“Up unto the overturned keel, clamber with a heart of steel. Cold is the ocean spray, and your death is on its way.”—Rollo

“This is how you repay me? Everyone wanted you dead. I kept you alive. And this is how you repay my love!?!”—Ragnar

We’re so not used to seeing Ragnar this way. Addicted to drugs, making quick decisions, doubting himself. And worse, having everyone around him wondering if the great king is off his darned gourd. We’re also not used to seeing the vikings defeated so handily. Yes, Paris’ soldiers repelled Ragnar last season, but he got the last laugh with that Trojan horse move. This time around he was soundly, horribly beaten by Rollo and Count Odo, mainly because the former knows exactly what his brother has planned and can counter those moves. There’s no way Ragnar could have expected a chain would be hoisted between the forts to stop the longboat advance, but that didn’t make the situation any better. Throw in a well-placed bog to slow down Lagertha’s rear attack and a throng of French soldiers riding into he viking camp and the whole invasion was a disaster.

Floki, meanwhile, is at a crossroads. Helga was gravely injured in the camp attack but he was saved from drowning by Ragnar. Will he once again align himself with his old friend, or continue to support the rival King Harold?

As a matter of fact, the only bright spot in “The Profit and the Loss” was Ecbert being handed Mercia—and its crown—by the Prince, who was tired of battles and wanted only to present himself to the Pope as a peasant. Unwilling to hand over power to Kwenthrith, he’s just made Ecbert the most powerful man in England.

And let’s just pretend that weird scene between Floki, Aslaug and Harbard didn’t happen, OK?

Vikings airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on History.

Historical television is my jam. Band of Brothers, X Company and Vikings are three of the most recent that I love. And while, yes, some feature more drama than hard facts, there is always a ring of truth to them. That’s why I always have my laptop and Google up and running when I watch Vikings.

Thursday’s episode, “What Might Have Been,” is a prime example of a storyline packed with facts surrounded by Michael Hirst’s writing. Longtime fans of the show already know Rollo really did attack Paris and later became the first ruler of Normandy—though he didn’t have a brother named Ragnar (Ragnar is thought to be legend rather than real man)—and his grave is in the Cathedral of Rouen. Likewise, we know from viking legends Bjorn travels throughout the Mediterranean, something hinted at thanks to the map he found during last season’s siege of Paris. Hirst’s take on the tale this week featured Ragnar, Bjorn and the rest infuriated by Rollo’s betrayal. It will be interesting to see what happens next week when we see the new French forts in action. Will the vikings have a much trouble as Rollo promised Emperor Charles, or will they simply pull up to shore and fight on land?

Meanwhile, Hirst is advancing to stories of two young men who make an impact on real history. King Ecbert’s belief that Alfred is destined to do great things was a slyly-written line because the young boy becomes history’s Alfred the Great. He did travel to Rome to meet the Pope when he was four years old, though there’s no record Aethelwulf accompanied him. (Historical records show Alfred had, unlike on Vikings, three brothers.) On the viking side, we have Ivar the Boneless. Last week, Ivar hacked open a kid’s skull, showing his violent side; on Thursday Harbard re-appeared (he certainly knows when Ragnar isn’t around, doesn’t he?) to educate the lad in … well, we don’t know.

What we do know is that when these two become men they’ll do battle with one another. In 868, Alfred fights Ivar’s army, which was trying to take over Mercia; this was the first of nine skirmishes between Alfred and Ivar. These two, coupled with Bjorn’s upcoming adventures, means there are plenty of stories to tell as long as Vikings continues to be renewed. It also means the show would go on without Ragnar, something that’s been hinted at several times this season. Addicted to a drug Yidu is making for him—likely opium—Ragnar’s body is breaking down and he no longer has the thirst for blood and power that drove him to attack England and Paris. And it may very well be this latest assault on Paris that kills him; one legend says cholera and wounds sustained fighting in Paris claims his life while the other account states King Aelle (who has aligned with Ecbert this season) throws him into a pit of snakes.

Vikings airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on History.

I’ve missed Athelstan, so it was great to see Ragnar’s Christian buddy show up in Thursday’s new episode. Yes, after being teased for weeks, Bjorn finally had his bloody showdown with the grizzly bear, but that bloody battle actually took a back seat (for me at least) to Athelstan’s guest appearance.

The episode’s title, “Mercy,” was the singular word Athelstan spoke to Ragnar, who took it as a sign he should release Floki from his cave trussing. The late monk appeared to King Ecbert too, in the chamber where Judith’s teachings have taken place. Both Ragnar and Ecbert pleaded for Athelstan to stay with them, but he quickly disappeared. The thing I love about Vikings is Michael Hirst’s ability to successfully interweave scenes of intense emotion with those of chaotic battle or violence. Athelstan’s visit came on the heels of Bjorn’s triumph over the bear, an awful affair that included claws, knives and a well-timed axe.

Bjorn, after skinning the beast, dove into the frigid lake water and emerged, screaming. The symbolism couldn’t have been more obvious: Bjorn plunged into the water a boy and emerged a man. (Did anyone else feel badly for the bear? I know it didn’t really die, but still…) Bjorn’s triumph over the bear should prepare him for his next challenge: surviving an assassination attempt by the berserker Kalf and Erlendur have hired.

Aethelwulf, meanwhile, was proving his own worth. He successfully delivered Kwenthrith and Magnus to the safe haven of Wessex and was rewarded for his troubles by a roll in the hay with Kwenthrith. Little does Aethelwulf know his father is sleeping with his wife. That’s going to make family meals an awkward affair, no?

As for Rollo, he’s still trying to figure out where he fits in in Paris. As he was in Season 1, Rollo is pretty much a laughingstock in France, unable to communicate and unable to win over Gisla. Pair her divorce demand with that priest calling him a savage, and Rollo’s having a pretty crap time in the City of Light. The thing is, you can never count the big man out. (And seeing as history documents a viking dude named Rollo being part of the Paris upper class, we know things are going to work out eventually.)

What did you think of Thursday’s new episode? How will Floki react when Ragnar tells him he’s free because of Athelstan? Let me know in the comments or via Twitter.

Vikings airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.