Where Did Floki Land in ‘Vikings’ Season 5?
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) is one of the most legendary characters in Vikings whose fame as a boat builder, fighter, and explorer rivals that of Ragnar Lothbrock (Travis Fimmel) himself. Floki made an unexpected appearance in the show’s final season when Ubbe and Torvi found him in America after fans wrote him off when he got trapped in a cave in the fifth season. His departure from Kattegat marked the beginning of the end for him, though, and many fans still wonder what the real-life name of the settlement that Floki created is.
After convincing volunteers in Kattegat to follow him to the land of the gods, where he had landed earlier and loved the green mountains and waterfalls, Floki led his followers to Iceland. He had landed there accidentally in the summer and wasn’t prepared for the tough and barren landscape he found when he brought his followers on the second trip. Floki had the right intentions, and the settlement would have thrived if the revenge killings between Eyvind and Kjetill Flatnose didn’t ruin it.
Despite being betrayed by Kjetill and his family, Floki stays resolute about finding the land of the gods and living in peace. After leaving Kjetill, Floki found himself in a cave with an active volcano that he assumed to be the entrance to Helheim (the Viking version of hell). After seeking Asgard and ending up in hell instead, Floki still managed to find his way to the new world in the sixth season, so let’s look at his mysterious journey.
What happened to Floki in Iceland?
When Floki reached Iceland in the summer, he thought it was Asgard, the land of the gods. He saw the green landscape with beautiful waterfalls and fell in love with the serenity and fertility of the country.
However, on his return with followers in the winter, he found a barren land with no resources, which proved hard even on his most hardened followers.
Floki was determined to set up a peaceful community, different from Kattegat and the other Norse countries where violence was ingrained into daily life. Hardships still caused quarrels in Floki’s new community resulting in revenge killings.
Eyvind, one of the followers, killed Kjetill Flatnose’s pregnant daughter, and Kjetill’s family retaliated by executing his family despite Floki’s attempts to secure peace.
Floki had exiled Eyvind and his family from the settlement, but Kjetill didn’t see that as justice enough. Kjetill lied to Floki that he had forgiven Eyevind and accompanied him to look for the family during a strong storm.
Kjetill then proceeded to massacre the entire family in Floki’s presence, which broke Floki’s heart so much that he gave up on his hope that people could live in peace.
In his sadness and frustration, Floki abandoned the settlement to Kjetill and entered a cave with an active volcano inside. Killing Athelstan started haunting him in the cave as he remembered the priest while in the cave after finding a Christian cross.
Floki thought that the cave was the entrance to Helheim, but then the roof collapsed while he was inside, and that is the last time we see Floki in Iceland. The cave, which is also shown in Vikings Valhalla, is believed to have been inspired by the Thrihnjukagigur Cave in the Blue Mountains of Southern Iceland.
Why did Floki kill Athelstan?
Floki was always jealous of Athelstan’s friendship with Ragnar, but he honestly believed that the gods required him to make a blood sacrifice when he killed him. However, Killing Athelstan was the biggest mistake that Floki made in the show since it marked the beginning of Ragnar’s downfall.
Floki believed the gods would be angry because Athelstan practiced Christianity and Kattegat, which caused them to fail in their raid in Frankia.
Athelstan was only in Kattegat because of his friendship with Ragnar, though, and wasn’t planning on converting anyone to Christianity against Ragnar’s will.
Ragnar was hurt so deeply by Athelstan’s death that he lost the will to live and lead the people, and that is how he started losing his direction as a warrior and a king.
Ragnar’s friendship with Athelstan was unpopular in Kattegat, so it was difficult for him to get justice for Athelstan because some of his people were happy with what Floki had done.
Believing he had done the gods a favor, Floki never felt sorry for killing Athelstan until after he landed in Iceland. His actions started haunting him when he hallucinated about Athelstan and found a Christian cross in the cave he thought was the entrance to Helheim.
Why did Floki leave Kattegat?
Floki wanted to live differently after building boats and fighting for the Lothbroks all his life. Losing Helga during the trip to avenge Ragnar’s death in England was his breaking point though.
Floki said, “Goodbye, my heart,” while burying Helga, losing his will to live in Kattegat and fight after losing her. He refused to follow Ragnar’s sons on future raids and followed what he thought was the gods’ will instead.
After convincing enough people that the gods had shown him the land of plenty where there is no war after his first trip to Iceland, he led his converts to Iceland against Lagertha’s wish.
After the difficult journey, the group was happy to find land, although it wasn’t as fertile as Floki had predicted. The group only stayed because Floki told them that the gods were the reason behind the hot springs they saw, but even Floki was surprised at the change in the landscape compared to what he had seen earlier.
What happened to Helga in Vikings?
Helga was stabbed by a little girl named Tanaruz, whom she adopted after Bjorn and his men raided Seville. The little girl was clearly disturbed and never settled in Kattegat.
Helga brought her alongside The Great Army when they went to avenge Ragnar’s death in England. During the raid, Helga and Tanaruz were caught up in a burning building, and while running away, Tanaruz picked up a knife and stabbed Helga before stabbing herself.
Floki arrived just as Helga was dying but couldn’t do anything to help her and only held her in his arms as she said her last words. Floki proceeded to bury Helga in the traditional Viking way.
Despite being a shield maiden herself, Helga didn’t like violence and only accompanied Floki to war because she loved him. Her death caused Floki’s sadness and hallucinations that he interpreted as visions from the gods, which led to his decision to leave Kattegat and end up in Iceland.
How did Floki end up in America in Vikings Season 6?
When asked why he left Iceland, Floki replied that the sadness became too much for him to handle. He said he got onto a boat and sailed all the way to America.
Ubbe and Torvi were shocked to find a seemingly senile Floki when they landed in America. Floki had carved the story of the Vikings, including Ragnar, all over the trees in the forest.
He said that he landed in America weak and sick, and the native tribes that Ubbe and Torvi met took care of him and treated his wounds. Floki had lost some of his memories but could still recognize Ubbe.
He had the perfect ending compared to all the characters that appeared in the show’s first season, as the final season closed with Floki enjoying the sun in the new world with Ubbe. They even talked about building Ragnar’s dream in America.