Vikings: Every Season, Ranked By IMDb Average

Vikings may be over, but the saga will continue with Vikings: Valhalla later this year – and in the meantime, there’s always space to re-watch the original series. Over six seasons, Vikings covered decades of history and half the globe, and is rated impressively highly on IMDb. The series average is 8.5, with the highest episode managing an incredible 9.6 (All His Angels), and the lowest still managing a 6.8 (The Key).

But based on the average score across each season, which season manages to top the rest? The worst season as a whole does include the worst episode, but the best episode isn’t in the best overall season, which is always interesting. From 7.6 to 8.6, each season of Vikings is clearly still a solid effort from the show – but which is the best of them all, and which fell flat?

6 Season Six (7.6)

Interestingly, the final season of the show is actually the worst-rated on IMDb. This may well be because at this point, most of the main characters from the early seasons had either died or left the show; Ragnar is long gone, Rollo has been in Frankia for some time, Floki is missing (although he does reappear at the very end), and while Lagertha is still around at the start, she is killed early on in this season.

The final season is also quite scattered, which may have something to do with the lower rating. Rather than just following one main character, it splits focus across Ubbe’s journey to Iceland (and then beyond), Bjorn and Harald’s attempts to become king, the situation with Alfred in Wessex, and Ivar with the Rus. This is a lot to cover in one season, even if it does wrap up well in the end.

5 Season Five (7.8)

The second last season is also the second-worst, according to IMDb, although it does manage to do slightly better than season six. Part of the reason for the drop in ratings after season 4 is likely to be the death of Ragnar. While the ‘main character’ of the show isn’t clear, for many fans, it was Ragnar Lothbrok, and after his death (and his Sons vengeance for it) in season four, things started to go downhill.

Season five focuses primarily on the Viking civil war, as well as Alfred’s rise to power in Wessex, and Floki’s explorations of Iceland. Like season six, it starts to break the narrative into multiple concurrent storylines, which clearly isn’t something the fans loved (at least, in terms of IMDb ratings) and also spent a lot of time on Bishop Heahmund, a character who was far from a fan-favorite.

4 Season One (8.0)

The first season of the series manages an 8.0, which is a very respectable score, but doesn’t quite reach the heights of the next few seasons. This may be largely because fans were still getting to know the series and the characters, and (like most shows in their initial season) Vikings was still finding its feet. This was also much shorter than later seasons, at only nine episodes (compared to 2 and 3 at ten episodes each, and 4-6 at twenty episodes each). This can make it harder to really land with the audience, as there is less time to really explore the story and the characters.

However, this is still a solid season, and it introduces Ragnar, Lagertha, Rollo, and Floki as the key players. This season is primarily about Ragnar’s desire to explore West, and his ability to do so thanks to a new way of navigating and a new kind of boat. This season does bring them to England, as well as setting Ragnar up to take over as leader of Kattegat.

3 Season Four (8.5)

Season four is one of the biggest seasons in the series, in terms of major events, as it is where Ragnar himself dies (at the hands of King Aelle. This is also the highest-rated episode of the entire show, unsurprisingly. However, this season overall isn’t the best of the series, and this may be because fans have to say goodbye to a favorite character after the death of Athelstan, and the season overall is particularly bleak (and that’s saying something, for a series known for being dark and violent).

The first half of the season sees Rollo left behind in Frankia, Floki and Ragnar at odds after Floki has killed Athelstan, and Lagertha is dealing with battles for power in her own home. The second half gets even more sad, as it involves a time jump, and the return of Ragnar as an old and seemingly broken man. For fans of the character, his appearance in the second half, his journey to England, and his death, were all powerful – but heartbreaking. The Sons of Ragnar start to step up as adults and warriors here, but it’s still a season that really splits the show, and involves very little in the way of joy or triumph.

2 Season Two (8.6)

Season two and season three both manage an impressive 8.6 average score – and both have a lot in common. Major battles, Ragnar in his prime, expansive exploration and big journeys, and a clear main character and driving thread. Both of these seasons are also shorter than the later ones, at ten episodes each, but clearly this is not an issue for the series. Instead, it helps make sure that the storytelling is tight and that there are no unnecessary side plots.

Season two sees Ragnar and Rollo (and their battles against each other) front and center, and keeps the politics firmly fixed on the Vikings, with Ragnar, Horik, and Yarl Borg battling for supremacy throughout. Ragnar is clearly in his prime here, and although Lagertha leaves him and deals with finding her own power, with Aslaug he has many more sons, and fans see his kingdom and his family grow.

1 Season Three (8.6)

With seasons two and three managing the same score, there isn’t a lot that one season clearly does better than the other – both are Vikings at its best, with a great mix of politics, romance, intrigue, and of course, huge battles. Season three may be the fan favorite season, though, as it sees Bjorn and Lagertha back in the mix, the other sons of Ragnar growing old enough to start to impact the plot, and a blend of storylines that combine Kattegat, Wessex, and Paris. The battle for Paris, Ragnar’s clever ruse here, Floki’s genius, Athelstan’s influence, Rollo’s decisions, and Lagertha’s prowess as a warrior are all front and center, and it’s a phenomenally balanced season as a result.

There are still occasional flaws, of course, and things are starting to reach the kind of multi-strand complexity that fans struggled with a little in the final seasons, but this is the season where all the fan-favorite characters from the opening episodes are in their prime – and so, the series as a whole is, too.

About The Author

Rose Graceling-Moore
(1516 Articles Published)

Rose Graceling-Moore has been writing about film, TV and comics since 2013, when she began writing for a local print magazine in Vancouver, BC. Since then, Rose has written for Horror Honeys, Moviepilot and Quirkbooks as well as Screenrant, increasingly focusing on comic books and live-action comic adaptations, as well as diversity and representation on screen. Rose also co-hosted the DC Movies Podcast, and has guested on other nerd and entertainment podcasts over the past five years.

Rose’s love of comics began all the way back in the early ‘90s, when she discovered the X-Men while living in Africa (where there wasn’t a whole lot to do but read!), and since then has had an on-again, off-again love affair with not just Marvel, but DC and indie comics as well. You can follow her on Twitter: RoseMooreWrites for tweets about comics, movies, and more.

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