Vikings S03E08 Recap: To The Gates!

The people of Paris are scared, and they should be. Ragnar likes to get his way, and the Gods like to give it to him.

Floki does what he does best. He overlooks his creations, prepared to do what he needs to do. Ragnar watches too, as his people prepare for battle. He holds with him Athelstan's cross. The ships are mounted, supplies placed. Rollo's berserkers jacked. Bjorn leads his group, and everyone is off to take Paris by land and sea. Kalf and Lagertha prepare over land. The people of Paris rush into their fortress, but the gates are closed before they all make it inside.

In the gates the soldiers are prepared to do whatever needs to be done to stop them. They're ordered not to waste any bolts. They fire some warning shots at the group, and Lagertha brings the people to a halt.

The ships drawn closer.

Inside the keep, the soldiers prepare for war. Princess Gisla rushes to see the Viking horde approach by water.

Lagertha's people prepare their attack, bringing in c cover, and battering ram. Archers prepare, and the shield wall is raised as they wait for her signal.

Floki looks around, they're in place. He blows his horn.

Inside they know that the Vikings have arrived.

Lagertha moves her people forward. A few are taken down by arrows, many inside are also lost, but the battering ram moves forward.

Floki laughs gleefully as they draw nearer.

The gate is braced against the vikings battering.

The war ships have arrived. The archers take aim, but they take down few as they approach. The berserkers are ready, and headed in with Rollo in command. Ragnar, Bjorn and Floki head into battle. Where some fall, others pick up their shields and continue on.

The rams make no more progress, and Kalf calls a halt. He calls in the tools, and the larger spears come out.

It havoc as the archers pick off the men climbing the ladders. Floki tells them that the Gods are on their side, and yet, more and more fall.

Inside the walls, the Emperor sits on his throne in fear. Princess Gisla is shown a sacred banner, so sacred him and all his order would die for. She smiles, it will be the same for all of Paris. She brings it forward to priest in the catherdral, telling him to bless it to save all of Paris.

The walls are being breached, and the front gates pierced. The Captain of the guard rushes to see the walls, as the Vikings spill over. The French are no match for the ferocity of the Viking Horde. Princess Gisla rallies the men to battle, bringing her sacred banner, and having it raised. She tells them to be relentless to fight to the death. She's lit a fire in them, and the Vikings are beaten back.

The Spears pierce through the front gates, and the horses are brought in. They do their best to protect the horses, as many fall to arrows. The ropes are brought out next, and many more fall to get them delivered, but they are delivered. Between man power and horse power they work to bring down the gates.

Bjorn, Rollo, and Floki continue to send men up to their deaths, and there are many deaths. The dead are piling up. Floki begins to see the err of his plan. One scaffolding is covered in oil, and set on fire. Many die burning to death. Floki hides in an adjacent scaffolding cowering in fear, and Ragnar is not pleased at all to see his cowardice and failure.

Lagertha and Kalf's men finally pull the door open, and as they prepare to slaughter the French inside, they find nothing more than an empty corridor. That's never a good sign. The men are all amped up though and they surge ahead, passing up their leaders. They get to the end of the hall, and Kalf tries to stop Lagertha. When she won't stop, he knocks her out, and drags her out, right before the arrows start flying. Many of the other soldier's aren't so lucky, dying in the trap.

Ragnar watches his people burn. He sees his brother still coaxing people up the scaffolding to their death. Rollo sees Princess Gisla, like a beacon and he heads up himself. Bjorn sends more up, before going up himself. Ragnar sees his son, and rushes towards him. One fellow Viking gets shot on the way up, grabbing hold of Bjorn. Bjorn's grip begins to slip, and Bjorn rids himself of the baggage before continuing his ascent. Ragnar starts his own.

From his hiding spot Floki sees who's responsible for this failure, not him, but Athelstan. Even in death, he blames the priest. A wolf stands by the western door, they will all die, and he thinks that it is his fault that they will all die. Rollo makes it up the scaffolding, slashing everything in sight. Bjorn and Ragnar make it to the top as well, clearing out enemies in their path. Princess Gisla gets a good look at the beast Rollo. They make eye contact, right before his ladder is pushed. He bashes the heads of many, but they still manage to push the ladder back, and Rollo into the water. He goes under.

Ragnar fights his way towards Princess Gisla, when he gets a glimpse of the beauty of Paris on the other side of the wall. The French manage to push Ragnar over the edge. He bounces along the scaffolding and lands on the bodies of the dead. Ragnar is bloodied and beaten up, but he gets back up. He sees his son among the bodies, Bjorn has two bolts in his back, but he's not dead yet.

Floki sits in the burning scaffolding, having a little crisis. He has done everything he can to please the gods, he has made so many sacrifices and yet it is not enough. Floki raises his knife to his throat. The platform above gives way, and a man on fire falls through.

The Emperor comes to look on the fallen vikings in the gate trap, no longer cowering behind his metal mask. He no longer thinks that they're so frightening, they look almost human.

Mass is conducted for the people, and they applaud their Emperor's arrival. Princess Gisla returns with the sacred banner in her arms. She gives it back to the men of the cloth. She congratulates the Emperor on his victory, and the mass continues. Gisla is a little too smug.

There are numerous wounds to be mended. The Vikings have lost many. Helga tends those that she can. Ragnar drags his son back and everyone moves out of his way.

Above Kattegat, Poruun looks down over the village one last time before leaving.

Princess Aslaug finds the crying baby.

Lagertha rushes to her son's side, but there is no prognosis for him yet. She asks Ragnar what happened and he tells her that Bjorn was proving that you don't need a title to be a leader. Rollo rushes to his nephew's side. He thinks Ragnar should not have allowed him to climb the ladder. Bjorn was being a man, and Ragnar thinks that they should let him be one. Rollo saw how close they came, and next time they cannot make the same mistakes.

Floki stands with his body immersed in the water. Helga comes out to see what he is doing. Floki has come prepared to face the others. She wants to know why. He thinks that the gods have come to punish him. Everything he did, has done was for the Gods. Helga tells him that it is not all about him. She's unsure how she is suppose to live with what she knows. Floki doesn't want her to be angry with him. He's selfish, only thinking of himself. Floki denies it, frantic. He thinks about everyone in Mitgard. Helga leaves as Floki begs her to come back, but she doesn't heed his desperate cries.

Lagertha cleans up as Kalf comes to check on her. She's alive. He takes the cloth from her hand, and helps wash her. He knows that she wants to hate him, but can't. She's not sure she can't. He tells her that all he knows is that he desires her, wants to be with her. He kisses her, and she returns it for a moment, but is unsure she can believe him. She asks what if she accepts what he has to say, decides to be with him, but she will never forgive him for usurping her earldom, and one day she promises to kill him. If he can accept that condition, then they can be together. She kisses him, moves to undress him, but lets him decide if he can accept her offer. He can definitely accept her offer.

Bjorn wakes up to Ragnar peeing blood. Bjorn teases that he should have never called him that, Ironside, as if the gods are protecting him. The fact that he's still living should be proof enough. He lived through the battle. Bjorn only did what his instincts told him to do, he asks the next step. Before he makes any decisions he needs to speak to an old friend.

Ragnar heads out into the open, and calls to his old friend, hoping that he is not talking to himself. He wonders if he went too far with Floki, if Floki really thought he would let him lead without an agenda. Ragnar thinks that if he were Floki he should worry less about the Gods and more about the fury of man. Ragnar coughs up blood, never a good sign. He lies back on the ground. He wishes Athelstan were there, Paris is everything he told him it would be, and he is bound and more determined than ever to conquer it.