Vikings (History Channel) Episode 2 “Wrath of the Northmen”

History Channel’s new series Vikings episode 2 “Wrath of the Northmen” airs on Sunday March 10 at 10 p.m.

Episode Synopsis: Vikings (History Channel) Episode 2 “Wrath of the Northmen” – The stage is set for the first journey west by Ragnar Lothbrok as he gathers a crew willing to risk their lives to travel into the unknown. Earl Haraldson’s paranoia reaches new heights as it becomes apparent that trust is hard to come by in this dark era.

Show Summary: The extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of these warriors are told in VIKINGS, a new nine-part scripted series premiering Sunday, March 3 at 10 p.m. (ET) on HISTORYr. The drama portrays the world of these Dark Age raiders, traders, explorers – not from an outsider’s view, but, through the eyes of Viking society.

While VIKINGS is filled with conflict, warfare and bloodshed – for these were extreme times – it is a family saga at heart. It follows the adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel, The Beast, Baytown Outlaws), a curious, compelling man who is always looking to break through barriers and discover new worlds to conquer. A young farmer and family man, Ragnar is deeply frustrated by the unadventurous policies of his local chieftain, Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment, Usual Suspects, Millers Crossing), who continues to send his Vikings raiders east every summer, to the Baltic states and Russia, whose populations are as materially poor as themselves.

VIKINGS will chart Ragnar’s ambitions to discover civilizations across the great ocean to the west as well as his inevitable conflicts along the way. With the help of his jester friend Floki, (Gustaf Skarsgard, The Way Back), they build a new generation of boats – faster, sleeker and more beautifully crafted than anything else on the sea.

The series will also delve into how the Vikings – the last pagans – worshipped ancient gods like Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki. Ragnar claims to be a direct descendant of the Norse god Odin, who, as well as being the god of warriors slain in battle, is also the god of curiosity.

Joining Fimmel, Byrne and Skarsgard are Katheryn Winnick (Bones, Love and Other Drugs, The Black Marks) as Lagertha, a fierce shield maiden and Ragnar’s wife; Jessalyn Gilsig (Glee, Heroes, Nip/Tuck, Friday Night Lights) as Siggy, Earl Haraldson’s beautiful wife; George Blagden (Les Miserables, Wrath of the Titans) as Athelstan, a young, innocent Christian monk captured by Ragnar on his first raid on England and Clive Standen (Camelot, Robin Hood) as Rollo, Ragnar’s impulsive, wild, care-free brother.

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By Americ Ngwije | March 10, 2013 | 4 Comments

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http://www.facebook.com/aimee.barboza1 Aimee Deschenes Barboza

huge fan of the show so far so good.
Marlowe53

It moves a tad slowly. I realize that it’s the story of Vikings from their perspective but the characters that I’ve become intrigued with just committed the mass murder of unarmed priests and brothers within an hour of finding land (end of the second episode.) I think that I want to watch next week’s episode but when they begin the raping part of the “raping and pillaging” (although one intra-familial rape has already occurred), I don’t think that I will stay with it. Like “The Passion of the Christ”, I already knew what happened. Why put the horrific scenes in my mind?
ronarica@att.net

there’s enough savagery in this day and age….while I’m sure this is probably realistically depicted, the sacreligeous savagery last night makes me wonder if I want to.keep watching…..they were animals now being glorified.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1648383568 Richard Yarus

Michael Hirst’s VIKINGS is really an interesting study of 793(AD)-794(AD) Vikings. The one thing to remember about the show is that the great British monk, Alcuin of York, was already in Aachen (the capital of Charlemagne’s empire) at the time of the raid on Lindisfarne. Alcuin was asked by the Frank King to run the Palace School in
Aachen. Therefore, without doubt, Vikings already knew of the lands west of
them, i.e. Jarvic, York, Lindisfarne, Northumbria, etc. It is important to note that
the abbey at Lindisfarne was very important to Alcuin, and it was home to several of Alcuin’s close friends. Alcuin actually wanted to retire to Lindisfarne prior to the
Viking Raid, but was prevented from doing so by Charlemagne. The Frank King wanted Alcuin to stay in Aachen and administer the Palace School.

These facts were well understood by the Vikings. At this 793-794 (AD) period,
the Dane and Norse Vikings under the rule of Godfred of Hedeby, were upset with Charlemagne’s Iron Embargo against them, his ban on Viking ships from entering Frank ports, and on his explusion of Viking Mercenaries from Frank lands. Mercenaries had aided Charlemagne in his fight against the Saxons, a common enemy. Additionally, The Dane Vikings feared that Charlemagne was about to invade Hedeby and other parts of the then Viking land.

This topic is covered in Amazon’s e-book, “To Kindle A Fire,” (c) 1999, a
Viking novel by Richard Yarus.