Vikings’ Katheryn Winnick Previews 5 Scenes to Expect in Season 4B 

WARNING: Spoilers for Vikings Season 4

The fourth season of Vikings continues tonight on HISTORY.

King Ragnar had what anyone would consider a brutal first half of the season. The man was so used to winning, it was difficult to see him and his fellow warriors struggle in the raid against the French. Turns out Rollo was on the right side of history. He came out on top, sitting pretty in Paris with a win and a wife that accepted him (after a turbulent start).

What could Ragnar do? Physically, he was broken. Psychologically, this loss tortured him. All he could do was go away to lick his wounds. And he stayed away for years. But now he’s back. Will he be able to reign again or will his sons — or his wife — stand in the way?

As for Ragnar’s first wife, Lagertha, life wasn’t exactly easy for her, either. Once again, a man betrayed her. Thankfully, Lagertha isn’t one to let things lie. She got her revenge on Kalf. Big time. When the action picks up tonight, there are some…changes with the fierce shield maiden who fought her way to an Earldom.

What drives her is “really seeing how Kattegat is run and being extremely disappointed that it’s not ruled by the right ruler,” previewed Katheryn Winnick in a recent press call. “With King Ragnar not necessarily being there and present as a king should be, and with Queen Aslaug running the show and not necessarily running it the proper way or the strongest way as a ruler to help the people.”

So does that mean Lagertha may make a power play of her own? “I think for her, her dream was, obviously, to expand to different territories and also make Kattegat one of the largest trading centers,” said Winnick. “It’s her dream and she saw the potential of it.”

Interesting. What else is interesting is that Winnick dropped some knowledge on a few things you can expect to see over the course of this second half of the season.

Lagertha is in a relationship that’s unlike any of her previous relationships…it’s with a woman

“She developed this relationship with Astrid, who Josefin Asplund plays,” teased Winnick.

It shouldn’t come as too much of a shocker considering Lagertha’s history with men. “Lagertha has been betrayed by so many men throughout her life obviously Ragnar by cheating on her and asking her to be a second wife and then her second husband was abusive, and then Kalf who she groomed tried to use her up, and she had to kill him on her wedding day. So her relationship with men, I’m not sure it will change, I’m not sure she will ever trust a man again.”

“It did make sense that she would find comfort in another human being and that that human being happened to be a woman,” she continued. “And I don’t feel that Lagertha necessarily is a lesbian. I wouldn’t necessarily see that and I never really played it that way, but she did find a love with her that other men have never been able to give her.”

In the mid-season premiere, there’s an emotional scene between Lagertha and Ragnar

This scene feels like it’s a long time coming. In fact, it’s one of the best moments in the entire premiere. There’s so much history there between the two and you can feel every second of it.

“I hadn’t worked with Travis [Fimmel] in a long time before that, just because our storylines were very separate,” she explained. “So it’s great to get reunited again and be face to face and working together.”

Winnick added: “Of course, you really don’t fully know how it’s going to be until you shoot it, especially when you have such a gifted actor like Travis and you yourself could be as prepared as you can be, but at the end of the day when you are there and in the moment, emotions arise and it is what it is.”

Lagertha will get more face time with The Seer

The last time Lagertha faced The Seer, his prediction wasn’t positive. This time around it doesn’t seem any more promising, but it does feel game-changing.

“She does have a scene with him — a really strong scene — where she goes to him and he gives her some devastating news that literally changes her for not only the rest of the season but the rest of her life and it’s a really big scene,” said Winnick. “It’s really a big moment for him answering a certain question and I think that what he actually answered I don’t think will be expected.”

Whatever The Seer says is so big it actually helped inform Winnick’s performance. “In every choice that I make as an actress it is in the back of my mind. I think it’s something the audience wouldn’t necessarily expect.”

Yes, there will be a Lagertha v Aslaug confrontation. And it will be “epic”

Previewed Winnick: “There is definitely a big epic scene where Lagertha and Aslaug come face to face and I will say it’s pretty epic, it’s juicy and it’s memorable. I wish I could actually give away more but it was a great scene to shoot.”

Apparently, Lagertha has some thoughts on the way Queen Aslaug rules the roost. Lagertha isn’t someone who will just let her Vikings struggle. She’s someone who will do something about the injustice.

“Lagertha felt that she needed to take and find Kattegat and really try to get control back. Kattegat is being run so badly and it’s been a lot of problems with Kattegat like people have been dying, things are not being run in a proper way as it should be, and she feels that she is doing the right thing by reclaiming it, because nobody would rule it better than she does because she truly cares about her people.”

Winnick enjoyed playing opposite Alyssa Sutherland for what she thinks is a standout scene. “She is fantastic in it, and it was great to finally get face to face with her and Aslaug and Lagertha together.”

Lagertha will be involved in a “powerful” battle that’s so big it takes two episodes to play out

“It is in the history books and it is something that you wouldn’t expect and it is definitely epic,” Winnick previewed. “It’s powerful. It’s a battle and you will see deaths, unexpected deaths. You will see challenges within the fight. You will see personal relationships getting tested when they confront their enemies on the battlefield.”

Winnick gave kudos to the behind-the-scenes men and women who staged the battle, choreographed all the stunts and then let the actors do what they do so well.

“Our crew is incredible in shooting those scenes and our stunt guys are incredibly talented and amazing to be able to fight against, they really give it their all and you can feel the heart going into it and understand how special this set really is because it’s those moments that fill in the reality of us being Viking warriors.”

Vikings is an experience Winnick is incredibly proud to be a part of season after season. “You can’t walk away from our set without getting banged up and you can’t walk away without being black and blue and full of cuts, it’s just part of the job and this job is not for everyone,” she explained.

“This job is not for the divas or for the actresses that are going to be in the trailer, this is a really brutal gorilla shoot in a lot of ways and you need a thick skin and you need to just go for it,” Winnick continued. “And I think that’s what makes this job so special and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I think that’s what makes me love being a Viking. It’s because it’s raw and it’s real.”

The fourth season of Vikings continues tonight at 9/8c on HISTORY.

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