Pagan magic, a berserker by birthright, and… jumping through time? "Vikings:
Valhalla " has as much death and drama as its predecessor,
but where does it go from here? The season is over, and we’ve got questions.
"There is no going back from here, only forward."
The first season finale, "The End of the Beginning," centers around the battle for
Kattegat, the capital of Viking Norway. In keeping with the series' dedication
to portraying real-world complexities in morality and politics, the battle is
anything but simply good vs. evil. Sure, fans were unlikely to root for the conniving Jarl
Olaf or the borderline extremist Jarl Kåre, but the issue was muddied by human sacrifice,
brutal civil war, and a flurry of double- and triple-crosses on both sides. Just who played
who, in what order, and why, all have major ramifications for the surviving characters.
Put simply: Harald betrayed Kattegat, then betrayed Olaf and Kåre for Kattegat,
but Kåre had already betrayed Harald and fed him false information. Olaf betrayed them both,
knowing that Harald would betray him, and he used that betrayal to weaken both Kattegat
and Kåre's army, thereby leaving him the strongest power when the dust settled.
"By the time my army arrives, I will be the strongest Jarl left in Norway.
Maybe the only one."
Or so he thought.
Even when that valknut is unraveled, many questions remain. Why did Olaf let Harald
live after his double-cross? Is Olaf truly the Christian fundamentalist he claims to be?
Is Harald the Christian he claims to be? Both betrayed fellow Christians for pagans
or pagan-sympathizers. Was Kåre truly blessed with second sight, implying the pagan Seer was
still alive? Perhaps most importantly of all: Was Olaf a master manipulator or just lucky?
Meanwhile, on the other side of the North Sea, "The End of the Beginning" follows another
power struggle: The battle for the throne of England. Though compared to Kattegat,
this battle was fought more with machinations than masses of troops, the fight was no less
treacherous and no less significant. The principal players were the interim Viking King Forkbeard,
the Viking Queen Ælfgifu, the Norman Queen Emma, and royal advisor Godwin. If the Harald/Olaf/Kåre
knot was convoluted, then the competition in London was the world's biggest ball of twine.
Just as at Kattegat, the exact level of each player's duplicity
will presumably have a major bearing on the series' future.
"You. You were part of this."
"Indeed, I was."
It's clear that Forkbeard, Emma, and Godwin all conspired to remove the troublesome
Ælfgifu from the picture, but just how far they were in league with each other matters.
One of the key moments that began the conspiracy was Godwin's killing of Edmund,
Emma's stepson and heir to the English throne. As Emma seemed to care for Edmund,
it's difficult to imagine she was in on that particular part of the plot.
The scheme also took Forkbeard away from the throne and back to Norway,
conveniently leaving only Emma in England and with a claim to the throne.
Could it be that Emma and Godwin conspired behind Forkbeard's back?
"It will be up to us to make this work."
"Us?"
And for Godwin, the newly appointed Earl of Wessex,
could he be setting his sights on an even higher position?
Historically, the biggest Viking settlements outside of their native Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark were in Iceland, Greenland, the British Isles, and Normandy, France.
At the end of the first season of "Vikings: Valhalla," essentially
every one of those territories is in a state of political flux and faces a number
of questions about its future — aside from Iceland, which seems to be doing just fine.
England is left in Emma's hands. Though she is married via Christianity to the newly crowned
King Canute, he is also married — via pagan tradition — to Danish Queen Ælfgifu. Emma,
being Norman, is neither true Viking nor true Saxon, and so her hold on England is tenuous.
Canute is away in his native Denmark to repel a Rus invasion from the east, meaning Denmark is
likely in the hands of a temporary ruler, probably a jarl. Norway was just ravaged by civil war, much
of its population lost, Kattegat has fallen, and now Forkbeard has sailed into the city to take it,
meaning Norway will likely have three different kings in the span of a day.
Greenland, too, faces an uncertain future. Though it is only mentioned in the series,
it's clear that Greenland's leadership has always been questionable,
especially now that Leif Eriksson has left.
Though Emma's claim to the English throne is both tenuous and challenged, at the end of Season 1,
she nonetheless has the highest combined score when it comes to both rightful claim and
actually being in England. For the moment, she has an unparalleled amount of authority
to enact her will. Depending on her level of involvement in Edmund's death,
the first item on her docket will most likely be avenging her beloved stepson.
The clever and ever-perceptive Emma noticed the small stab
wound on Edmund's body and immediately accused Godwin of her stepson's murder.
"Strange things happen in these types of accidents, Your Highness."
"Strange? I would call it miraculous."
Assuming she was not involved in this plot, she clearly has her primary suspect. Will Emma have
Godwin killed as revenge? And — as is always the issue in this tale of honor, responsibility, and
competing allegiances — can she kill him? Godwin is, after all, the new Earl of Wessex, and a
trusted advisor to Forkbeard. Would Forkbeard kill Emma in retribution? And might Emma's practicality
convince her to keep the clever, Little Finger-esque Godwin alive in her own employ?
Godwin isn't the only conspirator who may soon find themselves on Emma's chopping block.
The same is true for Ælfgifu. But despite Emma momentarily having the upper hand over Ælfgifu,
both women are in equally precarious positions.
While King Canute is away in Denmark, Emma can never be sure where his love truly lies.
Further, she can't forget that her marriage was a rushed one, and one performed for political gain.
Ælfgifu also has two sons, and both are with Canute. Ælfgifu may be in jeopardy,
but so is Emma. Killing the mother of Canute's sons — and Forkbeard's
grandsons — might just invite even worse than a guild of thieves into her home.
Olaf managed to persist throughout the entire season, through some mixture of wiles and luck.
In the final moments of the season finale, however, Olaf is finally left in a position
that threatens to use up all of his remaining luck, and his wiles alone may not be enough to
save him. About a minute after taking Kattegat and proclaiming himself the new King of Norway,
Olaf receives the news that Forkbeard's fleet has sailed into the harbor.
"It's not possible. No. No!"
For Olaf, the jarl who betrayed Forkbeard's son, King Canute, the fleet likely means death.
In his last moments on screen, Olaf throws off his regal cloak and runs off into Kattegat.
Is he about to die a warrior's death in combat or will he be able to flee to safety?
Is there any such place in a country full of his enemies?
During the sacking of Kattegat, Freydis and Harald escape the city on horseback,
riding into the mountains of untamed Norway. Like Olaf, they face the question of where to
go. For Olaf, the issue is the infamy gained during his and Kåre's conquest
of Norway and the extermination of its pagan populace. For Freydis and Harald,
the issue is the opposite: Most of their allied cities and settlements have been conquered.
While Harald is Christian, he has made it clear that Freydis is more important
to him than his faith, and so even if he could find sanctuary in Christian Norway,
he wouldn't without his beloved. On top of that, Freydis is more pagan than ever,
having embraced her prophesied role as the "Last Daughter of Uppsala."
"Yes. The last."
With none of her fellow Greenlanders left alive save for a bloody, berserk Leif, and with Norway
heavily Christianized, Freydis will have a hard time finding safety anywhere close to Kattegat.
Creator Jeb Stuart did tease that Harald and
whoever will still follow him have "a long journey" in store, telling Looper,
"We're going to take them out of Scandinavia."
Where they might end up is anyone's guess.
"As the sword is carried by the cross. Much blood, pouring like fountains."
Throughout its first season, "Vikings: Valhalla" was deliberately vague in its
portrayal of supernatural phenomena. At times, the visions seen by people like Freydis and
Kåre seem almost factual, while at other times, it seems obvious that any perceived otherworldliness
was the simple product of zealousness and hallucinogens — a well-documented historical
tradition. But as Freydis' story progresses, it may become harder to remain ambiguous.
One of the most momentous occurrences in Freydis' life is her vision of the Seer, the prophet who
played a major role almost 200 years earlier. For her to have seen the Seer as he actually appeared
in "Vikings" would either take an astounding coincidence or the legitimate existence of magic.
Even during the events of "Vikings," the Seer was allegedly centuries-old and his appearance,
though possibly explainable by natural causes, appeared truly inhuman. If Freydis
is indeed the last sacred pagan champion in an increasingly Christian Northern Europe,
where will "Vikings: Valhalla" decide to land on its own issue of magic realism?
Whether or not the crew behind "Vikings: Valhalla" ever takes a stand on the reality
of magic in their world, the battle between competing religions is very real and a large
part of the show's setting. The tension between Christian Vikings and pagan Vikings is felt in
every episode. Few of the show's characters are able to avoid choosing a side in the conflict,
though series protagonist, Leif, is seemingly able to do so.
For almost the entirety of eight episodes, Leif performs his stone-faced outsider act
for anyone who broaches the subject of the gods, and only drops the charade in
the last moments of the season finale. As his lover, Liv, dies in his arms,
she asks Leif if he believes in the old gods as she does. Though he hesitates, he eventually
caves and reassures her — just moments too late — that yes, he follows traditional Norse paganism.
"No, no, no. Liv, Liv. I'll join you.
I'll join you. I promise, I promise."
Thanks to a number of clues throughout the series,
however, it's possible that Leif may actually be embracing Christianity.
Leif's infamous father, Erik the Red, became a legend throughout the entire Viking world due to
his berserker nature. He was a killer through and through, whether in wartime or peace,
and his unhinged, bloody melees are what earned him the name "the Red." Leif, an apple from that
Red Tree, is always forced to wonder how far from it he fell — or how close he remains.
Leif spends the majority of the season maintaining his cool, killing minimally and keeping his temper
in check. It's not until Liv's death that the berserker inside him is truly unleashed.
His whirlwind of axes certainly hearkens back to tales of Erik the Red, but the truth may
be more complex. While the savage fury in which Leif ends the season may simply be a relatively
justified reaction to the death of his partner, it remains to be seen how Red Leif really is.
It is likely that Season 2 of "Vikings: Valhalla" will take place either directly after or soon
after the end of the first season, but it is far from a given. Showrunners jumped almost 200 years
between the end of "Vikings" and the start of "Vikings: Valhalla," showing their willingness
to skip through history to get to its meatiest parts. On top of that, the latter half of the
season introduced the children and grandchildren of some of the show's main characters.
Will Season 2 of "Vikings: Valhalla" shift, like the start of Season 1, from our main characters
to their children? Given the amount of story left to be told for Leif, Freydis, and Harald,
it's unlikely. But a future season could certainly chronicle the children's crusade — perhaps
somewhat literally, given the increasing percentage of Vikings who believe in Christ.
Ultimately, the when, where, who, and how of future "Vikings: Valhalla" seasons are all up
in the air, though the air is sure to be thick with smoke and the screams of Viking raiders.
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