Vikings: 5 Worst Things Aslaug Did (& 5 Most Heroic)

Michael Hirst’s Vikings has cemented its spot as the hit historical drama of the century with its wilder than usual portrayal of Ragnar Lothbrok and his family. One of the most interesting introductions was Alyssa Sutherland as Aslaug, Ragnar’s royal born wife that didn’t like getting her hands dirty.

Aslaug wasn’t exactly everyone’s favorite character nor Ragnar’s favorite wife, but she was exactly what he needed to get his “many” sons. After coming in as the second wife who didn’t gain her husband’s heart, Aslaug had to fight hard to fit in and try to gain Ragnar’s attention. In the process of getting her queenship, Aslaug had to do lots of damage and, of course, make some super bold moves in the process.

10 WORST: ACCEPTING TO BE RAGNAR’S WIFE

The very entry of Aslaug into Ragnar’s closed and ambitious family was the beginning of all the trouble for her and Ragnar. She made her dramatic entry as the witty Gotaland princes that solved Ragnar’s riddle just romantically enough to sleep with him. She knew Ragnar was married and that his sword-wielding wife wasn’t going to take the competition lying down.

When she finally landed at Ragnar’s doorstep heavily pregnant, the hate everyone had for her was obvious. She had the option of becoming his “baby mama,” but Aslaug, more focussed on the throne, chose to push Lagertha out. That divided Ragnar’s attention, family and later cost them both their lives.

9 HEROIC: PROTECTING IVAR

Hate or love her, Aslaug was a good mother to her children. To a large extent, she was even better than Lagertha, considering the latter put her son in the hands of the abusive Sigvard. Ivar, being born with fragile bones, was Ragnar’s fault because he refused to listen to Aslaug’s advice for them to wait three days to sleep together due to a dream she had that showed it would impact the child’s health.

After the baby was born, everyone hated and abandoned him, and Ragnar even tried to kill him. Despite the scary predictions over Ivar, he was still a baby that deserved love, and no one delivered that better than Aslaug. She was responsible for the little humanity left in Ivar because she was there when everyone abandoned him.

8 WORST: CHEATING ON RAGNAR

Aslaug was a better wife for Ragnar, considering Lagertha cheated on him from the beginning and even lied about Bjorn’s paternity. Falling for Harbard’s cheap lies was, however, very non-queen-like of her. While many people argue that she had a right to some comfort after Ragnar’s unfair treatment, she had a better chance of restoring Ragnar’s love if she didn’t cheat on him.

Besides, there are high chances that Harbard’s tricks made Ivar the monster he later became, so nothing good came out of the affair in the end. She not only destroyed Ragnar’s trust in her, but she also left her sons to wander off into the frozen lake, causing Siggy to die as she saved them.

7 HEROIC: HER LOVE FOR RAGNAR

Ragnar was a powerful leader and a great warrior and all, but he was also a hard man to love. Lagertha was the love of his life and Aslaug, well, she was just brought in as a child bearer. While her motivation was becoming the queen, her feelings for Ragnar were real. She admitted his love for Lagertha over herself and even allowed Lagertha to join them in bed at one point just to make Ragnar happy.

Fighting endlessly for Ragnar’s love and protecting his children was the main reason why Ragnar had something to come back to after his bloody expeditions West. She also had many opportunities to betray Ragnar to his many foes even when she knew he cheated on her, but she chose to keep the family instead.

6 WORST: BUYING YIDU

Yes, Aslaug needed to keep Ragnar occupied to prevent him from taking another wife, but buying a whole drug wielding Chinese princess wasn’t the best idea. First, Ragnar developed feelings for Yidu then she got him hooked on drugs. Ragnar fell in love with his hallucinations and started using them to make his decisions.

Yidu only made it harder for Ragnar to lead successful raids. Yidu was one of the main reasons why Ragnar lost his raids in Frankia, which later caused his death. Besides, he killed Yidu in cold blood just because she didn’t provide him with drugs, and no one in his camp seemed to care.

5 HEROIC: TAKING CARE OF SIGGY

Lagertha hated Aslaug from the first day she saw her, but Bjorn had even more reasons to hate her. After watching his father having an affair and then Aslaug pushing him and his mother out of their home, Bjorn’s hatred for Aslaug increased.

Aslaug, as a queen who respected her husband and his first family, had to try to bring the two families together. Deciding to take care of Bjorn’s abandoned daughter was the best way to bring Bjorn close. It also showed the motherly love in her, although she later mistreated the poor girl and left her to die while taking care of her own children.

4 WORST: PAMPERING IVAR

Aslaug was a good mother, and all but the attention and pampering she gave to Ivar created a monster. In the beginning, all she was doing was showing an abandoned child, a mother’s love. However, after she stopped taking care of the rest of her children and gave him all her attention, it became something else.

She taught him to be hateful of others and that no one else mattered but him. Aslaug also taught Ivar that he was the best of his father’s sons and that he deserved everything. That advice and hatred caused Ivar’s hate and short temper, which has seen him turn into the monster that was predicted.

3 HEROIC: TAKING IVAR TO FLOKI

Nothing about Ivar turned out right, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve a chance. When Ragnar refused to train Ivar to become a warrior like the rest of his sons, Aslaug still saw the warrior in him.

Aslaug then gave Floki the chance to train Ivar as a warrior and to know the ways of the Vikings. Floki’s training made Ivar a better man and now probably the future king of all of Scandinavia, although he taught him to hate Christians too.

2 WORST: HER TREATMENT OF LAGERTHA

When a person goes to someone’s home, they should behave nicely, right? Aslaug didn’t have to be Lagertha’s enemy if she didn’t want to. She had many chances to make peace with her and probably bring Ragnar’s family together, but her ego messed up everything.

After taking Lagertha’s home and the love of her life, Aslaug turned her into an outsider and an enemy. She also refused to apologize for ruining her life. Taking Lagertha’s rightful place and failure to make peace made Lagertha more vengeful, which is why she later murdered her.

1 HEROIC: SURRENDERING THE THRONE TO LAGERTHA

This was the last good thing Aslaug did. She was the Queen of Kattegat by right too and had the advantage of being the mother of more sons, but she still agreed to walk away. After being betrayed by her close circle, there was no point in fighting with Lagertha.

Aslaug’s willingness to walk away showed just how wise she was both as a mother and as a leader. Lagertha, however, behaved irrationally and chose to shoot her in the back instead.

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