Vikings: Valhalla’s Frida Gustavsson Reacts to Bloody Finale

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Vikings: Valhalla season two.

Only one warrior could emerge victorious on Vikings: Valhalla.

And that’s exactly what happened in the season two finale of the Netflix drama, which saw an epic faceoff between Freydís (Frida Gustavsson), a shield-maiden dedicated to protecting the Pagan faith, and Olaf (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson), a devout Christian determined to whip out the old ways.

While some viewers may’ve assumed that the brutish Olaf would ultimately be victorious, Freydís proved that she was as fierce as she was smart, eliminating both Olaf’s army by fire and demolishing him in one-on-one combat.

The final battle was epic and bloody and, according to Gustavsson, took quite a bit of practice to pull off. “We wanted to make it the biggest thing we possibly could,” she exclusively told E! News. “We spent months working on that fight.”

Gustavsson credits “genius” creator Jeb Stuart for creating an ending that topped season one’s fierce battle. “The ending of season one, I thought it was just so big. So action-packed,” she said. “And [Stuart] did it again. Better. Bigger. And I think the ultimate showdown of Freydís and Olaf is just so fantastic.”