‘Vikings’ Season 4B Updates: Creator Teases Lagertha’s LGBT Storyline, Ragnar’s Chaotic Return; Ivar the Boneless Emerges as Key Character

‘Vikings’ season 4B is set to feature Lagertha’s LGBT storyline as well as Ragnar’s chaotic return home. Meanwhile, Ivar the Boneless is set to emerge as a key character in the series.

According to Entertainment Weekly, ‘Vikings’ creator Michael Hirst teased that season 4’s B-side will usher in new developments for key characters specifically Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), Rangar (Travis Fimmel), and Ivar the Boneless (Alex Hogh Andersen).

In the trailer clip unveiled at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, The Seer (John Kavanagh) tells Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig) that Ragnar’s return to Kattegat after a self-imposed absence is set to bring in “calamity, chaos, tragedy and death.”

Hirst explained, “This season is monumental and there are two episodes that are unlike anything we’ve ever done. There’s never been anything on TV like them before. Change is in the air. Ragnar has reappeared after disappearing following his humiliating defeat. He’s come back because he has something very specific that he wants to do, but as he says he also wants to see how his sons have turned out. So all that is set in motion. Rumors of Ragnar’s demise were somewhat premature, I have to say; there’s plenty of Ragnar still to come.”

He continued, “Ragnar’s story is the story of the Vikings. It’s going from small beginnings as a farmer to an earl to a king. From very small beginnings to fighting for kingdoms and the legacy. And for the future. This season just propels us into a more universal kind of drama.”

It was revealed that Ragnar intends to reunite with his now grown-up sons as well as recruit people to settle unfinished business in the Wessex settlement with King Ecbert (Linus Roache).

Hirst teased that Ragnar may reunite with his estranged first wife Lagertha but it is yet to be known how much of a reunion will take place. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hirst expressed his enthusiasm over getting Ragnar and Lagertha back together but he said this would be a challenge to do. He added, “What I can say is that for those people, for those fans who care for them and would like them to at least meet again and talk and remember stuff, they won’t be disappointed.”

He also revealed that season 4B will delve deeper into Lagertha’s storyline. In the clip, it was revealed that Lagertha will be in a relationship with a younger woman named Astrid (Josefin Asplund). Hirst said that Lagertha’s choice to be with Astrid stems from the fact that she has begun to mistrust men who may intend to take her earldom away.  He explained that the introduction of Astrid will reflect the series’ growth and change.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed that Ivar the Boneless is set to become one of the key characters in the series. He said, “Ivar the Boneless may be the most famous Viking of all, partly because he’s got such a cool name. But in terms of this show, I knew he was going to be a major character and we got so lucky that we cast a young actor who is absolutely brilliant. He is compulsively watchable just in the same way Travis is. His role is fantastic, he’ll challenge the audience because Ivar is well known as someone who was very extreme and very cool and yet he was a cripple. So there’s always going to be hopefully a lot of sympathy for him, but at the same time he pushes boundaries. He’s very challenging and he’s really going to emerge as one of the big stars of this show.”

‘Vikings’ is a historical drama series written and created by Michael Hirst for the History channel. It was inspired by the sagas of the famous Viking Ragnar Lothbrok notorious for his scourge of France and England.

Season 4 was split into two parts with the second part set to premiere on History in fall of 2016.