Vikings: Valhalla

I have been looking for a while for a series that would capture me from the beginning. I have seen too many shows that had great starts but quickly started to deteriorate after the first season. I found it in this show. Great acting, good action, an enjoyable pace and depth in character development. I binged this over a few weeks and for me it is fine that it stops after 3 seasons.

Yet this doesn't qualify as a masterpiece for me, like the original Vikings. The plot is well written, but there are a few plot holes to discover. Furthermore, the 3rd season and ending felt like a little bit rushed and maybe even unsatisfying. If they would've stretched out the 3rd season into 2 seasons, I think they would've been able to do the series more right.

Long story short: If you are looking for a very enjoyable series about the viking age with some great acting, this is the show to watch!

(((Read through or scroll to the end for the update.)))

Billed as a spinoff sequel to History Channel's "knocked it out of the park" smash hit "Vikings," I naturally looked forward to this new series. So before we get into it, I love writing rave reviews, and I had expected to on this one, but it's not going to happen.

As others have mentioned, there are many historical inaccuracies, one of which is a black female jarl. You can't make this stuff up... but THEY DID. I lost count of how many times I've read reviews that used the words "politically correct" and "woke," and, if I'm being honest, I can't disagree with them. This isn't the only instance of forcing today's social and diversity issues into this time period within this series, but I don't want to spend any more time on this.

After watching Valhalla, I truly believe that it should be described as fantasy fiction based on some actual historical events. To do anything other is false advertising. The biggest mystery is this: how can a series, with so many people from its epic predecessor being involved in it, be such a raging dumpster fire?

The cast were okay, but they didn't click for me at all. In more scenes than I care to remember there was zero chemistry. There are some really good people, but these roles didn't stand out or shine at all. Not a single one.

The series as a whole made me claustrophobic. Gone are the vast vistas of breathtaking beauty from the original series. In their place are boring small pieces of mountainsides and marsh. Throw in a bridge and some other cheesy sets, and, well, there's really nothing more to say with a subtle nod to the bad CGI as well.

I'm guessing Frida Gustavsson was supposed to be the obligatory "strong female lead" in this series? The writing for Freydis Eriksdotter, along with Gustavsson's interpretation of the role, are both abysmal. I know, I know, she's not Katheryn Winnick/Lagertha, but I can say with a straight face that I didn't expect her to be! I expected her to be different, but on PAR, and that's all based on what I said in the first paragraph. Bottom line... not even close.

The writing is abysmal. I was the opposite of captivated. I watched until the end of the season hoping for some of the magic of the original Vikings to be recaptured, but it didn't happen. For me, the series flatlined, and no one bothered to call for a crash cart.

As others have mentioned, if you value your time, watch the original Vikings (shout out to Gustaf Skarsgard as my favorite character "Floki"), and The Last Kingdom. These two shows captured and held me from the opening moments.

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Update:

I watched all of Season Two. Though some parts dragged out far too long, it was much improved, and I brought my rating up. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) more improvements in the next season, if there is one.

Being a huge fan of the original Vikings I was really looking forward to Vikings: Valhalla. Now, even though it's not as quite as good as the original it's still a really good show that absolutely holds up as it's own great series (as long as you don't compare it to the original). It takes place 100 years after the original show and makes references to all the great characters from that show like Ragnar, Bjorn, Lagertha, Rollo, Ivar, etc. It also mainly takes place in Kattegat, which was home to all those great characters. The new heroes in this show (Leif, Harold, Freydis, etc) are all really easy to root for and do a incredible job pulling you into the show. After finishing season 3 (the last season) I can say I've been thoroughly entertained throughout the entire series and I'm so glad they were able to give it a proper ending instead of of a cliffhanger.

She might as well have been riding a three legged unicorn and shooting lightning bolts from her armpits! What nonsense! It is disgraceful to rewrite history in this way. While the efforts to be as inclusive and socially aware are applauded, the character of Jarl.

I love this genre; I watch all series and movies set in past eras. Some are spectacular, while others are lamentable. This case has some lamentable aspects and others that are excellent: The production, acting, costumes, and setting maintain the excellence of Vikings.

A black countess in Norway is absurd; there's no need for forced inclusion.

The plot jumps very long distances and sometimes seems illogical.

Among the characters, I think some are very well-developed and interesting, like Canute or Leif, while others, like Freydis and Harald, never quite convince.

I have to say that it is far from the level of *Vikings*, but it is still a good series.