Through the first four seasons of Vikings, viewers saw the rise and fall of Ragnar Lothbrok, including the moment where he stopped being a true Viking, as subtly explained by his brother, Rollo. Historical dramas are not new but have certainly become more popular in recent years, thanks to a variety of TV series covering different historical characters and events. Among those is Vikings, created by Michael Hirst and which made its debut on History Channel in 2013. Vikings was originally planned to be a miniseries, but the first episodes were so well received it was renewed for a second season, coming to an end in 2020 after six seasons.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Vikings initially focused on the life of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), a legendary Norse figure whose existence continues to be debated by historians, but he still made for a great lead for the series. The first seasons followed his travels and raids alongside his Viking brothers, including his real brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), but as the series progressed, it gradually shifted its focus to Ragnar’s sons and their own journeys. Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, and Ivar eventually became the leads of Vikings (though the series focused more on Björn and Ivar) until its final episode after Ragnar’s death in season 4. Ragnar went through a whole journey in Vikings, and the man viewers saw being thrown into a pit of snakes in season 4 wasn’t the same they met in season 1, and he might have not died a Viking after all.

Ragnar Lothbrok can’t be described as a hero nor a villain, as he did both good and bad things. Ragnar killed many people throughout his time in Vikings, and not all of them were enemies. Among the most unforgivable things he did was killing his warriors with the help of Ivar, just two episodes before his death in “All His Angels”. After his defeat in Paris, Ragnar left Kattegat for ten years, and when he returned, he didn’t feel welcomed. He later met with each of his sons to tell them his plans of returning to England and invited them to join him, except for Ivar. After saying his goodbyes and attempting to kill himself, he invited Ivar to his voyage to England and he accepted, so they formed a new crew as most warriors refused to join them under the excuse of the Gods having deserted Ragnar. After their ship was caught in a violent storm, Ragnar, Ivar, and a few other survivors arrived at a beach in England where they settled for the night, and Ragnar later killed them with the help of Ivar.

Now, also in Vikings season 4, there’s a scene where Gisla and Rollo are having a conversation in their room about family businesses, the lands, and more. Gisla starts bad-mouthing Count Odo and says he might die in battle, stabbed by an unknown assailant, with Rollo jumping in to say that only a coward kills a man by stabbing in the back and that that isn’t the Vikings’ way, to which Gisla replies that he’s no longer a Viking. Following this line of thought, Ragnar stopped being a Viking too when he killed his men while they were sleeping, as he betrayed them and he even literally stabbed some of them in the back. Of course, this would also mean Ivar stopped being a Viking as well, which is ironic for the man who spent his life wanting to be the greatest Viking ever. As mentioned above, Ragnar died two episodes later after being captured and tortured by King Aelle, who then threw him into a pit of snakes and left him to die.

Ragnar, then, wasn’t a Viking anymore when he died, though he will always be remembered as one. Surely, a lot of his actions throughout Vikings are questionable and brought more issues than the ones they solved, but all those ultimately added to his legend. In the end, it’s up to every viewer to decide if Rollo was right and thus Ragnar and Ivar stopped being Vikings when they killed the surviving members of their crew, if there were other events that took that title away from them, or if all their actions can be somewhat justified.

The Mandalorians Are More Like The Sith Than Disney+ Tells You

About The Author


Adrienne Tyler
(3269 Articles Published)

See also  Tom Holland On Deeper Meaning Behind Spider-Men Hug In No Way Home

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.

More From Adrienne Tyler