What happens in Full Moon?
Spoilers for this episode and earlier events.
Bjorn’s return brings family obligations, an alliance and a marriage into the same preparation for war. The settlers begin confronting the practical question of authority after accepting Floki’s promise of a different life. Alfred’s visit to the monastery links learning and religious memory with the future he imagines for his people.
- Season & episode
- Season 5, episode 7 of 20
- Series order
- 56 of 89
Story connections: Bjorn Ironside, Floki and Lagertha.
Identify a face in this episode.
Episode references: HISTORY season guide · Community episode record.
Key events and consequences
Bjorn's return strengthens Lagertha while his proposed marriage links intimate commitment to preparations for war. Floki's settlers face the question his solitary journey could postpone: who should govern when people must share work, resources and risk? Alfred's visit ties another possible future to learning from an older religious loss.
- Bjorn’s return brings family obligations, an alliance and a marriage into the same preparation for war.
- The settlers begin confronting the practical question of authority after accepting Floki’s promise of a different life.
- Alfred’s visit to the monastery links learning and religious memory with the future he imagines for his people.
Key characters
Bjorn Ironside
Bjorn’s return brings family obligations, an alliance and a marriage into the same preparation for war.
Character story
Floki
The settlers begin confronting the practical question of authority after accepting Floki’s promise of a different life.
Character story
Lagertha
Character story
Alfred
Alfred’s visit to the monastery links learning and religious memory with the future he imagines for his people.
Character storyLocations and story geography
Kattegat
Returning allies and a marriage proposal become part of the countdown to the expected attack.
Iceland
Arrival turns Floki's promise into practical questions about governing a community.
Lindisfarne
Alfred connects the monastery's religious memory to the future he imagines for his people.
These are places in the story. For the real landscapes used on screen, explore the filming-location guide.
The episode breakdown
The preparations are about more than assembling troops. Marriage, religious memory and rules for a new settlement all ask how a community will continue. The coming battle casts a shadow over those attempts to build a future. On a rewatch, compare the language of renewal in Iceland with the language of endings in Kattegat. Neither group is free from ordinary questions of power, even when its members believe they are beginning a completely new chapter.
Themes to follow
- Public alliances beside private expectations of an ending
- A promised new community still needs rules