Awesome / Vikings

"Up unto the overturned keel,
Clamber with a heart of steel,
Cold is the ocean spray,
And your death is on its way,
With maidens you had your way,
Each must die someday!"

— "Death Chant of the Vikings", inspired by the death poem sung by Þórir Jökull Steinfinnsson shortly before his execution.

"When Death comes, do not fear it. Embrace it. As if you were lying next to a beautiful woman."

— Ragnar Lothbrok

"Let us now wind the web of war
"Where the warrior banners are
Forging forward
Let his life not be taken
Only the Valkyries
Can choose the slain!"

— Translated lyrics of "Battle of Brothers", lifted directly from Darraðarljóð

"Let him stand. I am sure he would want to die well."

— Rollo Sigurdrsson

"It gladdens me to know that Odin prepares for a feast."

— Ragnar Lothbrok

"We are all sons of Ragnar Lothbrok."

— Jarl Olavsonn

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Season 1

Episode 1 – Rite of Passage

• How often does a show start with one? The fight in the Eastern Baltic is BADASS. And it even concludes with the surprise appearance of motherfucking Odin.
• Lagertha kicking the crap out of two cowards who came to rape her and her daughter.
• The new Longship actually working.

Episode 2 – Wrath of the Northmen

• Ragnar winning the men to his cause is awesome:
  Ragnar: What is your name?
  Knut: Knut.
  Ragnar: I've heard tales, Knut.
  Knut: Just stories...
  Ragnar "Just stories"? [to the rest of the men] All things begin and end with stories.
  Erik: Aye, but you have to remember that Earl Haraldsson has ordered us to sail East.
  Leif: And you could get us killed for disobeying his orders.
  Ragnar: We can give you the chance to shine in battle, and impress the gods, and to bring back such plunder as you have never seen before. So the only question remains... Do you have the balls to join us?
  Erik: I'll go.
  Kauko: And I.
  The Rest: Aye!
  Ragnar: What about you, Knut?
  Knut: I'll come, I want a good story to tell my children.
• Björn standing between his parents as they are fighting. Lagertha has a weapon. Ragnar on the other hand has been fighting unarmed.
  • It's one for Björn himself, also.
• In many ways, the success of their first voyage to England is this; they come back loaded with gold and slaves when everyone thought they would fail.
• When the Vikings sail westward for the first time, a terrifying storm lashes the longship. Where the monks of Lindisfarne see the storm as the punishment of their god and cower, the Vikings scream and roar to the heavens and take it as the blessing of theirs. Floki's reaction is both one of these and a Funny Moment:
  "It is true, Thor is beating his hammer! The lightning is the sparks from his anvil, but HE IS NOT ANGRY WITH US! I UNDERSTAND NOW! WHY SHOULD HE BE ANGRY WITH US?! WHY SHOULD HE WANT TO SINK US?! DO YOU NOT SEE?! HE IS CELEBRATING!!! HE WANTS TO SHOW EVERYONE THAT HE CAN'T SINK THIS BOAT! HE LOVES THIS BOAT! IT'S MY BOAT!! AND THE GODS LOVE MY BOAT!!!!"

Episode 3 – Dispossessed

• One for Haraldsson, who strips Ragnar of his entire hoard, except for one bit of treasure that each man gets. He's a deliciously arrogant Jerkass about it too.
  Haraldsson: [as spearmen come into the hall and surround Ragnar's party] Here's what I've decided to do. Each of you may take one thing from this hoard.
  Raider: One?!
  Haraldsson: Yes. One, and you'll still be richer than you were before. Now, all the world can see how generous and magnanimous is your lord. Especially considering how you disobeyed me.

Episode 4 – Trial

• The Vikings' utter curb-stomp of the Saxons in spite of being totally outnumbered by them.
  • This quote from the Saxon nobles should spell it out.
    Sire, I have never in my life seen men fight as these Northmen fight. Believe me, there is something devilish in the way they look, in their lack of fear in the face of death.
• The raid of the Saxon village in Trial, the music and atmosphere of the sequence is arresting. It showcases Ragnar's cunning in that he waits till everyone is at Mass before striking. It's the first true example of a Viking raid, in all its horror and glory.
• Hell, the eponymous trial scene was awesome in its own right;
  • Ragnar's speech to the assembled;
    Ragnar: It is true I killed Knut, sadly, your brother. But I killed him when I found him trying to rape my wife. [to the freeholders] I ask all of you, free men; what would have you done if you were in my place? Would have you just stood back, encouraged the culprit? [laughs] I don't think you would. [to Haraldsson] And even I had of known at the time he was your brother, I would have carried out the same sentence.
    • Of course, he didn't really kill Knut, that was Lagertha's doing. But still, this was a good speech.
  • Lagertha gets a remarkably understated one while threatening the Earl in front of witnesses, this woman has balls of steel.
    Svein: [continuing from the above] Do you seriously ask us to believe your story?
    Lagertha: I can confirm the story.
    Haraldson: You are the wife of Ragnar Lodbrok?
    Lagertha: I am, lord.
    Haraldson: How extraordinary that you happened to be there at the same time. Your husband is lying. And you are so under his thumb that he has persuaded you to lie for him.
    Lagertha: May Thor strike you dead.
  • And Rollo saving the day with his testimony, despite all prior signs pointing him to betraying Ragnar.
    Haraldson: Now then, who killed my brother?
    Rollo: Ragnar Lodbrok killed him.
    Haraldson [triumphantly] In cold blood?
    Rollo: No, lord. For a good reason. What Ragnar Lodbrok has sworn is true, your bastard brother was caught raping a Saxon woman when he tried to rape Ragnar's lawful wife, Lagertha, the Shieldmaiden. So, unfortunately... You cannot punish him.
  • And Ragnar caps all this off by holding up his chained wrists:
    Ragnar: (with shit-eating grin) Now who has the key?
• Any time Erik fights, or does anything for that matter, you're in for something like this. To whit.
  • Hewing multiple Saxons apart in quick succession.
  • Sending a man flying with a shield bash.
  • Making a declaration of eternal vengeance against the King of Northumbria.

Episode 5 – Raid

• In the fifth episode Ragnar returns home as the earl is attacking and makes a beeline straight for his family. Along the way he kills eight armed and armored men in about twenty seconds while barely breaking his stride.
• Ragnar is dying from a dozen wounds and an arrow he pulled out with his bare hands, the Earl stands before him and savors his victory. Ragnar then beseeches his father, the mighty Odin, to aid him in this inescapable hour. Odin answers, and Ragnar rises to his feet, slays the Earl's men, steals a horse and rides away from the ruin of his home. Leaving no question as to whom the gods favour more.
• One for Athelstan, after Ragnar falls near-dead into the river he jumps into the water, swims in and saves him from death. That alone gives lie to any accusation made by the Vikings that the Saxon is not a real man.
  • Another one from the same episode is when Athelstan starts praying over Ragnar's body and begs the Virgin Mary to save him as he recovers. This is in spite of the fact that the Vikings have mocked his God repeatedly, he still prays for their welfare. This man is a true Christian.
• Rollo fights off several of the Earls men at the same time unarmed while they use weapons, and is only captured due to six or seven men zerg-rushing him and beating him to near death. He's then brutally tortured by Earl Haraldsson, but still refuses to betray Ragnar. That, friends, is loyalty.

Episode 6 – Burial of the Dead

• The fight between Ragnar and Haraldsson. The only thing that could have made it cooler would have been a heavy metal soundtrack.
  • The fact that Ragnar wins handily despite being almost dead from a dozen grievous wounds and not even fully rested in addition to having a crippled leg only makes it more badass.
  • Another moment of awesome goes to Rollo after Ragnar wins the duel. Svein orders the other Northmen to kill Ragnar, but none of them move. Rollo then calmly walks over to Svein and kills him with an axe.
• This speech by Tostig to Ragnar, an old warrior demanding the right to die in battle.
  "The truth? That I am too old? Hah! Yes! I am old, but I have been a warrior all my life! Many years I sailed with Lord Haraldsson and fought battles against the Eastlanders. And I have watched all the companions of my youth die. And though I fought with them in the shield wall, never once was I touched by a blade! All the friends and companions of my youth are dead, and are feasting and drinking with the Aesir in the halls of the gods while I... I am FORSAKEN! BEREFT! Which is why I beg you lord! Give me the chance to die with honour in battle and join my friends in Valhalla!"
• Haraldsson's death and the way he embraces it. Face Death with Dignity doesn't even begin to describe it.
• The Seer's description of Ragnarok to Athelstan, complete with visions granted by apparently hallucinogenic leafs.
  • And here it is, behold it in all its glory
    • "The Twilight of the Gods will happen like this: There will be three years of terrible winters and summers of black sunlight. People will loose all hope and surrender to greed, incest and civil war. Midgarthormen, the world serpent, will come lunging from the ocean dragging the tides in an flooding the earth. The Wolf, giant Fenrir, will break his invisible chains! The skies will open and Surtr the fire giant, will come flaming across the bridge to destroy the Gods. Odin will ride out of the gates of Valhalla to do battle for a last time against the wolf. Thor will kill the serpent but die from it's venom. Surtr will spread fire across the earth. And at last Fenrir shall swallow the sun!"

Episode 7 – A King's Ransom

• The battle in King's Ransom; despite launching a surprise attack, complete with cavalry, the saxons are completely routed by the superior tactics and fighting skill of the Vikings.
  • The Vikings open the fight by nullifying the Saxons cavalry charge (along with a large portion of their cavalry). How? The Vikings had a nice palisade up around their camp, one open spot to come in and out. The cavalry charges for that opening, the Vikings just stand and stare. . . then, when the horses are mere feet away, Ragnar raises his arms, signalling two men to raise the hidden part of the palisade, concealed under grass, stopping and panicking the horses and impaling many riders. The Saxon offensive formation shatters, giving the Vikings the advantage as they move into general melee.
• Every moment Tostig gets in A King's Ransom, his fighting skill is incredible and what he said of himself to Ragnar barely does justice to his warrior spirit. His death scene is also magnificent, and easily rivals that of Earl Haraldsson from the previous episode.
  • To elaborate on that, in both the major battles of the episode, Tostig fights and defeats multiple enemies at once. A feat rivaled only by Eric, Ragnar or Rollo. But what makes it more awesome that he's doing it while being several times as old as any of those guys.
  • On the raid in the Saxon camp, Ragnar himself has his gaze turned away from battle to witness Tostig felling two Saxons at a time. After he kills them, he shrieks "ODIN!!!", a cry so piercing and terrifying that it alone jolts the enemy leader awake, who has already managed to be oblivious to the raging sounds of a pitched battle
  • He then kills three Saxons in quick succession during the surprise attack on the Viking war-camp in the episode's climax.
• Rollo examines and uses a Saxon blade and notes that in comparison to Viking weaponry, it's stronger and sharper. The Vikings have been handily overcoming an enemy with superior technology in comparison to themselves through SHEER FEROCITY. (And being a lot smarter than they look.)
• The night raid on the Saxon camp is also this. They just stride in, slaughter the Saxons like cattle, burn the place down and take the King's brother as prisoner. All of this, right after the Saxons muse on how the Northmen must just be stupid beasts.
• Rollo converts (in appearance) to Christianity in order seal the deal with Aelle for 2000 pounds of gold and silver. He insists that it was only a ruse, and that he holds to the old gods. Floki calls him out on it all the same. Rollo then fixes him with a deadly stare, and then when the Saxons come, he vaults into battle full of rage, and promptly shows where his faith lies.
  "HEY! HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DID I KILL, FLOKI?! HOW MANY?!! DO YOU THINK ODIN'S STILL ANGRY WITH ME NOW?!"
  • Special mention has to be given to Floki, who meets Rollo's Death Glare and doesn't flinch. After the battle and Rollo's outburst, Floki just grins with amusement- one has to wonder if he wasn't trying to get just such a rise out of Rollo.
  • Also, a bit creepy, many of the Northmen are visibly unsettled by Rollo at this time, and the promotional materiel for Season 2 states that Floki has begun to fear that Rollo is becoming an honest-to-Odin berserker.
• During the battle with the Saxons, Leif loses his axe. His reaction is to start roaring and now strangle armored Saxons and to snap their necks.
• Hell, the entirety of A King's Ransom was this for the Vikings.
  • They make shore at Northumbria and promptly decimate the entirety of the force sent to defeat their warband and take a member of the ruling family hostage.
  • They then go into the king's own hall and swiftly make a mockery of all the Saxon's beliefs and get him to agree to pay them 2000 pounds of gold and silver to leave his country.
  • Then, the Saxons make one final attempt to annihilate the Vikings by sending a MASSIVE army at them with dozens of horsemen and through a combination of clever engineering, battle-tactics, and concentrated badassery, they slaughter that whole army with minimal casualties. After that, Ragnar kills the King's brother - the man whom they had been using as a bargaining chip all along, and sends his blood-drenched corpse on a cart to Aelle's castle, to show the man that the Vikings don't fuck around.
  • And then, realizing that throwing men at them won't make a difference, King Aelle gives them their gold and silver anyway to get them to leave. A King's Ransom was just one long succession of these.
    • Hell, the conversation prior really sells it;
    Ragnar: It seems your brother, the king, does not care if you live or die.
    Aethelwulf: I-If you let me talk with him I'll... convince him to honour his pledge —
    Ragnar: [paints the sign of the cross on his forehead in blood] Why should I not just kill you now?
    Aethelwulf: (confidently) Then you'd have nothing left to bargain with.
    Ragnar: [lifts his axe] I have this.
  • Technically from the previous episode, but it fits with this list, as the first sign Aelle really has no idea who he's messing with:
    Aelle: So, where did these Northmen come ashore?
    Messenger: They didn't.
    Aelle: What do you mean, "they didn't?"
    Messenger: They came in three ships, and those ships are now sailing up the Tyne.
    Aelle: (masking an Oh, Crap!) They have ships that can cross the oceans, but also sail up rivers? What manner of men are these?
    Lord Wigea: If they are sailing up the Tyne, then, Sire, we shall soon find out.
• That slow motion shot of all the Vikings preparing for battle as the Saxon army charges forth. Pretty much a non-verbal Pre-Asskicking One-Liner. In particular, Rollo hammering his axe on his shield in slow motion while shooting the Saxons a Death Glare. A better way of saying 'bring it, bitches' has yet to be formulated by mankind.
• Aelle himself gets one in this absolutely epic declaration of vengeance, only made stronger by the actor's terrific delivery.
  "I swear before God All-Mighty: I declare war eternal on the Northman; Ragnar Lodbrok. I swear to our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Blessed Virgin, that one day, I shall avenge myself on him. Bring him to justice, and to death. So help me God."
  • It's unlikely Ragnar heard this, but as Aelle watches Ragnar and his band sail away, and Ragnar watches Aelle watching them, he seems to pick up on what Aelle's thinking. . . and gives him a cheeky little wave.

Season 2

Episode 1 – Brother's War

• The battle scene at the beginning is awesome from start to finish. Special mention goes to Rollo's Unstoppable Rage, and Floki taking on both him and Jarl Borg at the same time.
  • Hell, the entire battle was barely a ten-minute sequence of an hour long episode, and yet it was but a succession of one awesome moment after another:
    • Rollo leaping over the shied-wall with a roar and savaging the men on the other side.
    • The battle itself, just seeing Ragnar's hard clash with Borg's is incredible, it's the first time we've ever seen a true shield-wall vs shield-wall battle.
    • The soundtrack to the fight was composed by Kriftrafn. That is all.
    • The lyrics are lifted from Darraðarljóð, Norse poetry at its most horrific.
    • Rollo continuing to fight on and dominate even when Floki cuts off the head of his axe, in other words; Rollo can kick ass even with a stick.
    • Brutal, but Rollo killing Arne is an incredible show of strength and skill. Not to mention the great acting in that scene, the way the actors look at each other, Arne showing despair not for himself, but for Rollo, and Rollo's own disgust at what he's done, which in turn sets up his later repentance at the end of the battle. All the more poignant as Arne states to Rollo that he thinks of him as a brother before the battle.
    • The absolutely haunting music during that scene simply makes it all the more harrowing.
    • Ragnar's pure rage upon seeing Rollo slay Arne, the way his look shifts from shock to hate as he slaughters his way through a maelstrom of warriors to bring his brother to book is simply the definition of badass.
• The music of the battle itself, Battle of Brothers is absolutely primeval.
• Ragnar's What the Hell, Hero? moment to Horik, Borg and all the Norsemen present. Some great acting and writing, which truly shows how far Ragnar has come as he's risen from warrior to king.
  "Why do we continue looking inwards? Why?! Why do we fight each other?! About this piece or that piece of land?! Why are we not looking outwards, to the west? If we raid it together, we would not need to fight amongst ourselves! We would not need to kill ANY more of our young folk! But instead, offer them land! Land that they can farm."
  • This moment is doubly significant because it alludes to one of the possible primary motivators for the Scandinavian expansion of the Viking Age — a lack of natural resources and living space.
• For Lagertha fans/Aslaug haters, Lagertha divorcing Ragnar (rather than be his co-wife with Aslaug) probably counts.
• After months of dreading, fans can finally breathe easy. Floki LIVES!
• Ragnar's lecture to Björn counts simply of how well its delivered and how well it communicates such an alien world view.
  "I know it is difficult for you to accept; but unhappiness is more common than happiness. Who told you you should be happy? You come to an age where you must grow up and be responsible about such things. When I was your age, I had many friends. All are dead now. Their happiness is neither here nor there."

Episode 2 – Invasion

• Jarl Borg once again attempts to turn Rollo against Ragnar. This time, however, Rollo punches him in the face.
  • And the exchange right after;
  Jarl Borg: [face covered with blood, eyes wide open, spitting and coughing blood] You're a fool.
  Rollo: I am. But someday, I hope to be wise.
• Athelstan saving Ragnar.
  Ragnar: You did not hesitate today.
• Horik's speech during the battle with the Saxons of Wessex;
  "Do not be dismayed; meet everything head on. Whether we live or die this day is already in the hands of the gods! They know whether we sup with them tonight so fear not. Fight well. And should you fall, surely Odin will take you to Valhalla!"
• The entire battle sequence during the ambush was this.
  • The shield-wall vs. shield-wall fight between the Saxons and Norsemen. Of special note, the Vikings open their wall deliberately at the right time, causing the Saxons to spill in, pressed forward by their own weight and attempts to break it, bring them right into the heart of the Norse formation where they're slaughtered like — well, exactly like fish in a barrel.
  • Athelstan fighting and holding his own against several Saxon warriors. He loses his axe pretty early, so is fighting off two armed and armored men, who are flanking him, with just a shield.
  • Ragnar saving Athelstan, killing a dozen Saxons in the process.
  • The Vikings roaring their victory to the gods after they slaughter the Saxons.
• One for the fyrdmen of Wessex, actually managing to catch the Vikings off their guard.
• Rollo taking Siggy's white-hot dagger and holding it firmly in his fist, keeping quiet as the grave even while it's burning his palm. Her Oh, Crap! reaction says it all.
• During the voyage towards England, a raven perches Ragnar's shoulder. The implications of that are just astounding.^note Ravens are associated with Odin, who had two ravens working as spies and informants for him. A raven calmly perched on Ragnar's shoulder as though waiting instruction gives him a very Odin-like vibe in that moment.
• Athelstan cursing Floki in Old English, in order to prove he's no longer that victimized priest from four years ago.
• Ragnar making Athelstan a free man by granting him an arm-ring.

Episode 3 – Treachery

• Horik punching Bishop Swithin in the face. Don't insult a Norseman's gods. Especially by claiming they don't exist.
  "You say there is One God. But you are an old fool. The Gods hate you... but I hate you more."
• Athelstan physically standing between the raiders and the tortured bishop, and giving him a Mercy Kill.
  • The Bishop of Winchester himself deserves one: He goes to Athelstan's face, who at this point is part of a large marauding party that just slaughtered most of the city's defenses and is holding an axe and tells him he'll go to hell for his deeds without even blinking. Then, as he is pierced by multiple warriors he keeps praying. The man may not have been a fighter, but he certainly earned his credentials as a Badass Pacifist.
• Borg manages to go toe-to-toe with Rollo. Bear in mind this is after Rollo has killed close to a dozen of his warriors single-handed. He actually causes Rollo to flee.
  "Run Rollo, run! Run like you always do."
• The villagers of Kattegat fighting to the last man and woman to give Rollo and the rest of Ragnar's family to escape.
• Old Guys seem to be able to get these effortlessly in this show;
  • An old Norseman convinces Rollo to leave the battle and save Ragnar's family. Though it kills him to do so, he eventually sees the wisdom of the elder warrior's words.
    "Rollo, go. I will tell the Gods what you have done."
  • He then goes out, with Rollo's battle-axe in hand. The Gautar come forward to accept his seeming surrender, only for the old man to slaughter TWO HIRDMENN with his axe before he's finally struck down! This guy must have been Tostig's brother or something.
• Borg standing triumphant in Ragnar's hall, laughing. A powerful ending shot.

Episode 5 – Answers In Blood

• The whole battle between Jarl Borg's and Ragnar Lothbrok's armies. We have scenes like Jarl Borg's literal Foe-Tossing Charge, Björn proving himself as a warrior, Lagaertha leading the charge, Ragnar slicing down next to thirty men in quick succession, Rollo and Ragnar finally acting like Bash Brothers and teaming up against their foes, and so forth.
• King Ecbert has a Offscreen Moment of Awesome in single-handedly annihilating King Horik's troops and causing him to flee from Wessex in a period of weeks.

Episode 6 – Unforgiven

• After being relentlessly degraded, humiliated, and abused by her husband, Lagertha finally snaps and stabs Earl Sigvard in the eye during a feast. He's then decapitated by one of his own retainers.
  • And you can tell by the look on his face that he's been wanting to do that for some time. He might as well have quipped "I never liked him anyway."
• Ragnar pulling a move worthy of Walder Frey and checkmating Borg in a single evening - trapping his men in a barn and burning them alive whilst capturing the Jarl and promising to subject him to a Fate Worse than Death - Blood Eagle

Episode 7 – Blood Eagle

• Borg did not scream while Ragnar drew the Eagle on his back. His passage to Valhalla is assured.
  • Even cooler is the scene when he's about to die, he see's an eagle among the flames, and grins.
• The juxtaposition of the Christian Anglo-Saxon and the pagan Viking wedding ceremonies. So different and yet so similar!

Episode 8 – Boneless

• Lagertha... just Lagertha. The high points of this particular episode include a "Ride of the Valkyries" styled scene, ordering her warriors to get ready while petting a cat and talking a wannabe rapist into submission, verbally stripping him of his manhood.

Episode 9 – The Choice

• The allied English armies soundly crushing the Norse raiding force in open battle. King Ecbert's tactics allow him to inflict heavy casualties on the Norsemen and send them running with their tail between their legs.
• Prince Aethelwulf slashing down Vikings left and right, and then trampling Rollo underfoot, shattering his legs and nearly killing him. Truly a blessed family.
• Björn fighting during said battle. His movements are so fast and convincing, it's easy to believe that he comes out of this mess unscathed.
• Rollo cutting down charging horses with an axe.
• Despite viewers knowing that Ragnar and his family would never allow Athelstan to be attacked, it was still incredibly gutsy of Athelstan to walk into the middle of a hostile Viking camp, completely unaware if they would kill him on the spot for being a suspected traitor and Christian sympathizer.
• Lagertha's response to King Horik when he refuses to negotiate peace with the Saxons:
  "Ragnar and I will go. And if he means to kill us, then so be it."

Episode 10 – The Lord's Prayer

• As if there was any doubt, Ragnar once again proves his Magnificent Bastard status by turning King Horik's scheme completely upside down, eliminating the King of Denmark and most of his family in one fell swoop.
• The whole conversation between Lagertha and Horik's wife, which seems to consist entirely of two powerful shield-maidens sizing each other up for future combat.
  Gunnhild: They say that you are now an Earl in your own right. How did it happen?
  Lagertha: I killed my husband when he invaded me.
  • And then there's their subsequent battle, where each woman proves why they are such famed warriors once and for all.
• The grand reveal that Floki and Siggy were both on Ragnar's side all along and had been feeding information to him for several months now. All of those furtive side-glances and resentful grumblings had been to win Horik's trust and favor; thus, allowing them to find out which members of Ragnar's family he would target first.
  Horik: You have betrayed the gods.
  Floki: No, I have only betrayed you.
• Floki naming his and Helga's daughter Angerboda.
• Early in the episode, Rollo tries to stand with the aid of a crutch and falls to the ground. Siggy tries to motivate him by tauntingly placing an axe out of his reach. Later, when Horik's men arrive to kill him, Rollo has managed to drag himself over to the axe, and as they approach, he manages to stand despite his crippled legs, and swings at the first man to approach him before the camera cuts.
• Athelstan dual-wielding axes against Horik's invading soldiers. He may not like violence or fighting, but Athelstan is also willing to set aside his Good Shepherd values to protect his friends and family.
• A cloak-covered Torstein revealing himself to Horik and his soldiers, showing that Ragnar had known about Horik's intentions all along and that Floki had been working for him as well, purposely feeding Torstein a non-poisonous mushroom that would make it look like he'd been murdered.

Season 3

Episode 1 - Mercenary

• The battle between the Mercians and the combined Viking-Wessex force. The Mercians control the river banks, firing arrows upon their ships, but the combined force manages to make a beachhead, and then win, killing Kwenthrith's uncle, the new king of Mercia, with Floki himself being the one kill the king and claim his crown.
  • This is compounded by the Mercians making an extremely stupid tactical blunder, deploying one army on each bank of the river, but with no bridge, boats, or any other way for one army to quickly redeploy to reinforce the other. Apparently, they were counting on the Northmen to be stupid and split their force to attack both numerically superior forces simultaneously. Instead, Ragnar aims all his warriors at the smaller army, attacking a numerically inferior force. The Mercians on the opposite bank can do nothing but watch the slaughter unfold.

Episode 5 - Usurper

• Evil, Magnificent Bastard variant, Ecbert and Aethelwulf disenfranchising all of the nobles who had questioned Ecbert's rule and removing the Northmen's settlement in one fell swoop, all while making Ecbert look like an innocent party.
• During a battle against Mercian soldiers, a random Mercian soldier manages to beat the shit out of Thorunn and nearly kill her, if it hadn't been for Björn. Granted she was pregnant at the time, but that's a lot more than many Saxon soldiers can say. As a matter of fact the Mercians in general do well there, managing to kill a large number of Vikings through skillful archery and spear-throwing.

Episode 6 - Reborn

• Co-composer and Wardruna frontman Einar Selvik as a shaman performing Völuspa in song-form as berserkers and úlfhéðnar dance around a huge bonfire like indians and Floki murders Athelstan. Shivers.
  • The whole scene really: Floki's Unflinching Walk, Athelstan's stoic acceptance, the mystical overtones, and last but not least the fact that Floki, who normally murders people with cheerful glee, is absolutely serious and has to actually psyche himself up to do the deed. It's a pivotal point in the series and it's handled brilliantly.

Episode 7 - Paris

• Aethelwulf continues to prove his Warrior Prince credentials. Upon hearing Mercia has rebelled itself against Wessex, he goes there on a diplomatic mission against Kwenthrith (who has a knack for butchering diplomats for no reason), bypasses her defenses by sheer force of character and is the first male character to withstand her sexual seduction. Kwenthrith then reveals her plan (to use her son by Ragnar to threaten Ecbert), Aethelwulf proceeds to verbally destroy her.
  Kwenthrith: Nothing will stop him from coming back to these shores, both for his settlement and for his son.
  Aethelwulf: We have destroyed his settlement.
  Kwenthrith: [getting alarmed] Then he will return with vengeance upon you!
  Aethelwulf: In which case it would inconvenience us a great deal if he found a ready ally here in Mercia. So whether or not this poor child is Ragnar's son, makes no difference. He cannot help you, and you can't threaten us with him!
  Kwenthrith, enraged, orders the guards to pull their swords against the unarmed Aethelwulf. Aethelwulf starts laughing
  Aethelwulf: Queen Kwenthrith, you would be unwise to kill us. It would give my father the very pretext he needs, a pretext to invade Mercia and become its King. He may have been even prepared to sacrifice me to attain his ends. [Aethelwulf walks closer to her, swords literally at his throat] So if you value your life and that of your son, then I suggest you sign the documents we have brought with us, reaffirming the fact that Mercia is a vassal state of Wessex, and must in future pay not only homage, but also TAXES TO WESSEX, FOR THE PRIVILEGE!
  [Kwenthrith sinks back on her throne, defeated]
• Our newly introduced character, Count Odo of Paris, earns some Offscreen Moment of Awesome points for being the only man of the Parisian court to realize the threats the Vikings represented and prepared accordingly.
• The ending of the episode, with the Vikings preparing their fleet for war as Floki releases his Battle Cry. A powerful ending shot.
  • What was Floki chanting, you ask? "Skeggǫld, Skálmǫld, Skildir ro Klofnir!", "An Axe-age! An Sword-age! Shields are riven!". Floki's war-chant is a verse from the Völuspá which foretells the Ragnarøkkr. Floki's battlecry is a prophecy heralding the End of the World.

Episode 8 - To the Gates!

• The episode itself is a Moment of Awesome for the series, featuring the longest, most ambitious battle scene in the show's run. It lasts for a full 30 minutes and doesn't let up from start to finish. Individual moments of awesomeness include:
  • Rollo, shirtless and with nothing but an axe almost driving back the Frankish soldiers on the wall.
  • Lagertha and Kalf breaching the main gates.
  • Princess Gisla rallying the defenders with the Oriflamme of St. Denis and turning the tide of the battle with a Rousing Speech:
    Princess Gisla: Soldiers! Citizens of Paris! Behold the Oriflamme. Behold the sacred flag of Saint-Denis. Behold the sacred flag of Frankia. Behold, soldiers of Christ. That wherever the Oriflamme is, no quarter is to be given to our enemies. Soldiers, show no mercy. Fight on! (Soldiers screaming) Fight to the death!
  • The defenders of Paris effectively countering every single thing the Norsemen threw at them and driving them back with heavy casualties.
    • Special bonus points for setting Floki's siege towers on fire.
    • The Vikings manage to breach the gates after a lot of loss of life, and prepare to enter the city in a fiery charge...but then, the Franks calmly loose the crossbows and spears. Cue Mass "Oh, Crap!". Curb-Stomp Battle ensues.
  • Rollo fighting his way up the siege ladders and hewing apart countless Franks as he attempts to fight his way to the Oriflamme, correctly deducing that without that banner, the Franks' newfound resolve will crumble.
    • He manages to terrify Princess Gisla of all people, who before that point was screechily and bloodthirstily exhorting the Frankish troops to merciless combat.
  • Ragnar going full Papa Wolf mode when he sees Björn in danger, which eventually results in him being the first to successfully scale the walls of Paris, leaving countless Frankish corpses in his wake until he's finally thrown off the walls by the combined efforts of ten men.
    • Hell, even when the Franks all gang up on him he's still defiantly snarls in their faces. Hell, he nearly broke free of them!
    • "Snarl" nothing, he looked like was gonna bite the Franks' faces off.
  • Earl Sigfred single-handed pulling down the gates of Paris, something that even two draft horses couldn't do.
  • Björn stepping up and rallying the warriors into an effective force when things start going belly up for the Vikings also counts.
    Ragnar: He was showing you don't need a title to be a leader.
• Ragnar speaking to Athelstan at the end is this while simultaneously being also a Funny Moment and a Tear Jerker.
  Ragnar: Ah, Athelstan... I hope you can hear me, Athelstan, and I'm not just talking to myself. What? Do you think I went too far with Floki? Did he actually believe that I would let him lead without my having an agenda? If I was him, I'd worry less about the Gods, and more about the the fury of a patient man. And as well you know, I can be very patient. [coughing fit] I wish you were here, Paris is everything you told me it would be... and I am bound and determined to conquer it.
• A major one for Floki who up until that point likely didn't look like anyone's idea of a general, yet did a bang-up job in preparation and execution. Indeed, the only reason Paris isn't taken is that the defenders give our Viking protagonist a run for their money in the ferocity department.

Episode 9 - Breaking Point

• Lagertha backed by group of hand-picked shieldmaidens swims across the Seine under the cover of darkness, scales the walls and then with the stealth of a ninja kills all the guards in the covered bridge and even after the alarm is raised manages to open the gates and let the Norse army in.
• After the Vikings storm the bridge, Odo and the Parisians unleash an enormous, spiked-wheel contraption that crushes the Norsemen… until Rollo almost singlehandedly disables it.
  • Floki's reaction to the spiked-wheel is nothing short of awesome. Sure, getting a reaction out of Folk isn't hard but if you actually manage to frighten him is points enough.
• Earl Siegfrid's execution doubles as a Funny Moment. He ask for someone to hold his hair so the axeman can make a clean cut, but then pulls back at the last second... pulling the hands of the soldier holding his hair into the path of the axe. ^note Likely inspired by a historic event in the aftermath of the battle of Hjörungavágr

Episode 10 - The Dead

• In what has become a series hallmark, Ragnar manipulates literally everyone into doing exactly what he wants. In so doing he manages to successfully raid Paris, trick Lagertha into what she thought was a posthumous Anguished Declaration of Love and get Floki to confess to the murder of Athelstan.

Season 4

Episode 1 - A Good Treason

• Kalf's flawlessly executed Batman Gambit to get Einar and all his followers to declare themselves and gather in one public spot... where Kalf's crossbowmen could slaughter them all with ease.
• Lagertha puts the cherry on top of Kalf's plan by castrating Einar before she allows him to be killed.

Episode 2 - Kill The Queen

• When Kwenthrith hears the shouted order for her murder, she wastes absolutely no time fighting for her life and her son's with everything that comes to hand — including an embroidery needle, a stool, and a piece of broken wood.
• A Mercian footsoldier, really no different from the ones we've seen slaughtered by the score so far, is tasked with killing Kwenthrith and makes a mad dash to the tower, only to be shot in the leg by a Wessex archer. Well, that's that taken care of... nope, he pulls the arrow out and then damn near beats Prince Aethelwulf, who comes after him with murder in his eyes, in a knockdown-dragout brawl which has to be seen to be believed. He's only stopped by a stone thrown from the battlements; by his own side, no less. Okay, his goal wasn't all that noble, but Mr Random Mercian Mook had some serious balls on him.
  • As one commenter aptly put it:
    Kwenthrith: [to Aethelwulf] What took you so long?
    Aethelwulf: Well there this one guy who forgot he wasn't part of the main cast....

Episode 3 - Mercy

• Björn's fight with the bear. With nothing but a dagger and axe, he faces it down and manages to kill it, but he takes a nasty gash across his chest. He then proceeds to cauterize the slash wounds with a hot knife, but not before he skins and butchers the beast. If there was any doubt Björn is as badass as his parents that doubt is now well and gone.
  • Athelstan's apparition is equally creepy, tearjerking, heartwarming, and awesome.

Episode 4 - Yol

• Björn killing the berserker who was sent to assassinate him.

Episode 5 - Promised

• King Ecbert's speech in the chapel is hauntingly magnificent.

Episode 9 - Death All 'Round

• Torvi finally has enough of Erlendur's coercion and cruelty and, after shielding Björn from a crossbow assassination with her own body gambling that Erlendur wouldn't kill her, then when he hands her his crossbow and demands she kill Björn himself she walks up to him, tells him what Erlendur has told her to do, then turns around and shoots Erlendur in the chest.

Episode 10 - The Last Ship

• Rollo's absolutely epic Rousing Speech before the Franks take on the Vikings' fleet. Clive Standen's delivery makes you want to cheer along with the soldiers.
• The epic battle on the river, with Ragnar vs. Rollo being a suitably ferocious confrontation. And then it becomes awesome moment for the Franks, when they successfully repel the Vikings.
• The sheer fact that Kattegat is doing better under Aslaug's rule as Queen Regent in Ragnar's absence than it ever did under Ragnar's as King just goes to show who the more competent of the two is when it comes to ruling.

Episode 11- The Outsider

• The training sequence shows how skilled all of Ragnar's sons are. We also start to see just why everyone is (or should be) afraid of Ivar.
  • Special mention goes to when Sigurd throws an axe to knock a cup out of Ivar's hands, and Ivar retaliates by throwing an axe over Sigurd's head-but close enough to graze him.

Episode 13 - Two Journeys

• Lagertha's flawlessly executed attack on Kattegat. The whole thing was so carefully planed that it resulted in a Curb-Stomp Battle in Lagertha's favor.

Episode 14 - In the Uncertain Hour Before the Morning

• Dear Thor, where to even start on this one? Aslaug's absolutely epic Face Death with Dignity moment, Ubbe's Foe-Tossing Charge as he tries to fight his way to Lagertha to avenge his mother's death, every scene between Ragnar and King Ecbert with Travis Fimmel and Linus Roache delivering some of the finest acting in the series to date... the show had its ups and downs but this is definitely a return to form.

Episode 15 - All His Angels

• Ragnar's final speech.
  "It gladdens me to know that Odin prepares for a feast! Soon I shall be drinking ale from curved horns! This hero that comes into Valhalla does not lament his death, I shall not enter Odin's all with fear. There, I shall wait for my sons to join me, and when they do I will bask in their tales of triumph. The Aesir will welcome me, my death comes without apology! And I welcome the valkyries to summon me home!"
  • Especially poignant since Ragnar has claimed to believe in none of it. He does it all as a show. Not because his sons are watching, or any Northmen for that matter, but because doing so just adds an extra “fuck you” to King Aelle.

Episode 16 - Crossing

• Ivar hauling himself up the length of the hall of Kattegat (incidentally in a far more intimidating manner: where before he just dragged himself around, he now stabs a pair of spikes into the floor and pulls himself forward), and up to Lagertha. He proceeds not only to utterly dismiss her arguments for conquering Kattegat, declaring it to be nothing more than an act of ambition, but then challenges her to single combat. She refuses, at which point he simply shrugs:
  Ivar: All right, don't fight me then. I don't care, just as long as you know that one day, I will kill you, Lagertha. Your fate is fixed.
• Lagertha gets a good one too, she refuses to fight saying she has no desire to kill him.
  Ivar: Who says you'd kill me?
  Lagertha: I do.
• The entire ending scene is one. Björn spots a flock of ravens when viewing the Mediterranean and pauses. And then one by one, each son of Ragnar is visited by none other than ODIN HIMSELF. The Allfather delivers the news of Ragnar's death to all of them, after which we hear an echo of Ragnar's final words. A massive storm begins to brew, shaking Kattegat from every tree to every hut. Chilling, surreal, and a foreboding omen of things to come.
• Earlier in the episode Floki manages to stare down Harald, Halfdan and all their men and prevent them from killing the Muslims praying in a Mosque. Less overtly epic, but still took a lot of bravery and may be the start of a redemptive arc for Floki.

Episode 17 - The Great Army

• Ivar's plan. His chilling smile sells it.
  "We declare war... on the whole world."
• An entire sequence of one after the other:
  • Ubbe and Ivar mingle at Lagertha's party, subtly intimidating many of the visiting Earls who don't realize how seriously they should fear Ivar (and a subtle Heartwarming Moment when Ubbe tells a pair of Swedes how much he respects Ivar and the danger he represents despite his disability).
  • All of a sudden a group of warriors springs into action and bars the door, holding several people hostage and it appears one of the visiting Earls plans to stage a takeover. Cue the thudding of Ivar's floor-spikes as he and Ubbe confront Lagertha to gain their revenge for her murder of Aslaug.
  • Lagertha grabs a weapon and prepares to face the death at the hands of a Ragnarsson that the Seer predicted. Before Ubbe or Ivar can attack, though, the door bursts open to reveal Björn and his battle-hardened men. Even together, Ubbe and Ivar don't dare to face him and the situation is diffused.

Episode 18 - Revenge

• King Harald gets shot down HARD by Elisif, the woman who inspired him to become king of all Norway, but rather than kill her as Halfdan expects he lets her go because, vicious backstabber he may be, he does genuinely love Elisif as a person.
• The reveal of the scale of the Northmen's invasion, along with the pure hate in the eyes of the Ragnarssons when they see Aelle. And even Ivar, thanks to Floki, is able to fight and contribute to their revenge.
  Bishop: God help us.
  Aelle: I don't think he can.
• The battle of the Northumbrians vs. the Great Heathen Army. Such a Curb-Stomp Battle it Smash Cuts from the Northmen charging towards Aelle's line to Aelle being dragged behind Ivar's chariot.
• The ultimate vengeance makes its return. Upon the site of Ragnar's death his sons begin their vengeance as Björn, years after seeing it done to Jarl Borg, draws the Blood Eagle on King Aelle's back.

Episode 20 - The Reckoning

• Ecbert pulls off one last plan that cements him as a Magnificent Bastard for the ages. To wit, when he is captured he offers the Ragnarssons the kingdom of East Anglia so that they will have land of their own to which to retreat, in exchange for choosing the manner of his own death. They accept, unaware that Ecbert had already abdicated the throne in favor of his son Aethelwulf, meaning that the deed to East Anglia is completely worthless — in the end he still won out in the last battle of wits with Ragnar.
• Bishop Edmund deserves a shout out for meeting his death with dignity. Through out the series he's shown himself to be a man who enjoys the comforts that come with his position but in the end he met his demise like a true man of God the same way Athelstan did, with the same fearlessness as a Northman.
  • What makes this scene even (bitter)sweeter is that Floki, who not so long ago would have cheerfully murdered the bishop himself, looks positively appalled by his demise. Heck he even attempts to make run to save him.
• To give the man his due, while he otherwise showed himself to be a resentful Jerkass, Sigurd nonetheless gets an impressive moment when Ivar throws an axe into his chest. Most men would have doubled-up in pain and died, but not Sigurd. He rips the thing out and marches down the table towards Ivar, fully intending to return the favour, and dies only a step away. Ivar makes no move to defend himself, for once looking to be genuinely shocked.

Season 5

Episode 2 - The Departed/The Departed Part 2

• Floki is lost at sea, out of food and water. He begs Heimdall to vouch for him. Heimdall does and the gods send a storm which washes up Floki on a strange land with black shores, lush green fields, and smoking mountains. Floki has discovered Iceland!
  • Asgardr! Ek er i Asgardr! Ek er i lands gudarna!

Episode 3 - Homeland

• A small moment, but when Harald sits down on his throne and is handed his crown it does not look that special. Once you get a closer look you realise that the point are made out of the teeth of a shark.
• During the battle for York, Ivar is thrown from his chariot after a Saxon footsoldier hits him with a spear. Winded and on his back, all might be expected to be over for him. But it is not. As the man approaches to finish him off, Ivar grabs him, hauls him to the ground and utterly erases his face with one of his floor-spikes/warhammers.
  • Then he crawls to the wreck of his chariot, only to be confronted by an entire saxon force. Alone, his back against the side of his chariot, he should be a goner, right? No. The son of Ragnar Lothbrok simply smiles, his face a mask of another man's blood, before he laughs in their faces and roars at the Saxons, launching into a Badass Boast delivered purely in Old Norse that terrifies the Saxons long enough for Ubbe to arrive with reinforcements.
    Ivar: Don't you know who I am? You can't kill me! Don't you know who I am? I am IVAR THE BONELESS! I AM IVAR THE BONELESS. You can't kill me! [Spiteful Spit]
    • And, sure enough, the Saxons can't kill him. One man shoots an arrow at him at near point-blank range and misses out of terror. Another manages to hit him in the leg and Ivar simply tears it out. The Saxons probably thought they were facing a demon straight from hell.

Episode 5 - The Prisoner

• In the final fight for York, two moments stand out:
  • First, Alfred's might with the Hammerman. Like Thor himself disguised in human form, he wields a large warhammer and picks through the Saxons. He sees Alfred and decides to take him out next. Alfred is driven back but manages to survive. Mannel sees his nephew is in deep shit and comes to his rescue: running his sword through the Hammerman. The Hammerman turns to fight Mannel, with Mannel's sword still driven into his stomach and out his back! Alfred impales him with his own sword, which seemingly takes him out. But the Hammerman gets on his feet, follows them, and uses the last of his strengh to bash Mannel's head in. Said swords still attached. Hvitserk witnesses this and is confused at first and then bursts into laughter.
  • The Vikings surround Heahmund and take out his horse with arrows. Ivar interupts the fight and commands one of his men to bring Heahmund his own horse. Heahmund is promptly given Ivar's horse and the fight continues. Why did Ivar do this? Because he thought Heahmund was too great of a warrior to fight on foot.

Episode 8 - The Joke

• A man with a large axe manages to disarm king Harald of his sword and sheild. It looks like Harald is done for, so what does he do? He wrestles the axe of the guy's hands, chops him down and start to mow down enemies left and right with the axe.

Episode 10 - Moments of Vision

• Lagertha grabbing a decapitated head and using it as a mace in battle. LAGERTHA USING A DECAPITATED HEAD AS A MACE.
• The badass war speech Ivar entices his troops with.
• Ivar spotting Lagertha from afar and imagening the whole battle field as a field of fighting skeletons and Lagertha being the only one who is "real".
• Björn orders his archers to fire on Ivar. Ivar's bodyguards try to shield him and themselves, while Ivar stands calmly as if the rain of arrows is just regular rain.
• The army of Kattegat is barely holding their ground against the armies of Ivar and Harald. Then Ivar sends in the Frankish forces and completely swipes the table clean. Björn's reaction of despair completely sells it as both awe inspiring and dreadful.

Season 6

Episode 11 - King of Kings

• Björn Ironside's Dying Moment of Awesome. Even close to dying, he arrives on his horse at the battle against the Rus just before it begins. The Rus leader shoots him three times with arrows, but even with a bleeding mouth he still has enough strength left in him to lift his sword, and then the Northern army reveals itself. The Rus as a whole all realize they are outnumbered and outflanked, and flee. Only then, does Björn allow himself to die.
  • Even Ivar looks afraid when he sees Björn take three arrows and remain on his horse.
    Ivar: That's impossible.
    Hvitserk: I told you Ivar, you can't kill him.
    Ivar: He's not a God.
    Hvitserk: Neither are you.
  • Hell, his mere entrance counts as an awesome moment. Alone, he rides out on a horse and faces the army of the Rus. They all panic at the mere sight of him, convinced that an unkillable Northern God has come to destroy them.

Episode 19 - The Lord Giveth

• Even as he’s dying, Harald still manages to kill his attacker just before he keels over.

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