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Warriors don't show their heart until the axe reveals it.
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Halfdan "The Black" Halfdansson was the violent younger brother of Norwegian King Harald "Finehair."


Biography[]

Season 4[]

Halfdan arrives in Kattegat in Promised, along with the rest of his brother's ships and warriors. There are twenty longships carrying six hundred warriors. When Harald introduces him to Ragnar, he seems to not care about his presence. Later, the two brothers meet Floki and Helga. Halfdan asks Floki why he has been in conflict with Ragnar despite the great role his longship design played in Ragnar's achievements. Floki answers that it was because he killed his "pet Christian" before they drink to their new friendship.

In What Might Have Been, Halfdan ambushes the Frankish scouts with his brother, and is one of several Vikings seen torturing them by burning them alive. Halfdan even goes so far as to urinate on one of the scouts as he is being burned.

Halfdan is seen raiding a small Frankish farm in Death All 'Round with Harald and several other warriors. When the brothers discover the hiding family living on the farm, they raped and slaughtered them, then burnt it to the ground.

In The Last Ship, Halfdan battles the Franks alongside Harald and the rest of their warriors. He slays several of them before being shot in the chest by a crossbow. Halfdan is later seen sailing back home with the other Vikings, injured, but still alive.

In the years following the defeat at the Second Siege of Paris, King Harald conquered the Kingdom of Rogaland, killing King Arnarson and Earl Eyolf. He also defeated King Svein from an unspecified Norwegian kingdom. Harald joins Bjorn in his expedition to the Mediterranean Sea and assures Bjorn he has no intention of conquering Kattegat. When Bjorn seeks a truce with his Uncle Rollo, Harald is captured along with the other Norse leaders. He questions Bjorn's judgement in trusting Rollo. Eventually they are released when Bjorn agrees to allow Rollo to join the expedition.

Eventually, the fleet comes upon Algeciras and sacks the city. Floki prevents Harald and Halfdan from murdering praying Muslims. Harald then directly stops his brother from entering into a conflict with Floki.

As the fleet returns to Scandinavia, Halfdan presents Harald to Egil. Harald recruits Egil as his agent and indirectly promises to make him earl. Egil begins to infiltrate Kattegat and locate weaknesess in its defenses. As the Lothbroks gather the Great Heathen Army, they ally with them once more. As recruits from all over Scandinavia arrive in Kattegat, Harald spots Ellisif. Halfdan is confused about Harald's nervous behavior upon seeing Ellisif and encourages him to talk to her.

Ellisif confesses to Harald that she is already married to a Danish earl, a man of lower social status and fame than Harald. Halfdan pulls a dagger to kill her. Ellisif begs him not to, and Harald lets her go. Later Halfdan suggests that they must kill Ellisif because she has taken Harald's honor. Harald refuses and reveals that he only loves two people, Halfdan and Ellisif. Harald states he will kill all those who threaten her.

As the Great Heathen Army lands in Northumbria, Halfdan partakes in the Battle of York. He kills Ellisif when she tries to kill his brother to avenge his husband, Earl Vik

Later, he partakes in the Battle of Repton, as Aethelwulf's forces are crushed. At the end of Season Four, he decides to follow Bjorn to explore the Mediterranean Sea, shocking his brother. 

Season 5[]

Halfdan and Bjorn sail back to the Mediterranean Sea, making it to Sicily. He and Bjorn agree to serve as bodyguards to its commander, Euphemius. Sinric discovers that Euphemius is merely a client king of the Arab Emir Ziyadat Allah, and Bjorn asks to visit him. Euphemius refuses but is persuaded to agree by Kassia, a famous nun, and they set sail for Kairouan, Tunisia.

Once in Ifriqiya, Halfdan and Bjorn travel by caravan across the desert to meet Emir Ziyadat Allah, who welcomes them and offers to trade. Euphemius disappears and, at a banquet, the Emir explains that he had defected to support the Emperor and has now been captured and executed. The Vikings realize that Euphemius is the meal they are eating and that Kassia is more powerful than she seems. Halfdan, Bjorn, and Sinric are seized and are about to be executed as a sandstorm approaches. With the sandstorm as cover, Halfdan, Bjorn, and Sinric manage to escape, then sail back to Kattegat.

After his life is saved by Bjorn, Halfdan develops a friendship with him. Harald decides to conquer Kattegat, and joins forces with Ivar. Halfdan decides to join Lagertha, Bjorn, and Ubbe. Harald and Halfdan become estranged after Halfdan decides to stop living in his brother's shadow and also becomes indebted to Bjorn.

Before the battle, the leaders of the armies decide to discuss terms in order to avoid needless slaughter. There, Harald attempts to persuade his brother to join him, though Halfdan refuses. Ivar claims that Halfdan cares too much about the fact that Bjorn saved his life. In return, Halfdan calls Ivar cynical, much to Ivar’s amusement. At the first battle, Lagertha defeats Harald. Mid-battle, the two brothers are seen glaring at each other.

Harald and Ivar are then aided by Rollo who sends troops. The allied forces of Lagertha and Bjorn still agree to fight Ivar and Harald's forces. During the battle, Halfdan fights bravely, though he is confronted by his brother. Harald wastes no time in impaling Halfdan, who has a hallucination of his time in the desert. Halfdan then dies, and is lamented by Harald. Later Halfdan appears as a ghost to Harald to take him to Valhalla, when he was mortally wounded by Aldulf. Harald uses his last breath to kill Aldulf.

Personality[]

A wild and reckless warrior to whom combat seems almost a joyous pursuit, Halfdan is also shown to be incredibly cruel, as he takes great pleasure in torturing and killing his enemies. He seems to be the subservient one when compared to his brother Harald, typically speaking only after he does. He is also more unhinged than his brother. Both brothers seem to be defined by their love of combat. They talk about how they feel most alive while fighting, cackle madly as they fight, and even take a moment to horseplay with each other in the middle of a melee. Halfdan is a bit of a creepy, villainous character, whose floppy hair generally covers one side of his face, adding to his villainous appearance. He and his brother both show needless sadism and brutality in raping, mutilating, and murdering a family of French farmers while the Norse forces move their ships.

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
Season five appearances
The Departed Part 1 The Departed Part 2 Homeland The Plan The Prisoner
The Message Full Moon The Joke A Simple Story Moments of Vision
The Revelation Murder Most Foul A New God The Lost Moment Hell
The Buddha The Most Terrible Thing Baldur What Happens in the Cave Ragnarok

Season 6[]

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