My least favourite character is Athelstan. I cannot understand why people (both Ragnar and fans) are invested in him at all. George Blagden does fine in the roll and I think there were a few interesting moments for him in season 1 but after that I found him unbearable. We are constantly told he is very intelligent but actions with King Eckbert show him to be either unbelievably gullible or an active traitor (translating the fragments of how Caesar defeated the northern tribes for the king when he knows that Ragnar has landed. We are told about his loyalty but he refuses to go to the aid of Ragnar's family and Kattegat even when it is obvious that Ragnar is desperate and he makes no move to try and warn Ragnar of the two army trap even though he is by no means a prisoner in Wessex. I also hated the way he threw away the arm band in 'Born Again' he could have returned it to Ragnar, at the very least it was a gift from a friend given with love and trust and to the Vikings it was sacred- he demonstrated utter contempt for their beliefs and culture.
I disliked the Judith storyline most of all, He does not love Judith and sleeps with her anyway, and then leaves her with no thought about what might happen if she is pregnant (knowing full well how an adulterous will be treated in his society) he never gives her a second thought after he leaves. The idea of the character noble, spiritual and constant ) is so at odds with his actual actions that I find it impossible to take him seriously and I find Ragnar's devoted puppy routine embarrassing.
My favourite character is probably Floki- (and not just because he finally rid the show of Athelstan) No other character apart from maybe Ragnar is so compelling and unique. Floki is a mass of contradictions:he is in some ways the gentlest of all the characters- (it is truly shocking when he grabs Helga by the throat because he always treats her with such tenderness-if Rollo, Ragnar or even Lagertha had grabbed their paramour by the throat we would think nothing of it and it is unlikely they would apologise) and yet he is one of the most vicious and savage characters in the show. He behaves as a fool and is often treated as one but he is very perceptive, understanding that Rollo's harsh attitude to women masks his broken heart, that Horik is always trying to flatter and cajole him into betrayal and that all of the overtones of co-operation with Wessex and King Eckbert are all a fantasy and that the Christians (most of them and certainly those in power) despise them every bit as much as he despises Christianity. He is very closed minded and simplistic in some ways and yet incredibly intelligent and creative in others, building not only the essential and innovative ships that take them to England and Paris but also beautiful things only for the sake of it.
The most tragic thing about the character is his limited but evident understanding of his own mental illness. Several times he refers to himself as insane and the scene where he admits he doesn't want a child because he is afraid it would be like him is heartbreaking. He knows there is something wrong with him and yet he cannot understand or control it. His religious beliefs are also interesting, he is a total zealot and yet talks of the 'real gods that haunt him' as opposed to the gods that the others are concerned with, he is fascinated by signs from the gods but we never see him visit the seer. Most of all I like him because he is (in my opinion) the best acted character on the show- his confession to Ragnar, his suicidal desperation in Paris, his grief at the loss of Torstein and his wide eyed wonder and awe when he saw his daughter are just a few moments that stand out as being truly excellent and believable. The fact that he killed Athelstan is a shame because in some ways Floki defines himself by his relationship to Ragnar and that is probably destroyed however everything he says in the confession is true- I remember all the way back in season 1 when Horik is first introduced and he says Ragnar built a boat that sailed west and Floki is standing right next to him But Ragnar never thinks to say 'no he built it' No one except perhaps Lagertha has been as essential to Ragnar's rise as Floki- from building the boats to taking in Ragnar and his family when they have nothing to acting double agent with King Horik. I really hope that some hope is offered to Floki in season 4 because although he has sinned he has never betrayed Ragnar and in Floki's view he truly was trying to protect him.
I think I am the only person who watches the show who now has very little sympathy for Ragnar!!! I loved him at the beginning and I still think he is a fascinating character but I find myself hating him a little, His treatment of Lagertha is childish and disloyal, first with Aslaug and then the way he humiliates her by pretending he will support her about her Earldom and then doing the exact opposite-after she came to his aid to help him save his family and regain his land. Ragnar has become a bit of hypocrite, he claims he cares for his people and yet when he admits he gave away command in Paris to make Floki suffer he is admitting that he is prepared to sacrifice his peoples lives for his 'agenda' He takes them to Paris, has no plan and so passes the responsibility to the others only to scream at them as failures even after they have offered far more than he has and are only doing his bidding trying to assault a city which he has been told (by logical analysis and prophecy) cannot be breached. He abandons the people he claims to be building a future for in Wessex at the mercy of a KIng he knows is corrupt and then murders the only survivor of the massacre that follows in order to keep the truth quiet. He lies about what happened there and forgets all about farm land because he wants a shiny new toy -Paris ! I still enjoy the character because Travis Fimmel does a great job and the writing is always interesting but I no longer see him as any kind of hero. The scene in 'the dead' when he collapses in Bjorn's arms as the warriors file past tells the story of Ragnar- people who have loved him, trusted him and fought for him now look at him with fear, distrust and even hatred and it (mostly) his doing. In season one there was a core group that supported Ragnar and helped him achieve his ambitions- not one of that group (the ones that are still breathing) really trusts him any more and he treats all of them with contempt most of the time.
I have to say I like Rollo as a character- he has a million flaws and I hate him sometimes but his insane courage and his honesty about himself make him at times more likeable than his awesome but increasingly deluded and self righteous brother.
