Vikings: Valhalla creator breaks down the Netflix series’ biggest spoilers – and teases what’s next

gamesradar.com:

Ships were sunk, kings were slain, and heads rolled. It’s safe to say Vikings: Valhalla didn’t shy away from the more brutal side of history during its first season on Netflix.

Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to look back and assess the considerable damage wrought by the Vikings (and their English counterparts, it has to be said) in the first eight episodes.

We sat down with Vikings: Valhalla creator Jeb Stuart to pick apart the bones of the season, including its biggest talking points, most shocking moments – and where the series goes from here.

MAJOR spoilers for Vikings: Valhalla follow. If you haven’t seen the show, find your nearest longship and sail away from here for the time being.

In terms of Vikings, Leif isn’t too hot headed. Sure, he has a nasty streak in him – and can swing an axe with the best of ‘em – but, by and large, his struggles with Christianity fit in snugly with his position as the show’s moral compass. That is, until the final episode.

After his partner Liv died in his arms, Leif transformed into a terrifying barechested berserker, chopping and slicing anyone in his way. For Stuart, this marked a major turning point for the lead – and it’s partly down to the sins of the father.

"We sort of set it up that his father Erik the Red has this very dark aspect to him," Stuart says. "We know that his father killed a man in Norway, was banished to Iceland, and killed a man in Iceland. He had to find or create a settlement in Greenland. We knew he had this very dark tone to him. And I always felt that Leif carried that somewhere buried back there and he kind of put something on it."

Stuart continues, "We internally called that sort of primal scream that you get at the end of season one ‘Old