"Back Stabbed", Way to Die #869, is the fourth death to be featured in "Putting A Smiley Face On Death", which aired on September 14, 2010, and the second death to be featured in the Death By Request: Special episode, which aired on October 24, 2011.
Plot[]
Viking King Nygard decided to go on a marauding campaign, putting his brother Mort in charge. With Nygard away, Mort threw a celebration, having sex with a number of women. When the queen tried to shut it down, Mort told the other women to get out of there and he threw her down and raped her, assuming that he was the king that she knew.
Over the next few months, Mort would often have his way with her, until Nygard returned and caught him in the act, directly sending him into an instant rage. He then orders his men to seize him and promises Mort to his face he will execute him in the nastiest method he knows how. A technique called the blood eagle. First, Nygard cut open Mort's back, then he pried open his ribcage, and finally, he pulled his lungs out, sending him straight to Helheim.
Transcript[]
Narrator: Viking King Nygard was your typical over-achieving older brother.
King Nygard: My warriors, I have an announcement: I'm going marauding.
Vikings: Yeah!
Narrator: By the time he was 17, Nygard was ranked number one in R and P: raping and pillaging.
King Nygard: So, when I'm away, I'll be leaving everything to my faithful brother Mort.
Narrator: Little brother Mort's claim to fame? He was the youngest ever in their village to get syphilis.
Skip Wilder: The Vikings were Scandinavians who went abroad as pirates and raiders. The wanderlust of seafaring peoples makes it possible that they contracted social diseases and spread it back to their homeland.
Narrator: With Nygard gone, the party was on.
Viking Queen: Would you stop for goodness sake?!
Mort: Get out of here!
Narrator: And when the queen tried to shut it down...
Mort: I'm the king here now.
Narrator: Mort threw her down and raped her. For the next few months, he had his way with his brother's wife, until...
King Nygard: What in Thor's name is this?! Take him!
Mort: No! No!
Narrator: Mort thought, as always, his big brother would let Nygards be Nygards.
King Nygard: I'm gonna take your life!
Narrator: Not this time.
King Nygard: I'm gonna do it...the worst! Way! We know how!
Mort: No!
Narrator: Nygard was referring to something called the Blood Eagle.
Skip Wilder: The Vikings used the Blood Eagle to get revenge. The back was sliced down the spine, then the ribs were pried away from the spine.
Mort: (screams)
Skip Wilder: ...and the lungs were pulled out from inside.
(Nygard pulls Mort's lungs out)
Dr. Khyber Zaffarkhan: If you disrupt the ribcage, and you bring the lungs on the outside, there's no force it can use in order to expand, and the lungs willshrivel up and shrink, and you can't bring any more oxygen in.
Narrator: Blood's thicker than water, but Mort screwed up. Got your back, bro.
Cast and Interviewees[]
- Seth Cassell - Mort (Lead: Intended victim)
- Kieron Elliott - King Nygard (Lead)
- Kat Hawkes - Viking Queen (Lead)
- Skip Wilder - Himself (Viking Expert)
- Dr. Khyber Zaffarkhan - Himself (Physical Medicine and Rehab)
Foreign Names[]
- Puñal por la Espalda (Dagger on the Back) - Latin American Spanish dub
- Puñalada por la Espalda (Back Stab) - Spanish dub
- Apunhalado pelas Costas (Stabbed in the Back/Stabbed on the Back) - Brazilian Portuguese dub
- Escosi as punyal ma Morti (Scottish of Stab in Death) - Lazoran dub
Trivia[]
- Also called "Blood Eagle" on the Spike TV website.
- This death scene is awarded the "Best Historical Death" in the Death By Request: Special episode.
- This is the earliest death to be featured in the whole of Season 3, since it takes place in the 10th Century.
- It is said that if you don't scream at all while the Blood Eagle is being performed on you, then you will get to Valhalla.
- In general, if the rib cage has been disrupted due to the lungs being on the outside, then there wouldn’t be enough force in order for them to expand.
- This segment can be disturbing to watch since some fans felt bad for Mort. Despite that, he's still going to hell.
Gallery[]
