Vikings: Valhalla

Rooted in history but not beholden to it, the show might provoke one or two viewers to crack a book seeing if this is how it actually unfolded, which isn't a bad thing. Yet nor is that really necessary, with "Vikings: Valhalla" working plenty well simply as escapist drama, covering a great deal of story in a season that still leaves room for battles and brawls to come.

The vast audience for Vikings is clearly the target for Valhalla, and those viewers won’t be disappointed, but they also won’t be blown away; the show takes a while to find its way.

If anything, “Valhalla’s” eight-episode first season improves on the original show — as it should, since it takes place in more interesting times.

To view Vikings: Valhalla as targeting the spirit of the times rather than to-the-letter of the times is to enjoy on its own terms, and its own terms are ultimately fair. Maybe they keep the show from being truly great, but in terms of pure entertainment and getting you to click that “next episode” button, everything here works perfectly.

Just like its parent show, Vikings: Valhalla is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But for fans of the genre, Valhalla does a good job of continuing the story established in Vikings.

It is, rather, fiercely emotional, often overwrought and populated by characters well-acted and fully engaging.

These characters may not have much complexity or depth, but they compensate for their thinness with a surplus of furious attitude—save, that is, for Corlett’s Leif, who turns out to be far duller than expected from one of the series’ nominal heroes.

I watched the second half of the eight-episode season being relieved that even if Valhalla never quite reaches the heights of the Vikings mothership, the show it settles into becoming is pretty strong and satisfying on its own.

It stays consistently entertaining even as it fails some of its best ideas. The production values are very high, resulting in a show that’s confidently made, and the cast is uniformly charismatic.

Vikings: Valhalla is a crisp and often very entertaining re-skinning of the Vikings franchise that could use a little more of Vikings’ often messy ambition.

Valhalla is promising, offering an exciting new batch of characters, it needs to fix its pacing issue and lean into more of its strengths rather than trying to retread the path of history.

It’s fun, no more, no less. Bit of history, bit of gore, bit of sex, bit of plot, lots of hair. As mindless distraction at a gruelling time, it will be hard to beat.