Vikings has gone through plenty of ups and downs over the years. Even today, the show
plays on many of the same strengths as it did in the beginning and suffers from the
same weaknesses, too. Here are the five best and five worst things in Vikings.
One of the most intriguing choices Vikings made in its first season was the introduction
of Athelstan, a Christian monk who's taken captive after Ragnar Lothbrok and his vikings
pillage the monastery at Lindisfarne. Intrigued by Athelstan's ability to converse in the
Vikings' native language, Ragnar decides to keep him as a slave so that he can learn more
about the priest and his strange Christian ways. Gradually, the relationship between
Ragnar and Athelstan evolves from mutual curiosity into a strong and respectful friendship, and
Athelstan winds up choosing to remain with Ragnar even after the Viking restores his
freedom.
The addition of Athelstan to the cast not only resulted in one of Vikings' strongest
friendships, but was also a clever way to give audiences important information about
Viking culture without feeling too heavy handed. Coming from a sheltered, Christian background,
Athelstan was constantly full of questions about the Vikings' way of life, which enabled
Ragnar to educate both him and the audience on his unique worldview.
But more than a clever conduit for worldbuilding, Ragnar and Athelstan's friendship was one
of the most interesting and genuine relationships on the show. Despite their vastly different
backgrounds and belief systems, the two men were able to connect both intellectually and
emotionally thanks to their willingness to listen and learn from one another. And when
that friendship was finally broken, with Athelstan's untimely death, it led to arguably the show's
most powerful scene.
"I ache from your loss. There is nothing that can console me, now."
Although Vikings is full of fascinating characters, none started off more interesting than Floki,
the devout shipbuilder who served as a close advisor and friend to Ragnar. As intelligent
as he was eccentric, Floki served as a counterpoint to Athelstan for the first few seasons of
Vikings, cautioning Ragnar against his friendship with the monk, as Floki feared Athelstan's
influence would pull Ragnar out of favor with the Viking gods.
The adverse relationship between Ragnar's two closest friends served as a consistent
point of tension on the show but Floki's strong convictions and quirky nature also made him
a brilliant character in his own right. One of Floki's best moments came at the end of
the show's second season, when the audience had been led to believe that the boat builder
might have betrayed Ragnar, only to discover that Floki's loyalty never faltered, and that
his seeming wavering was all a ruse meant to give Ragnar the upper hand.
That only made it that much more disappointing when Floki's character took a sharp nosedive,
beginning with the killing of Athelstan in the show's third season. Not only was the
act prompted by a vision that Floki attributed to the gods, meaning it lacked any sort of
proper buildup, but it also poisoned his relationship with Ragnar going forward. By the time Vikings'
fifth season rolled around, Floki was off on his own leading a settlement in Iceland,
populated by unmemorable characters in a relatively dull C-plot that only served to distract from
the show's central narrative.
Ragnar wasn't always the most likable protagonist, but Travis Fimmel sure knew how to captivate
an audience and when he was leading the cast of Vikings, it felt impossible to look away.
Based on a legendary Viking hero who may or may not have actually existed, Ragnar began
the series as a farmer in the village of Kattegat. But as the series went on, Ragnar's quick,
eager mind refused to allow him to remain settled, and he soon began to seek more and
more power.
Even when Ragnar was acting unkind and bullheaded, he remained a compelling character. Additionally,
his relationships with the other characters in his life helped keep Ragnar grounded and
human through all of his larger than life endeavors. Ragnar was the type of protagonist
that was hard not to love, no matter what he was up to, and his eventual death in season
four left a hole that's still felt two seasons later.
Whether or not Ragnar was ever real, most accounts of his life agree on how he died
so it was inevitable that the show would eventually get to his execution at the hands of King
Aelle.
"How the little piggies will grunt, when they hear how the old boar suffered."
The episode chronicling Ragnar's death was one of Vikings' most compelling, and his sons'
eventual retribution against Aelle proved a deeply satisfying resolution to Ragnar's
story. But Vikings has struggled to maintain its creative footing following the death of
Ragnar, especially when it comes to picking which character to follow in the absence of
its former lead.
Before Ragnar died, the show leapt forward in time, allowing his young sons to grow up
so that they could take over the narrative. But instead of shifting focus to an established
character like Bjorn Ironside or Lagertha, Vikings decided to zero in on the most off-putting
of Ragnar's sons, the sociopathic Ivar the Boneless.
Although Ivar is certainly an interesting figure, he lacks the complex humanity that
made Ragnar such an interesting character to follow. Additionally, Vikings has decided
to devote much more time to the goings-on in European kingdoms in the post-Ragnar seasons
than it had previously, shifting focus even further away from fan-favorite characters
who'd been around since the beginning.
Vikings has always been a brutal and bloody show, and many of its best scenes have taken
place during its breathtaking battle sequences. And some of the show's most exciting moments
occurred when the show's central characters went head to head against one another. From
the battle between Ragnar and Rollo in season two to the civil war between the
sons of Ragnar in season five, Vikings has often been at its best when both sides of
its battles are filled with people the audience cares about.
But even beyond the storytelling in these battles, they're also incredibly fun to watch.
Although Vikings has had at least one major battle every season, the show has managed
to make each one visually interesting, filled with exciting choreography, stunning cinematography,
and pulsing music that keeps its audience on the edge of our seats. The show also has
a knack for weaving in significant character moments that lend an emotional weight to the
battles, such as Athelstan saying a prayer before fighting alongside the Vikings in the
season two finale, or Bishop Heahmund calling for Lagertha as he died on the battlefield
in season five. All of this lends an additional sense of weight to each battle, and keeps
them lingering in viewers' minds long after they have ended.
Okay, so basically everyone will agree that Lagertha has always been one of Vikings' strongest
characters. However, one complex, loving, powerful female character isn't enough to
make up for the way pretty much every other woman on the show has been written. Throughout
Vikings' run, women have largely been written with little agency or depth, existing most
often as props to further the male characters' stories.
These characters are explored mostly through their husbands, with only a few meager defining
characteristics of their own. There are, of course, some exceptions, such as Siggy and
even Aslaug, who are given more than cursory storylines, but they aren't filtered
through the same sympathetic lens as the male characters making them come off as largely
unpleasant and unlikable. Even Lagertha herself experienced a steep decline in the seasons
leading up to her death, with most of her storylines revolving around her love interests.
And then there are the deaths themselves. Vikings has always been a violent show with
a high mortality rate, and it's not uncommon for even its most beloved characters to suffer
immensely or die horribly. But when the vast majority of its female characters seem to
exist mostly to be abused, objectified, villainized, and killed, without much opportunity to define
themselves on their own terms, it all becomes a little hard to ignore.
Ragnar and his fellow warriors have faced plenty of opponents over the course of the
show, but no rivalry has been quite as intriguing as that which unfolded between Ragnar and
King Ecbert of Wessex. Ecbert was introduced as a potential antagonist to the Vikings in
season two, and his similarities with Ragnar were established pretty much immediately.
Like Ragnar, he quickly came to treasure his conversations with Athelstan, and through
their talks, Ecbert developed a deep fascination with Ragnar himself. Despite leading opposing
kingdoms, the two found one another to be kindred spirits, seeing in each other similar
levels of intellectual curiosity, ambition, and cunning.
Over several seasons, Ecbert and Ragnar would briefly join forces, only to inevitably wind
up on opposite sides of the battlefield every time. Yet, despite their ongoing conflict,
the two kings managed to cultivate an unlikely yet mutually respectful friendship. Ragnar
and Ecbert's discussions, and their strange affection for one another, provided some of
the richest and most thought-provoking scenes in the show's run.
Although Vikings' treatment of most of its women has never been great, there's one character
in particular who deserves a special shout-out for being consistently "the Worst" and that's
the late Queen Aslaug. From her untimely seduction of Ragnar in season one, to her parental negligence
that led to the death of not one but two different characters named Siggy, Aslaug's choices and
actions have wound up driving some of the show's most infuriating turns.
"It is the gods who have woven our destinies. Not ourselves."
And while Aslaug is far from the only character on the show known for making bad decisions,
Aslaug was given pretty much zero redeeming qualities to help temper her worst aspects.
It pushed her past being a complex, interesting character into being almost cartoonishly villainous,
to the point where it made it hard to understand why anyone on the show even tolerated her.
By the time Lagertha finally assassinated the queen of Kattegat and seized her crown,
it felt like a long overdue relief rather than the tragic loss of a long-running main
character.
Vikings' point of view is decidedly unique among other epic historical dramas, centering
a culture and religion very different from the typical European and Christian-led narratives
viewers are used to seeing on television.
From the very beginning, Vikings made it absolutely clear that its sensibilities were markedly
different than most other mainstream shows such as when the heroes attacked a monastery
in the series' second episode, brutally slaughtering a caste of non-violent monks. That sequence
made it abundantly clear that Vikings was going to be a very different kind of show.
And yet, Vikings has done an excellent job finding ways to help its audience thoughtfully
engage with its unfamiliar point of view from its inclusion of more traditionally sympathetic
characters such as Athelstan, to the way it balances the inner lives and communities of
its characters with their often shocking actions. Even as Ragnar is leading attacks on innocent
villages, Vikings always takes care to portray his genuine humanity. Does that make what
he's doing okay? That's left to the audience to decide... but there's something to be said
for the fact that Vikings poses that question at all.
The period and culture depicted on Vikings is obviously incredibly brutal, and it would
be unrealistic to expect even fan-favorite characters to be spared from grisly deaths
especially if the history books say otherwise. But while many of the show's deaths are inevitable,
Vikings' fondness for killing off its best characters often winds up not only hurting
the audience but the show itself.
Several times now, Vikings has struggled creatively with its major deaths. The back half of season
three seemed to flounder following the murder of Athelstan, for example. And this was made
worse because the death itself felt unearned, since it relied on multiple heel-turns prompted
by divine visions to get to that pivotal moment.
Conversely, in season four, the death of Ragnar occurred in an immensely powerful episode
which felt both earned and tragically inevitable. Afterwards, however, the show wandered around
aimlessly for far too long, having lost its focus when it killed off its main character.
In other words, while the deaths are powerful moments in and of themselves, they often leave
the show reeling for all the wrong reasons.
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