‘Vikings’: What Happened To Hvitserk’s Lover, Thora?
In season 5B of Vikings, fans are introduced to Thora (Eve Connolly), Hvitserk’s (Marco Ilsø) lover. The two first meet during a ceremony after Ivar (Alex Høgh Andersen), Hvitserk’s brother, has declared himself a god. Hvitserk doesn’t take part in the festivities, and Thora stumbles upon him.
Thora is Hvitserk’s lover
The first thing Thora says to him is, “I know who you are.” She asks why he isn’t at the ceremony, but Hvitserk doesn’t answer. However, he does manage to watch some of the ceremony where Ivar has a woman he says is Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) (and it isn’t), killed.
Later Hvitserk challenges his brother’s choice to kill the woman who wasn’t Lagertha, and he even declares Ivar isn’t a god. The two of them clash on the topics, and Hvitserk gets up and walks away.
During this tumultuous time in Kattegat, Hvitserk finds happiness with Thora despite the circumstances. Later we see the two together, and Thora asks him why he stays in Kattegat and doesn’t leave.
“Let’s go away together,” she tells him. “Don’t you want to?”
He tells her he wants to leave, but he can’t. “The gods won’t let me,” he explains. “There is some reason I have to stay here.”
He gets completely vulnerable with Thora, and tells her about jumping ship and leaving Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith), his other brother, and choosing to stay with Ivar. He admits he doesn’t know why, but one day he will. The two become very close together, and they grow to love each other.
What happened to Thora?
Ivar has his brother go and visit King Olaf the Stout (Steven Berkoff) to “cement” their alliance to attack England together. When Hvitserk asks what happens if he refuses, Ivar makes a threat of burning Thora. While Hvitserk is gone, Ivar talks to Thora, asking her why she defaces his image and denounce him. She doesn’t agree with the way Ivar is running things in Kattegat by declaring himself a god to be worshipped.
“In Ragnar’s time, everyone was free,” Thora tells him. “That’s what my parents’ told me. They could say what they wanted. They could do what they wanted. Ragnar never forced them to do anything. And above all, he never forced them to worship him. He knew he was only human, just like the rest of us.”
Ivar tells her she’s “spoken well.” He says he remembers her father, and that “he is a good man. One of us.” He tells her to “Go,” after putting a mark of red paint on her face.
She tries to get away when she notices Ivar’s soldiers following her. They chase her down, and Thora sees Ivar’s forces taking her family. One of the soldiers grabs her, and she is forced to watch people burned, including her family. She is also set on fire and dies. It’s a truly shocking moment, and it’s something fans might find hard to forget. Ivar kills the people who don’t agree with him including their families as well.
At the same time, Hvitserk is asking Olaf to attack Ivar instead of joining him in an alliance. Although he is held prisoner and tortured, Olaf agrees, and he and Hvitserk join Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig), Hvitserk’s brother, and King Harald (Peter Franzén) in taking back Kattegat. Ivar runs for his life. Although they succeed in winning, Hvitserk is severely depressed after what happens to Thora, and it takes him a long time to get over it.
