Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 4, 2018

A number of show business and/or entertainment news related websites have been touting the new Game of Thrones prequel that is slated to star Naomi Watts, a highly anticipated property that is arising like the phoenix from the already anxiety inducing but not quite real (yet) ashes of its progenitor. But for those dreading even a moment’s withdrawal symptoms from not having new subterfuges to watch in a feudal setting, Vikings perhaps astoundingly may manage to not just outlive the venerable HBO enterprise, but perhaps even outrun it in terms of number of seasons. As fans of the George R.R. Martin (and beyond) sagas no doubt know, Game of Thrones is slated to end after its eighth season, while Vikings has already been renewed for an upcoming sixth season, even though the show has hardly attracted the same kind of notice (not to mention nowhere near the ratings) that Game of Thrones has. Perhaps ironically in one way but understandably in another, Vikings tends to stumble at times in its quest to depict at least some characters who are ostensibly based on actual historical figures. It’s ironic since the annals of Norse history are filled with remarkable warriors and other notables, something which would seem on its battle scarred face to provide Vikings with a veritable field day of potential stories to explore. It’s understandable, though, since “historical epics” often seem to offer cardboard cutouts in the place of actual living, breathing humans. The emotions are often outsized in Vikings, and the show tries to ply the same sort of grandeur in terms of sets and costumes that Game of Thrones often does, but the outcome is perhaps less consistently engaging.

The fifth season of Vikings has a certain Games of Thrones-esque ambience from the get go, courtesy of the death of what might be thought of as a paterfamilias of sorts, Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel). That death has left in its wake all sorts of sibling machinations, something that informs the series in a fairly expected way and which is perhaps unavoidably reminiscent of the HBO series. But part of what sets this season apart is what amounts to a new focal character (in what admittedly is a very large ensemble cast), Bishop Heahmund (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who is kind of one part Cadfael (at least in terms of a certain religiosity) and one part Ned Stark (at least in terms of his leadership and/or butt kicking proclivities).

It's actually another death which sets the stage for the early scheming in this season, with Ivar (Alex Høgh), Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) and Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø) trying to come to terms with their new hold on power, not to mention with each other. And in fact a lot of this season's drama tends to accrue around Ivar, a character who seems specifically designed to fill the "Peter Dinklage" shoes of this series, at least in terms of presenting a character with a physical abnormality and/or "handicap". What's interesting about this similarity is that while both characters are devious in their own ways, Ivar comes off as both spectacularly violent and incredibly vulnerable.

One of the other ways that Vikings may remind some Game of Thrones fans of that show is the kind of weirdly bifurcated roles women play in this “culture”. There are queens here, including Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), who I guess could be compared (admittedly fitfully) to Cersei Lannister, and several major developments, especially as this first half of the fifth season wends toward its close, deal with her struggle to maintain power in what amounts to a man’s world. Again as with Game of Thrones, characters meet their fate in almost jaw dropping numbers, and there’s a ruthless quality running through most of these episodes where morality is definitely relative and decisions are made at least as much on what may be expeditious at the moment rather than with an eye to what may be coming next. That gives Vikings a slightly dangerous tone at times that may in fact recommend it to Game of Thrones fans, but the series may still not bring “history” fully alive.

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Fox/MGM with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb lists a variety of Arri cameras as having digitally captured the imagery, with everything being finished at 2K DIs. This is an often really interesting looking series, one that emphasizes slate grays and cool blues and which almost resembles a just slightly colored black and white offering at times. The result is surprisingly well detailed almost all of the time, even despite some extremely dark (in terms of lighting) sequences. Everything from the ornately brocaded outfits to some of the almost baroque hairstyles have typically excellent fine detail and manage to weather the pretty severe grading on hand very well. Occasional "arty" framings and filming styles can introduce a hint of softness now and then (see screenshot 8), but on the whole this is a nicely sharp and well detailed presentation that has no compression anomalies.

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The glut of outdoor material, not to mention some of the more action adventure set pieces, offer consistent opportunities for excellent placement of effects in the side and rear channels, and the series' nicely evocative score also tends to waft through the surround channels impressively. The series has enough action elements to at least intermittently engage some forceful LFE as well. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout the episodes in this volume, and there are no problems of any kind to report.

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 4:24)

Disc Two

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 1:37)

Disc Three

• Moments of Vision (Extended) The Creator's Audio Commentary with Michael Hirst


• I Am Boneless (1080p; 8:47) profiles Ivar and Alex Hogh.


• Bringing the Invisible People to Life: The Sami (1080p; 4:26) talks about some Finnish folklore and includes interviews with Michael Hirst.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 2:48)

Additionally, the release's packaging touts "extended episodes", but I can't authoritatively state what if anything is added since I did not watch the show in its original cable broadcasts.

Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's always a little dicey coming into a series this late in its life, as I did with this review, but kind of surprisingly (at least to me), Vikings provided a rather interesting if at times somewhat derivative feeling viewing experience. There is such a novelistic array of characters on hand here that it can be a bit of challenge to keep all of the interwoven subplots clear, but the series benefits from some extremely impressive performances, and the production design is also winning, if perhaps not quite at the opulent levels of a certain HBO series. The visual aesthetic of Vikings is one of its most notable features, and the good news is this set of Blu-ray discs preserves a really distinctive look with excellent looking transfers. The supplemental package here is a little on the sparse side, but otherwise Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 comes Recommended.