I can imagine that, yes.
Weekly formats suck. Everytime.
It being a movie would never bring it justice though and would be super boring.

I'd recommend this show to anyone in a heartbeat.
I think the second season was much better than the first but it's basically two different shows. Season 1 was a lot more "fiction" with action and heroics.
Season 2 was a lot more grounded and down to earth and it really got the idea, which Thorfinn's father was advocating for, going.

Both are fine and both put together show the character development that occured in this saga - it's rather refreshing, really.

If there was anything to complain about for me, it would've been the "off screen" encounter of Leif+Thorfinn. It's absolutely right that Arnheid was more important during that time, but as a viewer you expected more to happen - like, I wish it happened later, but then again...I kinda like the idea that "things happen when they happen", not when it's convenient to the story.. and it wasn't overbearing
You could follow Leifs travel to farm and knew he had to be there at that time. So it was just right to have him there.