Vikings: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Lagertha

Lagertha, the ex-wife of Ragnar Lothbrok, was one of the standout protagonists in Vikings. As an Earl and shield-maiden, she was extremely skilled on the battlefield. Her ambition also led her to become the sole ruler of Kattegat after Ragnar’s death.

Viewers were slapped with a heartbreaking character death when Lagertha was murdered by Hvitserkin a case of mistaken identity. But in as much as Lagertha was one of the best characters in the show, there are a couple of things about her that made no sense. Here are some of the glaring ones.

10 Claim To The Throne

Lagertha cried foul when Ivar took the throne from her.  She felt he was undeserving of it but in truth, no one was more undeserving than her. At least Ivar was Ragnar’s son. Lagertha, on the other hand, gave up her right to the throne when she divorced Ragnar. Aslaug was left as the next in line.

It was a badass moment when she took the throne from Aslaug but by the traditions, she had no right to rule Kattegat. While her decision to divorce Ragnar might have been an understandable one, she must have known what the consequences were. Surprisingly, she still managed to override the consequences.

9 Abandoning Astrid

Lagertha was generally not an evil person, so the occasional poor treatment of those around her failed to make sense at times. A couple of people like Torvi were always loyal to her. But no one had more affection towards Lagertha than Astrid.

In the fifth season, Astrid was kidnapped by Herald who forced her to marry him. Strangely enough, Lagertha never made any effort to rescue her and prevent all the emotional torture, as well as her eventual pregnancy at the hands of the king. But when Astrid requested Lagertha to kill her and end her misery, she was more than glad to do it.

8 Good Genes?

The events in Vikings occur over several years. As a result, audiences saw several of the characters, most notably Ragnar, become old. But a few characters have looked the same way all through and this fact is more evident through Lagertha.

Given the show’s timeline, Lagertha ought to have been in her early 50s at the time of her death. However, she still looked the same way she did thirty years earlier. Her son even grew from a little boy to a fully grown man yet she remained the same.

7 Opposing The Migration To Iceland

There was a time Lagertha couldn’t stop talking about her agricultural background. She even tried to set up a farming community in Wessex, though that didn’t end so well. Given her passion for agriculture, it was surprising that she was opposed to the idea of Loki and the rest moving to Iceland to farm there.

She eventually allowed them to leave but it was after a lengthy struggle, This was unlike her. Perhaps she wanted her to stay so that they’d help make her dreams a reality. She was very ambitious after all. Or maybe the writers just wanted to include a minor conflict.

6 Killing Aslaug

Many of the deaths in Vikings were justified but a couple of them weren’t and one of those came at the hands of Lagertha. Aslaug had always tried to set up a peace treaty with Lagertha. Sadly, Lagertha remained bitter and vengeful.

After Lagertha conquered Kattegat with the help of Astrid and her army, Aslaug agreed to relinquish the throne and go into exile. However, when Aslaug was passing, Lagertha sent her to the afterlife with an arrow. Was this necessary? Didn’t she know that one of Aslaug’s sons would seek vengeance one day?

5 Too Lucky

Lady Luck seemed to have had a big crush on Lagertha. Other characters were often met with misfortunes but Lagertha always had a way out of every situation. She often faced very little opposition when taking people’s lives then claiming whatever they held hear. She escaped death easily on too many occasions.

For example. after she went missing during the battle, Judith just so happened to locate her inside the healer’s home. She also had an easy time assembling armies when she needed to conduct a raid. Judging from the experiences of Ragnar and the others, raising an army wasn’t so easy. Why then did things go so smoothly for her all the time?

4 Affair With Rollo

This is one of the most baffling things about Lagertha. Later in the show, it was revealed that Lagertha slept with Rollo when she was married to Ragnar. As a result of the affair, Bjorn was born. Ragnar always thought Bjorn was his son but he wasn’t.

It is strange that she cheated on him secretly, yet she was quick to leave him when he fell in love with Aslaug and openly wanted to bring her in as the second wife. Shouldn’t she have understood or forgiven him, given her own past transgressions? Bjorn was also so disappointed to discover he wasn’t Ragnar’s son.

3 Not Negotiating With Ivar

Just like Ragnar, Lagertha was never so good at negotiations. However, during her feud with Ivar and Aslaug’s sons, she should have really set her ego aside. She had so many opportunities to create peace between Bjorn and the children of Aslaug but she opted not to.

Instead, she felt she didn’t need them and continued to rule Kattegat. This caused Ivar to detest her even more. When he received substantial reinforcements, he was kind enough to suggest a peace treaty but she ignored him. As a result, he ended up taking the kingdom from her.

2 Allowing Bjorn To Be Abused

When Lagertha left Ragnar, Bjorn chose to live with her instead of his ‘father.’ Lagertha decided to marry Sigvard the Earl of Hedeby since she found it more convenient to continue enjoying a life of wealth and power rather than starting from scratch.

The marriage turned out to be an abusive one. Sigvard constantly assaulted Lagertha and Bjorn. He also enjoyed making fun of Bjorn in front of his guests. And as if that wasn’t enough, he discouraged Bjorn from being a warrior. Strangely enough, Lagertha who was often portrayed as strong and fearless, allowed all this to happen.

1 Betraying Kalf

Kalf really loved Lagertha. Dispute usurping Hedeby from her, he remained a great admirer of her. When they fought together in Paris, he imagined a future in which the two of them would rule beside each other. He thus proposed to Lagertha and she agreed to be his wife.

Sadly, Lagertha was one to hold grudges and she hadn’t forgiven him for the Hedeby incident. On the wedding day, she went ahead to murder him. It didn’t make sense since he had offered all the power she wished for.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1222 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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