Vikings (History Channel)

Thanks to Roku and Amazon Prime, I have been able to catch up with every episode of “Vikings,” the gory historical series about the Northmen as they went about their plundering ways in what are now England and France.

My Facebook friends had posted about the show, and although I’d been eager to watch it, the scheduling prevented it.

It’s a gutty series (literally), with well-developed characters that include a host of unfaithful spouses; one loses track of how many lovers the warriors and women have taken. Still, it apparently is how the Viking society functioned.

Ragnar Lothbrok was a real-life Dane who ruled in the 9^th Century. His sons—Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside, Halfdan Ragnarsson, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and Ubba—became legendary figures in themselves. Ragnar was married to Lagertha (three times), Aslaug, and Þóra Borgarhjǫrtr.

The second half of Season 4, it’s been announced, will debut later this year. According to the History Channel series creator Michael Hirst, Season 4 Part 2 will focus on why King Ragnar returnd, after his self-imposed banishment following his stinging defeat at the hands of brother Rollo and the Parisians of Frankia.

You will remember that the final episode of Season 4 Part 1 began with a 10-year leap forward in time. It’s then that we met his sons by Aslaug, grown up and apparently ready to prove their worth in the season(s) to come.

Spoiler: Ragnar and his former wife, Lagertha, will get back together again.