S02.E08: The Reckoning

[nodorothyparker]

Streaming 01/12/23

Quote

Leif says a painful goodbye. Harald's new love is not what she seems. A key battle comes to an end but the war to rule Norway is just beginning.

 

[Dac22]

Harald, Leif, and what's left of the rest of the Falkers finally reach Constantinople. This is probably the story I enjoyed the most this season so I hope some of the characters stick around. Elena is basically a given, but Kaysan and Batu sticking with Harald on his adventures would be cool.

Speaking of Elena, I wonder if she's the show's version of Elisiv of Kiev with some of Empress Zoe thrown in given the set up with the character.

The England side of things was engaging even if a little slow at times. Despite knowing what kind of person Godwin is, I wasn't sure if this was all part of his elaborate plan or him simply manipulating things to make the best of the situation for a lot of the season.  

So the heart of his little duel with Emma was well done even if some of his plan was hard to believe. Though I don't think what Emma did with Aelfwynn was right simply because Godwin is a manipulative snake, nor do I think giving his new bride the ring was a good idea.

I wonder where they go with Freydis now that she has acquired a safe place for her people. She has a son, and her killing of Olaf will probably impact Jómsborg's fate down the ride, but her path isn't as clear as Leif and Harald's going into season three

Also, poor Jorundr. Guy tries to do the right thing multiple times and it ends up biting him every time.

All in all, I enjoyed the season. I know that isn't exactly popular elsewhere, and can acknowledge it was far from perfect, but I will be excited if and when season three comes around.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Dac22

[Straycat80]

I enjoyed this season. I didn’t really care about the London storyline, I was more interested in Freydis, Harald and Leif. 
I look forward to the next season, Harald and Freydis have to be reunited! 

[Dac22]

55 minutes ago, Straycat80 said:

I look forward to the next season, Harald and Freydis have to be reunited! 

I think the point of the child was to keep them connected even though they won't be together romantically.

They already had completely different desires in life even before Harald found out that Freydis made the choice to not allow him to be involved in the child's life. So I don't think it's going to be an easy fix.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Dac22

[MaggieG]

On 1/18/2023 at 12:30 AM, Dac22 said:

I think the point of the child was to keep them connected even though they won't be together romantically.

They already had completely different desires in life even before Harald found out that Freydis made the choice to not allow him to be involved in the child's life. So I don't think it's going to be an easy fix.

Plus he has Elena to pine over now. 

I'm also looking forward to next season and whatever happens in Constantinople. Hopefully Leif finds a love interest that doesn't die by the end of the season.

I felt bad for poor Jorundr and was hoping he would make it. 

[iMonrey]

I was happy to see some measure of closure for the season. Freydis dispatched Olaf and his men quite handily, seemingly winning peace for Jomsborg. Harald and the boat crew finally made it to Constantinople. And . . . Canute is back, I guess?

The strongest storyline for me was Harald and Leif's journey by boat. And I even warmed up to the Jomsborg story eventually. But I felt like the stuff in England and Kattegat was sort of disjointed. Canute disappeared at the end of Season 1 and was replaced by Forkbeard; Forkbeard disappeared at the beginning of this season but left Olaf in charge of his grandson, which seemed unlikely. Now Canute is back in London but his son is in Kattegat. And Emma's obsession with "The Bear" was sort of hard to follow, I thought. Or maybe I lost the thread at some point because I didn't find it very compelling. There's really nobody to root for in that story. Emma killed Aelfwynn, but Godwin killed Edmund. They should both die.

Surprised we didn't get a big battle scene this season, that's sort of the hallmark of the Vikings franchise, but maybe Covid was an issue. 

I look forward to a new season but I wish we didn't have to wait so long. I'll probably have to re-watch this entire season once Season 3 finally drops, because I'll have forgotten most of it by then.

[Haleth]

Is Harald that dumb that he didn’t realize Elena was the treasure?  Sheesh. Then again no one realized she was a woman at first either.

It took 8 episodes for me to appreciate Freydis. Burning the ships and skewering Olaf were kickass moves.

So Godwin manipulated Emma into killing Aelfwhatever so he could marry the princess?  That’s the David Oakes we all know.

I enjoyed all the new locations and cultures this season. Looking forward to seeing Constantinople next season. Hope they saved some of the budget to make it spectacular. 

[magdalene]

Excellent second season I thought, very different from the first, which kept things fresh.

I am glad that we are guaranteed a third season. I am looking forward to the marvelous things Harald and Leif will do in Costantinople. I came to love the boat crew and it was so sad to see the losses. Leila especially hurt. Leif has great taste in women, but they all die on him.

I have to laugh at myself for thinking going into this season that Olaf was the worst.  He looks like a puppy dog in comparison to some of the new baddies we met.

I wish Jorandah would have lived. He got a raw deal and I came to really like the character.

Whether Godwin manipulated most of the situation or not, nobody forced Emma to torture an innocent woman to death. That's all on her. The contrast is so vivid, we have the women of the boat crew helping and supporting each other. We have Freydis who always looks out for the underdog and ended up being gracious in victory.  And then there is Emma, cruel and only out for herself.

I fully admit I am biased towards Godwin because David Oakes plays him. I have enjoyed watching him for years, he is a great supporter of issues that are important to me and his real life partner is an actor I loved on Game Of Thrones.

[foxfreakinmulder]

I don't want to sound stupid but could someone please tell me where they are? Is Freydis still in Norway? And where are Harald and Leif? The names they use don't sound familiar to me so it's hard for me to figure it out. Thanks :-)

[Haleth]

Don’t feel stupid. I had to look up some of the locations too. Freydis is in Pomerania which is today part of Poland. Harald and Leif traveled from Russia down the Dneiper river (through Ukraine) to the Black Sea and just arrived in Constantinople. 

[KeithJ]

On 1/17/2023 at 5:13 PM, Dac22 said:

I wonder where they go with Freydis now that she has acquired a safe place for her people. She has a son, and her killing of Olaf will probably impact Jómsborg's fate down the ride, but her path isn't as clear as Leif and Harald's going into season three

But is Freydis really going to be safe.  Svein and his mother promised them safety but what happens when grand-daddy gets back?