Trama

After facing defeat on the river, Ragnar refuses to retreat, prompting him to change his methods of attacking Paris. Count Odo's plot against Charles and Rollo backfires. Ecbert now rules Mercia, which dissatisfies Kwenthrith.

After being defeated by Rollo, Ragnar retreats and his leadership is questioned by Harold to Lagherta. However he stops the fleet and decides to lift the ships over a cliff to bypass the French forts by land and then return to the river to attack Paris. But his true intention is to kill Rollo and he asks Yidu for more drugs. They have an argument and Yidu threatens to expose his secret about the settlement in Wessex and he drowns her. In Paris, Count Odo tells Charles hat Rollo is not trustworthy and then he meets Therese. She asks to chain him and then Roland kills Odo. Rollo is promoted by Emperor Charles to Iron Hand of Frankia. Ecbert informs Kwenthrith that he is now the new King of Mercia and she decides to stab him during the night. Will she succeed?—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ragnar needs days of 'recuperation' and Yidu's opiate 'medicine' to recover from the blow Rollo's masterly Seine defense administered the Viking fleet, which he ordered to retreat when Bjorn urged to act. Then Ragnar instructs Floki to engineer a matching surprise: at high cliffs, the drakars are hoisted onto the cliffs and dragged over land past the Frankish forts and river chain, regaining the admiration of Harald and Halfdan. Having dispatched his offspring on pilgrimage to Rome, king Ecbert meets with the Mercian prince W. and strikes a historical deal: the 'regency council' is disposed of, forced to sign over the crown, not back to mad Kwenthrith but merged into the kingdom of Wessex, now utterly dominant in England. In Paris, count Odo pleads for the emperor to dispose of 'superfluous, unreliable' Rollo, who warns the Ragnar threat is far from over. Odo is lured by his SM mistress Therese into a trap, getting whipped and killed by his ambitious rival, Roland. In Kattegat, adulterous queen Anslaug gets insanely jealous with wandering bard-lover Harbard, who 'helps' sexually frustrated Viking girls even simultaneously.—KGF Vissers

The Vikings retreat and Ragnar's leadership is questioned by Harald. Bjorn tells Ragnar that the retreat weakens him in every way.

Ragnar tells Bjorn to land near a cliff and reveals a new plan: they will lift the ships up the straight cliff, take the ships overland, behind the Frankish forts and then slide then back into the river upstream. Ragnar looks at Floki to build the equipment needed to lift and shift the boats. Floki builds a large pulley system to lift the boats and massive wooden tracks to shift the boats across the mountains. Harald lauds Ragnar's leadership and says that he severely underestimated his ingenuity.

In Paris, Odo tells Charles they should not trust Rollo, and Roland agrees. Odo says that Rollo wanted revenge against Ragnar, and now that the objective has been met, he might revert back to his natural instincts. Odo argues that Rollo's conversion to Christianity is a joke. He further argues that Gisla is young, and she still has the prospect of a more civilized marriage. Odo asks Charles to act before Rollo has a chance to escape and raise an army against the Franks.

Gisla reveals that she carries Rollo's child. Rollo tells Charles that Ragnar is not defeated yet and that Paris should not make the mistake to assume that Ragnar is gone. Charles realizes that he still needs Rollo as leverage against Ragnar.

Odo meets Therese, but she and Roland betray and execute him. Charles later reveals to court that Odo was executed on his orders. Rollo is awarded the Iron Hand of Frankia.

In Wessex, Ecbert returns after victory over Mercia. Kwenthrith informs Ecbert that she is carrying Aethelwulf's child. Ecbert tells Kwenthrith she is no longer Queen. Ecbert produces signed legal paperwork from the ruling council, from Wigstan and from the remaining members of the Royal family recognizing Kwenthrith's abdication of the throne and his accession to it. Kwenthrith realizes that Ecbert is a monster.

Meanwhile, in Kattegat, Aslaug sees Harbard with other women and is jealous. She confronts him, and he leaves. Harbard claims that he only sleeps with those women who need him and that everything he does is holy. Aslaug laments that she broke her life for Harbard and adds that she does not know if he is really a God.

In France, Ragnar asks Yidu for more drugs, but she denies him. They argue and she threatens him with revealing his Wessex secret. Ragnar drowns her in a fit of rage. This is witnessed by his sons.

Kwenthrith tries to enrage Judith by saying that she carries Aethelwulf's child, but she already knew and forgives her. Kwenthrith demands Judith's help and says that Ecbert has betrayed her by installing himself as the King of Mercia. Kwenthrith says that she needs Judith's help to escape Wessex. Judith talks to Ecbert who says that nobody was willing to accept Kwenthrith as Queen, and so he had no choice in the matter. Ecbert says that he loves Judith.

Kwenthrith tries to escape on her own with Magnus but is captured by Ecbert's soldiers. Ecbert says that Magnus is his insurance against Ragnar, and he cannot allow him to leave. In Wessex, Kwenthrith sneaks into Ecbert's bed and threatens to kill him but is then killed by Judith.