Vikings was led by Ragnar Lothbrok during its first four seasons, and there’s one episode where he only speaks a few words and is silent through most of the events – and here’s why. Created by Michael Hirst, Vikings premiered on History Channel in 2013 and was originally planned to be a miniseries, but the first episodes proved to be quite successful, and so the project was renewed for a second season not long after. Vikings’ popularity continued and the series lived on for a total of six seasons, coming to an end in December 2020.
Vikings initially followed legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his travels and raids alongside his Viking brothers, among those his actual brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), and his best friend and Kattegat’s best boat builder, Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård). As the series progressed, it gradually shifted its focus to Ragnar’s sons and their own journeys, becoming the leads of the show. This made the transition from one protagonist to the others a bit smoother, as Ragnar’s arc came to an end in season 4, but his legacy and presence continued to be felt until the end of the series. With Vikings now over, fans are looking back and catching details they missed upon the first viewing, such as that one episode where Ragnar barely spoke.
Like the rest of the episodes of Vikings, that particular one, titled “The Lord’s Prayer”, was written by Michael Hirst, and it saw King Horik (Donal Logue) arriving in Kattegat and revealing his plan to kill Ragnar and his family, and actually recruited Floki after he proved his loyalty. Floki was tasked with killing Bjorn, with Siggy asked to kill Ragnar’s young sons and being promised to become Horik’s second wife if she did so. However, Floki and Siggy were actually on Ragnar’s side and told him all about Horik’s plans, leading to his death and that of most of his crew. With Horik now dead, Ragnar became king, and the episode ended with him on a cliff with Horik’s “King’s Sword”, looking over his new kingdom. A lot of important things happened in this episode, so it’s easy to miss that Ragnar doesn’t speak at all, except when Athelstan teaches him the Lord’s Prayer.
Now, even though Hirst wrote the episode, it wasn’t his idea to have Ragnar remain silent through the majority of the episode. In an interview with EW back in 2014, Hirst revealed that it was Travis Fimmel’s idea to have Ragnar to not saying anything in Vikings' season 2 finale except for the title prayer. Hirst shared that he and Fimmel discussed all the scripts, and when it came to season 2’s finale, Fimmel said all he wanted Ragnar to say was the Lord’s Prayer, even though the character had many lines. Hirst liked the idea and so it was made that way, with Bjorn saying some of the lines originally written for Ragnar.
Ragnar’s silence through the biggest events of the episode, including Horik’s death, increased the tension and drama of the scenes, and as Hirst said, there’s something special about the Viking leader only speaking to say the Lord’s Prayer (it’s important to remember that Ragnar’s beliefs changed throughout the show). The way the episode was written and directed made it possible for Fimmel’s idea to work and not even the most hardcore Vikings fans noticed during their first viewing that Ragnar didn’t speak at all, which (ironically) speaks volumes about the talents of Hirst and Fimmel.