History Channel's Vikings Season 2 is set to be even wilder that the year before. Online spoilers have revealed that tonight Bjorn will meet a slave girl, who has possibly been raped, played by Gaia Weiss, and the two will become some sort of couple, despite or because of her being property. The epic plot twists and brutal battle sequences have catapulted the network's first fictional series into popularity, prompting History to renew the show for at least one more season.
We've already seen in this series justhow harsh slavery could be in the Vikings world, with the physical and mental torture of Athelstan played by George Blagden.
But poor Athelstan has had a charmed life, compared to the show's new slave girl character Porunn.
The actress who plays Porunn, Gaia Weiss, told BuffFocus that though she's still very young, her character has been forced to endure unthinkable hardships:
"I think [creator, showrunner] Michael Hirst wanted to explore her experience and it's a different point of view.
"Even though she's only 20, but she's seen a lot, and she's probably already been raped at that young age.
"It's a complex and challenging role; I had a lot of questions about my character so it's nice to have Michael on set."
But Porunn's dark past isn't going to dissuade Bjorn from romancing her, despite whatever social mores it might also endanger, Weiss told the Examiner:
"It kind of breaks or challenges the taboo or conventions, because Bjorn is from a higher rank and she's a slave.
"They are not really clear about their relationship. At first, it's a secret. Porrun has only really known serfdom and brutality. She can't really believe that someone like Bjorn is genuinely interested in her as a person."
"Things are quite complex."
Aren't they always?
Be sure to tune in every Thursday at 10 p.m. to watch the Vikings invasion on the History Channel.
