Vikings Season 5: Rollos Arrival? Where Does His Allegiance Lay?

Episode 9 of Vikings season 5 finally mentioned a character that we are yet to see this season: Duke Rolo. Will he play a part in the fight for Kattegat, and more importantly, on which side is he anyway?

SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains information about Episode 9 (titled “A Simple Story”) of History Channel’s Vikings Season 5. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

In the episode, we saw Hvitserk (Marco Ilso) mention his uncle Duke Rollo (Clive Standen). Many viewers thought that we have seen Rollos last appearance on the show when he went on a trip to the Mediterranean with his nephew, Bjorn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig). However, the Vikings creator Michael Hirst revealed to Variety that Rollo will be making his return in Season 5.

“I do bring [Rollo] back, and in a totally unexpected way with some unexpected revelations. Fans should be pleased to see him again and we had to work with Clive’s other commitments, but he was very, very keen to come back.”

While we still haven’t seen Rollo in person in Episode 9 of Vikings Season 5, only through mentions by Hvitserk, he did send a Frankish army to help Ivar the Boneless (Alex Hogh) and King Harald Finehair (Peter Franzen). He also asks for Bjorn’s life to be spared.

While it has been confirmed by Hirst that Rollo will return in Season 5 Vikings, the when is not clear, so we can be certain if he meant the first half of the season. So we might theorize that we will get to see the former Viking sometime during the second half of  Season 5. However, seeing how quickly Rollo was able to send an army at Hvitserks request, perhaps his arrival will come much sooner, perhaps in the mid-season finale episode that airs next week.

On what side is Rollo really on?

Already, Rollo has asked for Bjorn’s life to be spared. So is it likely that Rollo isn’t really supportive of Ivar’s side?

He does, after all, have a close bond with Bjorn, we also know that he has feelings for Lagertha (Kathryn Winnick). Previously on the show, when the Vikings attacked Paris, Rollo was the one who was watching out for Lagertha during the battle, and it was quite clear that he had feelings for her at the time. But the real question is, does he still have those feelings?

We know, from past experiences that Rollo isn’t the most loyal person. He has betrayed his own brother Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) on multiple occasions. So could Rollo be playing Harald and Ivars side?

While his army has arrived, they are yet to take part in a battle alongside Harald and Ivar, so is it possible that the Frankish army has been issued a command to turn on Harald and Ivars army mid-battle. If so, this could mean disaster for them and a sure victory for Lagertha and she will manage to maintain her hold on Kattegat.

It’s not that farfetched that Rollo lied about having prior commitments that saw him sit out the battle. Could Rollo actually turn up at the battle in the mid-season finale of Vikings, only on the side of Lagertha?

Unfortunately, fans will have to tune into further episodes of Vikings to find out which side Rollo is really supporting.

Vikings return to History Channel on Wednesday, January 24, at 9 p.m. ET. Zap2It writes the following synopsis for the mid-season finale, Episode 10 (titled “Moments of Vision”).

“A sense of doom looms over Kattegat as bloodshed ensues; the defeated army flees in the face of the victors, and a legendary warrior makes his way home.”