‘Vikings’: Judith’s Most Memorable Moments on the Series
Judith is a formidable woman on the hit History’s series Vikings. In the beginning, she seems mousy and childish but quickly grows into a force to be reckoned with. The daughter of King Aelle of Northumbria (Ivan Kaye), Judith (Jennie Jacques) is forced to marry into the noble house of Wessex to keep up with an alliance. Once there, she grows into the woman we all know her to be. These are just a few of Judith’s most memorable moments.
She has an affair with Athelstan
Judith is married to Aethelwulf (Moe Dunford), King Ecbert’s (Linus Roache) son. When she meets Athelstan (George Blagden), she realizes there is more to life than just being an obedient wife. She undertakes an affair with the ex-monk who has turned Viking. She soon falls in love with Athelstan who leaves her to join his best friend, Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel).
She has Athelstan’s child and is tortured
Arguably Judith’s most memorable moment comes when she has Athelstan’s child, Alfred. While she is still in her birthing bed, she’s literally dragged to the center of town and her ear is cut off in punishment. She screams Athelstan’s name, and King Ecbert chooses to let her live. He also protects her from here on because he believes Athelstan to be a holy man, so this must have a divine purpose, right?
She has an affair with her husband’s father
Judith freely chooses to have an affair with King Ecbert in season 3 and 4. Ecbert promises to protect Alfred, but Judith must reward him by having an affair with him.
However, things change, and Judith isn’t keen on continuing the affair. But after Ecbert allows her to learn how to paint the holy texts, something she has always desired to do, the affair continues again. She feels closer to Athelstan when she does it, as it was something he also did when he was a monk. They become very close and appear to grow to love each other.
She kills Queen Kwenthrith
Judith stabs a heavily pregnant Queen Kwenthrith (Amy Bailey) to death when she discovers her trying to kill King Ecbert. Kwenthrith is also pregnant with Judith’s husband’s child, something she freely admits. Judith isn’t having any of that and kills her there on the bed. “Judith, you have killed twice over,” Kwenthrith says as she dies from her injury.
She makes Alfred king
Alfred (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), who isn’t even Aethelwulf’s child, is somehow put on the throne of Wessex by Judith’s scheming. She convinces her elder son, Aethelred (Darren Cahill), to let Alfred become king and convince the other nobles to go along with it.
She kills her son Aethelred
Judith commits the ultimate sin when she kills her own son. She discovers Aethelred plotting to overthrow Alfred when he is sick again. She knows Aethelred will never stop until he is made king since he feels it is his birth right. She viciously poisons him. “You will always be a danger to him,” Judith tells him. “What kind of mother are you?” Aethelred asks her as he drops to the floor and dies. Judith appears remorseful and cries over his dead body. She is clearly unstable and made a hasty decision to heinously kill her own child.
Judith has had many memorable moments on Vikings. She proved herself in more ways than one as someone not to be messed with. She has no problem killing, even her own son. At the same time, it’s hard not to admire her spirit and will to do anything for Alfred. She was more Viking than many on the series.
