Toiling in the shadow of one of the greatest historical television shows is no easy task, but Vikings: Valhalla remains hellbent in the face of the challenge, moving ahead with its brand new narrative as if it has the very blessing of Ragnar Lothbrok himself.
The first season of the spinoff premiered to positive reactions from the fandom, and even the critics hailed it as a worthy successor to Vikings. Now, it seems that Jeb Stuart is pushing ahead with his multi-season sequel, taking place more than a century after the events of the original show. Historical characters such as Leif Erikson, Freydís Eiríksdóttir, Harald Sigurdsson, King Cnut the Great, and Olaf Haraldsson grace the script pages of Vikings: Valhalla. They have been brought to life by new talent that plays their respective characters with such perfection that it feels as if they have been playing these roles their whole lives.
Speaking of Olaf Haraldsson, the first teaser trailer by Netflix for the second season — revealed during today’s Tudum press conference — shows him and a band of his warriors chasing the three main protagonists as they make a final stand on the shoreline. They receive help at the last moment, fortunately, with catapults raining fire on Olaf’s warriors from somewhere out in the sea.
As for knowing what this teaser is hinting at as well as predicting the conflicts yet to come in season 2, your guess is as good as ours. The Vikings in this time period seem to be fighting among themselves as much as they are battling the English, perhaps even more.
Though it doesn’t surprise us Vikings fans in the least, there’s infighting and then there’s infighting. So, let’s hope that the Danes don’t find their way of life on the shorter end of the stick anytime soon, even if it is a historical inevitability given Valhalla‘s story arc, which ends with the Battle of Stamford Bridge.