We’re approaching the end of season 1 of Vikings: Valhalla. Only two more episodes to go! Here’s a recap of episode 6.
Where We Left Off
Freydis was praying at Uppsala when she sensed something was wrong. She rode back to the woman’s hut in the middle of the night to make sure her friend was ok. But when she gets there, her friend is strung up in the form of a cross, dead.
Outside, the Christian zealot sits on a stump, holding the woman’s baby. The heads of the villagers lay in a ring around him. His name is Kare (pronounced KOR-ah). He is prepared to let his men take Freydis out, but when she mentions her trip to Uppsala, he grows curious. Upon learning that she saw the Blind Seer too and that he called her, “The Last”, he changes his mind and leaves.
England
Back in London, the Viking parties get ready to head their separate ways and say goodbyes. Godwin stays on and agrees to help both kings rule together (or does he?). Cnut grows close to Emma and enlists her help in trying to unite an empire across Northern Europe, as an outsider.
The first step is getting the loyalty of the English nobles, aka eldermen. Cnut has them brought before the gallows as a threat. They each pledge their fealty to the new Viking King.
Kattegat
Leif and Harald return to Kattegat (finally). And if you aren’t excited for Harald and Freydis to reunite, then you don’t have a heart. Ever since these two started flirting when they first met, I have been rooting for them.
But their reunion was tense. Freydis barely said hello, although she was over the moon to see her brother and Liv. It’s not for lack of trying though. Harald approaches her cautiously while she eats in an attempt to talk to her. But Freydis lets him know she has been through and seen a lot. She feels her mission has changed.
Freydis has let Jarl know that Kare is coming for the town in an attempt to extinguish all pagans from Norway. We know Jarl has had a vision in the past about a last woman standing. It appears she thinks Freydis is that woman. She tells her general to start training Freydis as a shield maiden.
We learn through flashbacks that Kare visited Uppsala with his family when he was a young boy. It was for a ritual, for which his older brother was made as a human sacrifice. It pretty much explains why he hates pagans so much. He, too, saw the Blind Seer and learn about a prophet called The Cross That Carries The Sword. He thinks it’s him. He slays everyone at Uppsala.
Marriage Problems
After leaving England, Olaf also returned home, but to Denmark. He visits Cnut’s (first) wife, Queen Aelfigfu, who is not happy Cnut has decided to remain in England with a new woman.
Cut to: we see Cnut woken in the middle of the night with a letter. He summons a priests and marries Emma immediately to secure his hold on the English throne.
