‘Vikings: Valhalla’ Star Frida Gustavsson is “Most Proud” of Freydis’s Shield-Maiden Test

Netflix‘s Vikings: Valhalla has no shortage of warrior women or ruthless queens, but Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson) is undoubtedly the show’s ferocious muse. She is the “Last Daughter of Uppsala,” a fated figure who will have to fight for the pagan faith as Christianity takes Viking culture into its chokehold. There are a number of fun, fabulous, fist-bumping Freydis moments throughout Vikings: Valhalla‘s first season, but nothing compares to her shield-maiden test. It’s the moment where Freydis earns the respect of her fellow Vikings and lives up to Jarl Haaken’s (Caroline Henderson) hopes for her. And it was apparently just as thrilling a moment on set.

Vikings: Valhalla follows the exploits of legendary Viking heroes like Harald Hardrada (Leo Suter), Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), and Leif’s famously pugnacious sister Freydis. While the Viking sagas mostly focus on Freydis’s journeys to the New World, Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 looks at the events that inspired Erik and Freydis to become intrepid explorers. In Vikings: Valhalla Season 1, Freydis journeys with her brother to Kattegat to find and kill her Christian Viking rapists. After doing so in spectacular style, Freydis embarks on a journey of self-discovery as both a proud pagan Viking and a warrior. She trains to join the shield-maidens at Kattegat — something she can only do after passing a difficult public test.

Freydis’s shield-maiden test is absolutely exhilarating and filming it was a profound experience for Vikings: Valhalla star Frida Gustavsson.

“Portraying Freydis has been the greatest gift of my career,” Gustavsson told Decider. “I feel there’s so many ways I identified with her and so many ways where she taught me so many things. It was a great physical challenge whipping myself into shape and gaining a lot of muscle mass to be able to fight against these men and fight against these very accomplished stuntmen that we have to do combat with.”

“But that day where we did the shield maiden test? Probably one of the scenes I’m the most proud of. And it’s a day I will never forget. I mean, where else do you see all these super cool women in amazingly crafted costumes punching each other in the face?” Gustavsson said with a smile.

As it turns out, Gustavsson wasn’t the only actor on set moved by the moment. Jarl Haakon actress Caroline Henderson remembers the day as a victory for her IRL “good friend.”

“I was personally so proud of [Frida] because this is something that she worked on everyday for months. So seeing her accomplish this, I mean I felt real pride as Caroline seeing her really kicking, doing this because this is not easy. And then also for the character, Jarl Haakon, of course, she has pride.

Henderson said for her character, the moment doubled as a “mission accomplished” when it came to mentoring Freydis to greatness. “She sees this young woman coming from Greenland doesn’t know anything about anything, and she kind of really puts all her faith [on her], and this is the one,” Henderson said. “This is the one. And that actually happens in that particular scene.

Watch Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix