Ragnar’s Sons & Kattegat’s New Ruler

After 6 seasons, the Vikings The ending brought the story of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons to a close, though not without throwing in a few last minute shocking developments (and, of course, deaths) The final season was split into two halves, and Vikings Season 6b opened with the death of Ragnar’s first-born son, Bjorn Ironside, after leading the Norwegian army to victory against the invading Rus. Born’s half-brothers, Ivar der Bayner and Hvitserk, fought on the side of Russia during the invasion, and were left at a loose end after helping secure a new leadership in the East.

While Ivar and Hvitserk left the Rus and returned to their old riding ways before the end of VikingsUbbe sought to fulfill another part of Ragnar Lothbrok’s legacy by adventuring across the vast ocean to the west in search of a promised “golden land.” After a rough journey, Ubbe finally reached the New World at the end of Vikings – and discovered that it is already inhabited. However, Ragnar’s children are not the only characters in the show, and these Vikings The ending spent just as much time showing what was in store for Kattegat after the finale.

Ubbe’s settlement in North America

Ragnar’s most pragmatic son headed west at the end of Vikings

The end of Vikings Saw that Ube had finally realized his goal to travel west and reach the “golden land”. Although Vikings The viewers may think that the shot of a soaring eagle after Ubbe’s arrival in the “New World” means that he has reached the USA (or rather, the land that will eventually become the USA), he and his settlers actually arrive in Northeastern Canada. Ubbe’s arrival in the West may not have happened in real life, but his story serves as a fulfillment of Ragnar’s dream of exploration, and as a foreshadowing of the colonization of the Americas by European explorers.

When asked by others what he sees when he looks at the new world at the end of Vikings“Ube replied excitedly that he sees farming land, minerals for mining,”Rivers, ports, construction, wealth. Everything Ragnar dreamed of.“Frightened by this, another points out the flaw in Ube’s thinking:

“You discover a new country, but you behave in the same ways as you did before. And then it becomes just like the country you left behind.”

It goes without saying that following the old ways will soon damage the relationship between the settlers of UBI and the native Mi’kmaq tribe. After they receive a gift of a small piece of gold, a Norse settler called Naad grows greedy for more and searches the Mi’kmaq’s camp for it – killing the Sagamaw’s son, Peminuit, when he is caught. Ubbe decides to punish Naad by executing him with a blood eagle, but in the end simply cuts his throat.

Although he quickly kills Obi as an act of mercy, knowing that Nod will never be able to remain silent through the torture and earn his place in Valhalla, it can also be interpreted that Obi has decided to leave the old ways behind. Ubbe has always been the most pragmatic and level-headed of Ragnar’s sons, and previously converted to Christianity to secure a truce with King Alfred in England. It would not be surprising if he ultimately decided to adopt the Mi’kmaq’s ways, rather than attempt to forcibly colonize his new world for the Norse.

How (& Why) Floki Came to the New World

The master boat builder only found sadness in Iceland

To Obs surprise, he found an old friend waiting for him in the new world: Floki, who returned for the new world. Vikings ending The last time viewers saw the giggly boat builder, he was apparently crushed in a cave-in after discovering to his maddened dismay that Christians had whisked him to Iceland, which he once believed to be Is Asgard – the home of the Norse gods. .

Fluki’s own new world fell apart when the settlers he convinced to come to Iceland descended into fighting and murder, culminating in the suicide of Kjetill’s sweet daughter, Od. When he was asked why he left Iceland and traveled west, Floki simply replied that the sorrow was too much for him. With his memories becoming muddled in places, Floki doesn’t offer many details about exactly how he made the epic journey, saying only that he “Found a boat.”

As setup for Floki’s return before the ending of VikingsIt was mentioned earlier in season 6 that he was the greatest boat builder of all the Vikings and that his boats sailed straight. Through the waves. If he did build the boat he claims to have found, Fluki’s journey may have been easier than Oba’s.

Floki’s return reveals just how much he has changed from the man he was Vikings Season 1. Whereas he was once loyal to the Norse gods and their opinion of how Ragnar should honor them, Floki’s blind faith seems to have been shattered by his discovery of the Christian cross in a cave in Iceland. He refrains from giving advice, even when Obe asks for it directly. As he approaches death at the end of VikingsFluki seems to have finally found peace.

Ivar the Boneless Dies In Battle

Ragnar’s youngest son embraces his end in the Vikings finale

Ragnar Lothbrok’s youngest son, Ivar the Boneless, had perhaps the most interesting arc at the time Vikings Completed. His legend began before he was even conceived, with his mother – Ragnar’s second wife, Aslag, who experienced visions of the future – warning her husband that he needed to wait three days before consummating their marriage, or their child would be Monstrous. Ragnar ignored her, and a difficult pregnancy followed that culminated in a baby born with deformed legs.

Ivar was left to die in the forest by Ragnar, but after being rescued by Aslaug, he eventually grew to be a favorite among Ragnar’s sons, accompanying his father on his final journey to England. Ivar killed for the first time when he was still a child, hitting another boy in the head with his bullet in anger. Later, he killed his own brother, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, for mocking Ivar’s apparent impotence.

If each of Ragnar’s sons represents a different facet of his personality, Ivar embodies the part of Ragnar that hungers for violence and war. This came to a head when he became the king of Kattegat, and Ivar declared that he was not simply descended from the gods, but a true god himself. But in a short time Ivar lost first his son, and then his lordship over Kattegat, and his beloved wife Freydis, whom he strangled after learning that she had betrayed him in revenge for Baldur’s death.

Although he tried to take back Kattegat with Prince Oleg, Ivar’s story in season 6 was largely one of introspection and even redemption. He became a father figure to Igor, fathered a biological child with Katie, and when conflict loomed on the horizon on the Cattegat, he avoided a battle for the throne by suggesting that he, Hvitzerk, and Harold would invade England instead. .

Ultimately, like Ragnar, Ivar welcomes his death. Despite the sclera of his eyes being very blue (a sign that he is in greater danger of breaking his bones) he wades into the final battle against King Alfred’s army and allows a soldier to fatally stab him in the stomach. In addition to ensuring a fitting death for one of the greatest Vikings who ever lived, Ivar’s decision is also to die in love with Hvitserk. .

As he watches his brother brutally kill people on the battlefield, Ivar experiences flashbacks to their life together. Perhaps he realized that as long as he lived, Howitzerk would always follow him into battle and never know peace, and so Ivar chose to die so that the fight would end and Hvitserk would have a chance for a better life.

Why Hvitserk Converted to Christianity (& Changed His Name to Athelstan)

After a life was overshadowed, Hwitzerk found purpose away from Kattegat.

If each of Ragnar’s sons has an end that pays tribute to their father – Ube fulfilling his dream of exploration, and Ivar his love of battle – then White ends Vikings is a nod to Ragnar’s love of Athelstan, and his curiosity about the Christian God. From that moment Athelstan’s monastery was raided Vikings Season 1, and he was taken prisoner, the monk was an object of fascination for Ragnar, and eventually came to be his closest friend and advisor.

Even after Athelstan was murdered by Fluke, he remained a presence in the show – sometimes appearing to the Parsons as a vision, and later appearing mentally in others, the wanderer who led Obe to the “Golden Land”, who Claimed that he once was. A Christian monk called Athelstan. Obviously, Athelstan’s most persistent presence in Vikings was by his son, King Alfred the Great, who defeats Ivar and Hvitserk in the final battle of season 6.

When Ivar is killed in battle, Alfred calls for a halt to the fighting so that Hvitserk can mourn the death of his brother, and the invasion more or less ends there. It is unclear whether Hvitserk was more of a guest or a prisoner in the following days (perhaps a bit of both), but when he was next seen his beard had grown out to indicate the passage of time. He converts to Christianity at the end of vikings, And Alfred seals his repentance by changing his name from Whitserk to Athelstan.

Hvitserk fought harder than his brothers in his quest for greatness—never becoming a fearless warrior like Bjorn, an adventurer like Ube, or the ruthless ruler that Ivar was. At the end of VikingsHvitsekr/Athelstan never had children, and both women he loved died. He spent most of his life after Ob or Ivar, and with both of them gone, he still has nothing to return to in Kattgat. Vikings Finished. Hvitserk’s expression is inscrutable during his baptism, but it is implied that some sort of deal has been made when Alfred tells him:

“You entered here as a pagan, and you will leave here as a Christian Saxon prince.”

Queen Ingrid rules over Kattegat

None of Ragnar’s offspring is the new leader

On the throne of Kattegat sat many different rulers, but somewhat surprisingly, Vikings Does not end with a son of Ragnar as the king of Kattegat. instead, Bjorn’s second wife Ingrid – with a child that could be by Bern or Harald – declares herself the new queen after Harald is killed in the attack on Wessex (much like Asalog became queen after Ragnar’s death). Some viewers expressed disappointment that a new character ends up ruling Kattegat, however Vikings Never has a fixation on which character will “win” in the same way as, for example, Game of Thrones Had.

A lesser-known character only related to Ragnar by marriage ending up on the throne of Kattegat can also be seen as another way to respect the memory of Ragnar. The legendary warrior was never very interested in being a king, and only became the ruler of Kattegat because his hand was forced by Earl Haraldson. Ragnar didn’t want to be connected to Kattegat, so it makes sense that his sons would also continue. eas she saysLong live the queen“, Ingrid seems uneasy – perhaps because she knows that the rulers of Kattegat do not tend to live very long.

The real meaning of Vikings ending

The finale brings the main themes of the show to a head

The second half of Vikings Season 6 brought the show’s story full-circle, with Ubbe’s storyline recalling Ragnar’s desire to discover new land, while Ivar and Hvitserk once again returned to raid England. Although Vikings Often straying from historical accuracy, the series covered in broad strokes the first few decades of the Viking Age in England, and The season 6 finale foreshadows the end of that age with the detail that a Danish king has converted to Christianity and banned worship of the Norse gods.

The final scene at the end of Vikings Ube and Floki are sitting on a beach in their new world, looking out over the waves at the sunset. Floki says he still sees Ragnar all the time:

“He always asks me to build a new boat. And I say, ‘What the hell do you need a new boat for, Ragnar? You’re dead!’“

He then comments that Ube looks a lot like his father. Ubbe tells Floki that he loves him, symbolically healing the rift that was created between Floki and Ragnar many years ago.

Amidst all the bloodshed and battles, The idea of ​​faith persisted in the heart of Vikings – with multiple characters who find themselves torn between faith in the Norse gods and faith in the Christian God, and the show’s touches of magical realism imply that both could be real. But when Ube asks Fluki if death is the end, Fluki does not give an answer. And so VikingsA show that began with Ragnar Lothbrok and his burning curiosity ends, quite appropriately, on a question.

Did Vikings get a big ending?

The last episode of Vikings was neither brilliant nor terrible

Vikings Ran for 6 seasons from 2013 to 2020, and by the time it ended, was one of the most popular shows on the airwaves. To say the season 6 finale, “The Last Act,” had a lot riding on it was an understatement. There were few shows like that Vikings before or since (save perhaps the spin-off, Vikings: Valhalla), so the final episode could make-or-break the show’s legacy and determine whether it’s enjoyable from start to finish and thus likely to be binged on streaming services.

All in all, the end of Vikings It didn’t win over many critics or viewers, but at the same time, no one felt that it didn’t do the show justice. It was a solid episode, but didn’t have the jaw-dropping reveals many viewers have come to associate with epic TV dramas. In some ways, this was a good thing for Vikings. The ending that was tied to solid storytelling rather than trying to cram in as many shock moments as possible helped it stay grounded, and it wrapped up the legacy of Ragnar Lothbrok’s three remaining sons relatively well.

The key criticism when it came to the end of Vikings Was the fact that it left viewers with many questions despite providing a somewhat definitive ending for most of the characters. While reaching North America was a suitable point to end Ubbe’s story, for example, many fans of Vikings Was still incredibly curious to find out what he had when he arrived and settled in.

Ultimately though, the Vikings The ending was relatively well received. It was an ending that did the job without any fluff, but also contained no real spark. Erik Kain summarized it best in his review for Forbes:

But it wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad either.