If you were looking for major character decisions, Vikings Season 6 Episode 15 was the episode for you.

The series is quickly picking up the pace as we head toward the finish line, and we lost two pivotal characters amid all of the madness.

Gunnhild giving herself up to the sea was as beautiful as it was tragic. If you watch Vikings online, you know Gunnhild has been struggling in the aftermath of Bjorn's death.

Heck, she was struggling before we got to that point, largely because Bjorn brought another woman into their marriage, and they went on to lose their child.

But Gunnhild could have gone through with the wedding and lived a happy life with Harald and Ingrid. That would not have been honorable in her book.

The beauty of a death like Gunnhild's is that the character took her fate into her own hands and made a decision of her own accord that was true to the character.

Bjorn was Gunnhild's constant, and she felt like the world was changing around her ever since her husband died. As a result, swimming into the depths of the ocean to be reunited with Bjorn in Valhalla was what she wanted.

It was a beautifully directed scene and harkened back to the message of the Vikings, about how they could be at peace if they really wanted it.

Harald: You came.
Gunnhild: I want to wish you and Ingrid every happiness.
Harald: And you're not joining us in matrimony?
Gunnhild: No. I cannot marry you.
Harald: I don't understand.
Gunnhild: In my heart, I am still married to Bjorn. Now I have to go.
Harald: Where are you going?
Gunnhild: To my love.
Erik: Gunnhild?
Harald: Leave her alone. Let her be.

• Permalink: Leave her alone. Let her be.

It would have been nice to have a scene of her reuniting with Bjorn, in a similar vein to the way Lagertha reunited with Ragnar at the bottom of the ocean.

Gunnhild may not have been a part of the show for long, but she quickly emerged as one of the better characters.

This changes things considerably in Kattegat because Ingrid is now married to Harald, and I'm betting she wanted Gunnhild around like a comfort blanket.

Ingrid may want power, but living a life with her abuser is not what she wanted, and she seems poised to go on a mission to clean house and get rid of the people who have wronged her.

I go now ... to join Bjorn ... in Valhalla.

Gunnhild

• Permalink: I go now ... to join Bjorn ... in Valhalla.

The way she remembered Erik selling her as a slave came out of nowhere, but it was a nice development that reiterated that Erik is not as nice as he likes people to believe.

He thought he could manipulate both Ingrid and Gunnhild into power, and the influence he thought he was going to have is gradually slipping away from him.

I'm intrigued to see how all of this shakes out because it seems Kattegat is under new and different rulers, and I'm unsure how Ivar and Hvitserk will react to that when they inevitably return.

The action in Kiev was also unpredictable, and I'm cautious about wiping Oleg out of the equation with five episodes remaining.

I'm on the fence about whether his death was anti-climactic or deserved. He was such a big character and definitely seemed like he could be the final villain, so maybe that's why I'm struggling with it.

In essence, he was Igor's abuser, so Igor getting to shoot the arrow that killed him was poetic justice. Oleg was intent on causing death and destruction to other communities, but he failed to nurture the connections he already had.

He was the worst type of person in that he used everyone as puppets before lashing out and taking them out when they least expected it.

His eleventh-hour atonement was either a half-assed plan to get some supporters back, or he had genuinely turned over a new leaf. Would he have come to such a decision had Ivar, Katia, Hvitserk, and Igor escaped? Probably not.

Ivar impregnating Katia was also a shock, especially when you consider he was ridiculed in the past for not being able to get an erection.

Katia was right, he's always going to look at her as Freydis, so them going their separate ways was probably for the best. There's a part of Katia that genuinely loved Ivar, but she knew she could never be this woman he killed.

The fighting in Greenland was predictable, especially when you have someone as disassociated from reality as Kjetil chanting that they are the King of the land.

Ubbe and Torvi wanted to find a better life, but they've come into contact with people who seem to want to put them in harm's way every step of the way.

It was a grueling battle between all of the different factions, but Othere telling Ubbe that he thinks Kjetil killed Floki seemed like a way for Othere to get in good graces with Ubbe and Torvi.

The inaudible argument between Othere and Kjetil on Vikings Season 6 Episode 12 certainly backs up Othere's theory, but I can't help but think Othere is just manipulating Ubbe and Torvi because he knew they were ready to run.

Getting on the boat that was leaking water was not the best course of action, but if it means they wind up where they were supposed to be in the first place, it will be worthwhile.

"All at Sea" was an episode bursting at the seams with big swings, and it's going to be a wild ride to the finish line.

Vikings Season 6B airs on Amazon Prime.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.