Once home on the History Channel, Vikings lasted for six seasons and gave historical fiction a prestige television face lift. Telling the story of Ragnar Lothbrok and his Viking brood, the series spanned generations and continents, seeing the Viking Age come to life through epic battles and gut-wrenching drama.
The series came to its end in late 2020, showing how Ragnar’s children live on beyond him and stake their claim throughout the world. This final season jumped from the History Channel to Amazon Prime Video, bringing the Viking Age to an end on a new streaming home. Few of the stalwart characters made it out of the story alive, but many Norsemen and women would meet their end when the series did. Before the release of the new Netflix sequel Vikings: Valhalla, here’s how Amazon closed the book on Vikings.
What Was the History Channel’s Vikings?
Though it was inspired by the real-life historical tales of Viking figures such as Ragnar Lothbrok, the show Vikings did take liberties with the material whenever legend or historical facts were up for debate. The protagonist is of course Ragnar, whose family is made up of his wife and shield maiden Lagertha, his brother Rollo and his first son Bjorn. Bjorn was joined by other siblings Gyda, Ivar and Sigurd, all of whom would become prominent members of the cast as they came of age and became warriors themselves. Another main character is the impish Floki, who may or may not be the God of Mischief.
Though the initial Viking chieftain was Earl Haraldson, this role is later taken by Ragnar himself. As the show continues, new characters, spouses and children are added, as well as new technologies and advancements that allow the Vikings to travel to new worlds. By the time of the fourth season of Vikings, Ragnar is actually killed off, shocking viewers. Despite this, the series continued for two more seasons, the last of which ended on a dramatic yet triumphant note.
How Did Vikings’ Sixth Season End?
With Ragnar long gone, the main characters of the sixth and final season were his widow Lagertha, as well as their son Bjorn, who had now become the king of Kattegat. He comes to rule the land after his brother Ivar leaves for what would one day be Russia. These and other characters all begin their own dynasties in various locations, including Floki and a character named Ubbe, who discover a mysterious new land.
The show’s final episode is fittingly titled “The Last Act,” giving resolution to many of the characters’ stories and their respective relocations. Having found the “new land,” Floki recalls his tale to Ubbe and Torvi, though the ending for Ragnar’s son Ivar is not nearly as happy. Ivar and Bjonr had already lost their mother Lagertha, who was murdered by Hvitserk, Ragnar’s son by another woman. On top of that, Ivar had become disillusioned by the role of king, something he had once craved so much.
Ivar and his ally Alfred had tried and failed to negotiate with those they encountered in England, and the resulting battle sees Ivar finally earn a Viking’s death when he’s killed by an Englishman. Despite what had happened between them, Hvitserk buries his brother, with their age as they knew it now at an end. Reflecting upon all of the bloodshed and instability in their lives, many of the surviving Vikings realize that it was the actions of man, not the will of supposed gods, that had determined their lives. Ruminating on this and the need to move beyond what they had known, Floki and Ubbe sit together on a beach as the series reaches Valhalla. Though the series’ legacy will live on in the sequel show, the story of the characters fans had grown to love is now over.
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