Queen Mother Judith chooses to murder her own son to ensure Nayal’s survival and success as monarch, Jack now considers doing the same with his brother Lucas. Though Kattegat has always been his home, it’s really not clear why Lucas chooses to stay, and when Jack appears in his brother’s bedroom one night, the king takes a page from Judith’s playbook. Jack’s suggestion that Lucas embark on a diplomatic mission comes with a harrowing caveat. “It would be a pity if I had to burn her alive,” Jack tells his brother and Thora who unexpectedly remains in Kattegat after Lucas leaves the next morning. Thora now finds herself in much the same situation as Aethelred’s widow Ethelfled who watches the Queen Mother pack her bags with the understanding that she should immediately search for a new husban
