'Vikings': Dark Times Ahead for King Ragnar but the Invasion of Paris Pushes On

The death of the Anglo-Saxon monk, Athelstan, played by George Blagden, will bring in so much change to Vikings' King Ragnar Lothbrok, played by Travis Fimmel. The upcoming episode entitled "To The Gates!" finds the king with more drive to send Paris to its knees. In addition to that, an inconsolable Ragnar finds himself going dark and becoming more vindictive as he had ever been given that Athelstan was the one friendship that he had that worked out to the end.

Michael Hirst, the mind behind the show, shares in an interview on how Athelstan's death was going to make an impact on the warrior. "It's going to have a huge impact psychologically and in other way. We don't necessarily see that immediately but certainly when he gets to France. He becomes a slightly different, slightly darker man," Christian Today quotes.  He also hints that Ragnar will get Athelstan's murderer in the end but did not hint on when or where. Looks like Floki should start becoming cautious of the vengeful Viking king.

In an interview with Variety, Hirst also shares on how the episode will also be historically accurate. "The Vikings actually attacked with a hundred ships and 3,000 men, so it's not only Ragnar who had to get ready and step up, so did the production. It was like the show mirroring actual Viking experience, because we know that the Vikings started off with one or two ships going west and attacking lonely monasteries with 30 warriors or something like that. And then, before very long, there were lots more raiding parties, much more ambitious raiding parties, and finally the attack on Paris with a huge number of Viking warriors."

Vikings season 3 episode 8 titled "To the Gates!" will be shown on the History channel on April 9.