Vikings: Season 2 Episode 2 - Invasion
6th March 2014, 9:00pm (EST), History
“Invasion” sees Vikings return to the topic which dominated the entire first season, England. We see Ragnar, Jarl Borg and King Henrik all preparing to sail West. Since the first episode of this season we have jumped forward 4 years. Ragnar and Aslaug now have 2 sons and another child on the way, Lagertha and Bjorn are still gone and the people are impatient to raid west. It seems that Ragnar and Floki have spent the last four years preparing for this voyage, but now the ships are ready and King Henrik is anxious to go.
Four years have not been kind to Rollo who we first see sleeping in the street, but Siggy once again talks to him (after throwing icy water all over him); he petitions Ragnar to be included in the raiding party. King Henrik is not please to see the treacherous brother still alive, but Ragnar welcomes him back as his kin but forbids him from being included in the voyage West.
Just before the off Henrik orders Ragnar to inform Jarl Borg that he is also not welcome in the raiding party. So with the two shadiest characters left behind to plot and scheme, Ragnar and co set off for England. It is probably not the best idea to leave your two most unstable people behind and feeling rejected but it seems as though Rollo has moved on from his feud with his brother. A fact he demonstrates by punching Jarl Borg very hard in the face; it seems unlikely that Rollo has given up his dream of power but, for now at least, his alliance with Jarl Borg is well and truly over.
While the boats head off to England, Aslaug calls Siggy to her chambers. The two appear to have had a fairly distant relationship during the years we have missed, but now Aslaug offers the hand of friendship. She acknowledges that Siggy almost certainly wants to return to the seat of power, but the agree to be friendly despite this. Siggy makes a telling statement that “Women should rule.” Is this perhaps foreshadowing Siggy herself, rather than Rollo, making a move on Earl Ragnar’s throne?
The ships heading to England do not have a easy journey, blown off course by a violent storm, almost wasted by rocks and eventually arriving, their numbers much depleted, in Wessex (a southern county of England). Here they face and defeat the men of a King Ecbert, a man who Athelstan describes to Ragnar as “just like you”, a daunting prospect perhaps. King Ecbert is presented to us lounging in a dilapidated Roman bath, but there is clipped tone and pedantic edge to his voice that tells of ruthlessness and power as he hears about the arrival of the Northmen in his kingdom; a show-down is sure to follow.
“Invasion” takes us four years forward, a device which allows us to by pass most of the family drama that must have ensued in the wake of Lagertha’s departure. The focus of Vikings has always been the raiding, the violence and to a lesser extent the family; these priorities are reflected in the striding nature of this episode towards the eponymous “Invasion”.
The Roundup
- Athelstan seems to have left his monk-ly ways behind him, he is learning to fight and in an important part of the raiding party. Will his journey back to his homeland remind him of his religious roots?
- What has happened to Lagertha and Bjorn in the missing years?
- What does King Ecbert have in store for Ragnar and co?
[notification type=star]74/100 ~ GOOD. The focus of Vikings has always been the raiding, the violence and to a lesser extent the family; these priorities are reflected in the striding nature of this episode towards the eponymous “Invasion”. [/notification]
