Vikings: Valhalla ‘The Greenlanders’ – The children of Erik the Red meet Harald Hardrada

Season 1 Episode 1 Recap and Review

I am writing this one precious day off afternoon, after my birthday celebrations had to be cancelled due to a medical emergency (I’m all right now). I have been wanting to cover Vikings: Valhalla pretty much since it was first released, and just never found the time to get around it. So why cover it now, when its final season has been released and there is no more hope for more episodes of what is, to me, a good and sometimes great show? I suppose part of me wants to dissect why this show never quite found the popularity of its mother show Vikings. Besides, this is a great excuse to rewatch, so come join me and welcome to Recap Lab's very belated coverage of Vikings: Valhalla!

One hundred years after the events in Vikings, and the tales of Ragnar and his sons have faded into legend. They were, however, dutifully mentioned as a way to link the two shows. Vikings had settled all over Europe, many of them in England where they lived in Danelaw and served as the Saxon King Aethelred’s Kingsguard. On St. Brice’s Day, however, King Aethelred ordered the massacre of all Vikings in England, including Sten, brother to Prince Harald Siggurdson, introduced as the future King of Norway.

A year later, Denmark’s King Canute called on all Vikings to meet up in Kattegat to form a massive army bent on revenge. This was not the gathering in the days of Ivar the Boneless and Bjorn Ironside. Whilst half the Viking tribes remained faithful to the old gods, the other half had become passionate converts to Christianity.

Into this powder keg sailed brother and sister Greenlanders Leif and Freydis, and their small crew. Having lived in barely populated Greenland with their father Erik the Red, exiled from Norway and Iceland for murder, they had not even heard of the massacre on St. Brice’s until they arrived at Kattegat. Their mission was justice: back in Greenland, Freydis was violently assaulted by a Christian trader who carved a cross on her back.

As Leif and the others went in search for the criminal they could only identify with the cross he wore, Freydis met, and sh-ed, and told her story to, Prince Harald. Later, she identified her assaulter as one of the men in the party of Harald’s brother Olaf.

The army King Canute gathered first made camp outside Kattegat. Jarl Olaf and Gunnar Magnusson were important allies as they served in the Kingsguard and were well versed in London’s defenses. Olaf, however, demanded a mass conversion into Christianity of the whole Viking army in exchange for his help. King Canute, immediately demonstrating his cunning and resolve, said no. Harald, too, was aghast at his half brother’s demand, claiming that it would cause a civil war.

With feelings still tense between the two camps, King Canute gave a rousing speech invoking great Viking heroes of the past. It was not until Harald stepped in, literally to come between two warring jarls, that the pagan and Christian camps at least gave the appearance of putting their differences aside so they could attack England a united force.

The peace did not last. In the Great Hall of Kattegat, Freydis extracted her vengeance and carved a cross on the body of Magnusson. Olaf immediately wanted her dead, but Jarl Estrid Haakon, backed by King Canute, wanted a trial. Harald, too, declared that he believed Freydis and urged her to show the mark on her back. With matters still tense, the first episode ended.

Was this a strong beginning? If we are judging within the context of how Vikings began, then it does fall a bit short. Vikings episode one pulsed with a different kind of energy, of an alien culture, a magnetic lead in Travis Fimmel, and an arresting strong female character in Lagertha. Valhalla is a return to an already well loved place rather than an exciting completely new adventure, and now without Ragnar and company. Sam Corlett, Frida Gustavsson, and Leo Suter are solid leads; it is simply hard to stand next to the TV magic that was captured by Vikings season one. 

Yet, I like Vikings Valhalla. I feel sad that it did not have the episodes and seasons it needed to tell its full tale. There is just so much potential in the show. Vikings got to tell the tale of the beginning of the Viking age. Valhalla is a show about its end, only, we did not quite get there. But we can still enjoy the 24-episode ride. 

Strays

⚔️There were Vikings who had been in England for so long, they thought of themselves as Saxons and did not remember their own language. 

⚔️Leif was the clear captain of the Greenlander crew, he successfully navigated their boat off a storm that killed so many.

⚔️Jarl Estrid was a friend of Erik the Red. 

⚔️Leif was a good fighter. Harald tried to recruit him to join the invasion of England. 

⚔️The Greenlanders who came with Leif and Freydis were: Toke, Yrsa, Liv, Skarde, Njal, and Ulf.

Writer: Jeb Stuart

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Original Air Date: February 25, 2022