Are all of the characters stuck in a rut?

Vikings Season 6 Episode 16, found every single character searching for meaning as they navigated uncharted territory, and it was a bit of a meandering affair.

Ivar and Hvitserk's return to Kattegat was expected, but there were some interesting developments surrounding the brothers thrown in.

This would have been the perfect storyline to show that King Harald is still very much a snake, but instead of going on the offensive, he welcomed the brothers with open arms.

Both Ivar and Hvitserk were pariahs before they exited the city once lorded over by both their father and brother, and returning seemed poised to be their undoing.

The townsfolk were well and truly against them, and the shifting dynamics probably explain why everyone warmed back up to them so quickly upon their return.

Killing off Oleg and Ingrid on Vikings Season 6 Episode 15 was a bold move, but it now seems necessary to let two of the biggest storylines converge.

Ivar has accomplished a lot ever since he was deemed the black sheep of the family, and while returning to Wessex came out of the left field, I'm oddly here for it.

If you watch Vikings online, you know Wessex was a pivotal plot in the earlier seasons of the show, culminating with Ragnar's death.

It truly shaped those earlier seasons, but it has not been heard of since. Ivar finding the chess piece in his pocket lit a fire inside him to tell Harald they needed to conquer more areas before it was too late.

As Gunnhild said before her death, the golden age of the Vikings is over, and things are changing at a quick rate.

Fighting with Wessex -- and winning -- would go a long way to show that there is still life left in the Vikings yet, but I dare say a lot has changed since we last caught up with the action in Wessex.

The army will have gone from strength to strength, but would Norway be a match for them?

That will be one of the more intriguing plots as we head toward the finish line, but something tells me Harald will not be as forthcoming with intel as he's leading Ivar to believe.

Together, Ivar, Hvitserk, and Harald, could be a force to be reckoned with, but they are all as mad as each other.

Ivar and Hvitserk are destined to duke it out in a deadly battle, and their relationship has been all over the place of late.

Perhaps Harald will cause some animosity between the brothers when they least expect it. This plot could also end Kattegat as we know it.

If Kattegat loses the battle with Wessex, then there's going to be some big changes in leadership. It's hard to get on board with Ivar or Hvitserk in power when you think of their previous actions.

Ingrid does not battle, so I suspect she will remain in Kattegat and be able to continue her reign while everyone else dukes it out in England.

The Seer has been much more present during these final episodes, further solidifying the fact that all of the characters are in dire need of some guidance.

Othere is proving to be problematic. On the one hand, all of his mumblings could be worthwhile, but on the other, people are dying because he's telling Ubbe information on a need-to-know basis.

After the way things imploded quickly in Greenland, Ubbe continues to put his blind faith into someone who could very well be leading his family to an untimely death.

It was about time Ubbe reacted to what was going on, and I hope him almost killing Othere will help us get some movement on this plot.

I'm not impressed with them constantly being stuck at sea, but maybe it means the reward will be bigger if they find the promised land.

"The Final Straw" felt like it should have been a season premiere. It set up a lot of new conflicts and sent the storyline in another direction.

I do have reservations about bringing Wessex back this late in the game because it would have been nice to have a mention of a potential battle there earlier in Vikings Season 6.

What do you think, Vikings fanatics?

Are you excited at the prospect of returning to Wessex, or do you think the show should focus on wrapping up the current storylines first?

Do you believe Othere is leading Ubbe and Torvi to somewhere that will be worthy of all the pain and suffering they've endured?

What do you think of the way Harald is acting? Do you think he's up to something, or has he really turned over a new leaf?

Hit the comments below.

Vikings airs on Amazon Prime Video.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.