‘Vikings’: The 1 Huge Mistake Ragnar Lothbrok Made With Rollo
Rollo (Clive Standen) can definitely be described as an opportunist in the hit series Vikings. He’s always willing to betray anyone to get to the end result and he’s done this over and over again to his brother Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel). Read on to learn about the time Ragnar made a huge mistake with Rollo that came back to bite him later.
Rollo betrays Ragnar Lothbrok
Rollo has always felt the need to compare himself to his brother. The time finally comes when Jarl Borg (Thorbjørn Harr) offers him the chance to fight Ragnar and prove that he’s better than him, which he accepts. Each army goes head to head, but eventually Rollo is confronted by his brother during the battle. He can’t fight him, and decides to surrender instead. Rollo is taken captive back to Kattegat where his fate is decided by the Law-Giver.
Ragnar makes a choice
Once back home in Kattegat, Ragnar leaves his brother’s fate up to the Law-Giver, or so it seems. He shows young Bjorn a Saxon coin. Later, we see the Law-Giver decide to spare Rollo and let him live, and he is now the owner of that coin. It’s clearly obvious that Ragnar gave the man the coin to sway his judgment in favor of allowing Rollo to live.
Rollo redeems himself for a while
Although Rollo is allowed to live, he isn’t given the satisfaction of going raiding with the others. Instead, he’s left in Kattegat, which actually ends up being a good thing. While Ragnar is away, Jarl Borg attacks Kattegat and takes it over for himself. Rollo saves Ragnar’s family and gets them to safety. He also finds warriors to help cause havoc until the bulk of the army can return from the raid.
Rollo betrays Ragnar again
Ragnar returns and is clearly grateful to his brother. They eventually get their home back, and they even manage to raid Paris later on. However, while Ragnar is badly wounded from battle, Rollo is left at the winter camp in Paris where he strikes up a deal with Emperor Charles (Lothaire Bluteau) to marry his daughter, Gisla (Morgane Polanski).
Rollo again seizes an opportunity to get what he wants in the moment, no matter who he tramples on in the process. He even kills the rest of the Vikings left in the camp with his new warriors provided by the Franks. When Ragnar returns, Rollo successfully propels them away. Rollo is declared a hero and he seems to gain quite a lot from betraying Ragnar yet again.
Ragnar should never have trusted Rollo from the start
If Ragnar had never saved Rollo back when he first revealed his treacherous side, then he may have been able to sack Paris for a second time. However, who knows what would have happened to his family when Jarl Borg attacked had Rollo not been there?
Rollo is a flawed character and it’s obvious he is a classic opportunist that’s willing to do anything to get what he wants in the moment. Ragnar shouldn’t have trusted Rollo from the very beginning. Rollo always had a problem with comparing himself to his brother and it isn’t a good look. He was never going to stop until he achieved what he thought he deserved.
