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Vikings: Why Ragnar Lothbrok Planned His Own Death in Season 4
Butcher79
Vikings protagonist Ragnar Lothbrok was an ambitious man, but the biggest ploy he used in the series was planning his own death.
In Season 4" Vikings» something happened that rarely happens in a TV show: the main character, Ragnar Lothbrok, was killed. The Norwegian king's death - an execution by being thrown into a pit of venomous snakes - was taken straight from the Viking sagas and was necessary for the show to continue and focus on his sons. But in the series, Ragnar's plot to kill himself was actually his greatest victory.
В first season" Viking" he was presented as a simple farmer, and Ragnar's curiosity for the world led him to sail west and raid England. On his way, he made enemies, and it was by defeating these enemies that Ragnar became Jarl of Kattegat, and later became a king. Season 4 Vikings" was the story of the fall of Ragnar. He became addicted to drugs, suffered a crushing defeat during the Second Siege of Paris, and disappeared from Kattegat for many years afterwards.
When Ragnar returned to Kattegat, he was no longer able to win. An old man with a weakened body and a tarnished reputation, he had to resort to excavating his treasures, which he was saving to enjoy in Valhalla, to bribe a small team of Vikings to go with him to England. . A storm destroyed his ships, and Ragnar arrived to avenge himself with no allies save for his disabled son, Ivar the Boneless. He certainly didn't look dangerous, but as he died, Ragnar did more damage to England than he ever did in his life. In his own words, it was " part of a larger and bolder strategy ».
Ragnar Became An Atheist Before He Died
Ragnar's curious mind made him question everything, including the gods themselves. The conflict between the Scandinavian pantheon and Christianity was a key theme Vikings from the very beginning, embodied in the relationship between Ragnar and his beloved friend Athelstan. The two characters reacted differently to the clash of religions in their lives. Athelstan is torn between his Christian upbringing and years of monasticism, and his kinship with the Vikings and their gods after he is captured. He could never fully choose between the Norse gods and the Christian god until shortly before his death, when he was spiritually reborn and fully converted to Christianity. Conversely, the more Ragnar became familiar with Athelstan's religion, the more he seemed to doubt whether gods even existed. However, he recognized that the gods - real or not - have power over people, and began to use this to his advantage.
There were actually two occasions when Ragnar used his own death as a strategic move. During the First Siege of Paris, in the third season " Vikings" , he pretended to have converted to Christianity and asked to be baptized. He then faked his death so that his coffin would be moved downtown for a Christian burial, before dramatically breaking out of it and opening the gates of Paris for his army to wreak havoc. This was the first sign that after death Athelstan, Ragnar replaced his faith in the gods with faith in himself. As Ragnar recovered from his wounds in Paris, he had a vision of the gates of Valhalla closing before him. While this can be interpreted to mean that he is simply not ready to die yet, this can also be seen as the moment Ragnar stopped believing in Valhalla.
In Season 4" Vikings" Ragnar clearly showed his loss of faith when, on the way to his execution, his blind charioteer suddenly turned into Seer of Kattegat . Blaming his prophecies for vagueness, confusion, and self-fulfillment, Ragnar told the Seer: I don't believe in the existence of gods. Man is the master of his own destiny, not the gods. The gods are the creation of man, to give answers they are too afraid to give themselves ". At the end of his life, Ragnar was no longer willing to put up with the fact that the gods had already determined the manner of his death. Instead, he proudly proclaimed that he had shaped his own destiny and that he alone planned the course of his death.
Ragnar Was Ready To Die
From the moment he returned to Kattegat after the time jump in season 4 Vikings , it was clear that Ragnar wanted to die. He later confessed to King Ecbert: Some time I'm the most I thought about of death ". At first, Ragnar encouraged his sons to kill him and become king if they dared (they didn't dare). He then hanged himself from a tree in homage to the myth of Odin (the parallel to the one-eyed Allfather returns in Ragnar's death scene when one of his eyes is swollen from beatings). After the rope broke saving his life, Ragnar zealously decided to return to England for a final foray, formulating a plan to use his own death to set his enemies up for defeat and his sons for victory and glory. It was clear that he had no intention of ever returning to Kattegat; he took the time to say goodbye to all his loved ones and make peace with Flocksbefore leaving.
Why Ragnar Wanted to be Executed by King Ella
The primary purpose of Ragnar's death was to arrange for the destruction of both King Ecbert and King Ella. There was never a lost love between Ragnar and Ecbert, but their similar personalities and shared love for Athelstan meant that Ragnar and Ecbert had great respect for each other. Despite this, Ragnar could not die without taking revenge for the massacre in the Viking settlement many years ago. He tricked Ecbert into believing that this crime was forgiven so that Ecbert would turn him over to Ella for execution and let Ivar go, but in fact told Ivar to take revenge on Ella and Ecbert.
However, Ragnar's plan was not only about simple revenge. In second season" Vikings" he asked the Seer what would become of his sons and was told that they would become more famous than he. In particular, Ragnar saw the potential for greatness in Ivar, telling his youngest son that his non-functioning legs gave him strength that his brothers lacked. The nature of Ragnar's death was also his final lesson to Ivar: he emphasized that people would always underestimate him because of his legs, just as Ragnar's own enemies underestimated him when he appeared to be nothing more than a weak old man in rags.
Believing that he himself chose his fate, Ragnar decided to control the fate of his sons as well. By giving them a reason to avenge his death, he also gave them the rallying cry they would need to build a great pagan army. In life, Ragnar had to spend every last scrap of gold to collect a miserable team of robbers; but in death he turned himself into a legend that could unite the people of the North and guide their sons to the path of glory.
How Ragnar's Plan Fulfilled After His Death
Despite his legendary status and his accomplishments as an explorer, Ragnar's military victories were actually somewhat limited. He led surprise raids into Northumbria which were successful, but when he first brought an army into Wessex they were defeated by King Ecbert's use of Roman military tactics. He suffered another brutal and costly defeat during the opening battle of the First Siege of Paris, and was defeated twice during the Second Siege of Paris, returning home a broken man.
While Ragnar made no headway in conquering England during his lifetime, his death wreaked havoc on the country as his sons - Bjorn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd and Ivar - waged war with a mustered army of thousands. In particular, Ivar proved to be a much better military strategist than his father. Bjorn led to the first victory against King Ell with sheer brute force, but Ivar used cunning to confuse King Ecbert's army and lure them into a chokehold, forcing Ecbert's family to flee and abandon him to his fate. Ella was horribly killed when Bjorn performed the blood eagle ritual on him, while Ekbert was allowed to die more peacefully by cutting his own wrists. After avenging Ragnar, his sons were able to capture the city of York, establishing a stronghold there and using Ivar's cunning strategies to fend off Saxon attempts to retake him.
In " Vikings" it has been said many times that Ragnar's real dream was not just to raid England, but to establish land there for his people. Through careful planning of his own death, he was finally able to succeed in this goal. Whether or not Valhalla exists or whether Ragnar went there, he continued to live on after death, creating a legacy through his sons. Of course, that legacy got a bit off track in Season 5." Vikings", when his sons started fighting among themselves, but Ragnar cannot be blamed for that.
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