Viking Wolf Ending Highlights Liv and Thale’s Bittersweet Relationship

If you’re looking for your next horror flick, it has to be Viking Wolf! The Norwegian film was first released in 2022 and is now freshly available on Netflix.

It follows police officer Liv who moves to the small Norwegian town of Nybo with her daughter, Thale. Although Thale finds it difficult to readjust in this new setting, what really pushes her off the edge is being a witness to a murder … at the hands of a werewolf!

With such an intriguing plotline, a lot of fans are trying to decode what the ending means, especially because the film does not give us concrete details. So what happens at the end of Viking Wolf?

Thale turns into a werewolf at the end of Viking Wolf, attacking and killing many of Nybo’s residents. While Liv finally captures her, she is unable to kill her and lets her get away alive — putting Nybo at risk again.

Viking Wolf is quite a unique horror film, especially when it comes to highlighting a mother-daughter relationship through a rather gory lens. Why don’t we examine this ending in more detail? Let’s go!

How does Liv get rid of the werewolf?

When Liv and her squad are out in the forest patrolling, they come across the werewolf. Liv is able to kill the werewolf using the silver bullet given to her by Lars.

No one wants to believe that the cause of multiple attacks and deaths is a supernatural entity. But when Liv verifies that the werewolf only died because it was killed by a silver bullet, she cannot help but accept that Lars was right.

Lars finally tells her the origin of the werewolf, which is a callback to the very first scene of the film. But more importantly, he tells her that killing the werewolf won’t solve her problems — anyone who gets scratched or bitten by the werewolf will transform into one themselves.

So if Liv really wants to save Nybo, she has to hunt down everyone who was attacked by the wolf and kill them as well.

Does Thale get transformed into a werewolf?

After getting attacked by the first werewolf while trying to save Elin, Thale gets attacked as well. As the werewolf’s blood has entered her body, she soon transforms into a werewolf herself.

While the first problem in the movie was putting down the primary werewolf, this gets handled rather easily. Viewers will soon see that the actual dilemma that Liv faces is realizing her own daughter has turned into a bloodthirsty beast.

Thale’s transformation is so subtle that it goes unnoticed by most around. That is, until she starts wreaking havoc, attacks several folks including her step-father and sister, and even kills off her own crush, Janus.

The only “cure” that seems to be working is her emotional connection with her sister, Jenny, whom Thale doesn’t seem to be able to attack in her werewolf form. But sadly, this doesn’t seem to provide much of a solution either. Although Jenny is able to pacify Thale, she cannot stop her entirely or get her to transform back into her human form.

In the end, Jenny helps by approaching Thale and stabbing her with a tranquilizer. Thale is then taken to a hospital where Liv contemplates killing her.

Does Liv kill Thale in Viking Wolf?

Liv does not kill Thale at the end of the Viking Wolf. It is depicted that a rabid wolf (Thale) is still out in the open and is continuing to attack the town of Nybo.

So the first cutaway that we get is of Liv sitting by Thale’s bedside in the hospital with a gun and silver bullet in her hand. It seems like the bittersweet ending here is that Liv will have to put down her own daughter as that wound end the town’s predicament once and for all.

However, after that scene, we see Liv once again placing the bullet onto Thale’s bedside stand. Later on, there are reports that Nybo’s residents are still being terrorized by a mysterious animal, which clearly indicates that Liv was unable to kill Thale.

As to whether Liv sneaked out Thale herself or just let the wolf wander out alone is unknown and left to the viewer’s imagination. But Liv’s decision draws up a beautiful conclusion to her relationship with her daughter.

Liv and Thale were never close and had a very strained relationship, especially after Thale’s father’s death. Throughout the film, Liv keeps trying to control Thale and keep her “in check” but it keeps backfiring to the ironic extent of her turning into a werewolf.

By letting go of her daughter, Liv finally accepts that Thale has to live her life the way she wants it and as a mother there’s very little she can do about the chaos that it will ensue.

About Viking Wolf

Viking Wolf (Vikingulven in Norwegian) is a 2022 Norwegian horror film directed by Stig Svendsen and written by Svedsen and Espen Aukan.

It follows police officer Liv who moves to the small Norwegian town of Nybo with her daughter, Thale. Although Thale finds it difficult to readjust in this new setting, what really pushes her off the edge is being a witness to a murder, at the hands of a werewolf.

The cast is made up of Liv Mjönes, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Arthur Hakalahti, Sjur Vatne Brean, and others.