Original subtitles

(IF I HAD A HEART PLAYING)

More, give me more Give me more

If I had a heart I could love you

If I had a voice I would sing

After the night When I wake up

I'll see What tomorrow brings

(VOCALIZING)

If I had a voice I would sing

(MUSIC PLAYING)

King Harald!

I will think of you in York.

I left some good men in charge there.

I will be glad to meet them,

but York will only be a staging post for us.

Good. I still consider it part of my new kingdom.

I think it is a good thing that I'm leaving.

Yes, I agree. I think it is a good thing.

But don't worry.

With my ships filled with treasure and slaves,

I will come back.

Skol.

Skol.

What's the matter with you, huh?

Little brother?

I am not your little brother.

And you know exactly what's wrong with me.

Margrethe is dead.

I know.

Of course, you know! You ordered the killing!

Why would I do that?

Because she knew that you can never get a woman pregnant.

But that is not quite true. Is it, sweet?

No.

Tell them why.

For I am with child.

IVAR: She is with my child.

And in any case, she was a crazy woman.

I liked her.

She was right about you from the very beginning, Ivar.

Be very careful of what you say about me, Hvitserk.

Why? Will you kill me next?

Just remember I am also a son of Ragnar Lothbrok.

The people of Kattegat don't love you, Ivar.

What do you think they would do

if you even touched the hair on my head?

Well, just a thought.

Why don't you go back to England

with King Harald, then?

I belong here with you, Ivar. You know that.

I chose your side.

And now, for good or ill,

you're stuck with me.

(CHUCKLES)

Hyah!

Hyah!

Bishop Cuthred is dead. What?

Cuthred is dead. Murdered!

Murdered? By who?

By Lord Heahmund. In the cathedral.

Where is Heahmund, now?

Here, in the chapel.

Let me speak with him alone.

But he will... Alone.

Heahmund!

How dare you? Sire.

In all of this world, there can be no justification

for murdering a servant of God in His own house.

And now, still drenched in the martyr's blood,

you come and defile this holy place, too.

Surely, to God, you do not mean to try and defend yourself.

I killed Cuthred because he and the other bishops,

clergy, and several of your leading ealdormen,

formed a conspiracy to overthrow you, and then,

to assassinate you,

for your attacks on the power and privilege of the church,

which they think has only just begun.

For your offer of friendship to pagans, and for your weakness.

I felt I had no choice but act,

to save both your crown,

and your life.

JUDITH: Did he tell you who else was involved in the conspiracy?

What other Bishops? Ealdormen?

No, only that Cuthred was at the heart of it.

And he told me that if I now restored him

to the bishopric of Sherborne,

then he might easily identify the others.

But if you were to reinstate Heahmund,

it would cause the greatest outrage and resentment,

especially in the church.

Even so, Mother, Heahmund has possibly shown himself

to be my greatest supporter.

JUDITH: This is true.

I have to say, brother,

that I'm amazed and outraged

that you would even consider giving shelter,

let alone preferment

for a self-acknowledged murderer.

Instead, Heahmund shall be punished

for his heinous crime.

That is not your decision, brother.

For I am King,

and I alone can make that determination.

We are not sure what has happened.

No one has told us.

But I see you are imprisoned.

I killed the man who replaced me as bishop.

Why?

He found out about us.

He would have betrayed me to King Alfred,

and I would never have been restored.

So now, everything depends on the King.

Yes. Everything.

If he believes that we will protect him against his enemies,

then all shall be well.

I'm not sure what to think about you.

I'm trying to do the right thing.

For us, and for Wessex.

And yet, now, you are imprisoned.

Grandfather,

you have laid upon me, such a burden.

I'm not sure your choice was wise, after all.

They whisper that I'm weak.

I fear they're right.

Grandfather, give me strength.

LAGERTHA: King Alfred is in trouble.

There are those here, who want to overthrow him.

They think he's weak.

They don't like the fact that he allows us to live here.

But Bishop Heahmund said he'd protect us.

He is imprisoned for murder,

and incapable of protecting anyone.

Perhaps we should never have come here.

If we stayed in Norway, Torvi, we would all be dead by now.

It seems we're all at the mercy

of circumstances beyond our control.

We have to pray to the Gods that the King overcomes his enemies.

Pray? Is that all we can do? Pray?

No.

There is something else that we can do.

The King has asked us to be baptized in the Christian faith.

That way, he can appease his enemies.

He will no longer be supporting and harboring pagans,

but we will be fellow Christians.

He asked you this personally?

Yes.

And did you tell him that there was no way

that you would renounce our Gods?

Did you?

Our father is in Valhalla.

He's sitting beside the Allfather.

He's sitting across from Thor.

They are drinking together, and they are happy together.

Are you telling me that you don't believe it?

I think what Ubbe... BJORN: Let Ubbe speak for himself.

What do you say, Ubbe?

Our father stopped believing it.

Bah!

Did King Alfred tell you that, too?

And you actually believed him?

Sometimes, I wonder if you're Ragnar's son at all!

(CHOKING)

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

INGVILD: Did you see them? No.

FRODI: Perhaps, they're not coming.

They will come.

Son.

Father.

So, Floki, what is it you have to say?

We're all here.

I've risen from the dead.

Just as Odin did.

I died,

and then I was reborn,

here, on this island.

Among the Gods.

But I don't care about myself.

I care about all of you.

I want you to live together peacefully.

I've suffered the loss of two of our children.

Bul

and Thorgrim.

Hmm.

I know what it's like to lose a child.

The days ahead will be hard.

And our real hope

lies with the child that Ketill's daughter, Thorunn,

carries in her belly.

For Eyvind's son, Helgi was also involved.

So, now, I beg of you all one last time,

to please bury your axes.

Floki's right.

I have been harsh on Floki.

It's true I doubted his motives.

But I see I was wrong.

I believe Floki is a pure spirit.

The death of my son, Bul,

caused my family terrible grief.

But I see now, the death of Thorgrim,

caused Ketill and his family the same agony.

So,

let us look forward,

as a community,

to the birth of a new child.

Let us drink to the new child.

Skol!

ALL: Skol!

SOLDIER: You two. Captain's calling. Now!

Princess Elsewith. I have neither courted, nor attended to you.

If you told me that you no longer had any desire to marry me,

then I would understand, and freely release you

from any agreement made in my name.

However,

in the unlikely event that you were still

willing to proceed with the marriage,

then let me tell you what you might expect.

You'll be queen to a kingdom at war,

and likely soon to be attacked again.

You'll be married to a king

who is in present danger of being overthrown and assassinated.

Forgive me, My Lady,

but I cannot make the prospect sound any more attractive.

ELSEWITH: Thank you.

I have nothing to go back to, nor any wish to do so.

If I were your wife,

I would gladly share your dangers and tribulations,

and help you carry the terrible burden

that fate has placed upon you.

I had not expected this conversation to proceed in this manner.

ELSEWITH: Good.

I would hate you ever to think me predictable.

My Lords,

I've summoned you here once more because after much prayer and thought,

I've made an important decision.

I've decided to restore His Grace Bishop Heahmund,

to the bishopric of Sherborne.

MAN 1: What? MAN 2: No!

MAN 3: He's mad!

The murder of Lord Cuthred must forever be upon his conscience

and he must defend himself before God.

But we, My Lords, in these dark and most uncertain days,

when Wessex is threatened as never before in our history,

we cannot, and I will not do without

the services of the man who is our sword,

the greatest warrior for Christ in this kingdom.

He's mad.

MAN 4: What should we do?

MAN 2: He's a madman. He's a madman.

I wish also, to announce my marriage to Princess Elsewith of Northumbria.

MAN 1: How lovely!

MAN 2: Maybe an heir, good news at last.

There is one final matter.

Ubbe, the son of Ragnar Lothbrok, and his wife, Torvi,

have agreed to be baptized into our Christian faith.

My Lords! Please!

I ask all of you, in God's name,

to recognize and celebrate this conversion.

It marks the beginning of something important.

Without the help of these people, who were once our enemies,

Wessex cannot, and will not survive.

ALL: No!

MAN 1: He's mad. MAN 2 ...keep the kingdom together?

He should not have done that.

He should never have put the murderer

to such a high position in our holy church.

Alfred is doing what he thinks is best for Wessex.

And we must support him, must we not?

He's my brother. Of course, I support him.

Good. At least, his marriage is arranged and settled.

Now, it's time to arrange yours.

You have no need to arrange everything in the world.

And as a matter of fact, I've already chosen my bride.

May I know her name?

Ethelfled.

Do I know her? I do not think so.

She's Cuthred's daughter.

MAN: Open the gate!

He's strong! And all his teeth and fingers, too.

Come on! Six? Seven? Eight?

(ALL CHEERING)

Welcome back!

MAN 2: King Harald! Welcome!

MAN 3: King Harald!

HEAHMUND: Before being received into God's holy church,

you must renounce your former errors.

I renounce my belief in Odin, and all other pagan Gods.

I renounce my belief in Odin and all other pagan Gods.

With my breath,

I do exorcise these evil spirits which inhabit you.

(HEAHMUND SPEAKING LATIN)

ALL: Amen.

MAN: Welcome!

King Harald Finehair. Welcome to York.

I am Jarl Olavson. Ivar the Boneless left me in charge here.

I'm happy to meet you, Jarl Olavson.

But don't expect to be in charge here for much longer.

We have just been promised eternal life.

I don't feel any different. Do you?

Hmm?

I now have to wear these crosses, though.

They said that their new God died on the cross for our sins.

What sins? Well...

Now, I do feel different.

Well, you could always wear it again.

HEAHMUND: Do you, Alfred, son of Aethelwulf,

before all these witnesses here gathered,

take this woman, Elsewith, as your lawful wife,

to have and to hold, from this moment until death parts you?

I do.

And you, Elsewith, before all these witnesses here gathered,

take this man, Alfred, to have and to hold, forsaking all others,

to serve and obey until you die?

I do.

(HEAHMUND SPEAKING LATIN)

ALL: Amen.

Amen. Amen.

HEAHMUND: In the sight of all these witnesses,

and in the sight of God,

I now pronounce you,

man and wife.

(APPLAUSE)

Bjorn Ironside. Yes?

You and I have much in common.

How?

We share the same father.

My name is Magnus. I'm Ragnar's son by Queen Kwenthrith.

I grew up here on the royal estate with Alfred.

He was my childhood friend.

But in the end, after Ragnar was imprisoned here,

I was expelled.

Alfred's family threw me to the wolves.

We had heard Ragnar fathered a son in Wessex.

Yes, I managed to survive. Of course, they don't know I survived.

They don't even know who I am.

I heard you were here. My half-brothers.

And I had to see you.

Well, this is incredible.

You have no idea how happy this makes me.

After all these years of being lost.

Well, now, my brother, you are found.

(BELL TOLLING)

(HEAHMUND SPEAKING LATIN)

The gate! The gate!

Make way.

I'm here to attack Wessex.

Their defenses were weakened by our Great Army.

But I saw enough when I was there

to know that there are still plenty of places to plunder.

And I want to be rich, for I have considerable ambitions.

It may interest you to know that Wessex has a new king.

Who? A boy. Ecbert's grandson, Alfred.

Then they're even weaker than I thought.

Why did you say that I would not be in charge very long?

As far as I know, you and Ivar, the Boneless, are allies.

I didn't mean to insult you.

I want to invite you to rape Wessex with me.

We can enjoy the fruits of victory,

and then we can make new plans.

New plans? Yes.

Do you want to stay here, in York, all your life,

and look after it for Ivar?

No. It's true, I've always had bigger ambitions.

A Viking. Of course, you did.

So...

After we plunder Wessex, you and I, together,

will return in triumph to Kattegat.

To share our spoils with its king?

No. We overthrow its king.

It seems to me, that you are not a son of Ragnar Lothbrok.

Neither am I. But the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok

are the most famous people in all our world.

And I'm not sure that I wish to fight against them.

Any of them.

What is there in a name? Nothing.

In times to come, no one will remember Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons.

They will be utterly forgotten.

I can hardly remember his name even now.

Perhaps you're right.

But in that case, what a poorer place the world will be.

We should always remember Ragnar Lothbrok,

even if we did not know him.

Even if we only heard his name, and do you know why?

Because we are all sons of Ragnar Lothbrok. All of us.

Hmm.

Think on it, Jarl Olavson.

The king has shown courage, after all.

He has. More than I expected.

What happens, now?

(SIGHS)

I must heed to flush out the others who conspired against him.

And against us.

Alfred is not safe, despite his courage.

If Cuthred was once their leader, who is their leader now?

I don't know.

But I'm almost certain they intended to replace Alfred with Aethelred.

But whether Aethelred is part of the conspiracy or not,

I've yet to discover.

I wish I could help.

Even now, the forces of Satan are gathering to strike.

That is why you are here.

To help me fight against the Devil.

It's Aethelred.

ALL: Come on! Come on!

(INAUDIBLE)

(INAUDIBLE)

You wanted to speak to me, brother?

Yes, my brother.

Come. Sit down. Drink. I have some wonderful news. Great news.

Isn't that right, my sweetheart?

Yes, wonderful news.

Come on, sit down.

Sit down.

So, what's the great news? I would love some great news.

Where to start.

You know that our whole family is descending from the Allfather.

Yes. Yes, that is you. That is me, too.

You and me are descended from Odin. Everyone knows that.

You also remember, when we were young,

you and your brothers always

made fun of me because I was different.

I don't remember me making fun of you, Ivar.

No, but you pitied me. And I was ashamed.

I hated being a cripple. Always breaking my bones.

The endless pain. I was so angry all the time, Hvitserk.

And I asked myself, why did the gods hate me so much?

Wh... Why me?

And then, Freydis explained something to me.

She told me that being deformed

was a sure sign of the gods' favor.

They marked me out as a very special person.

It wasn't a badge of shame, after all. Not a curse,

but a blessing.

It's true. I knew that.

Why are you telling me this, Ivar?

I am telling you this because this very special person has

realized something extraordinary and astonishing about himself.

It is so obvious. Realized what?

Realized that I am not just descended from the gods.

No, no, no, no.

The fact is, Hvitserk,

Ivar, the Boneless, is a god.

FREYDIS: He is a god.

And I am carrying his divine child.

You're crazy, Ivar.

I am not crazy. I am not.

That is your mistake. I did the impossible.

I am going to be a father.

I am divine. And to celebrate,

we will have a feast, and we will invite everyone in Kattegat.

And we will make a sacrifice dedicated to my fellow gods,

welcoming me into the family of the Aesir.

But it must be an important sacrifice.

It must be someone that the gods will have heard of.

Someone that all the people will have heard of. Some...

Someone.

You don't know what you're saying, brother.

Well? What is your decision?

I will raid Wessex with you.

Good. Good.

And, what of your authority here?

I would recognize you as King over York,

and I will no longer feel bound to serve Ivar.

In which case, you will come with me to overthrow him,

even though he is a son of Ragnar.

Show me your arm ring.

Is that answer enough?

Thorunn! Thorunn!

(SCREAMS)

She's gone.

She's gone. What do you mean, "gone"?

Thorunn, she's disappeared.

I don't understand. She can't have disappeared.

Mother told me she had gone to pray at the waterfall.

She felt her time was near.

She wanted to pray to Freya for a safe delivery.

She wasn't there. I shouted. I looked for her.

She disappeared.

Come on. Yes, father.

Oh, no. Please, please, please, please. Please.

Not your sister. Not Thorunn.

You have lived your life in the shadows.

So why don't you reveal yourself, your true identity, to Alfred.

Why, he was a companion of your youth.

I'm sure he would recognize you.

No, his father expelled me from the villa.

Alfred never tried to find out what happened to me.

If I was to reveal myself, I'm sure that they'd kill me.

King Ecbert and his family betrayed me

as they betrayed our father.

They say that you're here to support King Alfred.

How can you do that?

We are at Alfred's mercy.

He should be at yours.

Alfred is just as guilty as his father and his grandfather

for the death of our father.

(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)

MAN 1: Hail the god, Ivar. MAN 2: Hail the god, Ivar.

MAN 3: Hail the god, Ivar. Hail the god, Ivar.

MAN 2: Hail the god, Ivar. MAN 3: Hail the god, Ivar.

Move! Get out! (PEOPLE SHOUTING)

Move! Move!

Come on!

And, you! Go! Go! Move!

(BARBARIC SHOUTING)

PRIEST: Kneel before the god, Ivar.

Kneel down.

PRIEST: Bow your heads. MAN: On your knees.

PRIEST: Bow to god Ivar!

Bring out the sacrifice!

(SCREAMS) (ALL SHOUTING)

Ivar!

MAN 1: Hail Ivar!

MAN 2: Ivar!

MAN 3: Ivar! Hail Ivar!

MAN 1: Ivar!

(MUSIC PLAYING)