History Series / Vikings

** The areas around Uppsala and what is today the west coast of Sweden are generally portrayed as inhospitable wastelands. In reality these areas are among the most fertile agricultural lands in the region, and were definitely so during the Viking age.

** The massacre of the Norse settlers by Christian Saxons depicted in ''Usurper'' was likely inspired by the infamous Saint Brice Day massacre where Aethelred the Unready had every Danish settler in England slaughtered, many of whom who were pagans [[note]]Scandinavia was not fully Christianised at the time, and among those who carried out retribution beside Knut Seweynsson were the infamous Jomsvikings, who were known for being fiercely pagan[[/note]]

* TelevisionGeography: The animated SceneryPorn EstablishingShot of Uppsala displays the settlement on a mountain. RealLife Uppsala is located on a plain, the only nearby elevations being some burial mounds; appropriately from the Viking Age.

-->“Where are you Lord? Tell me… is it your will that I am here with these heathens? How does it serve you? I don’t understand and for the first time in my life I am angry with you. You allow my brothers to be slaughtered and sold. Is this really your will? for the first time… I feel lonely. Where are you, Lord? Where are you? And why don’t you answer me?”

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** King Horik is a ReligiousBruiser who believes entirely that everything that happens does so because it was fated to happen. As such he doesn't ever bother with little things like strategy and tactics, [[AttackAttackAttack he just rushes straight at the enemy]] and tries to kill as many as he can. Whenever Horik fights enemies who do pay attention to battlefield strategy, Horik gets his ass handed to him.
** The Siege of Paris has this happening to both sides:
*** The vikings make the mistake of attempting to [[StormingTheCastle storm the city]] and learn a painful lesson in why that was generally the last resort for a medieval army. They suffer enormous casualties and never make it beyond the city walls.
*** However, once the Norse settle in for a more orthodox siege, the Franks inside the city get hit with this. All the people and farm animals being forced to live in close proximity for such a long time under medieval hygienic conditions means that inevitably a plague breaks out and begins ravaging the city. On top of that, being cut off from the outside world means that the city soon is running low on food. Despite winning a major victory against the Vikings, the Franks are nonetheless forced to attempt a BegoneBribe to get the Norse to leave before their situation gets even worse, or before the Norse learn about the conditions inside the city and attempt to sack it again.
** When a Christian missionary attempts to preach in Kattegat that the Aesir are false gods and convert the locals to Christianity, Aslaug challenges the man to prove the power of his god by having him attempt to carry a red hot piece of metal across the village. The missionary has an ImagineSpot where God protects him and he does so unharmed. When he actually attempts the feat however, things don't go so well for him.
** Whatever insane view Lagertha has of Aslaug and of herself, the fact is her "army of liberation" is in fact an invading army. The people of Kattegat react to it as such.
** Magnus has a conversation with Harald on a battlefield during a retreat without attempting to protect himself with a shield. [[spoiler: He's shot with an arrow by Whitehair]].

* TeensAreShort: Björn, who is much older than his half-brothers, is also significantly taller than them.

** In the second episode of the first season, Rollo rapes Floki's slave. Rollo never commits rape again and Floki's slave never appears again.

* OutDamnedSpot: Athelstan guiltily leafs through the Bible of a monk he's killed and hallucinates that an illustrated Jesus bleeds real blood. The blood oozes onto Athelstan's hands, causing him to frantically wipe at them, but the blood has disappeared.

* EndOfAnEra: The second half of season 6 is presented as that for the golden age of Viking raiders. Legends like Ragnar, Legartha, Floki and Rollo are either dead or settled down. The time of the Ragnarssons is ending and the people replacing them as leaders are more politicians than war leaders. The Saxons and Franks have learned how to defend themselves and Viking raids are met by large organized armies led by skilled generals determined to defend their countries.

* TriangRelations:
** Rollo is this to both Ragnar and his wife, Lagertha, as well is the Earl and his wife.
** Ragnar has this with Lagertha and Aslaug.
** Ubbe, his wife, and his brother Hvitserk

* HappinessInSlavery: Downplayed; Athelstan is 'not interested' in escaping, but he'd rather be a free man. Of course, he's also well aware that he's incapable of fighting and far away from home in a strange land -- even if he were to escape, he realizes he doesn't really stand a chance at getting home.

* StockholmSyndrome: Athelstan's respect and affection for Ragnar's family grows over time in spite of the fact that Ragnar violently enslaved him. However, part of the reason Athelstan sticks around is because Ragnar treats him well and he has nowhere else to go. By Season 2, he feels like a part of the family, and Ragnar's family [[LimaSyndrome feels the same way]].