Vikings: Valhalla
What can I say? What a pleasant surprise this was! I was a HUGE fan of the Vikings original series. You can imagine my joy when I discovered that Netflix continued on the series 100 years after the death of Ragnar Lothbrok.
There shouldn't be many spoilers here so feel free to read on. I'm just going to write a little about the basic storyline and my thoughts on the series.
So there are 8 episodes in total for this season. I binged this in 2 nights! I couldn't stop watching. I may even watch it over again this weekend!
So this series takes place 100 years after the death of Ragnar Lothbrok. In that 100 years a lot has changed for the Vikings and a lot hasn't. For one thing, half the Vikings have accepted the Christian god and the rest of them are still clinging to the old gods. This makes for some interesting in fighting between the clans of Pagans and Christians.
England is still up to there old tricks though and the series starts out with the English king killing all the Vikings living under English rule. This breaks a long truce between the Vikings and the English. In true Viking fashion they must seek revenge for their fallen.
In this series Leif Erikson is the new Viking hero. He navigates the ocean, fights against the English in England, and protects Kattegat from invaders. He's joined by shield maiden Freydis, and King Harald Hardrada.
So here are my thoughts.
Lets start with the shield maidens! I love the shield maidens! This is the type of girl power and feminism I can get behind. (I can get behind most it anyway), but this girl power is drenched in the blood of toxic masculinity! (Oh boy, the comments are going to go in a direction I don't want to touch with a ten foot pole) 🤣 Seriously though, the shield maidens are bad ass! The Vikings understood equality of the sexes. The woman were just as hard and battle worn as the men! Freydis is our hero shield maiden in this series and she is bad ass! I absolutely loved her character!
Pagans vs Christians
As many of you know The Dood is a proud pagan. I don't talk about it much but I do enjoy a lot of pagan themed entertainment. It's one of the reasons why I loved the Vikings series. I'm also a huge fan of the Norse pantheon. It's so cool to have a series that focuses on early pagan belief systems and doesn't try to skirt the issue or downplay it. The Vikings loved their pagan gods and it must have caused a lot of issues when the new religion began spreading among the pagan clans. Most of their early enemies were already converted to Christianity, so the new religion probably left a bad taste in a lot of their mouths.
I often wondered what life was like when Christianity was rising in places that were predominantly pagan. I think it's fair to say that the hatred was mutual for both parties and they did equally terrible things to each other. I think the series did a good job of showing the schism this may have caused in Viking society at this time. (IDK why we can't all get along)
Uppsala
We do make another pilgrimage to Uppsala which was the sacred land the pagans took their pilgrimage too. It was like a Norse Mecca complete with temples, priests, and travellers.
The End of the Season
The series doesn't start out as brutal as the first series was. By the end of the season though, it gets pretty brutal. Lots of fighting, lots of blood and guts as the Vikings battle their way through England and return home where the battle continues.
Final Thoughts
This is a great reboot of the original series. It's not as bloody and gory as the original series but I've heard a lot of Nordic people were a little offended by the first series and felt they made their ancestors look like savages. IMHO the Vikings were brutal people living under brutal conditions. They fought to stay alive. Even their pantheon of Gods and their ideologies reflect the harsh reality of war and survival.
They also lived truly free lives. They were adventurers and understood equality of the sexes millennia before their time! They were incredible sailors, traders and merchants.
I don't know what else to say! I absolutely loved this reboot and hope Netflix carries it on for another season!
