Summary
“It’s Only Magic” is another calm, lackluster chapter — while it works in favor of the writers to platform the story in the final two episodes, it does dampen the story a little.
This recap of Amazon’s Vikings season 6, episode 18, “It’s Only Magic” contains significant spoilers.
We recapped every episode of season 6b — check out the archive.
The opening
Ubbe and his crew make it to what they deem the golden land. There’s relief but exhaustion on everyone’s faces as they slowly make it to the land. Othere hands out freshwater and berries immediately. Torvi tells Ubbe to accept God’s purpose. This is a stark difference to Greenland where it was barren land and a desperate attempt to make it work. This is a workable environment.
A rallying cry
King Alfred feels weak, and his Queen tells him to stay strong in his body and soul. She’s worried that he’s falling easy into a drowsy sickness. She gives him a rallying cry, to fight for her and everyone else. King Alfred cuts his hair to signal a new phase. He gives a speech to his army and tells them that the Pagans are only human and do bleed — he tells them it is inconceivable to lose this battle. He no longer believes in negotiating with them. He’s now back to his strength, rallying his men to make them believe — this has all the hype of a good battle.
A new world
Ubbe and the others hunt, eat, and enjoy the resources that are available to them. There’s joy amongst the group that they finally made it. Ubbe calls it “a new world”. Othere calls it paradise and Torvi wants to make a sacrifice to thank the Gods. They give the Gods a gift and perform a ritual. Late at night, Othere tells Ubbe that he may not be like his father after all.
A change in eye color
Hvitserk tells Ivar that his eyes have turned deep blue — it means he’s in great danger of hurting himself. This comes after a conversation of hope between both brothers. Ivar does not seem irked by his brother’s comments. He accepts death — a theme that runs proudly in the character.
Leaving gifts
Back at Ubbe’s new land and Othere is scouting the forest cautiously. He finds carvings and footsteps, which means they are not alone. Ubbe wants to leave gifts for whoever made the carvings — whoever lives on this land knows Ubbe and co. are here.
Ubbe and co. continue to investigate the inhabitants. They seem to have accepted the gifts and replaced them with new ones. But there is a slight hesitancy — after finding paradise, there’s a worry their efforts could all be undone.
You cannot escape your fate
Ivar meets the Seer in a cave. They laugh about the Seer’s immortality — the Seer believes death would be a blessed relief. The Seer tells Ivar that he’s always known his fate. Ivar demands to know his fate, but the Seer explains that Ivar will try and evade it — he tells him he cannot escape it.
Dual rulers
Ingrid and Erik welcome captains and earls in their counsel. Erik tells them that he is blind and he is not sure why. He wants to maintain their defenses against possible attacks. The captains ask if taxes need to be raised for defenses, and Ingrid assures them they need the money. The captains challenge it, and Erik tells them not to dare protest against Harald’s wife. Ingrid warns them that a King has converted to Christian and their boat sailed close by — she argues this as a case to raise taxes. She’s inducing fear into them.
Later on, Erik accuses Ingrid of making him blind. Ingrid tells Erik that his past is his own making, and the Gods did it to him. Erik tells her that he understands and thanks her. But you can tell the man is biding his time.
A sick Alfred
While riding on his horse, King Alfred becomes sick and falls off. The Queen lays him down and states that the King has this illness many times. She wants everyone to pray for Wessex.
After many prayers, Alfred wakes up and claims to feel better. Meanwhile, Ivar tells Harald and Hvitserk that he knows how to win — “I’m going to cripple them”.
Let’s not sit around
On the golden land, Othere and Ubbe do not want to sit around waiting — they believe that these inhabitants are just as curious as they are and agree to follow the carvings. When they follow the carvings they come across a settlement — Othere calls it a game of life and death. Suddenly, they are surrounded by a tribe who point arrows at them. What happens next is left on a cliffhanger.
The ending
A blind Erik asks one of his slaves to come closer to him in his bed. He asks the slave if he’d like to be free and wants a favor — undoubtedly Erik has a plan to hurt Ingrid.
Vikings season 6, episode 18 is another calm, lackluster chapter — while it works in favor of the writers to platform the story the final two episodes, it does dampen the story a little.
