Vi så episoden i går.

Så is the past tense of å se (to see, to watch).

A useful mini-paradigm is:

• å se = to see / to watch
• ser = see / sees / am watching
• så = saw / watched
• har sett = have seen / have watched

So Vi så episoden i går literally matches We saw/watched the episode yesterday.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In English, we often distinguish:

• see = notice with your eyes
• watch = look at something for a period of time, like TV

In Norwegian, se often covers both ideas. With episoden, the natural English translation is usually watched:

• Vi så episoden i går = We watched the episode yesterday

But the Norwegian verb is still se.

Because episoden is the definite singular form: the episode.

Norwegian often puts definiteness on the end of the noun:

• en episode = an episode
• episoden = the episode

So:

• Vi så en episode i går = We watched an episode yesterday
• Vi så episoden i går = We watched the episode yesterday

Episode is usually a common gender noun in Norwegian, so it takes en in the indefinite singular:

• en episode

The definite singular ending for many common-gender nouns is -en, which gives:

• episoden

So the pattern is:

• en episode = an episode
• episoden = the episode

I går means yesterday.

It is simply the normal Norwegian expression, and it is written as two words:

• i går = yesterday

Examples:

• Vi kom i går. = We arrived yesterday.
• Jeg jobbet i går. = I worked yesterday.

Even though English uses one word (yesterday), Norwegian uses this two-word expression.

Yes, i går can move.

The sentence you have is the neutral pattern:

• Vi så episoden i går. = We watched the episode yesterday.

You can also put the time expression first:

• I går så vi episoden.

This is very common in Norwegian. When something other than the subject comes first, the verb usually stays in second position. So:

• Vi
  • så
    • ...
• I går
  • så
    • vi
      • ...

That second version sounds natural too.

Yes, you may hear that, but there is a difference.

• se noe = see/watch something
• se på noe = look at / watch something

With TV shows, both patterns can occur, but Vi så episoden i går is very natural and idiomatic for We watched the episode yesterday.

Very roughly:

• Vi så episoden = We watched the episode
• Vi så på episoden = We watched/looked at the episode

In many contexts, the difference is small, but se without på is completely normal here.

A few quick tips:

• så has a long å sound, roughly like the vowel in British law for many speakers.
• går also has å, plus an r at the end.

The letter å is an important Norwegian vowel. It is not the same as a.

Also, så can be a different word in other contexts, meaning so or then, but here it is clearly the past tense of å se because of the sentence structure.

Yes. Because it says episoden (the episode), it refers to a specific episode that both speaker and listener can identify.

Compare:

• Vi så en episode i går. = We watched an episode yesterday.
• Vi så episoden i går. = We watched the episode yesterday.

So the definite form tells you it is a known or previously understood episode.

In this sentence, vi means we because it is the subject:

• Vi så episoden i går. = We watched the episode yesterday.

Norwegian does not change the form the way English does with we/us.
So vi can correspond to both English we and us, depending on its role in the sentence.

Examples:

• Vi så episoden. = We watched the episode.
• Hun så oss. = She saw us.

Notice that Norwegian often uses oss for us, but vi is the subject form here.