For many years now, Vikings has offered one big plot after another. This means many battles, much infighting between families and former friends, and deaths in every single season of the hit History series. If you’ve been keeping tabs on the show through much of its run, you likely realized the show was nearing its ultimate end. But with a Vikings spinoff Valhalla already on the way at Netflix, how did History’s long-running series say goodbye to characters like Bjorn, Ivar, Ubbe, Gunnhild and more? Who died? What happened during Vikings' Season 6 ending?
We’re about to get into spoilers for all of Season 6 of Vikings. This includes episodes that aired on the History earlier in 2020 as well as the final round of episodes that have already hit Amazon Prime Video before airing on History at a later date.
What Happened During The First Half Of Vikings Season 6?
Where to even begin when answering the question of what happened during the first half of Vikings Season 6? I suppose we’ll start with Ivar, who lost his leadership role to his half brother-Bjorn at the tail-end of Season 5. He later fled to Rus, where he crossed paths with a Prince there, Oleg, who was also highly ambitious. The two hatched a plan to take over Scandinavia and by the end of the season had sent raiding parties and then an army to attack the Norsemen. Meanwhile, Ivar was reunited with Hvitserk and also lusted after Prince Oleg’s wife, Katia, who reminded him of Freydis (and is indeed played by the same actress).
Meanwhile, a lot of frustrating things happened to Bjorn. First and foremost, he took over Kattegat and was almost immediately forced to fight yet another battle as Olaf was holding his ally King Harold hostage. Eventually, it turned out Olaf only wanted to unite all of the Kings of Norway into one role, and thought Bjorn would be a good fit for the job. Except King Harold plotted around him and was voted king instead, forcing Bjorn to flee.
As if things couldn’t get worse, Hali was killed by some outlaws… who just happened to be men Bjorn had released into the woods (instead of killing) who had worked under Ivar. His mother, Lagertha, came to Kattegat to tell Hali’s story and instead was killed by Hvitserk, who was drunk and out of his mind. Then, the Rus attacked Norway and Bjorn had to re-ally himself with King Harold and despite having a good plan, the Norsemen were outnumbered and a bunch of people died. Oh and Bjorn Lothbrok’s first wife Gunnhild lost her baby, a son, just after she’d committed to entering a plural marriage she wasn’t pumped about. You’d think that would be the end of all the strife, but in the final moments of Season 6, Bjorn was actually stabbed by Ivar, though there was a clip released after the season aired revealing that Season 6, Part 1 did not tell the end of Bjorn Lothbrok’s story.
Meanwhile, across the wide ocean, Ubbe and Torvi were settling in Iceland and hoping to encounter a brave new world that a mysterious traveler had once connected with, only to be swept away by the tides. Ubbe was also still looking into Floki’s disappearance at the end of Season 6, and those living in Iceland seem to be hiding something. Oh and Torvi had her baby, despite a birthing scare!
Next up, we’ll get into the second half of Season 6, which is on Amazon Prime now and will be heading to History in 2021. So if you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t say we didn’t warn you twice.
How Did Vikings Wrap Its Story During Its Season 6 Conclusion?
Surprise, Vikings hit Amazon in one fell streaming swoop rather than heading to History Channel first, which means we got a bunch of new episodes at once instead of having to wait weeks to find out what happened to our favorite characters. This means there's less time for speculation, but more time to dive into the good stuff. So, how did Season 6, Part 2 of Michael Hirst's Vikings conclude? With lots of people being taken to Valhalla, of course.
What Happened To Bjorn Lothbrok In Vikings Season 6?
As anticipated, Bjorn's story wrapped up early in the final set of episodes. After seemingly being killed by Ivar in the midseason finale, Alexander Ludwig's major character survived into the next episode. With some help from Gunnhild, he even mounted a horse and led his army to a charge on the battlefield, though he was mostly useless at that point. Still, showing up after news had broken that he had died made many of the Rus believe he was a ghost come back from the dead. It helped save the Vikings from Oleg's army and was Bjorn's final self-sacrificial act. He was later buried in a tomb fit for a king and celebrated by his wives.
Was Hvitserk Destined To Kill Ivar After All?
We know the prophecy came true about a son of Ragnar ultimately killing Lagertha and it was Hvitserk who did the deed. Heading into the second part of Season 6, Hvitserk had also had a telling conversation with Ivar about just embracing the worst parts of himself to achieve an end. Heading into the latter half of Season 6, things started to worsen. Hvitserk was given drugs by Prince Oleg and later asked Ivar if he wanted to have Hvtiserk killed, but Ivar declined. The two planned instead to help Prince Dir and proceeded to help Igor escape.
Later, Hvitserk headed with Ivar back to Kattegat where he met Idun, a goddess who "knew all about him" and gave him a renewed sense of purpose. He fought on the battlefield and was present when Ivar died, but he did not go to Valhalla himself. Instead, King Alfred spared Hvitserk. Ultimately, he ended up disconnecting from his religion and converting to Christianity instead, seemingly living out the rest of his days as a monk fittingly named Athelstan.
What Happened To Ivar The Boneless In Vikings' Final Season?
After Bjorn's death, Ivar's storyline was the largest plotline to still play out. In the latter half of Season 6, he helped Igor to escape Oleg's clutches and said goodbye to Katia --who was carrying his child -- in Rus. He then convinced Hvitserk to return to him with Kattegat, where King Harold was sitting on the throne. After remembering what his father Ragnar Lothbrok had told him, Ivar convinced King Harold and the other Vikings to attack Wessex, the last stronghold in England.
Ivar seems convinced of his destiny and that King Harold will not stand in his way in the end. However, that's not how the story played out. Instead, Ivar and King Harold took on the English army. Instead of trying to make a deal, this time King Alfred remained steadfast. King Harold was killed during the battle, but he went out fighting. Hvitserk had warned Ivar he was in danger of breaking some bones as his eyes had turned blue. The prediction was right, and ultimately led Ivar to a gruesome end. He died a Viking through and through, however.
What Happened To Bjorn's Wives Gunnhild And Ingrid?
Following the death of Bjorn, Kattegat was without a ruler. Gunnhild decided an election would be held for a new ruler, but Ingrid also decided to run. Meanwhile. King Harold had been let go and returns to Kattegat to interrupt the election. It became clear he still had aspirations to rule Kattegat and was aided in these efforts by Erik the Red. Meanwhile, this left Gunnhild and Ingrid with similar choices to maintain status in Kattegat: one of them must marry King Harold, a choice that Gunnhild found particularly strenuous.
Gunnhild ultimately visited Bjorn's tomb, as Ingrid had earlier in Season 6, and she made the choice to end her life and join Bjorn in Valhalla. After so many stressors from losing her husband and her baby to losing her status, it seemed she had had enough of the Vikings life. So, she left her clothing behind and swam out into the open water, never to return. Ingrid, chose to join with King Harold and have Bjorn's child, which she was carrying, but after King Harold chose to attack King Alfred, Ingrid was left to rule jointly with Erik, and she took advantage of him in more ways than one. Ultimately, it was Ingrid who succeeded where others did not. She fought her way to power by pushing around Gunnhild and blinding Erik until she was the leader of Kattegat. I can't say I was particularly happy to see her succeed while other fan-favorite characters perished, but I suppose it was a fitting end.
How Did The Iceland Storyline Wrap? Did Ubbe, Torvi And Family Find Their Happy Ending?
The good news? Ubbe, Torvi and family did reach Iceland, to much merriment. But Ubbe was not satisfied with Iceland and wanted to find a "new land." After meeting the explorer Othere, he and a small group of Vikings decided to travel even further in search of the land Othere had previously glimpsed. Unfortunately, on the way, a storm arose and washed little Asa out to sea. They reached Greenland, which led to more death in a short skirmish and also led Ubbe, Torvi, Othere and others to hurriedly leave Kjetill and his family behind. After days and days of lack of food and water, Othere's story of a green and promising land proved true.
The remaining Vikings on the journey disembarked in North America. There, they met a group of Native Americans and Floki, who was not murdered as many had guessed during the course of Season 6. Instead, he had apparently left civilization behind and landed in the same spot as Ubbe and his crew. It was a great reunion for the Vikings, but it was short-lived, as one of the group killed one of the Native Americans and reparations were required. Ubbe took on the task of killing the murderous Viking himself. The show closed with him reminiscing with Floki on the beach. It was as close as fans could get to a happy ending. After all of the tumult Ubbe and Torvi had gone through, they seemingly had decided to turn over a new leaf in this new world and attempt a different way of living.
What Happened to Ivar's Captors Oleg And Katia (Who Is Not Freydis)?
Katia and Ivar deepened their connection in the palace and, as it turned out, Katia was not the fan of her husband Oleg she pretended. They, along with Hvitserk, helped Igor to escape Oleg's clutches and reunite with Prince Dir. Oleg, of course, was very unhappy with this, but his forces were also overwhelmed. When Ivar, Igor, Prince Dir and Hvitserk returned with his (now former) wife Katia, Oleg asked for forgiveness. Choosing to help Igor, Ivar offered to shoot Oleg with a bow and arrow and put him out of his misery. Yet, harkening back to the scene when Oleg asked Igor to kill an army leader asking for mercy, Igor took Oleg down himself.
Ivar, still in love with Katia, asked her what she wanted to do. She let him down gently. At first, Ivar seemed fine with it, but later Katia also admitted that she was carrying Ivar's child. She ended up being the catalyst for Hvitserk and Ivar to return to Kattegat, though she did say that even if she didn't want Ivar around over the long haul she would tell their child who his father was.
Did Anything Else Notable Happen With Prince Dir, Floki, Kjetill, Erik Etc?
Yes! Of course, notable things outside of the main characters did happen. After helping Igor take back his claim to the throne, Prince Dir and his men ultimately celebrated. Meanwhile, Kjetill accompanied Ubbe and some of the other Icelanders in search of the land Othere had promised. It was in a place called Greenland that Kjetill went mad after a whale washed ashore. The other Vikings left Kjetill and his wife and escaped back to the boats. Kjetill was able to become King of Greenland, but it would be a lonely and isolated kingship. On a happy note, Floki was found to be alive, safe and sound, and even told Ubbe he still sees Ragnar in his dreams -- asking him to build boats from time to time, harkening back to earlier in the series.
Meanwhile, as noted prior, Erik, Bjorn's recent righthand man, also saw his demise in Kattegat as Ingrid made moves to take over. The two were in a bit of a cat and mouse game after King Harold had left Erik ultimately in charge. Ingrid first blinded Erik and when he sought his revenge by asking a servant to kill her, another servant double-crossed Erik and stabbed him with a pitchfork, leaving Ingrid to rule alone. Speaking of King Harold, like Bjorn he did not die in the early battle against Oleg's army. Unlike Bjorn, he lived on to fight the English, though he felt his time was near. He ended up getting stabbed in the foggy woods mid-battle, though he took down the Englishman who stabbed him. For me, this was one of the most compelling ends for any character left in Season 6.
At the end of the day, it was a sound conclusion for the long-running cabler and I can't wait to see where the spinoff takes us next. Meanwhile, I have to ask, what did you think of the way Vikings final wrapped its final set of episodes and said goodbye to those who were left?
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