Vikings: Valhalla ‘Miracle’ -- Ten moves ahead

Recapper's Note: Vikings: Valhalla had its three-season run whilst I was mostly away from the recapping world. Now that I'm back, I still want to write about it. Please join me in this look back as we wait for the next Viking show.

Season 1 Episode 5 Recap and Review

It was always Godwin’s plan. Godwin knew who Harald was on this night of the massacre, but he allowed him to escape because he knew Harald would bring the wrath of the northmen to the shores of England. ‘A rotten house cannot be rebuilt. It must be torn down in order to build a better one.’ Harald guessed, correctly, that Godwin was not simply thinking of England when he practically engineered its fall. No, Godwin had already reached the peak of his influence in the court of King Aethelred. Queen Emma did not trust him. Edmund the then heir was an idiot. As I thought he did last episode when he gave the signal to open the gates and allow Edmund his foolish quest for glory, he bet on himself. He bet that he would be able to carve a place for himself in whatever state was left of the Saxon kingdom after the Vikings had exacted their bloody vengeance.

The thing was, it was not an entirely mad bet. Godwin knew how to be useful to the powerful. Even Emma who neither liked nor trusted him saw value in him and sent him with Edmund to Mercia. He was in many ways the perfect courtier. His voice never rose. His face was carefully controlled in its shallow subservience. He had breathed Saxon politics for most of his adult life, so that his natural brilliance was compounded by pockets of local knowledge, of information he stored for rainy days, when he needed something to bargain with. In the cell with Harald, from whom he had gotten all that he could (Harald led his army to England and let him live), Godwin found another powerful figure to ‘serve’, perhaps the most powerful one, King Canute, now King of England.

It was Olaf’s treachery that pushed this alliance. As soon as their army entered London, Olaf searched for Emma. Like the Queen that she was, Emma did not cower. She waited on the throne room for the Vikings to arrive, and demanded an audience with King Canute. Olaf kidnapped her instead.

He did not take her far, only to a room in the castle where he used to stay when he was still advisor to King Aethelred. He wanted Emma to give up Aethelred’s fabled treasure. Outside of greed, Olaf framed his desire on a promise to the late King, to expand Christianity to the northmen. Such a mission was expensive. Emma denied the existence of the treasure. Olaf showed her that he had her two young sons as well, and left her alone in the room to think.

Canute could not very well admit to his men that he lost the Queen after taking London. He needed Harald’s help, Harald, whom he had just betrayed. 

Harald did not come to England for glory. He wanted to avenge his brother Sten, whom King Aethelred betrayed and killed. The reality of the massacre was more real to Harald, because he barely escaped it, if not for Godwin’s intervention. He could have been right there with his brother. He was furious when he found out that Aethelred died before experiencing justice from his own hands. But, Canute promised him the head of Aethelred’s son. That would have to be enough.

Except, it was not to be. When Harald and Olaf were finally fighting within the walls of London, Harald’s happiness at his vengeance ever so close was obvious. When he got his hands on Edmund, he wasted no time in trying to behead him in front of the nobility of England and the victorious Vikings. Harald was angry and emotional. Sten had been a loyal bodyguard to Aethelred, and Edmund’s father rewarded that loyalty with treachery. This was justice. 

Canute prevented it. He claimed he changed his mind. Harald countered that he lied which, based on what we have seen from Canute so far, was likely. Canute was not without empathy. In many ways, he was a kind and just ruler. But he was a ruler. He was a conqueror. He would decide based on what was best for his plans. 

Canute lied to Harald, because Harald’s thirst for vengeance was useful to him in his quest to conquer England. That was done now. He threatened to kill Harald if Harald killed Edmund. He told Harald that to sacrifice revenge for power. Before he could expound, Harald stormed out.

When Canute found out that Emma was missing, he sent his men to fetch a still furious Harald. Canute claimed that Harald was already his right hand; in exchange for his help in finding Emma, he would make him King of Norway. Harald said he did not need Canute’s help for that; once his older brother Olaf had died, he would be King. Canute then revealed a secret that Olaf had kept from Harald all these years, that he had a son and heir, Magnus, who was already 12 years old. If Magnus was his heir, then Harald could not be.

Part of Harald must have known at once that what Canute said was right, but he still tried to deny it. He said that Canute robbed his family of justice and now he wished to pull them apart. With the calm persuasion of a powerful king, Canute declared that he could guarantee Harald’s destiny. In the end Harald believed him, and retrieved Emma from Olaf’s room. 

The victory feast was lively, and another showcase of Bradley Freegard’s commanding talent. He toasted the bravery of Edmund. He toasted Emma, whom he asked to sit next to him on the table with his most honoured guests, much to Olaf’s chagrin. He toasted Leif and declared that his sister’s debt was paid in full. Harald, he called Leif’s brother in arms, and declared that his gratitude was worth more than gold, an allusion to their pact about the kingship of Norway. His ‘Smile for once’ to Olaf was so well delivered. Streona was there too, he who held back his army and offered to be Canute’s ally once he had returned to Scandinavia.  

But Canute had no intention of returning to Scandinavia. He had already decided to clean house the moment Streona showed up. As his men rolled a block for beheading into the room, he declared that he could smell ambition, disloyalty, greed, there in that very room where Aethelred turned against his Viking allies. He had his men grab Streona and declared that he, Canute, would rule England jointly with Edmund. With his men dead and his army surrounded, Canute beheaded Streona.

And here was how we circled back to the utility of Godwin. Canute decided that he would rule jointly with Edmund because he still had the English nobles on his side. Edmund’s job would be to manage the nobles. But, there was one who had even greater knowledge of the Saxon court – Godwin. When Canute needed help to find out where Olaf hid Emma’s children, it was to Godwin he turned. Godwin, as he was wont to do, delivered. When asked what he wanted in return, Godwin said he only wanted to be of service. Canute saw through Streona’s naked ambition; Godwin’s more subtle moves toward power were so far not visible to the king. 

What of the miracle that the episode title alluded to? It was Leif who experienced his first brush with the Christian faith. Since he woke up on the marshes with a cross on his palm, he had felt that someone was protecting him. Arrows fell like rain as they worked under the bridge, but he was not hit, not even once. When Liv was dying, he left the cross with her; when he returned to see her, she had recovered. Harald called that a miracle and warned him that they usually came with strings attached. Harald was a good person to have this conversation with Leif; he was Christian but he was not a religious fanatic. 

As Leif was finding himself drawn to a new faith, Freydis was holding on to an old one. At Uppsala, where she said she hoped to learn her destiny, Freydis participated in a ritual that had her speaking with The Seer from OG Vikings. Later, it was almost as though Freydis sensed that Yrsa was in danger. She rode off into the rain with a marked sword given to her by a priestess. 

This was a good follow up to the high of the past episode. The use of the round table with the main characters seated, with Canute walking around handing out rewards and compliments and not so subtle rebukes, was an excellent storytelling device, and which took full advantage of Viking Valhalla’s brilliant actors. I have praised Bradley Freegard already, but I wanted to mention Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson who played Olaf as well. 

Rating: B+

Strays

⚔️Did Canute truly believe that had Streona attacked, the Vikings would have been defeated? 

⚔️Godwin called Emma ‘another survivor’ and claimed she was one of the wealthiest women in Europe. 

⚔️He claimed it was not a threat, but Olaf totally threatened to send Emma back to Normandy where she would once more be a lady with no rights or lands, just someone under her father’s thumb. I wanted to mention this because this might have some narrative importance later on. 

⚔️Canute fell in love with Emma on that bridge. 

⚔️The Seer called Freydis ‘the last’. 

⚔️Leif gave his friends a burial at sea.

⚔️When Canute toasted Leif at the feast, he mentioned, ‘May his name never be forgotten amongst our people or thought of again as someone’s son.’ Canute was a good politician because not only was he smart, he had a good memory. He remembered his conversation with Leif before the battle. He remembered the chip on Leif’s shoulder about Erik the Red. That was good character work and writing there.  

⚔️Olaf toasted Canute as the first Viking King of England. 

⚔️Olaf was furious at Harald for releasing Emma to Canute. Harald was furious at Olaf for lying to him about being his heir.

⚔️When Godwin would not cooperate with Harald in finding Emma’s children, Canute gave his promise that he would have a place in the new kingdom.

⚔️Leif told Liv that he as not returning to Greenland, though Canute had already granted Freydis’s freedom. He wanted to make a name for himself. Amongst thousands of people for the first time in his life, Leif was slowly realising that his mind was cut above the rest, that the world was open to his exploration. I understand this pairing but to be honest, Liv’s character has not worked for me from the beginning.

⚔️I hope David Oakes gets to play another character pretending to be a priest because that was hot.  

⚔️The warriors who had been tracking had found the healer’s hut and Yrsa, and that poor baby. Their leader now had Freydis’s description. 

You can access Recap Lab's full coverage of Vikings: Valhalla via this link.

Writer: Eoin McNamee

Director: Hannah Quinn

Original Air Date: February 25, 2022

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