Many fans of History Channels’ Vikings were surprised to see a familiar face in Netflix’s new historical drama series, Vikings: Valhalla.
After all, the new historical drama series for Netflix is set some 100 years after the events that occurred in the original Vikings series by History Channel. So, all those characters should be dead by now.
However, one character has managed to survive the enormous time gap.
And, considering who the character was, perhaps it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise.
The Seer appeared in Vikings
In the original Viking Age series, the Seer (John Kavanagh) acted as the spiritual guide for those in Kattegat. Many went to him for advice as well as predictions on where their futures were headed.
However, Ivar the Boneless (Alex Hogh Andersen) ended up having the Seer killed as he was not particularly fond of what the wise man had to say about Ivar’s future.
This didn’t stop the Seer from appearing after that, albeit in a ghostly form rather than as an actual living and breathing person.
The Seer makes an unexpected appearance in Vikings: Valhalla
Because of his ghostly return in the original series, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Seer also returned in Vikings: Valhalla.
Once again, this character appeared in the spiritual realm rather than in a human form.
Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson) visited Uppsala and managed to connect with the Seer while she was there as he appeared to her in a vision.
Alongside her, Jarl Kare (Asbjorn Krogh Nissen) also saw the Seer. As pointed out by Netflix, Kare is a Christian zealot determined to stamp out paganism, so is in direct opposition to the Seer.
In Vikings: Valhalla, Kare appeared unaware that the spiritual leader was a specter and told Olaf (Johannes Haukur Johannesson) that he had captured the character and presented an empty cage to Olaf as “proof” that he had captured the man.
But, fans of both shows will know that the Seer was there, albeit in spirit and not physically.
Netflix has also gotten the original actor back to portray the Seer in Vikings: Valhalla, making John Kavanagh the only character from Vikings to crossover to the new TV show.
Currently, it is unknown whether or not the Seer will continue to pop up in subsequent seasons of Vikings: Valhalla. However, considering he is now of the spiritual realm, this seems entirely plausible.
It is also unknown if the second series will include other characters from the original series as the potential is always there that flashbacks could occur. However, Netflix seems more intent on moving the story forward rather than visiting the past and has used mentions of character names rather than actual spectral appearances.
Season 1 of Vikings: Valhalla is currently streaming on Netflix.