Vikings
Summary
Vikingsseason 4 featured Ragnar Lothbrok ’s demise , and the moment it killed off its independent reference remains one of the show ’s most trigger-happy and lurid . TheVikingsRagnar death — executing by being dropped into a fossa of vicious snake — was lifted straight from the Viking sagas . Ragnar plotted his own death within the show , which became his keen triumph . Introduced as a farmer inVikingsseason 1 , Ragnar ’s peculiarity about the world led him to sail Occident and head raids on England , becoming king . Vikingsseason 4 became Ragnar ’s ruination , developing a drug dependance , suffering a devastating licking during the Second Siege of Paris , and vanish from Kattegat for many eld .
When Ragnar returned to Kattegat he was no longer in any fit state to conquer anything . With a weaken organic structure and a tarnished reputation , he had to resort to jab up his legion of gem — which he should have been deliver forhis afterlife in Valhalla — to buy a crew of raiders to sail with him to England . A storm destroyed his ships , and Ragnar arrive at his name and address with no friend except for his disabled son , Ivar the Boneless . He was n’t much of a threat , butVikings ' Ragnar end allowed the character to deal more damage to England than ever before . It was " part of a enceinte and bolder strategy . "
History Channel ’s Vikings shows a fictitious character based on the historical fable of Ragnar Lothbrok . But how much do you fuck about the real man ?
How Does Ragnar Die In Vikings?
Ragnar Lothbrok Is Thrown In A Pit Full Of Snakes
TheVikingsRagnar death was one of the most shocking moments of season 4 and the show in world-wide , given that Ragnar was the series ' main protagonist up until that power point . Because of his penchant for conflict and subjugation , it was likely only a matter of time before Ragnar Lothbrok ’s dying , but the shock factor swoops in thanks to the knowing element of Ragnar ’s death and the grim manner of his passing .
AfterRollo betrayed Ragnar by stay in Paris , Ragnar raided Francia as a way to exact revenge on his blood brother but was thoroughly and humiliatingly defeated . Upon his paying back to Scandinavia , Ragnar then go away his aboriginal Kattegat to live in isolation because of this embarrassment . This flow , which lasted for several years , left Ragnar undeniably changed , and he emerged faded and resentful that his golden era seemed to be passed . Confronted with the prospect of a spirit in decline , Ragnar adjudicate instead to chart a course to ruin , resulting in his demise .
Ragnar journeyed to England once more and surrender himself to King Ecbert at Wessex , who in turn give him as a captive to King Ælle . Ælle torture Ragnar for daytime on end ( though the latter remained stoically unfazed ) and finally killed him bythrowing him into a pitfall of venomous snake . This is only one of several story about thereal - life sentence Ragnar Lothbrok ’s death , but it ’s sure as shooting one of the most visceral . The violent and unexpected nature ofVikings ' Ragnar death is one of the reasons it shocked audiences , but it was an even more intriguing moment because of how intentionally Ragnar had planned the whole affair out beforehand .
Ragnar Lothbrok died in Vikings season 4 when he was thrown into a pit of snake , but could the great Viking have come through that ?
Ragnar Became An Atheist Before His Death
The Only Person Ragnar Believed In Was Himself
One of the keys to understanding theVikingsRagnar death is the fact that Ragnar was on very rough spiritual ground by the clip he died in season 4 . Ragnar ’s rum judgement led him to interrogate everything — including the graven image themselves . The conflict between the Norse pantheon and Christianity had been a central idea ofVikingsfrom the scratch line , embodied by the relationship betweenRagnar and his beloved supporter , Athelstan . The two character react very otherwise to the clangor of religions in their lives .
Athelstan find out himself torn between his Christian upbringing and his long time as a monk , and his family relationship with the Vikings and their god after he was captured . He was never able-bodied to fully pick out between the Norse faith and Christianity until shortly before Ragnar Lothbrok ’s last when he was acquit again as a Christian . Conversely , the more Ragnar was expose to Athelstan ’s organized religion , the more he seemed to doubt whether the gods existed at all . However , he recognise that the gods — real or not — had major power over the great unwashed , and commence using that to his vantage .
In the siege of Paris attend in Vikings , Ragnar fall off a tower and was hit jolly ill , to the level where he had some health issues after that .
During the First Siege of Paris , inVikingsseason 3 , Ragnar pretended to have converted to Christianity and require to be baptized . He then fake his dying so that his casket would be carried into the heart of the metropolis for a Christian interment , before dramatically break out and opening the gate of Paris for his US Army to wreak havoc . In the aftermath of Athelstan ’s death , Ragnar had replaced his faith in the gods with religion in himself .
While recover from the injuries he received in Paris , Ragnar had a vision of the William Henry Gates of Valhalla close to him . While this could be interpreted as entail that he was only not quick to break yet , it could also be find as the consequence Ragnar ceased to believe in Valhalla . InVikingsseason 4 , Ragnar made his loss of religion cleared when he criminate Kattegat ’s Seer ’s prophecy of being vague , puzzling , and self - fulfilling . Ragnar severalise the Seer , " I do n’t believe in the Supreme Being ' beingness . humans is the master of his own luck , not the gods . The gods are piece ’s creation , to give answer that they are too afraid to give themselves . "
At the end of his life , Ragnar was no longer willing to bear that the idol had already decided the personal manner of his demise . Instead , he proudly exclaim that he shaped his own destiny and that he alone plotted the course of his end .
Ragnar Was Ready To Die (And Had Been For A While)
Unlike The Viewers, Ragnar Wasn’t Shocked By His Death
From the second he returned toKattegat afterVikings’season 4 metre jump , it was well-defined that Ragnar Lothbrok was contemplating his mortality . He later confess to King Ecbert that " death has been uppermost on my psyche for some fourth dimension . " First Ragnar challenged his Son to shoot down him and become king if they dare , which they did not . Then he hang himself from a tree diagram , in an court to the myth of Odin hanging himself from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree Yggdrasil ( the parallel to the one - eyed Allfather returns in Ragnar Lothbrok ’s demise setting , when one of his eye is swollen shut from a beating ) .
When the rope eventually snapped and spar his lifetime , Vikings ' Ragnar Lothbrok seek his deathanother fashion — by returning to England . He formed a plan to set up his enemy for licking , and his sons for triumph and celebrity . It was exculpated that he had no intention of ever returning since he exact the time to say goodbye to all of his loved 1 before he left , which include make peace with Floki .
Throughout its 6 seasons , Vikings has mirror Norse myth & kinsfolk tradition through some of its character . Here ’s every Norse god myth recreation .
Why Ragnar Wanted To Be Executed By King Ælle
Ragnar Lothbrok Used His Death To Benefit The Vikings
The basic goal of Ragnar Lothbrok ’s death was to fix up the end of both King Ecbert and King Ælle . There had never been any making love lost between Ragnar and Ælle , but like personalities and shared love for Athelstan meant that Ragnar and Ecbert had a heavy deal of respect for each other . Despite this , Vikings ' Ragnar Lothbrokcouldn’t die without planning revenge for the slaughter of the Viking settlement many years before . He pull a fast one on Ecbert into believe this crime was forgive so that Ecbert would give him over to Ælle and let Ivar go free , but in fact assure Ivar to take retaliation on them both .
There was more to Ragnar Lothbrok ’s decease than simple revenge , however . InVikingsseason 2 , he asked the Seer what would become of his sons , and was tell that they would become more famous than him . In fussy , Ragnar determine the potential for greatness in Ivar , order his youngest Logos that his non - functioning peg had give him a strength that his brothers miss . The nature of Ragnar Lothbrok ’s death was also his final lesson forIvar the Boneless : he emphasized that people would always underrate him because of his stage , just like Ragnar ’s own enemies underestimated him when he appeared to be nothing more than a unaccented old man in sheet .
Believing that he had prefer his own fate , Ragnar decide to direct the destiny of his son as well . In give them the motivation of avenge his death , he also gave them the rallying call that they would call for to raise the majuscule heathen army . In life , Ragnar had to spend every last scrap of gold he had just to put together a pathetic bust crew ; but in demise , Ragnar Lothbrok became a Viking legendthat could unite the mass of the North and put his sons on the path to gloriole . His legacy is still a part ofVikings : Valhalla .
How Ragnar’s Plan Played Out After His Death
Ragnar’s Death Didn’t Usher In The Era Of Prosperity He’d Hoped For
Despite his legendary status and his attainment as an Internet Explorer , Ragnar ’s military triumph were in reality somewhat limited . He led surprise raids on Northumbria that were successful , but when he led an army to Wessex for the first time , they were kill by King Ecbert ’s employment of papistical military tactics . He suffered another brutal and costly frustration during the initial battle of the First Siege of Paris and was overcome double during the Second Siege of Paris , returning home a broken adult male .
Although he made picayune headroom in stamp down England during his life history , Ragnar Lothbrok ’s demise in season 4 wreaked havoc on the country as his Son — Bjorn , Ubbe , Hvitserk , Sigurd , and Ivar — waged war with an assembled army of chiliad . Ivar in particular proved to be a far better military strategian than his Father of the Church . Bjorn led the initial victory against King Ælle with sheer brute force .
Vikings ' Ragnar Lothbrok made a lot of refutable decision , but one in particular shows he stopped being a Viking . Here ’s what happened .
However , Ivar used cunning to confuse King Ecbert ’s US Army and draw them into a chokehold , thrust Ecbert ’s menage to take flight and abandon him to his portion . Ælle was gruesomely pop when Bjorn do the stock bird of Jove ritual upon him , while Ecbert was permitted the more peaceful expiry of cutting his own wrists . After exacting Ragnar ’s revenge , his sons were able to conquer the city of York , set up a stronghold there and using Ivar ’s scheme to repel Saxon endeavor to reclaim it .
It was said many times in theVikingsshow that Ragnar ’s real dream was n’t merely to raid England but to establish land for his people there . Through the careful invention of his own death , he was in conclusion able-bodied to succeed in this goal . Regardless of whether or not Valhalla live , and whether Ragnar went there , he lived on after expiry by building a legacy through his sons . Of course , that bequest get a moment off - caterpillar tread inVikingsseason 5 when his sons started fight among themselves , but Ragnar ca n’t really be blamed for that .
How Ragnar Lothbrok Died In Real Life
Historians Can’t Agree If Ragnar Lothbrok Even Existed
The famous Norse king Ragnar Lothbrok , who inspired theVikingsTV show , has been immortalized in Icelandic legend that narrate his victories before eventually being overcome by King Ælle and switch into a pit of snake in the grass , just like in Ragnar Lothbrok ’s dying scene . unhappily , little validation exists that theVikings ' Ragnar was actually a real individual . Although evidence support the existence of his sons , most notably Ivar the Boneless , historian believe that Ragnar was in reality a combination of 3 unlike historical name : King Horik I of Denmark ( who appeared in theVikingsseries ) , King Reginfrid , and Reginherus .
The material King Horik was finally killed by his crony , Guttorm , and King Reginfrid probably conk in scrap . Little is known about Reginherus ' end , but many think he was simply down after drop off in battle . None of these destruction are virtually as iconic as the myths surrounding Ragnar ’s , so it attain signified thatVikingsseason 4 seek to depict the fable rather than reality .
Vikings ' lead Ragnar Lothbrok was kill in season 4 , but fans have enquire what happen to his physical structure as he was n’t given a proper burial .
Killing Off Ragnar Was Hard For Vikings Showrunner Michael Hirst
Ragnar’s Death Wasn’t An Easy Decision
buff of the serial were n’t the only single heartbroken to see Ragnar ’s death inVikings . Showrunner Michael Hirst has write every episode ofVikings . However , despite knowing the secret plan in approach , he was still shaken by Ragnar ’s aroused death , as the Viking was one of Hirst ’s favorite characters(viaExpress ) . The showrunner even gave quotation to Fimmel for the episode , explaining , " When I saw it I cry , knowing that this was the end of a journey that Ragnar and I and Travis and I had been on . It was a cosmos of both me and Travis together . It was a very moving day . "
The secure reaction Hirst has was shared by every viewer , but the author and historiographer at least feels like it was a salary - off despite seeing such a strong mien in the show disappear . Hirst added , " It carries a huge charge in the show , it really does devote off all the time of day we ’ve invest in him . We do death very well in Vikings , but this was peculiarly moving . ”Vikingsdoesn’t timid aside from pour down off persona , and sometimes in the most physically painful way , but seeing Ragnar ’s death inVikingswas more emotionally abominable than anything .
What Has Travis Fimmel Done Since Playing Ragnar Lothbrok?
The Actor Has Done A Great Deal Outside Vikings
After the show was invalidate , he played Anderson on the seriesDirty Black Bag . Travis Fimmel has been on the big screen as well , playing Anduin Lothar in the film based on the popular video recording gameWarcraft . He ’s had various other appearances in movie , and his most late endeavor will see the thespian playing the part of Fenton " Preacher " Lang in the upcoming horse opera movieRust . Since his last onVikings , Travis Fimmel has plump on to have a self-coloured playacting career , also featuring in Charlie Day ’s directorial launching , Fool ’s Paradise , and he will play Desmond Hart in the forthcoming HBO seriesDune : The Sisterhoodtoo .
