by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Vikings is one of the History Channel’s most successful shows. It was the perfect blend of up-and-coming actors making their debut, and equal parts violence and spectacle. Legendary characters came to life in a way that Vikings rarely get to in pop culture. So when Netflix announced they were making a spinoff series, I was cautiously optimistic.
The first two seasons of Vikings: Valhalla were two sides of a coin. I enjoyed Season One with the introduction of our core three characters, Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), and Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson). The Viking takeover of London and the London Bridge sequence were among the best action set pieces from both this and the original series. All three main characters were compelling and likable compared to Vikings. Season Two had issues due to COVID-19. The characters were separated a lot during the season, and there was little action. As the series wraps up and the focus shifts to the end of the Viking age, Vikings: Valhalla returns to some of its glory, but the damage was already done.
Season Three jumps seven years after the events of Season Two. Leif and Harald are aligned with Constantinople, building a reputation for conquest. After learning to read, Leif dedicates himself to a life of learning. Freydis has made a life for herself in Jomsborg. She’s the leader of the small community, dedicating her life to preserving the ways of paganism and raising her family.
Season Three’s story does the most for Freydis of the core three. She continues her streak of leading her commune. Her legacy is cemented as Freydis, the Keeper of the Faith. One of the core themes of Vikings: Valhalla is the spread of Christianity, even among the Viking communities. Freydis feels like a throwback to the characters, most like the original Vikings, who are powerful, ruthless, and fiercely dedicated to their people and the Gods. Gustavsson is among the strongest performers of any season of a Vikings TV show, and is battling Katheryn Winnick as the best leader of all the Viking tribes.
Leif has always been my favorite character in Vikings: Valhalla. He’s tactically smart and a skilled fighter, and then, in Season Two, he became the most intelligent character in the entire Vikings universe. His love for science and academics comes with two consequences. First, it causes tremendous guilt, because Leif creates a chemical weapon that is capable of great destruction. As a viewer, you couldn’t help but empathize with Leif, because he reminded me a little of J. Robert Oppenheimer. He wanted to create a deterrent, but created something so destructive that he never wanted to use it again. Second, he tried to renounce his life of violence in the name of a life of adventure and discovery. Because of this, his story is the only one that continues to expand the world beyond Europe and Eastern Asia. Had another season been approved, Leif would have been the primary reason to continue watching.
The most curious character of Season Three is Harald. There are two parts of his story this season. First is his rise in the ranks of Emperor Romanos’ (Nikolai Kinski) army. Constantinople is a gorgeous city that is drastically different from any town in Vikings: Valhalla. It shows how much Harald would get his hands dirty in the name of glory. It also causes him to briefly forget why he is there in the first place. He aims to raise enough money to claim the Viking throne in Europe. Harald loses his way because of a secret love affair that gets him into trouble. It’s a rare moment of weakness for a man with such strong convictions. This also feels tremendously out of character for him. I’ve never thought much about the historical accuracies of the show, but this is really a stretch.
Like past seasons, the story in London is just out of place. It’s an essential part of the Viking lore and led to their most significant expansion beyond the shore of Europe. Even in the original series, anywhere other than the main Viking stronghold, Kattegat, feels disjointed. The series starts with the tension between the native English and the Vikings, who have lived peacefully alongside them for a generation. It was also a story I didn’t care about and detracted from the core three characters of Valhalla.
Vikings: Valhalla’s conclusionleaves this world in a dangerous place. The end of the Viking’s lineage is near, as Christianity continues to spread worldwide. England’s King has minimal Viking blood by the end, and our core characters are set on their path. This felt like a fitting end to the series, even if we didn’t get complete stories for everyone we could have.
Vikings: Valhalla will go down as a great attempt at reviving a great series, but real-world issues stopped it. Netflix did its best to get this series back on the map, but it leaves two-thirds of the characters on a solid path. Harald is the one who just didn’t get the ending he deserved. The series ended the same way that the Viking age ended: with a bit of a whimper.
Rating: High Side of It Was Just Okay
Vikings: Valhalla is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Mike Hilty and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd.