Content & Trigger Warnings for Vikings (2013)

Christian monks are slaughtered during raids; religious conflict between Norse paganism and Christianity is a central theme

Athelstan torn between Christianity and Norse paganism; monks killed; forced conversions referenced

Athelstan is killed specifically for his Christian faith by Floki; religious conflict between paganism and Christianity reaches its peak

The invasion of England has religious dimensions; Christian-pagan conflict continues with the sons

Ivar declares himself a god; religious manipulation and persecution continue; Christians vs pagans

Religious conflict continues as Vikings encounter Rus Christians and other faiths; forced conversions

Ivar's infanticide of his own baby is shown and is deeply disturbing

Ragnar's sons learn of their father's death and are shown processing the loss in different ways, driving the revenge plot

The next generation continues to deal with the legacy of their parents' deaths; new parental deaths occur

Deaths in battle and political killings produce grief; the loss of warriors is mourned through Viking funeral rites

Betrayals and deaths produce grief; Lagertha's departure; political executions

Athelstan is murdered by Floki in a devastating betrayal; Ragnar's grief over losing his closest friend is profound and extended

Ragnar's death devastates his sons and defines the entire back half of the season; the grief drives the revenge invasion

The brothers' civil war produces grief on all sides; characters mourn fallen allies and the fracturing of their family

Bjorn's death, Ivar's death, and multiple beloved characters' endings create pervasive grief; the entire season is an extended farewell

Lagertha suffers a miscarriage which has significant emotional and plot consequences

Arranged and forced marriages depicted as common practice in Viking society

Ivar manipulates his followers into believing he is divine; political manipulation throughout

Raids and massacres of settlements depicted on multiple occasions

Ragnar's interest in Aslaug while married to Lagertha; the love triangle develops throughout the season

Ragnar's relationship with Aslaug while Lagertha departs; complicated romantic entanglements

Extramarital relationships and sexual betrayals are recurring themes

Characters are captured and held as prisoners of war; kidnapping features in political maneuvering

Viking raids on Lindisfarne and other settlements shown with brutal hand-to-hand combat, axe and sword fighting

Larger-scale raids and battles including Wessex; combat is more intense and prolonged than season 1

The siege of Paris is a major extended battle sequence; multiple large-scale raids with brutal hand-to-hand combat

The Great Heathen Army invades England; massive battle sequences with siege warfare, shield walls, and brutal combat

Civil war between Ragnar's sons — Ivar vs Bjorn, Ubbe, and others; large-scale battles in both Scandinavia and England

Final major battles including the siege of Wessex and Kattegat; Viking warfare reaches its conclusion with massive set pieces

Extensive blood in battle sequences; blood sacrifices during pagan rituals

The blood eagle scene alone warrants maximum rating; battles also produce extensive bloodshed

Extensive blood in battle and ritual scenes throughout

Extensive blood throughout battles, executions, and the blood eagle; among the bloodiest seasons

Extremely bloody battle sequences and individual acts of violence throughout

Extensive blood in all battle sequences; ritual bloodletting and sacrifice

Ritualistic body mutilation and dismemberment shown in graphic detail

Ragnar drowns Yidu in a fit of rage when she threatens to reveal secrets; the scene is sudden and violent

Ragnar is executed in a snake pit; multiple snakes shown biting him as he dies slowly

Sexual scenes with nudity; Ragnar and Lagertha's relationship shown physically; sexual encounters are frank

Sexual content continues; multiple relationships shown physically

Sexual content continues with multiple characters; Ragnar and Yidu's relationship

Sexual content continues with various characters

Sexual content with various characters; Ivar's sexual dysfunction is a plot point

Sexual content continues with multiple characters in the expanded cast

Frequent graphic sexual content and nudity

Sexual coercion within power dynamics and forced marriages depicted

Heavy drinking is culturally central with mead and ale consumed constantly

Ragnar becomes addicted to a substance provided by Yidu; his drug dependency becomes increasingly erratic and dangerous

Ragnar's drug addiction from Yidu carries into this season; his erratic behavior worsens before his death

Animal sacrifice and slaughter shown in religious rituals

Ivar kills his own infant son who he believes was born with a deformity, echoing his own birth; one of the most disturbing scenes in the series

Ragnar's murder of Yidu, who is in a subordinate position to him, carries elements of intimate partner violence

Ivar murders his wife Freydis by strangling her; the scene depicts intimate partner homicide

Graphic battle wounds from melee weapons; severed limbs, stabbings, and axe wounds shown in raid sequences

The blood eagle and intensified battle sequences produce extreme graphic violence; viscera and wounds shown in detail

Siege warfare produces graphic casualties; battlefield wounds, impalement, and crushing shown

Battle gore escalates; Ragnar's execution is visceral; the blood eagle is performed again on King Aelle

Battles produce extreme graphic violence; Ivar's cruelty results in visceral on-screen deaths

Graphic battle violence continues at the series' highest intensity; final confrontations are brutal

Crossbow bolts and occasional primitive ranged weapons used in combat

Human sacrifices are depicted as voluntary religious acts; participants accept death willingly in pagan ceremonies

Characters face death willingly in battle; Viking culture of seeking a glorious death blurs the line with self-sacrifice

Rape and sexual violence depicted in multiple storylines across the series

Thralls (slaves) are part of Viking society; captured monks and villagers are enslaved; slavery is normalized within the culture

Slavery continues as integral to Viking society; new captives taken during raids

Yidu is revealed to be a former slave; slavery continues throughout Viking society

Slavery remains part of Viking culture; captured enemies enslaved after battles

Slavery continues; captives from civil war enslaved; the institution remains normalized

Slavery remains part of the world; Vikings discover and participate in the broader slave trade including Eastern routes

Prisoners are tortured; the blood eagle is referenced as a feared punishment; Earl Haraldson's cruelty

The blood eagle is performed on-screen — a victim's ribs are cut from the spine and lungs pulled out while alive; one of television's most extreme torture scenes

Prisoners of war are treated brutally; Ragnar's own suffering during the season

Ragnar is captured and executed by King Aelle via being thrown into a pit of snakes; the prolonged death scene is agonizing

Ivar tortures enemies and perceived traitors; his cruelty is increasingly sadistic

Prisoners tortured; punishments for betrayal are physical and graphic