THE NORTHMAN Ending Explained! 

Hope you liked the video! These ones are tough to edit with only the footage from trailers and online clips. What did you think of THE NORTHMAN? Check out my other history videos here: ru-vid.com/group/PLY9KJ1cFVs7geVqrZ0FiXBduR2SxRSajx

It was a Happy ending… on Norse terms. He avenged his father. He protected his family. He died in Battle and gets to go to Valhalla.

As soon as the king's brother got so offended over a joke about the queen I was like, "Oop, they fucking"

You forgot the tear Amleth shed when he was seein visions of him getting carried to Valhalla at the end of the movie. Heimir the Fool told him "It's the last tear you'll shed till you need it." So after taking his revenge and knowing his lover n children were safe he was allowed to shed a tear again

What a lot of people don’t seem to realize is, in Viking culture, his death was honorable. It was a positive ending to him. He avenged his father, he will be accepted into Valhalla, and his family will live on.

This movie was incredibly good, I didn’t know anything about mythology but I understood it. I cried at the end because he sacrificed so much, but at-least his children are safe🥹

The scene with the berserkers around the fire with the old guy throat singing is such an iconic shot.

The Northman is easily one of the best films of the year. Amazing film from start to finish.

I don't get what was so hard to understand about the ending or why people hated it. His soul went to Valhalla. That's it. It was even somewhat predictable, but it was represented beautifully in the final scene

Much like the Lighthouse, for me the real draw of this movie comes from the gorgeous visuals.

Saw this film last night and I loved it. It's such a shame it's not doing well at the box office. This is real Shakespearean art right here.

If this story had a moral, I'd say it came in the form of the line "Evil begets evil." The solution is to break the cycle which he does by ensuring his death. He leaves and decides to "fulfill his destiny" and die in the process in order to ensure that the cycle does not come back to haunt his lover and his children. His dilemma is whether or not we are bound by fate, and would the denial of that presumed fate result in the unloving end he fears for his kin. That's why he sees hatred for his enemies and love for his kin as the same thing. In a way, given that he was fully prepared to walk away and let it go, I see his return to Iceland to confront his uncle not as an act of revenge out of hatred, but rather an act he takes because of the love he found along the way. His motivations have changed by the end.

A slightly different review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eFUnqP5Bspk.html

The lady in the red cape is the captain of the viking band that attacked the village. The director mentions that she’s based on a real archaeological figure in that GQ interview about the boat scene

8:26 The lady in the red cape in the village who says "Save me the strong ones". Robert Egger discusses this in the Vanity Fair video with Alex Skarsgard. This female Viking Warrior you mention is also in the rowing scene on the Viking Longships when we first meet Amleth. She is commanding the first ship, Amleth on the second. Eggers says the reason he included this detail is because he wanted to honour the only archeological evidence of a female Viking warrior. She was buried with the accoutrements of an elite professional Viking warrior in a 10th century chamber-grave in Birka, Sweden. Video reference "Alexander Skarsgård & 'The Northman' Director Break Down Amleth's Return as a Viking | Vanity Fair" . He mentions the detail above at 3 :10

I appreciate that the movie followed the Viking morality above our own, which is honor vs shame rather than good vs evil. A good man in their eyes is a proud and honorable one, and Amleth is forced into action to be honorable by avenging his father.

Thank you for breaking this down. I watched The Northman yesterday and I can’t articulate just how moved and inspired I am by cinema in 2022. The originality we’ve experienced has been refreshing. Everything, Everywhere All At Once, The Northman and The Batman have just spoiled us! Can’t wait to go watch this movie again this weekend. 🖤

It was good but some of the studio interference was obvious. Eggers spoke about how difficult that was to deal with so I hope we get a directors cut sometime in the near future

Absolutely epic and stunning movie. Music and cinematography, landscapes were incredible. Acting was amazing. Talk about immersive! It was intense and brutal, sometimes pushing the line...heart pounding and heart breaking moments. Truly an EXPERIENCE, transporting me into that world, that time, that culture, that mysticism and belief. To me, this and Dune were two of the best films in my lifetime - deepest most epic, terrific attention to detail, visuals and sounds stunning, casting near perfect, and acting great.

In a lot of ways this movie reminds me a lot about Conan the Barbarian, that is it starts off with a happy boy living blissfully with his parents, and quality time with his father. Then one day someone power appears and murders his father (and mother in Conan), making him an orphan who grows up in hardship, but his tribulations make him very strong and gives him a steele determination to get vengeance. Years go by and he grows up to become a formidable warrior, and had forgotten all about his desire for revenge but one day he is reminded by a mysterious woman who has magic. He finds a mystical sword from the skeleton of a dead king, and uses it to slay the one who wronged him.

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As a fan God of war, Vikings, The Last Kingdom this was also a blast to watch: Amazing cinematography, lore, mythical elements, action, pacing, suspense 10/10 masterpiece

Watched it tonight and it’s on my top ten this year for sure

The Fool wasnt just talking shit about the Queen. if you listen to his dialogue he literally accuses her of being disloyal. this pisses off the kings brother because he is worried the Fool knows of their affair. The Fool foretells the plot twist about his mom.

Imagine a sequel with his children.

It's basically viking hamlet with a twist, which sounds simple on paper, but goshdarn the execution of this one is almost immaculate. Would not call it perfect, but man was it excellent and really beautiful to look at. We need more movies like this. This made me want to watch more modern sword and sandal type movies done right.

For people who have seen the Northman may I say suggest the anime vinland saga

2:30 The ritual of the wolf was more likely a ritual to Odin. As you see the old guy during their Berserker trance ritual, only has one eye, a sword and spear (like odin) and uses a big horned ritual helmet, which has been found on old Odin statues dug up in Scandinavia. It's the same reason why the Ravens picks at Amlets bonds when he is captured. Odin sends his Ravens to his follower, guiding their way to Valhalla.

One of my all time favs already

Love these "ending explained" videos for movies that already make perfect sense to viewers.

The ending was pretty self-explanatory and classic he found out she was pregnant and had to go get some milk 🤣🤣🥛👌

So is this a prequel to True Blood? Eric? Is that you?

It was really cool to see them play knattleikr (that game with the ball). Reminded me a lot of the Irish game 'Hurling'. The most popular sport in Ireland that dates back thousands of years, and obviously heavily influenced by this, I imagine.

This movie was so freaking good! The acting, the action, the score and cinematography. Between this and Everything Everywhere All at Once, these are my favorite films of the year.

the feels of this movie is like having that vague dream/nightmare but you remember all the cuts. kudos to the team!

love this movie. watched it multiple times in theaters and it was always just as fascinating and intense as the first viewing. Northman is an experience. afterwards i wanted to go straight to the gym 😁

The woman in the scene after they raid the village is a shield maiden and she is looking for new shield maidens through the slaves and townswomen

Thank you for a good analysis.

I agree with your comment on the Valkyrie appearing at the end of the Rus town raid

what I like is that the hero had multiple off-ramps where he could have abandoned the quest for revenge, but instead chose to seek revenge. It's clear almost from the beginning that there's no point in killing his uncle because he's already been dethroned himself and is living in exile. There is no kingdom to reclaim, at least, not from his loser uncle. A truly pointless quest if there ever was one, yet somehow completely enthralling.

It appears that the Maiden-King, Amleth's daughter, is Olga of Kiev (named after her mother) who became ruler of Kievan Rus. She helped Christianize the kingdom and some eagle-eyed viewers say that they saw Amleth's daugher wearing a Christian crown.

The final shot is one of the best in recent memory

The devil works hard but Think Story works harder.

Amazing thank u for breaking it down step by step ☺️

This movie was really good, please endorse this kind of movies we dont see them a lot!

Great analysis. Also, I felt saddened when some symbols reminded me of GoT. And the end fight might have been Azor Ahai fighting, maybe, The Night King.

This movie was a masterpiece. Everything about it. It wasn't what what I expected and that was the amazing part of it.

THIS MOVIE IS ON PAR WITH SPARTACUS, ZULU, BEOWULF, GLADIATOR AND MASTER AND COMMANDER. IT WAS A BEAST

9:40 Legendary!!

Does anybody else think Amleth's mother was lying to him when she was talking about what a bad man his father was and how she was laughing? Why else would she go from saying that to telling him she would be his Queen and then later thanking him when he killed her? I think she was terrified of his uncle and she was only out to protect herself until Amleth set her free and that's why she thanked him.

To whoever liked this movie and is into Vikings anime or manga I highly recommend watching Vinland Saga. Thorfin the main protagonist of that show has a similar backstory to Amleth, a man consumed by rage in order to take revenge for the death of his father joins under the Viking crew responsible for his father death and becomes a killer from an early age in order to kill the captain that killed his dad. WIth revenge as the main theme for the show as well as the burning question of what it means to be a warrior we can follow Thorfin (similarly to Amleth) walking down the path of revenge yet following a different path than Amleth.

Just watched this at the movie theater tonight and was blown away. Was not expecting it to be actually good.

I think the Warrior woman at the village is a reference to the burial at Birka of a supossed Warrior woman

I love how Shakespeare just took the H at the end of Amleth and moved it to the front Hamlet…a tru poet lol

bro the ending battle when he slices fjorlnirs head off and ur thinking "oh damn he did it hes okay" then when fjolnirs body drops u realise the sword is in amleths chest i was like damn that was a dope shot

I also seen the Valkyrie in the beginning during the raid so no your not crazy :)

I just watched this movie on Peacock last night and I couldn't have been any more impressed or delighted with it. It's made me so interested in Viking culture and wanting to know more about their views on life and death. Mr. Robert Eggers did the damn thing with this one!

that bjork scene is so good!

The movie was so dope!!! I got chills when it started haha

Strangely felt immersed and embedded within the Film … carrying a sword and shield. That’s movie making at its Best 🤩

i feel like the most underrated aspect of this movie was the cinematography this movie looked absolutely phenomenal

I thought it was interesting that they had a woman with them fighting but since you pointed out the Valkarie thing it makes more sense. Dope movie and I'll definitely be watching it again

The glint in his eyes also appears when he unsheathes the sword for the first time or when he picked it up from the draugr I forget which

The ending is sad but satisfying. The Valkrey riding up into the sky...so epic.

Knattleikr, is based off an early version of the ancient Irish sport called hurly!

I liked the fact that you used the map of Yggdrasil from the Magnus chase books

I think people who are not familiar with Viking tradition and mythology are going to find this film weird. It is weirder than the Viking stuff I'm used to, but it all makes sense if you get their culture and religious beliefs. There are scenes that can confuse people into thinking they're seeing supernatural stuff, but it ends up being imagined because these Norse people truly believed in these supernatural things. They were real to them. I feel like that was woven into the narrative very well.

I can’t wait to see this.

After having watched and very much liked Alexander Skarsgard and Nichol Kidman in the series ‘Big Little Lies’, where they were married - it is just a bit strange to see her play his mother in this film.

Where are you guys seeing this movie? Is it streaming? I can't find it anywhere.

I think I know the valkyrie-esque warrior you saw, I think she's labeled as "shield maiden" in the credits. Here's a crazy one few people catch though, both times the family tree vision appears, you can see a werewolf in the background, kind of freaked me out when I first saw it.

We need more movies like this. Just good old fashioned entertainment.

i also remember seeing the blonde haired woman with a red cape on horse back

He-witches are called seiðmaðr in norse ;) It was seen as a more or less bad thing because ergi (magic) was seen as feminine and sometimes even homosexual.

This movie has become a favorite of mine. Robert Eggers just keeps making magic. I mean when you have William Defoe in all your movies, be it for seconds at a time, it's going to be good.

That was the first movie I saw in theaters in six years. Holy shit I give an easy 11/10

This movie: poetic testosterone. Masterpiece. I love it. I love the duel on the volcano. Dont know how some people didnt get the ending. "I am Amleth the Bearwulf. Son of king Aurvandil the War Raven. AND... I.... AM... HIS... VENGEANGE!!!!"

...you said Björk is in this movie... I NEED TO SEE IT!

0:09 The Hu. Saw them 4/19. Loved their show.

This movie was too good I was completely in awe throughout the whole screening I wana see it again

One of the best movies I’ve seen in years

I saw the scene you were talking about today. It's in the film.

I felt so disgusted by his mother but it didn't take away how good this revenge movie was for me.

Thats a tough movie to beat for 2022

He-Witch…..I think he was also in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo….

Loved it , great movie! 8/10 after first viewing!

I really loved this movie. Very aesthetically pleasing.

Eric Northman came full circle huh!

I saw the movie at home with captions, and the female warrior that you felt was similar to a Valkyrie was labeled as a “Shield Maiden” so I think she was just a female warrior.

Fantastic movie. No pushing of “the message”. Just a great historical action flick, with a great story. More please!

Hope there more scene directors cut where we get to see more of him as a berserker. Cause I think the film would have benefited from more character development for the main character. Could even have had him hyping himself up by becoming one to eventually go back to get the audience invested as well. Then the twist that threw the main character near the end would have hit a little harder. Still, I loved the film.

Another layer here is the themes of masculinity and femininity's destructive vs. healing power when rejected or embraced respectively. King Aurvandill is described as an unflinching, unloving husband (and father). He seems to love battle, and therefore violence, for the sake of violence itself and is revealed to have raped Amleth's mother. His absence, like the absence of a father-figure from the home, invites chaos, which triggers the plot. Amleth's mother, Queen Gudrún is representative of the negative aspects of femininity as she is chaotic, mentally unhinged, untrustworthy. She uses sex to survive, tells Amleth she loves her other sons more than him, and even makes an incestuous move towards her own son, the ultimate betrayal of her role as a mother. Both of their attitudes and behaviors jeopardize Amleth, their innocent child (the legitimate Prince of Hrafnsey, representative of the nation). This triggers the "hard times" which robs him of his humanity and forces him to lose his humanity to survive. On the other hand, Amleth and Olga of the Birch Forest represent the opposite, the healing and hopeful power of love as well as a traditional embrace of their roles as man and woman. Their romance is one of mutual respect for one another's capabilities. While Amleth's masculinity is obviously displayed by his strength and capability for violence, his this archetype and character development is not complete (demonstrated by the lack of human feeling in the village sack scene). In the beginning of the film, he continues to be broken as a result of the horrors of his past until he meets Olga. Olga's femininity is demonstrated by her cunning, her role as an Earth Priestess (representative of Mother Nature) and most importantly her ability to temper Amleth's violence. Through this she redeems him and restores his humanity. Their romance is established on the basis of mutual sacrifice for one another which we see throughout their relationship (on the ship, on the beach, when Amleth distracts Fjölnir and when Olga rescues Amleth from the village after his torture.) "Love through sacrifice as a power to save" is a major recurring theme and juxtaposed by Amleth's parent's own selfish motivations. Once Amleth has been healed through his love of Olga, both their character arcs culminate with the embrace of the "true masculine and feminine archetypal acts". For him it is his selfless sacrifice (and death) for his new family borne of love (juxtaposed by his father's lust for glory). For her, it is the sacrifice of motherhood alone borne of love (juxtaposed by Queen Gudrún). Their actions are restorative to the legitimate bloodline, representative of the restoration of the nation. Anyway, that's just my take. Maybe it's all incorrect.

Lol the moment i saw his uncy get mad at the jester i knew uncy and momma amleth were doing the hanky panky lmao

If people hated the end of this movie it is solely from not understanding that to die in combat was glorious in Norse society. It was the only way to Valhalla. It is tragic in a sense but happy in another knowing that his memory will live on in his twin sons. This movie plays out perfectly all the key aspects of the Wardruna song “Helvegen”.

It is strongly implied that the "Maiden King" is Olga of Kiev.

Interestingly enough, it didn’t feel like 2hrs. I wish it was longer.,Alexander Skarsgard reminded me of Charlie hunnam in King Arthur.

The woman you thought was a valkyrie in the village is a shield maiden credited as Áshildur Hofgythja, i think

8:28 I remember that scene as well. I'm not sure if it was the same actress, though.

The one thing I am confused about is, why did his mother say "Thank you" when she was killed by him? Was that her plan? Did she want to die? Or did she say thank you because he pierced her heart? Maybe that's a viking thing to get to Valhalla? I have no idea. But Ahmlet also kissed her on the forehead at the bottom of the volcano, as if he was forgiving her, which I also found a bit strange, unless she just acted weird to him so that he kills her? But I guess that would contradict her desire to stay in power and even start a romantic relationship with her son. I don't know, I found that kinda confusing.

I feel like Norse mythology has been so prominent in the last decade with Tv shows and video games that I understood everything tbh. I will say the trailer led me to believe the story would be of a bigger scale than a simple revenge story but it's done very well.