Do you feel justice?
Yes. I do.
I feel cleansed.
Good.
Because now they intend to kill us.
I don't believe that.
- Father said-- - Father was wrong.
He's a stranger to this world, Freydis.
He doesn't know much has changed since he left.
Then I believe in Jarl Haakon.
She will not allow it. She's strong.
She is also in a difficult position.
If she releases us, she will start a war.
Christians will burn down Kattegat and many of her people will die.
It's in her best interest to have us killed.
But regardless…
I am proud of you.
Thank you.
- Silence!
Freydis Eriksdotter, you are accused of murdering a man you claim attacked you.
Have you a way to prove this?
Did I put the scar on my back?
Any one of your lovers could have done that to you!
The Gods know the truth.
False Gods!
- There's only one false God! - Silence!
Your Christian God.
- Silence!
Hmm.
In the old ways, you would be within your rights to take revenge.
But we live in different times.
There are those gathered among us
who feel that your claims require further proof.
Can you provide it?
A trial by combat.
If I am lying, the Gods will not protect me.
Combat? With me?
You are her accuser. Are you afraid?
King Canute.
This woman's actions have robbed you of a valuable part of your arsenal.
Not having Gunnar puts the lives of everyone in this room,
Christian and Pagan, at risk.
Therefore, I implore you and the noble ruler of Kattegat
to acknowledge that debt
and make her pay for it with her life.
Jarl Haakon, may I speak?
Jarl Olaf makes an excellent argument.
Gunnar was an important part of our strategy,
and his loss will indeed cause hardship.
But my brother may have also offered a better solution.
Since this woman cost you a vital element to our mission,
should she not be forced to render something of equal
if not greater value to our endeavor?
Such as?
Her brother, Leif Eriksson.
Son of the Great Berserker, Erik The Red.
One of, if not the best ship captain in this room.
He piloted his ship across open ocean from Greenland
through a storm that killed scores of others.
I can personally attest to his fighting skills.
But should we doubt his motivation,
he will be fighting for the life… of his sister.
Leif Eriksson, I ransom your sister to King Canute.
To repay her debt, you must pledge service to his cause.
Do you accept these terms?
I do.
Then… it is done.
Move!
The King.
One year ago, on my orders,
a decree was sent out
that all Danes living on this island be destroyed
in a most just extermination.
On that fated day,
a group of Norse entered this sanctuary of God
and purposefully set fire to it, destroying it.
And ultimately themselves in an act of futile retribution.
Today, we witness the resurrection of this house of worship.
Restored to its original glory by me, Æthelred.
And by God's blessing.
Peace be with you, sire.
Formation!
Forward!
Align!
You know something
which you are not sharing with me.
Our spies in the north say the Vikings are preparing for an invasion.
Damn the nobles.
They swore the Norse were too busy fighting among themselves
to bother with us. And I believed them.
You did what needed to be done to keep them in line.
Yes, but it's not their heads the Vikings will want on a pike.
It's mine.
She was right.
She knew they would come.
It was my father's ship.
It's fast and tough.
And now it's yours.
Ready to go to England.
Toss me that rope then, now.
It's a good boat.
I'm glad you find it so,
but that is the ship I covet.
King Harald of Norway. Mm?
Someday.
Hail Canute!
Ragnor, raise the banner.
If you're expecting me to thank you, you will be disappointed.
You're welcome, anyway.
I told you what I came for and you took advantage of me.
Who took advantage of whom is up for debate.
- You could have helped me. - I could have had you killed.
And you did neither.
What kind of man does that?
A man who is amazed by you.
So why have you come?
We may be gone from Kattegat five months or more.
You have people to say goodbye to.
I will make sacrifices to Odin for your safe return.
I'll be fine. You just take care of yourself, hmm?
Skarde.
I'll see you soon.
Yeah!
- Go get them, Ulf. - Yes.
And Liv.
You take care of him.
I will.
Protect each other.
You do the same.
Prince of Norway!
Five months is a long time.
So, you're Greenlanders?
- Yeah. - Is it really as green as it sounds?
Well, absolutely. At least two days a year.
I'm Johan. This is Tomas.
Skarde.
- Jarl Gorm. - Harald.
Arne.
So, this is the young captain you spoke of?
Leif Eriksson.
I know your father.
He is a brave seaman and a strong believer.
Is he still that way?
If you know my father, then you know that nothing changes.
Good.
And the Lord grant us fairway.
Prince Harald, I agreed to fight with Christians, not row with them.
Suit yourself, Jarl Gorm.
But we're leaving and it's a long swim to England.
Skarde.
Skarde, put this in the back.
Listen up!
All knives and axes in the barrel.
No one rows with a weapon on them.
I don't give up my knife for anybody.
There's only one reason to row with a weapon
and that is to kill someone else on this boat.
Your enemy is not here.
What if he is?
Then I deal with it.
I have no enemies here.
Put the axe in.
No, I don't like it. Put it in the barrel.
Yeah, mine as well.
Put it in and get back to your work.
On your side.
- Row!
Yeah!
Make way for the Queen!
Make way there.
He is not well, Your Highness.
His cough has deepened with his worry over the coming invasion.
Perhaps you could lessen his fears over the Northmen.
Thank you.
Leave.
Highness.
- Amen.
Get up, Edmund.
Emma.
They are coming.
I've heard.
With Godwin's help,
I…
I have dictated terms for you to present to them.
They always listen to gold.
I have no intention of bargaining with them.
What do you intend to do?
Fight.
I intend to send Edmund to Mercia.
On your orders he will summon
Eadric Streona to bring his army to London.
He also will try and take the throne from Edmund.
He will try, but not until after the Vikings have been defeated.
And what about your brother in Normandy?
Will he offer support?
He will not help us until we help ourselves.
I have left you a nightmare.
You married a Norman.
We create nightmares.
So, is this your first Viking raid?
Are you nervous?
My father was a raider.
He told me he was a Berserker.
That means he was a mighty warrior and killed many men.
Like Harald.
Why did he go to Greenland?
Because he killed men even when he wasn't raiding.
Have you ever killed a man before?
No. I've never had reason to.
The first time is sometimes difficult.
It's no different than killing any other living thing.
A man is different. He fights back.
So does a polar bear.
Milord.
Your Highness.
I had no idea you were moving the military operations into the old city?
There's no better fortress for London than the site the Romans chose.
I'm surprised that it sat deserted for years.
That is because it is thought to be inhabited by their ghosts.
I don't believe ghosts can hurt me, Godwin.
But I do believe that Vikings can.
But concentrating our forces in the South,
where the river's tides and the marshes provide a natural protection.
Are you sure this is a sound idea?
I am.
Because I'm expecting the Norse to behave exactly like you.
Which is how?
To underestimate me.
Forgive me, Your Highness, you summoned me for a reason.
How may I be of service?
I am sending Edmund to Mercia to enlist Eadric Streona's aid.
Streona will ask much for that favor.
Which is why you are to accompany the prince
and ensure that doesn't happen.
Your Highness, may I speak freely?
It is no secret that you have never liked, much less trusted me before.
There are many others you could send.
- So why trust you with the king-to-be? - Yes.
Necessity creates unusual allies.
If we do not secure Mercia's help against the Vikings, England is lost.
If England is lost, so are we.
I will not fail you.
Not me.
Us.
It is crucial that Eadric Streona bring his army to London
and follow our instructions.
- What if he sets conditions for this aid? - Refuse.
Do not allow yourself to be drawn into a negotiation.
But what if he insists?
You're not making a plea for help, Your Highness.
You're relaying an order from your father, the King.
Listen to Godwin.
Father won't be alive when I return, will he?
No.
When you return, you will be king.
But unless you are successful, you will not have a long rule.
Open the gates.
Show me what you mean, Jarl Olaf.
Since the Romans first built the city,
the bridge has been of vital importance.
It connects everything
and provides a way to escape should pressure be brought from the north.
Then we should bring it down?
Not possible.
When I was King Æthelred's advisor, I made sure of that.
No, if we are to crush London, we do what Vikings have never done.
We attack from the south.
There's a reason it's never been done, brother.
The south is nothing but marsh.
- Which is why Æthelred won't expect it. - How do you know that?
Because I'm the one who convinced him it was impossible.
- Secure!
- Lower the sail. - Lower the sail!
Watch out, Christian. Maybe you should pray to be more careful.
- You tripped him on purpose. - I did not.
I saw you.
Are you calling me a liar? Huh?
Come here and tell me that. Huh?
Sit down and row.
Do you have a problem with my order?
I'm fine.
I thought you were a follower of the old Gods, like your father.
I am.
Then why take the word of a Christian over my own son?
Because your son is a liar, Jarl Gorm.
You should hold on. It's about to get rough.
Row into it!
Hello, Jarl Haakon.
You are looking to burn a sacrifice for a loved one?
My brother.
He's on one of the ships.
This is a special one.
It is made from the branch of a sacred tree in Uppsala.
Yggdrasil?
The World Tree is not in Uppsala.
This is probably taken from the tree outside Odin's temple.
It is green summer and winter.
And blessed by the priests there.
But I have no money.
I will trade you for your bracelet.
What about my necklace?
Yeah.
Why do you sell those?
I sell whatever soothes the soul.
Are you a Christian?
I was born in the old ways.
But I am whatever I have to be today.
Thank you.
Viking people have travelled more than most.
We raided, yes, but we traded too.
Kattegat is the beneficiary of that trade.
You will experience different people and beliefs here like nowhere else.
And you are not threatened by those beliefs?
Look at me.
My grandmother came from a great African family.
My grandfather fell in love with her in Alexandria and brought her here.
Their child, my father,
became an even greater warrior,
and now I am the ruler of Kattegat.
All things are possible if our minds are open.
Your faith is very strong, Freydis.
I am sure Ægir and Ran will watch over your brother and friends.
I'm sure they will.
There are a few today as pure in their beliefs as you.
It is all I know.
My husband was trading in Trömsa
when his ship was stopped by Christians.
My husband was very devout, like you.
When they found that he and his men were believers of the old ways,
he was ordered to convert.
He refused.
The Christians decided to make him an example
and torture him in front of his men,
in hopes that his suffering would encourage them to change their beliefs.
It had the opposite effect.
One by one,
they killed them all.
I am sorry my offering has brought back such memories.
Change is happening, and we must be ready.
Your Highness?
Are you all right?
I wasn't supposed to be here.
- Sire? - My brothers were.
I didn't think that they would both die and it would happen this way.
I'm not king material.
- How do you know? - What?
How do you know you're not the king England needs at this moment?
The fact that I voiced my doubts
should be evidence enough of my inadequacy.
It's been my experience
that those who never acknowledge their doubts are charlatans.
I believe that a search of one's soul is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Facing doubts or fears is the first step in courage.
What's your greatest fear?
Failure.
It is paralyzing.
Do you trust your instincts?
I think so.
If so, there will come a day when your fear of failure will be overwhelmed
by an instinct to act.
To survive.
If you listen to it, you will succeed.
Good night, Your Highness.
See you in England, friends.
So, no sign of your Greenlander?
Maybe you should make an offering to Ægir for your boat's safe return.
Do you ever get tired of saying stupid things?
Like letting my brother know when he makes a mistake? No. Never.
What do you see in this Greenlander that makes you trust him?
I don't know. Maybe his courage.
Courage is not rare here.
His is.
It doesn't come from speeches or pounding of shields.
It comes from belief in his own ability and nothing else.
In my experience, that is rare.
Ironside,
Boneless, Bloodaxe,
such great names.
You know what they all have in common, Your Highness?
They're dead.
Tell your father I can give him 5,000 men and 1,000 horses,
but it would be a mistake to send them to London.
Why so?
Mercians have been fighting the Vikings for 200 years
and we've learned a great many things.
I have no doubt that London is Canute's target,
but he'll attack the city from the north, which means he'll march through Mercia.
To defeat him in London, you must first stop him here.
That is not what the Queen Emma believes.
She believes the Vikings will attack elsewhere.
Queen Emma?
Is your father not well?
The King is in excellent health, but his wife, as you know, is a Norman.
What better person to plan the defense of a Viking attack
than a descendant of Rollo himself.
Godwin.
I knew a noble named Godwin from Sussex.
My father.
If I'm not mistaken, it didn't end well for him, did it?
You're not talking to my father, you're talking to me.
- The King knows exactly what he's doing. - You think so?
It doesn't sound like that to me.
It sounds like he has no plan
and has placed England's future in the hands of a foreign queen,
a boy prince, and an advisor whose father destroyed his family name.
Then do nothing.
Do nothing, Eadric Streona, if that is your decision.
But be willing to stand by it because, one day, I will be king,
and I can promise that I will remember both your doubt
and your decision to refuse an order.
Who said that I would not obey a summons from the King?
Tell your father and your stepmother,
that Mercia will be there, as ordered.
We're lost, aren't we?
You've never been to England, and you've lost us.
- We're not lost. - Liar!
This is your fault and the fault of all the Christians and their false God.
The Gods are laughing at us right now.
Shut up, heathen.
- What did you say to me? - I said, shut up.
You sound like a frightened child.
- Stop!
Stop rowing.
What do you see that makes you believe that we are lost?
What do I see?
No land!
See, that is where you and I are different.
The sky tells me we are headed west.
Auks and gannets flying high
tell me the weather is improving and we're near land.
Then where are the other boats?
The other boats are not my responsibility.
This boat, the one you are on,
is my responsibility.
For all you know, the other boats are lost, not ours.
Now, we continue!
Oars out and row!
And, Jarl Gorm, stop blaming the Christians for your fears. Hmm?
What are you doing?
The Christians have cursed us!
- They all must die! - Birger.
I'm taking over the boat.
- Let them go! Now! - Get the weapons.
- Let them go! - Or what, Greenlander?
You're going to kill me?
I'm not a bear. And you are not a Viking.
I don't think you have the stomach to kill me.
A polar bear thinks the same thing before he dies.
When I pull this out, you will be dead.
Before I do, tell your men what you see.
Tell them.
England.
Who's next?
What did Streona mean
when he called your father the destroyer of your family name?
My father was an Ealdorman.
When I was your age, he took 24 of the king's ships
and used them for his own greed.
For that act, he was stripped of his lands,
his wealth, and his title, and was imprisoned until his death.
How is it then, that you are now one of my father's closest advisors?
Because he never blamed me for my father's failure.
And I provide him with something he cannot get from his nobles.
Which is?
The truth, Your Highness.
Listen. What does that mean?
It means you are now our ruler.
All hail King Edmund.
God bless the King. And God bless England.
God bless the King. God bless England.
Now comes the hard part.
Why have you returned my knife?
You will need it for your pilgrimage.
I'm sending you to Uppsala to seek your destiny.
I don't understand.
Uppsala is the most sacred site in our Viking world.
Everything there is holy.
Every nine years we make sacrifices there to the Gods that protect us.
And you, who have travelled so far,
you must go there and see it for yourself before the Christian tide washes it away.
Is that really possible?
Some say that Ragnarök, the Twilight of the Gods,
will happen within our lifetime.
And you believe that?
I believe we must be ready.
Sound the horn.
Viking.