The time has come and the story of the Lothbrok clan has come to a close. The final 10 episodes of Vikings are available to stream on Amazon Prime video as we speak, resolving the generational story that began with Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and ultimately became the tale of his sons as they ascended to become some of the most notable Vikings of all time.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the final season of Vikings. If you haven’t watched all 10 episodes of the second half of Season 6 yet, stop reading now. They are currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
At the tail end of the seventh episode of Season 6B–“The Raft of Medusa”–Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) and his fellow Vikings stumbled upon the new world, while waiting to starve to death on their boat. It was the miraculous moment for the long-suffering Vikings, and a moment creator Michael Hirst had envisioned since long before the series originally premiered.
“I knew the ending right from the beginning,” he told GameSpot. “When I pitched the show to the History Channel, I told them that it would end in America–in Newfoundland–if I had the chance to get there.”
Not only did he get the chance to be there, but he was also able to bring the series full circle by using the new world to reintroduce Floki, who was long-thought dead. It led to the closest thing Vikings could ever get to a happy ending, with a final scene in which Floki and Ubbe sat on the beach of Newfoundland, looking off at the horizon.
“The final image is beautiful in itself and does suggest a new dawn and, perhaps, the story going on in an interesting and perhaps slightly better way,” Hirst said. “It was wonderful to be there, standing a few yards behind the figures on the beach–Jordan and Gustaf. Me and my son, just watching. We all got up at four o’clock in the morning and we were down there on the beach in the darkness, and we were all watching the sunrise and I can tell you it was beautiful. It was a beautiful moment. After seven years, it was very special to end on that very tranquil, beautiful sunrise.”
Of course, while that tranquil scene between Ubbe and Floki does unfold in the final moments of the show, it’s certainly not the only ending in the series finale. We also see what happens with the other remaining sons of Ragnar–Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen) and Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø).
For Ivar, it’s a sad but expected ending. After years of believing he was a god, Ivar went down in battle upon accepting he was human and near the end of his life. With his bones weakening after declaring war on Wessex, Ivar walked into battle one last time and when someone came to attack him, he welcomed the blade. As he lay dying, he told his brother Hvitserk he was scared–a rare moment of honesty and clarity from Ivar. However, his brother reassured him he would be remembered as the most famed Viking of all time, which was important to Ivar.
That wasn’t the end of Hvitserk’s tale, though. Following the battle with Wessex, Hvitserk went back to the country and converted to Christianity. In doing so, he’s rechristened with the name Athelstan, which long-time Vikings fans will recognize. That’s the name of the Christian monk (George Blagden) Ragnar befriended early in the series–a man that shaped so much of Ragnar’s worldview. The character, which was constantly torn between his Christian faith and the Viking way of life, eventually met his end in Season 3, though his impact on the series was long-lasting.
It’s fitting that the series ends with the culmination of the stories of the individual sons of Ragnar. It’s also fitting that their stories all ended so differently. Each of the sons carried different parts of their father with them. It’s hard to tell which was most like Ragnar, because they all resembled him in so many ways. Ivar had his ambition, while Ubbe longed for the quiet life Rangar often wanted. Lastly, there’s Hvitserk, dedicating himself to the religion Ragnar was so fascinated by throughout the series.
And while their individual tales have all come to an end, they are done in a way to suggest there’s so much more story to tell when it comes to Viking culture. Some of that, certainly, will be unveiled in the follow-up series Vikings: Valhalla. The next steps of what’s left of the Lothbrok clan, though, isn’t likely something we’ll see play out on screen anytime soon.
The final 10 episodes of Vikings are streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.
