Episode 19: United Front

Thorfinn wakes from his fall with a broken right arm, and Thorkell grants him time to recover before honoring his promise to speak of Thors. The giant reveals that he and Thors both led as Jomsviking commanders, that Chief Sigvaldi gave Thors his daughter Helga, and that Sigvaldi is Thorkell's own brother. The revelation makes Sigvaldi the grandfather Thorfinn never knew and Thorkell his great-uncle. At the naval Battle of Hjorungavagr, the Jomsvikings lost and Thors vanished into the sea, though he was not truly dead.

In a flashback set three months later at Jomsborg, Thorkell drinks atop Thors' house and attacks hooded figures slipping away in the night, only for the wind to reveal his old friend and a shabbily dressed Helga. Thors declares he is deserting the Jomsvikings, having finally understood what it means to be a true warrior, and asks to be forgotten. Enraged at the betrayal, Thorkell strikes, but Thors snaps his axe and knocks him unconscious before disappearing.

Fifteen years on, Thorkell learned Thors had genuinely died, and he concluded that what matters for a warrior is where the soul travels, believing Thors reached that far place. When he mocks Thorfinn for lacking his father's mysterious spark, the young man rushes to fight, but Askeladd intervenes, warning that his usual style guarantees defeat. Because his own life hinges on the outcome and Thorkell honors his vows, Askeladd coaches Thorfinn on how to topple the giant.

The duel resumes with a one-armed Thorfinn forced onto the defensive, and Askeladd recalls the Battle of Maldon, where he once glimpsed even Thorkell falter. As the giant closes in for a killing blow, believing his opponent spent, Askeladd blinds him with sunlight reflected off his blade. Thorfinn kicks Thorkell in the chin, drops him, and gouges out his left eye, and though the giant's men move to kill him, Thorkell halts them, furious that they tarnished his duel. Asgeir reminds them that only Thorkell can hold the five hundred together.

Canute arrives declaring the fighting over, and though Thorkell resists surrendering, the prince challenges him to show his men the pride befitting a leader. Thorkell relents, conceding the loss and releasing Thorfinn to preserve his dignity. Canute then demands a sled, supplies, and both Thorfinn and Askeladd, explaining that he holds no value as a hostage since his father does not love him and means to hand the throne to Harald, making his very existence a source of Sweyn's distress.

Understanding that Sweyn hoped Thorkell would do the killing for him, Canute reveals he is bound for Gainsborough to make war on his father, his life worth nothing. Thorkell nearly strikes him but stops, recognizing in the prince's eyes the same light Thors once carried, and pledges to help while warning he will kill Canute at any sign of weakness. Askeladd then kneels, confesses to murdering Ragnar, and offers his sword and his service, which Canute accepts on the condition that he now labor on Ragnar's behalf.