Vikings: Why Athelstan Didn't Go To Valhalla (Despite Ragnar's Vision)

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One of the most beloved characters in Vikings was Athelstan, who viewers saw struggling with his beliefs and more, and while many believe he went to Valhalla after he died, that wouldn’t have been possible, even if Ragnar had a vision about it. From the creator of The Tudors, Michael Hirst, came another historical fantasy TV series titled Vikings, which premiered in 2013 on History Channel and was originally planned to be a miniseries. However, it was so well received it was quickly renewed for a second season, and Vikings lived on for a total of six seasons, coming to an end in 2020.

Vikings initially followed the travels of legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) alongside his Viking brothers, among those his real brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), and his best friend and boatbuilder, Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård). The series begins at the start of the Viking Age, marked by the Lindisfarne raid in 793, which is shown in the second episode, titled “Wrath of the Northmen”. While sacking the monastery of Lindisfarne, Ragnar and his crew kill most of the monks and capture others, among those Athelstan (George Blagden), who Ragnar later takes to his home as a slave. Athelstan went on to become not only a fan-favorite character but also one of Ragnar’s closest friends, much to the dismay of other characters, especially Floki.

As a Christian monk, Athelstan fought to maintain his beliefs while in a completely different environment where other deities were revered and their way of living was the opposite of what he had known so far, but after sharing a roof with Ragnar and his family and getting to know other residents of Kattegat, Athelstan ended up having an inner battle between his Christian upbringing and everything he learned from the Vikings. Ultimately, Athelstan wasn’t that loyal to his Christian beliefs, and while he did his best to maintain his oath of celibacy, he ended up having a child with Judith, the wife of Prince Aethelwulf of Wessex, who was named Alfred and thus implied to be the future King Alfred the Great. Athelstan had a tragic end when in season 3 he was killed by Floki, who had a vision of blood coming out of wood and interpreted it as a sign that “blood must be spilled”, so he approached the former monk and killed him with an axe, as Athelstan calmly accepted his death.

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Now, given Athelstan’s strong bond with Ragnar and the fragility of his Christian beliefs at some point, many viewers believe he went to Valhalla after he died, more so after a vision Ragnar had in season 3 where he saw Athelstan and a figure that looked a lot like Odin (after all, the Allfather was a recurrent figure in Vikings, especially in Ragnar’s arc), hinting at the Norse afterlife having a place for the young monk. However, Athelstan was reborn in the Christian faith before his death, so he couldn’t have gone to Valhalla, instead ending up in Christian heaven. In addition to that, going to Valhalla after death is not something every person can do: only half of those who die in combat are chosen by Odin himself to travel to Valhalla, led by the valkyries, so they can join the masses of those who have also died in combat (the Einherjar) and prepare for the events of Ragnarök, the end and rebirth of the world. As for the other half of the warriors killed in combat, they go to Fólkvangr, a meadow ruled by the goddess Freyja.

Even if Athelstan separated himself from his Christianity at some point in Vikings and no matter how close he was to Ragnar Lothbrok, he couldn’t have gone to Valhalla because he was back into Christianity (and was even praying when Floki arrived) and because only those who die in battle can go to Valhalla, so there was no way he could have been granted access – now, whether he went to heaven or any other afterlife equivalent or not after everything he did is up to every viewer.