I didn't figure she would outright escape.. I just figured… when my mind was still foreshadowing this plotline, that she thought it would be better to be on scene in France if Ragnar was killed in battle, etc.. instead of being lost in Kattegut.

From a plot standpoint.. I speak. This was foreshadowable. Hirst does a great job.

She only came to try to escape.. And Ragnar only took her for drugs.. In the back of Ragnar's mind with the dream sequence a few shows back of the life he'd given up, he probably wants to quit the drugs anyway.. Her comments proved her an untrustable liability and made the decision to lose her easy.

If He actually had Athelstan 2.0, everyone would complain he was a cheap copy of Athelstan. The odd character with too much screen time is Hubbard.