Season 2 Episode 1 of VIKINGS Recap: Ragnar Comes Out on Top, Family Dynamics Change, and Side Chicks Stay Winning

 Vikings and Valkyries!  S.2 of Vikings is finally here! The History Channel original series is back and it is getting hella messy! There is going to be drama off and on the battlefield and I am so here for it, Lord have mercy.....

For those who haven't watched S.1 yet, I highly suggest you start now so you can catch up (we won't judge you....too much)

So on the season premiere, Rollo is salty that his brother Ragnar has become the Tony Stark of Vikings while he has made camp in his brother's shadow. Rollo is so bitter that he decides that it is time to break away and tag team with Jarl Borg to take down King Horik, Ragnar, and his army.

Season 2 starts with the opposing forces of Jarl Borg and King Horik (but really Team Rollo and Team Ragnar) facing off in a remote, deserted area.  As the battle begins, blood starts flying and men are falling out left and right. However, all we really care about is Rollo beating the life out of our dear Floki. The previews made it look like Floki was going out in the first episode, so praise be to Thor's golden locks that he was spared (House of Cards has made my heart black and cynical when it comes to character deaths...)

After all that talk about taking Ragnar down, Rollo realizes that he could never truly turn against his flesh and blood and surrenders.

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The Horik and Jorg start haggling over small portions of land and Ragnar is not having it. Ragnar asks why they are bartering over land when there are new worlds to discover.  He becomes a Viking peacemaker and the two men agree to put their differences aside (for now) and go raid in the West together. Which means Rollo is pretty much screwed since his allegiance to Jorg is now out the window...

The drama continues back at the Lothbrok household as a suspicious Lagertha asks about Ragnar's side chick, Aslaug. For forgetful minds, Aslaug is the woman that Ragnar fooled around with while he was away traveling with his son, Bjorn.

Bjorn, who was side eyeing the hell out of his daddy during the entire trip, spilled the beans to his mama and things went OFF. Plates were flying, weaves were pulled, and things got ugly between Lagertha and Ragnar.

Ragnar swears up, down, all around to Lagertha that it was a one time thing, it meant nothing, and it would never happen again. Uh huh, that’s what they all say Rag, but okay….

Back to Rollo, who has just given up all kinds of hope, faces execution for betraying his people. But at the last minute Rollo‘s life is spared by the Viking Gods, who apparently have a sick sense of humor and probably want to see shit go down just like the rest of us....

Viking God: Okay, so we're all in agreement? Rollo out?

Viking Gods: Aye!

Loki: Eh...

Viking God: *Sigh* What?

Loki: I mean, we COULD kill him....or we could keep him alive and watch him struggle to regain the trust of his brother and people, for our own amusement.....

Viking God:.......yeah, let's do that....

Viking Gods: Aye! Aye!

Rollo gets a visit from Siggy, who seems to see some inkling of potential in the poor sap, and tells him  to snap out of his funk, stay in the town, and redeem himself. Seriously, where would these men be without the women on this show? For a group Vikings, a lot of them lack any sense of logic...

Ragnar says his last goodbye to Gyda, his deceased daughter from S.1, and everything is sad and the feels become real. In their world where sons are so highly revered, it was nice to see a father show that kind of emotion towards his daughter.

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And then Viking shit hit the Viking fan….

Uh Oh.

As you can expect Lagertha is royally pissed that her husband got another woman pregnant. Ragnar explains to her that he had no idea that she was pregnant and he didn’t know that she was going to come. Yeah, you should’ve thought of that before you whipped out your Viking sword to boink princesses in the woods. 

So Aslaug rolls in with her entourage of shield maidens and servants and you immediately know that she thinks she's the baddest bitch in the land. She has famous parents, money, nice clothes, and status. She's a Viking jack pot. Which puts Lagertha in an awkward position, because she does not have that kind of social standing that can help Ragnar.

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And to further prove that side chicks stay winning, Ragnar does Lagertha dirty by putting his soon to be baby mama at the head of the dinner table!

How Lagertha didn’t go Real Housewives of New Jersey and flip the table on all of them is beyond me.

And when you think it couldn't get any more awkward, Ragnar puts the final nail in the coffin by suggesting to Lagertha that they invite Aslaug into their marriage (because apparently people are doing that these days….)

Like any self-respecting woman, Lagertha  decides to divorce Ragnar and leave. He is so wrapped up in his own feelings and desires, he doesn't realize how much he has hurt Lagertha. Sidebar: Did you know that Viking divorces are super easy? Like you can pack up your stuff and go? No divorce lawyers, no splitting up property! How nice and simple is that?

Poor Bjorn had to make the difficult decision of choosing to stay with his dad and becoming a Viking rockstar or go away with his mother. When Ragnar discovers that his family is falling apart, he chases after Lagertha, begging her not to leave.

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At the last minute, Bjorn decides to go with his mother, leaving his father alone with Aslaug and the baby.

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And just like that the family dynamics have shifted. Out goes the last remaining evidence of Ragnar's old life and in comes a new wife and child. 

So now, I'm going to assume that they are going to time jump a few years ahead, to keep the story moving and really start developing Rganar's story. We'll see what happens tonight!

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