'Norsemen' Season 3: Jarl Varg doesn't like being called bald, so he starts a war to seek revenge
Spoilers for 'Norsemen' Season 3
Once upon a time, not so long ago, Jarl Varg (Jon Øigarden) had a long mane of hair — flowing and luscious. The mane was not only his identity but also his pride. He spent long hours combing his hair and going on and on about how a man is only as manly as his mane.
Little did he know that he is thinning from the top. When Jarl Bjørn (Thorbjørn Harr) points out that Varg is balding, he literally loses his cool. So much so that not only does he burn down the shed, killing all of Bjørn's family and his wife, but also bursts a vein in his eye. Following this, he falls into a pit of depression, mourning not the demise of his childhood best friend or his wife but his hair. He also shaves off all of his hair to escape the shame that slow balding brings with it.
At Orm (Kåre Conradi) and Frøya's (Silje Torp) wedding, when he finds out that Bjørn is actually alive, he regains his old viciousness and sets out to fight him. He also enlists Chieftain Olav's (Henrik Mestad) army to fight Bjørn's big army. To ensure victory, he also enlists the services of a dragon-for-hire. But the meta joke here is the penultimate episode 'Do You Believe in Dragons?'
The war might have resulted in the deaths of most of his army but after emerging victorious, he captures Bjørn as a prisoner of war. And his first "torturous" punishment is chopping off all of his hair and parading him around the village. To create an example out of this, he ties him to a tree for everyone to see, and while Bjørn manages to escape, he leaves behind Orm as a scapegoat.
Never before will you have seen a Viking take so much offense to a jab about balding. He literally initiates a war to preserve his social standing and his hurt ego. We have long admired Øigarden's acting chops, especially when it comes to playing Varg. He portrays insanity and manipulation with a hilarious precision and is not your everyday villain.
This prequel season's arc combined with what is in store for him going forward as we have already seen in Seasons 1 and 2, is hilarious, to say the least. If 'Norsemen' were a real gritty period drama, Øigarden would be a terrifying actor. But since the Norwegian show explores his idiosyncrasies, you can't help but admire him.
All three seasons of 'Norsemen' are currently streaming on Netflix.