Mercenary

The opening of season 3 feels mature, controlled, and full of intent. Ragnar is no longer the same man we met in earlier seasons. He now wears the crown of a king, and with it comes hard decisions, complex alliances, and an unstoppable hunger for exploration.

This episode kicks off a new conflict: the expedition to Wessex, a land full of promises-but also potential betrayal. From the very start, Ragnar watches everything with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, as if he knows nothing will come easy.

The supporting cast continues to shine. Lagertha commands the screen every time she appears, balancing nobility and strength in a way that makes her unforgettable. And Floki... well, every word he says feels like it carries something darker. He's clearly unsettled, and it feels like he could break at any moment.

It's not an action-packed episode, but it's filled with tension and anticipation. Ragnar shows once again that his mind is his greatest weapon. I give it an 8, as it's a strong start that sets the board for what looks like an intense season ahead.

The "i hate women" episode. Every man complains about the women in their lives and then rolo has a great chat with floki about how women are evil and can't be trusted. Was the writer going through a divorce and thought this was a good way to vent his anger? It's pathetic,super sexist and annoying. If this was women talking about men people would be going insane.. no thanks!

Vikings continues with cryptic premonition, alliance forging and a few new significant characters. Its usual tone of gray and blue remain with emphasis on disparity of cold wintry Scandinavia and warmer bountiful Wessex. It's apparent that the series has branched as more subplots are created beside Ragnar's perspective, there's a shift with more focus given to the political weather of British as well. Production value has also increased, and if Vikings can continue this pace, it will definitely harvest success.

First episode opens as Ragnar, Lagertha and slew of other eager men and women sail to collect their part from the pact made with King Ecbert. Travis Kimmel as Ragnar is ever bizarrely charismatic. The plot creates many opportunity to interact with other unique characters as Vikings is always centered on this man. His family also enjoys more screen time, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick)is now more involved in the dealing with King Ecbert. It's refreshing change of tone since Ragnar has done most of the banter since last season. This is a good opportunity to establish more range to her character and Winnick delivers a lighter tone for the character.

Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) is still troubled by his lover, Ludwig does a convincing job as Ragnar's son with speech pattern and body language, but I'm worried that the character will be trapped in an unnecessarily romance subplot. He has spent half of last season wooing a girl, it'd be nice to see more depth to his character. The other cast perform fittingly, both old and new faces show good potential. Floki is as strange and captivating as ever, the new princess looks good in slightly mad ambitious role. She reminds me of Eva Green.

A brief touch of occult and faith clashing is welcomed, it creates ground for more social rift in the future. Scale of the battles or events has been increased, now numbering in hundreds of men fighting at the same time. Villages, towns and castles seem considerably grand. Little details on the costume or weaponry add value to the authenticity. The series evolved in rapidly, in one episode alone it delivers hefty content and set foundations for latter episodes. This is a definite confident intro for any season.

Lagherta leaves Kaft in charge of Hedeby and she heads to Kattegat to join Ragnar in their journey to Wessex. They take farmers with them to settle at the land promised by King Ecbert. He welcomes the Vikings and proposes they fight with them to recover the Kingdom of Mercia to his allied, Princess Kwenthrith. Ragnar and his warriors join forces with King Ecbert's army while Lagherta leads the settlers to the offered land.

"Mercenary" is the promising beginning of the Third Season of "Vikings". King Ecbert seems to be a nice leader in a period of betrayals, but his court and his son do not seem to be trustworthy. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Mercenary"

The 2/10 reviewer seems to be delusional/Simp if you look at his previous post all he does is focus on female and how they are portrayed of women were down upon at those times