["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
[Drums beating]
[Birds squawking]
[Indistinct shouting]
Jarl thorkell.
- [Thorkell] King olaf. - Greetings.
- Welcome. - I was surprised
to receive your summons.
Is it really true
that you want us all to vote for a king of all Norway?
If it wasn't true,
I wouldn't have wasted your time by summoning you here.
You are asking us all to renounce
that which is most dear and precious to us...
Our power.
Oh, thorkell,
your power resides in your prestige,
in the willingness of your warriors to fight
and die for you.
That will not change.
All I am asking, that there should be an overlord,
to whom we could all owe our allegiance.
A king of all Norway who will defend us
from all external forces.
That is my dream.
Surely, that's not too much to ask, is it?
[Goat bleats]
[Shield-maidens trilling]
[Horses neighing]
[Lagertha] Thank the gods.
You're here.
But why?
I had a dream, lagertha.
And in my dream, your village was attacked.
So, I wanted to be with you.
You and torvi's children.
I was afraid that something had happened.
Hali is dead.
[Sighs]
It was my fault.
I did not protect him.
I failed.
He's buried not far from a village which he tried to protect.
With all the others who also died in the raid.
So it's true?
Your dream? Yes. We were attacked by bandits.
The same bandits that bjorn branded and released.
Then perhaps bjorn made a mistake?
He should never have released them.
Don't talk of mistakes! We all make mistakes,
sometimes for bad reasons and sometimes for good ones.
In any case,
it is not important anymore.
What's important is that I am certain,
since they did not manage to steal our grain,
that they will attack again soon.
It is a good thing that we are here.
We have to make plans.
Even with your shield-maidens,
I'm not sure we can resist white hair and his bandits,
not a second time.
Those are not words I ever expected to hear from lagertha,
the famous shield-maiden.
Perhaps that lagertha is already dead.
I buried her myself.
Then I had to dig her up again.
But she is not the same.
She can never be the same.
[Shield-maidens trilling]
[Chuckles softly]
[Metal screeching]
[Men grunting]
[Hvitserk] Come here! Come on! Uaughs]
Yes, yes! Come on!
Push!
Push and push and push! Here!
Come on! Help me out! Come on!
Come on, guys! Come on! Go on! Help me!
Come on! Come on! Help me!
Yes! Well done! You! You push! You! You push!
Push! Come on!
Push! Come on, help push!
Hvitserk! What is this?
This is one of the iron gates that ivar made to protect the town.
But what do you want it for?
I need it for my own protection.
It's the only way to keep out the ghosts.
[Grunts]
Go on! Push it! Come on!
Come on! Yes! Go on!
[Trills]
[Chuckles]
[Woman] Inge has them.
Come, inge. Come. Bring some more!
[Man] Who did this?
[Laughs]
Gunnhild.
[Woman] Yeah. Keep going. Yeah. One more.
Bring it over here.
[Both grunt]
[Woman] Good, huh? It's finished. Next one.
[Trilling]
They won't expect this.
But who knows if it's enough?
Have you heard anything from bjorn?
I know he will return.
Yes.
Look.
[Woman talking indistinctly]
Aw. Oh.
[Kisses and grunts]
[Chuckles softly]
Poor Asa.
[Woman] Smells good.
I cannot wait for that.
I was so thirsty. Yes.
Too much.
It will be. Worth the wait.
Who does she think she is?
Of course. It's a long way.
What is it that you see?
I see myself, lagertha.
That's how I was, all those years ago.
That's how we all were.
Now it's like seeing ghosts.
[Laughing]
For some reason, I want to weep.
But for as much joy to see myself again.
Come. Join our feast.
We will be shield-maidens together.
Yes!
[Shield-maidens trilling]
[Trills]
Skol!
[All] Skol!
[Uoudthud]
[Whimpering]
[Uoudthud]
[Panting]
[Uoudthud]
[Metal creaking, thuds]
Go away! Leave me alone! Go away!
[Wheezes in fear]
[Crying and whimpering]
[Thora] Look at me, hvitserk.
Go away! Go away!
Ivar did this to me.
Look at me!
Don't be afraid.
Why have you come back here?
Why do you want to haunt me?
I want revenge.
The only person who can avenge my death, hvitserk, is you.
Tell me. Tell me how.
You have to kill ivar.
Ivar killed me.
He killed my family.
You will do it, won't you?
You will avenge me?
- Yes. - Promise.
Swear on your sacred arm ring.
I swear.
[Panting]
I swear. I swear.
I told you, I swear!
- [Indistinct chatter] - [Horn bellowing]
[Men laughing]
- [Grunts] - [People cheer]
I, uh... I would like to propose a toast...
To bjorn Ironside.
This is our first meeting,
but over the years I've heard all about your exploits
from the wanderers and poets in my great hall.
It's a great honor to meet you in person at last.
Skol.
- Skol. - Skol.
You are too kind.
But I too have heard stories of thorkell the tall
and his brothers herring and Earl sigvald.
In a country such as ours, as small as ours,
fame spreads easily.
So they say, bjorn Ironside.
So, the plan is for all of us to appoint you as king?
Elect him as king, elect.
That is our way.
In which case, king olaf, I insist that it must be a real election.
And that anyone else, be he a king, or even a simple jar! Like me,
can also stand, if they wish.
[Sighs] In principle, yes.
But you know how we Norwegians are.
You give them a chance to quarrel and to fight,
and then they will quarrel and fight.
Still, jarl thorkell has a point.
Yes. And I agree with him.
Personally, I would never want to be made king in an uncontested election.
I have no desire to wear a hollow crown.
As you wish, bjorn Ironside.
As you wish.
- [People shouting] - [Grunting]
[People cheering]
Bjorn Ironside.
Jar! Hrolf.
[Kisses]
Welcome.
I hope we have the opportunity to talk.
I hope so too, bjorn Ironside.
Really, I do.
Ah, king hakon!
[Hakon] Bjorn Ironside.
You don't know this,
but I fought beside you and your father at the gates of Paris.
Ah! [Chuckles]
I was a young man then,
and I still had a right hand.
Yeah, what happened to your hand?
In a sea battle against him...
Thorkell the tall.
I was boarding his ship.
The deck was slippery.
I put out my hand to steady myself,
and somebody took the opportunity to remove it.
[Chuckles]
But now it seems we never have to fight again.
Not against each other.
Why fight our own countrymen?
It's what we've always done.
That doesn't make it right or sensible.
The fact is, we need to unify Norway
to withstand possible attacks from our larger neighbors,
like Sweden or Denmark.
I agree, it does make some sort of sense.
And to have a figurehead like you, bjorn Ironside, huh?
Son of ragnar,
who is known and respected throughout our viking world.
Makes even more sense, I have to say.
You have my vote,
bjorn Ironside.
[Kisses]
Two more ships have just arrived.
Who knew there were so many kings and earls in Norway?
It seems that they... They grow on trees.
Yes. Let me greet the newcomers.
I can explain our purpose as well as you do.
Thank you, my friend.
[Horses neighing]
[Men shouting indistinctly]
My prince.
I'm sure you can hear me.
But you are probably counting all the furrows
in the lands and the clouds in the sky that belong to you.
But I want to talk of something else.
I want to ask you if you would like to play a trick on poor dir.
[Igor] What kind of trick, my dear boneless?
Something that will amuse you, I hope.
I like to be amused.
Is it a magic trick?
I like magic tricks.
Yes. It's a magic trick.
What do you say?
Would you like to help me do it?
What are we going to do, my fellow king?
[Chuckles softly]
Guards.
Don't just stand there gawking.
Let's see what she's up to.
[Guard] Who is she?
Help me.
[Grunting]
[Man shouting indistinctly]
- Guards! - [Man] Guards!
[Men shouting indistinctly]
[Grunts]
[Alarm bell clinging]
[Guards clamoring]
- Take him! Take him. - Dir!
[Dir panting]
This is not the last time, ivar lothbrok.
We shall meet again soon.
But for now, good night.
Good night.
[Horse neighs]
[Panting]
Did we really do that?
[Laughing]
[Oleg] I want to show you these.
I know you cannot read them, but let me explain what they are.
These are legal documents,
giving the rus ancient legal title to our Scandinavian homelands.
So that our invasion has legitimate cause?
No. They are forgeries, of course.
But a forged title, my friend, is better than no title at all.
- [Man speaks indistinctly] - Oh, our food.
Who are these?
The guards who allowed my brother to escape.
We tortured them, of course.
What did they say?
They said...
They were deliberately distracted by a naked woman and left their posts.
They saw nothing else.
And now they never will.
I suppose you know nothing about dir's escape, do you?
Igor?
You understand that with dir free, you are in more danger
of being kidnapped than ever?
Now I have a more pleasant duty.
I am to be married again.
I want to introduce you to my intended bride.
This is Princess Katia.
My dear Katia, may I present to you my cousin and ward, prince Igor.
[Katia] Prince. [Kisses]
[Ivar gasps softly]
And this is the viking king I told you about.
This is ivar.
The famous ivar the boneless.
Princess.
King ivar.
Let's eat.
[Whispers] You look as though you have seen a ghost.
Believe me, I have.
[Oleg] Leave us.
Please, enjoy your food.
[Lagertha] Make sure it's tight.
It has been a while, lagertha.
Perhaps they are not coming back after all?
I hope you're right.
But you don't believe it.
I think they will come.
[Exhales sharply]
[Indistinct chatter]
I want to consider it. Yes, we'll talk.
Yes. King hakon. Speaking of a warrior. Welcome.
Good to see you here.
Jar! Hrolf.
Good to see you.
[Man shouts indistinctly]
[Man] The gate!
[Man 1] Move along! Move along! Move along!
Move along. Move along.
[Man 2] Hurry up. Hurry. Hurry up. Hurry up!
Go! Go!
[People cheer]
Princess.
[Exhales heavily]
I've been waiting for the opportunity to talk to you privately.
Surely you understand why I need to talk to you.
Oleg is playing games with me.
And why do you say so, ivar the boneless?
You are freydis.
Freydis?
I don't understand.
Neither do I.
But it is true. And you and I...
Were once married.
Were we really?
And what happened to us?
[Indistinct chatter]
Give me.
How do you pay?
You have not paid for days.
I do not give for free.
[Voice shaking] Give me.
[Hvitserk breathing heavily]
Come on.
You must pay.
Later.
I'll ask my brother, ubbe.
You know ubbe, right? You trust him?
- Yes. - Good.
But I don't trust you.
So, I give you nothing.
Ale. And mushrooms. Now.
[Grunts]
I'll take that.
Then you get nothing.
Only to suffer.
Come on.
More. More.
[Grunts]
[Seer] If you came this way,
taking any route,
starting from anywhere,
at any time or at any season,
it would always be the same.
Is that really you?
Could that be you, o wise one?
[Seer] We are anyway where we are supposed to be.
I'm not supposed to be here.
Not now, not here.
I had things to do. I had things to do.
Perhaps what you thought you came here for is only a shell,
a husk of meaning from which the purpose breaks
only when it is fulfilled, if at all.
Either you had no purpose,
or the purpose is beyond the end you figured.
[Groans] I have a purpose. It's just...
At this time, at this place, I... I tend to forget. I tend to forget.
[Sniffles]
[Seer] Do not weep, hvitserk, son of ragnar.
There are other places also at the world's end,
some at the sea jaws,
or over a dark lake, in a desert or city.
You're driving me mad!
[Seer] I drive you mad, if it makes any difference,
because you are not yet fit for your purpose.
Your life resembles death.
I am dead!
[Seer] No. Let me repeat, so you can understand.
Either you had no purpose,
or the purpose is beyond the end you figured.
Altered in fulfillment.
Altered in fulfillment, hvitserk.
Altered in fulfillment.
Altered in fulfillment?
[Gasping]
Altered in fulfillment?
[Woman coughs]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Horn bellowing]
[Ketill] An amazing sight, king olaf.
[King olaf] So it should be.
For this is an amazing occasion.
Never before have we voted for a king of all Norway.
It's been a dream of many.
Now... now, brought to fruition.
I hope that things will proceed smoothly.
Do you know any reason why it should not?
[People shouting, cheering]
[Drums beating rapidly]
Bjorn.
[Staffjingles, thuds]
What?
Nothing.
But may the gods be with you.
[Breathes deeply]
Today is an extraordinary
and a unique day
in the history and saga of our country.
Never before have our rulers
willingly gathered together
to elect one of their numbers as king of kings.
King of all Norway!
Many have said that such a thing is impossible.
That our rulers have never been able
to see beyond their own self-interest.
Yet now, with your own eyes,
you will see the impossible begin to happen!
When all our votes are cast into the sea,
we will know the identity of the man
always fated to be the king of all Norway!
Each of these runes represents an ear! Or a king.
You shall know them by their color.
For example,
Earl thorkell is represented by a blue rune.
King hakon by a green.
Bjorn Ironside by a red.
King Harald by a yellow.
It falls to me to cast the first vote.
I vote...
For bjorn Ironside...
As king...
Of all Norway!
- [Drums beating] - [People cheering]
You are waiting for someone to return?
- Yes. - Your lover?
Did he go with bjorn?
Yes.
I know how you are feeling.
You can't.
You're the wife of ubbe, and I am a servant.
Even if bjorn survives...
Bjorn?
You are in love with bjorn?
Then, believe me, I do know.
I stared out to sea and waited for bjorn many times.
And each time he came back, he was always further away.
It will be different with me.
Yes.
And I...
Will also vote for bjorn Ironside to be king of all Norway.
[People cheering]
[Ubbe] Go on.
[Man] We were traveling along the silk road.
We had gone many rast and talked to many traders from different countries,
when we came to the kingdom of rus.
I have heard of it. It was founded by rus vikings.
[Man] Yes. Some of them could still speak our language.
We were invited into one of their principal towns, called novgorod.
Novgorod is a rich place,
for these rus are very successful warriors, hunters, and traders.
And they were anxious to do deals with us,
for they said that we have many things which they wanted.
[Torvi] But I don't understand.
If you were so successful, then why did you come back so early?
Surely your mission is not yet concluded.
[Man] No.
But we all felt that someone should return here at once.
To report your success?
[Man] No. To report something else.
For while we were in novgorod,
we learned that someone else was staying with the rus.
Indeed, living at the palace
in another town called Kiev with their leader, prince Oleg.
Ivar?
[Man] Yes.
They told us that king ivar the boneless,
son of ragnar lothbrok, was their guest.
You have done well to bring us this news.
I am not surprised to hear that my little brother is still alive.
[Arms clasp]
Go, and drink.
Thank you, ubbe.
[Torvi] What did you see?
You must tell hvitserk.
For better or worse, he needs to know.
Hvitserk!
[Ivar's voice] I'm here, brother!
[Whimpering loudly]
[Water splashing]
[Whimpering]
[Ivar's voice] Is it true? Did you jump ship to be near me?
[Shuddering]
[Ivar's voice] Not because you loved me...
[Wood cracking]
[Whimpers]
But because you needed to be close enough to kill me?
[Wood cracking]
[Whimpers]
[Gasping]
[Snake rattle hissing]
[Laughing]
[Music playing]