Season 3 of “Vikings” has already been quite brutal as a whole, but it seems like the writers have even more aces up their sleeves, and are planning to introduce some even more shocking developments to the plot. If the last episode 6 is of any indication, we’re going to see the show developing in a very brutal direction over the next few episodes.
Death was again in the center of the spotlight with the last episode, and there was also a significant conflict based on religion going on, something which the producers have hinted could become an even more central point to the plot in the future. The conflict started when Athelstan decided to accept Jesus, overriding the will of Ragnar. Of course, this was not taken kindly by Floki and the other Vikings, as they saw the move as a direct betrayal towards them, and some seemed to even take it personally.
Floki in particular was affected deeply by the development, but that should have been expected from the character, who seems to like to portray himself as the victim of betrayal in general. In any case, the way he personally saw the situation was that Athelstan had tricked everyone into accepting the proposal by King Ecbert, and he was therefore the one responsible for the betrayal in the first place.
It was also made quite clear that Floki has a lot of jealousy bottled up inside him, and he’s using this as a driving force for his deeds, attempting to disguise it in other ways. It appears that other characters can easily see through him though, and his attitude may eventually end up changing the dynamic of his relationship with others.
Meanwhile, we also got to see King Ecbert putting Judith up on trial for adultery, accompanied by Aethelwulf, his son, and the notorious bishop from the last season. While they’re torturing Judith, King Ecbert tries to get her to reveal the name of her baby’s father, even though he’s well aware that this is Athelstan. Ecbert was the one who orchestrated the whole ordeal in the first place, and for him, this is all a puzzle with its pieces falling in place one by one nearly flawlessly.
In the end, Judith does reveal Athelstan’s name, but not before losing one of her ears. Afterwards, her life is spared, and the baby is given the name Alfred, who will one day become Alfred the Great, famous from the Viking legends. Many fans were pleasantly surprised by this plot twist, and said that it adds a bit to the show’s already interesting backstory and plot. The writers obviously want to make everything as believable as possible, and they’re doing a fine job so far.