Though the discussion may have been swallowed up by last night's buzz-worthy 'Game of Thrones' and 'Mad Men' episodes, this past Sunday saw 'Vikings' airing its first season finale "All Change," setting up a turbulent season 2 that will see Viking chieftan Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) traveling to dangerous new territory, figuratively and literally. Series helmer Michael Hirst made the rounds today to discuss the tense finale and preview the eventual season 2, so find out about the future of 'Vikings' inside!

Before the premiere of History's 'Vikings,' we had a chance to talk to series star Clive Standen (Rollo) about the future of the series beyond season 1, for which Standen revealed that series creator Michael Hirst had an extensive bible of historical touchstones to come in the subsequent seasons. Now that 'Vikings' has aired its first season finale "All Change," which saw lead character Ragnar Lothbrok allying with King Horik ('Sons of Anarchy's Donal Logue) on the promise of even bigger conquests, Hirst told HuffPostTV about some of his major plans for season 2:

I can say that the first episode of the new season will be absolutely gobsmacking. Hopefully we can start it off shooting in Iceland. That’s our plan. A great deal happens at the personal level as well. There are huge dangers at the personal level. Certain things are resolved in conflict and certain things continue. I would say that the scale will be bigger. He’s gone into business now with a king. So, he can raid with bigger parties. He can be more ambitious. What we’ve had so far is one, maybe two or three boats going west. Now we’ll have many more boats and many more warriors.

But also there is going to be a new big, big character who is the King of Wessex. Wessex is a much larger kingdom than Northumbria, with a much more powerful king and also a cleverer king, a king who spent half of his young life at the court of Emperor Charlemagne. He’s a different kettle of fish. The Vikings are coming across someone with real history and real knowledge and tactics. So, Ragnar is going to be up against a very formidable foe in the King of Wessex.

History has yet to set a conclusive timetable for the airing of 'Vikings' season 2, to unfold across 10 all-new episodes in 2014, but last night's finale certainly teased many new conflicts home and abroad, as Rollo considered an alliance against his brother, and Ragnar fell for new woman Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland), much to the chagrin of wife Lagertha. The episode also took with it a heavy toll, as a pox claimed the life of many in Ragnar's home village, including his own daughter, as her father traveled elsewhere.

Well, what say you? Were you satisfied by 'Vikings' first season final "All Change?" What historical figures are you most interested to see portrayed in season 2? Give us your 'Vikings' reactions in the comments!