The Saxons take stock after a brutal battle
The Saxons thought they were reclaiming a piece of their home.
Instead, they walked right into a deathtrap.
Centuries ago, the Roman Empire built sewers under the mudstreets of York.
Credit: Jonathan Hession/History Channel
Now, another fearsome foreign power lingers in the shadows down below.
At Ivars command, the Northmen strike.
It is a bloody massacre.
in his blood rage, only leaving the battle when hes reminded that his son Alfred must live.
At the Saxon camp, Queen Judith nurses the wounded, inquires after the dead.
Her husband is a wreck.
I thought that God had at last seen to be merciful to us, he says.
I was wrong, Judith.
Poor Aethelwulf: His whole life now is a pilgrimage toward chaos, his fathers kingdom falling into disarray.
And he has lost an ally.
Bishop Heahmund, warrior for Christ, is captured in the battle.
After the battle, Hvitserk whispers grand ambitions in Ivars ear.
We must look to Kattegat, says his older brother.
We must kill Ubbe and Lagertha.
And you must be crowned king of Kattegat, before Bjorn returns.
They sail homeward, seeking alliance with King Harald.
Is Hvitserk sincere in his Ivar worship?
Ivar has his ambitions.
But he also has his curiosities.
he asks his prisoner, playfully but fascinated.
Perhaps he is intrigued by the viciousness of Heahmunds belief; perhaps he recognizes a kindred wild-eyed spirit.
The bishop claims that he is on a journey.
Kattegat has already witnessed the return of one of its most famous sons.
Lagertha receives him as an old friend: Such memories they have shared!
You would take warriors and shieldmaidens away from here!
angrily retorts Lagertha, knowing full well that Harald is preparing to attack.
But Floki has seen his destiny.
A good climate, a rich earth: Can you imagine how perfect life will be?
you’ve got the option to understand why people would follow him.
He tells his people to leave in secret, to meet him at the boatyard in nine days.
The Emir is a clever man and seemingly magnanimous.
Allah is great, and Muhammad is his prophet, he says, but there are other prophets.
There is great rejoicing in the Emirs encampment.
The great man takes Kassia to bed, and sends women to Bjorn and Halfdan.
Well: She was not a she, says Halfdan the next day.
Was that a problem for you?
Halfdan changes the subject, but doesnt seem particularly troubled.
Actually, nothing seems to trouble Halfdan too much.
The next day, after a great feast, the Emir says something in his own language.
Turns out that the meat they were just eating…was Commander Euphemius.
Halfdan laughs a little at this, like he just heard the punchline of a particularly absurd joke.
But their time here in the desert is running out.
Its not long before the Vikings have a blade to their necks.
But Kassia gives the command to kill.
Is this Bjorns destiny, to die so far from the sea that is his mother?
It would be an ironic death, but most deaths are.
