Vikings season 2: cast and episode overview
Season 2 contains 10 story episodes, from Brother's War to The Lord's Prayer.
Key roles in this season’s story include Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), Athelstan (George Blagden), Rollo (Clive Standen) and Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick). The full selection below connects characters with performers and their biographies.
Reference: HISTORY season guide.
What is season 2 about?
Ragnar's rising status makes alliances more valuable and less trustworthy. Lagertha leaves after Aslaug's arrival, while the English storyline brings Ecbert into focus. Settlement becomes a goal alongside raiding, and a contest over loyalty determines who survives the season.
- Story episodes
- 10
- Start here
- Brother's War
- Season finale
- The Lord's Prayer
The episode list below follows the original story order.
The turning points
- Lagertha departs with Bjorn.
- Ivar is born.
- Ragnar defeats Horik and becomes king.
Character arcs
- Rollo's betrayal is followed by reconciliation rather than simple erasure.
- Jarl Borg's attack on Kattegat makes Lagertha's military independence decisive.
- Athelstan's experience in Wessex gives cultural translation a political role.
- Horik's plot turns apparent disloyalty into the season's final test.
Themes running through the season
- Broken marriages and chosen alliances
- Land versus plunder
- Mercy as a political calculation
Vikings season 2 cast and characters
Start with these key roles from the season. Follow a performer for their biography and other screen work, or a character for their story. This selection follows the episode guides and is not a complete credits list.
| Character | Played by |
|---|---|
| Ragnar Lothbrok | Travis Fimmel |
| Athelstan | George Blagden |
| Rollo | Clive Standen |
| Lagertha | Katheryn Winnick |
| Bjorn Ironside | Alexander Ludwig · Nathan O'Toole |
| Floki | Gustaf Skarsgård |
The season’s story map
Explore these places on the interactive world map.
Kattegat
The series’ home port and center of family and political power.
Wessex
The English kingdom where land, alliances and royal authority intersect.
Hedeby
A center of authority in Lagertha’s political story.
England
The wider setting of the Saxon kingdoms and Norse campaigns.
Story settings differ from production locations. Explore where Vikings was filmed.
Every season 2 episode, in order
Brother's War
Rollo's betrayal reaches the battlefield, while Aslaug's arrival forces a decision about Ragnar and Lagertha's marriage.
Read episode guide
Invasion
Four years later, a renewed English expedition reaches Wessex as Ragnar's household and alliances take new forms.
Read episode guide
Treachery
Ragnar sees agricultural possibility in Wessex while Borg exploits the absence of Kattegat's fighting force.
Read episode guide
Eye for an Eye
News from Kattegat interrupts Ragnar's meeting with Ecbert; Athelstan remains in England and faces a religious reckoning.
Read episode guide
Answers in Blood
Ragnar and Lagertha work together to retake Kattegat while Athelstan's place at Ecbert's court develops.
Read episode guide
Unforgiven
Horik proposes renewing ties with Borg, while Lagertha confronts Sigvard and Athelstan becomes valuable to Ecbert.
Read episode guide
Blood Eagle
Ragnar and Horik dispute Borg's fate as Lagertha returns in a position of independent authority.
Read episode guide
Boneless
Ivar is born, and a renewed voyage to Wessex exposes sharp disagreement between Ragnar and Horik.
Read episode guide
The Choice
Ecbert defeats the Norse force, then offers an arrangement based on land and military service rather than destruction.
Read episode guide
The Lord's Prayer
Horik moves against Ragnar's household, only to discover that the loyalties he counted on were misleading.
Read episode guideWhat to notice on a rewatch
- Separate the audience's knowledge from what Horik thinks he knows.
- Follow Lagertha's authority beyond her relationship with Ragnar.
- Notice how Ecbert treats religion and Roman knowledge as instruments of rule.