By Gary

Set sail with some of the legends from Nordic history as Netflix Vikings: Valhalla brings them back from the dead.

The follow-up series to Vikings is set around 100 years after the original series, taking you into the 11th Century.

Vikings: Valhalla chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings who ever lived.

The legendary explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fiery and headstrong sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter).

These men and women will blaze a path as they fight for survival in the ever changing, evolving world.

This addition isn’t as good as the original series, the characters are just not as engaging.

I felt bored with the early episodes, but I am glad I stuck with it as it does get better.

The story sees all of our characters off on different quests, dividing up the run-time into sub-plots of varying degrees of interest.

Over in London, Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin) realizes there’s a traitor in her midst after someone tries to poison her.

Throughout the season, she attempts to figure out who she can trust and who means to do her harm.

Meanwhile, Freydis Eriksdotter is given a prophetic sign from the Seer, which brings her in the presence of the Jomsvikings and Jomsborg.

Once there though, she realizes the place holds more than a few secrets.

Finally, Harald and Leif Erikson organise a party to head off in search of Constantinople for their quest, as Harald Sigurdsson continues to try and forget ahead with his plan to become the King of Norway.

Despite great production value, costumes and musical score, Vikings: Valhalla slips up where it matters most, the writing.

This second season is essentially one long side-quest and by the end, you’ll be itching to get back to the main mission.

It’s certainly not an awful season, but it’s not a particularly good one either, making for a frustratingly mediocre watch.

My Rating: 6/10