Please read last week’s recap to catch up.

Before the main part of this episode began, we saw the Earl’s main lieutenant come to Ragnar’s farm and secures a child of one of Ragnar’s workers, as collateral for Ragnar being away- supposedly fishing. This is after Ragnar’s wife Lagertha, a famous shield maiden, confronts the Earl’s lieutenant as he is talking to Ragnar and Lagertha’s son, Bjorn. This cuts to our antagonist, Ragnar Lothbrok, sailing home.

After sacking the monastery at Lindisfarne, the Viking age began, and Rangar’s warband sails home to the east. When they get back to their land, their Earl takes almost all of their treasure, because they sailed west, disobeying his orders. The Earl tells the men they may pick one piece of treasure, but the rest is his. Rangnar is asked to go first, and instead of choosing a piece of treasure, he chooses to take the one slave that speaks their language. This slave is a monk from the monastery they raided named Athelstan, he speaks their Nordic language along with Middle English.

When Ragnar first comes home, he shocks his wife and kids by showing him his “slave.” His farm is going as usual, and he is ready to sail off again to England. After having rather graphic sexual relations with his wife in front of his monk/slave. His wife and he asked Athelstan to join them in sexual relations  but he resists and keeps reading the bible. This may very well have been a sensationalist picture drawn up by TV writers, or perhaps it was to paint a picture of Paganism versus Christianity?

Rollo, Ragnar’s brother, has already made inappropriate advances toward Lagertha, he only enjoys raiding, killing, and sex. He is jealous of his brother’s success, and is based on a real Viking that was the first chief of Normandy, and the great-great-grandfather of William The Conquer. He wants what Ragnar has, but he has always been the outcast. He’s a total narcissist and sociopath, with the trailer for the next episode pointing toward him betraying Rangnar to the Earl.

With all these characters really getting developed, their was much less of the overall story to be had. Towards the end of the show, the Earl takes the treasure along with his lieutenant and the young boy that he took from Ragnar’s farm, and goes to bury it. After the lieutenant and the boy dig a hole, the Earl explains to the boy that someone needs to guard his treasure in this life and the next, so the lieutenant kills the boy by choking him and shoves his body in with the treasure, then buries it all with the dirt.

Ragnar asks his wife to go with him on the next raid west, she agrees, ans he puts his monk/slave, Athelstan, in charge of his farm with his son and daughter staying there to help him. Lagertha threatens Athelstan if anything happens to her children. Athelstan does not want this burden, but he has no choice. He is even more conflicted, because over a lot of drinking with Ragnar he teaches him Middle English and where to travel to in England for the most riches. This led Ragnar to go to the Earl and convince him to let him sail again, but the Earl wants his man, Canut, to go too.

They sail off, and no one trusts Canut, as he was in their initial meeting to sail out, but did not show up before they left. Rollo especially doesn’t trust him, and rightfully so, as the Earl, unbeknowst to the other men, wants him to figure out how Ragnar sails over open seas. While Ragnar and Floki are looking to navigate, Rollo sees Canut trying to see what they are doing. Rollo takes Canut and chokes him until he is passing out, then lifts him up, asking him if he can trust him to fight alongside. Canut swears that he can, and will.

Showing up on the shore of North Umbria, England, a local sees them coming and alerts the authorities. When Ragnar’s party shows up on the beach, the local sheriff shows up, very scared, and his men are scared. They try to get Ragnar and his men to follow them, but Rollo and others are skeptical, so after Floki rips one of the Sheriff’s men’s crosses off, they fight and the Vikings kill all the English.

Next episode we will see what happens when the Vikings drive inland, after the sheriff got away on his horse.

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