Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Ragnar returns to Wessex seeking the farmland Ecbert promised, but the bargain requires his warriors to fight for Kwenthrith in Mercia. Lagertha helps the settlers begin farming while the campaign costs Torstein his life and leaves the pregnant Thorunn badly injured. Back in Scandinavia, Kalf usurps Lagertha’s earldom. Siggy drowns while saving Ragnar’s young sons, and Ecbert secretly authorizes the destruction of the Viking settlement after the warriors depart.
Athelstan rediscovers his Christian faith after fathering Judith’s child, Alfred. Floki interprets his devotion as a betrayal and kills him while he prays. Ragnar buries his friend before leading the next expedition to Paris. Its fortifications withstand two assaults, leaving the Vikings battered and Ragnar seriously wounded. Rather than keep attacking, he negotiates with the Franks and asks to be baptized and buried inside the city, a request that disturbs followers already angered by his attachment to Athelstan.
Ragnar then stages his death, with Bjorn helping conceal the deception. His coffin is carried into the cathedral, where he leaps out, kills the bishop and takes Gisla hostage. The guards are forced to open the gates, letting the Vikings enter Paris. Most of the fleet sails home, but Rollo remains with a smaller force. Charles offers him land, titles and Gisla’s hand in exchange for defending the city. On the voyage back, Ragnar tells Floki that he knows who killed Athelstan.