Vikings

Fimmel, Katheryn Winnick and the rest of the cast remain, like the show, better than the material probably needs to be a commercial success, and thus strong enough that Vikings remains a genuine pleasure rather than a guilty one.

The indomitable Ragnar (played with great intensity by Aussie Travis Fimmel) is now an earl and finds that politics can be more treacherous than hand-to-hand combat.

Vikings exceeds expectations, so long as those expectations aren’t up in “Game of Thrones” territory. What could be a silly exercise in quasi-historical swordplay is instead an earnest, tightly told family drama.

Parlaying its success into a deeper cast, and thrusting ahead in its storytelling with the lusty abandon of a Scandinavian raider, the scripted drama takes big chances in the four episodes previewed, and most pay off.

As it did last season, the show thoughtfully explores ideas about how belief systems spread and what people do when confronted with gods--or a God--that makes little sense to them.

While the storytelling is generally riveting, Hirst and his team occasionally drop a few stinkers in the dialogue. The exceptional cast—which also includes Katheryn Winnick as Ragner's wife, Lagertha—is able to rise above those bombs. It's their distinctive portrayals that, for me, bring this Dark Ages tale to life.

Favored storylines get sufficient weight and heft, but balancing its disparate narratives has never been Vikings’ strong suit, and though it feels as though there’s a definite endgame in mind, the middle can occasionally be rough going. Still, with a cast as game as ever and plenty of plot to slash through, this year’s Vikings promises a sometimes-messy season as swiftly entertaining as the last.

Vikings has a primitive grandeur, with generous helpings of sex and savagery. Missing Spartacus this winter? Give these warriors a look.

It’s entertaining enough, filled with battles and occasionally interesting character turns and cultural twists (particularly when the priest joins a raid on a church), but it’s not essential quality TV viewing along the lines of “Mad Men,” “The Good Wife,” “Game of Thrones,” etc.