Vikings creator talks killing Ragnar, why he ended the show with season 6 (2024)
The sixth and final season ofVikingsis now available in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video, with episodes also dropping one at a time on History. The series has gained a huge following over the years, and now that it’s over,Collidertalked to creatorMichael Hirst about where it’s been and how it got here, starting right at the beginning.
“Most shows are canceled after the first season,” Hirst said of the series’ early days. “I was thrilled that MGM and then History had picked it up for starters. I had a sort of big menu in my own mind about what I want to do. A lot of that was to do with overturning a lot of cliches about Viking life and about the Vikings generally…I was aware that audience figures were growing exponentially and that it was working. But I was still kind… I was pretty superstitious about how far I could go.”
"I loved season one. I loved the introduction of the characters and the world. I did a lot of stuff that I wanted to do about putting in the Viking society, and Viking values, and trying not to be preachy about that, or educational. But to show that, to dramatize their way of thinking. And getting the first season, like the pilot episode, they’re really difficult to write, because you’re setting things up. You didn’t want it to go too far, but on the other hand you want to establish the characters."
The show grew in popularity year over year, which made when Hirst did next especially surprising: he killed the main character, Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), in its fourth season. It was a bold move, but something Hirst had always planned. “[W]hen I finally announced to everyone that this was the season I was going to kill Ragnar I got a lot of warning, certainly from the Americans, that was a dangerous thing to do,” he remembered. “And that most shows, who lose their lead character, don’t continue successfully.”
I can think of at least one show —Game of Thrones— that seemed to only get more popular whenever it killed a major character, but Hirst wasn’t tapped in to any of that. “I have tried deliberately to avoid watching too much drama on TV, because I don’t want to be affected by it,” he said. “I never watchedGame of Thronesfor example, because I never wanted anyone to say, ‘You borrowed that fromGame of Thrones. or ‘That’s likeGame of Thrones.’ So I didn’t want to be effected by it. Not that it was similar, because it was a fantasy show. But still, you know what I mean? These things can come into your head when you don’t expect them to come into your head.”
That brings us up to the final season, which is Hirst’s favorite.“[I]t’s the closest one to me and I went through so many powerful, emotional experiences while we were making it,” he said. “So it indelibly printed on my mind.” And it sounds like he got to make the ending he always intended, and none too soon:
"I knew that the ending would be the discovery of America, and Newfoundland. And that was what I always planned. I have to say realistically that having spent every day, and sometimes some of the night, for seven years writing, and thinking, and living this show that I needed to conclude it. I needed to end the saga. But more importantly, I needed to wrap it up. I needed to conclude these last storylines in ways that would be satisfactory and satisfying to an audience. I didn’t want to cheat anyone. I didn’t want to cheat the actors, the characters, or the audience. The big challenge to conclude all the various storyline with justice, satisfactorily and emotionally satisfactorily, which involved me having to kill off some of my most beloved characters. So it was a very, very emotional experience writing these last 10 episodes."
Unlike a lot of shows,Vikingsdidn’t have a writers’ room — every single episode was written by Hirst. It’s impressive, but it also took a toll, particular after the series went from running 10 episodes a season to 20. Hirst’s wife noticed that it was wearing on him.
"She said, “It’s kind of killing you. I can see that. I know it gives you enormous joy. But it’s your full time life. This show is your life.” Which it was. And my wife was pointing out that it was very selfish of me to do that. So I knew that the sixth season would be the last, but I still had to end it properly. I still had to dig in, I suppose at whatever cost, and finish it as I wanted it finished. As I say, I had huge support from MGM and History."
We think it worked out pretty well.
So Hirst is out of theVikingsgame, but thereisa sequel series —Vikings: Valhalla— coming to Netflix later this year. Skol!
Next. Whales, Snickers and wet suits: Adam Copeland looks back on his Vikings journey. dark
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We stopped shooting the final episode in November last year and I felt that I'd said all I needed to say about Ragnar
Ragnar
Ragnar "Lothbrok" Sigurdsson is a main character in the historical drama series Vikings, created by Canadian network History. He is portrayed by Travis Fimmel and is based on Ragnar Lodbrok, a 9th-century Viking farmer and warrior who raided Anglo-Saxon villages in England.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ragnar_Lothbrok_(Vikings)
and his sons. I told my saga, and I'd been very fortunate to be given that opportunity by MGM and History. I had no reason to want to continue it beyond that.
Ragnar plotted his own death within the show, using it as a strategic move to deal more damage to England. Ragnar's death was part of his larger plan to guide the fate of his sons and establish a legacy for his people in England.
Despite rumors of cancellation, this reflected creator Michael Hirst's wishes for the show's length, where it should end, and the toll it took on the showrunner's personal life. Here's a look back at the show and why it finally reached Valhalla in its sixth season.
However, Vikings revealed that it was Ragnar's plan all along to die by the hand of King Ælle, so his sons could return and exact terrible vengeance against his rivals. Not only would he die of his own accord, he would also be immortalized as a Viking legend.
According to showrunner Michael Hirst, bringing Vikings to an end was a choice rather than a consequence of a shrinking viewership. In a Variety interview, Hirst said, “I always knew where I wanted the show to go and more or less where it would end if I was given the opportunity…
Vikings Season 7 will not come out on Prime Video as the series has ended after a six-season run. However, fans can catch its sequel Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix. The official synopsis for Vikings reads: “The Adventures of Ragnar Lothbrok, the greatest hero of his age.
Symptoms of kidney failure include discomfort in the abdomen, urinating blood, and nausea, and they all fit with what Ragnar went through. It's also possible he had a lung injury given the coughing, or it might have just been a consequence of the hit to his back.
Why Vikings Season 7 Didn't Happen. Though many Vikings fans felt that the show wasn't as engaging after Ragnar died, the series wasn't canceled due to a drop in ratings or interest. Rather, showrunner Michael Hirst said that bringing the story to a close in Vikings season 6 was a creative decision.
The sons from Ragnar Lothbrok's second marriage lived longer. Ivar the Boneless died of an unknown disease in 873. Ubba was killed in action probably around 878 in a battle with the Saxons. Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye's death is unknown.
The end of the Viking Age is traditionally marked in England by the failed invasion attempted by the Norwegian king Harald III (Haraldr Harðráði), who was defeated by Saxon King Harold Godwinson in 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge; in Ireland, the capture of Dublin by Strongbow and his Hiberno-Norman forces in ...
Ragnar plotted his own death within the show, using it as a strategic move to deal more damage to England. Ragnar's death was part of his larger plan to guide the fate of his sons and establish a legacy for his people in England.
That's right, if you're still pining over Ragnar Lothbrok after he was savagely murdered back in season four then look no further, as he has made his grand return in the final season's premiere. Travis Fimmel is back on our screens everyone, and while it's only for a brief moment, it was worth the three-year wait.
Björn Ironside took part in the fighting along with his other brothers, Ivar the Boneless and Hvitserk. The 13th-century Hervarar Saga states that Björn killed the Swedish king, and upon Ragnar's death, Björn became king of Sweden.
In January 2022, the Vikings fired both Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman after the team failed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season and the fifth time in eight years. Zimmer joined the Vikings in 2014, and led them to a 72-56-1 record across eight seasons.
4. Inexplicably, Hirst's VIKINGS television series depicts the temple to Odin at Uppsala as a wooden stave church in the mountains. The historic temple was actually situated on flat land and the stave churches were a hallmark of Christian architecture from the 11th Century onward.
Viewers were led to believe that was the end of Floki, but the beloved trickster returned in season 6B and made it to the final episode alive, and to everyone's surprise, he had already arrived at the “New World”, where he reunited with Ubbe.
Years of struggling and hard work continue to pay off and Travis has chalked up starring roles in several projects including Rocky Point (with Lauren Holly), Southern Comfort (with Madeleine Stowe and Eric Roberts), Restraint (with True Blood's Stephen Moyer), Ivory (with Martin Landau and Peter Stomare), Surfer Dude ( ...
On one hand, it seems the gods have shown him to his new wife. But at the same time, he wonders about the family he already has, and of how this turn of events will affect his son. Ragnar cuts his hand to offer the blood to his patron, Odin and prays for guidance.
Ragnar abandoned his people after the failure in Paris. People also found out about how he hid the settlement getting massacred in england. He wasn't winning a popularity contest at the time, but everyone still respected him… everyone still loved him…they were just pissed off at him for the above.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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