Vikings: Valhalla – Season 3 Episode 4 “The End of Jomsborg” Recap & Review

The End of Jomsborg

Episode 4 of Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 begins with Jomsborg burning their dead. Magnus’ spy counts more than half of their people gone. Overjoyed, Magnus and his men arm up and decide to attack.

At Constantinople, Harald evades General Maniakes who tries to pick a fight with him. While trying to recruit new Varangians, he is again interrupted by Zoe. She asks Harald to escort her only for her to make advances on him once they are in the corridor. Harald is wary but she claims he is the second powerful man in the empire.

They hook up right when Romanos enters the building. Kaynas loudly announces the Emperor’s arrival, alerting Harald and Zoe. While Romanos shares that he is looking for Zoe, Harald is nervous but she is thrilled at the prospect of almost being caught. Once Romanos leaves, Kaynas warns Harald who tells him not to butt in.

As for Leif, he arrives in Corfu to see some raiders attacking a nun. He helps her out but she stops him from killing one of the young raiders. She takes care of her own wound and drinks ale, surprising Leif. She introduces herself as Tamar and puts Leif to work on building a church. He is amused but helps out. 

Back to Jomsborg, Magnus enters the village and looks smug that it is deserted. His people find Freydis who is disguised as a sick villager. He asks about his father and she offers to show them the way to his burial ground which is in the Valley of the Dead. Everyone trudges through the forest while only a few men are left behind to guard the boats.

Of course, it is a trap as the villagers are hiding in the funeral pyres. They take down the guards and board the boats. Magnus and his men finally reach the “grave” to see a strung-up skeleton and a Latin tombstone that calls him and Olaf foolish. He figures it out all too late as Freydis runs.

He follows her while his men try to chase the villagers. But there is a second trap which blocks the men from reaching the boats. While Magnus is distracted, Freydis escapes and joins the villagers. While an annoyed Magnus and his men are stranded in Jomsborg, the villagers decide to find a new home.

As for Leif, he and Tamar get into a quid pro quo and reveal their stories. Leif and his father had been stuck in a storm and once they escaped, he saw a horizon with trees he had never seen before. However, it disappeared before he could show his father. He would try to keep the memory alive but now he wonders if it was his imagination. He hopes to find the mapmaker from Corfu who can lead him to that land.

As for Tamar, she was married to a mason. But when their village was raided, she hid with her infant child. In trying to keep the child from crying, she killed him. Neither her husband nor her village could forgive her and so she had to leave. Leif wonders if her God has forgiven her but she declares that her God has helped her forgive herself. At that moment, the young raider runs off with Leif’s horse. 

In Denmark, while the midsummer festivities resume, Forkbeard returns. Finally, Godwin is able to relay the news – that with the Pope’s backing, the Wends won’t attack them again since they too are Christians. The talk turns to Harefoot’s ambition as Forkbeard scolds him for not being able to gauge the Wends’ attack. If he wants to be king, Forkbeard advises that he needs to be tough and intelligent.

Meanwhile, Canute continues to make Forkbeard proud as he forms a truce with Edward. He claims that anyone can inherit his throne but a king is made, suggesting that Edward has a shot. He also explains that Emma sent him away for his safety so he shouldn’t punish her for it.

Edward is bewildered before he realises that there is some truth to it. As Emma and Canute depart, Edward is much more warm. But what surprises Canute is William gifting him a carving of Thor. Canute acknowledges him as a Viking, giving him his blade before he departs.

Meanwhile, Prince Yaroslav, Harald’s uncle visits Constantinople and once again requests an army to deal with the Pechenegs. General Maniakes can only spare 2000 men and Harald offers 2000 of his Varangians in hopes of leading them and heading home. However, Romanos shatters those dreams by declaring that Harald is needed in the capital.

Alone, Yaroslov wonders why Harald continues to stay in Constantinople even though he now has enough money to buy 5 armies. He also updates him about Freydis and how she killed Olaf, is ruling Jomsborg and has a son. But a distracted Harald echoes Zoe’s sentiments of him being the second most important man in the Byzantine empire. Yaroslav warns him of forgetting what he needs (Norway) in hopes of what he wants (Zoe and Constantinople).

In Corfu, Leif laments over not killing the young raider who returns with his sister. He had simply gone searching for her. The siblings offer to help with the church which proves Tamar’s point of being kind to others. But with there being enough hands to complete the church, Leif takes his leave to find the mapmaker. At the end of Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 Episode 4, Harald holds Leif’s compass while looking at the sea.

The Episode Review

With Vikings: Valhalla Season 3 Episode 4 we finally understand Leif’s storyline. How much do you want to bet that the land he saw is most likely North America? He shares that he has never seen the trees like the ones he did on that voyage. Which means It is not any of the European kingdoms he has been to so far. A quick Google search on the historical figure that Leif is based on does suggest that this theory just may be right.

However, Harald keeps making a fool of himself. Either Zoe is going to get him killed or he is going to get himself killed. He is dreaming about Norway while we have multiple new people eyeing the throne from Canute’s sons to Magnus. Harald needs to get up and actually fight for his throne before it slips from his hands for good.

Give us more Freydis instead. The way she dealt with Magnus was pretty clever. Granted he is not too smart himself, why did he think he needed to take all his men to unearth his father’s body?