Vikings: The Best And Worst Things About The Hit Show

Vikings has gone through plenty of ups and downs over the years. Even today, the show plays on many of the same strengths as it did in the beginning and suffers from the same weaknesses, too. Here are the five best and five worst things in Vikings.

One of the most intriguing choices Vikings made in its first season was the introduction of Athelstan, a Christian monk who's taken captive after Ragnar Lothbrok and his vikings pillage the monastery at Lindisfarne. Intrigued by Athelstan's ability to converse in the Vikings' native language, Ragnar decides to keep him as a slave so that he can learn more about the priest and his strange Christian ways. Gradually, the relationship between Ragnar and Athelstan evolves from mutual curiosity into a strong and respectful friendship, and Athelstan winds up choosing to remain with Ragnar even after the Viking restores his freedom.

The addition of Athelstan to the cast not only resulted in one of Vikings' strongest friendships, but was also a clever way to give audiences important information about Viking culture without feeling too heavy handed. Coming from a sheltered, Christian background, Athelstan was constantly full of questions about the Vikings' way of life, which enabled Ragnar to educate both him and the audience on his unique worldview.

But more than a clever conduit for worldbuilding, Ragnar and Athelstan's friendship was one of the most interesting and genuine relationships on the show. Despite their vastly different backgrounds and belief systems, the two men were able to connect both intellectually and emotionally thanks to their willingness to listen and learn from one another. And when that friendship was finally broken, with Athelstan's untimely death, it led to arguably the show's most powerful scene.

Although Vikings is full of fascinating characters, none started off more interesting than Floki, the devout shipbuilder who served as a close advisor and friend to Ragnar. As intelligent as he was eccentric, Floki served as a counterpoint to Athelstan for the first few seasons of Vikings, cautioning Ragnar against his friendship with the monk, as Floki feared Athelstan's influence would pull Ragnar out of favor with the Viking gods. Keep watching the video to see Vikings: The best and worst things about the hit show.

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Best: Ragnar and Athelstan | 0:00
Worst: The fall of Floki | 1:31
Best: The saga of Ragnar Lothbrok | 2:45
Worst: Continuing the legacy | 3:28
Best: The battles | 4:37
Worst: Writing the women | 5:36
Best: Ragnar and Ecbert | 6:43
Worst: Aslaug | 7:36
Best: A different perspective | 8:32
Worst: Handling deaths | 9:27

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