Netflix Dark Historical Drama Back With New Season Of Blood And Guts

The fearsome female Viking warrior Freydis Eriksdottir, played by Frida Gustavsson, is Leif Eriksson’s half-sister and very much believes in the old pagan gods of her Norwegian ancestors.

She recently left her husband, Harald Sigurdsson, who is played by Leo Suter. She also is the dominant political and religious leader of Jomsborg. But she still raises their son with all of the love and care one would expect from a fearsome Viking warrior woman.

Sam Corlett plays Leif Eriksson, who is among the most famous of all Viking warriors and explorers. After all, he and his ship’s crew often are credited as the first Europeans to discover North America’s eastern coast and parts of the Arctic and Canada’s Atlantic provinces.

Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 introduces viewers to Freydis’ and Leif’s father, Erik the Red, played by Goran Visnjic. Clearly, Erik’s name is the origin of Freydis’ very descriptive surname.

We also meet the formidable Byzantine General Maniakes as portrayed by actor Florian Munteanu. General Maniakes only answers to his Emir, which makes him a potentially chaotic character who mostly does what he wants within any guidelines, instructions, or orders delivered by the Emir.

With such a fearsome cast of characters, the final season of the Vikings Valhalla series promises to deliver lots of action with battle axes, broadswords, and Viking longships going where no European man has gone before.

Excellent pacing, action, and cinematography have helped define the Vikings: Valhalla series as one of the best Netflix productions in recent years. It even earns an impressive 95 percent favorable score among all critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score, though, lags significantly behind at only 62 percent, which still earns a full bucket of popcorn.

The series is set 100 years after the popular Vikings show that enjoyed great success on the History Channel. These Vikings, though, have a century of conquests and alliances that helped make them richer but also more divided culturally than the Vikings of a century earlier.

Their armor is more ornate, their homes are more comfortable, and their culture is more varied, which leads some to question the direction in which they are heading.

Many, like Freydis, refuse to accept Christianity, which is making its way through the outer reaches of Europe. Even King Canute the Great, who ruled Norway from 1016 to 1035 and is played by Bradley Freegard, is a fully converted Christian.

The potential internal and external conflicts are many, which makes Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 a compelling conclusion to the televised Vikings saga.

If you’re a fan of the first two seasons, the third and final installment is a must-see. Those who are casual fans or only learning about the popular Vikings saga can catch up on the first two seasons and better enjoy the backstories leading up to season three. Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 is now on Netflix.