Vikings Season 6: What The Giant Serpent Creature Is

Vikings is nearing its end, and the trailer for season 6’s part 2 teases a lot of action for the final episodes, but amidst the battles and emotionally charged moments, there was a brief look at a giant serpent coming from the sea – but what is it and what does it represent? Created by Michael Hirst (The Tudors), Vikings made its debut on History Channel in 2013 and was originally envisioned as a miniseries – however, it was so well-received by critics and audiences that it was renewed for a second season.

Vikings initially followed Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels alongside his Viking brothers, but as the series progressed, it changed its focus to Ragnar’s sons and their own journeys. Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar became the protagonists of the series and continued pushing it forward after Ragnar’s death in season 4. Vikings is now preparing for its final batch of episodes, set to be released on December 30, and the official trailer for them reveals there are still a lot of battles, betrayals, and drama coming, along with a giant serpent.

The crew behind Vikings has done its best to be as historically accurate as possible, but given that there’s very little information about a couple of aspects of Viking culture, they have taken a lot of creative liberties too. One thing about the Vikings that the show has addressed from the beginning is Norse religion and its mythology, with some characters constantly worrying about what the Gods would want (as was Floki’s case). Vikings has even represented Odin in different forms and hasn’t hesitated in using some fantasy elements to add more action and emotion to the story. As shown in the trailer, the final episodes will continue this line, as seen with the giant serpent that comes out from the ocean in front of Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith), who’s still on his quest to find the golden land.

The giant serpent seems like a weird thing to be added to a Vikings teaser that is mostly focused on the struggles of Ivar, Björn, and Ubbe, but it’s not out of context. The giant serpent in the Vikings season 6 part 2 trailer is Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent. Jörmungandr is the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and Loki, which according to Prose Edda, was tossed by Odin into the great ocean that encircles Midgard a.k.a. Earth. Jörmungandr grew so much that it formed a circle around Midgard and grasped its own tail, thus being another representation of an ouroboros, which is an ancient symbol that depicts a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. According to the legends, once Jörmungandr releases its tail, Ragnarök (the Norse version of the end and rebirth of the world) will begin, with the serpent thrashing its way onto land and spraying poison to fill the skies and seas of one half of the world while Fenrir, a monstrous wolf also a child of Angrboða and Loki, will set ablaze to the other half. Ragnarök is also said to be when the last meeting between Jörmungandr and its archenemy, Thor, is set to happen.

Of course, the Jörmungandr’s presence in Vikings season 6b will surely be a result of a nightmare, vision, or hallucination, as that would be too fantastic even for the show that had Odin casually appearing on the battlefield. Jörmungandr appearing in front of Ubbe on his journey to find the golden land could be a bad omen, pointing at him not making it out of the series alive. It’s unknown if Jörmungandr will be the only mythological creature to show up in the final episodes of Vikings, but it wouldn’t be surprising if there are more hints at other Gods and mythological animals.

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Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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