Vikings: Valhalla season 2 ending spoilers follow.
The story of legendary Vikings Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) made for an action-packed first season of Vikings: Valhalla, the sequel series set more than 100 years after hit Netflix show Vikings.
Season two picked up the story of the three warriors a month after we last saw them escaping the brutal battle of Kattegat, and things were not looking great for any of them.
Regarded as outlaws following the battle, they headed off on different adventures, with Freydis travelling alone to the Viking stronghold of Jomsborg, known as a safe haven for those who still believed in the Norse gods and Viking ways.
While she tried to deal with survivor’s guilt following her escape from Kattegat and the knowledge that she was secretly pregnant with Harald’s child, Harald and Leif went off on an eventful road trip together towards Constantinople as part of Harald’s plan to raise an army and become king of Norway.
By the season two finale, Harald had taken to throwing punches in a fighting pit to raise money, Leif had growled about revenge whenever the opportunity arose, and Freydis had given birth to Harald’s son and taken over leadership of Jomsborg.
But with Harald’s half-brother Olaf plotting to destroy any Viking outposts he came across, and English royal advisor Godwin plotting against, well, everyone, would our three heroes all make it to the end of season two still alive?
Vikings: Valhalla season 2 ending explained
The final episode of season two opens with Olaf lurking around the coast of Pomerania. He's quizzing Viking warrior-turned-traitor Jorundr about the situation in Jomsborg, and Jorundr — who's not exactly up to speed on recent events — reports that Freydis is dead and Harekr is now ruler of the Vikings there.
Olaf's plan is to find Harekr, destroy him, and install Jorundr as leader while demanding that the stronghold becomes Christian. But he has no idea that it's Harekr who's dead, and that Freydis is very much alive and preparing for his attack.
Olaf finally learns the truth when he meets with Freydis and the people of Jomsborg on neutral ground, but he fails to notice Jorundr's mother passing a secret message from Freydis to her son.
Across the seas in England, it's the wedding of scheming Godwin and Princess Gytha, niece of King Canute. Queen Emma knows that Godwin has been betraying and scheming — exactly how he finds the time to arrange murders, trick kings, and twirl his villainous moustache is anyone's guess — and she knows that his marriage is part of his plan to have a child of royal blood.
While the wedding goes ahead surprisingly without a hitch or any bloodshed, Emma gives Gytha a wedding gift she knows will pack a punch when Godwin sees it: a ring that belonged to Bear, the man who raised Godwin and who was a part of Godwin's plan to kill the Queen, before Bear himself was killed.
It's the gift that keeps on giving, as Emma has told Gytha to never take it off. She unknowingly wears a reminder of Bear's death — and Emma's knowledge of Godwin's betrayal — that Godwin will see every day.
Related: Vikings: Valhalla creator dishes behind-the-scenes secrets of the Netflix series
Leif and Harald, meanwhile, are travelling towards Constantinople with Mariam, who's extremely weak, and Elena to deliver a treasure from Elena's father Vitomir of Chude to the Emperor of Rome.
Leif has grown close to Mariam, and is devastated when she dies in his arms (which seems to happen a lot to poor old Leif). Just before she passes, she hands him the key to her house in Constantinople, and tells him there are lots of things inside that will help him on his next journey.
It's around this time that Harald and Elena share a romantic moment, but it's pretty fleeting, as the Emperor of Rome turns up and it's revealed that the treasure they're delivering is actually Elena herself, who is to marry the Emperor and become Empress of Constantinople.
Harald isn't exactly impressed, but Elena assures him that nothing is out of his reach — including her, it seems.
While the boys are mourning their lost loves by sailing into Constantinople at last (presumably taking it in turns to look broodingly off into the distance), Freydis is preparing for an attack by Olaf. She asks her people to protect her son if she dies, and to tell everyone he's the son of Harald and the grandson of Erik The Red.
Soon, her plan unfolds. Jorundr leads a team of Olaf’s men to take out a Jomsborg sentry post, but he turns on them as a group of Vikings jump out to attack. Olaf's men are defeated, but Jorundr is mortally wounded and dies — his last words being that he's not a traitor to the Vikings.
The Vikings make the signal Olaf was expecting from his men to show it is safe to invade by sea, and his boats sail towards the Jomsborg docks. Freydis is there to meet them, which puzzles Olaf. She challenges him to a one-on-one fight and invites Svein, Canute’s son, to watch them.
Once they've both disembarked, Freydis throws a flame into the water, igniting the oil she secretly released into the sea and setting all of Olaf’s ships on fire. (As a nice touch, she asks Olaf whether all his men have been baptised first — which means they may end up crispy, but at least they'll get into heaven.)
Olaf and Freydis battle, and she eventually runs him through with her sword. In his dying breath, he triumphantly says she has made him a martyr, but she points out that there is no one left alive to tell his story.
Freydis spares Svein, and returns him to his mother, Canute's first wife Aelfgifu. In return for this, she asks for peace and then leaves.
As Freydis heads back to her baby son and her people, a woman asks if she is Freydis, Keeper of the Faith. She says yes, finally accepting her place as leader of the Vikings.
Of course, trouble seems to follow our warriors, so while this may look like a happy ending, at least for Freydis, we can assume that the tenuous peace they have navigated at the end of season 2 is unlikely to last long into season three.
In an interview with Netflix's Tudum, Sam Corlett, who plays Leif, revealed that he wants "a clear sense of purpose and a joy in life would be nice," for his character in the next season. Leo Suter, meanwhile, said that "I think for Harald, he's a long way from home, and he needs to remember where home is."
Frida Gustavsson, who stars as Freydis agreed. "That's beautiful. I'm going to copy that. I'd love for Freydis to find a true home and to find peace there."
Vikings: Valhalla seasons 1 and 2 are available on Netflix.
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