Floki is undoubtedly the most atypical character in the Vikings series . As he is also in Norse mythology and Marvel adaptations. From the first season of the series created by Michael Hirst, Floki is one of the main characters . And this until the fifth season, in which he finds death.
Who is Floki in the Vikings series?
A shipbuilder and Viking warrior, Floki is always depicted alongside Ragnar Lothbrok , whom he holds in very high regard. Relatively shy, but also and above all very moody, Loki is very often misunderstood by others, even completely rejected. Ragnar is undoubtedly one of the only ones to support him on a daily basis.
Quite resistant to Christians , Floki will gradually move away from the Vikings when his faithful friend Ragnar befriends a former monk, Athelstan. After having assassinated the latter because of his Christian faith, Floki will go to new lands , to end up definitively turning away from his people.
Season 1: Floki, an outstanding boat builder
Floki first appears in season 1, episode 1 of the series Vikings. When Ragnar and Bjorn visit him, in the first minutes of the episode, Floki is busy building a longship that will be used by the Viking leader and his men for their raid to the West . Not really sure of his new type of boat, Floki proves to be very talented in the end, since his ship will bring the whole troop to their destination.
Season 2: A family for Floki
Floki returns to the village after leaving for England. He meets for the first time his daughter, Angrboda, whom his wife Helga gave birth to during his absence. But to tell the truth, the Viking has little to do with it and has only one idea in mind: to get away from them fairly quickly.
Season 3: Floki and his hatred towards Christians
As he accompanies Ragnar, Lagertha, Rollo and the others to England, Floki expresses his displeasure at fighting for the Christians . According to him, they will be "the loss of the Viking gods" and the Viking begins to have a real hatred for them. A hatred great enough to end up killing Athelstan , a former monk who has become a true friend to Ragnar.
Season 4: Floki's Punishment
After they return to Kattegat, Floki is taken prisoner for killing Athelstan . Chained to a picket, he is publicly humiliated. Helga helps him escape, but Floki is soon caught by Ragnar's men who tie him up in a cave, stark naked, as water trickles down his forehead. He remains there for several days before being freed by Ragnar . Midway through the season, Floki finally embarks with the Viking leader, Lagertha , and others to sail up the Seine and attack Paris.
Season 5: Floki's Last Great Journey
Floki travels across the seas aboard his ship. He eventually arrives on the shores of Iceland , which he initially mistakes for Asgard, the world of the gods. He explores the place far and wide, before returning to convince other Vikings to come and live with him on this divine island .
He therefore leaves there with a handful of men, despite the prohibitions of Lagertha, who has become queen. Very quickly, the group settles somehow in Iceland but the tensions burst . Following a fight, the Vikings bury their dead. Floki then decides to give himself as a sacrifice to the gods so that they give the group of warriors a second chance. But he finally dies at the bottom of a cave , while he contemplates a Christian cross on which he has just fallen.
Is the character of Floki inspired by Norse mythology?
The character of Floki, whom the spectator follows for five seasons, is indeed inspired by the mythological legend of Floki with the crows . According to the texts, in particular those listed in "The Book of Colonization", Floki would be the very first Scandinavian navigator to have set sail for Iceland .
The one which was still at the time a simple mysterious island would have been discovered by the Viking, who would have given it its name. It was accompanied by Herjolfur and Faxi, as well as three crows to guide them , that Floki navigated the northern waters towards this small piece of land.
After releasing the birds into the sky, the Viking Warrior only follows the one flying forward . The small team eventually arrived in a large bay, now called Faxafloi. And, after a winter and a spring, Floki decides to climb a mountain and finally sees a fjord covered in ice: he names it Iceland .
This legend has indeed inspired the story of the character of Floki in the Viking series. During season 5, the warrior, who has just lost his wife, leaves to sail to land on the Icelandic coast. On the other hand, Michael Hurst did not confine himself solely to ancient texts to give life to his character. If Floki really existed, it is on the other hand never written that he would have, one day, met the famous Ragnar Lothbrok .
Who is Gustaf Skarsgard, the actor who plays Floki on screen?
Gustaf Skarsgard is a Swedish actor born in 1980 . It was only at the age of nine that the actor played his first role in the cinema, in the film “Codename Coq Rouge”. He then entered the State School of Theater Education in Stockholm, then joined the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
Gustaf Skarsgard quite likes the stage, where he plays in several works by Shakespeare and other well-known authors. Then he found the cameras and the cinemas thanks to his role in "Evil" in 2003, and his role in "The joys of the family" in 2008. For the latter two, the actor was nominated for the Guldbagge Awards in as Best Supporting Actor and Best Lead Actor.
But ultimately, it is thanks to his atypical character in the “Viking” series that Gustaf Skarsgard made himself known internationally. He therefore embodies Floki from 2013 to 2019 , and assures in a post published on his social networks, that the Viking warrior "will always and forever live in (his) heart".
