Vikings: Valhalla has different references to Vikings as well as some characters directly related to some of the protagonists of the main series.

Vikings: Valhalla is set many, many years after the events of Vikings and doesn’t feature any of the main characters of the original series, but it does have a couple of references and connections to them through characters and places – and here’s every one of them. Created by Michael Hirst, Vikings became one of the most popular historical dramas in recent years, airing from 2013 to 2020 for a total of six seasons. However, six seasons weren’t enough to tell the most exciting stories from the Viking Age and explore its most notable characters, so a sequel series was announced in 2019.

Titled Vikings: Valhalla, the series is set over a century after the events of Vikings, and as such, it follows a new generation of warriors and enemies. Valhalla centers on Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) as they go on a journey that takes them across oceans and battlefields, this with the conflict between Vikings and English royals – pagans vs Christians – as the backdrop. Other notable characters joining the three main protagonists are Harald’s half-brother Olaf Haraldsson (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), king Canute of Denmark (Bradley Freegard), and Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin), queen of England.

Although Vikings: Valhalla makes a big jump in terms of timeline after the ending of Vikings, it still included a bunch of references to the main series and its most important characters and places, and some of the new characters are even connected to the main ones in Vikings. Here’s every Vikings reference and connection in Vikings: Valhalla.

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Ragnar Lothbrok, Ivar the Boneless, & Björn Ironside

Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) was the lead of the first seasons of Vikings, and his legacy is still felt in the universe of Vikings, along with those of his sons Björn Ironside (Alexander Ludwig) and Ivar the Boneless (Alex Høgh Andersen). Ragnar led the Lindisfarne raid, considered the beginning of the Viking Age, and his biggest plan was to sail to unexplored lands, something that his son Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) achieved at the end of the series, and he was involved in various battles and raids that ultimately built his image of a legendary warrior. Björn and Ivar are now remembered as fearless warriors whose battles continue to be a motivation to current Vikings, hence why they’re mentioned by the current characters – but also by their enemies, who use their names as an example of Vikings that were eventually defeated: Ragnar by King Ælle of Northumbria, Björn by Ivar, and Ivar by an English soldier.

Lagertha

Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) is also mentioned throughout Vikings: Valhalla, especially when talking about shieldmaidens. Lagertha was Ragnar’s first wife, mother of Gytha and Björn, and queen of Kattegat, as well as a well-known and fierce shieldmaiden. Lagertha fought many battles alongside Vikings and fellow shieldmaidens and was killed by Hvitserk (Marco Ilsø) who was hallucinating and mistook her for Ivar. Vikings: Valhalla proved that Lagertha’s legacy as a leader and shieldmaiden is still strong, with Freydís now taking over as the series’ shieldmaiden and following her steps.

Kattegat

Kattegat was the main setting for most of Vikings, and it continues to be a key place in Vikings: Valhalla. In the universe of Vikings, Kattegat is located in southern Norway, bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark to the south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland, and Bohuslän in Sweden in the east. Kattegat is important in Vikings as its a center of commerce and a gathering place to plan and launch invading forces, as done by Canute in Valhalla. Due to its location and importance in commerce and more, taking control of Kattegat grants a lot of power, hence why Olaf had to take over the city in order to further control Norway. By the end of Vikings: Valhalla season 1, Kattegat was taken by Olaf and his army, but Sweyn Forkbeard (Søren Pilmark), Canute’s father, arrived with the Danish fleet to give Olaf a lesson after he betrayed them.

Uppsala’s Temple

Jarl Haakon (Caroline Henderson) sent Freydís to Uppsala to learn about her destiny, and the latter was visibly excited when she arrived at the place and with good reason, as it’s in that city where a pagan temple is located in the universe of Vikings. Fans of the main series instantly recognized the place as it was shown in season 1 when Ragnar and company traveled there to worship the gods and offer a human sacrifice (who was none other than Athelstan, but he was saved as he was still a Christian). Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed by Christian berserker Jarl Kåre (Asbjørn Krogh Nissen), along with all the priests, priestesses, and visitors.

The Seer

As Vikings: Valhalla is set over a hundred years after the events of Vikings, the surviving characters of the main series don’t appear (not even in visions, at least not for now), but there’s one, mysterious character who made a surprise appearance: the Seer (John Kavanagh), the oracle of Kattegat. The Seer was one of the most respected people in Kattegat and its most mysterious resident, as everything about him was unknown, but he’s believed to have dwelled between life and death and to have lived for over a hundred years. The Seer was killed by Ivar in season 5, but it was speculated that, because he straddled two worlds, he didn’t die. The Seer returned in Valhalla in a vision caused by a ritual performed on Freydís to learn about her destiny, and he later appeared to Jarl Kåre as well, so he will surely continue to share his wisdom in future seasons of the show.

Rollo

Rollo’s (Clive Standen) story was left somewhat inconclusive in Vikings as he didn’t return in season 6, but through a character in Vikings: Valhalla directly related to him, the sequel series can explore what was left of his story: Emma of Normandy. The queen of England was the daughter of Richard I, who was the son of William I Longsword, son of Rollo and Poppa of Bayeux, and one of only 2 direct descendants of a Vikings character in Vikings: Valhalla (along with Prince Harald Sigurdsson who is the great grandson of King Harald Finehair). Emma even refers to her familial connection to the Vikings at some point, but her loyalty and focus are on England and how to expand her and Canute’s reign rather than on how to maintain a civilized relationship with the Vikings.

Erik the Red

One connection to Vikings in Vikings: Valhalla that is creating a lot of confusion among viewers is that between Leif and Freydís’ father Erik the Red and the character of the same name in Vikings. The main series introduced Erik Thorvaldsson (played by Eric Johnson) in season 6 as an outlaw who saved Björn’s life when King Harald sent men to kill him, and he described himself as a former mercenary whose actions led him to become an outlaw. After Björn’s death, Erik became king of Kattegat alongside queen Ingrid, who performed a ritual to turn him blind. Ingrid made a plan with a slave named Nissa to kill Erik, and so he was stabbed to death, with Ingrid taking the crown. However, given the time gap between Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla, it’s unlikely this Erik is the same as Leif and Freydís’ father, even if they have similar backstories, and it's also implied that their father is still alive.

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