Why Ragnar Lothbrok Should Not be King of The Vikings

Let’s talk about Vikings for a while, specifically Ragnar. Ragnar Lothbrok is the leader of the Vikings and together with his brother Rollo, son Bjorn and wife Lagertha have played the rest of the community like grandmasters at a high school chess tournament. The thing people fear most about Ragnar is his cunning, he’s always one step ahead of everyone else. However, if this were a more realistic world where good people die from bad choices Ragnar would no longer be king because of the kind of planning best left to twelve year olds organizing their soccer team and not the head of the Vikings. We’re talking about things like:

Letting his Forces Burn to Punish Floki

Floki is undeniably the nut job of the series and is the guy you call upon to take on any crazy dares you have during your drinking games. If Floki hasn’t tried it you shouldn’t either however just because Floki has done it doesn’t mean you should too. Floki had a grudge with the Christian preacher Athelstan and figured the best way to settle a quarrel is with a battle axe. We don’t recommend it as the best way to establish dominance in your community but then again the hardcore Viking gene pool has been greatly diluted over the centuries . Of course Floki does this knowing that Athelstan is under Ragnar’s protection.

Ragnar is nothing less than furious about Athelstan’s death and to punish Floki he puts him in charge of the Paris siege. The plan goes as well as any plan being led by someone who believes strong faith can compensate for bad science and the number of people who lose their lives is great. Ragnar himself is seriously injured and his son nearly killed all because Ragnar thinks that letting Floki fail in leading is the best way to avenge his friend. This is some twisted logic given that Floki himself is still alive and getting over his depression. So what did Ragnar achieve with it aside from making him feel like a failure?

Working with Lagertha’s Usurper

Ragnar also has a hot ex-wife, Lagertha, one of the few people with enough grey matter between their ears to sensibly move a community forward. Lagertha is one of the three parties who are raiding England and an earl gets usurped while away. When she requests Ragnar for help in removing Kalf he ignores her. Considering she is one of his most trusted allies Ragnar should have put more thought into it before joining the Kalf parade what happens when she finally reclaims her position? Ragnar will no longer have a friend but someone willing and ready to withdraw all their assistance just to spite him.

Not punishing Rollo for his Rebellion

Of all of Ragnar’s mistakes, the biggest has to be letting his brother go unpunished after rebelling against him. When Rollo kills his comrade Arne and injures Floki, Ragnar himself has to step up to fight him to get him to stop. What insurance does the rest of the community get that Rollo will not try this again? Nothing. For a person keen on being king of his area, Ragnar Lothbrok can certainly let personal feelings cloud his judgment and he does let his friends violate his words with minimal consequences hopefully none of them will think to turn on him.