"When you losE A KID, that's the biggest issue. My character thought it was a sign from the gods that we lost the baby. Ragnar's all about his legacy — he wants as many kids as he can get, and he wants them to be proud of him and follow in his footsteps. He thought he was doing the right thing, but he still hated himself for doing it." — Travis Fimmel on Ragnar's infidelity in Season 1

"She always has been and always will be in love with Ragnar, [but] it's hard for her. Her sense of identity is tested, and it will be interesting to see how these circumstances make her a different person, especially since her whole life has been attached to Ragnar. There are a lot of personal struggles." — Katheryn Winnick on Lagertha's marriage to Ragnar

"The brothers are two sides to the same coin. Ragnar's like a tornado; whereas Rollo's like a volcano — he's volatile; he could erupt at any time. So the question is, 'What happens when a tornado meets a volcano?' It comes to a point where Rollo can’t be in Ragnar's shadow anymore. There's only one choice to make in his eyes, but it's going to have a detrimental effect on many characters." — Clive Standen on fraternal friction in Season 2

"These guys have all this hope and ambition, so their relationship to love is different. Siggy doesn't believe in romantic love anymore. Relationships are opportunities [to her]. She loves Rollo … but she's not going to make herself vulnerable the way the younger generation of Lothbroks do. It's kind of sad because everybody else has passion. She stays in control of her emotions." — Jessalyn Gilsig on Siggy's continuing struggles in Season 2

"He's an incredible character to play! He's so fun to play because the freer I am with the character, the better it gets — because he is a free spirit. I like the old 'guy-liner.' They actually did use black eyeliner in those days, so we took that and went a bit further." — Gustaf Skarsgård on playing Floki

"All of the characters
in Season 2 have really difficult choices to make. I'd be quite disappointed if it was very easy for Athelstan to become completely Viking. I'm glad Michael [Hirst] has taken the writing where Athelstan has to make some really tough choices." — George Blagden on Athelstan's changing role in Season 2

"This is a story about adventures and battles, but it's also about family and family life. It's important to me as a writer to embed the audience in the family life of the characters, that the audience gets to know and care about Ragnar's children. This show is about reality. It's not a documentary, but it's about real things that actually happened. And it's about real people and human emotional states." — Michael Hirst on what makes Vikings such a compelling show

"We have the opportunity to bring interest to the subject of history. While we're making a fictional story, the authenticity is there. The research is there in the costumes, the boat building. Bringing the interest in the subject of history to a new generation of people is an exciting thing." — Dirk Hoogstra on the show's historical basis