‘Vikings’ Season 6 Episode 4: Why King Olaf wants to relinquish his powers?
The tensions are rising on the Scandinavian front as Bjorn and his army get surrounded by King Olaf’s troops. They try their best to stealthily attack and rescue Harald from being a prisoner in his own land, but Olaf’s men strike a guerilla attack and trap Bjorn’s fleet. Finally, the three kings come face to face and Olaf reveals his agenda.
He has a strategic and a bold new plan for the future of Norway. Olaf exposes his philosophical side to his captives and shares his concern for Scandinavia and not just his kingdom. After detaining and imprisoning Harald for months, he finally decides to release him, and declares that he wants to relinquish his powers to Harald and Bjorn. This leaves both Bjorn and Harald in shock and awe.
Knowing how sharp and diplomatic Olaf is, such a thought seems very unlikely. This is where fans have a hard time believing him. But then there is always a rationale or a theory to support one’s understanding. It is quite possible that Olaf has realized that he is growing old and cannot control everything alone. So, rather than trying to operate singularly, he might as well give someone the responsibility of managing all of Norway and still keep his reigns over the king.
He offers Bjorn the kingship for all of Norway. This also means that Harald will have no chance to become the King of Norway as he always desired and also allied with Olaf for the very same objective. As @dobbinsal, “Olaf metaphorically slapped Harold in the face with that offer to Björn. In other news let's unify Norway y'all! It's very European and trendy for the age. #Vikings #vikingsseason6”
This could also be a trap and Olaf might be just using Bjorn as a puppet, while he sits in the background, dictating every move. Reddit fan LoretiTV questions Olaf’s decision, “Why is Olaf willing to relinquish power to Bjorn? “ To this, another fan, DoY0uKnowWh0Iam responds, “he has some plan and he can foresee something on Bjorns future..something that might change Vikings..something massive.” And we couldn’t agree more.
As we have seen earlier, the new generation of Viking rulers are going to change the conventional ways. With Bjorn and Ubbe eyeing trading voyages, inviting foreign merchants, and now Olaf wanting to consolidate the ruling powers, this can mean a massive shift in Scandinavia as we see it. But there is a price to pay for every big change. So, who will pay the price to become the King of Norway and unify Scandinavia and what will be its cost?
Watch more on ‘Vikings’ Season 6, every Wednesday at 10 pm, only on History Channel.