Edmund’s forces are positioned on the south side of the river, with a fortified bridge connecting the north and south banks. Harald suggests that they focus their efforts on conquering London rather than Edmund, but Leif has other plans. He intends to exploit the weakness of Edmund’s drawbridge by using boats to destroy its foundations. They need to be ready when the tide turns in order to defeat him, so they need to position their men accordingly. ..

Leif’s plan to use three of their best boats in order to make a successful voyage is met with skepticism by Olaf, who believes that such a risky plan is not worth the risks. Canute, however, is willing to take on the challenge and agrees to help Leif in his endeavor.

Canute is convinced after talking to Leif about his motivations and how he’s more concerned with his own men than Canute or the glories of the Vikings that he should go ahead with his plan.

Edmund rides out to see Eadric Streona, who bargains with him in order to take on the brunt of the responsibility for the Viking attack. In exchange for joining the fight, Edmund wants Mercia to become an independent nation after this is all done. Instead, Edmund suggests doubling their land. Emma bites her tongue.

As the day turns into night, Leif and his men use a paddle-board to sneak their way upstream. After making short work of the guardhouse, they switch to rowing boats and press on. With tarps covering the men and women onboard, the soldiers press on to the bridge.

Canute and his Viking allies wait for the right moment to strike. As night turns to day, they prepare themselves. Some are on their longboats, led by Olaf, while Canute rallies the ground troops.

Canute marches up on the Englishmen and enacts a parlay, complete with a white flag. This is all a ruse though to bring out the soldiers en-mass to the drawbridge. Unbeknownst to them, Leif and his men happen to be hacking away at the foundations.

Canute decides to antagonize Edmund by calling him King Belyoa (which means coward), and knowing exactly how to get under his skin. It works a treat.

Edmund leads his men into battle without Mercia reinforcements, disregarding Emma and Godwin. ..

Emma watches as the Vikings retreat back down the bridge, knowing that they will be attacked again soon. Canute leads his men back, Edmund falls for the bait and leads them forward.

Emma senses that this may be a trap and orders the archers to shoot at the longboats. It’s too late though, as Leif’s plan goes into action. ..

He uses archers, attached with ropes, to hit their shields and allow them to row away and break the foundations of the bridge. With the foundations snapping, Leif helps out by hacking away with his axe to help speed this along. ..

Streona rides out to meet Godwin, informing him that Edmund has taken the fight to the Vikings. Next, he rides up to Edmund and tells him about the plan, but of course the Viking force is far stronger than Edmund was led to believe. ..

A group of men and women emerge from the marshes and taunt King Edmund. This time, they take the fight to the Englishmen, while Edmund cowers in fear, trying to make it back to the castle. ..

Edmund is stranded and outside the castle after the foundations of the bridge collapse. The Vikings cheer in victory, while Leif is the only surviving Greenlander from under the bridge.

Streona decides to hold back and not attack after all, believing there’s a greater battle to be won. So naturally, they decide to head back to Mercia, while Canute ends up with Edmund in his grasp. Emma remains behind her high walls as the Vikings cheer for Leif.

The Episode Review

Hail the Greenlander! The success of Leif’s plan has saved England from Viking attack. Edmund’s arrogance has cost him many lives, but his plan is still a success.

Historically, Edmund Ironside was a decent fighter, not the watered-down Joffrey we get in this chapter. This move is really foolish, but it’s also not historically accurate. ..

This is an excellent episode of the series, despite some liberties taken with history.

The new chapter in Viking: Valhalla ups the ante and keeps up a good deal of tension across the chapter. ..