STACK NZ October 2016 Issue 78

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The events of season three, including the climactic battle in Paris and Floki’s betrayal of
Ragnar, have major repercussions for the characters in Vikings: Season 4. Big decisions will
need to be made, and a lot of soul searching. Words Adam Colby
and the Seer; can you make your own fate or is it
predestined? I really like where [creator] Michael
Hirst has taken the character this year.“
Further treachery comes at the hands of
Ragnar's brother, Rollo (Clive Standen), who has
switched sides in the past. Electing to remain in
Paris and abandoning his clan and Kattegat drives
the final wedge between the siblings.
“The reason Rollo stays is that there’s nothing
in Kattegat for him anymore,” explains Standen.
“They’re not his people anymore. He always
goes forward without thinking. The Seer tells him
there’s something waiting for him in Paris; that’s
all he knows, and he has to make it work. He has
to embrace their culture and the people of France,
and they become his people.
“He’s a man that just wants to be accepted,”
he continues. “Bjorn is probably the only person
S poilers follow, but if you haven’t seen
season three of Vikings, then why in
Valhalla are you reading about season four?
Following the murder of his Christian friend
and confidante Athelstan (George Blagden) by
Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård), Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis
Fimmel) is not the same man this season. He’s
not exactly broken – Vikings are a tough bunch –
but he’s certainly damaged.
“It changes Ragnar forever,” says Fimmel of
Floki’s betrayal. “He feels like everyone around
him has betrayed him at some point and he really
feels alone in the world now.”
Moreover the murder of Athelstan and
Ragnar’s own brush with death in Paris leaves
him unhealthily obsessed. “A lot of this year is
his fascination with death,” offers Fimmel. “But
he’s not scared of dying. He questions the gods
he has an affinity with, but he finds a father figure
in [Emperor] Charles, the first person who thinks
he has some kind of worth, which is enough to
invest in these people.”
Rollo also finds an unlikely partner in Princess
Gisla (Morgane Polanski), and what begins as a
fractious marriage of convenience soon becomes
something more.
Fan favourite Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) also
has a compelling story arc this season, facing a
threat to her earldom. “What’s great about this
character, and how Michael Hirst writes her, is
that there are so many different layers in playing a
strong woman,” says Winnick. “She can fight, she
can defend herself, but she can also be a woman
and stay in touch with her femininity, and that kind
of balance can be hard to find in a role.
“But I love fighting,” she laughs. “When you’re
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