In a few days “Vikings: Valhalla” reached the number 2 position among the most watched series on Netflix. (Netflix)
“In a strange way, and if we take their sheer violence out of the equation, the Vikings embody some of the elements that we crave most even today,” he said. Jeb Stuart, showrunner from Vikings: Valhallawhose first season premiered on Netflix on February 25 and quickly entered the Top 10 only to rise steadily. “They were great explorers. They were often very curious and eager to learn. They were an egalitarian society: women could not only divorce their husbands but could also rule kingdoms and own property. Whoever earned it could take from life what he wanted. It’s a timeless story.”
The fascination that Scandinavian culture exerts in the 21st century was seen in the great success of the six seasons of vikingswhich ended in December 2020. This spin offcreated and produced by Michael Hirstkeeps alive the action that fans liked so much and has, in itself, at least these 10 reasons not to miss it:
1) It was an instant hit
From its premiere on the 25th to Sunday the 27th, when Netflix cuts its weekly measurements, Vikings: Valhalla it amassed a staggering 80+ million hours of views, not only easily slotting it into the Top 10 on the platform, but bumping it non-stop to second place.
The only series ahead is Inventing Annathe drama of Shonda Rhimes based on the real case of the scammer Anna Sorokin. However, the fake German heiress who used the name Anna Delvey to steal a few hundred thousand dollars from New York’s elite may be dethroned: her nearly 131 million views were racked up over three weeks, for which the speed of ascent of the Vikings is presented as greater.
2) You don’t need to have seen all six seasons of vikings
The name, which contains that of its predecessor, would give the impression that this derivative is not understood if the original production has not been seen. However, it is not so. Vikings: Valhalla It doesn’t work like a sequel but, set some 100 years after the series, it establishes a different timeline in which a new set of characters come to life. Over time, Ragnar Lothbrok, Rollo and Lagertha have given way to other Nordic men and women: Leif Erikson, Freydis Eiríksdóttir and Harald Sigurdsson.
Although the showrunner from vikings, Hirstalso worked on that series, although as executive producer, Stuart’s perspective explores an era that has a completely different tone: the beginning of the end is preparing for this group of warriors and explorers.
Of course, having seen vikings it enhances the experience – they take on another meaning, for example, the reverential mentions of Ragnar, Lagertha or Bjorn Ironside – but the appreciation and understanding of the plot does not depend on the past series.
3) Critics celebrated her
Although the religious theme of the conflict may seem flat to part of the public, both the palace intrigues that grow in the first episodes and the combats that mark a qualitative change in the room have been celebrated by critics in the United States.
Said The Hollywood Reporter on the middle and final chapters: “The action and military strategy are intensified, as are the backstabbing and character twists. From there you can count on a decent set per episode, shot in the familiar intimate and brutal style of vikingsand several of the interpretations grow in prominence”.
4) Required detailed preparation
The production is full of small but important details, such as Leo Sweater studied Anglo-Saxon epic poems such as Beowulf and the battle of maldon, in addition to reading several books on the context of the time. Suter also designed the tattoos that his character Harald Sigurdsson sports on her arm and back.
Historical accuracy did not prevent Sam Corlett — who began watching the original series with his father as a teenager — to maintain his 21st-century food ethic: As a vegan, the costume designer Susan O’Connor Cave He created for his character Leif Eriksson an armor of skins and vegan leathers.
5) The actors make an incredible cast
In addition to Sutter (who plays one of the last Viking berserkers, with the political gift of speaking with both the followers of Odin and the Christians) and Corlett (the Greenlandic Leif, educated in pagan beliefs, through whose eyes the public enters to the Viking universe), they also work Bradley Freegard (King Canute, the wise and ruthless king of Denmark), Frida Gustavson (Freydis Eriksdotter, sister of Leif and faithful believer in the ancient gods), Johannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Harald’s brother, half-Christian Viking), David Oakes (Earl Godwin, Counselor to the King of England), Laura Berlin (rich Emma of Normandy), Pollyanna McIntosh (Aelfgifu of Northampton) and Caroline Henderson (Jarl Haakon, pagan warrior and ruler of Kattegat), among others.
6) It’s a history lesson
Like in vikings, fiction intermingles with reality. Characters like Leif Eriksson, Erik the Red, Freydis Eriksdotter, Cnut the Great, and Harald Hardrada have been taken from history, and the conflict between Christianity and paganism was indeed one of the dramas of the eleventh century.
7) It is visually beautiful
The costumes and sets have earned much praise from American critics. As well as being visually striking, they are symbolic: the furs and leathers worn by Leif and the other Greenlanders speak of their connection to the land and their bond with what nature makes available to them; many of the Vikings of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway have a more polished appearance, consistent with their more elaborate social structure. And that’s not to mention beards and hipster hairstyles.
The decorations reconstruct the ancient technologies with which castles and bridges were erected, and the ships offer a majestic air. Also the instruments, such as axes, swords and shields, give an idea of the point of evolution of those warriors.
8) The action scenes are overflowing
It wouldn’t be a series about Vikings if it didn’t have bloody action galore, and Valhalla It offers it from small fights between a few characters to sequences of great battles such as the confrontation with the English on London Bridge, which combines attacks by land and sea.
Spoiler alert: The season ends with a memorable scene in which different Viking factions clash mercilessly in the city of Kattegat.
9) Among the fighters, women stand out
In historical dramas, women usually appear as decoration, unless they are queens or heroines. But Vikings: Valhalla sees a society in which ordinary women have strength and confidence, a social standing, and sometimes outstanding courage like Freydis and Jarl. Who, in addition, have a relationship as a disciple and mentor of the female wrestling elite.
In England, Emma of Normandy has economic power and a great capacity for political combat, which she demonstrates as soon as her husband dies. She finds a formidable opponent, and much like her in character, in the ambitious Aelfgifu of Northampton, who challenges her and unleashes the unexpected.
10) There will be at least two other seasons
Vikings: Valhalla It has eight episodes, but Netflix contracted the series for a total of 24 chapters. In other words, if the format of the first season is respected, there will be at least two others.
If its development followed historical events, Harald would become king of Norway, Leif would become a Christian, and he and Freydis would cross the Atlantic.
