Ragnar Lothbrok was never supposed to stay. That’s the hard truth fans had to swallow long before we ever got to tv show vikings season 6. When Travis Fimmel’s legendary character met his end in a pit of snakes back in season 4, the show took a massive gamble. Could it survive without its heartbeat? Some say it didn't. Others, myself included, argue that the final twenty episodes provided a messy, violent, and surprisingly poetic closure that a simpler show wouldn't have dared to attempt. It wasn't just about who sat on the throne of Kattegat; it was about the death of an era.
The sixth season was split into two distinct blocks. You had the rise of Bjorn Ironside and the looming shadow of the Rus’ Vikings in the first half, followed by a somber, almost philosophical trek toward the New World and the Golden Age’s sunset in the second. It’s a lot to process. Honestly, it’s kind of a miracle Michael Hirst managed to tie off as many threads as he did.
The Rus' Invasion and the Fall of a King
Kattegat changed. By the time we hit the premiere of the final season, the muddy trading post of season 1 had become a sprawling capital. But the crown of Kattegat has always been cursed. Bjorn Ironside, played with a weary stoicism by Alexander Ludwig, finally got what he wanted. He became King. But he quickly realized that being a "good man" and being a "good king" are rarely the same thing.
The introduction of Prince Oleg (Danila Kozlovsky) changed the scale of the show entirely. The Rus’ Vikings weren't just another raiding party; they were a massive, Christianized imperial force. This wasn't just a brother-against-brother squabble anymore. Ivar the Boneless, fleeing his defeat, found a mirror in Oleg—someone even more ruthless and unstable than himself. Their relationship is one of the weirdest, most tension-filled arcs in the whole series. It’s basically a chess match where the pieces are human lives.
Then came the battle on the beach. If you haven't seen the mid-season finale "The Best Laid Plans," it’s a fever dream. The timeline jumps. It’s non-linear. It feels like a hallucination. When Ivar stabs Bjorn, it felt like the end. But the show pulled a fast one. Bjorn’s "resurrection" in the next episode—riding out on his horse, half-dead, just to terrify the Rus’ into believing he was a god—is arguably the peak of the entire season. It was the moment Bjorn finally stepped out of Ragnar’s shadow. He didn't just win a battle; he became a myth.
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Ubbe’s Search for Something Better
While the world was burning in Norway, Ubbe was looking at the horizon. This is where tv show vikings season 6 deviates from the standard "sword and axe" formula. Ubbe, played by Jordan Patrick Smith, always felt like the son who inherited Ragnar’s curiosity rather than his bloodlust. His journey to Iceland, then Greenland, and eventually to "the Golden Land" (North America) is the soul of the final season.
Greenland was a nightmare. The "Flatnose" family’s descent into madness over a whale carcass was brutal to watch. It was a stark reminder of how greed destroys communities. But the payoff? Reaching the shores of what we now know as Newfoundland. Seeing the Mi’kmaq people and the Vikings attempt to communicate without violence was a rare moment of optimism in a show defined by slaughter.
And then there was Floki.
Finding Gustaf Skarsgård’s character sitting in a cave in the New World was the closure we didn't know we needed. He had changed. The man who once lived for the gods had found peace in the silence. The final scene of the series, with Ubbe and Floki sitting on the beach looking out at the sunset, wasn't a call to arms. It was a sigh of relief.
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The Tragedy of Ivar and Hvitserk
Ivar the Boneless is a polarizing character. Some fans hated his "invincible" plot armor in earlier seasons. But in the final episodes, he becomes human again. His return to Wessex to face King Alfred was a suicide mission, and he knew it. He wasn't looking for a kingdom; he was looking for a legacy.
His death in "The Last Act" was surprisingly quiet. No grand speech. No glorious kill. Just a young man whose bones could no longer support the weight of his own ambition. Watching Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø) weep over his brother’s body was the emotional anchor of the finale. Hvitserk’s journey is often overlooked, but he represents the collateral damage of the Great Heathen Army’s era. His conversion to Christianity at the very end, taking the name Athelstan, brought the show full circle. It signaled the end of the Viking age and the beginning of the medieval world we recognize.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s a common complaint that the show became "too slow" or "too weird" in the final stretch. I get it. The pacing in the Greenland episodes can feel like treading water. But the show was never just about the raids. It was a generational saga. If the show ended with a Viking victory in England, it would have been historically dishonest and narratively cheap.
The show had to end with loss. It had to end with the realization that the gods were falling silent. Lagertha’s funeral in the episode "The Death and the Serpent" remains one of the most visually stunning pieces of television ever made. Her descent to the bottom of the ocean to join Ragnar's spirit wasn't just fanservice; it was a necessary farewell to the old guard.
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Why the History Matters (and where it doesn't)
Michael Hirst has always been open about the fact that Vikings is "historical fiction," not a documentary. In season 6, this becomes very apparent.
- The Rus' Vikings were real, but their invasion of Norway is largely fictionalized for the show.
- Ivar didn't die in Wessex in the arms of his brother; historical records suggest he died in Ireland, possibly of old age or sudden illness.
- Bjorn Ironside’s tomb exists in Sweden today (on the island of Munsö), but he definitely didn't die defending Kattegat from a Russian prince.
Does it matter? Not really. The show’s "truth" is emotional. It’s about the collision of cultures. By the time the credits roll on the final episode, the era of the individual hero—the Ragnars and the Lagerthas—is over. The world is becoming smaller, more organized, and less magical.
Actionable Insights for a Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into tv show vikings season 6, or if you're watching it for the first time, keep these things in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the eyes: Pay attention to Ivar’s eyes. The show established early on that when his sclera turns deep blue, he’s in serious danger of breaking his bones. In the final battle, his eyes are the bluest they've ever been.
- Track the score: Trevor Morris’s music shifts in the final episodes. The heavy, rhythmic war drums of the early seasons give way to more choral, atmospheric sounds, reflecting the transition from paganism to Christianity.
- Compare the brothers: Look at how each of Ragnar’s sons represents a different facet of his personality. Bjorn is his leadership, Ivar is his tactical genius, Ubbe is his curiosity, and Hvitserk is his spiritual turmoil.
- Don't skip the "boring" parts: The scenes in the New World might feel detached from the action in Wessex, but they are the thematic conclusion of the entire series. They answer the question: Can Vikings ever just be peaceful?
The final season is a eulogy. It’s a long, bloody, beautiful goodbye to a cast of characters that changed how we look at history on screen. It wasn't perfect, but it was honest to its own brutal world.
To fully understand the legacy of the show, one must look at the real-world archaeological finds in North America, such as L'Anse aux Meadows, which prove the Norse actually made it to the continent centuries before Columbus. The show’s ending isn't just a fantasy; it’s a dramatization of one of the greatest maritime achievements in human history. Whether you came for the axes or the philosophy, the final season delivered a definitive, if heartbreaking, end to the saga of the Northmen.
The next logical step for any fan is to explore the "Vikings: Valhalla" spin-off on Netflix, which picks up a hundred years later. It provides a fascinating look at how the seeds planted in Season 6—specifically the rise of Christianity and the professionalization of Viking armies—finally bore fruit and led to the ultimate end of the Viking Age at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.