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What happens at the end of Vikings: Valhalla?

Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX
Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX

If you binge-watched Vikings: Vahalla, the sequel to Vikings, in one sitting, you certainly won't be the only one: already, the show has shot straight to the number one of Netflix's most-streamed.

As a result, you might be looking for an explainer about what actually happened at the end, and how Vikings: Vahalla drew to a close. Set at the beginning of the 11th century, over a hundred years after the original show, the series follows Vikings Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his warrior sister Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson) and Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter).

The trio are caught up in tensions between English Royalty and the Vikings, and find themselves conflicted over pagan and Christian beliefs, with the battle coming to a head at the end of the penultimate episode.

The Vikings: Vahalla ending, explained

So, what happened in the final episode?

Queen Emma lost her throne - and then gained it again

Despite quickly marrying King Canute before his departure, Emma is unceremoniously dethroned in the final episode by her father-in-law, Forkbeard, who King Canute’s other wife, Ælfgifu, is blackmailing over the location of a fleet of ships. But in a wonderful plot twist, Emma then returns from Normandy to reveal that it was all a charade designed to give them time to find the ships – and that she was always the rightful queen. Godwin, who has been artfully crossing and double-crossing everyone throughout the season as the ultimate scheming political survivor, tells Ælfgifu, “You are a queen, Your Highness. Just not England’s queen.”

Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX
Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX

What about the Vikings?

There isn’t any familial harmony there, either. Harald’s Christian half-brother Olaf is in league with evil fanatic Jarl Kåre. Harald switches to his brother’s side, so that he can get information about their battle plans. But Olaf doesn’t trust his brother as a result of their stormy relationship across all eight episodes, so gives him the wrong information to weaken Kattegat’s defences - dividing Kattegat’s forces in two directions. Later, Olaf also reveals that he has been using his partnership with Kåre so that he doesn’t have to waste his soldiers in the initial battle.

Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX
Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX

What happened during the battle?

The Pagan leader of Kattegat, Jarl Haakon, dies in battle but reminds Freydís of a prediction that she will be the last protector of Kattegat, “You must survive. You are The Last.” This inevitably leads Freydís to a clash with Kåre, who has had a disturbing obsession with her all season - he is quickly beheaded, and his decapitated head is discarded. She later finds Harald badly injured and tells him they must go. Elsewhere in the battle, Leif is horrified to see Olaf stab his partner Liv, and he carries her to a barn where she loses an impressive amount of blood, even by this series standards, and dies in his arms.

Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX
Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX

What happened after the battle?

Olaf triumphantly proclaims himself King of Norway as Kattegat is defeated as the battle concludes. But his victory is short-lived, and Forkbeard, having located the ships, is now on his way to Kattegat to stop Olaf. As all of Olaf’s men abandon him, he is left standing in the hall alone in his royal fur cloak as he realises that he is no match for Forkbeard, who views him as a traitor, or King Canute. So, he rids himself of the fur coat and decides to run for it. Unsurprising, given that Forkbeard’s final yell is, “Death to all traitors!”

Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX
Photo credit: BERNARD WALSH/NETFLIX

What could happen next?

We already know that seasons two and three will be on Netflix. But what’s next? The three prominent Vikings have survived: Freydís, Leif, and Harald. The last scenes see Harald and Freydís looking down on a ruined Kattegat and riding off into the distance as a grief-stricken and enraged Leif is stripped to the waist after using his shirt to stop Liv’s bleeding. Like most people in this series, he is covered in blood, and fans are already predicting plenty of potential drama for season two, with Queen Emma, Forkbeard, King Canute and Godwin still alive.

Caroline Henderson (Haakon) has also teased that she might be back in some form despite her rather violent death and the rather intense look of her injuries. Leo Suter, who plays Harald, has also suggested that the romance between his character and Freydís could also continue.

But, of course, one question that really needs answering is who will kill power-crazed crusader Olaf? After all, neither side has shown much mercy, and he has made many enemies. Also, if there could be a spin-off to this spin-off, Freydís has truly earned it!

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