Vikings season 2
| Vikings | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 DVD cover art | |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | History |
| Original release | February 27 – May 1, 2014 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of the historical drama television series Vikings premiered on February 27, 2014 on History in Canada, and concluded on May 1, 2014, consisting of ten episodes. The series broadly follows the exploits of the legendary Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok and his crew, and later those of his sons. The first season of the series begins at the start of the Viking Age, marked by the Lindisfarne raid in 793.
The second season follows Ragnar's struggles with rival Vikings and his rise from Earl to King. The Vikings raid further into England, and for the first time are offered land for settlement.
Cast
Main
- Travis Fimmel as Earl Ragnar Lothbrok of Kattegat, who is interested in discovering the lands and customs of England
- Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, a shieldmaiden and Ragnar's first wife; after leaving Ragnar she becomes Earl Ingstad of Hedeby.
- Clive Standen as Rollo, a warrior and Ragnar's brother.[1]
- Jessalyn Gilsig as Siggy, Earl Haraldson's late wife, and Rollo's lover
- Gustaf Skarsgård as Floki, a gifted shipbuilder, and friend of Ragnar
- George Blagden as Athelstan, a monk from Northumbria torn between Viking and Christian gods, and adviser to both Earl Ragnar and King Ecbert.
- Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn Ironside, son of Ragnar and Lagertha, in love with the slave Þórunn
- Alyssa Sutherland as Princess Aslaug, Brynhildr's daughter and Ragnar's second wife.[2]
- Donal Logue as King Horik of Denmark, interested in joining Ragnar's raid to England
- Linus Roache as King Ecbert of Wessex, the cunning king of Wessex
Recurring
- Thorbjørn Harr as Jarl Borg of Götaland
- Jefferson Hall as Torstein, one of Ragnar's warriors
- Maude Hirst as Helga, Floki's partner
- Morgan C. Jones as The Law Giver, the lawspeaker of Kattegat
- Carrie Crowley as Elisef, wife of Erik
- John Kavanagh as The Seer, a seiðmann
- Cormac Melia as Ubbe, eldest son of Ragnar and Aslaug
- Cathal O'Hallin as Hvitserk, second son of Ragnar and Aslaug
- Edvin Endre as Erlendur, son of King Horik
- Morten Sasse Suurballe as Jarl Sigvard, Lagertha's second husband
- Moe Dunford as Prince Aethelwulf of Wessex, son of King Ecbert
- Duncan Lacroix as Ealdorman Werferth, serving King Ecbert
- Philip O'Sullivan as Bishop Edmund
- Georgia Hirst as Torvi, wife of Jarl Borg
- Richard Ashton as Thorvard, a Viking warrior loyal to King Horik
- Gaia Weiss as Þórunn (/θorunn/), a slave and love of Björn
- Steve Wall as Einar, a relative of Jarl Sigvard
- Ivan Kaye as King Aelle of Northumbria
- Sarah Greene as Princess Judith of Northumbria, daughter of King Aelle, wife to Aethelwulf
- Amy Bailey as Princess Kwenthrith of Mercia
Guest
- Nathan O'Toole as young Bjorn Ironside, Ragnar and Lagertha's son
- Tadhg Murphy as Arne, one of Ragnar's warriors
- Anna Aström as Hild, a servant in Kattegat
- Jay Duffy as Ari, King Horik's second son
- Alan Devine as Ealdorman Eadric, serving King Ecbert
- Edmund Kente as Bishop Swithern of Winchester
- Jens Christian Bushov Lund as Olrik
- Cathy White as Queen Ealhswith of Northumbria, King Aelle's wife
- Elizabeth Moynihan as Queen Gunnhild of Denmark, King Horik's wife
- Carl Shaaban as Jesus, appearing in visions
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Brother's War" | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | February 27, 2014 |
| 11 | 2 | "Invasion" | Ciarán Donnelly | Michael Hirst | March 6, 2014 |
| 12 | 3 | "Treachery" | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | March 13, 2014 |
| 13 | 4 | "Eye for an Eye" | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | March 20, 2014 |
| 14 | 5 | "Answers in Blood" | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | March 27, 2014 |
| 15 | 6 | "Unforgiven" | Jeff Woolnough | Michael Hirst | April 3, 2014 |
| 16 | 7 | "Blood Eagle" | Kari Skogland | Michael Hirst | April 10, 2014 |
| 17 | 8 | "Boneless" | Kari Skogland | Michael Hirst | April 17, 2014 |
| 18 | 9 | "The Choice" | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | April 24, 2014 |
| 19 | 10 | "The Lord's Prayer" | Ken Girotti | Michael Hirst | May 1, 2014 |
Production
Development
An Irish-Canadian co-production presented by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Vikings was developed and produced by Octagon Films and Take 5 Productions. Morgan O'Sullivan, Sheila Hockin, Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer, James Flynn, John Weber, and Michael Hirst are credited as executive producers. This season was produced by Steve Wakefield and Keith Thompson. Bill Goddard and Séamus McInerney act as co-producers.[3]
The production team for this season includes casting directors Frank and Nuala Moiselle, costume designer Joan Bergin, visual effects supervisors Julian Parry and Dominic Remane, stunt action designers Franklin Henson and Richard Ryan, composer Trevor Morris, production designers Tom Conroy for the first to sixth episodes, and Mark Geraghty for the seventh to tenth episodes, editors Aaron Marshall for the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth episodes, and Don Cassidy for the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth episodes, and cinematographer Pj Dillon.[3]
Music
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Length | 77:34 |
| Label | Sony Classical Records |
The musical score for the second season was composed by Trevor Morris in collaboration with Einar Selvik, Steve Tavaglione and Brian Kilgore. The opening sequence is again accompanied by the song "If I Had a Heart" by Fever Ray.
[The first season of Vikings] was a tough score to ‘crack the code’ for. It never quite clicked the way I wanted it to. In Season Two, I felt I made the music I always wanted to make for Vikings, which was visceral and 90% non-orchestral. I found a soloist, Einar Selvik [of the musical/spiritual collective Wardruna], who lives in Norway. A true Viking who became my secret weapon. I used more ethnic instruments of the Norse area. The blend finally clicked for me.
—Trevor Morris on returning to Vikings for season 2[4]
The soundtrack was released on June 13, 2014 by Sony Classical Records.[4]
Additional non-original music by Norwegian music group Wardruna is featured in the episodes "Eye For an Eye", "Blood Eagle", "Boneless" and "The Lord's Prayer". The featured tracks—which were not included in the soundtrack release—are "EhwaR", "Algir — Tognatale", "Dagr", "Bjarkan", "Løyndomsriss", "Heimta Thurs", "IngwaR", "Solringen", "Helvegen", "Sowelu" and "Gibu".[3]
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "War Is Coming" |
| 3:21 |
| 2. | "Battle of Brothers" |
| 6:20 |
| 3. | "Bjorn's Choice" |
| 1:58 |
| 4. | "Vikings Return Home" |
| 1:00 |
| 5. | "Rollo's Trial" |
| 3:32 |
| 6. | "Ragnar Says Goodbye to Gyda" |
| 2:29 |
| 7. | "Rollo Tries to Regain Ragnar's Trust" |
| 1:49 |
| 8. | "Vikings Attacked" |
| 3:57 |
| 9. | "Jarl Borg Attacks Kattegat" |
| 3:05 |
| 10. | "Ragnar Reunites with Family" |
| 1:30 |
| 11. | "Ragnar, Bjorn Sneak Into Kattegat" |
| 5:15 |
| 12. | "Battle for Kattegat" |
| 6:08 |
| 13. | "Jarl Borg and Ragnar Make Peace" |
| 1:38 |
| 14. | "Aslaug In Pain" |
| 1:42 |
| 15. | "Ragnar Describes the Blood Eagle" |
| 1:21 |
| 16. | "Ragnar Meets Ingstad" |
| 2:09 |
| 17. | "Aslaug Gives Birth" |
| 2:14 |
| 18. | "Aethelwulf Is Ambushed" |
| 1:42 |
| 19. | "Athelstan Translates Scrolls" |
| 2:06 |
| 20. | "Vikings Retreat" |
| 6:31 |
| 21. | "Vikings Mourn Their Dead" |
| 0:51 |
| 22. | "Porunn's Metaphorical Swim" |
| 1:22 |
| 23. | "Horik Propositions Floki" |
| 1:18 |
| 24. | "Horik Asks Floki to Kill" |
| 1:09 |
| 25. | "Horik Watches Game" |
| 1:35 |
| 26. | "Feeding Rollo Poison Mushrooms" |
| 1:41 |
| 27. | "Erlendur Shown Sword of Kings" |
| 1:21 |
| 28. | "Horik's Forces Attack" |
| 3:36 |
| 29. | "Killing Horik — King Ragnar" |
| 4:54 |
| Total length: | 77:34 | ||
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating with an average rating of 8.2/10 based on 13 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Vikings makes up for its slow pace with captivating characters and visual appeal".[5] Metacritic which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]
References
- ^ Turnbow, Tina (March 18, 2013). "Reflections of a Viking by Clive Standen". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Mitchell, John (April 25, 2013). "'Vikings' season finale: Mysterious beauty tempts Ragnar". EW.com. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ a b c Vikings. Season 2. February–May 2014. History.
- ^ a b "The Vikings II (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- ^ "VIKINGS: SEASON 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
- ^ "Vikings: Season 2". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
