Long before Ragnar gets divinely inspired to go raiding, he lives a fairly simple life with his small family of four, sharing his home with his shield-maiden Viking wife Lagertha and their two children, Gyda and Björn. Although the family seems happy together, Ragnar's restless spirit leads him away from home for long stints, leaving the others to fend for themselves and creating conflict with Lagertha, who also longs for adventure.
Despite these challenges, Ragnar is pleased to learn that Lagertha is expecting a third child shortly after his defeat of Earl Haraldson. Although he believes the pregnancy a fulfillment of the Seer's prophecy that he should have more sons, Lagertha miscarries while her husband is away. The couple's heartache compounds when their daughter Gyda later dies during a plague outbreak ("All Change").
As if that weren't bad enough, Ragnar returns from a trip to Götaland with the pregnant Aslaug in tow. His suggestion that the three shack up together proves a bridge too far for Lagertha, who packs up her remaining child and hits the road. After killing her second husband and assuming his earldom, she asks the Seer, "Will I ever bear another child, oh wise one?" ("Mercenary"). The Seer's reply that he cannot see any more children in her future, no matter how far he looks, proves to be true despite her later pregnancy by Kalf, which ends in a second miscarriage during the siege of Paris ("Death All 'Round").
