Vikings saw some truly tragic deaths and betrayals, among those Siggy’s death, which could have been prevented by Harbard, but he didn’t help her – and here’s why. One of the most popular and successful historical dramas in recent years is Michael Hirst’s Vikings, which premiered on History Channel in 2013 and came to an end in 2020 after six seasons full of betrayals, battles, and tragedies. Although Vikings was originally intended to be a miniseries, Ragnar, Lagertha, Rollo, and more quickly on the audience over, allowing them to continue telling their stories for many more seasons.
During its first four seasons, Vikings was led by legendary Norse warrior Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), with the series covering his travels and raids alongside his Viking brothers, beginning with the Lindisfarne raid, which marked the beginning of the Viking Age. As the series progressed, it started shifting its focus to Ragnar’s sons and their own journeys and battles, and so Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar took the lead of the series after Ragnar’s death in season 4 and until the final episode. Of course, Vikings not just focused on Ragnar, and it introduced a variety of characters over the course of six seasons, of which some continue to be a mystery, most notably Harbard (Kevin Durand).
Harbard was a wanderer and storyteller who was introduced in Vikings season 3. Harbard arrived at Kattegat while most of the men were away on raids and after Helga (Maude Hirst), Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland), and Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig) shared a dream of a mysterious man that looked like him. Harbard is one of the most mysterious characters in Vikings, and his appearance made way for different theories on who he truly is and what his real purpose was, and it also raised the question of why he didn’t save Siggy and let her drown.
Vikings: Was Harbard Really A God?
In the dream shared by Helga, Aslaug, and Siggy, Harbard was holding a ball of snow on fire while his hand bled. Helga met him first when he asked for help with a wound on his hand, and he later met Aslaug, earning their trust after curing baby Ivar’s pain, but Siggy wasn’t so welcoming. Aslaug and Helga’s attitudes toward Harbard became colder following Siggy’s death, as Harbard was there and could have saved her, but instead, he let her drown. Siggy was watching over Ragnar and Aslaug’s sons, and one day, Ubbe and Hvitserk ran out of their home to a frozen pond. Siggy went after them, but the boys fell through thin ice, with Siggy diving in to rescue them. Harbard arrived to help her pull the boys out of the water, but he appeared to her as her deceased daughter, Thyri. When she realized it was Harbard and not Thyri, Siggy let go and let herself drown, with Harbard doing nothing to help her.
Harbard not helping Siggy when she died has been interpreted in different ways by viewers, and an official reason hasn’t been given. It’s widely accepted that Siggy simply decided her time had come, and as she had just had a vision of her daughter, it was time to meet with her in the afterlife, and this way she got "the honor of a good death". However, it has also been theorized that Harbard was actually a god – either Odin, as suggested by Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård), or Loki –, and as such, he would have seen that Siggy had reached the end of her purpose and was time for her to die. Another explanation is that Harbard was trading her life for those of Ubbe and Hvitserk, and a simpler reason could be that Siggy didn’t trust him and chose to die instead. Harbard was meant to be a mysterious character in Vikings, but letting Siggy die was horrible no matter who he truly was.