Vikings: Valhalla Season 1 Episode 4 Recap – The Bridge

Harald discusses the plan with King Canute. He says they should forget about taking London and just take the king. He reveals the bridge has been fortified with armed towers, so the initial plan to storm the gates won’t work; they will lose a thousand men in the process. Olaf says they should raid London until those inside run out of food, but Harald says the city is prepared for a siege. He says they will lose a lot of men even before the city runs out of food. Leif then shares his plan to destroy a part of a bridge. King Canute doubts letting Leif continue with his plan, but he allows Leif to take his own crew and put the plan to work. The night before the attack, Leif, his crew, and Harald made their way to the bridge and positioned themselves under the drawbridge.

King Edmund tells Streona where to attack the enemies. Streona compliments the king’s plan and says it is a brilliant idea, but he worries that his men will fight and die while the king hides inside his palace. Edmund says he will reward Streona for his sacrifice. When Streona asks that Mercia be independent again, Queen Emma tells him to gather his army and leave. Edmund doesn’t want to lose Streona’s support, so he offers to double Mercia’s land instead.

On the day of the battle, King Canute and his men start moving onwards to the bridge. The king gets down from his horse and walks closer to the gates. He introduces himself to King Edmund. Then he tells Edmund there used to be warriors in England. He adds he once saw King Aethelred lead an army of a hundred men against a thousand. He mocks the boy king and calls him a coward. King Canute’s men join him and mock Edmund, calling him a coward in their language. Queen Emma walks closer to Edmund and tells him not to let his emotions sway him. She reminds him to wait for Streona and his army.

Meanwhile, under the bridge, Leif and his crew keep working. They start chipping the woods under the drawbridge. Some Vikings are aboard their boats, waiting for the signal to get to work. King Canute tells Edmund to stop hiding and to fight him. He says that if the boy king wins, he and his men will leave without bloodshed, then continues to mock King Edmund and calls him a coward. Despite Queen Emma’s advice, King Edmund gets on his horse and orders his men to open the gates. The boy king orders his men to attack. Under the bridge, Leif and his crew tie ropes to beams, then they tie a thick thread to each rope. The other end of the thread is tied to an arrow which they shoot towards the boats. Once those on the boat grab the rope, they wait for another signal. The fighting on the bridge is putting pressure on the already weakened beams. Then, the Vikings start to row and pull the ropes. King Canute orders his men to retreat. When King Edmund sees this, he tells his men to follow them. Queen Emma senses there is something wrong. She orders Godwin to take Edmund back because the boy king has walked into a trap. As Godwin rides to save the king, Queen Emma orders the archers to attack those on the boats and under the bridge. 

When King Edmund reaches the end of the bridge, King Canute calls for the rest of his army. The Vikings come out of their hiding and stand behind their king. When Godwin arrives, he tells Edmund that the Vikings are destroying the bridge to trap him. Edmund turns back and rides his horse as fast as he can, but just before he crosses the drawbridge, it finally collapses. Now he’s trapped without any way to get back to the fortress. From where he is, he sees Streona and the warriors from Mercia. Streona has already heard of King Edmund leading the attack, so when he sees King Edmund is losing, he tells his men they should let the king taste defeat since he wanted to have glory. He orders his men to turn back. King Canute orders his men to bring him the boy king.

Leif opens his eyes and finds out that his plan worked. The Vikings cheer for him because he made a part of the bridge collapse. But Leif’s crew were killed by archers.

Our Thoughts

Edmund is still young and is a newly crowned king. Of course, he wanted to prove himself and show the people that he could lead and win a battle. But it is more than just an ambition because the boy king is arrogant and impulsive. Godwin had lectured him about it before, but Edmund refused to listen. At first, he was scared of what would happen because he didn’t know how to become a king, but after Godwin talked to him, he gained a lot of confidence. As soon as he’s crowned king, the confidence soon turns into arrogance. He always looked to the queen for advice but only followed what he wanted to pursue. It’s not surprising he’s like such; he is a king, after all.

Leif said he fights for his crew. He wanted his plan to work because he knew his crew would follow him anywhere. He knew they would die for him, but now that most, if not all of his followers are dead, will he still continue to fight? Harald believed in Leif before and knew he could be useful to them, but after Leif’s plan worked, more people would believe in him. Maybe in time, he will be released from his debt, and he and Freydis can go back home. We don’t know if this will make him ambitious, but we know he wants to make a name for himself.