Vikings is easily one of the great classical series that will live long in the memories of many, myself included, and such is its popularity that Netflix decided to take the plunge and produce a spin-off, Vikings: Valhalla. The original series wrapped up in December 2020 with an official six seasons under its belt and even though a general consensus was agreed that it was time, a sense of loss was still experienced when the last episode aired. You could argue that that feeling was powerful enough to force the hand of Michael Hirst (creator of the series) to come back for Vikings: Valhalla which exclusively belongs and was commissioned by Netflix.
Such is Netflix’s confidence in this series that the streaming giant commissioned a whopping 24 episodes upfront ensuring that we’ll at least have three seasons to look forward to, each split into eight episodes. Season one is officially available from today and having already seen the first five episodes much earlier thanks to a pre-screening from Netflix, we can confidently confirm that it is very much worth it.
First unveiled at Netflix’s TUDUM event, the official trailer came with the caption “Now is our time to make history. A new era of warriors will rise in Vikings: Valhalla, coming to Netflix in 2022.”
The show is set over 100 years after the events of Vikings, a time when the Vikings have taken over most of England and are making their way into Normandy, and introduces Leif Eriksson, who some historians believe was the first European to set foot on North America.
New faces form part of the series with Laura Berlin starring as Emma of Normandy, Sam Corlett assuming the character of Leif Eriksson and Radley Freegard is King Canute ‘The Great’. The series focuses on these characters, chronicling their legends as some of the greatest vikings that ever lived. The cast also includes Frida Gustavsson, Caroline Henderson, Leo Suter, Jóhannes Hauku Jóhanesson, Pollyanna McInosh, Asbjørn Krogh, David Oakes, Pääru Oja, Louis Davison, Julian Seager, James Ballanger, and more.
For those concerned that this might be a diluted version have nothing to worry about as there is a lot to like about this series, and as expected, features a lot of what many liked about the original series including most of the scenes being shot in the same surroundings. This helps bring that sense of familiarity to it while telling a slightly different story with different characters who still refer to the original characters (Ragna Lothbrook, Ivar The Boneless, Lagertha etc.) and are considered folklore legends, as they should be.
Naturally, comparisons will be made between the two series but there will be no need especially since I can call it now, the original series will always be miles ahead and in fact, a better way of looking at it is Vikings set the tone and foundations for anything else that follows after it. As a continuation of the story, Vikings: Valhalla does a great job and holds its own. One of the best things you can watch today, Vikings: Valhalla is available to stream on Netflix.
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