Vikings: Valhalla introduced viewers to Leif Erikson, who right at the end of the season went through a major change – but what happened to him? Back in 2013, viewers met Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and his Viking brothers in the historical drama TV series Vikings, created by Michael Hirst. Vikings was initially planned to be a miniseries, but Ragnar’s travels and raids captivated the audience instantly, and so the series lived on for six seasons, coming to an end in 2020 – but that wasn’t the end of the stories from the Viking Age.

In 2019, a sequel series to Vikings, simply titled Vikings: Valhalla, was announced, and instead of continuing the stories from the surviving characters, it makes a huge time jump to cover a different era from the Viking Age. Set over a century later, Vikings: Valhalla follows Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett), Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson), and Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) as they go on a journey that takes them across oceans and battlefields, with the conflict between Vikings and English royals (pagans vs. Christians) as the backdrop. In just one season, these characters went through an intense personal journey, but the one who changed the most was Leif.

Related: Vikings: Valhalla Makes Leif Erikson Almost Unrecognizable From History

Leif Erikson arrived at Kattegat with his sister Freydís and their crew as Freydís was looking for the man who raped her when she was younger and left a cross-shaped scar on her back. Freydís found and killed the man, but as he was part of Olaf Haraldsson’s (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson) crew, in order to save her life Leif had to join Harald, Olaf, and Canute’s (Bradley Freegard) mission to attack England. Leif proved to be a key element in that journey, as thanks to him they destroyed the London Bridge and thus were able to attack and invade England, and while Leif had to fight and kill some enemies in the process, he stayed true to his calmer, more centered nature… until Liv (Lujza Richter) was killed at the end of Vikings: Valhalla season 1.

Vikings Valhalla Leif ending

While defending Kattegat from Jarl Kåre (Asbjørn Krogh Nissen) and Olaf’s armies, Liv was mortally wounded by Olaf in front of Leif. Liv died in Leif’s arms, and as he was mourning her death, some of Olaf’s men entered the room to assault some women. Leif told them to leave, but as they wouldn’t do so, he brutally attacked them and killed them. Vikings: Valhalla season 1 ends with Leif covered in blood and screaming as Sweyn Forkbeard’s grandson discovers the bodies. Now, Leif is the son of Erik the Red, a Norse explorer who was exiled from Iceland due to his violent actions, as he murdered a lot of people, and Leif even mentions to Liv that he once saw his father brutally beating a man in front of his children. Leif explained there was a darkness in his father that he couldn’t control, and that this darkness also lives in him but he tries to fight it. Liv’s murder was the trigger for that darkness in him, awakening his violent side and making him like his father, even though he had spent years trying to separate his name from that of his father.

Leif Erikson is now considered a Viking thanks to his leadership skills during the mission to attack England and his plan to destroy the London Bridge, but he’s now also on his way to becoming a very dangerous man who can end up making the same mistakes as his father, and he could even do something he regrets and brings terrible consequences. Leif Erikson awakening the berserker in him at the end of Vikings: Valhalla is one of many changes the series did to history, so it’s to be seen what Leif will do next and if he will continue on this path similar to his father’s or if he will go back to his more centered self.

Next: Vikings: Valhalla True Story - Every Major Change To Real Life History