What Vikings Fans Never Noticed About Ragnar In Season 2
Spoilers for Vikings season 4 ahead.
History's Vikings takes inspiration from real events, but adds a healthy dose of dramatization for good measure. The show continues to sail full speed ahead toward its series finale, which should come out later in 2020 or early 2021. The show has come a long way since it first aired, and while Viking chieftain Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) hasn't been on the show since season 4, he helped turn the series into the juggernaut it became.
Originally, the show followed Ragnar's exploits, until he met an untimely demise at the end of season 4 when he was thrown in a venomous snake pit. While it's unlikely we'll see him again before the show ends for good, there are all kinds of details fans can pick up on when they rewatch the series. At a recent Comic-Con @ Home event, the Vikings cast and crew held a panel where all sorts of intricate details were divulged.
One of the most interesting tidbits involves an Easter egg from the show's second season most fans didn't catch the first time they watched it, and once you hear about it, you'll want to go back to review the episode, to see for yourself how they got away with such a cool idea.
Ragnar only has one main piece of dialogue in the season 2 finale
During the Comic-Con panel, showrunner Michael Hirst discussed star Travel Fimmel coming to him with a pretty out-there idea (via Express). As Hirst puts it, "Travis said to me, 'Do you think, perhaps it would be a good idea if I don't say anything in this episode except the Lord's Prayer?' And I said, 'Well you are in a lot of scenes,' and he said 'Yeah but I can do it by looking, I don't need to say anything.'"
While Ragnar does have a few small lines here and there in the season 2 finale, appropriately titled "The Lord's Prayer," the team succeeded in not really having him say anything until Ragnar's meeting with Athelstan (George Blagden). Hirst goes on to mention how they were a little worried about this radical idea. After all, it's a big risk to have your lead not say anything in such a pivotal episode. Hirst mentions, "I said don't tell anyone. Don't tell MGM. Don't tell History. Because no one would allow it, your lead character is not saying what's on the page that they had approved."
Miraculously enough, no one seemed to notice. They didn't get in trouble with History, and fans didn't seem to notice that Ragnar was virtually silent for most of the episode, at least until he prays. Hirst attributes this to the fact Fimmel has such a magnificent presence on-screen that he can communicate so much with a simple look.
It's these kinds of details that have made Vikings such a joy to watch over the years. With the spinoff series Vikings: Valhalla premiering on Netflix in 2021, fans should stay vigilant for any other Easter eggs, and other fun details, that may crop up.