Vikings: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Ivar The Boneless

Ivar Ragnarsson has earned his place as one of TV’s most anger-inducing villains but did his character always make sense on Vikings?

You Are Reading :Vikings 10 Things That Make No Sense About Ivar The Boneless

Ivar Ragnarsson has earned his place as one of TV’s most anger-inducing villains. He was the main antagonist in the fifth season of Vikings where he did plenty of damage. Ivar is the youngest son of Ragnar Lothbrok and Aslaug. It is his father who nicknamed him “Ivar The Boneless.”

Ivar became the King of Kattegat after taking the throne from Ragnar’s former wife Lagertha. He swore revenge against Lagertha for killing his mother Aslaug and went on to rule with an iron fist. However, there are plenty of things about Ivar that make no sense, and here are some of them.

10 Unnecessary Tyranny

When Ivar took over Kattegat from Lagertha, he also became something of a Hitler or Mussolini figure. He ruled with an iron first and enjoyed being feared rather than loved. This style of leadership would have been understandable if he was a total outsider. But he wasn’t.

Ivar was Ragnar’s son, so basically, he had a right to the throne. Being Ragnar’s son also meant that he already had the people’s trust. Despite all this, he still so it fit to be a total tyrant who dished out more punishment than necessary and scared everyone.

9 Abandoning His Son

In the Season 5 episode titled “Baldur,” Ivar ended up doing the same thing to his son that his own father Ragnar did to him. He took him out in the woods and left them there to die because he had been born with a deformity.

Ivar was lucky enough to be saved when Ragnar abandoned him but no one saves his son. His reasoning was that a child with a disability would remind people of his own shortcomings. However, Ivar ought to have known better and not let his child suffer the same fate he did. After all, the abnormality was only on the face and the baby could still have grown and thrived.

8 Desperate Attempts To Impress The People

Ivar will do anything to maintain his hold on Kattegat but sometimes the things he does qualify as ‘somehow silly.’ For example, he decided to execute a Lagertha look-alike to make the people think he had killed Lagertha and so he had no opposition.

However, the people noticed that it wasn’t actually Lagertha, so instead of getting the respect and admiration he craved, the people began hating him. This move wasn’t even necessary since he was intending to rule with an iron fist anyway. Trying to win the people’s favor didn’t make sense.

7 Defending Ragnar

While Ragnar was the most beloved character in the show and his death might have disappointed viewers, he was neither a perfect leader or a perfect father. He made plenty of mistakes and all of his children saw this… all except Ivar.

If there was one person who ought to have really hated his father, it was Ivar. He was abandoned as a child after all. However, Ivar kept on defending Ragnar at all times. To him, daddy knew best. He even defended Ragnar’s decision to keep the settlement destruction a secret. Something which had led to the loss of hundreds of lives.

6 Constant Yelling

If therapists existed during the age of the Norsemen, Ivar would need to see one for his anger issues. He is often angry and this anger tends to be accompanied by yelling. When engaged in fierce battles with his enemies, he also does more yelling than fighting.

For example, during the battle with the Anglo-Saxons, he just sat and the ground and screamed. Somehow, this scared off the enemies but it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Ivar has never been a good fighter but he survives just by screaming and looking tough.

5 Leadership Style Differs From That Of Ragnar

It is commendable how high Ivar has risen. But given how much he loved Ragnar, it’s a bit surprising that his leadership style ends up being so different from his father’s. Logically, he ought to have emulated most of the things that Ragnar did. He should have followed in Ragnar’s footsteps and as a result, he’d have been more likable.

Instead, it is Björn who mirrors Ragnar more. Ivar, on the other hand, goes on to be a dictator with a string of questionable decisions. Where did he get the inspiration to be evil from?

4 No One Tries To Kill Or Overthrow Him

Ivar has never been adored by anyone. He disrespects and offends people at every turn. In an age where people got killed over minor misunderstandings, it is surprising that no one really stepped up to end Ivar’s life.

Ivar isn’t a good fighter too so, it’s also surprising that no one ever notices this even in battle and moves for the kill. Sometimes it just feels like Ivar is just alive because the writers want him to be. Even his army continues to support him despite his weaknesses. No ambitious soldier to take over?

3 Believed The Child Was His

Ivar was revealed to be impotent in Season 4 when his brother organized for him to have sex with a slave woman. The slave girl consoled him by telling him that potency was not really a big deal and that he was still a better man due to his other characteristics.

However, he somehow believed that his wife Freydis was pregnant with his child despite him being impotent. Freydis had, in fact, slept with one of Ivar’s male servants in order to give her husband an heir.

2 Remorse

Ivar ha has always been generally psychotic, so the moments in which he appeared remorseful didn’t make much sense. He laughed like the Joker when learned of Siggy’s death and didn’t even feel terrible when he heard about the settlers that had been killed in Wessex.

However, he was seen crying at Sigurd’s funeral yet he was the one who had killed him. He was also seen crying when he was talking to Margrethe. Well, that was the same Margrethe he ended up killing because he believed she would kill him and his brothers.

1 Believed He Was A God

Ivar conceived himself that he was a god and Freydis fanned the flames. As his wife, she was also a big sycophant. Ivar enjoyed hearing all the praises she poured on him and this is probably why he developed a form of blind trust towards her. If he feels he is truly a god, why can’t he cure his own ailments?

As part of his ‘god duties,’ he suggested offering Hvitserk as a sacrifice. The real reason he did this was that Hvitserk stood up to him. Hvitserk accused him of being responsible for Margrethe’s murder. It thus wasn’t surprised when he came up with the sacrifice idea in the very same episode.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/vikings-things-make-no-sense-about-ivar-boneless/