When Vikings is at its best, the show is more like poetry than prose. . Is this once again a failed attempt by this show to make something appear grand and poetic and deep and instead it just comes off as confusing and pointless? The newly “baptized” Hvitserk is brimming with confidence and good humor. “He disturbs my nights. He renounces his religion and vows to convert to Christianity in … Whereas Ragnar cut Jarl Borg’s back open, breaking his ribs and splaying them out in a grotesque imitation of wings, Ubbe shows Naad mercy. When she learns that Harald and Ivar are dead, she takes the throne for herself and everyone seems pretty fine with this, chanting “long live the queen!”. One of the final scenes saw Hvitserk being baptised in the presence of Alfred and his wife, Aelswith (Roisin Murphy). Let the past go.”, “Of course I do!” Floki replies, scowling. “You don’t need to know anything,” Floki says. It became hard to keep track of all the different minor characters. The creator had always been keen to keep Athelstan alive in one form or another until the end of the series, as he played such a pivotal role. The constant fighting and warring between brothers following Ragnar’s death was exhausting. Ragnar’s son and his best friend, sitting quietly on a far shore. He’s a mad demon on the battlefield now, plunging from one foe to the next with joyful abandon. It is all he has ever known. Oh well. Story threads just drop off. I can’t get rid of him. Vikings season 6, part two was the final instalment in the Vikings saga and it saw many storylines come to a close. This is especially true of the New World—Ubbe’s “Golden Land” where he and Torvi and the rest of the refugees from Greenland strike out to explore. I think so. We rarely see children grow up (they mostly just die) and characters age unevenly. Most of the original characters have been lost. so at the end Hvitserk became a christian and changed his name to athelstan. Athelstan (George Blagden) was a Christian monk who had been captured by Ragnar Lothbrok and was taken back to Kattegat as a slave. One of the leading characters in the final 10 episodes was Hvitserk (played by Marco Ilsø). Sieges were far more common. Watch it if you haven’t yet. Hvitserk was outright hostile to his brother, but ended up helping him free the prince nonetheless. And Ingrid is capable enough and plenty ruthless. So Ivar, who has been in terrible pain from his bone disease which we know has flared up thanks to his eyes turning blue, shambles out onto the battlefield. “I don’t care what you say, I love you Floki,” Ubbe replies, giving Floki the love and acknowledgement that his father never could after the murder of Athelstan. The seagulls cry and the waves crash on the shore and the Vikings theme-song starts to play. “I’m not sure about anything, not anymore,” Floki tells Ubbe. He never had much luck with the ladies, after all. ... but I also think the show was at its best when Ragnar and King Ecbert and Athelstan were all around. Vikings gave up any semblance of realism long ago, and if they want to stretch believability this is the way to do it. It’s a good question, and something Floki echoes when he and Ubbe sit on the beach together at the end, watching the sunset. But it’s kind of a disappointing way to see one of the best characters in Vikings go. These have been consistently terrible since the early days of Vikings when war was much smaller scale than it’s become, maybe simply due to budget limitations. Vikings is a popular historical drama series which has been airing for the past seven years, and it finally came to an end on December 30, 2020. Maybe because the show’s creators thought battles were cool and what audiences wanted to see. The reunion with Floki was really wonderful, and I can’t really imagine a better final scene than those two on the beach. Not even remotely realistic but kind of a cool gimmick. Ragnar died in Season 4, Episode 15 but it was really even before his death that Vikings started to flounder. A fitting end to the Vikings saga. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t at all bad either. When they leave Kiev, Hvitserk says to Ivar, “You’ve changed.”. The most compassionate, the most level-headed. I understand not wanting to tell the same Vikings-invade-England storyline that’s so predominant in this mythos, but I also think the show was at its best when Ragnar and King Ecbert and Athelstan were all around. It’s an ambition in line with Ivar’s various grandiose ideas about himself (though the show has never done a great job of establishing the children of Ragnar’s fame outside of repeating the fact). Or will he become King Athelstan who actually reigned as a Wessex king, after King Alfred’s death? Ivar nods and tells him he doesn’t have to be afraid. Even when Ivar was off in Kiev, Hvitserk was haunted by his ghost. Othere says he learnt to fight being a Viking, but then also became a monk. By the time he went back to England he could barely raise an army, so tarnished was his legacy. Why rush the Great Army storyline and then spend so much time on battles between brothers in Norway? Vikings season six, part two was the final instalment of the historical drama and fans were sad to see the iconic show come to an end. He was never enamored with the old ways. All this seems to suggest that the Vikings were losing and Ivar’s going to turn the tide of battle through sheer force of will. Hope Is Built On Nothing Less by FunkyinFishnet. The third brother, fittingly enough, took a different path altogether. The amused Olaf has Hvitserk imprisoned and tortured. . I’ve been mostly unhappy with this show since the death of Ragnar, not because Vikings needed Ragnar to tell a quality story, but because it spent so much time not going anywhere for the past . Athelstan is alive in this story and plays a surprising role in Ragnar’s fate. And like his father, he’s the one to venture forth, leave battle and war behind, and seek out a new way in a new world for his people. It’s a rags-to-riches story if ever there was one, and now Kattegat has a witch for a queen, and one willing to send assassins to take down Christian converts. I’m sure they cost a lot to film but they’re not particularly creative and once you’ve seen one grand charge between Vikings and Saxons, or Vikings and Rus, or Vikings and Vikings, you’ve seen them all. I miss you talking? “There are so many things I need to know,” Ubbe says. His spirit has continued to guide many of the characters, including King Alfred when he was a child. Here’s where it gets murky. Hvitserk, ever the Fredo of the Lothbrok sons, is left alone in England, the uncertain guardian of his father’s dreams there. Vikings season 6 part 2 finale: Why was Hvitserk given the name Athelstan? I’m still a little miffed that Ingrid of all people became Queen of Kattegat (though thankfully Erik didn’t become king, that guy was such a prick) but maybe that’s also the point. In the series finale, Hvitserk’s (played by Marco Ilsø) storyline reached its peak when he was baptised at the request of King Alfred (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Vikings Season 6 Updates: With Hvitserk converting to Christianity and changing his name to Athelstan, the History Channel Series Vikings, finally conclude its sixth and final season. . Hirst explained how Athelstan has continued to be a part of the series, even if it was not in the flesh. Fans took a while to warm to his character, feeling as though he had not achieved anything significant throughout the series. If anything, he should have been killed by a woman. Maybe it was Paris. Athelstan in Vikings is a former Christian monk, who was a victim at the raid of Lindisfarne in 793. The Athelstan that we see in Vikings was named for King Athelstan, the first King of England from 927 to 939. Shockingly, complex characters are more interesting than purely evil and sadistic ones. Small-scale skirmishes were far more likely than massive gatherings of troops (a phenomenon you start seeing more of when governments start keeping standing armies). Bjorn’s voyage to the East was weirdly truncated and ultimately pointless. When the two reunited and Hvitserk went back to Kiev with him, the relationship took new twists and turns. Vikings season 6, part two was the final instalment in the Vikings saga and it saw many storylines come to a close. No strategy (except the odd brilliant plan from Ivar) and very little seafaring combat, raids and so forth. And while that might have been an interesting thing to explore, it felt like the show was simply writing him off to make room for all his sons—all grown up after a jarring (but necessary) time jump. Hvitserk is often seen alongside his brother Ubbe, and likely looks up to him. We’re about to get into spoilers for all of Season 6 of Vikings. Shield walls may not be as dramatic, but they’re far more sensible. Bjorn was always a lone wolf. Vikings has sacrificed not just realism for style and scale, but logic as well. But if Ivar went into the fray to save Hvitserk or turn the tide, he sure didn’t achieve those goals. “You look like him,” Floki says (and it’s true). Jan 3, 2021 - VIKINGS season 6 part 2 came as a welcome Christmas gift for fans at the end of 2020. I’m not sure where Ivar’s bodyguards were at this point, or why he didn’t kill the little guy, or why he sent Hvitserk to safety and Hvitserk just hung out twenty feet away watching all of this unfold. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Hvitserk fought against the Christians until the old adage “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” reared its ugly head. Actor Ilsø is on Instagram and he shared a photo of his character in season two, alongside a photo of his character in the series finale. Ivar never abandoned his Viking path, dying a proud pagan, content in the knowledge that he’d soon be in Valhalla with his father. How old is Torvi? He’ll live out his years as a Saxon prince and a Christian, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Rollo, Duke of Normandy. After Ivar dies, Hvisterk is captured by West Saxons, and has to bargain for his life. Instead they chose to sail to Wessex in England, in order to avenge their father and fight against King Alfred (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Another rags-to-riches story. The final season of Vikings showed Hvitserk how he converted to Christianity so he was given a new name, called Athelstan. Why not give the character more depth before this? ⚔️ . Hvitserk’s constant battle with addiction and madness was compelling at times, but it felt like something that was never truly examined in interesting ways. Unlike Game Of Thrones, I can walk away from this show feeling mostly satisfied rather than seething rage and crushing disappointment. So I’m sad to say that the final battle in Vikings between Alfred and Ivar was just incredibly disappointing. In the end, we see him converting to Christianity, with the forgiving Alfred giving him the new name of Athelstan. Hvitserk and Ivar’s relationship was always fraught, and in many ways—despite all their weird animosity—they were the closest of any of Ragnar’s sons. In the final three episodes of the series, Michael Hirst and his team offer up some of the most beautiful moments we’ve ever seen in Vikings. Ubbe even looks the most like him, as Floki reminds us in the show’s final moments. His bodyguards seem to move like puppets, striking enemies with the exact motions Ivar makes. When Hvitserk refuses to relent, the impressed Olaf agrees to attack Kattegat. Earlier in the episode, Ivar tells Hvitserk how he wants to be the most famous Viking to ever live—unlike Ragnar who everyone’s already forgotten. Like so many shows, even with plenty of death the cast felt bloated by the end. Then Vikings, led by Jarl Ragnar, arrive to assist Northumberland’s King in repelling an invasion. Historically, this kind of open warfare was pretty rare. That dynasty has fallen and a new regime is here. Athelstan played a metaphorical role in the series as he represented the growing impact of Christianity during the Viking Age. Once their mission was complete, the brothers decided to head back to their homeland of Kattegat, but they were not satisfied. Maybe I’m missing something. “Is that the end?” Ubbe replies. And for the first time, the two brothers treat one another like equals and friends. But here’s Floki at long last, looking older and wiser than ever. Ubbe and Hvitserk were close for a spell, but never as close as Ivar and Hvitserk. Floki just cackles. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. Alfred saw a vision of Christ earlier but now he’s nowhere to be seen. DON’T MISS… Vikings season 6 part 2 ending: What happened to Kjetill Flatnose? Season 5’s two 10-episode halves was dominated by this, and much of Season 6. A fitting end to the Vikings saga. He keeps asking me to build him a new boat, and I say ‘What the hell do you need a new boat for, Ragnar? 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