Vikings: Valhalla: Season 1

 

Based on: Sequel to History channel's Vikings TV series

Created by: Jeb Stuard

Produced by: Mark Murdoch & Cáit Collins

Starring: Sam Corlett (Leif Erikson), Frida Gustavsson (Freydís Eiríksdóttir), Leo Suter (Harald Sigurdsson), Bradley Freegard (King Cnut), Jóhannes Jóhannesson (Olaf Haraldsson), Caroline Henderson (Jarl Haakon), Laura Berlin (Queen Emma of Normandy), David Oakes (Godwin)

I decided to try this one because I've been slowly making my way through the original Vikings series and really enjoying it. (I might add, I have not yet finished the original!) 

To be honest... Valhalla barely kept my attention. It had a few characters and concepts that interested me, but it in itself never really grasped my attention. I'm writing this long after I finished the first season and I see that it's been renewed for a second and third, but I feel ambivalent on whether I'm going to jump on those. 

The things I appreciated the most were the continued nods to the original series, the continued exploration of both Viking and English cultures and their intermixing, and the continued exploration of Viking religion and culture. 

One of the many Viking tribes summoned in the pilot for revenge on the English for genocide against Viking settlers on their land

The biggest thing that bothered me ties into that, though. And I realize this may just be a personal issue based on my own values, since I'm Christian. The series shed a consistently bad light on Christianity. I also realize this was a historical fact of the time: Christians were terrible throughout history for mass-killing pagans, and that's terrible and can't be excused. Also, it's right for the show to emphasize this; during the time period of the series, it was a real issue, and I'm sure it strongly affected Viking culture. But I guess the thing that bothered me is... there were no Christian Viking characters who were good? And no pagan Vikings who were bad? 

The Viking Seer, played by John Kavanagh in both series

To me it was most poignant when a Viking religious center was shown about to sacrifice a person, but the scene changed. Later, toward the end of the series, that same religious center was shown to have been burned down and pillaged by Christians and it was depicted as a tragedy. Which, yes, the cultural loss was tragic. But the show notably ignored the fact that the location also was a center for human sacrifice. To me that cheapened the tone of the episode. Why not allow the viewer to consider both? The positive of a sacrificial center stunted or stopped, with the simultaneous negative of the loss of art and history. 

The other positive was the depiction of war and battle strategies--this has always been a big positive for the Vikings franchise. I can remember multiple impressive battle scenes from the first few seasons of the original that I've seen. This one in Valhalla was great because it portrayed the character arc (and downfall?) of the young English king whose age led him to make decisions based more on emotion and pride than wisdom and patience. Seeing his dynamic along with his advisors and court was one of the more memorable parts of the season. 

Two of the more interesting characters in the season (IMO); Freydis, who seeks revenge on a Christian Viking who raped her, and Jarl Haakon, a Jarl (village chief) (colored and female!) who rules fairly despite pressure 

I'm sad to say I don't remember a lot of details, though. I suppose the political and social complexities among the lesser characters were largely lost on me as I tried to keep up with the battle and the dynamics among the major Viking characters. 

I have to say, the thing that made me the most fascinated with the original series was the idea of the Vikings encountering England for the first time. Everything was completely new to both the Vikings and the English as they explored each other's cultures and civilizations, often with bloodshed. Even continuing into later seasons, this kept an air of excitement. In Valhalla, both cultures are quite familiar with the other, and as such I find myself less excited. 

But despite this, the production and writing quality are there, and I consider it a show worth watching.