The End of Jomsborg – As this episode of Vikings: Valhalla begins, Magnus’s man watches as Freydis (Frida Gustavsson) and the others say goodbye to the dead. She is adamant she isn’t leaving anyone behind. Magnus Olafsson (Set Sjostrand) ends the priest’s blessing and learns that the trebuchets are unguarded and they’re burning the dead. He tells his men they’ve come to free his father’s body from its earthly bondage. In Constantinople, Maniakes (Florian Munteanu) roughs up his training partners. He confronts Harald (Leo Suter) and suggests he’s afraid to fight him. Harald catches up with Kaysan (Kayode Akinyemi) who says they’ve approached the new recruits for the Varangian Guard.

Zoe interrupts to speak to Harald and to ask him to escort her to her chambers. She takes him somewhere private and asks him to tell her what he needs. Harald says he wants her. They begin having sex as Emperor Romanos (Nikolai Kinski) approaches. Kaysan interrupts Romanos to say he believes Zoe went back to her quarters. Harald tells him she’s waiting for him in the garden. Kaysan tells Harald that this is the most dangerous thing he’s asked of them. Harald argues he asks nothing of them. Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett) runs into a battle in Greece. He protects a woman when she is attacked. Leif almost kills a young boy until the woman stops him. The boy calls himself Nikeras (Lucas Dutra). The woman suggests God sent Leif to save her. The nun, Tamar (Sonia Balaco), is injured so she tends to the wound.

Leif offers to take her somewhere place. Tamar says God doesn’t send his servants to places that are warm and comfortable. She is there to restore the house of God. Tamar wants Leif’s help because she cannot carry water to mix the mortar with her wound. Magnus and his men approach Jomsborg. They find a message saying, “Keeper of the Faith”. Magnus and his men begin ransacking the village. He finds his father’s axe before learning they’ve found someone. Magnus tells the sickly woman he’s looking for Freydis. He’s told she died of the sickness. The woman recognizes Olaf’s axe and says she was there when Freydis killed him. His body is in the Valley of the Dead with the other Christians Freydis killed. Magnus wants the woman to take him there. Meanwhile, Leif tells Tamar he’s going to find a man in Corfu.

He asks what sort of nun drinks ale and knows stonemasonry. Tamar says she was not always a nun and her husband was a mason. Leif seeks a mapmaker because he seeks an answer to the unknown. When he was young, his father took him on a voyage to the north. Their ship was blown off course during a storm. When the clouds cleared in the morning, Leif saw something on the horizon. It was a line of tall trees golden in the sunrise. Leif is from Greenland so he never saw trees before. When he tried to tell his father, the land vanished and no one else saw it. Over time, he believed he imagined it. Leif wants to know if it’s real. He asks about Tamar’s husband. She’ll only say that he’s not there. The boy rides away on Leif’s horse. The sick woman, Freydis, tells Magnus it’s not much further.

He begins to suspect that she’s lying. Stigg and the others emerge from hiding and begin killing Magnus’s men. Magnus finds a skeleton and a sign written in Latin. Aki tries to help the villagers escape. Magnus learns that the sign says, “The foolishness of the father lives on in the son.” He sends his men back to Jomsborg since he knows they haven’t abandoned it. Aki and the others escape on a ship. Magnus’s men shoot arrows at them. Hrefna (Amalia Holm) yells that they’re coming. Some men come after them in a ship. Magnus spots Freydis and warns her that she will not escape. She yells that she’s destroying him. Her people use a trap to sink his boat with boulders. Leif believes Tamar should’ve let him kill the boy. She asks him about his religious beliefs. Leif says any God capable of forgiving him would be a fool.

Tamar says they all carry the burden of their mistakes. Her husband left her because she killed their child. When he was away, raiders attacked their village and killed many. Tamar hid under the floor with her son. To keep the boy quiet, she covered his mouth with her hand and smothered him to death. Her husband tried to forgive but he could not. The people of her village could not either. Leif asks if she thinks God forgave her. Tamar says no. He helped her forgive herself. In Denmark, Earl (David Oakes) enjoys the celebrations. Gytha (Henessi Schmidt) thanks about the origin tree and how it protected them from the Wends. Sweyn Forkbeard (Soren Pilmark) arrives and welcomes Earl to Denmark.

Earl tells him what King Canute managed to achieve. He confirms he met the Pope. Forkbeard has a lot of questions about the Pope. Earl tells him his son represented his people well. Forkbeard changes the subject to Harefoot who fancies himself to be heir to the English throne. Earl says he fights like a king, but he knows little about England and will have competition. Harefoot is confident in himself though. Forkbeard tells Harefoot about his father who was the King of Denmark. He wouldn’t give up the throne even though it was obvious Forkbeard would be a better ruler. Forkbeard could’ve waited, but he killed his father instead. He explains to Harefoot that he must be tougher. In Normandy, Canute invites Edward on a ride through the country.

Emma learns that Edward went out for a ride with Canute. Meanwhile, Canute tells Edward that it cost him very little to get his guards to abandon him. Canute knows Edward believes the crown of England belongs to him. Edward says the throne belongs to the House of Wessex. Canute argues he’s sitting on the throne because of mistakes made by Edward’s father. When he no longer wears the crown, he suggests one of his sons might. Canute says that person must understand that thrones may be inherited but kings are made. Edward asks why he told him this. Canute says it’s because his mother loves him and loves her. Canute doesn’t like how Edward treats her. He insists Emma abandoned them to give them a chance to survive. Canute gives him advice before riding away.

Romanos asks Prince Yaroslav (Marcin Dorocinski) why he requests troops. Yaroslav believes the need for troops is still important. He wants five thousand men. Maniakes offers 2,000 men. Harald offers 2,000 of his Varangians. He thinks they’re worth more than double Maniakes’s men. Romanos refuses to let Harald lead those men because he’s needed there. They have a deal. Yaroslav asks Zoe if she ever misses her old home and her people in the north. She says this is her home now. Harald speaks to his uncle about Norway and his promise. He has things there he has yet to accomplish since he’s one step away from the emperor. His uncle reminds him he wanted him to tell him if he heard news of a woman who disappeared into Jomsborg.

Olaf asked him about the woman as well. It seems he located Jomsborg and attempted to destroy it. She killed him and all of his men. Now, she rules Jomsborg now, according to the uncle. Harald admits she was destined to be a ruler. He learns the woman has a seven-year-old child. The uncle doesn’t believe that’s enough for Harald to leave. Harald says Freydis chose her path and he chose his. Magnus is asked what they should do with no boats. Freydis gets on the boat with Stigg and the others. They believe they’ve done it. Freydis says they need to find a new home now. Nikeras returns to Leif and Tamar with his sister, Esther. He says they have two more pairs of hands to build the church. Canute says goodbye to Prince Edward.

Before Emma leaves, Edward tells her he looks forward to her return. William gives Canute a carving of the Viking god Thor. Canute tells him the blood of Rollo runs in his veins. He gives William a knife. Leif prepares to leave Tamar and the others. Tamar claims God will give them a bell once they finish the church.

 

Vikings: Valhalla Review

Overall, this was a decent episode of Vikings: Valhalla as the series slowly moves closer to the ultimate conclusion. The third season would probably feel a little stronger if it wasn’t the final one. Otherwise, it’s felt a little slow with very little action. The little action the season has had hasn’t been all that thrilling or unpredictable.

For instance, Magnus suffered a fairly unimaginative downfall even though there is still a chance he’ll pull a rabbit out of his hat. Tamar definitely served a purpose here, but her backstory was very cliché. I can think of at least three other instances in other works just like the story she told.

That really felt lazy given the situation and the fact that these are the last episodes of Vikings: Valhalla. Other than that, it’s easy to see that the ideas were strong. It’s also easy to see why so few people are watching the finale season. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10.

Recaps of Vikings: Valhalla can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying at the Reel Mockery Forum.