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| Title: | Vikings: The Complete Second Season |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Starring: | Travis Fimmel, Clive Standen, Donal Logue, Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgård, Thorbjørn Harr, |
| Certificate: | US: Not Rated UK: 18 |
| Picture: | 1080p (1.78:1) |
| Audio Format: | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 |
| Subtitles: | English |
| Runtime: | 10 Episodes, 7 Hours 52 mins |
| Extras: | Featurettes, Interactive mode, Season mode. |
| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| Release Date: | USA: October 7 2014 UK: November 3 2014 |
| See If You Like: | The Borgias, Hell on Wheels, Sons of Anarchy. |
Following the impressive debut season of Vikings; the first foray into the serial drama market from the History Channel, created by The Borgias’ creator Michael Hirst; Vikings is back with it’s second season, and ups the ante not only in terms of drama and storytelling, but budget, scale, blood, and sheer effectiveness.
Opening with a blood-thirsty battle which began brewing during the closing episodes of season one, which sees legendary Viking explorer and raider Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel, The Beast) fighting alongside King Horic (Donal Logue, Blade), against Viking clan leader Jarl Borg (Thorbjørn Harr, Reprise), it’s clear from the get-go that Vikings Season Two is going to be bigger, and better, than the first season in almost every way possible.
Having the season order expanded by an episode (giving us ten episodes, as opposed to season one’s nine episode run), and having an obviously vastly increased budget, battles are now not only more frequent (generally occurring at least once an episode), but far larger in scale (actual battles and pillages occur now, rather than the small-scale skirmishes we grew accustomed to in the first season), and become both longer lasting, and far more brutal in their execution.
Yet it’s not only the battles (impressive as they may be) which make Vikings an enjoyable watch, but the plot of the show; which has also grown immensely in terms of scale with the second season. Feeling far more Shakespearian than ever before, we now not only have the troubles of Ragnar’s home town, and his family; which include the legendary shield maiden Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick, Killers), his son Bjorn (now played by The Hunger Games’ Alexander Ludwig, as the majority of the season takes places a few years after season one, when Bjorn has grown into a man), and new wife Princess Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland, The Devil Wears Prada); to worry about, but the Viking territories lorded over by King Horic, and Jarl Borg, as well as the global implications of returning to England, and discovering a new kingdom, complete with the war-ready King Ecbert (Linus Roache, the Batman Begins star recently seen in Non-Stop) who’s none to happy to see Wessex invaded by the northmen.
Still while the truly epic scale of conquering new lands, fighting home-grown battles, and forging and breaking alliances with kings, earls, and other significant players is both intriguing, and immensely engaging, Vikings thankfully doesn’t forget it’s the characters which actually sell a story; and not only have the supporting characters grown hugely in depth, and importance, during season two, but many of them have hugely gratifying, series-spanning, arcs which are a joy to watch, and played out perfectly thanks to writing which manages to be both grand, and still stay focussed on a smaller scale, as well as being driven by terrific performances of the actors involved.
Again key to all the series’ action, Travis Fimmel is infinitely watchable as Ragnar Lothbrok (being both strong and fierce, strangely wise for his time and culture, and also appearing just as vulnerable and emotional as needs be when the situation calls for it). Donal Logue has an increased role in season two, and certainly looks the part as King Horic whilst also behaving in a believably entitled way at times, and Thorbjørn Harr is exceptional as the manipulator Jarl Borg.
Though it’s Ragnar’s men which have not only grown the most in importance, but proved their characters not only worthy additions, but exceptionally endearing, mischievous, untrustworthy, confused, and strong where needs be; with Ragnar’s brother Rollo potentially embodying every one of those character traits in a series-long arc which is beautifully realised by both the writers, and actor Clive Standen (the Hammer of the Gods star who proves himself amazingly impressive on the battle field numerous times). Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård, The Way Back) too proves he has much more offer than simply being the strange member of the group, when temptation rears its head, and each of the women; from the strong Katheryn Winnick and weak Alyssa Sutherland, to conniving Jessalyn Gilsig (The Stepfather); have their own arcs which are essential to the main plot, and the success/failure of their men.
And special mention must be made of George Blagden (Wrath of the Titans), who returns as the former monk Athelstan, and gets the chance to return to England this season, as well as Linus Roache; who proves a fantastic addition to the cast; making King Ecbert both enigmatic, charismatic, strong, clever, and somewhat unfathomable all at the same time.
Pacing can be a little fast (in a manner not dissimilar to Hell on Wheels); as events/arcs which could’ve conceivably lasted several episodes are often introduced and resolved within a single episode; and less important characters are often remarkably similar in both nature and appearance to one another (in fact, aside from the beard, Jarl Borg and King Ecbert are far too similar to one another), but with the expanded world we’re introduced to this season (including a number of new locales), the added depth provided to many characters, solid acting, and the engaging nature of the wide-ranging plot, there’s really very little to gripe about here.
With plots spanning not only smaller, character-developing, incidents/temptations, but global conquest, betrayal, new alliances/enemies, and fighting both abroad and at home, hugely increased production values (which were already solid in the impressive debut season) evident in not only the frequency and brutality of battles, but their scale, increased sea-faring footage, and the number of props and effects used to create a believable medieval world, as well as fantastic (and seemingly far improved) writing, there’s no reason not to watch Viking Season Two; a season which has not only built upon, but vastly improved upon an already solid start in almost every way.
Picture:
Similarly to the video on the season one release, Vikings Season Two holds comes to Blu-ray with extremely strong picture quality; featuring hugely inviting, detailed, and well-lit landscapes which stand in stark opposition to the many dimly lit interior shots which thankfully feature strong delineation and solid blacks, losing practically nothing in terms of details.
Fine detail, and textures overall, are impressive, and whilst the colour palette itself isn’t hugely wide ranging (aside from the greens inherent in the landscape, most of the Vikings are clan in strikingly similar shades of brown/black) and is somewhat desaturated (intentionally) contrast is strong and stable, and fleshtones appear consistently natural across the board. Also featuring no visible compression issues or overly noticeable anomalies, means the Vikings Season Two video quality is just as impressive, and perhaps marginally better, than that of the already strong season one Blu-ray.
Audio:
Once more sporting an encompassing 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, there’s very little to grumble about in terms of sound quality here. From the pulse-pounding opening theme, through to the consistently clean, crisp, and clear dialogue which never gets lost in the fray, there’s a lot to appreciate within this broad-ranging mix. Featuring strong and weighty bass (thankfully never overplayed), effective transitions, and near constant use of the rear channels during not only the intense battle sequences, but fierce storms, and even providing subtler ambient noises in market places, the woods, or shoreline, to ensure you’re always surrounded by the sounds of the Vikings’ world, this is an engaging, all-encompassing mix, which creates a truly immersive presentation.
Extras:
As well as the return of season mode (thankfully becoming less of a special feature, and more of an expected addition on Fox’s TV boxsets), we also get audio commentaries on two separate episodes, two EPK style featurettes (My family, My Enemy, and Imagining and Executing Cinematic Battles); which contain various cast and crew interviews, and although delivering spoilers do contain interesting nuggets of behind the scenes information despite their promotional nature; and the inclusion of another history based featurette (following the trend from season one, having real-life historians explaining aspects of Viking culture) focussing on the warrior society created and inhabited by the Viking people.
Unfortunately the history-based feature (A Warrior Society: Rites of Passage) isn’t quite as interesting as the one we had on the first season’s Blu-ray, but is still a great inclusion, covers everything from birthing rituals to the importance of jewellery, and thankfully doesn’t shy away from admitting aspects of the show have been “made up” due to a lack of specific knowledge about certain rituals, and is also boosted by the addition of an “Interactive” mode delving further into historical sagas.
Though calling the final element of bonus content ‘interactive’ is a bit of a stretch, as it simply involves going to another menu and selecting from a series of extremely short clips where historians examine some of the Vikings’ most famous sagas, and the themes behind them; a worthy inclusion, but one which is perhaps a touch too short.
Overall however, despite the promotional nature of some features, the lack of depth in others, and the fact the historical featurette wasn’t quite as intriguing as the one found on last season’s Blu-ray, Vikings: The Complete Second Season still has a selection of special features which are rather impressive for a TV show, deliver a great deal of behind the scenes information on a range of topics, and even go as far as expanding your knowledge about the culture, and history, of the real-life people your watching; meaning it’s a solid collection, and one worth exploring.
The Bottom Line:
With hugely impressive visual and audio capabilities, a solid selection of special features, and a season which has not only seen the series grow in terms of budget, scale, and ambition, but writing, character development and story progression, Vikings Season Two is simply a great piece of television, and a solid Blu-ray release.
Building on an already impressive debut season, the second season of History’s Vikings, created by The Tudors’ Michael Hirst, manages to grow into Shakespearian grandeur, with themes of family, trust, betrayal, love, and war running throughout, whilst not only expanding the stage to global and home-grown conflicts, but also closing-ranks, staying smaller, and making sure every character is not only far more developed than they were previously, but given the time and importance they need to grow, and ensure the season starts, and remains, thoroughly engrossing throughout. If you’ve yet to see Vikings, but you love good TV, pick up season one, and start watching now; Season Two is a great Blu-ray release, and with such a leap in quality across the board it suggests huge potential for season three.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
