In War Sailor, to provide for his family, Alfred joins his best friend, Sigbjørn, on a ship, only to later face the brutality of war during Germany’s invasion of Norway. The mini-series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
In 1939, in Bergen, seven months before the German occupation of Norway, Alfred Garnes and Sigbjørn Kvalvag worked together as laborers, trying to meet their daily needs.
Alfred knows that he must earn more to support his family, which includes his wife, Cecilia, his children, Maggie and William, and the newborn, Olav. Sigbjørn asks him to join him on a ship.
A job on a ship means Alfred will be away from his family for eighteen-long months. Cecilia realizes that it’s going to be difficult, but she also understands that this is the only way they can survive. Therefore, she allows Alfred to go on the ship.
Maggie doesn’t take the news well, as she knows her father may not return. Newspapers talking about ships being attacked further pushes her fears. Though she protests, Alfred still ends up joining Sigbjørn on the ship.
In 1940, Germany invades Norway, and 70 Norwegian ships get lost. Alfred and Sigbjørn attempt to keep their ship afloat and try to rescue as many people as they can.
The ship’s captain informs Alfred that, under the order of the government, all the Norwegian ships will be commandeered by the King’s Command and will sail for the Allies. They are at war and are going to man a thousand ships. Since they are short-handed already, no one will be going back home.
The news struck the ship’s crew, as some of them were desperate to see their families. If they abandon the ship, they will be considered traitors, and no company will hire them back home. Therefore, they agree on surviving the war.
Alfred continues to write letters to Cecilia but has no idea how to send them. He kept them to himself and penned down how his days had been. Back home, Cecilia struggled to meet ends and raise their kids on her own.
Alfred and his crewmates get close after hearing that some of their friends lost their lives in a ship explosion. Alfred and his crewmates used to work on this ship before being transferred. They formed a family of their own and mourned the deaths of their friends.
Not long after that, they meet the same fate. Fortunately, Alfred and his companions survive. Some are happy, and some are disappointed because they weren’t able to save their other friends; some are even traumatized by the experience of being in the middle of the war.
Alfred and his friends once even thought of leaving all of this to go back home. They got two of their friends, Hanna and Aksel, safe ashore, but even they returned, and this made Alfred rethink this decision; he realized that he should not be doing this for himself but for his children.
In 1944, as expected, the ship Alfred and his friends are on gets attacked. This time, most of them die. Only Alfred, Sigbjørn, Aksel, and a new crewmate manage to escape.
They survive on a floating piece of the ship. Aksel has lost one of his legs and is dying from the pain. The enemy’s submarine notices them. They give them some morphine for Aksel, but they don’t allow them to board the submarine.
The soldier who offers them morphine nods at Alfred, letting him know that Aksel won’t survive. Alfred and Sigbjørn decide to give Aksel a painless death by overdosing him with morphine, because of which the new crewmate attacks them after sending Aksel’s body floating.
Alfred and Sigbjørn get rid of the new crewmate who started calling them the devil. After days at sea, Alfred and Sigbjørn are rescued by a ship and brought to a hospital in Canada, where they recover and process their trauma.
Back home, Bergen faces the wrath of air raids by the British on German soldiers. Cecilia and her kids barely survive, and they soon receive the news of Alfred’s ship. They are told that Alfred and Sigbjørn didn’t survive.
At the hospital in Canada, Alfred is also told that his family was killed during the bombings in Bergen. Alfred breaks down completely for the first time. With nothing to live for, he pens down a letter for Sigbjørn on the report of his family’s death before leaving the hospital.
In the letter, Alfred asks Sigbjørn to not come looking for him, as there is no point. He wants Sigbjørn to live his life to the fullest. Alfred, on the other hand, wanders into the morning mist.
War Sailor ending explained in detail:
Did Cecilia and her children survive the bombings?
After recovering at the hospital, Sigbjørn attempts to track Alfred down, though he told him not to. He contacts every embassy, every consulate, and every higher official there is. Unfortunately, no one is able to find Alfred.
Therefore, Sigbjørn goes back home to Bergen and learns that Cecilia and her children are still alive. Cecilia and her children moved into a cottage in the woods before the British could start bombing again.
Sigbjørn pays them a visit and tells them about Alfred. Cecilia and her children accept the news, considering that nothing has changed since the last time they heard about Alfred’s death.
Is Alfred still alive?
Sigbjørn is welcomed by Cecilia at home. He intends to stay only until he has a job for himself. No matter how much they try to avoid it, sexual tension starts growing between Sigbjørn and Cecilia.
Cecilia spent her whole life waiting for Alfred, and somewhere, she needed a man for herself. Sigbjørn stays loyal to his friend as much as he can until Cecilia makes the first move.
The two sleep together, and for some time, it feels like Sigbjørn has replaced Alfred. One day, a letter from the embassy comes, informing Sigbjørn that they have located Alfred in Singapore.
Initially, Sigbjørn hides the letter from Cecilia, but it seems like he can’t do this to his best friend. He plans to keep the promise he made to Cecilia years ago of bringing Alfred back safely. In order to do so, he heads to Singapore to find Alfred.
What happens once Alfred returns home?
In Singapore, Alfred has become a mess. He initially refrains from talking to Sigbjørn. After learning that his family is alive and well, he agrees to come back home. Only this time, Sigbjørn decides not to join him. Sigbjørn embarks on another path for himself.
Though Alfred returns, he feels lost in his own home. He doesn’t share the same love he did with Cecilia, and his youngest son, Olav, misses Sigbjørn and struggles to accept his real father.
Alfred also doesn’t get the full payment for his time on the ship either, as he had gone missing. They had placed him on the list of deserters. Therefore, it’s hard for him to receive the money considering that.
Since Alfred isn’t young anymore, he isn’t able to do the labor he used to do years ago. He somewhere regrets working on the ship, and the fact that his own son still won’t accept him makes him angry.
Do Alfred and Sigbjørn reunite?
Years pass by, and in 1972, on his birthday, Alfred is visited by his best friend, Sigbjørn. Alfred’s family has grown. Maggie is working as a teacher and has a daughter of her own. William works in the oil industry, and the youngest, Olav, is studying at a university in Oslo.
Sigbjørn, on the other hand, has lived his whole life as a seaman. After meeting Sigbjørn, Cecilia immediately goes into the kitchen.
Unlike before, the best friends find it difficult to keep up the conversation and are not able to meet each other’s eyes. When Sigbjørn realizes that his best friend has an idea of what has happened, he decides to leave.
From the kitchen window, Cecilia also sees Sigbjørn leave. Once he has left, the family continues to celebrate Alfred’s birthday.
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