In season 2 of Vikings: Valhalla, Freydis establishes a new Uppsala for followers of the old gods while Harald travels great distances to raise an army and reclaim the throne of Norway. The season is streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Leif is searching for Olaf so he can take his revenge after Olaf killed Liv. Sweyn Forkbeard captures Olaf and takes him back to Kattegat for his punishment.
Harald and Freydis are living off the land in the forests but Harald wants to go back to Kattegat and take back the throne of Norway promised to him.
Freydis gets a visit from The Seer who tells her that she needs to pay attention to the signs that are presented to her. She returns and tells Harald that she’s ready to accompany him to Kattegat.
Canute is at war in Denmark leaving Emma to rule England in his stead with the help of Earl Godwin. Godwin is worried for Emma’s safety but she’s not too concerned.
Forkbeard tells Olaf that he is installing his grandson, Swein, as the King of Norway, and Olaf’s punishment will be to become his protector. To ensure his loyalty, he reveals that he will be taking Olaf’s son with him as he travels to Denmark to help Canute.
Aelfgifu arrives at Kattegat and is ordered to stay there by Forkbeard as her sentence for supporting Olaf. Olaf wins over the people again by putting a bounty on Harald and Freydis’s heads. Leif notices some bounty hunters claim to know their location.
He follows them and takes them out before they can reach. He convenes with Harald and Freydis and tells them that Kattegat is not an option for them now.
They meet a man named Jorundr who they recognize as a Jomsviking. He offers to take them to Jomsburg, a haven for followers of the old faith. Freydis goes with him while Leif and Harald head to Novgorod to meet Harald’s uncle, Yaroslav the Wise.
Godwin has a relationship with Aelfwyn, one of Emma’s ladies in waiting but when a failed assassination attempt reveals the assassin to be Aelfwyn’s brother, Emma becomes suspicious of Godwin.
Harald asks Yaroslav for an army that he can take back to Norway but Yaroslav kindly refuses because he needs to maintain his relationship with Canute. Harald decides to head to Constantinople and make money to raise an army of his own.
Leif does not want to follow him but he meets a scholar named Mariam who wishes to go to Constantinople because she is sick and would like to meet the doctors there. Leif changes his mind and agrees to accompany Harald.
Their crew consists of a slaver and his slaves, a couple of conmen, a blind Pecheneg guide, and a nobleman from Chude and his servant. They make the difficult journey across the ice but the nobleman falls through it during the thaw.
Harald rescues his servant who turns out to be the nobleman’s daughter. He promises to transport her father’s treasure to Constantinople just as he promised.
Freydis is warmly welcomed in Jomsburg by the leader of the tribe, Harekr. Refugees that arrived are sent to a camp in the forest and made to work for the Jomsvikings. Freydis tries to foster an attitude of community among all Vikings but Harekr believes that they’re superior.
Freydis gives birth to a boy but Harekr tries to keep the boy and have Freydis killed. Emma has Aelfwyn tortured till death to find out the truth about Godwin but she doesn’t reveal anything.
She continues to dig into his past despite Godwin’s assertions that he’s innocent. Along their journey on the river, the crew faces many troubles and loses some members along the way. Harald develops a connection with Elena, the nobleman’s daughter.
Olaf heads to Jomsburg to finally kill Freydis and the rest of the Pagans. In Jomsburg, the people turn against Harekr and kill him after Freydis proves that he’s only after power.
Canute returns victorious and discusses Emma’s suspicions about Godwin. He then speaks to Godwin and then offers his niece, Princess Gytha’s hand in marriage as compensation for losing his lover, Aelfwyn.
Vikings: Valhalla season 2 ending explained in detail:
What happens in Jomsburg?
Before his death, Harekr orchestrates Jormundr’s banishment because he helped Freydis escape. Olaf finds Jormundr and convinces him to help them find Jomsburg.
Freydis and the others see Olaf approaching and come up with a plan to fight back. When Jormundr finds out that Harekr is dead and Freydis is in charge, he agrees to lead Olaf into a trap.
Freydis lures them in and sets fire to all the ships. She fights Olaf one on one and kills him, leaving only Swein alive. She takes him back to Aelfgifu in Kattegat and negotiates peace for bringing him back alive.
Does Godwin get what he wanted?
Once Emma sees that Gytha is happy to be marrying Godwin, she realizes what his plan was. After his father’s betrayal, Godwin had to live with the weight of his father’s actions.
His dream was always to have a son that would one day be king of England. He loves Aelfwyn with a great passion so that he may endear himself to Gytha.
It is also why he let Aelfwyn be tortured and killed so that Canute would feel like he owed Godwin something. Emma confronts him about his aspirations but he continues to admit that she is mistaken.
He and Gytha get married, giving Godwin a partner of royal blood and bringing him a step closer to his dream.
Do Harald and Leif reach Constantinople?
The crew manages to escape the Pechenegs after Kurya, the Pecheneg guide, sacrifices himself and kills the Khan. They stop at a greek temple ruin and spend the night sharing stories.
Mariam breathes her last due to her sickness and says her goodbye to Leif, whom she has come to love in such a short time. The next day, they are visited by the emperor of Constantinople who says that he heard rumors of Harald transporting his treasure.
The treasure turns out to be Elena herself, who was promised as the emperor’s bride. She tells Harald that she couldn’t tell him because he would try to stop her but now the king owes him a favor and he can ask for anything he wants.
With an imperial escort, they finally reach Constantinople as Harald and Leif consider what is next on their journey.
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