Vikings saw the deaths of many of its main characters over the course of six seasons, and only two characters survived from beginning to end – here’s who they are and what happened to them after the show ended. The branch of historical drama has become widely popular in recent years, especially on TV, and one of its most recent successes is Vikings, created by Michael Hirst. Vikings premiered on History Channel in 2013 and came to an end in 2020 after lots of battles, betrayals, and the deaths of many of its most popular characters.
Vikings initially followed Norse warrior Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels and raids alongside his family and Viking brothers, from the beginning of the Viking Age (marked by the Lindisfarne raid) onward. With time, Vikings began shifting its focus to Ragnar’s sons – Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar – and their own journeys and battles, and they took the lead of the series after Ragnar’s death in season 4 and until the final episode. Given that Vikings saw its characters involved in a number of conflicts, rivalries, and battles, Ragnar isn’t the only main character from season 1 that didn’t make it to the final episode of the show.
Some of Vikings’ most popular and beloved characters didn’t make it to the final episode or not even the final season, adding even more to the drama of the show. Characters like Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), Athelstan (George Blagden), and Björn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) died before the series finale of Vikings, while others, like Ivar the Boneless (Alex Høgh Andersen), met their fate on the last episode of the series, but there are two main characters from season 1 that survived, though one of them off-screen: Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) and Rollo (Clive Standen).
Why Floki & Rollo Both Survived In Vikings (& What Happened Next?)
Floki and Rollo were two of the people closest to Ragnar, accompanying him on the Lindisfarne raid and more, but their dynamics with the legendary Viking were very different. Floki was Ragnar’s best friend, Kattegat’s exceptional boat builder and incorrigible trickster, who often threw viewers and characters off with his eccentric personality. Floki went through a major crisis in season 5 when his settlement in Iceland fell apart and its inhabitants took revenge on one another, leading him to travel alone into a cave he believed was the gate to Helheim. To his surprise, inside the cave, Floki discovered a Christian cross, and as the cave was inside an erupting volcano, it collapsed as he laughed and cried at the irony of finding a Christian element in a place he believed to be connected to Norse mythology. To the surprise and relief of viewers, Floki was revealed to be alive in the series finale of Vikings, where he reunited with Ubbe, though by then, Floki seemed to have become senile. Floki didn’t die in Vikings, but the real Floki is believed to have returned to Iceland, where he lived until his death.
Rollo was Ragnar’s brother in Vikings (in real-life, Rollo had no links to the figure of Ragnar, who is believed to be fictional), who was involved in a love triangle with Lagertha and was even implied many times that he was Björn’s real father. The rivalry between Ragnar and Rollo was a focal point in the first seasons of Vikings, as Rollo was often blinded by jealousy over how everyone treated Ragnar and put him first. Rollo eventually separated himself from Ragnar, Lagertha, and Kattegat and became the ruler of Normandy, leaving Vikings after season 5. Rollo didn’t return in Vikings season 6, but it’s well known that he was still alive. The real Rollo of Normandy continued to reign over that land until around 928 and is believed to have died in 930, but his legacy has continued in the sequel series Vikings: Valhalla, as Emma of Normandy is a direct descendant of him. Both Floki and Rollo went their separate ways and separated themselves from Ragnar and everything they went through together, which helped them survive the whole series.