[horse nickers]
[birds cawing]
[neighs]
[suspenseful music playing]
Yrsa?
[gasps]
[inhales sharply]
[grunts]
[sobbing]
[somber instrumental music playing]
Yrsa.
Who did this to you?
[horse neighing]
[opening theme music playing]
[cawing]
[grave instrumental music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[cawing continues]
[Freydis yells]
[baby cooing]
So, you must be the one with a cross on her back.
[breathing heavily]
I was expecting a warrior.
You're just a girl.
[horses neighing]
Why have you done this?
You killed my Berserker.
He attacked us.
We did nothing but protect ourselves.
You bent the bow of God's wrath.
I am God's arrow.
When you've finished with her, bring me her body.
I have a message to send.
[Freydis] No!
[horses neighing]
[man] Stop!
Where did you get that sword?
In Uppsala.
A priest gave it to me.
Uppsala?
Did you see him?
The Old One?
What did he call you?
The Last.
What is your name, girl?
Freydis.
Take a message to Haakon.
Tell her Jarl Kåre is coming.
[exhales]
[indistinct shouting]
[laughs]
May God bless and keep you until we see each other again, my friend.
You, too, Norí.
I support your decision to stay.
Canute takes care of his faithful.
I do not like this game that you're playing with him.
It's not a game.
Canute has made his decision.
He wishes to be King of England.
I, Norway.
And when he learns what you've done,
he will return and destroy you, you know that.
[chuckling] With what?
Half his force is sailing.
And those like you who remain,
will you fight against your homeland as part of an English army?
I didn't think so.
The head of King Æthelred. [laughs]
Not what I came here for.
Safe journey, Greenlander.
I won't forget our… agreement.
Are you sure you know what you're doing here?
Next time we meet, those coins will bear my face. Hmm?
[indistinct shouting]
[Leif] Pull left.
A great city.
Yes.
I feel pity about the bridge.
[indistinct chatter]
Do you approve of your new quarters?
I cannot accept them. I never asked for that.
As I remember, you requested nothing.
A man who asks for nothing is someone I cannot trust.
Then allow me to earn that trust.
All right.
Get me a hangman.
Build me a gallows here.
As Your Highness commands.
And do you have a specific reason for this action?
Eleven reasons. And you know them all.
[bars rattling]
Up!
A gift. From King Canute.
-What has happened to Edmund? -He's alive.
Canute intends to rule England with him.
He's staying?
A Viking king?
Yes. A Viking king,
and one who wishes to learn about his country and to meet his nobles.
[scoffs] Oh, look at you,
kissing the arse of the enemy.
Just like your father.
Leofric.
Why don't you be the first to meet the king,
tell him about Northumbria?
[door closes]
-[bell tolling] -[indistinct chatter]
I've come to offer my thanks for the return of my sons
and to ask what I can do to repay your kindness.
I accept your thanks, but…
you are under no obligation to me.
In fact, you are free to go at any time.
Free to go? Where?
Normandy, if you wish.
Home.
[Emma] King Canute…
I came to England when I was a girl.
This is my home now, and where I wish to remain.
I am pleased to hear that.
You are?
Why?
Because I would like you to be my… advisor.
An advisor?
And on what subject would I advise you?
I'm an outsider, as… you once were.
Half my army sailed away this morning, which makes me vulnerable here.
You convinced the Saxons to accept you.
Now, I need them to accept me.
What do you want from England?
I wish to build a great northern empire
that stretches
across the top of Europe.
You need England's wealth.
Yes.
[horn blows]
[somber instrumental music playing]
We were attacked on the road to Uppsala.
A Berserker killed your guards and one of my friends.
How did you escape?
I killed him.
Did you use your knife
or bring him down with your bare hands?
I strangled him with my bracelet.
[chuckling] With your bracelet! I'm impressed.
You must join my Shield-maidens.
He served a Christian Jarl named Kåre.
-Did you see Kåre? -[Freydis] Yes.
He told me to tell you that he's coming for Kattegat.
Kåre does not have the forces to threaten Kattegat.
He killed my friends
and slaughtered an entire village.
He is a murderer.
You are tired.
Go and rest.
When you have rested,
I want to hear of your trip to Uppsala. Hmm?
[sighs] Increase the patrols.
You cannot possibly believe her.
I do.
And I believe you're right as well.
She should join your Shield-maidens.
Train her.
[indistinct chatter]
[mysterious music playing]
[man] Kåre!
Come!
[chimes tinkling]
Quick, Kåre.
[indistinct chatter]
I'm here to prepare.
[Emma] Even before your invasion, the kingdoms were suffering.
Every Ealdorman is facing the threat of rebellion.
I can place new men in power who can enforce tax collection.
The problem is not the collectors, it is tax itself.
It is crippling,
which is why I suggest a new one.
A simple levy on every household.
-But this is hardly anything. -Exactly.
But gathered across the whole of England, every town, every village,
it is more than enough to build an army,
a fleet,
an empire.
[yells]
[both grunting]
Keep your shield higher!
The battle comes from all sides.
[panting]
[grunts] The battle ends, but it's never over until you don't get up.
[panting] Let's go again.
[Haakon] Enough for today.
[Shield-maiden grunts]
You have yet to tell me about Uppsala.
I had a vision
and I met a man the priests called The Seer.
He seemed to be expecting me and he called me "The Last."
He asked me about what I had seen, but my answers seemed to disappoint him.
-You know of him? -I do.
The Seer told me my destiny as well.
Was it confusing?
Mine was simple.
He told me about a wave
that only I could see.
[wind blowing]
First, the water left the harbor.
The people thought it was a blessing from the Gods, Syn and Ran.
A gift of the sea.
They celebrated their bounty.
No one asked where the water had gone. No one cared.
But it had to go somewhere.
When it came back…
it was as tall as the mountains,
and as deep as the Earth.
[all screaming]
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
[Freydis] In your vision, does anyone survive?
A woman.
For a long time, I thought it was me.
But I was wrong.
The woman is you.
You are "The Last."
The Last Daughter of Uppsala.
-[bells tolling in distance] -[indistinct chatter]
All hail King Canute!
Ruler of Denmark and England!
[all] All hail!
I have chosen to remain here in England as your king.
As uncomfortable as that thought may be,
I have brought you here to convince you that this is a good thing.
First,
I plan to restore your lands and titles
and promise no more Viking raids upon your kingdoms.
Second, I will rebuild the bridge, better… [chuckles]
…and stronger than before.
Finally, I intend to forge a great empire of the north
whose shield will bring you peace and whose wealth we will all enjoy.
I have also decided to rule alongside Edmund,
your chosen king,
whom I will support.
These are my offerings.
But dependent on one thing…
loyalty.
Now, it is my experience
that loyalty can be obtained in two ways.
One way
is painful.
The other…
[ring clinks]
Fulfilling.
The choice is yours.
Your Highness. I am Cyneheard,
Ealdorman of Kent.
I pledge my loyalty to you.
I give you my oath.
[Canute] Ah, yes, Cyneheard.
I met your wife.
Rise and return to your shire
and your wife.
If she will take you.
[people laughing]
Your Highness, Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Sussex.
Your Highness. I too, pledge my loyalty.
[Godwin] Ealdorman Oswick of East Anglia.
-[instruments rattling] -[drums beating]
[people chanting]
[breathing heavily]
[grave instrumental music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[shudders]
[groans]
[breathing heavily]
[both grunting]
[horn blowing in distance]
[Shield-maiden in English] Good.
The fleet is returning.
[excited chatter]
[both chuckle]
[horn blows]
[indistinct chatter]
[Freydis] Leif!
Leif!
You're alive!
[Freydis chuckles]
You're alive!
[Leif chuckles]
[both chuckle]
[kisses]
What is this?
[chuckles] There's much to tell you.
Njal?
Skarde?
[melancholy music playing]
And Ulf.
Then Yrsa and Toke are not alone in Valhalla.
Oh.
[Freydis sniffles]
[Liv sighs]
It's just us now.
Come, you must be tired from your journey.
[thuds]
A gift from the new King of England.
And me.
King Canute intends to stay?
He does.
And he promises to make me the next King of Norway.
And what is expected of me?
You are an example for us all. Leader of a powerful, open kingdom.
Jarl Haakon, I need your support.
And what about your brother?
Jarl Olaf does not have the blessing of King Canute.
Does he know that?
Not my problem.
But it is a problem.
[intense music playing]
[Olaf] Queen Aelfgifu.
I'm returning home from England.
I beg your permission for my fleet to resupply in your harbor
before continuing our journey.
Jarl Olaf, you're welcome.
What news have you of my husband?
He is alive and well, Your Highness,
and successful in his conquest of England.
Praise God. And when will he return?
That I do not know.
When I left, his intention was to remain in England.
Remain?
Forgive me, Your Highness,
I thought he had told you his plan.
[sighs]
[woman] Come with me.
Why?
He has assumed the crown of England.
Which means I am Queen.
And a wonderful queen you would be.
What is it that you're not telling me?
England already has a queen.
King Æthelred's widow.
She is very beautiful
and, uh, has become close to your husband.
Very close.
Before I left, there was even rumors of marriage.
A shame too.
She's a Norman.
And you are a Mercian,
the least secure of the English shires.
Why have you really come to Jelling, Olaf Haraldsson?
Other than to torment me.
[Olaf sighs]
I wish to rule Norway.
Canute will not permit this.
He will call upon his fleet to join him in challenging me.
I need you to deny him that fleet.
I do not have that power.
On the contrary,
you possess more power than you think.
You just have to know how to use it.
[indistinct chatter]
Jarl Haakon sent us to Uppsala.
[Liv] To Uppsala?
Is it like in the stories we heard growing up?
It's better.
Temples as high as the sky with golden rooftops
and hundreds of the faithful.
But it is threatened by Christians.
So, this is your new mission.
What I have seen has changed me.
I cannot leave Kattegat now,
and I hope you will stay too.
-We stay. -That makes me so happy.
-It's so good to have you here with me. -Oh, and you with us.
We should check on the boats.
Look at you.
You're no longer a hunter.
You're a warrior.
Much has changed.
Tell me.
My friends were killed by a Christian Jarl named Kåre.
I've heard of him.
He's a zealot and a crazy man, Freydis.
If he killed innocents, he must be punished.
He will be.
Not every Christian is bad, Freydis.
All religions have flaws. Yours and mine.
If they are both so flawed,
why don't we stay with our own Gods?
My grandfather converted
so he could pass the crown through our family without bloodshed.
That's not a belief in anything.
What about all of us that will never be king?
Where does that leaves us?
I thought so.
[indistinct chatter]
-[upbeat percussion music playing] -[indistinct conversation]
[both chuckle]
Hail Prince Harald and Leif Eriksson,
the heroes of London!
[all cheering]
West over water they fared to tear the English crown
-from the head of Æthelred. -[Leif chuckles]
[all cheering]
Or was it the head from the crown?
[all cheering]
By the man that brought London bridge down!
[all cheering]
Guilty!
And this Prince of Greenland, across oceans he went,
to face hundreds of men in the village of Kent!
-[all cheering] -Hundreds? More like thousands.
Get your story right, Skalde.
I think you better get up and tell it then.
[men chanting] Up! Up! Up!
Up! Up! Up! Up!
[chanting continues]
[chanting] Harald! Harald!
[all chanting] Harald! Harald!
-[chanting continues] -[pounding on tables]
No!
The story I want to tell is not of me.
It belongs to a group of friends.
The Greenlanders.
Leif Eriksson.
My friend.
My brother.
Captain through the storms of wind and mutiny.
[men] Yeah.
He settled rough waters and made the passage calm.
Brother.
And Liv, who left her blood in the river along with the bridge!
[all] Yeah!
[Harald] This is her story too.
As it is Ulf's, Njal's and Skarde's.
Greenlanders who came to pay a debt for one,
but stayed to save us all.
They met Syn in Odin's Great Hall,
and she welcomed them into Valhalla.
[men] Yes!
[Harald] They are the true heroes of London.
-They are who we celebrate tonight. -[all] Yes!
For without the Greenlanders,
London Bridge would still be standing,
but we would not.
-The Greenlanders. -[all] The Greenlanders!
Skol!
[all] Skol!
[upbeat percussion music playing]
Thank you for what you said.
I spoke the truth.
With great honor.
Thank you for this.
It brought me luck.
But you should have it back.
Hopefully it brings you fortune during your test tomorrow.
[indistinct shouting]
[Arne grunts]
When are you leaving, Greenlander?
What are my plans to you?
[Arne] You are not wanted here.
My family has heard how you killed my father to save a Christian.
Did you tell them how he murdered one of my crew?
They should know the whole truth.
Before you ask them to do what you are afraid to.
[chuckles softly]
[both grunting]
[Arne] He's no hero!
He's a Christian lover and probably a Christian himself!
[Shield-maiden] Leave before I banish you.
[upbeat percussion music continues]
[Godwin] His Highness is expecting me.
No one is to enter. Order of the king.
This is important.
[guard] He's with Queen Emma.
Alone?
[Emma breathing heavily]
[slow instrumental music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
Contemplating an exit?
No, Your Highness.
Just contemplating how quickly power shifts.
At least you have relevance in this court.
And you do not?
I'm a cipher.
A stranger in my own country.
You are the hereditary King of England.
Voted to power by its nobles.
Who have sworn their allegiance to Canute.
With no army to support him,
he is dependent upon you to maintain their loyalty.
This is our lot, Your Highness.
At least for a while.
Are you suggesting something?
I'm suggesting nothing.
And neither should you.
[crowd cheering]
[cheering stops]
[speaking Norse]
[exhales]
[both grunting]
[woman in English] Yes!
[Shield-maiden 1 grunts]
[all grunting]
[crowd cheering]
-[yells] -[grunts]
[Freydis groans]
[grunting continues]
[crowd exclaims]
[Freydis groans]
[panting]
-[grunts] -[groans]
Get up!
Get up, Freydis!
[man] Come on! Get up!
-[crowd shouting] -[panting]
[Haakon] Continue.
[both grunting]
Drop it! Drop it!
[panting]
Yes.
[captivating music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[Liv chuckling]
[Shield-maiden 2] Well done.
[Shield-maiden 3] Well fought. You won.
[sighs]
[Freydis chuckles]
[Haakon] Freydis Eriksdotter.
What promise do you make?
I promise on Odin to protect Kattegat to the death.
The body and Earth
are one.
As you protect me,
so I you.
Rise.
-Yeah! -[crowd cheering]
Yes!
[indistinct chatter]
-You succeeded. -Congratulations.
Thank you.
I, uh, wanted to thank you.
For what?
This.
But I should give it back.
Why?
It brought you luck once.
You might need it tonight,
if you're asking me back to your bed.
You need a hot bath first.
[romantic music playing]
[Freydis breathing heavily]
[both breathing heavily]
[bird cawing]
[mysterious music playing]
[groans]
[Seer] What do you run from, boy?
My brother. They killed him.
Oh.
[Kåre breathing heavily]
The same frightened boy.
No.
Not frightened.
Empowered… by the one true God.
But here nonetheless.
"As the sword is carried by the cross."
"Much blood."
"Pouring like fountains."
You remember.
Now you want to know, is it your cross who holds the sword or hers?
Even Christians can't resist picking my bones for a glimpse of their destiny.
[shudders]
Now, are you sure you want the truth?
[intense music playing]
"Never before had there been a king like Josiah,
who turned to God with all his heart and soul."
"In the name of Christ our Lord,
he slayed the priests of the Pagan shrines on their own altars."
[grunts]
"Because cursed is he
who keeps his sword from bloodshed in the name of God."
"Amen."
[knock on door]
I'm sorry, Canute.
A boat just arrived from Denmark.
[puts ax down]
[grave instrumental music playing]
[paper rustles]
Summon a priest and prepare my ship for departure.
[music increases in tempo]
What is it?
I must ask you a question.
Please…
answer carefully.
[theme music playing]