The first season of VIKINGS was phenomenal and it seemed impossible for the second installment to repeat the successes of the first series, but topple it, it certainly does. What’s more, season two delivers spectacularly well and thanks to Amazon Prime, there was no waiting around each week to watch the next episode. In fact, I can confess that I watched the second season in a day and a half. Goodbye to my weekend – and it was worth it!
VIKINGS is created and written by the genius that is Michael Hirst and follows the adventures of heroic Norse warrior Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel). In the first season, we saw Ragnar the explorer, the brave man conquering the unknown Western seas in order to find new lands, which he successfully does. However, by the end of the second season, his interests and problems are greatly changed – and not for the better. Be prepared for a deluge of betrayal, temptation, blood-soaked battles and new relationships, all of which are seamlessly planted in the ten episodes.
The first season ended with Ragnar facing the possibility of crossing swords with his own brother Rollo (Clive Standen) after he forms an unexpected allegiance with Jarl Borg (Thorbjørn Harr), who cleverly gets inside the mind of the envious brother who feels he lives in the shadows of Ragnar and decides to help Borg against his adversaries: Viking ruler King Horik (Donal Logue) and of course, his own brother.
In the opening episode, we see the two brothers come face to face on the battle field despite Raganar’s trust in his brother as he assures King Horik “I still believe in my heart that he will not betray me.” Well, it was mind over heart for Rollo, as in the opening battle scene he ruthlessly attacks those who were once his allies, choosing to maim and kill those who were once his friend. The warrior had become changed, until he saw his brother and his love towards him prevails.
With Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) fighting for his life and one of his friend’s murdered at the hands of Rollo, Ragnar finds it hard to forgive his brother and his treachery and realises it is even more difficult to forget his selfish actions.
Things go from bad to worse for the hero, as his dalliance with Princess Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) comes back to haunt him. She finds him at his home amongst his family and is sporting a huge bump – Ragnar’s child. This proves to be too much for Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) to take and she decides to leave, with their son Bjorn (Nathan O’Toole) choosing to go with her.
The list of difficulties continues to grow for Ragnar – he’s battle weary, his brother has betrayed him, his lover has arrived announcing she is having his child and now his wife has left him and their son would rather be with her than him. He has become resolute to his theory of “unhappiness is more common than happiness” and aside from his personal difficulties, his duty as the Earl throws more problems in his way.
Fast forward four years and Ragnar is father to three more sons. During this time, Floki has built several battleships, but the allegiance between King Horik and Borg falls, as Horik still does not trust his former enemy. After breaking the agreement whilst Ragnar and Horik have travelled West to raid England once more, Borg exacts his revenge and invades Ragnar’s lands, forcing his family to flee aided by his brother Rollo, who is desperate to recompense his former betrayal towards his brother.
As one can easily predict, Ragnar avenges the betrayal, thanks to the help of Lagertha who has now become an Earl elsewhere and their son Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) who has grown into a man, whilst Athelstan (George Blagden) and Horik remain in England to negotiate peace, hoping to claim some land so that Ragnar’s dreams of farming become a reality.
The remainder of the season sees further betrayal for Ragnar from King Horick, the man he helped and considered an ally and it also builds up towards King Ecbert’s (Linus Roache) agreement with the Vikings, but he has other agendas too; wanting to claim the land of Mercia ruled by Queen Judith (Sarah Greene) all of which sets up the start of season 3 nicely…
Throughout the episodes, it is hard not to pay attention to the impressive production and set. All of the huts, props, clothing and impressive boat fleets are so realistic and can really make the audience feel like they are transported back to that time and as though they are a fly on the wall, watching the chaos as it ensues. The cinematography is outstanding; the locations are stunning and the use of effective lighting never fails to impress. The scriptwriting is as equally remarkable. Michael Hirst‘s singular plot focusing largely on Ragnar and his exploits in season one has threaded out into intriguing mini sub-plots; Athelstan’s battles with his religious beliefs, Floki’s ambitions to impress King Horik, Bjorn’s transition into becoming his own man and the battles for power between the various relics in Wessex and beyond in England.
Linus Roache is an impressive addition to the cast and he makes his character King Ecbert so difficult to read, thus hard to trust. For those that disliked Alyssa Sutherland‘s Princess Aslaug for splitting up Ragnar and Lagertha may now feel more changed towards her, as the relationship between the two females has improved. In fact, it is refreshing to see such strong females cast in a show and that their strength and fighting abilities both mentally and physically are celebrated and are at the forefront of the plots.
Travis Fimmel is charismatic as usual and is a scene stealer. He brings great energy, thought and consideration to his character and it’s easy to understand what Ragnar is thinking or feeling even during scenes where words are not spoken, such is the man’s ability to express using his eyes, telling facial expressions and overall demeanour.
VIKINGS is certainly a must-see show to watch. With every episode, the plot thickens and the scale of production impresses, especially during the carefully put together boat voyages and battle scenes. It is exciting, action-packed and what’s more, you can happily binge-watch the next season on Amazon Prime now and also watch the show on History.
[…] binge-watched season one and season two on Amazon Prime, I waved goodbye to my weekend and my social life as I found that as each episode […]
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