Vikings: Valhalla has now ended, and even though I enjoyed the final season, it only made me mad that a fourth season isn’t happening. Vikings: Valhalla is the sequel series to Vikings, but as it’s set over 100 years after the main series, it follows a new group of characters from the final years of the Viking Age. Although, just like in Vikings, it wasn’t historically accurate, Vikings: Valhalla built engaging storylines with real-life characters, such as Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), his sister Freydis (Frida Gustavsson), Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter), King Canute of Denmark (Bradley Freegard), and Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin).

Vikings: Valhalla season 2 ended with Freydis taking over Jomsborg as its leader and priestess, Leif and Harald arriving at Constantinople, Emma letting Godwin (David Oakes) know she had discovered his plan, and King Canute returning to England. Vikings: Valhalla season 3 had a time jump of seven years, which made many new storylines possible, but the show’s ending feels inconclusive, and as the plan was for it to end with season 3, the new characters did more harm than good to the show, and I’m so frustrated that there won’t be a fourth season.

Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 Covered Too Much In Little Time

Vikings: Valhalla Had Too Many Storylines & Subplots

In addition to the stories of Leif, Freydis, Harald, Canute, and Emma (the latter two including Godwin), Vikings: Valhalla season 3 put other characters in the spotlight as well, most of them previously introduced but not given prominent roles. Thanks to the time jump, Vikings: Valhalla was able to bring in Canute’s sons Svein (Jakob Femerling Andersen) and Harefoot (Pyry Kähkönen) as the former continued to rule Norway alongside his mother, Queen Aelfgifu, and Harefoot wanted the throne of England after his father’s death.

Also linked to Canute and Emma was William, Duke of Normandy (Ely Solan), who only appeared briefly in two episodes. There was also Magnus, Olaf’s son, who wanted the throne of Norway and who was as ruthless as his father. On Freydis and Leif’s side, Vikings: Valhalla season 3 finally introduced their father, Erik the Red (Goran Višnjić), as well as Stigr (Leander Vyvey), a healer and Freydis’ new partner. While all of these storylines were exciting and interesting (mostly those of Harefoot and Erik the Red, but that’s my opinion), Vikings: Valhalla only had eight episodes to develop them while also continuing the stories of its main characters.

Vikings: Valhalla Left Its Three Main Stories Inconclusive

Vikings: Valhalla Left More Questions Than Answers

As a result of too many stories and too little time, Vikings: Valhalla left most of its stories inconclusive, especially those of Leif, Freydis, and Harald. Vikings: Valhalla season 3 saw King Canute’s death (which I wasn’t expecting to break my heart as much as it did) and Emma doing what she could to keep her place as Queen, implying she will get together with Harefoot. Leif and Freydis left Kattegat on the ship (and with the crew) provided for Leif by Canute after Leif rescued Freydis from her execution.

The siblings set out to find the “Golden Land”, but there was one major Freydis loose end: her son. Freydis had a son with Harald, who she named after him, and when Jomsborg was destroyed by Magnus, she took Harald Jr., Stigr, and the surviving Jomsvikings to Greenland, where Erik lives. Unfortunately, her father showed his true colors and destroyed her ships, took Harald Jr. away, and locked Freydis away so she and her people wouldn’t leave.

Stigr set out to find Harald Jr. and he did, but it’s unclear if Stigr survived being stabbed long enough to bring Harald Jr. to safety, and it’s unknown if Freydis returned for Harald before setting out to the Golden Land, after, or at all – and, in addition to that, it’s unknown if she could bring the Jomsvikings to the Golden Land.

As for Harald, he got the throne of Norway after agreeing to co-rule with his nephew, Magnus, who he later imprisoned, and so Harald proclaimed himself the true King of Norway. However, the real Harald Hardrada was a ruthless king, so it’s unknown what his reign in Vikings: Valhalla would have been like and if Magnus would have been able to escape and return for revenge against him.

Vikings: Valhalla Avoided Its Biggest Vikings Question

Vikings Made A Huge Change To History In Its Final Season

Vikings: Valhalla season 3 set up Leif’s arrival in Vinland (North America), the Golden Land he spoke of, but it never showed him actually getting there. It’s up to the audience to imagine his and Freydis’ arrival in Vinland, which is what the real Leif Erikson did, but by not showing this and just setting up his trip, Vikings: Valhalla completely avoided its biggest Vikings question/plot hole. In real life, Leif Erikson was the first European to set foot on continental America, but in the world of Vikings: Valhalla, he wouldn’t have been the first.

In Vikings, Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) dreamed of exploring new lands but never got to do it – but his friend Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) did. Vikings season 6 revealed Floki successfully made it to America, where he was found by Ragnar’s son, Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith). In the world of Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla, then, Floki was the first European/Viking in America, so it’s unknown if Leif and Freydis would have found a settlement there or would have learned that Floki and Ubbe got there first many, many years before.

Vikings: Valhalla Still Had Many Stories To Tell

Vikings: Valhalla Didn’t Go All The Way With The Final Years Of The Viking Age

With too many storylines in its final season and inconclusive storylines for its main characters, Vikings: Valhalla clearly had many more stories to tell. One of my favorite parts of Vikings: Valhalla was the tension between Queen Emma and Godwin after the latter planned the former’s assassination attempt so he could become part of the royal family. Godwin tried to mess with Emma by bringing Harefoot instead of Edward, but Emma, once more, outsmarted him. Because of this, I would have loved to see what else Godwin would do and how Emma would handle it in one or more seasons.

Of course, there was a lot more to explore in Leif and Freydis’ journey, as well as Freydis’ promise to her people and her reunion with Stigr and Harald Jr. In addition to that, Freydis’ story with her father was also left inconclusive, and I would have loved to see how she defended her people from Erik once she arrived in Greenland with a new ship, a new crew, and Leif (who surely had some unfinished business with Erik, as well). And then there’s Harald, who had the most complete story out of the main characters but there was still more to cover.

As mentioned above, Harald became known for being a ruthless and hard ruler (hence the name “Hardrada”), and it would have been great to see that part of his story in Vikings: Valhalla. One storyline that, to me, made no sense to have in season 3, was that of William, Duke of Normandy. William appeared twice, briefly, and had no impact on the show, so much so that cutting his scenes out would make no difference. William’s real-life story is actually quite interesting, and it deserved to be explored in Vikings: Valhalla in a future season.

With no season 4 happening for Vikings: Valhalla, it’s up to the audience to decide what happened to every character, and, in most cases, history can fill in the gaps. However, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating that Vikings: Valhalla ended with its third season and that it feels like the writers didn’t give much thought to how the stories of the main characters would end.