In the wake of battle, enemies become allies.
See Bishop Heahmund, wandering child of the Christ-god, captive in another Viking camp.
His wounds will heal, but what of his soul?
Credit: Jonathan Hession/History Channel
You have no guilt?
He envies this queen, is fascinated by her.
I think we have more in common than you know, he says.
I think we are equals.
You really want to sin again?
Lagertha teases him, blowing out the candle in her tent.
The warrior priest will offer his loyalty to Lagertha, and much more besides.
In Haralds kingdom, beaten and battered, the rebel sons of Ragnar conceive a new strategy.
Rollo couldnt come, says Hvitserk.
He had too many responsibilities.
And Bjorn has a request for his half-brothers.
Can they not set aside their differences?
Can they not find peace?
They survived the first battle, even as so many fell in their name.
For the sake of our fathers legacy!
But his plea falls on deaf ears.
Ivar may have lost the battle, but the Franks have given them the numbers.
Its not our way!
That stops Ivar, but only for the moment.
Their forces will meet on the battlefield:Thatis their way.
In the land of the Northmen, Ragnars name is much discussed.
It is his legacy that defines this battle, or perhaps this battle will ruin his legacy.
Across the sea, in Wessex, dead men still walk the halls of power.
In the throne where once King Ecbert sat, Aethelwulf welcomes the lords of the land.
A tiny hornet lands in front of him, and when he brushes it away, it stings him.
Aethelwulf laughs, fortunes fool once again.
Soon he is dying in his bed, laid low by an insect the size of a fingernail.
Love one another, he advises his family.
Do what is best for Wessex, and nothing more.
He tells his sons to listen to their mother.
He tells Judith the angels are here.
Blind from infection, he sees the angels, and then dies.
His family debates how to proceed.
Aethelred is rightful heir, eldest and trueborn son.
Judith tells him he must refuse the throne.
Didnt he send him to the Vatican?
Wasnt he blessed by the Pope?
Aethelred is unhappy, for it was his destiny to be king.
He refuses the throne, and nominates his brother as king.
So we witness the ceremony that will make Alfred a ruler, and a great king he will be.
Gods are fragile things, after all.
Eyvind and his family refuse to help, keep trying to start a fight.
Eyvind wants to be king, and so he accuses Floki of desiring kingship.
Floki wants this new land to be different, free of violence, a place of peace and prosperity.
But one night, the temple burns, and the statue of Thor falls into the blaze.
A fight breaks out, one of Flokis followers accusing Eyvinds son Bul of starting the fire.
A knife appears; Bul lies dead.
Even here, in the land of the gods, humanity cannot escape itself.
Did he bring his followers to heaven so it could turn into hell?
