Vikings featured many brutal deaths, but one of the most memorable ones was that of Ragnar Lothbrok, who was thrown into a pit of snakes. However, viewers have pointed out a mistake in the series, and it’s all about the type of snakes in the pit. Historical dramas are not always accurate, and while Michael Hirst did his best to keep Vikings as historically accurate as possible throughout its six seasons, some details had to be embellished or made up, while others made way for some confusing mistakes.

Vikings premiered on History Channel in 2013 and was originally planned to be a miniseries, but it was so well-received it was quickly renewed for a second season and came to an end in 2019 after six seasons. The series initially followed Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels and raids alongside his Viking brothers, but as the story progressed, Vikings began to shift its focus to Ragnar’s sons and their own journeys, eventually becoming the protagonists of the show. Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar took over Vikings after Ragnar’s demise in season 4, though his presence continued to be felt thanks to visions, flashbacks, and his overall legacy in the series. With Vikings now over, fans have been revisiting the series and finding various mistakes, among those one related to Ragnar’s death.

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In Vikings season 1, Ragnar met King Aelle (Ivan Kaye), the vindictive King of Northumbria with whom he immediately had a rivalry. With these two big personalities clashing, they tried to intimidate one another and quickly became sworn enemies. As the Viking forces prepared to invade King Aelle’s land, he revealed his plan for all those warriors that would be captured and those who don’t show their loyalty to him: a pit full of snakes, which he said would bite those “too weak and afraid to fight to the death for their king”. Aelle showed this by throwing one of his men into the pit, and it didn’t take long for him to be killed by the snakes. This was the same method Aelle used to kill Ragnar in Vikings season 4, but eagle-eyed fans have noticed that the snakes aren’t the venomous kind, and so Aelle’s man and Ragnar couldn’t have been killed by them.

A Vikings fan shared this information on Movie Mistakes, briefly explaining that the snakes shown in Aelle’s pit are “all constrictors”, don’t have venom, and are “too small to see a human as prey”. With that in mind, Aelle’s man and Ragnar could have survived the pit of snakes, but they might not have been able to get out of it, so it still would have been a very unfortunate and frightening situation. Of course, this mistake can be easily justified by the crew not wanting to risk the actors’ lives by having real, venomous, and deadly snakes on set, though the production crew of Vikings could have used CGI to do the trick. More than a historical mistake, this was a practical one, which will further fuel theories on Ragnar’s survival and real fate.

The snakes in King Aelle’s pit not being ones who could have killed his victims as he intended is not something that can radically change the series, as the characters thrown into it died anyway and it wasn’t a mistake made by the character but the crew of Vikings. Still, it’s interesting to see how fans find this type of mistakes and the truth behind each one.

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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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