battle he will have with brother Rollo when he leads the Vikings on another siege of Paris. Ragnar meets slave Yidu (Dianne Doan) who introduces him to an ancient Chinese “medicine”, but soon becomes dependent on the hallucinogenic. His wife Queen Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) is feeling powerless, depressed and frustrated with caring for her husband’s sons. Son Bjorn doesn’t feel like his father believes in him, so he goes on a journey of self-discovery in the wilderness to prove he can survive on his own. In Hedeby, there’s both a love story with Earl Kalf and Lagertha, but also a story of revenge as Erlendur plots to get payback for the death of his father. In Wessex it’s a game of musical thrones (and beds) as there is a constant political power struggle as everyone seems to be looking for some angle, opportunity or leverage to use to get ahead. And there is also a more comical fish-out-of-water story with Rollo learning the Frankish customs and language, and trying to win over his new wife. However, there is also a story of betrayal as Rollo helps the Franks prepare to do battle against his own kinsfolk.

In addition to the character and political drama, these episodes also have lots of amazing action. The filmmakers hold nothing back when it comes to the fight sequences—they always feel so brutal, visceral and gruesome, but they are done in such as natural, realistic way that they don’t feel like choreographed stunts. The series has a real sense of stakes to it—no character is ever truly safe and anything can happen—which adds a lot of excitement to the series. I love the way the battle sequences are shot as they make the viewer feel like he is right there, and a part of the action. Each season these battles seem to get bigger and more exciting, and this time we get an epic battle on the water.

Vikings is visually stunning at all times—whether it’s the amazing fight sequences or battles, or just the breathtaking landscapes. The Blu-ray video presentation looks flawless, and captures every detail of these colorful backdrops with a crisp, clean picture. The audio track is equally-impressive, with booming bass and excellent use of the surround channels to bring the viewer into the action. All of the dialogue is clear, and so is every gut-wrenching punch, stab and wound. There is a particularly fun use of surround sound in a scene when Rollo and his wife are loudly having sex while others are sitting quietly in the dining hall.

While this release is referred to Volume 1 of the fourth season of Vikings, it contains the same number of episodes as the previous seasons. The fourth season will be a total of 20 episodes instead of the usual 10, with the second set of episodes airing almost a year after the first—the series will return to History at the end of November. The Blu-ray provides each episode both as it originally aired as well as in an extended cut that inserts a few minutes seamlessly back into the episode. There is a Season Play option that allows you to go through the entire season, pausing at any time and resume right where you left off—it will prompt you if you’ve inserted the wrong disc into your player. The Season Play mode uses the extended cuts, which don’t include the “previously on” before each episode, which makes it great for binging! The Blu-ray contains a nice set of bonus material, though a little less than what we’ve seen with past releases—two audio commentaries, 2 behind-the-scenes featurettes and an interactive discussion of the sons of Ragnar.

The discs come packed in a multi-disc keepcase with a slipcover. The front of the slipcover is sealed with Velcro and can be opened to display a trifold Last Supper-like artwork of all of the main characters sitting at a dining table.

What’s Included:
Episodes: (7:35:10)

• All 10 episodes of the first half of the fourth season:
  “A Good Treason”, “Kill the Queen”, “Mercy”, “Yol”, “Promised”, “What Might Have Been”, “The Profit and the Loss”, “Portage”, “Death All ‘Round”, “The Last Ship”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Castilian DTS 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French (Quebec), French (Parisian), Castilian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Icelandic

Extras:

• Includes both the Original and the Extended Version of all 10 Episodes
  The originally-aired versions of the episodes each have a runtime of 44:11, which includes a 45-second recap. The extended episodes eliminate the Previously On‘s, and add around 22 minutes of footage back into the 10 episodes. When watching via the Season Play mode, the discs will play the extended episodes. I had not seen the original version of the episodes, so I don’t know what was specifically added back into the episodes, but the extended versions felt seamless as I binged the episodes.
• Audio Commentaries
  Series creator/writer/executive producer Michael Hirst and historical consultant Justin Pollard provide interesting and informative audio commentaries on the extended versions of third and tenth episodes. In addition to talking about the characters, the actors and some of the historical elements, the men recount some production stories and discuss things like shooting in Canada for the first time, Bjorn’s wilderness adventure, Rollo’s culture clash, the water battles, the time jumps, the sons of Ragnar, and more. Subtitles are offered in English, French, Spanish and Dutch.
  • “Mercy” (Extended) (48:39)
  • “The Last Ship” (Extended) (43:46)
• The Transformation of Rollo (7:38)
  A look at Rollo’s transformation from a pauper to a prince, and how he betrays his own people in order to accept his new role in Frankish society. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, clips and interviews with actor Clive Standen (“Rollo”) and series creator/executive producer Michael Hirst.
• The Viking Seafaring Prowess (7:41)
  A look at various boats used by the Vikings, their navigation technique, and how the sea was central to their culture and survival. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, clips and interviews with authors Olaf Engvig (“Legends in Sail”) and Danielle Turner (“Change in Northern Winds: A Modern Review of the Viking Siege of Paris 845”), series creator/executive producer Michael Hirst, and actress Katheryn Winnick (“Lagertha”).
• The Sons Of Ragnar
  This interactive provides interesting discussions about each of Ragnar’s sons. Play All or select from Bjorn, Ivar, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd and Eric & Agnar. Each segment includes behind-the-scenes footage, clips and interviews. Participants include author Danielle Turner, actors Katheryn Winnick and Alex Høgh Andersen (“Ivar”), series creator/executive producer Michael Hirst, and Dr. Kimberly Ball. Playback of each segment can be paused, but fast-forward and rewind are disabled.

Final Thoughts:

Vikings is a well-written, visually-stunning, series with great acting and spectacular action sequences. The Blu-ray contains top-notch audio and video presentation and comes loaded with extended episodes and some great supplemental material. This series is perfect for binging as the episodes play out like one continuous story. The series’ creators keep increasing the quality and scope each season, and the battles just keep getting more and more epic. I can’t recommend this series highly enough.