‘Vikings’ season 5: Ivar and Bjorn will ‘explode in time’; The Boneless ‘doesn’t recognise boundaries’
When “Vikings” season 5 airs, all eyes will be on Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen). Despite his condition, Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) entrusted the Boneless to carry out the bloodline’s revenge when his death had become apparent. Now that Ivar has tasted blood, he’s coming for more. And he’s not going to let anybody get in his way, including his brothers.
Spoiler alert: This article contains plot details about “Vikings” season 5. An official announcement has yet to be made regarding the air date of the season premiere. Episodes from the series’ previous seasons are available for Australian viewers to watch on SBS.
Recently, series creator Michael Hirst held an AMA session on Reddit. He was asked why Ivar the Boneless seems so evil, and Hirst pointed out that he’s not organically malevolent. Hirst said that the thing that makes Ivar so wicked is his condition.
“Well, he’s, in a way, not evil,” said Hirst. “He has brittle bone syndrome. It’s a terrible disease and what we’ve learned is [that] people suffering from this syndrome [are] at risk for breaking their bones every day, [and] they’re angry.”
According to Hirst, having to deal with brittle bone syndrome while growing up has made Ivar the always-angry man that he is now. Ivar feels that he needs to do better than his brothers in order to be successful, and with that, he pushes boundaries beyond what is norm.
“He knows that he was left outside to die by Ragnar, and he’s always trying to prove himself,” Hirst said. “He doesn’t recognise boundaries.”
Hirst has “huge sympathy” for Ivar and said that he understands why the Boneless does all the things he’s capable of, although the “Vikings” creator also stressed that he doesn’t condone Ivar’s actions. It just makes him “an amazing character to write about” since Hirst himself doesn’t fully grasp what Ivar is going to do next.
Ragnar showed how much trust he had on Ivar when he told him to attack Wessex. Knowing he was about to die, the elder Lothbrok wanted his sons to avenge him. Hirst stated that Ragnar “knew Ivar would do the job most efficiently.”
Interestingly, though, it was Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) who led the Great Heathen army in place of Ivar. Hirst explained that it’s only because Bjorn is Ragnar’s eldest son, and he’s also more experienced when it comes to war.
“There are many tensions between the brothers which will actually explode in time,” the series creator prophesied on Reddit. “But, for the purposes of revenging their father’s death, it's natural that Bjorn should lead them. And only Ivar, of course, objects to this [because] Ivar objects to everything.”
Ivar, Bjorn and even Ragnar’s brother, Rollo (see related story below) are set to return later this year. Stay connected with IBTimes Australia for more “Vikings” season 5 updates.
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