‘Vikings: Valhalla’s Sex Scenes are a Refreshing Kind of Hot

I have to be honest: I didn’t immediately warm up to Netflix’s new series Vikings: Valhalla. Don’t get me wrong. I was all about a pulpy, propulsive look at the lives of medieval legends like Leif Eriksson (Sam Cortlett) and Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter). I like looking at handsome actors going berserk and longships navigating monstrous squalls. But what gave me pause was the fact that Vikings: Valhalla introduced its ferocious female lead, Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), as the victim of sexual assault. Vikings: Valhalla suggests that the Greenlander and her brother journeyed to Kattegat in order to track down the Christian Viking who raped and tortured her and that’s how they cross paths with other Viking legends.

I was frustrated that Vikings: Valhalla would lean on the tired trope of explaining a woman’s motivations solely through sexual assault. Freydis has personality to spare in the Viking sagas without bringing sexual assault into it. I was worried this presaged how Vikings: Valhalla would treat its female characters and their sexuality in the episodes to come — as victims and objects.

Boy, am I glad I was wrong.

Vikings: Valhalla not only nips that part of Freydis’s story in the bud early (by letting her murder her rapist — slay, girlboss, slay) but also lets its female characters take control. The romances that develop in Vikings: Valhalla are built on mutual respect, which makes them hot. Vikings: Valhalla understands there’s nothing sexier than two powerful characters loving and respecting the shit out of each other and that’s why its sex scenes are so steamy.

Vikings: Valhalla is set about a century after the events of the show Vikings. It opens on the St. Brice’s Day Massacre, a 1003 event where the English murdered Vikings living peacefully on their soil. Harald Sigurdsson narrowly escaped this horrific fate and has sworn vengeance on the English. But as the Vikings of Norway and Denmark prepare an invasion of England, Greenlander siblings Freydis and Erik arrive in Kattegat to track Freydis’s rapist. Literally as soon as Freydis comes ashore, she crosses paths with the handsome Harald and the two hook up.

It was honestly refreshing to see the two hot-blooded young Vikings cut to the chase. Instead of a tortured, prolonged “will they, won’t they?”, Vikings: Valhalla just let two consenting adults have some fun, casual sex. She’s been stuck on a small boat for ages and he’s angsty over losing his girlfriend in the massacre. Cabin fever and grief are two modes that can be aided by a simple sexy romp. Vikings: Valhalla understands this. I enjoyed the simplicity of it!

But Vikings: Valhalla also understands romance. (Spoilers for the second half of Vikings: Valhalla Season 1!) Two of my favorite storylines in Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 were unabashed, earnest romances. The first is between the aforementioned Harald and Freydis. When they are finally reunited later in the series, Harald is clearly in awe of the woman Freydis has become in his absence. Freydis, it seems, is charmed by Harald’s optimism in a world where pagans and Christians can be friends. It’s hot watching a casual fling develop into true love.

The second romance develops between Viking King Canute (Bradley Freegard) and the woman whose strategies almost ruin Canute’s English invasion: Emma of Normandy (Laura Berlin). When we first meet Emma, she is King Aethelred II’s much younger second wife. She considers it a point of pride that she’s managed to acclimate to England and applies all her smarts and savvy to holding on to the country in the face of the Viking invasion. Canute only succeeds thanks to a daring out-of-the-box plan concocted by Leif Eriksson, but when he takes over London, he wants Emma by his side. While other rulers might see Emma as a dangerous rival, Canute falls hard for her because she’s able to keep up with him.

Just as it was refreshing to see two Vikings hook up without drama, it was mesmerizing to watch two powerful characters appreciate that they would be stronger together. The Emma/Canute relationship was sweet. He uses his might to save her children and she uses her cunning to outmaneuver his, uh, other wife to save his fleet. (It’s a Viking culture thing. Canute’s marriage to his first wife was only done through handfasting so he can divorce her.)

Vikings: Valhalla could have leaned into its darker urges, painting a picture of Viking sexuality predicated on raping and pillaging. Instead, it doubled down on one of the things that made the original Vikings so darn fun: a loving portrayal of strong-willed women and the equally ambitious men who love them. The sex is progressive. The romances built on respect. Ergo Vikings: Valhalla is hot.

Watch Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix