Vikings
Rites of Passage
TV Flash files “Rites of Passage” as a desk essential hour — Vikings (2013–2020) on History, season 1, episode 1, aired 2013-03-03, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 89 in the Vikings guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 2013-03-03 (60 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “Wrath of the Northmen” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Rites of Passage”. Rites of Passage is Hirst's History breakthrough: Fimmel's Ragnar, mud under the nails, basic cable looking prestige-dirty.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A Viking warrior seeks approval from his community's leader in the opener of this series chronicling the medieval adventures of a band of Norsemen.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Rites of Passage sit in the Vikings guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 89 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Vikings S01E01 air?
Rites of Passage aired 2013-03-03 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is there a sequel I need?
Vikings: Valhalla continues in a later historical period on Netflix. The original six seasons (2013–2020) are the Ragnar-to-sons saga; the sequel is extra map, not a missing ending.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Ragnar Lothbrok and family raid, rule, and fracture — myth with mud under the nails. Michael Hirst's History Channel breakthrough made basic cable look prestige-dirty: Fimmel's Ragnar, Lagertha, Floki, ships and succession blood. Six seasons before Valhalla spun off. Long-form Viking myth for mass audiences, tactile conquest TV before every streamer had a crown war.
The group chat still hasn't recovered from Ragnar's exit. Michael Hirst's History Channel drama premiered March 3, 2013: legendary Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok and family raid, rule, and fracture — myth with mud under the nails. Travis Fimmel's Ragnar anchors early seasons before the saga widens to sons and empires; Katheryn Winnick's Lagertha, Gustaf Skarsgård's Floki, Clive Standen's Rollo, the shield-wall bench. Ships, gods, politics, succession blood. Basic cable looking prestige-dirty. (Spoiler-free, mostly:…
Filed against
- Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok
Travis Fimmel’s Ragnar Lothbrok raided, ruled, and fractured on Vikings — myth with mud under the nails, Michael Hirst’s History Channel breakthrough that made basic cable look prestige-dirty. Lagertha, Floki, ships and succession blood,…
- Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha
Katheryn Winnick's Lagertha made Vikings look like myth with mud under the nails — Michael Hirst's History Channel breakthrough, ships and succession blood, a shield-maiden who would not stay decorative. Six seasons of raid-and-rule…
- Gustaf Skarsgård as Floki
Gustaf Skarsgård's Floki built the ships and the trouble on Vikings — Michael Hirst's History Channel breakthrough, myth with mud under the nails, Ragnar's world fracturing across six seasons. Shipwright, seer, chaos in the faith. TV…
- Clive Standen as Rollo
Clive Standen played Rollo on Vikings — Ragnar Lothbrok and family raiding, ruling, fracturing, myth with mud under the nails. Michael Hirst's History Channel breakthrough made basic cable look prestige-dirty: Fimmel's Ragnar, Lagertha,…
- Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn Ironside
Alexander Ludwig’s Bjorn Ironside raided and inherited Vikings’ muddy myth — Ragnar Lothbrok’s family fracturing, Michael Hirst’s History Channel breakthrough, Fimmel, Lagertha, Floki, ships and succession blood. Six seasons before a…
- George Blagden as Athelstan
George Blagden's Athelstan walked Vikings as the monk in the mud — faith, raids, and a 2010s History Channel breakthrough that made basic cable look prestige-dirty. Ragnar's world needed a witness who could doubt. TV Flash files him as…