‘Vikings’ Season 5 Premiere Opens With Sigurd’s Burial, Ivar Shows Remorse

After that shocking Vikings Season 4 finale, fans of the hit History channel series are eagerly waiting for the release date of Season 5. As the production for the fifth season is currently underway, spoilers and speculations have already circulated online about what’s to come for Ragnar’s (Travis Fimmel) sons. Michael Hirst, Vikings creator, teased that Vikings Season 5 Episode 1 will open with Ivar weeping on Sigurd’s burial, saying he never meant to kill his own brother.

Sigurd (David Lindström) may not be Ivar’s (Alex Høgh Andersen) favorite brother, as seen in the recent episodes of Vikings Season 4, but it was still surprising how easy it was for him to kill his own brother. However, as Vikings creator Michael Hirst told Entertainment Weekly, the camaraderie among Ragnar’s sons is not meant to last long. Hirst pointed out that the brothers only united to avenge Ragnar by coming after King Ecbert (Linus Roache) and the people of Wessex.

After their victory in Wessex, Vikings fans already sense the growing tension between the brothers. It did not take long before Ragnar’s son started debating on what their next step should be. Ivar wanted to continue her father’s legacy by using their army to attack and raid more places. Sigurd asked Ivar to reconsider his plans, explaining that as sons of Ragnar they should stick together. This turned into yet another heated argument, with Sigurd calling her brother a mama’s boy, which seemed to be the last straw for Ivar as the next thing Vikings fans saw was him hurling an axe into his brother’s stomach. Although Ivar looked stunned, his expression soon turned into a resentful sneer.

Michael Hirst told Variety that Vikings Season 5 Episode 1 would open with the burial of Sigurd. Ivar may not have shown any remorse in killing Sigurd in the Season 4 finale, but the creator revealed that he would have a change of heart next season. Hirst explained that he did not want viewers to completely lose their sympathy for Ivar after what he did. However, it goes without saying that Ivar’s actions would drive a wedge between him and his brothers.

“I think if memory serves Season 5 begins with the burial of Sigurd, and Ivar is weeping and saying he never meant to do it. But his murder of Sigurd splits the brothers — they split up into different camps. A large part of the next season will be about, will it be like this great Roman conflict after Caesar’s death, the great Roman civil wars with Brutus and Cassius and Octavian? These people are playing for possession of the known world. It’s not like a little local fight — these are huge territories. The Great Army has conquered a huge part of England. How do we behave now? That’s what Season 5 opens with.”

Given that Ivar killing Sigurd was not documented in history, it was a pretty bold move for the Vikings creator to include that arc on the show. When asked about that creative decision, Hirst told The Hollywood Reporter that the show was never to be taken as a documentary. While the circumstances were not as accurate, Hirst explained that their goal is to present Ragnar and his son’s story as realistic and truthful as they possibly can. As no one truly knows how some of Ragnar’s sons died, Hirst had to imagine how their journey ended.

The Vikings creator also said that killing his very own brother is something that he can see Ivar doing. Fans can recall that as a young boy, he threw an axe into another boy’s head after he felt frustrated and left out.

“The main point is to be plausible and realistic and truthful, not to be accurate. We cannot be accurate because we don’t know. So Ivar killing his brother just seemed like something Ivar would do.”

Tune in for more Vikings Season 5 updates and spoilers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IScIJ0KYVjg

[Featured Image by Jonathan Hession/History]