Summary: Horik tells Floki he has to kill someone important to be trusted. Floki kills Torstein with poisonous mushrooms. Bjorn and Porunn confidently hook up. Horik turns on Ragnar and attacks with his men but Ragnar expected it. Lagertha murders Horik's wife and lets Ragnar's men kill his daughters. Torstein is revealed to be alive and both Floki and Siggy betray Horik. Horik is mrudered by Ragnar and Erlendur is captured. Ragnar becomes the king.
The Good: It's fun to have an episode centered around Floki, and there's some good tension in watching to find out who Floki will kill. The end of the episode was very good. The deaths of Horik and his forces were excellent and it was very satisfying to realize that Horik was never able to manipulate anyone and that Ragnar was always ahead of the game. I also really liked seeing Ragnar get the threesome he always wanted, and the prayer he did with Athelstan. The Bad: Ragnar becoming the King is meaningless since I have no clue what the difference is between a King and an Earl. Horik never became a compelling enough villain for this story to work. He was an idiot, his dialogue was poor, and the character had no depth. This all combined to make his death feel somewhat disappointing in how empty it felt. The Floki betrayal twist is painfully predictable. And on top of that, the episode spoils it by having Floki tell Bjorn about his loyalties before the big reveal anyways! Since we already knew the twist, the big reveal did not work. Also how the hell is Torstein alive? The show doesn't even care to explain how his death was faked. Lots of details with the betrayal don't work. Floki is somehow the best actor ever when setting up Horik. Siggy's motives make no sense and I have no clue why she chose Ragnar over Horik. Some parts of the episode were rushed. Lagertha vehemently refused to sleep with Ragnar before, yet she agrees to it here for no reason and the moment is thrown away offscreen. Athelstan hardly gets anything to do in this episode, just like the last one. It's disappointing to see him relegated to the background after having such a compelling arc. Bjorn and Porunn's romance sucks and is cringeworthy. Lastly, the episode is incredibly confusing. I have no idea what the purpose of the mushrooms was, I had to google to find out what had happened to Horik's family, and a lot of the time I wasn't sure why certain events were happening. I was hugely disconnected with this episode. Best Moment: Ragnar violently murdering Horik. Conclusion: This finale was totally disappointing. After a pretty strong season, we got a flat ending that was poorly written, left too many questions, and did not feel satisfying at all. The last two episodes gave this season a really disappointing end. For thoughts on the season overall, I've written a whole review on it that you can access here. Score: 52
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Summary: The Vikings meet Ecbert in battle and are soundly defeated, Rollo is fatally injured but Athelstan saves him. Ecbert sends Athelstan to offer terms to the Vikings, giving them land in exchange for them being mercenaries for Mercia. Ragnar accepts, Rollo is returned and Athelstan chooses to go back with the Vikings. Aslaug makes Porunn a free woman.
The Good: The set up for the battle is really well done, and as usual we got a lot of great action once it actually started. I like that the Vikings felt mortal in this one as they are finally defeated and Rollo almost dies. As nonsensical as his survival is, explaining that the gods let him live is fitting with the world this show has established. Ragnar and Athelstan's scenes are wonderful, and they have one of the better relationships on the show. I like that Ragnar understood why he stayed with Ecbert, and I thought it was nice to see Athelstan choose to return with the Vikings. The mystery with Floki is developing nicely and I'm curious which direction the show will go in with this storyline. The Bad: The battle wasn't one of the show's best since it was shot with far too much shaky cam, making it hard to tell what was happening. The dealings with Ecbert were stunningly short and simplistic, and I can't help but be disappointed by how anticlimactic the conclusion was. I wish Athelstan's choice had been fixated on more because he mostly made it offscreen which is a horrible waste of the character. This is such a compelling conflict and I'm stunned that we didn't get to see its resolution. I'm hugely disappointed by that. Porunn becoming a free woman does nothing for me. I don't care about her. Best Moment: Ragnar and Athelstan's conversation. Conclusion: Once again this episode had some good moments, but so much of it was disappointing and needlessly simplistic. I expected more from this episode. Score: 56 Summary: Ragnar's next son is born with deformed legs. Ragnar wants to leave him but Aslaug saves him. The Vikings leave for Wessex with Floki growing closer to Horik. Ecbert hosts Kwenthrith from Mercia. Upon arrival, Ragnar sends Torstein to set up a meet with Ecbert. Aethelwulf meets with the Vikings and makes a deal with Ragnar. However, Horik has secretly laid a trap and murders everyone in Aethelwulf's group except him.
The Good: The birth of Ragnar's monster son Ivar was horrifying and it led to some decent exploration of a unique conflict. I thought the scenes with Ragnar and Aslaug were pretty well done. Everything surrounding the next raid is as fun as ever. The many departures were fascinating and carried a lot of weight, giving a lot of finality to this upcoming conflict. I like that the Ragnar/Horik conflict was furthered in Wessex and how it will likely be the thing that triggers all out war with England. The ending attack scene was frighteningly intense. The Bad: This feels like a transitional episode so it isn't really able to stand on its own. The birth of Ivar feels like a strange thing to focus on so late in the season. Kwenthrith was horrible and I hated every second of her when she was on screen. Best Moment: The departures were really well shot and featured some really good interactions. Conclusion: This episode neatly sets up the next raid in England and has some fun moments of its own, but it isn't enough for this episode to step out of the shadow of being a transitional episode. Score: 61 Summary: Horik persuades Ragnar to delay Borg's execution until they get allies. Helga is pregnant and she marries Floki. Earl Ingstad allies with Horik and Ragnar, and she's revealed to be Lagertha. Borg is executed. Ecbert and Aelle form a marriage alliance.
The Good: There will inevitably be a Ragnar/Horik conflict and this episode sets it up well with Siggy and Floki both turning to Horik, but the show seems to suggest that Ragnar is at least somewhat aware of these events as he watches them transpire from out of sight. It could be some very clever foreshadowing. I liked the developments in this episode. Borg's execution is well done, the Ecbert/Aelle alliance feels like a big deal and Lagertha allying with Ragnar makes sense. Finally, I've been enjoying Floki this season quite a bit and I thought that his response to Helga's pregnancy was great. The Bad: The episode feels like it's stalling. The pacing is slow and both marriages aren't compelling and feel empty. It's cool that they were paralleled, but it added nothing to the story and made the episode feel painfully slow. Floki being upset with Ragnar makes no sense, I'm hoping that there's an explanation for this or that's very poor writing. Rollo is once again given the conflict of staying with Ragnar or going on his own. I'm sick of seeing this conflict. Best Moment: The blood eagle was a cool moment, and I like that Borg somehow managed not to cry, ensuring passage to Valhalla. Conclusion: This episode had good scenes, but the pacing is slow and parts of the episode feel like padding. Score: 58 Summary : Horik returns to Kattegat and demands that they ally with Borg again. Initially Ragnar is welcoming of Borg’s arrival, but at night he burns the barn where Borg's men are sleeping and captures Borg, planning to do a blood eagle with him. Ecbert gives Athelstan a new job of copying scrolls left behind by the Romans. Lagertha returns to Sigvard who has her beaten. The next day Sigvard tries to humiliate her but she kills him and his men turn on him as well.
The Good: Athelstan's arc is still one of the best parts of the show. His scenes with Ecbert are excellent, and I'm still compelled by his conflict. I especially loved that he saw Floki's face in the reflection, emphasizing that he shouldn't be so at peace as a Christian when he should be more loyal to the Vikings. The end of the episode is the other highlight and it saves this episode from mediocrity. It becomes apparent that Ragnar is up to something, and seeing everyone turn on Borg and his men is remarkably tense and dramatic, providing a perfect climax. Ragnar's flamboyancy as he declares that Borg will be executed via blood eagle is a wonderful character touch, and the moment provides that satisfying bit of vengeance that the previous episode did not provide. The Bad: I was disappointed not to see what happened to Horik in England. Furthermore, I'm confused why he needs Borg so badly. He's a king, surely he can recruit several more Earls. It's not like Ragnar is the only one loyal to him. Borg's story about his wife and her skull feels tacked on to make the character more interesting. It didn't work. Lagertha's story remains atrocious and it comes to a nonsensical ending. It really begs the question of why she didn't kill him earlier. What's worse is how Sigvard's own men turn on him after he dies. Why didn't they turn on him before then? Why wait until Lagertha killed him? This makes no sense at all and fails to be at all satisfying. Bjorn's storyline with the servant girl is already making me roll my eyes. I pray that there will be more depth to that storyline. Best Moment: The final ten minutes as Ragnar executes his plan. The entire episode was building to this and it was a tense, chilling and satisfying sequence to watch. One of the better sequences the show has done so far. Conclusion: This episode was a slog for most of its run time, but those final ten minutes were superb. Score: 63 Summary: Ecbert uses Athelstan to get a better understanding of the Vikings. Ragnar and Bjorn sneak into Kattegat and burn the food supplies to draw out Borg. They meet in battle and Borg is routed. Bjorn performs a sacrifice and chooses to stay with Ragnar. Lagertha leaves to go back to Sigvard.
The Good: There were more reunions in this episode and they were really enjoyable to watch. I liked the plan to draw out Borg and I thought it was put on screen pretty well. The battle scene provided more of the same action that the show does so well. Athelstan has been put in an interesting position. Before he was telling the Vikings about Christians, and now he is doing the opposite in service of Ecbert. The Bad: It was dumb to send Ragnar in to burn the food. He's the most valuable person there. The battle is actually a bit disappointing since there isn't anything to make it stand out above any of the others. Ragnar and Borg never come to blows and it doesn't feel as satisfying as it should. Having Lagertha announce her choice to everyone felt needlessly melodramatic and took me out of the story being told. The show tried to present it as a huge moment but it never felt like one. The episode also highlights the show's problem with a lack of subtlety. Usually it isn't too bad, but there are so many scenes here that would have benefitted from the show being more subtle. Best Moment: Athelstan's hallucination of the devil. The show is doing a great job showing this character dealing with his inner conflict. Conclusion: This episode continued the story in a decent way and had some good moments, but a lot of it felt empty and unsatisfying. Add on some writing issues and this is easily the weakest episode of the season so far. Score: 57 Summary: Ragnar meets with Ecbert and they make a deal. Ragnar gets news of what happened in Kattegat and immediately leaves. Horik chooses to stay. Ecbert takes advantage and attacks, killing many men. Athelstan is captured and crucified but Ecbert spares his life. Ragnar finds where Rollo has kept his family and wants vengeance. Lagertha asks Sigvard to go help Ragnar but he refuses. Lagertha and Bjorn go anyways and they reunite with Ragnar.
The Good: The dealings between Ragnar and Ecbert are thrilling to watch and both actors are commanding in their scene together. Their conversation is tense and fascinating. I really like that Ecbert took the opportunity to attack when Ragnar left, and Athelstan's fate was horrifying, yet fitting for a character that turned against his Christian roots. I'm really intrigued to see what's next for him. I enjoyed seeing Ragnar reunite with Bjorn; the scene was really sweet and emotionally satisfying. Seeing Floki, a boat builder, express his fear at watching other boats sink in a storm was a fantastic character detail. Floki is still a really engaging character to watch. The Bad: This episode suffers from having too many storylines, making the episode feel messy and unfocused. It's impossible to believe that Lagertha would end up with a husband like Sigvard who would try to rape her. Did she really just marry whoever she could? It makes no sense. It also makes no sense that she somehow turned up at the end of the episode with an army anyways. Aslaug was really annoying in this episode as she complains about living in a poor household. Best Moment: The tense conversation between Ragnar and Ecbert. Conclusion: This episode continued the story in logical and interesting ways, but the unfocused nature makes this feel like more of a transitional episode in spite of some really good scenes. Score: 63 Summary: The Vikings attack Winchester and find its treasure with Athelstan's help. Athelstan finds a priest and a young monk that reminds him of himself. The monk is tortured but Athelstan gives him a mercy killing. Ecbert sends an envoy to meet with Ragnar and Horik. Horik wants to fight but Ragnar resolves things diplomatically. Borg attacks Kattegat out of vengeance and Rollo organizes the defences while leading Ragnar's family away. Elsewhere, Lagertha has married the Earl Sigvard who Bjorn despises.
The Good: The two action sequences in this episode are outstanding. The Viking raid of Winchester is tense, dramatic, brilliantly choreographed, and filled with heart as it explores Athelstan's conflict. A particularly striking scene is when Athelstan encounters a fellow monk in the exact same position he was in when he was found. Athelstan was the best part of this episode. The ending action scene was also fantastic as Borg's surprise attack is an unexpected development and that builds up tension that makes you wonder if Rollo can fight him off. Ecbert proves to be a more intelligent and interesting foe, and the selection of his envoy was a joy to watch. I'm excited to see where this storyline goes. The Bad: The Lagertha storyline was awful unfortunately. Sigvard is a woeful character and I have no idea why Lagertha would ever marry him. It seems like a huge oversight for Ragnar to not expect Borg to retaliate after he was excluded from the raid. Surely somebody as smart as him would have foreseen this. Best Moment: Athelstan being unable to watch the priest get tortured. His inner turmoil is shown very well, and his choice to intervene and give the priest a merciful death with a Latin prayer is very telling about where the character is, and this decision is bound to have consequences. Conclusion: This was a really strong episode that explored meaningful conflict, had engaging action and nicely set up the Ecbert storyline. I'm excited to see where the season goes from here. Score: 66 Summary: 4 years have passed and Ragnar has two sons. Ragnar decides it's time to raid again and Rollo asks to go with him. Horik and Borg arrive in Kattegat for the raid. Horik convinces Ragnar to not allow Borg to come. Ragnar also prevents Rollo from coming but acknowledges him as a brother again. Borg goes to Rollo for vengeance but is rebuked. The Vikings reach England but a storm sends them off course to Wessex. They make camp and are attacked; one of Horik's sons is killed. Athelstan proves himself in the battle.
The Good: I like how the Ragnar/Rollo conflict has evolved after the last episode. Now Rollo seems more loyal and eager to prove himself, and his rejection of Borg's offer is wonderful. Athelstan had a great episode as well after being absent in the first. Seeing him embrace being a Viking is great, and watching how he fared in his first battle was really engaging. I really enjoyed the voyage and the storm. Sailing is an essential aspect of Vikings, so I think it's fitting to show us more of it. I really liked how the threat of the storm was portrayed. The battle was far better in this episode, and the Wessex men were a definite threat as they got the jump on the Vikings. There was genuine tension in this episode. The Bad: The timeskip further supports my argument that "Brother's War" should have been the season 1 finale. It feels jarring to happen in the second episode of a season. The conversations between Ragnar and Aslaug were far too melodramatic. This is a Viking show not a soap opera. Everything with Aslaug didn't work in this episode since the show hasn't explained the society well enough to give context to her struggles. Siggy is annoying in this episode, and the character's over-reliance on playing Lady Macbeth makes her dull to watch, Best Moment: The battle sequence. Conclusion: I enjoy watching Vikings in action and when the show is focusing on that, it's great. But when the show shifts its focus elsewhere, flaws start popping up and that's what happened here. Still, this is a really enjoyable episode with a lot of momentum. Score: 65 Summary: Borg and Horik go to war with Rollo and Ragnar on opposing sides. There's a battle and Rollo kills Arne and badly injures Floki, but stands down when faced with Ragnar. After the battle, both groups meet up and Ragnar organizes a truce where all parties will raid England together. Ragnar returns to Kattegat where Bjorn has told Lagertha about Aslaug. Rollo is judged by the lawgiver, who Ragnar pays off in secret to spare Rollo. Aslaug arrives pregnant to Kattegat. Ragnar tries to arrange a peace between her and Lagertha, but Lagertha chooses to leave and Bjorn chooses to go with her.
The Good: The action here was over-the-top, but very entertaining to watch, aided by the weight of Rollo fighting against Ragnar. I like that Rollo regretted his choice and it was interesting to watch what would become of him. Ragnar paying off the lawgiver was a lovely touch. Ragnar's inner conflict was done well in this episode as he deals with having two women that he wants to be with. I also liked the scene where he grieved for Gyda. Aslaug's arrival was a great event that shook things up and it built up to a surprisingly sad scene as Ragnar has to say farewell to his family. The Bad: Too much stuff happened here and the structure is strange. This episode concluded all of the conflict set up in the season 1 finale and makes me question why this wasn't the finale instead. It's also very jarring for so much to be resolved in such a short period of time. The show spent all of last season building up to Rollo's turn, so it is wholly unsatisfying that he ends up going back to Ragnar's side anyways by the end of the episode. The Ragnar/Aslaug/Lagertha story had a bit too much melodrama for my liking and the character details didn't add up. Bjorn telling Lagertha about Aslaug is inexplicable, Lagertha being so against polygamy even though it's established that Earl's can do this is awkward and never explained, Ragnar leaving Aslaug behind is never explored so her arrival is more confusing than anything, etc. Lots of details fall out of place when you look closer. Also the action sequence ended up being pretty goofy with some absurd shots that would never pan out in a real battle. Best Moment: The sad ending as Ragnar watches Lagertha and Bjorn leave. Conclusion: This was a fast-paced and action-packed premier that felt like a monumental episode, but the execution in a few places was flawed and detracted from my enjoyment. Score: 62 Summary: Ragnar and Rollo battle but Rollo finds he can't fight his brother. Ragnar orchestrates peace between Horik and Borg, agreeing to raid England together. Lagertha learns about Aslaug and leaves Ragnar with Bjorn. After a 4 year timeskip, Ragnar finally decides to raid but leaves Rollo behind. Borg is also not allowed to come. The Vikings raid Wessex and come into conflict with King Ecbert. Ragnar organizes a deal but urgently leaves when Borg attacks Kattegat. Horik's men are slaughtered by Ecbert and Athelstan is captured. Ragnar finds his family and routes Borg with the help of Lagertha, now an Earl. Horik wants Ragnar to make peace with Borg for their next raids. Ragnar kills Borg and his men anyways. Athelstan becomes more familiar with Ecbert who forms an alliance with Aelle. Horik starts manipulating Floki to turn him against Ragnar. The Vikings return to Wessex for another raid. Ragnar wants to come up with a deal but Horik doesn't and attacks Ecbert's men. The Vikings are defeated and Rollo is almost killed. Athelstan and Ragnar arrange a truce between the parties. The Vikings are allowed land but will not raid and can only battle as mercenaries for King Ecbert. Horik doesn't like the deal and plots to turn on Ragnar. However, Floki and Siggy turn on Horik and he and his men are killed. Ragnar becomes king.
The Good: The biggest takeaway from this season is that the action is phenomenal. Season 2 really stepped up on this front with battles happening much more frequently with higher stakes and more meaningful conflict. There are plenty of battle sequences, but none of them ever feel out of place or forced. The show naturally builds up to these sequences and does a terrific job of making them feel different from each other to avoid becoming repetitive. There are Viking vs Viking battles, battles in the forest, open field battles between the Vikings and the Englishmen, and plenty of other variations that keep things feeling fresh. These sequences for the most part are also very well directed, capturing the grittiness and brutality of battle in really neat ways while also highlighting character conflict. For example, the battle in "Brother's War" highlights Rollo's inner conflict, while the battle in "The Choice" is more about the disagreement between Ragnar and Horik. Merging conflict with battle makes it far more interesting to watch and is a big reason why the action in this season was so memorable. "Vikings" is also impressing with how artistic its visuals are. For a show about Vikings, you never expect it to be tackling very many deep ideas with memorable visuals. Yet that's what this show tries to do, and it works surprisingly well. The season has a very unique style to it, with an emphasized use of hallucination-based visuals to explore a character's inner conflict. While the conflicts themselves could have been better (see: The Bad), the artistic depiction of them on-screen is magnificent and gives the show a cinematic flair through its use of visual storytelling. Season 1 had hints of this style, but season 2 doubles down on it, including a uniquely filmed, almost dream-like sequence in just about every episode. As for the character work this season, it's a bit hit-or-miss but it has some definite highlights. Ragnar is still a tremendously fun main character. He doesn't feel quite as vibrant and charismatic as before, but the character is still portrayed with such fierce yet sheepish energy and is always a joy to watch. His scenes remain the best parts of the show, and his eccentricities are still quite amusing. Ragnar was given conflicts with a lot of characters this season: Horik, Borg, Rollo, Ecbert, Athelstan, Floki, Lagertha, Aslaug, Bjorn. While not all of these were great, it meant that there was always something interesting for him to do this season and the story never felt like it was getting stale. The highlight storyline for this season has to be the England one. Season 1 spent precious little time in England, and thankfully that changed with this season. The introduction of King Ecbert was fascinating, and he's proving to be a far more competent and interesting antagonist than Aelle. His scenes were always a highlight, and I thought that his conflict with the Vikings took some surprising turns with how diplomatic he was willing to be. On top of this, integrating Athelstan into the England storyline was a fantastic move. Exploring Athelstan as a man torn between religions was stunningly powerful and unique, and it made the character shine far more than season 1 did. I'll have more details on his arc in my episode-by-episode reviews, but I often found his scenes to be a highlight of the season, and I just wish that more time was spent on him, particularly towards the end of the season. A lot of the best moments this season featured Athelstan and Ecbert. Another great conflict that served as the main driving force this season was the Ragnar/Horik/Borg conflict. This conflict was fresh with twists and turns in every episode, and the fact that there were three different players involved gave the season a sense of predictability since you would never know when alliances could be formed or broken. This conflict gave the season momentum, something that was missing for much of season 1. Since I was intrigued by these characters and their ideals, I was invested in finding out where the characters would end up. Would Ragnar and Horik stay allied? Will Borg really take the peaceful option or will he attack? Will Ragnar actually forgive Borg for what he did? These were all key questions poised to us throughout the season, and it was fascinating to find out what the answers were. Lastly I want to draw attention to Rollo, who had a much better season this time around. The character was given a lot more variety in his story, whether it was openly fighting against Ragnar at the start, or proving his worth to protect Ragnar's family during Borg's invasion. The character was given a pretty solid redemption arc, and I thought that he was utilized well this season. The Bad: Unfortunately the show lost that brilliant sense of momentum after Borg was executed. The trifecta of Ragnar/Horik/Borg gave the show a sense of unpredictability which was lost quickly after Borg's execution. After that, the story felt remarkably predictable and uninspired until the end of the season. It became obvious that the Ragnar/Horik conflict would take center stage and that it would end in Horik's death. And because of that, it was painfully obvious that Floki wouldn't be betraying Ragnar and that this was part of the plan. I appreciate the subtle hints that were thrown in to suggest Floki and Ragnar were conning Horik, but they didn't end up working because the twist was so obvious that I could see it coming from a mile away. It felt similar to Haraldson's death being inevitable in season 1, with the Ragnar/Horik story having the same type of blandness. I'm disappointed that the last 3 episodes of the season were wasted trying to set up such a predictable twist. Furthermore, Horik completely failed as a villain. The character was really interesting and cunning in season 1, but that isn't followed up on in this season. Horik seems to have become a selfish moron off-screen for no reason, and he ended up being a completely flat, uninteresting character with no depth whatsoever. Hell, we didn't even get to explore what it meant for him to be a king which was I think was a massive failure. After 2 seasons I still have no idea what the difference between King and Earl and Jarl is, and that prevents me from properly understanding the Viking society and the seriousness of the conflict between Ragnar and Horik. It also makes me ask questions, like why doesn't Horik have more loyal men since he is the king? Surely Ragnar isn't his only loyal vassal. Plus, this lack of understanding of the significance of being a king makes it completely fall flat when Ragnar becomes king at the end of the season. What does this change? I have no idea, and that highlights the failure of the show to make us understand the governing system of the Vikings. I mentioned in "The Good" that the show is excellent with its artistic style, and that it nails scenes of visual storytelling. Unfortunately, artistic style isn't enough to make a conflict compelling. We need to see the character grapple with this conflict and make choices which will have consequences. The show would often spend too much time being artistic, that the most important part of characters making decisions is often glossed over, making the storylines fall flat in the end. This is most prominent in Athelstan's story, which has a really disappointing resolution because the show does not give enough focus on Athelstan's decision to stay with Christianity or to return to a Pagan lifestyle. Another issue with this season is the dialogue. The show is fantastic when there isn't any talking going on, with epic action scenes and gorgeous artistic sequences. But whenever the characters start talking, I often ended up rolling my eyes with how awful some of the dialogue was. This is a historical show, yet some of the dialogue feels like it was ripped from a 2000s era soap opera. It's embarrassingly bad at times, and there are many scenes this season where the dialogue takes me out of the episode. Some examples include Bjorn and Porunn's romance, Horik's attempts to manipulate Floki, any scenes of Siggy playing the role of Lady MacBeth and Ragnar's conflicts with Aslaug. Lagertha didn't have a very good season unfortunately. The character is still enjoyable to watch but her story really sucked. The character of Sigvard is a simplistic embarrassment, and every second he was on screen was painful. Even worse was how rushed Lagertha's ascent to Earl was; the lack of context in this storyline left me scratching my head wondering how Lagertha becoming an Earl was even possible. The story was rushed and had no depth to it at all, making it fail spectacularly. The switch to adult Bjorn was a little jarring for me. He honestly does not feel like the same character anymore and I don't think that I like the new actor as much as I liked the child one. Unfortunately, Bjorn doesn't have a whole lot to do this season and I think I actually like him less at the end because of how awkward that transition from kid to adult was. I hope he gets more to do next season, because I wasn't happy with his portrayal and story in this season. Lastly, the pacing of this show still feels incredibly strange. The show speeds up and slows down at perplexing times and it makes the story often feel jarring. I'll go into more detail in my episode-by-episode reviews, but I often found that the show's timeskips felt out of place (particularly at the start and end of the season), and that the show would often waste its time on storylines that it should have sped through instead. Oh, and also Kwenthrith was awful. That's all I need to say and that's all I will say. The Unknown: What will Ragnar do now that he is king? Will anybody oppose him? Will the alliance with Ecbert last? Will the Vikings help Ecbert conquer Mercia? Will Ecbert turn on Aelle eventually? Will Aelle turn on the Vikings? I feel like there's still enough hatred between Aelle and the Vikings that some conflict will arise there. Will Athelstan stay with Ragnar or will he go back to Ecbert? Will he ever find inner peace by picking one particular religion, or will he have to find a different path going forwards? Erlendur was allowed to live at the end of the season. Will Ragnar regret leaving one of Horik's sons alive? Will Erlendur try to depose Ragnar? Best Episodes: E02 Invasion: This episode had the best battle of the season and also saw the return voyage to England. As a fan of watching Vikings doing Viking things, I really enjoyed this one. E03 Treachery: Athelstan was focused on heavily in this episode, and his conflict was fascinating. This episode also saw some tense build-up to conflict with King Ecbert and a surprisingly intense ending as Borg decides to raid Kattegat. Worst Episodes: E09 The Choice: On paper, this should be a really good episode with a lot of drama to it. However, the execution is flat with a lot of key moments of conflict and character being glossed over, and a battle that didn't quite hit me as hard as it should have. E10 The Lord's Prayer: This was a completely flat and predictable end to the season. The Horik storyline ended with a weak whimper, and there were loads of frustrating moments throughout this episode that made Horik's eventual demise so unsatisfying when it should have been a monumental moment. Character of the Season: Athelstan. Conclusion: Season 2 was a definite improvement over season 1, tightening up the show's directing with action scenes and visuals, and having a much improved pacing and plot. But the season wasn't without faults. While the first half of the season was strong, the show stumbled quite a bit towards the end with some of the storylines falling flat. As a result, this season is an improvement, but it's still a mixed bag that could have been a lot more had there been some tighter writing and more interesting storylines building up to Horik's death and the peace between Ecbert and Ragnar. In my review of season 1 I claimed that "Vikings" was great junk food television. After watching season 2, I have to change my mind on that. The show is certainly trying to be more than just bland television, and it succeeded at that a number of times in this season. I think the best description of season 2, and the show as a whole, is that it's a show that tries to be more than just your average TV show, but it doesn't have the writing or storytelling ability to quite fulfill its lofty goals. Still, I will be watching the next season to see if the show can continue to improve. |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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