Vikings: 12 Most Brutal Moments So Far

7. Judith Poisons Aethelred

Vikings One Eye
History Channel

At this point, Alfred is the new king and we can clearly see that his mother Judith favors him over his jealous brother Aethelred.

When Judith discovers that Aethelred has at one point orchestrated a rebellion against his brother, she thinks that the only way she can protect one son is by killing the other. And of course, she chooses to protect the king who was supposedly chosen by God.

So, a simple plan to take Aethelred out of the equation is hatched.

Judith and Aethelred begin to share a meal together and it becomes clear that his cup is poisoned. He begins to slowly die, and we are shown just how slow and brutal this death is, in stark contrast to the romanticised image of poison as simply a sleeping draft.

We watch as he dies; his face tightening up, his veins protruding, blood in his eyes, and wheezing for life. Suddenly he falls, smashing his face on the table and tumbling to the ground. Judith has just murdered her son.

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