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: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY9KJ1cFVs7geVqrZ0FiXBd…

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"

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.

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

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

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🥹

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

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

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

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.

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

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. 🖤

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

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

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.

Imagine a sequel with his children.

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.