Vikings finally came to an end, and just like Game of Thrones, the historical drama didn’t go out with a bang. Actually, it left most fans disappointed, probably more than Game of Thrones did. The creators hurried through most of the storylines to get the hit show done with and ended up making more mistakes than the first five seasons of the show had. From Ubbe going from a total stranger to the native American Indians to speaking the same language with them in just hours to Ingrid’s pregnancy remaining invisible up to five months while Hvitserk grew a huge beard, the final season just didn’t add up on many fronts.
Lagertha’s Death
Lagertha was a shieldmaiden and she deserved the great funeral that she was given in the show but her character wasn’t given the justice she required. Lagertha was injured badly while fighting the Skagamaor Whitehair whom she bravely beheaded. She had just lost her grandchild Hali, Bjorn’s son, to the raid and definitely deserved more justice than she got. Instead of getting her home secured, or getting to go to battle alongside her son at least one more time, Lagertha ended up being stabbed to death by a hallucinating Hvitserk who mistook her for Ivar. Bjorn didn’t even get the chance to talk to his mother before she died. It was just a write-off of the greatest female character in the show.
Gunhild’s Suicide
Bjorn’s death was one of the most misused parts of the show as the creators used it as the excuse to end every significant character including Gunhild. Gunhild was a strong-willed person that fought alongside Bjorn to bring the right leadership to Kattegat. Before meeting Bjorn, Gunhild was married to Olafsson and had helped the Jarl keep York together and fend off Saxon attacks all those years.
She was more than capable of leading Kattegat if not all of Norway. However, when Bjorn died, the show turned her into a weak mourning widow that could no longer stand up for herself against weaklings like Ingrid, Erik and Harald. The worst came when the show presented her as a potential second wife to Harald, before writing her off in a suicide.
Harald Becoming King Of Norway
Bjorn becoming the King of all of Norway was not a negotiable outcome. When Olaf presented the proposal to elect Bjorn as the leader of Norway, it seemed like the creators had finally decided to bring a bigger meaning to the legacy of the Lothbroks. Instead, after a few people voted for Bjorn, the show produced ghost kings and earls to vote for Harald until he won the election. The idea of a united Norway which had been big and highly anticipated suddenly became a scam. It was at that moment that the creators started writing off the Lothbroks.
Ivar Dying In Wessex
According to history, Ivar the boneless was the king over huge parts of Ireland, Scotland and parts of Wessex. When Ivar left Kyiv and managed to convince Harald to raid with him in Wessex one more time, most fans believed that the show was finally aligning itself with historical facts. Ivar was also winning the battle against the visibly weaker Saxon army before the show changed the direction of the battle without any explanation. Using Ivar’s blue eyes as the excuse for losing the battle to King Alfred was just too lame an excuse to write off such a huge character. Ivar ended up being killed by a nobody before being buried against the Viking tradition of floating bodies on a boat before setting them alight. It just didn’t make any sense.
Hvitserk Becoming A Christian
When Bjorn died, Ivar told him to go in peace that he would meet him in Valhalla. He said the same to his brother Ivar when he died, suggesting that Hvitserk would become the next great leader of the Vikings but he didn’t. The show had kept his character insignificant, only serving as Ivar’s puppet without accomplishing any major events even though he was also the son of Ragnar Lothbrok. In a shocking twist, the show brought Hvitserk back in the finale denying Odin and all the other Norse gods before being baptized Athelstan, a name provided by Alfred himself. So, what exactly took the spine out of this great Viking to make him Alfred’s puppet.
Ubbe’s Quick Adaptation To The New World
When Ubbe arrived in the Golden land, everyone was thrilled because he had finally achieved Ragnar’s great dream. The happiness was short-lived though as the creators bungled his adaptation to the new world. The Vikings couldn’t communicate with the natives on arrival which made perfect sense, but a few hours later, they were talking without translation as if they had been living together or years. It couldn’t have happened in such a short period because Ragnar, Ubbe’s son, hadn’t grown an inch. So where did Ubbe get a language translating app that suddenly made the Indians and the Vikings speak the same language?
Ingrid As Queen Of Kattegat
Ragnar fought hard against Earl Haraldson, Jarl Borg and later King Horik, to secure his position as king of Kattegat. When the Rus came to Norway, Oleg told his armies that Kattegat was the most important town in Norway which is why he chose to attack it next. So, Kattegat, the home to the greatest heroes Scandinavia had ever seen, ended up falling into the hands of a nobody. Ingrid was just a slave that seduced Bjorn, bewitched Harald then blinded Erik to become the queen. If that was all there was to the throne, then what was the meaning of the first five seasons of the show?
Ingrid’s Pregnancy
Just how long does it take before pregnancy becomes visible? Experts will tell you that it takes 12 to 16 weeks for the baby bump to become visible. When Bjorn died, Ingrid was already pregnant, or so she claimed. Then Harald raped her, and that could also have been the source of the pregnancy, no one knows. However, between the two incidences and Ivar’s return to Kattegat, then the raid in Wessex, there should have been at least five months. At least that is how long it would take for Hvitserk beard to reach its size as seen in the finale. However, all that time until she was crowned queen, Ingrid’s miraculous pregnancy remained invisible.
Norway Without A Leader
The whole idea of a united Norway seems to have been a waste of time since no one seemed interested in that crown after Harald’s death. Harald almost killed Bjorn for it, and Erik had stolen it from Harald to use it to help Bjorn rally every Norwegian to fight the Rus. Uniting the entire kingdom under one king seemed to have finally saved Norway from the squabbling days of Ragnar and Horik. In the final season, the whole thing vanished though, as everyone died and no one was crowned as king of the whole country after king Harald died. Ingrid was only crowned as queen of Kattegat.
Rollo’s Mysterious Disappearance
Rollo was simply written off by the creators despite having been the second most significant Viking in the show second only to Ragnar Lothbrok himself. After Ragnar’s defeat in Frankia and his eventual death, Rollo became insignificant. He appeared shortly in the fifth season helping Ivar take over Kattegat before disappearing. So, what happened to him in Frankia and why didn’t he come to Bjorn’s aid when the Rus attacked considering the fact that he may have been Bjorn’s father. How did he just disappear into thin air?
