Yidu is an enigmatic woman who is a slave in Queen Aslaug's household.
Biography
Season 4
Yidu was first seen in Kattegat among slaves captured in Frankia. She was not the only Asian in the group, but her different look attracted Aslaug, who buys her. She was later shown being cleaned. Her foreign appearance later attracted the attention of Ragnar as well, who strangely looked at her at the Hall as something he had never seen before, and later starts to observe her working outside. She had shown inexperience when holding a chicken, meaning she may have been of rich or noble background. She later revealed she was an illegitimate daughter of the Chinese Emperor. Pirates captured her and her brothers, selling her into slavery.
Ragnar at least semi-frees her, having taken an interest in Yidu. In the beginning of the episode Yol, Ragnar states that despite having opposite social standings, they are both entrapped by their positions. She provides a drug to help Ragnar cope with his pain, which he subsequently becomes addicted to. The pair briefly became lovers. She persuaded Ragnar to let her come to Paris. Yidu begins feeling used and mistreated by Ragnar. She threatens to tell his army about how he covered up the massacre in Wessex, so he drowns her.
Personality
Yidu seems to have a natural protective instinct. She lulls Ragnar's children to sleep with a Chinese song on the journey to Frankia. When Franks attack the Viking camp, she immediately gets Ubbe and Hvitserk to safety and stays with them until the threat is over. Yidu can speak many languages and has a keen intellect. She becomes a sort of replacement for Athelstan in Ragnar's life, and he opens his heart to her.
Quotes
| “ | In my world, you must have a life worth living before you can even consider death. | ” |
| “ | I can share your burden. I am small, but I have broad shoulders and I am not afraid. | ” |
Trivia
- Yidu is loosely based on, or named after, Princess Yidu of the Tang Dynasty, although she never left China during her thirty-year long life.
- The drug Yidu gave to Ragnar may have been Opium, but was possibly Betel due to the redness of his lips and excessive red salivation while using the drug. More likely, Betel was the leaf in which the opium was wrapped.
Gallery
Appearances
| Season four appearances | ||||
| A Good Treason | Kill the Queen | Mercy | Yol | Promised |
| What Might Have Been | The Profit and the Loss | Portage | Death All 'Round | The Last Ship |
| The Outsider | The Vision | Two Journeys | In the Uncertain Hour Before the Morning | All His Angels |
| Crossings | The Great Army | Revenge | On the Eve | The Reckoning |