With second series landing a generally warm reception from audiences and critics alike as well as three Emmy award nominations, theres every reason to be excited about the second series of Vikings. Thats Vikings as in the History Channels recent nine part show about the impressively named Ragnar Lodbrok and his community. Not the historical raiders who terrorised medieval Europe. No one needs a reason to be excited about those vikings. Theyre already awesome. But in case you need further encouragement, here are five reasons you should be watching the second season when it airs next year.
6. For The History Channel, The History Is Actually Pretty Good
Ill admit, when I heard that Vikings being produced by the same channel responsible for a dramatisation of the Bible (a dramatisation which apparently included angels who a) wore leather kilts and b) were ninjas) I was skeptical. But the historical bits were surprisingly well handled. For one thing, there wasnt a horned helmet in sight and the only character who got kidnapped was one rather unimpressive monk. Better still not only did they get the right location for the first viking raid in Britain (the monastery on Lindisfarne, an island on the North East coast of Britain) but it actually looks like the North of Britain, not what American studios tend to assume the British countryside looks like. When the main character starts having visions involving ravens and seeing a one-eyed man in a broad brimmed hat looking mysterious in the background the script just kind of expects you to think ravens, one eye, must be Odin. Vikings is based on Ragnar Lodbrok, a semi-mythological figure from the Icelandic sagas. A word of warning though: dont go looking him up unless youre prepared to have the next seasons plot points spoiled. To make matters worse youre unlikely to get much sympathy, seeing as the saga was originally written in the 13th century.