-[bells tolling in the distance] -[crowd cheering in the distance]
[crowd cheering]
[festive music playing]
[individuals shouting indistinctly]
Harald! Harald!
This is what glory looks like, my friends!
[laughs]
-[Dorn grunts] -[giggles]
What? Hey!
[laughing]
A hero's welcome! Come on! Ease your mind!
-[festive music continues] -[cheering continues]
-[music stops] -[crowd cheering]
Harald!
[cheering stops]
[in Greek] Almighty Ruler, assign these soldiers to Your Holy Angels,
guard them with Your strength, and keep them under Your protection.
-Amen! -[all] Amen!
[crowd cheering]
[in English] Today, we welcome back our beloved army…
and celebrate their overwhelming victory in Sicily!
[all cheering]
The victory of your sons,
sons of the mightiest people in the world,
the people of Constantinople.
An Empire that stretches from the Alps to Asia!
[all cheering]
[cheering stops]
Now I present my wife, the Empress Zoe.
[all cheering]
[cheering recedes]
Georgios Maniakes… and Harald Sigurdsson,
you are true sons of Constantinople.
And we are in your debt.
As a reward for your triumphant actions in Sicily,
we bestow upon you the title, Spatharokandidatos,
the highest honor of an Imperial Warrior, a status signified by your new armor.
[all cheering]
[Zoe] Behold your heroes!
[all cheering]
-[cheering continues in the distance] -[baby crying]
[breathing heavily]
[men yelling in Greek]
[sighs wearily]
[woman, in English] You are back.
[man 1] I've come for William.
I am his kinsman. You have no right to claim him.
[man 2] I have the authority of the Duke, who left him in my care.
[man 1] His father is dead! He is the Duke now. He belongs with his family.
[man 2] You care only for his title.
[in French] He goes nowhere.
[man 1, in English] Get up, William. You're coming home with me.
-[gasping] -Will… it's Alfred.
You told me to wake you when they arrived.
They're here!
[grunts]
You had your nightmare again?
Well, you're about to meet my nightmare.
[horse whinnies]
[soldier] Close the gates!
-My dear sister… -Richard.
-King Canute… -[Canute] Richard.
Welcome to my home.
It is good to be here.
I trust your journey to Rome was a fruitful one?
It was.
Though, exhausting.
It is good to be so close to home.
I am anxious to see the boys.
-Mother! -Alfred!
Oh, you've grown.
I've been away too long.
How was Rome? Did you meet the Pope?
I did. Let me tell you all about it.
Where's your brother?
[boy] I'm here.
Right where you left me years ago.
Edward, you should properly greet the King of England.
My Lord… it's been a long time.
It has.
And you are just as courteous as I remember.
Your Highness, may I introduce to you William, the Duke of Normandy.
Your Highnesses. Welcome to Normandy.
William, you don't remember me, but I am your great-aunt, Emma.
And I am the Duke's guardian, Walter, his mother's brother.
I rule for him until he reaches his majority.
It is a pleasure to meet Your Majesties.
[Canute] I want to expand more of our wool trade…
-[Emma] Go with Alfred. -…to the continent.
[servant] To your rooms! This way.
-Mother. -Thank you.
Who better than our Norman cousins to help us?
Normandy has no need for English wool.
It's not what I heard.
Well, maybe you heard wrong.
Maybe we should ask His Grace to see what he thinks.
William, you seem like a thoughtful young man.
Perhaps I should wait a year for your ascendancy,
and then hold trade talks with you.
My uncle speaks for me.
Now, if England were to lower the price on their wool,
then it's possible Normandy will need it.
He's grown fat and rich off the boy.
[Canute] England does not need to lower the price.
He controls Normandy now. He's bleeding it dry.
William will soon be 15. He can reclaim his power then.
More likely, he'll suffer an accident at the hands of his trusted guardian.
And the Duchy will become Walter's.
Sadly, I'm afraid the blood of Rollo runs thin in his veins.
Perhaps.
Or perhaps he's waiting for his time.
What about you?
[Walter] That is because we believe in our people…
I'm thinking about my sons and what will become of them.
[Walter] Tell your stepfather what you have seen there.
[Edward] Norman wool is excellent, Your Highness.
I'm thinking about the future.
…opportunities for trade between England and Normandy.
[Walter] See? He knows what he is talking about.
-[festive music playing] -[people chattering excitedly]
Husband!
Gytha! What are you doing here?
I thought you were in Roskilde.
I was, but I didn't want to miss the Midsummer celebrations.
[chuckling]
-[boy] Father! -Harold! Tostig!
What has brought you here?
Canute asked me to deliver the terms of his agreement in Rome to his father.
Forkbeard is not here.
He and grandmother went to the waterfall
to make offerings for the Landvættir.
What's that? A church?
No. Landvættir are the spirits that protect this land.
Here I thought you were all God-fearing Christians.
Come, I want you to meet someone.
Harefoot! Come out and meet my husband.
Husband, this is Prince Harald Harefoot, King Canute's son.
Harefoot, this is my husband, Earl Godwin.
Godwin, you are just the man I wish to see.
Really?
And you are naked.
[chuckles]
[Godwin exclaims]
[Harefoot] Come in!
I've been told by Gytha that you have my father's ear.
And that is good because I wish to be the next King of England.
[chuckles nervously]
England?
You are aware there are others ahead of you in the line of succession.
Your brother Svein, Canute and Emma's son, Harthacanute,
and her children from her first marriage to Æthelred, Edward and Alfred.
I'm not worried about them.
But perhaps you should be.
Which is why I need your help.
So tell me, what do I need to do to make this happen?
Well, clothes would be an excellent start.
[bells tolling in the distance]
[in Arabic] Why are you not with your friends,
receiving the Emperor's praise?
[Leif sighs]
Because I was responsible for something that should not be celebrated.
[speaking Greek and Old English]
[speaking Norse]
[speaking Russian]
[in English] What are you saying?
Knowledge.
I spent seven years hunting for it.
And I lost myself.
What are you going to do?
Find the last place I knew who I was.
[festive music playing]
[man] Empress.
I don't think I've ever seen so much gold in one place!
That's because you've never been inside the Imperial Palace before.
-Empress. -[Kaysan] Empress.
It's good to see you all. Where is Leif?
Uh, we have not seen him since the entry into the city.
He is Leif.
-He still plots his own course. -[Batu chuckles]
I can't even remember the Elena we knew on the Dnieper.
Neither can I. But I can remember the good times we had there.
[Kaysan] So do I.
[Harald] Empress.
Spatharokandidatos.
[Zoe chuckles softly]
You look beautiful.
Marriage becomes you.
With all your victories…
do you still wish to return to Norway to be king?
My desires have never wavered. It is my destiny.
Destinies can change.
[Batu] What is this? Harald!
Spatharokandidatos, you must come with us.
[soldier muttering in Greek]
[Harald sighs]
[sighs]
[in English] Forgive the intrigue, but no one can know where this place is.
Can I trust you, Harald Sigurdsson?
I believe I have earned that trust.
Then enter the Emperor's vault.
The treasure from centuries of conquests.
I've never seen anything so magnificent.
It is not for you to behold.
It is for you to take.
A tradition that goes back hundreds of years to the conquering hero.
Anything in these rooms can be yours.
But, as in life…
you are only given a limited amount of time.
Come, Zoe.
Let us allow Harald to choose.
[whispering] You don't have to choose. You can have everything.
-[festive music playing] -[people chattering]
The queen's power is growing stronger.
I'm sure sending me here as messenger was her idea.
And now Harefoot?
King of England?
Are you finished?
[sighs] Canute will always need you.
You just need to remind him of that every once in a while.
[chuckles]
And you are no longer his servant.
You're family.
I don't know.
There's something different this time…
about Emma.
Hm? Ow.
Stop talking about Emma.
[both laughing]
[both breathing heavily]
-[woman] Wends! -[man 1] Wends!
[people screaming and shouting]
[man 2] We're under attack! Run!
[men shouting]
Wends!
Get the boys, stay in the center of the ring!
Tostig! Harold!
[yells]
[Godwin yells]
[all grunting]
[woman screaming]
[both grunting]
[Harefoot yelling]
[woman screaming]
No!
[screams]
[both yelling]
-[shouts] -[grunts]
Gytha!
[grunting]
[men shouting]
[woman screaming]
-[Godwin yells] -[grunts]
[both grunting]
Gytha!
-[man yelling] -Go!
[both grunting]
[arrow whistles]
Mother!
[both chuckle]
[Harefoot] My brother.
[all cheering]
I have stored it all. You could now buy two armies with what you have.
[chuckles]
That's still the plan?
I've not forgotten my goals.
[Kaysan] I'm glad.
I really thought Romanos was going to throw you in jail for talking to Zoe.
Don't worry about me, Kaysan.
Tell me…
Have you seen Leif?
Not since we entered the city.
Shall I try to find him?
No.
I will.
[fire crackling]
Leif!
[wood rattling]
Leif?
What are you doing?
This is what you fought for.
Everywhere we went, these were your rewards.
I intended to use the knowledge to make the world better.
I have used it to make it worse.
Leif, what happened in Syracuse was not your fault.
Then whose was it?
Who found that the elements could be blended to yield such a fire?
Who designed a way for that horror to be delivered?
What would Mariam think?
She… would be disappointed.
[fire crackling]
Yes. The last.
[Freydis] The last.
[man] There is no going back from here.
[woman] You are the last…
The last daughter of Uppsala.
You must survive.
[gasps]
[breathing heavily]
[Freydis] Harald!
He's still alive. Stígr is with him.
[man] Freydis…
[woman 1 shushing]
How is he?
He's strong.
Like his mother.
Praise the gods. You're up.
We were afraid we'd lost you.
[woman 2] Just stay, stay. The gods are looking after you.
How many have we lost?
At least half.
Most of the old ones and…
the healthy who survived are weak.
The poison was in the flour we traded for in Kattegat.
It's a brilliant strategy.
You made Jomsborg so difficult to attack that they had to discover a new way.
But who did it?
I think we'll find out soon.
Whoever did this must be curious to see if their plan worked.
And we must be ready when they arrive.
Ready? For what, Freydis?
We've only a handful of warriors who could fight and everyone is weak.
We could leave.
Before they arrive.
And go where? On all sides we are surrounded by Christians.
[Harald] I got your message.
Everything we've done from the beginning of our friendship,
we've always done together.
London Bridge…
Kattegat…
The Dnieper.
I do not want to say goodbye.
Our friendship hasn't changed, Harald.
But I have.
Where I am going, I won't need this.
I want you to have it.
Like me, it will always tell you the truth.
But it only works if you use it.
May it remind you of how you came this far.
You're the greatest navigator I ever met.
May you find now what you're looking for.
[grunts]
Should have seen it coming.
You cannot blame yourself, Freydis.
Yes, I can. I am the chosen one.
I was shown a vision of a new home for my people.
I fought for control of this place.
I killed Olaf and other enemies who tried to destroy it, and…
And now…
when I need the gods' help the most…
they have robbed me of my strength.
Maybe because they don't want you to fight.
But that is who I am.
What I mean is maybe this is not the final home to fight for.
Maybe the place you're meant to be is somewhere else.
Where?
Perhaps Greenland. Your people are there.
There are no trees in Greenland, it's…
It's not the place I saw.
I do not have the answer. Freydis, only you do.
But I can tell you there is a lot of world we know nothing about.
It lies over the horizon,
and it is revealed only for those
with the reason to find it and the bravery to seek it.
[groans softly]
[Freydis gasps] Harald!
Harald!
[laughs happily]
Something bothers you.
My sons…
They're strangers.
Alfred is the same but… Edward resents me for sending them here to Normandy.
Had you left them in England while I was gone…
they would have been in danger.
Even our marriage would not have protected them.
You knew that.
But I could have brought them back when you returned.
And I didn't.
Edward hates me.
Because I married you.
For me.
That savage stole our father's crown. By rights I should be king now.
He spared our lives.
You call this a life? I'm a king without a kingdom.
I will raise an army of Normans and land in England.
[William] You'd be making a mistake.
You're not ready.
You need to bide your time.
Never let your enemy see you as a threat. Let them forget you're even there!
Is that what you're doing? Always agreeing with Walter?
Yes.
And as God is my witness,
when the time comes, I will take what is mine!
Brave talk.
[William] I swear it.
Will you?
[grunting]
[Alfred winces]
To taking back what's ours.
To choosing the moment.
[men laughing and speaking in the distance]
Are those Olaf's colors?
Yes.
But you killed him.
He had a son. Magnus.
If we had even a dozen warriors, we could sink them easily.
[sighs] He knows we do not.
So what do we do?
We leave Jomsborg.
Leave? It's too late!
No. Magnus did not bring a fleet
because he thinks the battle is already over.
He's right. All he'll have to fight is an army of dead Jomsvikings.
Exactly.
That is enough to defeat him.
[Zoe] Do not go back to Norway.
Here is where your future is.
All you have to do…
is take it.