‘Vikings’ Writer Michael Hirst Reveals The Reason Why He Does Not Miss Writing About Ragnar Lothbrok

For fans of the epic historical drama series, Vikings, Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) is one of the main reasons they fell in love with the show. However, Michael Hirst, who wrote all of the scripts for the History Channel series, has revealed that he doesn’t miss writing about Ragnar. However, the reason is not that he didn’t like the character.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses History Channel’s Vikings. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed all available episodes and wish to avoid spoilers.

According to Cinema Blend, Hirst revealed in an emailed interview that he has simply been eager to write about all of the characters that bring the Viking Age to life, not merely holding himself down to the one personality.

“My saga was always going to be about Ragnar and his sons,” Hirst revealed.

However, the writer did assure fans that he loved the fact that between himself and Fimmel, who played the flawed but lovable Ragnar, they created someone who was such a “singular hero and a complex, attractive and charismatic character.”

In the TV series, Ragnar was a farmer who decided to head off to raid in a different location than where the other Vikings usually did. This led to the discovery of much richer lands available for looting. He then grew in stature until he became the king of the trading center of Scandinavia, the fictional city of Kattegat.

While his story was epic, it concluded with his death at the bottom of a snake pit in Season 4. For many fans, this signified the end of an era. However, Ragnar had plenty of sons and the story has not only continued through them, but also through that of his much-loved first wife, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick).

“Historically speaking, some of his sons were equally if not, in fact, more famous than Ragnar himself,” Hirst continued.

Included in that statement, Hirst spoke of how he loved writing about the characters of Ivar the Boneless and Bjorn Ironside, who are probably his two most well-known offspring. Ivar is often described as a cripple, yet still went on to be a tactical genius when it came to organizing battles. Bjorn, on the other hand, is recorded in some of the Viking sagas as becoming the king of Sweden.

However, Hirst appeared to be most enamored with the character of Lagertha and spoke highly of her during the interview.

“Especially, Lagertha, who single-handedly gave the History Chanel and MGM one of television’s greatest female role models,” he stated when speaking of the characters that he liked writing the most about.

While she may have been loved by viewers, her popularity did not stop Hirst from killing her off in the first half of the final season.

As yet, the release date for the second half of Season 6 has not been announced. While this may be the final installment of the hit historical drama, Netflix has announced that they will continue the story with Vikings: Valhalla.