Summarised and refreshed retrospective on Gyda’s writing and death
Gyda’s potential was untapped; she was kind, curious, sympathic, capable and one who kept to herself, her character would’ve done well as a great warrior and diplomatic, and politic actor who makes hard decisions. Someone like her could’ve felt divided loyalties between worlds such as the Saxons and Norse. For example, I maybe playing a role in Danelaw and/or supporting the idea that Gunthrum should be baptised after Alfred’s victory. That would not be a stretch of a storyline.
She did not have the opportunities her brothers’ and mother had to grow, flesh out and have legendary storylines of her own - significant moments in the politics, battle, fame. Bjorn’s two daughters: Siggy and then later Asa and Floki’s daughter Angrboða too. Again when it came to fame, significant moments in the politics; battle - it was too predominantly prioritised through the sons of the main characters: Ragnar’s sons and Athelstan’s son Alfred the Great.
I use the word ‘too’, as I understand that the writers wanted to focus on the sons, but I use ‘too’ so nuance can be recognised, to emphasise it led to Gyda being left behind and neglected.
The deaths and even the writings of these daughters when they were alive compared to that of aforementioned sons confirms my suspicions that, when it came to Gyda compared to her mother and brothers, her being daughter along with the other daughters of the main protagonists, meant she was unfortunately regulated and limited to functioning as and being the loss of a parent’s emotional and domestic safe haven, and sensitive spot emotionally anchoring a patriarch.
It was not an issue of how all females were written, but the issue of how the daughters of the main protagonists were; especially Gyda.
Nor was she afforded the rich artistic license alike the other characters meaning diversion from the sagas and historical records and use of creative fiction, for examples: Ubbe leading the expedition into the Americas; Lagertha leading large scale shieldmaidens; Rollo and Ragnar being made brothers. It showed the writers were grounded but did have creative freedom from the relation to the sagas and historical records.
The grief they explored in the aftermath of her death was done well; but it was not sufficient. Lagertha and Ragnar never speak of her, Bjorn mentions her once, Aslaug gave no condolences. The writers had her parents inappropriately enter a threesome with Alsaug and have Ragnar happy about it; he had a cheeky grin, that is too mentality adjusted for two parents in a time period who’d recently lost a daughter whom was loved and raised for 12 years. The scenes where Ragnar reminisced on Gyda still could’ve happened with Gyda alive.
For example, the famous scene where Travis Fimmel gave a great performance of Ragnar, on the beach, mourning her could’ve been achieved in this context: of a depressed Gyda dealing with the death of her friends, which would have done well to explore the harsh world of child mortality, an angry Gyda rejecting Ragnar’s affections in consequence for his infidelity; and the beginning of an insecure Gyda who might felt she was beginning to step into her brothers’ shadow due to the Seer’s prophecies and Ragnar - the cultural fixture of male leaders wanting and procuring more sons causing feelings of inadequacy and purposelessness which I presume daughters in such ages and places dealt with. Vikings did explore the limitations of gender in the time, such as Lagertha’s frustration that she had to stay behind whilst Ragnar went out on the first voyage to the West. And the insecurity might’ve done well to link to her uncle Rollo’s insecurities of feeling of being in Ragnar’s shadow.
Whilst some may argued her legacy was honoured in the shieldmaiden named after her; she’d never be thee Gyda, a reminder of Gyda’s lost opportunities and lacked realisation nor a character grown to be cared for by the audience like Gyda herself. In addition; counterpointed that unlike Athelstan and Bjorn, her story was not finished; is it when Gyda died; it was too early.
