S04.E08: Portage

[CalamityBoPeep]

Am I the only one who thinks Yidu might be back next week,

 

Certain other shows these days have really messed up my belief in any character's actual death. I was asking the entire time, before Ragnar pushed her planked body further out in the water "is she most sincerely dead?" I always expect a zombified or frozen-blue-eyed version of the character to pop up and do some damage. I kept waiting for her eyes to snap open with a creepy stare.

 

I was also not really convinced with Odo's death either. Queen Crazypants though... yeah, blood out of the mouth... I buy that she's dead.

[Ravenya003]

Ragnar cast her adrift like an empty rowboat.

I think Yidu is dead.

 

There's every chance she'll pop up in a drug-addled vision (provided Ragnar gets his hands on more drugs) or as the voice of his guilty subconscious. I can't help but hope so, otherwise her entire presence has been remarkably bizarre and pointless.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Ravenya003

[MrsRafaelBarba]

There's every chance she'll pop up in a drug-addled visions (provided Ragnar gets his hands on more drugs) or as the voice of his guilty conscious. I can't help but hope so, otherwise her entirely presence has been remarkably bizarre and pointless.

Okay, that's possible.

[benteen]

I can see Yidu popping up as a hallucination as part of Ragnar's drug abuse and withdrawal but that's about it.

[Knuckles]

I think Ecbert was planning on letting Kwentrith live long enough to deliver her child, then having her whacked. But plans change. She is (was) one crazy, bloodthirsty girl, and a permanent danger. See how easily she took out Ecbert's loyal assistant with her knife. No way he could keep her around. Thanks to the poster who noted that the trip to Rome that got Athelwulf and Alfred out of town was a clever move to protect them by Ecbert...until, as he said, things "stabilized".

 

As for the Emperor Charles, I am somewhat amazed that Rollo has any respect for him...with Ragnar as a brother and example, Charles looks and is weak and ineffectual. That said, money and the power of Frankia itself would be alluring...maybe he  figures he could make his move on the king down the line. As for Therese and Charles...if they are a thing, does he notice or comment on the whip slashes on her back...she has to be pretty torn up by now, but no blood seems to leak thru her dresses, and she shows no visible discomfort, which is a little unbelievable. Does he connect it to Odo? Or does he continue on, preferring not to notice the inconvenient?

[whoknowswho]

Yidu was a disappointing character to me.  I liked the idea of Ragnar learning about distant cultures.  One of the things this show does so well is showing how these various people became increasingly expose to the great unknown of these new cultures.  I was hoping the Yidu stuff would be more interesting and it wasn't.

I'm just hoping it wasn't a dream or a fake out--that he actually killed Yidu. She was stupid, her story line went no where and it wasn't in the least bit interesting--just annoying.  But I admit to hating her from the first moment, and I'm not sure why.  

 

I think we're supposed to maybe feel sorry for her, to see Ragnar as just being his own typical bad self--so that when his end comes--and it simply will have to at some point unless Hirst is seriously re-writing history--that when his end comes, we won't feel that bad for the end of Ragnar. Will that happen as history says it did or not, is anyone's guess--this is not a historically accurate story of Vikings, and was never supposed to be bang on accurate I don't think--it has probably exceeded Hirst's expectations, as I think it was meant to be a one off mini-series, but it's a great show, and it is popular--and we love it. Most of the time.

 

I'm going to miss Queen Crazypants far more than Yidu--Queen Cra-Cray had personality to burn, and  she really wanted to be a man with power. In the end, undone by her baby daddy's wife, and loses her child as well. Well played, Ecbert. I can see Aethelwulf not being too happy with this when he comes back from pilgrimage.

 

Odo--well, nothing's worse than having your lungs hacked out while alive, but beating him to death by whipping--seems like Terese liked that. And she'll be the next female protagonist to hate.

 

God or man-whore, I don't care--I hate Harbard.

[millennium]

I have to admire the Vikings' determination. Hauling those ships up the cliffs and dragging them overland is no small feat.

 

The portage strategy was brilliant in its simplicity and grandeur.    There is no Viking word for "can't."

Edited April 9, 2016 by millennium

[insubordination]

I didn't like the Bjorn fakeout.  Respect the viewer and don't hide stuff from them.  The Bjorn actor seems to have lifted his game lately or changed his posture or something. He seems to be a much stronger presence than he was before (or maybe it's just because Ragnar is weaker). I'm sort of glad Erlander is still around . Love the tension it brings.

 

Ragnar and Yidu scene was hideous yet I couldn't look away. I thought Ragnar's sons' reactions were very good too. Not bad for child actors.  Just say 'No' kids.  TF is doing an excellent job showing Ragnar's downward spiral.

 

I'm not certain Yidu is dead either, but she's not important enough of a character to be back. It's just when he pushed her body away, her face never went underwater. I wish she could escape back to China, but she'd be forced into slavery wherever she tried to go. Maybe death is better.

 

Nice engineering Vikings, and I agree this is the most appealing Floki has been in recent memory.

 

I will miss QCrP, but I guess her story was over. Still I never would have guessed she'd be killed in this episode considering her pregnancy and foiled escape. I loved the desperate look on her face and her crazy eyes. She seemed to too much spirit/force driving her from within not to succeed. Damn history!  At least she was badass until her final breath.

 

This was a rough episode for women if I think about it too much.  At least Lagertha delivered. I believed her every word.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

I was also not really convinced with Odo's death either. 

I heard the flys buzzing....

[Captanne]

I thought the Harder (what is his name?  The "Odin" sex god?) story was really solidly told and once I twigged onto the idea that he's nothing but a modern day David Koresh Kult Leader Svengali, I totally understood where he was coming* from.  (*Come.  Hee.)

 

Every word that came out of his mouth was Cult Leader-y and the viewer and/or characters in his orbit could either believe his otherworldly rambling justifications for his shitty behaviour OR they could role their eyes and call him on his bullshit.

 

If he had asked Aslaug to write him a cheque and send him all her worldly goods, I would not have been surprised.

 

Of course, she's been around a while and is, based on her storyline, a crafty, proud, self-aware daughter of a hero -- I liked that she didn't fall for it.  Also, the look the actress gave him as he did his "God and you called me from far away; I could hear your cries and floated across the lake to you...." spoke loudly of, "Wow.  Something here smells REALLY bad."

 

I'm not saying his God Story isn't true -- I'm saying that I like the ambiguity.  (For the record, I think modern day cult leaders and their supernatural stories are horseshit.)

[Haleth]

Yidu was a disappointing character to me.  I liked the idea of Ragnar learning about distant cultures.  One of the things this show does so well is showing how these various people became increasingly expose to the great unknown of these new cultures.  I was hoping the Yidu stuff would be more interesting and it wasn't.

I know!  One of the things that makes Ragnar such an layered character is his intellectual curiosity in a culture at that time that largely dismissed any other culture.  He was a more modern leader, one who used his brain as much as his brawn.  I'm not sure how much Yidu could have taught him, but the potential was there.  Instead she turned out to be merely a plot device in Ragnar's fall from grace.  

 

The whole story line with Yidu was so pointless; at least I think so.  Michael Hirst hinted at the beginning of the season that this slave's appearance in the plot "would all make sense in the end."  I'm skeptical, because now she's dead, and what have we learned?  The producers didn't even try to make her sympathetic, as she was so obviously there to bring Ragnar down.  A stand-in for Athelstan?  No.

 

Exactly.

 

I was watching with my husband who hasn't really seen the show.  I was actually embarrassed about the Wessex and Paris storylines.  When the real stories (at least as we know them) are full of intrigue and cut throat politics, why do the writers have to go all Game of Thrones?

[Captanne]

Not just his fall from grace, though -- she also served as a credible way for him to survive the agonizing amount of time his wounds from the first Paris siege took to heal (and still function as king through that process.)

 

ETA:  There has been a lot of crediting Ragnar with his interest in Yidu as making him a sort of "modern man" with an interest in other cultures -- like her Asian one.  I'm not clear why this is a revelation with Yidu's presence.  This entire series is based on Ragnar's driving will to see other cultures.  But for his obsession, ability to focus Floki's genius, and persistence, England would still be a mystery to the Vikings.  Also he never would have fallen in love with Athelstan and gone so far as to be baptized in order to maximize his spiritual likelihood of seeing his friend in the afterlife his friend believed in and dedicated his entire soul to.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Captanne

[attica]

Torvi (Georgia Hirst) has this as her only acting credit.  She definitely lucked out with a first role in such a popular series. 

If by 'lucked out' you mean 'is the very blond offspring of the showrunner and sister to the actor playing Helga,' then, yes! To be clear, I don't begrudge her; she's doing fine work. But 'up by her bootstraps' this is not.

 

The portage strategy was brilliant in its simplicity and grandeur.    There is no Viking word for "can't."

Gorgeous to look at, too. 

[tennisgurl]

It has been a real bloodbath on my TV this week. Not wantting to name any names, in case soneone is not caught up, but five shows that I watch have offed main characters this week. Weirdly, they have mostly been female characters. Some of those death were...better done than others. Again, not naming names, but I am giving serious shady eye to a couple shows in particular. This show for the most part, did not bother me. It was time to cull some minor characters, although I will miss Princess CrazyPants. Yidu was a wasted opportunity. I really do not get the point of her character, beyond being Ragnars drug dealer. There had to be an easier way to get his downward spiral going. 

 

That being said, I did really like this episode, especially the Viking stuff. Even drugged out as hell, Ragnar can still come up with the occasional great idea. As I said last week, the Vikings do some really awful stuff, but I can really admire their ingenuity.  

 

You know, I have to admit "I love you baby, but my gods blessed dick is needed to bring joy and happiness to the women of your village. Its my purpose, what can I say?" is a new line I cant say I've heard. 

[attica]

You know, I have to admit "I love you baby, but my gods blessed dick is needed to bring joy and happiness to the women of your village. Its my purpose, what can I say?" is a new line I cant say I've heard.

 

You never lived through the 70s, then, I guess. :)

[Captanne]

Was I the only one who, during the whole "dragging on the logs it must have taken them months to cut down and arrange" scene, yelled at her television, "Floki?  If you're so fucking smart, what about WHEELS on those boats??!!!  It's called a "boat trailer", bright guy."

 

(Ie, if you're cutting down trees anyway, why not just cut down a path and roll those bad boats to the other side?)

Edited April 9, 2016 by Captanne

[Ohwell]

You know, I have to admit "I love you baby, but my gods blessed dick is needed to bring joy and happiness to the women of your village. Its my purpose, what can I say?" is a new line I cant say I've heard. 

I really, really wish he had had an opportunity to try that shit on Lagertha.  'Cause you know what she would have done to him.

[gwhh]

Did I miss something here?!?! 

 

Who was the boy who shot the guy with the longbow (who was he) standing on the boat as it was being hauled up the side of the mountain and why did he do it?  Who was the woman who told him not to do it? 

Edited April 9, 2016 by gwhh

[millennium]

If by 'lucked out' you mean 'is the very blond offspring of the showrunner and sister to the actor playing Helga,' then, yes! 

 

 

Aha, that's why I keep confusing them at first glance.

[CalamityBoPeep]

Did I miss something here?!?! 

 

Who was the boy who shot the guy with the longbow (who was he) standing on the boat as it was being hauled up the side of the mountain and why did he do it?  Who was the woman who told him not to do it? 

 

It was a vision that Torvi was having about Erlendur shooting Bjorn. Who knows if it was a premonition? Could have just been an expression of her own fear.

Edited April 9, 2016 by CalamityBoPeep

[LOA-maker]

Not just his fall from grace, though -- she also served as a credible way for him to survive the agonizing amount of time his wounds from the first Paris siege took to heal (and still function as king through that process.)

 

ETA:  There has been a lot of crediting Ragnar with his interest in Yidu as making him a sort of "modern man" with an interest in other cultures -- like her Asian one.  I'm not clear why this is a revelation with Yidu's presence.  This entire series is based on Ragnar's driving will to see other cultures.  But for his obsession, ability to focus Floki's genius, and persistence, England would still be a mystery to the Vikings.  Also he never would have fallen in love with Athelstan and gone so far as to be baptized in order to maximize his spiritual likelihood of seeing his friend in the afterlife his friend believed in and dedicated his entire soul to.

i don't think he's really christian. he gave his sons Odin arm rings and missed entering Valhalla. Makes sense since he wore a cross in Season 3 after he buried Athelstan, and said he was sorry for what he was about to do. 

[The Kings Foot]

As for the Emperor Charles, I am somewhat amazed that Rollo has any respect for him...with Ragnar as a brother and example, Charles looks and is weak and ineffectual. That said, money and the power of Frankia itself would be alluring...maybe he  figures he could make his move on the king down the line.

 

Charles right now is the only person who has ever asked (even begged) Rollo for his help.  Everyone else either make demands of him like his brother or just bribes him like in the earlier seasons. For a person who feels slighted like Rollo, being simply asked for help is a big deal. 

[Nukester]

Did the actor's face who plays Ragnar look exceptionally fat on that close up? Is he well in real life?

[Ohwell]

Now that I've thought some more about it, I think the reason Aslaug went off on Habard is that she was embarrassed that it was her son took her to see that threesome.  She felt like she had to to do something, if only to show her son that she wasn't a weakling.  

[BitterApple]

Did the actor's face who plays Ragnar look exceptionally fat on that close up? Is he well in real life?

I wonder if they had Travis Fimmel gain weight to coincide with Ragnar's aging. His face is definitely looking fuller these last couple of seasons.

[millennium]

Ragnar and Yidu scene was hideous yet I couldn't look away. I thought Ragnar's sons' reactions were very good too. Not bad for child actors.  Just say 'No' kids.  TF is doing an excellent job showing Ragnar's downward spiral.

 

I'm not certain Yidu is dead either, but she's not important enough of a character to be back. It's just when he pushed her body away, her face never went underwater. I wish she could escape back to China, but she'd be forced into slavery wherever she tried to go. Maybe death is better.

 

 

 

Are we certain Yidu actually existed and wasn't a figment of Ragnar's imagination?   I can't recall seeing Yidu directly interact with any other character.   No one on the boats questioned her presence on the voyage, indeed no one seemed to notice she was there at all.

Edited April 10, 2016 by millennium

[green]

Did I miss something here?!?! 

 

Who was the boy who shot the guy with the longbow (who was he) standing on the boat as it was being hauled up the side of the mountain and why did he do it?  Who was the woman who told him not to do it? 

 

 

It was a vision that Torvi was having about Erlendur shooting Bjorn. Who knows if it was a premonition? Could have just been an expression of her own fear.

 

Well said.  To add to this remember that Torvi was Erlunder's wife before Bjorn's and Bjorn knows that Erlunder sent the Berserker after him in the wilderness and Erlunder knows that Bjorn knows.  Erlunder is also threatening to kill Torvi's son Guthrum who is back in Lagertha's earldom if Torvi doesn't do what he tells her to do.  No wonder Torvi is hallucinating all her fears in broad daylight at this point.  There is real danger here.

 

About the whole Yidu storyline.  There is a link in the Speculation With Spoilers: We Are All Seers Now thread to an interview with creator and showrunner Michael Hirst about all this.  For those of you who don't want any spoilage outside of this one point (since the article contains some other stuff) I'll give you the basic summary here in spoiler tags if that is okay with the mods.

 

Hirst said his original intent was to make this relationship a romantic love story. But Travis Fimmel pretty much pointed out to him that no way would Ragnar be interested in that at this point in his life. What Ragnar wanted most was a real friend. After Athelstan was gone he had no one he felt he could confide his deepest secrets to. Yidu wanted to keep him close to her so kept him on the drugs.

So I guess that would explain why Ragnar went so totally murderously ballistic when she threatened to betray the trust he had shown in her.  Sometimes storylines get changed on the fly in collaborate media like a TV series I guess.  So sometimes it isn't some arcane thing, just making drama on the fly.

Edited April 10, 2016 by green

[green]

Are we certain Yidu actually existed and wasn't a figment of Ragnar's imagination?   I can't recall seeing Yidu directly interact with any other character.   No one on the boats questioned her presence on the voyage, indeed no one seemed to notice she was there at all.

 

She was Aslaug's slave back in Kattegat.  On the raid she sang Ragnar's children to sleep.  In fact everyone seemed to enjoy her singing that night except Floki who reacted by looking all upset and covering his ears.  Floki was probably thinking more of that horrible non-Norse stuff sneaking into his culture. 

 

We also saw her with Ragnar's two kids after the attack on the staging camp like they had been all hiding together.  And those two kids both most definitely saw Ragnar kill her.

 

I don't think anyone talked to her because she was viewed as being there for Ragnar so don't chat up the King's new woman or he might take it the wrong way.  Especially since he has been acting a little loco lately. 

Edited April 10, 2016 by green

[millennium]

On the raid she sang Ragnar's children to sleep.  In fact everyone seemed to enjoy her singing that night except Floki who reacted by looking all upset and covering his ears. 

 

Thanks, I don't recall that scene for some reason. 

[Andromeda]

i don't think he's really christian. he gave his sons Odin arm rings and missed entering Valhalla. Makes sense since he wore a cross in Season 3 after he buried Athelstan, and said he was sorry for what he was about to do.

Well, it'd be his understanding of what gets someone into "heaven," and in this case, it was the magic of getting baptized. I think he was hedging his bets and sees no conflict with being both baptized and a believer in Valhalla, both of which are real physical places in his mind. Remember when Rollo agreed to get baptized as part of a deal with an English king, like all it took was a splash of water for him to suddenly be Christian, even though he knew almost nothing of the actual teachings. It's all superstition and magic. Edited April 10, 2016 by Andromeda

[nowornever]

Will someone refresh my memory?  Was Torvi also Jarl Borg's wife before?  Was he the father of her son?  

[PatsyandEddie]

Yes, nowornever,to both your questions. Creepy Erlandur uses the boy's safety as a way to control her.

[SharonH58]

I liked this episode.  How stupid of Yidu to think she could threaten a Viking?  If she wanted to escape she should have done that back when the Franks invaded the camp.  Glad she is gone.  Even drugged out Ragnar comes up with ingenious ideas.  I wish they would stray from History and have Ragnar kick Rollo's ass or have the Franks toss Rollo out on his butt.  He needs to pay for what he's done to his people.   I'm sad the crazy Queen is gone.  She was an interesting character and I wanted to see her and Athlewulf get together.  Judith is a bore.  She even kills and incites a yawn. 

[Knuckles]

On a rewatch of the episode, I have one question...Charles announces that Odo is a traitor who has been executed...what did I miss here? How did he come to that conclusion? I know Roland and Therese have been undermining Odo verbally, but how does Charles simply announce his execution, done without his express permission?

[Captanne]

The only way I saw Charles deciding Odo was a traitor had to do with the fact that he conspired to the King against Rollo -- who, now Charles knows -- is the father of his potential heir.

 

ETA:  Sorry for the awkward sentence there but it was train of thought.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Captanne

[LOA-maker]

On a rewatch of the episode, I have one question...Charles announces that Odo is a traitor who has been executed...what did I miss here? How did he come to that conclusion? I know Roland and Therese have been undermining Odo verbally, but how does Charles simply announce his execution, done without his express permission?

Roland told him in ep 7 that Odo was plotting against him.

[Ohwell]

Roland told him in ep 7 that Odo was plotting against him.

I remember that scene, but I thought that Charles figured out that Roland and the woman were the ones plotting against him.  Guess I gave Charles too much credit.

[Ohwell]

I vaguely remember what happened to the Wessex Settlement.  Can someone fill me in and tell me how Yidu knew about it?  Thanks.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

I vaguely remember what happened to the Wessex Settlement.  Can someone fill me in and tell me how Yidu knew about it?  Thanks.

He told her while high.  My question is how does the rest of Kattegatt NOT know.

 

I remember that scene, but I thought that Charles figured out that Roland and the woman were the ones plotting against him.  Guess I gave Charles too much credit.

I think Odo was plotting and Roland and the Whipping Girl used it to their advantage (are those 2 married or siblings?).  Odo deserved what he got but only an idiot (or a simpleton) is going to trust them.

[Knuckles]

"My question is how does the rest of Kattegatt NOT know."

 

Well, they don't have Skype or email. Since the Viking raiding party has been in Francia, I guess that most of the Vikings are assuming that things are ok in Wessex.

No one seems worried or concerned, not even Lagertha, and she is the most acute observer.

 

Thank you to all who answered my question about Odo...I had wondered if I missed something. But I think Hirst needed more explanation...Roland and Therese killed Odo, Charles' defense minister, without his express permission (or, if it was given, we were not shown) which is usually enough to get the killers themselves branded traitors.

And yes, I too thought Charles saw thru Roland and Therese's efforts to brand Odo a traitor. Did I misread the scene.

Curious how they presented the body to the king...lead him to the dungeon with Odo just hanging there...or cut him down and present his corpse as a done deal.

[BitterApple]

Regarding the Wessex settlement, I didn't get it either. How does Ragnar know, but not any of the other major players? Nobody in Kattegat thought it strange that they hadn't heard from their friends in years? You'd think a ship would've returned at some point. I guess they needed a way to kill Yidu off and there had to be something that would send Ragnar into a murderous rage, but Idk, the premise just doesn't seem plausible.

[Ohwell]

Does anyone remember the episode with what happened in the Wessex settlement?  Maybe if I go back and re-read the thread I'll understand.

 

I apologize, but between Wessex, Kattegut, Mercia and Frankia, I sometimes get confused about what happened in which location.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Ohwell

[Captanne]

OMG, I spend my time vastly confused about England.  France and Kattegat, I have down cold.  And I know the English characters -- but ask me about Wessex, Mercia, and anything else English and I'm at a loss.  

 

It doesn't help that I also watched that other show (The Last Kingdom?) and Sons of Anarchy's Medieval bodice ripper -- all at the same time.  So, my mind is a bit blurry about wet, messy, long-haired, armor-wearing, horse riding, siege...sieging, men and the ladies who love them.

 

ETA:  Check early in the first season or so.  I think Gabriel Byrne's character was still alive.  Ragnar had gone over to England a couple of times and left an entourage behind whom he trusted.  They ended up brutally flattening an English village in retaliation for the English going back on Ragnar's wishes and brutally destroying a Viking settlement.  No?  Oy, something like that.  Anyway, a guy barely made it back to VikingLand intact, stumbled into Ragnar's home and told him what had happened.  Ragnar immediately killed him dead as a doornail and never said another word.

 

EETA:  I totally missed him telling Yidu.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Captanne

[Haleth]

Nobody in Kattegat thought it strange that they hadn't heard from their friends in years? You'd think a ship would've returned at some point.

Probably not. Wessex could have been the other side of the world as far as they know. Most likely the Danes in Wessex and those in Kattegut would not expect to ever see each other again. The ships would have no reason to return as long as they had a treaty with Wessex and other lands to plunder.

[Ohwell]

ETA:  Check early in the first season or so.  I think Gabriel Byrne's character was still alive.  Ragnar had gone over to England a couple of times and left an entourage behind whom he trusted.  They ended up brutally flattening an English village in retaliation for the English going back on Ragnar's wishes and brutally destroying a Viking settlement.  No?  Oy, something like that.  Anyway, a guy barely made it back to VikingLand intact, stumbled into Ragnar's home and told him what had happened.  Ragnar immediately killed him dead as a doornail and never said another word.

 

Ahhh, ok thanks!  I remember him killing the poor bastard.  

[Captanne]

Yep, strangled him on a table.

[LOA-maker]

Will someone refresh my memory?  Was Torvi also Jarl Borg's wife before?  Was he the father of her son?  

Maybe Bjorn Borg's father....both were/are Swedish..

[whoknowswho]

Will someone refresh my memory?  Was Torvi also Jarl Borg's wife before?  Was he the father of her son?  

Torvi is Jarl Borg's widow...

They had a child--the child Erlunder is holding hostage.

[green]

Regarding the Wessex settlement, I didn't get it either. How does Ragnar know, but not any of the other major players? Nobody in Kattegat thought it strange that they hadn't heard from their friends in years? You'd think a ship would've returned at some point. I guess they needed a way to kill Yidu off and there had to be something that would send Ragnar into a murderous rage, but Idk, the premise just doesn't seem plausible.

 

 

Does anyone remember the episode with what happened in the Wessex settlement?  Maybe if I go back and re-read the thread I'll understand.

 

I apologize, but between Wessex, Kattegut, Mercia and Frankia, I sometimes get confused about what happened in which location.

 

What Happened to the Wessex Settlement:

 

First King Ecbert was all yeah Vikings we can learn from them.  He and Ragnar make a deal that includes the Wessex settlement as we all remember.  Ragnar goes away to help Princess Kwenrith gain Mercia which was part of the overall deal while Lagertha and Athelstan stay behind to help start-up the settlement.  Ecbert volunteers to help with that and he even has a brief tryst with Lagertha (or one-nighter put impolitely). 

 

Ragnar returns from the Mercia victory and Athelstan chooses to go back with him much to Ecbert's distress.  Lagertha will stay on for a short while longer through spring planting season at the settlement.

 

Several months later Ecbert and his nobles ride out to see the spring rites at the new Viking settlement and he tells them they should be tolerant and open about other cultures/religions.  But then they arrive and Lagertha slaughters a bull in an animal sacrifice in front of them as she ends up covered in blood.  That kind of ended Ecbert's fascination for Viking culture and for Lagertha on the spot.

 

After Lagertha has returned to Scandanavia we see Athelwulf lead a raiding party to the Wessex settlement killing everyone there it seems.  To cover it up and and both develop a cover story in case Ragnar returns soon plus probably get rid of some too powerful nobles in his court, Ecbert pretends to be horribly shocked (shocked I tell you) when he "hears" about the settlement massacre.  He orders all the nobles in the raid executed on the spot and says he will personally punish his son as well and dismisses everyone.

 

When they all leave he congrats his son on a scene well played (which is where we the audience get clued in that Ecbert is behind the whole massacre) and adds that he doesn't know what he was thinking letting such like people settle on his land to start with.  Probably an allusion to his turnabout after viewing the bloody spring rites.

 

How Ragnar Alone Knows What Happened in Wessex:

 

In a later episode Floki enters Ragnar's quarters saying Ragnar needs to talk to this old man that showed up.  There is no indication Floki knows what news the man brings since he never seems to mention anything about it so maybe the old man just said he had important news or something to Floki.

 

The old man comes in and tells Ragnar in private about the Wessex settlement massacre and that he and his family were the only ones to escape.  That they managed to grab one of the Viking boats left behind at the anchorage spot but after a horrible journey back being blown off course in storms and that ended up in a shipwreck far from Kattegat, all the remaining people on the boat had died along the way or were killed during the shipwreck.  He saw his son die right before him and it was horrible.  He is the last survivor and brings news to Ragnar with hopes Raganr will revenge the dead.

 

Ragnar hugs and comforts the man and then says he will soon see his son in Valhalla and kills him with a knife on the spot to prevent the news from spreading to anyone else.  At that point Ragnar was on the verge of setting out on his first expedition to Paris so he didn't want the Vikings distracted from the main goal with calls for revenge in Wessex no doubt.  That and the rather major fact that it was Ragnar that had worked out the deal with Ecbert for the settlement so he would share blame for what happened to it in his peoples' eyes.

 

When Erlunder comes to join the first expedition to Paris shortly thereafter the first words out of his mouth are to ask Ragnar how the Wessex settlement is doing.  Ragnar quickly mumbles that all is well there.  Remember Erlunder had great interest in the settlement too since he, like Ragnar, knew England's true wealth was the vast and fertile farmland it contains.

 

(On the first raid to England that Erlunder was on we see him looking closely at the soil and in a scene that ended on the edit room floor due to time constraints apparently he and Ragnar even talk about how rich the soil is there.  So one of the reasons if not THE reason Ragnar spared him when he killed every other last member of King Horik's family was probably this mutually shared vision of the real future for the Vikings).

 

So Ragnar has been holding on to this secret for some time while deflecting the one inquiry we saw about the settlement.  We now know in his confession to Yidu on the rooftop that night that the guilt is eating away at him.  And we can imagine that the longer he holds the secret back the worst it will be for him when the Vikings find out thus his murderous freak-out with Yidu.  And if foreshadowing is to be believed, when this news does finally get know there will be no one more pissed off about it than Erlunder.

Edited April 12, 2016 by green

[Captanne]

Wow!!  Brilliant!  Thanks for the memory jogger!