The Northman Ending Explained (In Detail) | Screen Rant
Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Northman
The Northman ending explained. Co-written and directed by Robert Eggers, The Northman is a gruesome drama that sees its titular character wanting nothing but revenge. The film is packed with Norse mythology, a Viking legend that directly influenced William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and brutal battles that are waged in the name of vengeance. To be sure, the film has something in it for everyone.
The Northman takes its cues from the legend of Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård), the Viking prince who vowed to avenge his father after he’s murdered by Amleth’s uncle Fjölnir (Claes Bang). The story itself is fueled by Amleth’s open rage; he’s a man on a mission, aided by the supernatural to finish his job. It’s one he will stop at nothing to complete.
The Northman ends with Amleth killing Fjölnir and ascending to Valhalla himself, having been fatally stabbed by his uncle in their fight. Though the film ends in a rather expected way, it’s the layers of the story that are also worth exploring. Here is The Northman ending explained, the history of the Berserkers, Gudrún and Olga’s parallel stories, and the ending’s real meaning.
The Berserkers are a group of elite Viking warriors Amleth joined in the years after he fled his village and before he got his revenge on Fjölnir. In the film, they’re fairly violent, storming a village and plundering their way through. They kill, steal children, and burn things down, brutally attacking nearly everyone. While audiences don’t get too much of them in The Northman, Berserkers did actually exist. They wore animal skin rather than traditional armor in battle, charging into villages to rape and kill, completely unhinged. Their name is essentially where the modern word “berserk” comes from because Berserkers would be out of control in their rage and violence. Historians have attributed some of this to Berserkers possibly using psychoactive drugs.
As soon as Aurvandill was murdered, Amleth vowed to avenge his father, save his mother, and kill his uncle. However, it was a very long time before Amleth could enact that plan at all. He spent years away from his village, not yet prepared to confront Fjölnir. Amleth’s time with the Berserkers isn’t explored enough, but one can gather that Amleth didn’t so much forget about his initial plans to find and kill his uncle so much that he was biding his time. In his youth, Amleth didn’t have the skills or the means needed to wage an attack on his uncle. In fact, without the supernatural elements, including the Seeress’ help, Amleth would have likely failed. His first instinct was to hide and wait it out.
It’s also possible he became accustomed to his life with the Berserkers, a group who took him in, cared for him, and trained him to become a ruthless warrior whose sole intent was executing his uncle. The intervening years were crucial for Amleth because they gave him space to do his own thing, become his own person, and carve out a life of his own that wasn’t tied only to that of his past. By the time Amleth is visited by the Seeress, he is more than ready to face Fjölnir and is clever enough to think of a plan regarding how he will exact his revenge.
Amleth and Olga tried to flee Iceland because Fjölnir was onto Amleth’s plot. After rescuing Amleth from near death, he has a vision of Valkyrie flying him to Valhalla on a winged horse. Valkyrie escorting someone to Valhalla is a sure sign of death, but in this scene it is more of an omen. Seeing Valkyrie confirms Amleth would not survive the events of the film, but it was not yet his time to ascend to Valhalla. Crucially, he saw Valkyrie because he was near death before, but the premonition showed him that he needed to complete his mission if he was to get to Valhalla at all. The next time Amleth ascends to Valhalla, he has actually died, stabbed in the heart by Fjölnir, but he’s greeted with the vision of Olga and their twin children rather than Valkyrie. In many ways, seeing that his new family survives is reward enough for him.
One of The Northman’s biggest twists is learning that Queen Gudrún was not innocent in her murdered husband’s downfall. It goes beyond the shock, however, because Gudrún’s past seems to mirror that of Olga. Both women were slaves to the Viking king before their status changed, taking the notice of someone in power and marrying their respective partners, who were of royal birth. But while Gudrún’s marriage was a loveless and cruel one, Olga’s union with Amleth was more of a partnership. The latter pair worked together to break free from Fjölnir’s clutches, to start a new life together away from the pain of the past. While the two women went about things differently, they both did what they had to do to survive, making decisions in favor of their well-being and that of their children. Olga and Gudrún suffered greatly at the hands of others, and their differences were ultimately a matter of luck and circumstance. Olga could have easily ended up in Gudrún’s position and vice versa, which is why their journeys parallel each other in so many ways.
King Aurvandill is revered only in the eyes of Amleth, whose perspective is the only important one for a long time. Seeing Aurvandill from Amleth’s point of view justifies his plans for vengeance against his uncle throughout the film. However, learning Aurvandill’s true nature — as a slave-owning rapist who did not seem to care about anyone or anything but himself — alters Amleth’s revenge in ways that were previously unforeseen. The reveal doesn’t take away from the rage and reason behind Amleth’s actions against Fjölnir, especially since he and Queen Gudrún were fine trying to kill young Amleth, but they do give pause to the idea of complete and unquestioned vengeance when Aurvandill himself was so terrible. To that end, there is a bit more sympathy afforded Gudrún because there is an understanding regarding the request to kill her husband. It certainly makes things, including Amleth’s vengeance plot, a lot more nuanced.
The Seeress and Heimir, the he-witch, are on the side of royalty, which is why they come to Amleth in a bid to help him fulfill his goals. The Seeress, in particular, is a prophet who can see all that will happen, so aiding Amleth is not necessarily because he is a Viking prince, but because she already knows what will happen. Her appearance at the village the Berserkers have just taken is not a coincidence; it’s perfectly timed to Amleth’s character development since he’s now ready to accept the challenge of avenging his father and the Seeress is more than willing to guide him. Heimir the Fool, meanwhile, had a personal attachment to Aurvandill, with whom he worked. Heimir was intent, even after death, to ensure Aurvandill’s bloodline remained and prospered. It’s why he guided Amleth spiritually to the sword he would eventually use to kill Fjölnir.
The Northman is openly about avenging Amleth’s father’s murder. However, the film is a bit deeper than what is on the surface. Amleth might be fueled by his hatred for his uncle and his actions, but he is also trying to find his own purpose in life. His journey, in many ways, is about reclaiming what was once lost to him, finding a new family amidst the one he never really got to have, and to fulfill the destiny he was always meant for. Ultimately, however, Amleth’s ending was about him making peace with his death, especially knowing that his bloodline would live on with his children. Amleth was so angry for so long and he was able to finally shed some of that rage in his fight with Fjölnir. He may not have been able to be the Viking king he was shaped to become, but he always knew that embracing his demise in order to exact his revenge would land him on death’s door. Understanding that and doing everything in his power to restore his family and avenge his father allowed him to die in peace, with Valhalla accepting and embracing him.