In the final two episodes of Season 2, Ragnar’s hopes of securing land in Wessex collide with King Horik’s hunger for revenge. As the Vikings advance towards King Ecbert’s villa, they walk straight into a carefully prepared Saxon response. The resulting battle is brutal, leaving Rollo gravely wounded and forcing Ragnar to reconsider what victory should really mean. While Horik still dreams of plunder and vengeance, Ragnar begins to see a different future: Farmland for his people, an alliance with Ecbert and the possibility of using Viking strength in the struggle for Mercia. Back in Kattegat, however, the most dangerous battle is no longer being fought with Saxons. Horik becomes convinced that Ragnar has grown too powerful and secretly prepares to destroy him and his entire family. Floki appears to turn against Ragnar, Siggy is drawn into Horik’s plans and every friendship suddenly becomes suspect. But beneath the deception, Ragnar is quietly testing the loyalty of those closest to him. What follows is a tense and violent reckoning in which betrayal is answered with betrayal, old alliances are shattered and Ragnar’s rise reaches a decisive new stage.
In the final three episodes of Season 1, Ragnar's ambition drives him toward his boldest gamble yet as a daring raid strikes at the heart of one of England's most powerful kingdoms. While victory promises unimaginable wealth and lasting fame, every decision carries devastating consequences, forcing alliances to shift and loyalties to be tested in ways no one expects. As the Vikings make their sacred pilgrimage to Uppsala, faith, sacrifice, and destiny collide in an unforgettable journey that changes the lives of Ragnar, Lagertha, and Athelstan forever. Political intrigue soon follows when Ragnar is sent to negotiate with the dangerous Jarl Borg, where diplomacy hangs by a thread and a single mistake could ignite a brutal conflict. Filled with epic battles, emotional turning points, and unforgettable characters, these episodes deliver a gripping conclusion that leaves you eager for the next season.
Join us on an unforgettable voyage through one of the most desolate periods in human history as the rulers, conflicts, and cataclysmic societal breakdown of Early Middle Ages are brought to light. At its height in the second century A.D., the Roman Empire was the beacon of learning, trade, power and prosperity in the western world. But the once-powerful Rome--rotten to the core by the fifth century--lay open to barbarian warriors who came in wave after wave of invasion, slaughtering, stealing, and ultimately, settling. As chaos replaced culture, Europe was beset by famine, plague, persecutions, and a state of war that was so persistent it was only rarely interrupted by peace. The documentary profiles those who battled to shape the future, from the warlords whose armies threatened to case the demise of European society, like Alaric, Charles the Hammer, and Clovis; to the men and women who valiantly tended the flames of justice, knowledge, and innovation including Charlemagne, St. Benedict, Empress Theodora, and other brave souls who fought for peace and enlightenment. It was in the shadows of this turbulent millennium that the seeds of modern civilization were sown.
From a 2,400-year-old corpse in remarkable condition to how shrunken heads are made, these 15 ancient secrets will have you completely riveted. The Vesuvius eruption may have been a gradual process. It took a storm to lift the cover on this ancient Roman city. The people of Pompeii often resorted to vigilante justice. How the wealthy of Pompeii protected their valuables? Was this pre-Viking gathering a prelude to a massacre? The valuable commodity behind King Solomon's wealth. This valuable Viking grave is missing something important. Is this where humanity decided to settle down? This mysterious stone structure is older than Stonehenge. This 2,400 year old corpse is in remarkable condition. Here's exactly how shrunken heads are made. DNA analysis reveals troubling news about shrunken heads. This mass grave discovery could alter Roman history. Gladiator teeth reveal signs of infant malnourishment. Evidence suggests Stonehenge was an elite cemetery.
Professor Brian Cox fulfils a childhood dream by going behind the scenes at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), mission control for Mars 2020 – one of the most ambitious missions ever launched that may finally reveal if life ever existed on the red planet. In 1980, a young Brian Cox wrote to JPL asking for photos from some of their missions to the planets. The pictures they sent him from Voyager and the Viking mission to Mars were a source of inspiration that set him on the path to becoming a physicist. Now, over 40 years later, he has been granted privileged access to JPL, including key mission areas that are usually off-limits to film crews. Brian spends a week following the team who guide the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter - the first powered aircraft ever sent to another planet - across the surface of Mars during a critical stage of the mission. Perseverance’s goal is to search for signs of long extinct life on the surface of Mars in an area called Jezero Crater, which, 3.8 billion years ago, was filled by a vast lake. If it finds evidence of that life, it could change everything we know about life in the universe - and even transform our understanding of our own origins.
Dan Snow uncovers the lost Vikings in America with space archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak. Sarah uses satellites 383 miles above the earth to spot ruins as small as 30cm buried beneath the surface. As Sarah searches for Viking sites from Britain to America, Dan explores how they voyaged thousands of miles when most ships never left the shoreline. He also tracks their expansion west, first as raiders and then as settlers and traders throughout Britain and beyond to Iceland and Greenland. In North America they excavate what could be the most westerly Viking settlement ever discovered.
Back in Kattegat, however, the most dangerous battle is no longer being fought with Saxons. Horik becomes convinced that Ragnar has grown too powerful and secretly prepares to destroy him and his entire family. Floki appears to turn against Ragnar, Siggy is drawn into Horik’s plans and every friendship suddenly becomes suspect. But beneath the deception, Ragnar is quietly testing the loyalty of those closest to him. What follows is a tense and violent reckoning in which betrayal is answered with betrayal, old alliances are shattered and Ragnar’s rise reaches a decisive new stage.