Catching up with Vikings, now at episode 6.9 (I've been busy with my music, which you can see/hear a bit more of here, if you're interested).  It's an unusual and excellent season, to say the least.  And 6.9 had what could be a real shocker.

Ubbe and Torvi get to Iceland, in search of Floki, who hasn't appeared at all yet this season.  They meet a very familiar face - familiar because he's played by Ray Stevenson, who's played major roles in Rome and so much more - who is legendary Viking explorer by the name of Othere.  He's legendary, because he claims to have sailed to a "golden" land in the West, which I assume is America not Greenland.  Ubbe's inspired, but Othere has another revelation: he says his original name was Athelstan, a Christian monk!

Now, back in season 3, we saw Athelstan beaten to death, by none other than Floki, later the discoverer of Iceland, and also a keen object of Ubbe's interest.  I should mention that I have a policy when it comes to death in non-science-fiction television and movies.  If a character's head is not blown off, cut off, or shot, I think there's always a chance he's still alive.  And, although Athelstan certainly appeared dead, I'm pretty sure his head was still attached and more or less intact after Floki's beating.

So, this means, at least by my standard, that Othere could indeed be our original Floki, whom Ragnar so loved.  And the episode is entitled "Resurrection".  On the other hand, Othere could have had a conversation with Floki, somewhere further west, in which Floki "confessed" what he did to Athelstan, which prompted Othere to take on Athelstan's identity.   For all we know, Othere/Athelstan killed Floki - indeed, a conversation with Othere out of Ubbe's presence suggests that something untoward happened to Floki, perhaps something more than what we already know.

I'm looking forward to the mid-season finale, which should also tell us more about the impending battle between Norway and Rus, the other great world-changing story this season.

See also Vikings 6.1-2: Russia!

And see also Vikings 5.1-2: Floki in Iceland ... Vikings 5.3: Laughing Ivar ...Vikings 5.4: Four of More Good Stories ... Vikings 5.5: Meet Lawrence of Arabia ... Vikings 5.6: Meanwhile, Back Home ... Vikings 5.7: A Looming Trojan-War Battle, Vikings Style, and Two Beautiful Stories ...Vikings 5.8: Only Heahmund? ... Vikings 5.9: Rollo ... Vikings 5.10: New and Old Worlds ... Vikings 5.11: Rollo's Son ... Vikings 5.12: "The Beast with Two Backs" ... Vikings 5.13: The Sacrifice ... Vikings 5.14: Fake News in Kattegat ... Vikings 5.15: Battle ... Vikings 5.16: Peace and War ... Vikings 5.17: No Harmony in Iceland ... Vikings 5.18: Demented Ivar ... Vikings 5.19-20: Endings and Beginnings

And see also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives ... Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff ... Vikings 4.10: "God Bless Paris" ... Vikings 4.11: Ragnar's Sons ... Vikings 4.12: Two Expeditions ... Vikings 4.13: Family ... Vikings 4.14: Penultimate Ragnar? ... Vikings 4.15: Close of an Era ... Vikings 1.16: Musselman ... Vikings 1.17: Ivar's Wheels ...Vikings 1.18: The Beginning of Revenge ... Vikings 4.19: On the Verge of History ... Vikings 4.20: Ends and Starts

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy