‘Vikings’ Season 4: Recap Of Episode 7, ‘The Profit And The Loss’–And Whose Head Is That Anyway?

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Here’s the recap for episode 7, entitled “The Profit And The Loss” of season 4 of Vikings.

SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains information about the seventh episode of season 4 of History Channel’s Vikings. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

Episode 7 of season 4 of Vikings starts at sea, with Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) finalizing the plan of attack. It is determined there will be attacks on Paris from both sea and land. The expectation is that Rollo (Clive Standen) will not suspect the land attack. Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) decides to lead the land attack.

Ragnar is still concerned about Lagertha fighting pregnant in this episode of Vikings. Lagertha is leaving everything in the hands of the gods though and I am still thinking she isn’t really pregnant at all.

As the longships approach, the mood is one of excited anticipation among the vikings. Except for Ragnar, who is completely hopped up on betel nuts. Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) is also murderous towards his uncle.

As the vikings approach the forts Rollo had built to protect Paris, everything seems to be going to plan. Rollo is there, waiting, watching, ready to make the call to attack the vikings in episode 7. Lagertha is leading her group on foot, sneaking up on the forts, until they start sticking in the boggy grounds surrounding. It doesn’t take long for Rollo to realize the attack from behind and orders the Franks to fire on the vikings sneaking up on them.

It is on for young and old in episode 7 of season 4 of Vikings. The attacks continue on Lagertha’s group as well as on the longships. Surprisingly the shield walls hold against the Frankish crossbows — until they get closer to the forts.

The battle is vicious and at first it seems like the vikings are holding their own. Even with Lagertha’s cover blown, they still manage to get close enough to the forts to attack the troops at ground level.

However, it soon becomes apparent that Rollo has designed protections for Paris that are holding their own. The casualties are great. Especially once the Franks also attack the viking camp.

There is a close call for Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard) when he ends up stranded in the water. But it is his old friend Ragnar who saves him. Will this finally be enough for the pair to bury the hatchet — and not in each other? The scene is reminiscent of the iconic image of Floki and his wife, Helga (Maude Hirst), laying in the grass and this is probably on purpose.

The battle ends with Ragnar howling his grievances at Rollo. Fimmel’s facial expressions during emotional scenes slay me. Every. Single. Time. Although, to see Rollo searching through the casualties afterwards, obviously checking for familiar faces was nearly as gut-wrenching, even though this was the episode that finally cemented my hatred for him.

When the vikings retreat and return to camp, the devastation is great and the life of Helga hangs in the balance. Floki is understandably devastated. All the other main characters — including Ragnar’s sons — seem to have survived the onslaught though.

Just when you have forgotten that there is anything outside the battle of Paris, History Channel takes us back to Kattegat. Harbard (Kevin Durand) and Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) are reacquainting themselves with each other. Harbard is also all over the women of Kattegat, kissing them and telling them their future like some sort of guru from a new age cult.

It is perfect timing to be reminded of Kattegat though as Floki, in his despair over Helga’s devastating injuries, leaves the camp. On the mountaintop he sees a vision of Aslaug. There is then a weird amalgamation of her having sex with both Floki and Harbard, alerting Floki to the fact Harbard has returned to Kattegat. It will be interesting to see if he shares this information with Ragnar this time around.

Meanwhile, in Wessex (but who really cares about England in this episode of Vikings?), King Ecbert (Linus Roache) is heading off to Mercia. Along the way he bumps into Prince Wicksten, the other legitimate contender for Mercia’s throne. The prince is bitter with the way his family has degenerated and is happy to hand over the official Mercian crown to Ecbert. I wonder what Kwenthrith (Amy Bailey) will think of this once she finds out. Although, Ecbert is single and so is she.

But that is enough about the tales of England.

Back in Paris, the defeat is weighing heavily on Ragnar and in the midst of all this, Yidu (Dianne Doan) is trying to get him to cut back on the drugs. It’s probably not the best time, but, then again, Ragnar’s addiction is getting out of hand. Even Bjorn is blaming his father for the vikings defeat by the Franks.

Ragnar is seen muttering like a crazy man as he tells Bjorn that they plan to retreat. Could Ragnar be finally detoxing from Yidu’s drugs, or have the drugs finally taken over his mind?

Now, About That Severed Head Ragnar Was Talking To

Now, as for that head Ragnar was talking to at the very end of episode 7 of Vikings. There has been much debate over whose head that belonged to. The favorites include Floki, Harbard, King Harald and even Yidu.

As you can see from the screen capture above, that head definitely belongs to a male, so Yidu is out of the equation. Although, the reasoning behind it being her head makes quite a bit of sense considering she is out of betel nuts as well as the level of aggression Ragnar displays towards her at times.

Considering this final scene occurs not long after the scene involving Floki, fans could consider it was his head, or, alternatively, Harbard’s. Although having Harbard in Kattegat, even with the hallucination scene makes it a difficult stretch. However, with Ragnar rescuing Floki from near-drowning earlier in the episode, it seems unlikely Ragnar would kill him either.

The most likely option is that Ragnar was talking to a random head. Considering a severed head was seen as the vikings returned to the devastated camp, it is very likely Ragnar was talking to this head. Also, it wasn’t that long ago that Ragnar was telling Yidu just how much the deaths of others caused my him weighed on him, it is likely he is feeling guilt for even more deaths to his community.

What did you think of episode 7 of Vikings season 4? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

Season 4 of Vikings returns to History Channel with episode 8, entitled “Portage” on Thursday, April 7, at 10 p.m. ET.

The official synopsis for episode 8 is as follows.

“Defeat for the Vikings calls Ragnar’s leadership into question as they evacuate their camp and move back down-river. Ragnar himself remains inscrutable until he orders the fleet to beach at a cliff face and unveils an ingenious plan. Rollo and Gisla have news that strengthens Rollo’s position at the French Court whilst Count Odo fails to identify his true enemies, with fatal consequences.”

[Image via A&E Network]